Plan the play

[Finch]

A number of good players, including Salsenminde at the other table, went off in this slam. Others made it (not everyone bid it). I'll give you our auction, although the auction isn't really relevant, people complain when you don't provide it.

Game all, dealer South.

 

[hv=pc=n&s=sq98haj97datcaqt6&n=sakj76htdq742ck82&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=1c(nat%20or%20bal%2C%20may%20have%20longer%20diamonds)p1h(spades)d(hearts)rp2h(art%20FG)p2sp3sp4cp4hp5dp6sppp]266|200[/hv]

 

You get a low heart lead to the queen and your ace.

Plan the play.

[Endymion77]

Play a spade to the A to see if trump aren't 5-0, everyone follows?

[Lord Molyb]

play a spade to the ace, if both players follow, draw trumps (in 4 rounds if needed), cross into hand with a club and run the ♥J discarding a diamond. It loses to the king, a diamond comes back. Win the ace and discard a diamond on the ♥9. If the ♥8 drops you can claim, otherwise hope clubs are 3-3.

If trumps are 5-0, finesse against either player, crossing in clubs as needed.

[rhm]

Win, draw two rounds of trumps ending in hand and return the ♥J. I assume low heart means they play high from doubleton.

If unexpectedly West covers or the ♥J holds, draw the remaining trumps and play a diamond to the ten. If West can win with the ♦J you get a similar ending as below.

 

Assume East wins the ♥J with the ♥K.

Win the return in hand. Next draw the remaining trumps return to hand to cash the ♦A (Vienna coup) and the ♥9.

If the ♥8 has not dropped go to the ♣K and run trumps to execute a double squeeze with clubs as the common threat. Technically this is a simple squeeze since only one defender can guard clubs but you do not care.

 

This wins:

 

1) whenever the ♣J drops in three rounds.

2) East has the ♣J and either the ♥8 or the ♦K

3) West has the ♣J and the ♦K

 

Rainer Herrmann

[Fluffy]

I would play 2 rounds of diamonds hoping for ♦K third, or spades 3-2 (or a missdefence by LHO)

[000ffj]

I think normal way is play east has ♥k♥q and ♦k.

play 3 rounds spade,then play 3 round club to dummy,you can set up a heart to make it if club 3-3 distruibution,otherwise if east hold the 4th ♣,he will be squeezed with 3suiters,if west hold 4th♣,you can play ♥J to discard a ♦,east now in endplayed.

You will be more difficult if ♠ isn't 2-3 distribution,example when ♠ 1-4 distribution,dummy must discard a card on 4th ♠,I think give up 4th ♣is better still in this case,and come to this end[hv=pc=n&s=shj97datcaqt&w=sh2dj963cj75&n=s7hdq742ck83&e=shq86dk85c96]399|300[/hv]

declarer can play ♥J to discard a ♦of North after cashed the last ♣ to throw east in endplayed.

[ewj]

Must admit I would be tempted to just play the ♥J back. East would have to do well to return a ♦ holding the K...and if they did, well I'd probably hop up with the ace and play for my ♣ chances / squeeze. If they didn't play a ♦ I'd assume they held it, so I'd fall on my sword, if there was a minor suit squeeze all along

[dake50]

DA, D-out intending to ruff 2xD. Boards up.

[gnasher]

I think normal way is play east has ♥k♥q and ♦k.

play 3 rounds spade,then play 3 round club to dummy,you can set up a heart to make it if club 3-3 distruibution,otherwise if east hold the 4th ♣,he will be squeezed with 3suiters,if west hold 4th♣,you can play ♥J to discard a ♦,east now in endplayed.

East will duck this trick, avoiding the endplay.

[gnasher]

Must admit I would be tempted to just play the ♥J back. East would have to do well to return a ♦ holding the K...and if they did, well I'd probably hop up with the ace and play for my ♣ chances / squeeze. If they didn't play a ♦ I'd assume they held it, so I'd fall on my sword, if there was a minor suit squeeze all along

I'd do that too. I can make it harder for East by throwing a club on this second heart.

 

Even so, he should be able to work it out. ♠Q, ♥AJ, ♦A and ♣A is 15 points, so if East has ♦K he will know I have ♣Q. That gives me eleven tricks, with the twelfth coming from a red-suit squeeze unless he talks me into playing the ♦A now. If he thinks a lot before playing the diamond it's probably right to run it.

[rhm]

East will duck this trick, avoiding the endplay.

