Best line in a slam

[Siegmund]

♠AKx

♥AKT

♦AKJT87x

♣---

 

♠Q876x

♥J9x

♦---

♣AJ8xx

 

All vul, matchpoints.

2C - 2D (2H would have been a bust)

3D - 3S

6S

 

Opening lead is a small club.

 

Best line to guarantee making against bad breaks may still be appropriate since others may be in 6D or going down a different slam. But we do want as much chance of making 7 as we can.

 

First big decision is whether to ruff this lead or let it come around to our ace-jack.

[rhm]

Ruff the lead in dummy, ruff a diamond, play AK of trumps, ruff another diamond and play queen of trumps, discarding a heart.

Next play to a top heart in dummy and play diamonds from the top. Provided trumps break and diamonds are no worse than 4-2 you have 13 tricks.

If trumps are 4-1 and diamonds break or if trumps break but diamonds are worse than 4-2 you have 12 tricks without touching clubs.

It does not matter whether you get over-ruffed on the second diamond or not.

If neither trumps nor diamonds behave you are probably down on this line. But in this case, alternative slam contracts do not stand much of a chance either.

Your chance of making is close to 95% for this line with a roughly 60% chance for an overtrick.

 

Rainer Herrmann

[Siegmund]

I wanted to ruff the first trick too; my P won it in hand, and while I instinctively felt ruffing had to be better, ran into trouble when I actually tried to find breaks on which it was down if she won the club but making if she ruffed (there is one, 4-1 spades and 5-1 diamonds onside, I think, but thought there ought to be more.)

[Hanoi5]

Not tufting the first trick in dummy is quite a bad play (to say the least). The small trump in dummy doesn't have any other purpose and keeping the club ace is important if you get overruffed and in some other occasions.

[SteveMoe]

wdp - as rainer says.