play 4S

[Stephen Tu]

[hv=d=n&v=e&n=skj74hqt7dq732ca4&s=sq9863h9dak8cj852]133|200|Scoring: MP

1♦-(3♥)-3♠-(p);

4♠[/hv]

Opening lead K♣. Plan the play.

[ONEferBRID]

Cl Ace and Cl back.

I need to take care of those Cl losers before hitting trumps.

[gnasher]

I assume hearts are 2-7.

 

I can get away with ruffing only one club, as long as East doesn't have four diamonds. Trump to the queen, probably losing to the ace. If they play a diamond or a heart, I just draw trumps, lose a heart if I haven't already, ruff a club, ruff a heart to hand, and run trumps to squeeze West in the minors. If, instead, they play a heart to East followed by two more rounds of clubs, I ruff with the 7 (which has to win) and play the same squeeze.

 

The alternative, of trying to ruff two clubs in dummy with the 7 and J, risks losing to a singleton ten of spades, and also risks losing a diamond ruff after East discards twice on the clubs. It doesn't even work when East is 1741 without ♠10: ♣A; club; two rounds of hearts; club ruff with 7; diamond to hand; club ruff with J; diamond to hand; ♠9; West takes the ace and plays another one, stranding me in dummy.

[rhm]

Obviously West must have at least 2 cards in ♥ for success

The general plan should be to ruff only one ♣ and to squeeze West in the minors.

But there are complications in the trump department.

If you play a ♠ honor to Wests ace he may continue with two more rounds of ♣ and you will have a nasty guess if the ♠10 did not drop on the first round.

 

So it seems best to win the first trick (too dangerous to duck) and to play a ♦ to hand and now play a trump to dummy's ♠ honors. If this wins and East does not show out you can continue with dummy's second trump honor.

 

This may loose if East has a singleton ♦, but the danger that East has no more than 2 cards in ♣ is much higher.

 

If West tries to kill your ♦ transportation for the minor suit squeeze by continuing ♦ instead of playing a third round of trump you will play a ♣ next and threaten to ruff 2 ♣ on the table should West continue with diamonds (if neither ♦ 3-3 nor trumps 2-2).

 

If trumps turn out to be 4-0 play that the ♣ queen will drop in 3 rounds or that diamonds will break.

 

Rainer Herrmann

[Stephen Tu]

ONEferBRID: option 1: 2nd club loses to west's 9, a low club comes back. Ruff with?

option 2: east shows out on the second club, again you lose to west's 9, a club comes back. Now?

 

gnasher: I take it you are winning first club, low spade to Q? SA wins, CQ, club, ruff with? (again options whether east followed 2nd club or showed out).

 

rhm: after diamond back to hand and spade up, west pops the ace (no ten drops), and plays cq club. Ruffing high, I guess, then who do you play for the spade length?

 

 

I like the ruff one/squeeze idea, unsure the best way to tackle the trumps.

[gnasher]

RHM's plan is obviously better than mine.

 

There's no problem with LHO playing ♠A on the first round - we have nine trumps, and they have only two left, so we can ruff a club high and draw trumps.

 

RHM's line loses when RHO wins ♠A, and they now play two more rounds of clubs. Assuming that he ruffs with 7, he loses to ♠A10 on the right.

 

By comparison, my line (again, ruffing with ♠7 in the critical case) loses when RHO has ♠10x, which is twice as likely a priori, and rather more likely given the bidding.