Well, I botched this one . . .

[S2000magic]

My hand:

 

♠ J

♥ Q 10 x

♦ K J x

♣ A K Q x x x

 

The bidding (I was South):

 

S------W------N------E

1♣ - (P) - 1♠ - (P)

3NT - (P) - 6NT - (Dbl.)

P - (P) - P

 

The opening lead is a low ♦, and this dummy appears:

 

♠ A Q x x x

♥ K x x x

♦ A

♣ J x x

 

So, how do you play 6NT?

 

(Thirty-one IMPs are on the line.)

[TWO4BRIDGE]

TWO ♦ Aces

Edit: I see corrected now ....

Edited August 19, 2012 by TWO4BRIDGE

[S2000magic]

TWO ♦ Aces

Fixed.

 

(But if I'd gone down with 2 diamond aces, I'd be even angrier with myself.)

[TWO4BRIDGE]

I can count 12 tricks if 2 finesses work:

for the ♥J and ♠K ....

 

2s, 2h, 2d, 6c

[S2000magic]

I can count 12 tricks if 2 finesses work:

for the ♥J and ♠K ....

 

2s, 2h, 2d, 6c

RHO has ♠K (guarded) and ♥ A J x x

[CSGibson]

given that righty is known to have the ♠K and the ♥ ace for the double, I'd probably also play him for the ♥ jack, which, if he has it and I can read the position at the end, I am cold to make.

 

Low ♥ to the T, club up to the J, low heart to the Q. Now running 5 clubs pitching 3 spades from dummy. Righty has to come down to 4 cards, the K of spades, the ace of hearts, and two others. If he has 4 hearts and the Q of diamonds, he is forced specifically to come down to K Ax Q, and I'm making an overtrick. Otherwise I have a guess in the end position.

 

Righty will also have something to say about Lightner doubles, I expect.

[S2000magic]

given that righty is known to have the ♠K and the ♥ ace for the double, I'd probably also play him for the ♥ jack, which, if he has it and I can read the position at the end, I am cold to make.

 

Low ♥ to the T, club up to the J, low heart to the Q. Now running 5 clubs pitching 3 spades from dummy. Righty has to come down to 4 cards, the K of spades, the ace of hearts, and two others. If he has 4 hearts and the Q of diamonds, he is forced specifically to come down to K Ax Q, and I'm making an overtrick. Otherwise I have a guess in the end position.

It turns out that LHO has the ♦Q; think about what happens when you cash the ♦K.

 

(I was a moron: i didn't finesse the ♥10.)

[Cyberyeti]

It turns out that LHO has the ♦Q; think about what happens when you cash the ♦K.

 

(I was a moron: i didn't finesse the ♥10.)

There is no guess, you come down to (spots and W hand irrelevant)

 

[hv=pc=n&s=sjh6dkjc&w=shdc&n=saqhk2dc&e=sk5hajdc]399|300[/hv]

 

When you lead the K♦ and pitch a heart, E can pitch a heart and be thrown in with the A to lead away from K♠, or pitch a spade and have his K dropped. Bog standard strip squeeze.

[rogerclee]

There is no guess

There's no guess if RHO follows to the second heart with a low one, but if he plays the jack (which he should) you have a problem.

[S2000magic]

There is no guess, you come down to (spots and W hand irrelevant)

 

[hv=pc=n&s=sjh6dkjc&w=shdc&n=saqhk2dc&e=sk5hajdc]399|300[/hv]

 

When you lead the K♦ and pitch a heart, E can pitch a heart and be thrown in with the A to lead away from K♠, or pitch a spade and have his K dropped. Bog standard strip squeeze.

Exactly!

 

(I didn't know what it was called, but I knew that it was cool.)

 

Good analysis.

 

(Would you have finessed the ♥10?)

 

Ps - how do you get that diagram?

[Cyberyeti]

There's no guess if RHO follows to the second heart with a low one, but if he plays the jack (which he should) you have a problem.

