3NT - What's your line...?

[Dinarius]

[hv=pc=n&w=sak8h74dqj876cq93&e=s432haq92da94ck64&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=p1dp1hp1np3nppp]266|200[/hv]

 

Matchpoints:

 

North leads 5♠ - fourth highest - South plays 10♠

 

Since you can't make 9 tricks without diamonds, I'll tell you South has K♦ and they are 3/2.

 

Over to you.

 

D.

[AL78]

Form of scoring?

[Dinarius]

Form of scoring?

 

Thanks.

 

Just edited it.

 

MPs

 

 

D.

[eagles123]

duck the first spade, assume a spade back, win, Q diamond losing to K. win third spade. Run diamonds pitching club and heart. Heart to the 9.

[mikeh]

duck the first spade, assume a spade back, win, Q diamond losing to K. win third spade. Run diamonds pitching club and heart. Heart to the 9.

So when south wins the heart with the 10 or the Jack, he can safely play clubs no matter what his holding. Of course, how problematic that is depends on how the cards lie and how they’ve defended.

 

In fairness, I’m not sure how I’d play this hand. I do think that one can win the first spade. We infer that they are 4-3 so we can duck later if need be.

 

Then I lead the diamond Queen. If North covers, I’ll run the 9 next. As it happens, we know south wins. He’s always returning a spade and now I duck. I win the 3rd round and run the diamonds, paying attention to their carding.

 

How I play then depends on what I’ve seen and, to some degree, my view of how good the defenders are

 

The main plan is the simple one of taking the heart hook but I’m not committing to anything until I’ve seen 8 of their cards.

[gszes]

my simplified thinking makes me want 4d 2s 2h 1c so win trick 1 trick 2 dia to A trick 3 dia toward Q. If this has shown the proper results all I need now is the expected 43 spades and the heart K onside. I do not duck trick 1 because a club shift can be fatal to an otherwise ironclad contract.

[Dinarius]

Interesting you should mention a club switch.

 

One declarer tried the following;

 

1. Win spade lead.

2. Run Q♦

3. Duck spade return.

4. Win spade continuation.

5. Cross to A♦

 

All those who got a spade lead played as above...now this declarer diverged. Instead of running diamonds, she took the view that A♣ was the same 50% as K♥, but with an extra chance...

 

6.Played a small club to Q, which held. (South cannot go up A♣, or it's game over.)

7.Cashed three remaining diamonds.

8.Played a club to the K and South was end-played.

 

She lost one spade, K♦, and two clubs.

 

Is this a good line? Of course, if South had only clubs, they're cashing them and you're down. But, West took the view that suits were behaving.

 

D.