[mikeh]

Same match as last time. Your hand is better: A  AK62  QJ7  A7532

White v red, imps: LHO deals and opens:

(2♦)  3♦  (P)  ?

2♦ was weak and you guess that 3♦ was majors (your possession of all the aces makes the alternative meaning of asking for a diamond stopper impossible)

Unable to think of any method of finding how many diamond losers we have, such that we can make anywhere from 10 to 13 tricks, you compromise with 6♥.

All pass, and partner announces, while laying down his hand, that he doesn't have much. You tell him: 'I do' as he shows K109xxx Q1087x x K.

The opening lead is the ♦K (K from AK at this level) and LHO switches to a smallish (but not smallest) club.

Plan the play. Don't assume trump are 2-2

This may be easier than I thought at the time: to replicate the conditions of contest, all posters should drink 3/4 bottle of a good red wine before analyzing the problem You can finish the bottle if you made the contract!

[whereagles]

I don't have a bottle at hand right now, so I'll let you know my line of play tonite

[Fluffy]

I though 5♥ would ask for diamond control, but that would be passed out for sure .

Looks like dummy reversal, win ♣K, run ♦Q, come back with ♠A, ruff a club, ♥ to the ace, ruff a club, cash ♥Q and try to cash ♠K.

This fails anytime LHO has 3 hearts, but wins vs 2-2 or 1-3.

[FrancesHinden]

I'm stupid. Can you format things legibly?

2♦ 3♦ P 6♥
all pass

---

[FrancesHinden]

Fluffy's line involves leading the queen of diamonds from the wrong hand, and that's actually the the only way I can see to make the dummy reversal work.

I can't see anything particularly clever, so I assume I'm missing something. The clever lines all seem to go off with LHO having a boring 2-2-6-3.

Top diamond, club switch won in dummy.
Heart to the ace, assume the jack doesn't drop(*)
King of hearts.
............If all follow, check for spades 4-2 and if not take the ruffing diamond finesse and claim.

............If LHO blows continue
ace of spades
diamond ruff
spade ruff
diamond ruff
spade ruff
ruff the ace of clubs
draw the last trump

(this looks as if it gives up on some layouts, but if LHO is 1-1 in the majors you can't ruff enough clubs anyway)

.............If RHO blows continue
queen of hearts
ace of spades
ace of clubs (spade discard)
club ruff
king of spades. If everyone follows low, play for spades 3-3. If LHO plays a honour, decide if he is 3-1-6-3 or 2-1-6-4 (you may have got some information in clubs to help with this), but you will probably take ruffing finesse.

*If the HJ falls on our right on the first round of hearts we take a slightly different line -
ace of spades
trump to the queen in dummy
spade ruff low
diamond ruff
spade ruff high
ruff the ace of clubs
draw the last trump




(if a spade honour falls on our left on the first round we will also have the obvious rethink)

[rogerclee]

I have spent some time with this and can only make with one of

1) Hearts 2-2
2) Hearts 1-3 and Spades 3-3
3) Hearts 1-3 and Spades 2-4 with Hx in W's hand

Still thinking, though. If LHO is sort of inexperienced, I can run the JACK of diamonds and hope W doesn't cover, allowing me to ditch my other diamond on the spade K without blowing a trump.

[Apollo81]

Why wouldn't 5♥ ask for a diamond control?

[FrancesHinden]

Apollo81, on Jan 29 2008, 05:24 PM, said:

Why wouldn't 5♥ ask for a diamond control?

Lots of people (quite possibly including mike) would play 5H as a much more general slam try than specifically asking for a diamond control.

You could get all scientific and cue diamonds first, then cue clubs, then... but 6H is a nice practical effort.