[phil_20686]

So playing in my local club I had the following play problem:

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So a spade is led, you play kd and diamond to the ace, rho discarding a spade, and then take the heart hook into the K. RHO plays top spade top spade spade, lho discards two clubs and one heart.

What now?

[billw55]

Two more top diamonds, consider RHO's discards, and go from there.

[rhm]

Why did West discard a heart?
It seems he ran out of clubs, which means West could be 1♠-5♥-5♦-2♣, and East something like ♠KQTxxxx ♥K ♦x ♣KQxx
You must bring in the hearts for ten tricks.
Cash the club ace and squeeze West in the red suits.
Cashing the spades instead of switching to clubs was expensive

Rainer Herrmann

[phil_20686]

rhm, on 2014-July-24, 01:50, said:

Why did West discard a heart?
It seems he ran out of clubs, which means West could be 1♠-5♥-5♦-2♣, and East something like ♠KQTxxxx ♥K ♦x ♣KQxx
You must bring in the hearts for ten tricks.
Cash the club ace and squeeze West in the red suits.
Cashing the spades instead of switching to clubs was expensive

Rainer Herrmann

Obviously this is correct. At the table the defender just pitched a heart, and did not put me to the test, but I didnt think of the suicide squeeze here, so I probably woudlnt have made.

[kenrexford]

This layout is interesting. Consider the alternative contract of only 3NT, the contract that would have resulted had RHO settled for defending. There are only 8 tricks if the heart double hook does not work. I have not put that much thought into it, but I wonder whether there is yet another line to cater to that possibility.