What's the Gameplan? #2

[Echognome]

[hv=d=s&v=n&n=saqt83h754dqt984c&s=sk9752ha983d5cak3]133|200|Scoring: IMP

1♠ - (2♥) - 4♦* - (5♣);

5♥ - (P) - 6♠ - All Pass[/hv]

 

Opening lead: ♦A

Trick 2: x♣

 

You and your partner have been exuberant in the bidding. How do you plan to bring the contract home?

[gnasher]

The obvious line to to play for diamonds 4-3: trump to dummy, ♦ ruff, trump to dummy (finessing if LHO has three), ♦ ruff. If trumps broke or the diamonds are good, I can claim; otherwise I have to risk cashing the clubs whilst LHO still has a trump.

 

If I knew that LHO was 1552 I could arrange a trump squeeze against him: ♠Q, diamond ruff, ♣AK, club ruff, ♠A leaves:

[hv=d=&v=&n=st8h7dqt9c&w=shkqjxdkxxc&e=shxdcxxxxx&s=sk9ha983dc]399|300|[/hv]

with West still to discard on trick seven. Unfortunately, though, he'll throw a heart, and I'm likely to assume that he's 6-4 rather that 5-5, so the squeeze will have done me no good

 

If LHO plays ♠J on the first round, I might now try to cater for 1552 more reliably via an entry-shifting squeeze: trump to dummy's queen, ♦ ruff, ♣AK, ♣ ruff, ♥A (safe if I trust their defence), heart ruff with 10, ♦ ruff, to leave:

[hv=d=&v=&n=st8h7dqt9c&w=shkqjxdkxxc&e=shxdcxxxxx&s=sk9ha983dc]399|300|[/hv]

♠9 squeezes West in pleasing fashion.

 

Note that after I've drawn one trump and seen East follow, it's quite safe to cash ♣AK. If West has a singleton club and defended correctly at trick two in not playing a heart, he must be 2551, in which case I can't make by ruffing out the diamonds anyway.

Edited April 20, 2009 by gnasher