I think LHO will often play a true count card on the first heart here, partner might want to know if declarer had Q10 bare or Q10x. He might be more likely to do this if he didn't know you had a lot of clubs, I really dislike the 3N bid, how are you going to enjoy 3N opposite partner's usual AJxxx, Jxx, xxxx, x ? We'd have started 1♣-1♠-1N (15-bad 19) and it would not have been so obvious.

[Cyberyeti]

Ps - how do you get that diagram?

On my browser when you hit reply, the symbol at the far right of the bars on the left (♠ on a white background between 2 red bars) brings up the hand diagram window)

[han]

Why is this in the expert forum? You are playing with a beginner against beginners, and the play problem is intermediate-advanced level.

[rhm]

Good analysis.

(Would you have finessed the ♥10?)

No, neither am I impressed by the analysis.

 

East is marked with ♥A and the ♠K and from the opening lead with the ♦Q

The one card he need not have is the ♥J. If he does he will come under pressure anyway.

Just run clubs.

In the six card ending East is very likely to come down to

 

[hv=pc=n&s=sjhqtxdkjx&w=shdc&n=saqhkxxxdc&e=skxhaxdqxc]399|300[/hv]

where East second heart could be the jack. You now lead a heart to the king.

To create a problem for declarer East must returns a low heart. Now you must take a decision whether East is good enough to have come down instead precisely to

 

[hv=pc=n&s=sjhqtxdkjx&w=shdc&n=saqhkxxxdc&e=skhajxdqxc]399|300[/hv]

If yes, finesse now. If no (true for most defenders) put up the ♥Q

Bingo, if West had originally ♥Jx (or ♥J singleton) or discarded some hearts.

If West originally had the ♥J and at least 3 hearts precise defense will beat me.

Against most defenders in my experience this is the exception rather than the rule.

 

Rainer Herrmann

[Cyberyeti]

Rainer, he doesn't need the Q♦ or the J♥, he's doubled in the hope of getting a spade lead (dummy's first suit) which indeed beats the slam.

[han]

Also, west, a beginner, led a low diamond. That's unlikely from 6 small.

[rhm]

Rainer, he doesn't need the Q♦ or the J♥, he's doubled in the hope of getting a spade lead (dummy's first suit) which indeed beats the slam.

And you believe West would lead a diamond from the queen against 6NT after partner's double?

Well if West is a novice you maybe right, but otherwise even mediocre tournament players don't do this in my experience.

 

Rainer Herrmann

[S2000magic]

Why is this in the expert forum? You are playing with a beginner against beginners, and the play problem is intermediate-advanced level.

I guessed where to put it; my mistake.

[phil_20686]

My hand:

 

♠ J

♥ Q 10 x

♦ K J x

♣ A K Q x x x

 

The bidding (I was South):

 

S------W------N------E

1♣ - (P) - 1♠ - (P)

3NT - (P) - 6NT - (Dbl.)

P - (P) - P

 

The opening lead is a low ♦, and this dummy appears:

 

♠ A Q x x x

♥ K x x x

♦ A

♣ J x x

 

So, how do you play 6NT?

 

(Thirty-one IMPs are on the line.)

 

Double in this situation is asking for a spade lead, so I would play for two hearts two diamonds 6 clubs and we should have a squeeze of some kind if the the hearts don't break. At trick two play a low heart to the ten, if this holds cross back and play a heart to the queen.

[phil_20686]

For once i disagree with rainer: Rho can just keep three hearts one diamond and Kx of spades. Even if they return the Q of diamonds, you will still be forced to take the heart finesse.

 

[hv=pc=n&s=sjhqt4dkjc&w=shdc&n=saqhk753dc&e=sk2haj2dqc]399|300[/hv]

 

Suppose now you play a heart to the K, rho wins and returns a diamond, and you have 6 clubs 1s 1h 3d, and still need another. To do right in this position you need to guess whether to cash the diamond before playing a heart to the K. Then, if you guess this right, you still need to guess whether they bared the spade K, which will not be hart play to find.

