[Gerben42]

Scoring: IMP

---

1♣ - 1♥
2♣ - 2♦*
3NT - 6♣

Lead: ♥7

[matmat]

heh
finesser's paradise.


edit --
you can try to set up some sort of a squeeze, but i think you need to get lucky in trump and still have something else work to make this.

[Poky]

I will try to set up a dummy reversal.

♥A
♥J ruffed (covered or not)
♦ to ♦Q

a ) if RHO takes and returns hearts, I'll follow my initial plan, my entries are intact

b ) if RHO takes and return diamonds killing an entry
♣AKQ
♦J10
-> ♥/♠ squeeze on LHO or ♠finesse or ♥/♠ show-up squeeze on RHO

[Gerben42]

Poky, what if RHO doesn't take ♦Q?

Mat² what do you make of the lead?

[matmat]

Gerben42, on Feb 21 2008, 05:18 AM, said:

Poky, what if RHO doesn't take ♦Q?

Mat² what do you make of the lead?

the smartass answer would be, the same thing i make of the auction.
it would help to know if they lead 3/L or 4th or 2/4 or what... I suppose it could be a stiff, but it seems somewhat unlikely.

[Poky]

Gerben42, on Feb 21 2008, 11:18 AM, said:

Poky, what if RHO doesn't take ♦Q?

Hmm. Now I have additional chances. Probably I will play:
♦A
♣K
♣A
Run ♦J if not covered (throwing spades)...

What happens?

[gnasher]

I'd play low at trick one, with the idea of making (assuming trumps break) when the heart is right, or SQ is doubleton, or spades are 3-3, or the diamond is right. (I was going to say something about a showup squeeze as well, but that needs LHO to be 4=2=6=2.)

The alternatives I considered and rejected are:

- Cash two top spades and take a ruffing finesse in hearts. If it loses, I'll need the diamond finesse and may also need to ruff a diamond in dummy, so I can't draw more than one trump.

- Ruff a heart (trying to tempt a cover first) and take a diamond finesse. If it wins, hope it keeps winning. If it loses, realise that I have insufficient entries for a dummy reversal and revert to the spade finesse.

I wouldn't place much reliance on the spot card they led - it's dummy's first-bid suit, after all.

[MFA]

Small heart at T1 for me too. No particular reason to believe that the ♥K is wrong.

[inquiry]

I hope that my RHO doesn't have seven hearts to the KING, so I duck this trick. If RHO wins the king, I will play for clubs to be friendly. This gives me 3♥ tricks (after losing the king), 5♣ and 2♠ and 1♦ off the top (again assuming clubs behave). I can then combine chances in spades and diamond.

A possible line is...

1. ♥ loses to king.
2. ♥ back, pitch a diamond, win in dummy.
3-5. ♣'s. (clubs must split if heart king lost)
6. ♠K
7. ♠A (has spade queen fallen.. if so claim, if not
8-9. ♥AJ (pitch ♠Jack and a diamond
10. ♠ ruff (did spade split 3-3, if so claim), if not, then hook ♦ king

This line seems to work when clubs behave and
1. ♥ king is on side (i can give up a diamond and take 2H, 2S, 3D, 5C)
2. ♥ king offside and spade queen doubleton anywhere
3. ♥ king offside and spades 3-3
4. ♥ king offside, spades 4-2 no doubleton queen, but ♦ king onside

[Gerben42]

HIDDEN what I did (didn't work too well though).

Spoiler

I thought the King was likely to be offside, so I took the Ace, and played another discarding a Spade. When this lost to the King, LHO returned a Diamond to the Queen, which won. Now Ace of Diamonds, 2 rounds of trumps and a ruffing finesse in Diamonds, overruffed for 1 down.

Anyway congratulations to my opponent who found the lead that gave me a problem.

I guess I should stop listening to my intuition. Apparently I don't have any.

[Fluffy]

The lead smells a big Rat, this auction is blatantly asking for a spade or diamond lead.

win ♥Q, and try ♦ finese.

[pclayton]

gnasher, on Feb 21 2008, 03:09 AM, said:

I'd play low at trick one, with the idea of making (assuming trumps break) when the heart is right, or SQ is doubleton, or spades are 3-3, or the diamond is right. (I was going to say something about a showup squeeze as well, but that needs LHO to be 4=2=6=2.)

The alternatives I considered and rejected are:

- Cash two top spades and take a ruffing finesse in hearts. If it loses, I'll need the diamond finesse and may also need to ruff a diamond in dummy, so I can't draw more than one trump.

- Ruff a heart (trying to tempt a cover first) and take a diamond finesse. If it wins, hope it keeps winning. If it loses, realise that I have insufficient entries for a dummy reversal and revert to the spade finesse.

I wouldn't place much reliance on the spot card they led - it's dummy's first-bid suit, after all.

This is what I was thinking too. Couldn't have said it better myself.