Not the best 3NT

[kgr]

IMP's

[hv=pc=n&n=s2h86532dqj6ck752&s=saqj5hkqdak42cj63&d=s&v=0&b=1&a=2np3dp3h(no%20H-fit)p3nppp]266|200[/hv]

(3♥=No ♥-fit)

Opps are not good.

West leads the ♠4 (4th best) for the ♠9 by East and your ♠Q.

 

What is your plan on this hand?

[TWO4BRIDGE]

You could try for the 3-3 ♥ split for 9 tricks:

2s, 3h, 4d ... hopefully, East will have to win the 3rd ♥ with no more ♠ left ... or if he does have one, then they split 4-4 ... and they get only 2s and 2h .

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

EDIT ... the point is you need a favorable lie in ♠ as well as ♥

[rhm]

With the ♠K probably with West this does not look good.

I would play a diamond to dummy and a club from dummy.

East is unlikely to go in without the ♣A and if he does he will help me establishing some badly needed club tricks when the ♣A may be offside.

 

Rainer Herrmann

[gszes]

With the ♠K probably with West this does not look good.

I would play a diamond to dummy and a club from dummy.

East is unlikely to go in without the ♣A and if he does he will help me establishing some badly needed club tricks when the ♣A may be offside.

 

Rainer Herrmann

 

Normally I agree with your writings 100% but this time I am not

so sure---why would declarer waste time leading to dummy to lead a

club if they held the club A and wished to take a club finesse?

 

I think it is far easier than it looks to rise with the club Q

and scuttle any chance of making 3n when the hearts were breaking

33 while there is little to nothing the opps can do if hearts do

break if you attack hearts. Its still a crummy contract even if

hearts break but that's my choice.

[rhm]

Normally I agree with your writings 100% but this time I am not

so sure---why would declarer waste time leading to dummy to lead a

club if they held the club A and wished to take a club finesse?

 

I think it is far easier than it looks to rise with the club Q

and scuttle any chance of making 3n when the hearts were breaking

33 while there is little to nothing the opps can do if hearts do

break if you attack hearts. Its still a crummy contract even if

hearts break but that's my choice.

I do not mind if you want to play for your legitimate chance for collecting 9 tricks.

But when this requires no less than a miracle (you have to lose the lead in hearts at least twice for them to establish only two additional tricks in the black suits), I prefer to induce a defensive error.

Your claim that you only need hearts breaking is plain wrong. (East wins and plays a spade or West wins and plays a club)

 

For example on my play East might rise with the ace of clubs from ♣Axxx to shoot a spade through.

Misguided? Probably yes, but I have seen worse plays and I would bet that very few below world-class would rise with the ♣Q from ♣Qxx after this bidding.

Meanwhile my legitimate chances making are probably not worse than playing on hearts. West could have ♣AQx for example.

There are other winning layouts

 

Rainer Herrmann

[kgr]

Thanks for the answers.

West had a 6c♠, and East ♠T9. So probably the lead was not ♠4, but ♠6. Sorry for this mistake in my OP.

...is this making rhm's more attractive?

 

My partner did play a ♣ to ♣K and that lost to ♣A. A ♠ was returned by East. West still had the ♥A and ♣Q, so the contract could not be made anymore.

 

I told my partner that it was better to cross in ♦ and play a ♣ from dummy (rhm's line).

or another possible line we saw was to play for ♥3-3 (the other suggested line here).

 

But it wasn't clear for us which was best.

[whereagles]

How about cashing your diamonds and exiting with a heart? Sometimes opps mess up their discards :)