[S2000magic]

Double in this situation is asking for a spade lead, so I would play for two hearts two diamonds 6 clubs and we should have a squeeze of some kind if the the hearts don't break. At trick two play a low heart to the ten, if this holds cross back and play a heart to the queen.

About 10 minutes too late I thought of that line; it would have worked.

[gnasher]

For once i disagree with rainer: Rho can just keep three hearts one diamond and Kx of spades. Even if they return the Q of diamonds, you will still be forced to take the heart finesse.

 

Suppose now you play a heart to the K, rho wins and returns a diamond, and you have 6 clubs 1s 1h 3d, and still need another.

We just cash the diamond to squeeze East in the majors. Similarly, if he keeps the diamond guarded and bares ♥J, we squeeze him in the pointed suits.

 

If East had bared ♠K, this wouldn't work - we'd have to cash ♠AQ instead of playing a heart. However, in practice he will never do this, because he doesn't know that we have ♦J and ♥10. He will almost certainly choose a "legitimate" defence by playing his partner for one of those cards.

 

Rainer's line gains when the hearts are Jx-Axxx. The assumption that East has ♦Q seems a good one to me, but maybe I don't know enough about what weak players do.

[phil_20686]

We just cash the diamond to squeeze East in the majors. Similarly, if he keeps the diamond guarded and bares ♥J, we squeeze him in the pointed suits.

 

If East had bared ♠K, this wouldn't work - we'd have to cash ♠AQ before playing a heart. However, in practice he will never do this, because he doesn't know that we have ♦J and ♥10. He will almost certainly choose a "legitimate" defence by playing his partner for one of those cards.

 

Rainer's line gains when the hearts are Jx-Axxx. The assumption that East has ♦Q seems a good one to me, but maybe I don't know enough about what weak players do.

 

You can only squeeze rho if he has the heart J. In which case you might have hooked. Suppose the hearts are Jx-Axxx, then rho comes down to Kx Axx Q, If you play a heart to the ace a heart comes back and you have to guess the heart position before the squeeze, in which case you haven't really gained. If you guess to cash the diamond K before the heart, then you can squeeze rho on the diamond J, but if he was instead Kx Ax Qx he has two tricks now when you play a heart.

 

It just seems like rainer's line represents a long series of guesses, all of which you must make correctly. Mine/cybereti's line has many fewer guesses, and looses DD in only one or two relevant cases.

[rhm]

For once i disagree with rainer: Rho can just keep three hearts one diamond and Kx of spades. Even if they return the Q of diamonds, you will still be forced to take the heart finesse.

 

[hv=pc=n&s=sjhqt4dkjc&w=shdc&n=saqhk753dc&e=sk2haj2dqc]399|300[/hv]

 

Suppose now you play a heart to the K, rho wins and returns a diamond, and you have 6 clubs 1s 1h 3d, and still need another. To do right in this position you need to guess whether to cash the diamond before playing a heart to the K. Then, if you guess this right, you still need to guess whether they bared the spade K, which will not be hart play to find.

No.

 

If RHO returns the ♦Q, you cash the diamond jack and West is squeezed in the majors. There is no need for the heart finesse. After the ♦J you play the ♠A.

Either the ♠K or the ♥J will drop. If no honor drops RHO does not have the ♥J.

Only if RHO returns the ♥2 do you have a decision to take.

 

Rainer Herrmann

[gnasher]

You can only squeeze rho if he has the heart J. In which case you might have hooked. Suppose the hearts are Jx-Axxx, then rho comes down to Kx Axx Q, If you play a heart to the ace a heart comes back and you have to guess the heart position before the squeeze, in which case you haven't really gained.

I go up with the queen. Then I cash whichever red-suit winners I have. This makes in all the layouts that you make, and also when LHO has ♥Jx.

 

The only "guess" I'm going to make is that RHO won't bare ♠K.