Hi, Paul,

A couple of preliminary comments, which I hope you take as constructive.

First, a 2H call would never have occurred to me. All I am thinking about is how many notrump do I bid, 2NT or 3NT.

Second, please consider using the great graphics made so easy by the Master Point Press people. They are very easy to use and make it much easier for readers to see a problem in the usual (meaning newspaper or magazine-type) layout format.

Wrt the problem, I am aiming for some sort of endplay on RHO, the opener. If he has five spades and two diamonds (say 5=3=2=3), perhaps I can get him. I win the spade lead, and cash two diamonds. Next I exit with a spade. If he cashes out the suit, I will pitch two diamonds from hand and two diamonds and a heart from dummy. Whichever rounded suit he exits, I let it ride to dummy’s queen in that suit and then take a heart finesse. There might be one more endplay to come, depending upon how many heart tricks I have, but that is my general plan.

Paul was kind enough to point out an omission in my comment above: I meant to say that declarer should cash the second spade (hoping that LHO follows suit!) before exiting with a third spade at Trick 5.

Hi Jeff,

It is worth noting that LHO’s lead was the SJ, so his holding is probably Jx. That gives RHO six spades. If you exit with a spade at trick five, you will now have to come up with four discards from dummy, and three discards from your hand. What five cards will you come down to in each hand?

Seems natural to come down to five cards of three hearts and two clubs in each hand. But then, I think I can survive at that stage only if RHO were dealt not only the six spades he would have shown, but also K8xx of hearts (leaving his partner with a pinnable Tx of hearts). That means that RHO’s last five cards are also three hearts and two clubs. I can win Trick 9 with a queen in dummy. If that queen is clubs, then advance the HQ. If that queen is hearts, then I think I am left with playing RHO for a stiff CK in a hand of 6=4=2=1 distribution? Must be a better way.

I think this approach is going to see you lose four spade tricks and a heart trick- down 1.

I am also a 2N bidder, not 2H. Anyway to the play: I will duck the spade, win the 2nd and lead AKT of diamonds and if they are 3-2 I have a board entry for the heart finesse. I lead the HQ cash the J and maybe set up the 4th H. There still may be thrown-in possibilities for a 2nd club trick if this plan does not work.

I am not hopeful of making this contract when spades are 6-2. That is why I would have approached the hand on an assumption that spades were 5-3 (the lead probably being from JTx under this assumption).

But let’s assume I have AI that spades are 6-2.

I happen to know Steve, and also know that he is a better player than I. I think his line, so long as diamonds are 3-2 (with the carefully preserved D8 entry to dummy), might win when hearts are 3-3 (2+3+3+1 = 9). Or if RHO owns KT tight of hearts (giving value to dummy’s H9). Otherwise, defense has two hearts and a diamond, while declarer has only five tricks in the red suit plus three top black suit tricks. LHO can be expected to lead clubs each time he is in once he is exhausted of spades. If the defense can cash two clubs to go along with those three red suit tricks, hard to see how this is making. I am not crazy about my chances, although I am certain –given that this is a presented problem — that there is a line to 9 tricks even with the AI that spades are 6-2.

You’re on the right track, Steve, but playing a third round of diamonds will not produce the optimal result.

Surely RHO has the missing kings, here, and probably the QD too.

Duck a spade, win a spade continuation (I hope), AD, 10d (presumably won by RHO), win spade, win two diamonds ending in dummy.

I hope this will leave RHO with something like Qx Kx – KJ, with me having lost two tricks and won five. Alternately, maybe I’ll see two spade pitches from RHO, double guarding one of his kings, which is also OK.

Finesse hearts, play AH; if king doesn’t drop, then I will assume the final position is:

dummy
–
J
–
Qxx

RHO
Q(x)
K
–
K(x)

Me
–
xx
–
Ax

If RHO is down to one spade, throw him in with the heart king; he can cash it, but is then endplayed; if I think he is down to one club, drop the ace.

I’m not sure what I do if opening leader switches to a club, win in hand, same line, except that after the heart finesse, duck a club around and hope RHO started with a doubleton?

Rob’s line is pretty neat. But it is far from unlikely that LHO will win the DT played at Trick 4. Only if RHO were dealt QJx of diamonds (or Q-small and did not unload the DQ at Trick 3) must RHO win the DT. Otherwise, a club switch from LHO, upon winning the Trick 4 diamond, is unwelcomed.

Hi Rob,

Your “final position” has both dummy and yourself with four cards, and RHO with five. It also has the HJ in dummy, but declarer started with AJ76 in hearts.

Hi, Paul.

I meant that RHO will be coming down to four cards, but I only know for sure what 3 of them will be in that end position (he might have started with 3 diamonds or 2 diamonds — I can’t imagine making this contract if diamonds don’t break).

Dummy will have the HQ, good catch, instead of the HJ. They are functionally identical, of course.

Basically, I think it’s almost impossible for RHO to keep enough cards to defeat the contract after the diamonds are cashed, assuming that he does in fact have the high cards his bidding suggests.

If RHO started with

Q109xxx Kxx Qx Kx and unblocks the QD on the first round of the suit, and then I get a club switch, I win in hand, and can now knock out the heart king to take 3 heart tricks, 3 diamond tricks, SAK and CA.

Getting closer here!

As it turns out, 4NT is cold, but takes some careful play. Any thoughts?

What was the actual layout and successful line, Paul?

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Thanks for contributing. It’s helped me understand the issues.

I’m grateful you made the post. It’s cleared the air for me.

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