I thought about this, but the endplay still works.

You have a 5 card ending where South holds 3 hearts and 2 diamonds and dummy a trump and 4 diamonds.

If East ducks we get 4 card ending where East holds 2 hearts and 2 diamonds.

Declarer can now simply play ace of diamonds and duck a diamond to East.

Dummy will be high.

 

So the endplay works when East has ♥K,Q and ♦K.

 

However, the chance that East has the ♦K is at best 50%

Giving up on clubs for this endplay does not compensate.

I consider my line clearly superior, though it would loose against this line, if East has the red honors and West Jxxx in clubs and the ♥8 does not drop.

 

Rainer Herrmann

[PhilKing]

I'd do that too. I can make it harder for East by throwing a club on this second heart.

 

Even so, he should be able to work it out. ♠Q, ♥AJ, ♦A and ♣A is 15 points, so if East has ♦K he will know I have ♣Q. That gives me eleven tricks, with the twelfth coming from a red-suit squeeze unless he talks me into playing the ♦A now. If he thinks a lot before playing the diamond it's probably right to run it.

 

That's how I defended it after declarer adopted this line (he threw a diamond on the ♥J), but after a long tank. Declarer rose ace nonetheless - running the diamond is just too big a position.

[Fluffy]

squeezes, endplays, squeeze breaking king underleads... I feel like I should move my ruff in the short hand tactic to I/As :P

[PhilKing]

squeezes, endplays, squeeze breaking king underleads... I feel like I should move my ruff in the short hand tactic to I/As :P

 

FWIW, I agree with your "ruff losers" line.

[gnasher]

I thought about this, but the endplay still works.

You have a 5 card ending where South holds 3 hearts and 2 diamonds and dummy a trump and 4 diamonds.

If East ducks we get 4 card ending where East holds 2 hearts and 2 diamonds.

Declarer can now simply play ace of diamonds and duck a diamond to East.

Dummy will be high.

 

So the endplay works when East has ♥K,Q and ♦K.

That assumes you've cashed a fourth trump, throwing away a club. I think I was commenting on a line where declarer plays ♥A, three rounds of trumps, three rounds of clubs, and ♥J.

[gnasher]

squeezes, endplays, squeeze breaking king underleads... I feel like I should move my ruff in the short hand tactic to I/As :P

As I understand it you're planning to ruff both diamonds (unless the king comes down)?

 

Instead, how about ruffing one diamond, then running the trumps? That seems to work almost all the time that Rainer's double squeeze does, and also when East has ♦Kxx or ♦Kx. It's an improvement on the "ruff two losers" line, because that usually needs trumps 3-2.

Edited October 29, 2013 by gnasher

[gnasher]

That's how I defended it after declarer adopted this line (he threw a diamond on the ♥J), but after a long tank. Declarer rose ace nonetheless - running the diamond is just too big a position.

So, having played a heart at trick two, with you defending I would have made it, but with me defending you would have gone down? That sounds OK to me.

[PhilKing]

So, having played a heart at trick two, with you defending I would have made it, but with me defending you would have gone down? That sounds OK to me.

 

No - you would have taken longer to play it, so I would have been able to switch to a diamond in tempo. :P

[MickyB]

What if East tanks, then wins the heart king and plays a diamond in tempo? [i was declarer vs PhilKing, declaring from the North hand - most, but not all, of his tank was before winning the heart].

[Fluffy]

As I understand it you're planning to ruff both diamonds (unless the king comes down)?

 

Instead, how about ruffing one diamond, then running the trumps? That seems to work almost all the time that Rainer's double squeeze does, and also when East has ♦Kxx or ♦Kx. It's an improvement on the "ruff two losers" line, because that usually needs trumps 3-2.

Looks like an improvement, but only if LHO is really good enough to duck ♦K 4th. I call this double squeeze with clubs as shared menace, but I supose some people will say that it is incorrect since only 0/1 player gets squeezed.

[lamford]

We looked at this complicated hand in the analysis room and on Vugraph. In the latter, the contracts were 3NT and 4S, so the point-a-board was all that was at stake. The spade pips in the actual hand are Q98 with South, and East was the dealer, so has already passed. Other pip differences are immaterial. The hand was rotated 90^o here for convenience, and was an EW slam.

