[Zloty]

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Hello,
West plays 4 ♥
North and South passed since beginning.
North leads 6 of ♥
How to play?

[billw55]

Matchpoints or IMPs? Vulnerability? Does south follow to trick 1?

It seems that to establish clubs, I will need to ruff three times, after which there is no sure entry left to dummy (if the ♦K is an entry, I am always making). However, I might get lucky and drop ♣KQx with only two ruffs. Another chance is the ♦A onside, which seems a little better than 50% based on the lead. Also I can ruff a diamond if trumps break 22, or if south takes the ♦A and doesn't have a trump to return (or just fails to do so). I think I can combine all these chances by playing ♣A and ♦ to king.

[ahydra]

http://img2-2.timein...-a-hearth-x.jpg (I wanted to post four of them in a square, but the forums wouldn't let me post four, nor would it actually make a picture out of it )

Sorry, just had to!

Can we try to ruff a diamond in dummy to guarantee the tenth? Something like win ♥A, ♣A, ♦ to K to start. If ♦K doesn't win and defence start to draw our trumps, we should definitely fall back on clubs by ruffing them whenever we're in dummy, hoping for either a black-suit squeeze or to drop KQx like billw55 suggested.

ahydra

[gszes]

billw55, on 2014-February-10, 14:47, said:

Matchpoints or IMPs? Vulnerability? Does south follow to trick 1?

It seems that to establish clubs, I will need to ruff three times, after which there is no sure entry left to dummy (if the ♦K is an entry, I am always making). However, I might get lucky and drop ♣KQx with only two ruffs. Another chance is the ♦A onside, which seems a little better than 50% based on the lead. Also I can ruff a diamond if trumps break 22, or if south takes the ♦A and doesn't have a trump to return (or just fails to do so). I think I can combine all these chances by playing ♣A and ♦ to king.

Off to a great start assuming dia A is offside the opps return a second trump (we ruff a club) lead another dia opps win and return last trump we ruff another club If we can figure out which opp to squeeze we

will know how to play the rest of the hand but the key play now is to exit with our last diamond to rectify the count for a squeeze against either opp. It the opp that wins the dia returns a spade we should play for

split spade honors unless we are convinced we know the spade situation since a spade return messes up our squeeze options. If no spade return we trump and run trumps reducing dummy to AT5 void void J

and our hand to K9x void void x and now we decide which opp we are going to squeeze when we play our last trump---we are hoping to catch 1 opp with club honor and QJx of spades. If we are squeezing lho simply

play last trump and pitch club J if club honor fails to appear and the last 3 tricks will be ours. If we are squeezing rho we pitch a spade from dummy retaining AT and club J and rho is toast.

[phil_20686]

ahydra, on 2014-February-10, 16:38, said:

http://img2-2.timein...-a-hearth-x.jpg (I wanted to post four of them in a square, but the forums wouldn't let me post four, nor would it actually make a picture out of it )

Sorry, just had to!

Can we try to ruff a diamond in dummy to guarantee the tenth? Something like win ♥A, ♣A, ♦ to K to start. If ♦K doesn't win and defence start to draw our trumps, we should definitely fall back on clubs by ruffing them whenever we're in dummy, hoping for either a black-suit squeeze or to drop KQx like billw55 suggested.

ahydra

This is my line, but I see more chances.

(1) If the diamond ace is onside they cannot stop me ruffing a diamond for 6h 1d 1d ruff 1c 2s.
(2) If the diamond finesse loses I can still ruff a diamond if the trumps are 2-2.
(3) if the trumps are 3-1 and the diamond ace is offside I can win the trump return and ruff a club, then duck a second diamond, the trump return puts me in dummy where I can ruff a club. Then play a second diamond. If the hand with one trump has to win this diamond I can still ruff a diamond.
(4) a third trumps comes back and I ruff a second club. If KQx comes down I am home free.

I now have two chances, I can either play a diamond hoping that a hand has to win it with only three diamonds, has only black suit cards, in which case I can make it. Alternatively I can play off the trump pitching a spade from dummy and hoping that there is a squeeze of some variety. Either a double if the diamonds are 6-2, or a single in clubs and spades if one hand holds both the clubs and the spades. I would have to watch the discards carefully to decide what to do.

[Zloty]

billw55, on 2014-February-10, 14:47, said:

Matchpoints or IMPs? Vulnerability? Does south follow to trick 1?

IMP Vulnerability None

It seems that to establish clubs, I will need to ruff three times, after which there is no sure entry left to dummy (if the ♦K is an entry, I am always making). However, I might get lucky and drop ♣KQx with only two ruffs. Another chance is the ♦A onside, which seems a little better than 50% based on the lead. Also I can ruff a diamond if trumps break 22, or if south takes the ♦A and doesn't have a trump to return (or just fails to do so). I think I can combine all these chances by playing ♣A and ♦ to king.

[Zloty]

billw55, on 2014-February-10, 14:47, said:

Matchpoints or IMPs? Vulnerability? Does south follow to trick 1?

It seems that to establish clubs, I will need to ruff three times, after which there is no sure entry left to dummy (if the ♦K is an entry, I am always making). However, I might get lucky and drop ♣KQx with only two ruffs. Another chance is the ♦A onside, which seems a little better than 50% based on the lead. Also I can ruff a diamond if trumps break 22, or if south takes the ♦A and doesn't have a trump to return (or just fails to do so). I think I can combine all these chances by playing ♣A and ♦ to king.

IMP...Vulnerability no one...Yes South follow to trick 1