 

We thought that the right line was to set about ruffing two diamonds in hand, by playing the ace and another diamond at tricks two and three. Whether or not West plays the jack, I think it is right to duck in North, gaining when the spades are 4-1 and East has Kxx of diamonds. Also West may duck from Jxx(x) thinking you are on a guess, as the South hand is hidden. It would also be a tough defence to play the jack from KJxx and maybe only Dave Mossop would have found this. It would be harder still with a point-a-board element, as not playing the king might just let through an overtrick.

 

Assuming that the diamond loses to the jack in either hand and say a trump comes back, we win in North and ruff a diamond with the nine. Now we have to decide whether the trumps are 4-1. I think it is indeed, as gnasher says, right now to draw trumps, which works when clubs come in - including Jx, or there is a double squeeze. We also have what is just a simple squeeze when East has the king of hearts and four clubs. Lines which involve having to guess the layout by conceding a heart to the king seemed worse, assuming East will fire back a diamond often enough. Also the play will involve some guessing when the heart is ducked immediately after trumps are drawn.

 

The recorder did not get the full play, but I believe that Erik Salesminde (note the correct spelling) who I think was the only World Champion at the helm, followed the above line. I am waiting to see the record, which is being uploaded onto Cloud as I write, to check this.

[lamford]

What if East tanks, then wins the heart king and plays a diamond in tempo? [i was declarer vs PhilKing, declaring from the North hand - most, but not all, of his tank was before winning the heart].

Pity you had not both tanked a bit more about which direction you should be sitting at the start of the match. :)

[Finch]

The spade pips in the actual hand are Q98 with South, and East was the dealer, so has already passed. Other pip differences are immaterial.

 

The spade pips are actually Q93 with South, which I assume is what you meant to write (as I incorrectly put Q98 in the original post).

The club pips in hand are actually AQ104, which turned out to be material

 

The recorder did not get the full play, but I believe that Erik Salesminde (note the correct spelling) who I think was the only World Champion at the helm, followed the above line. I am waiting to see the record, which is being uploaded onto Cloud as I write, to check this.

 

Or you can just ask Jallerton, who was West.

The Norwegian auction was

1C (natural or balanced) - 1H (spades)

1S (3 spades) - 4S

4NT - 5H (double)

5NT - 6C

6S - Pass

 

so Salesminde was also playing it by the short hand.

His line (which was very slow, he thought a long time about it) was:

heart lead to the queen and ace

ace of diamonds, 10 of diamonds, jack, low, low

8 of spades return won with the nine in hand

club to the king

diamond ruffed low

ace of clubs

<long think>

trumps

 

remember that the club suit was actually K82 opposite AQ104 and that declarer had not promised genuine clubs

On the king and ace of clubs LHO played the 7 and 9 of clubs. RHO played the 3 and 5 of clubs.

 

He clearly decided that the club pips indicated they were breaking 3-3

 

So maybe the kudos go to Jallerton for playing 7,9 from J976 in the suit. Sadly a bit too subtle for the 'best defended' award.

 

At our table, my partner also started by by playing on diamonds. He missed the chance to show off his brilliant card reading because West, the sponsor, didn't cover the 10 of diamonds with the Jack and it ran to East's king (!) He told me he hadn't decided what he was going to do if the queen of diamonds wasn't a winner after 3 rounds of the suit.

[Fluffy]

We thought that the right line was to set about ruffing two diamonds in hand, by playing the ace and another diamond at tricks two and three. Whether or not West plays the jack, I think it is right to duck in North, gaining when the spades are 4-1 and East has Kxx of diamonds. Also West may duck from Jxx(x) thinking you are on a guess, as the South hand is hidden. It would also be a tough defence to play the jack from KJxx and maybe only Dave Mossop would have found this. It would be harder still with a point-a-board element, as not playing the king might just let through an overtrick.

 

If this happened in other parts of the world I'd be 100% sure that ruffing diamonds in hand is the line that makes, but you guys in England are a different species.

 

Now please, can someone tell me the lie out? its unfair everyone knows it but me :(

[Finch]

[/size]

 

If this happened in other parts of the world I'd be 100% sure that ruffing diamonds in hand is the line that makes, but you guys in England are a different species.

 

Now please, can someone tell me the lie out? its unfair everyone knows it but me :(

 

I've just told you West's club holding.

 

West had

 

108

6xxx

J92

J976

 

so

- the double squeeze doesn't work

- if you knock out the heart and a diamond comes back you have to run it

- if you knock out the heart and a diamond doesn't come back, you squeeze East

- ruffing diamonds in hand works.