[inquiry]

The next hand it the good idea theme. This one step up from beginner/novice to intermediate level. But a beginner who applies herself might be able to get this one right too. Have fun.

IMPS
VUL BOTH
DEAL: South

K832
Q6
T64
9853


AQ9
AKJ
AK82
AKQ

So We No Ea
2C P 2D P
4N P 5C P
5D P 6N P
P P

Opening lead HEART - SEVEN

As south you pick a hand that you are not so use to holding. You count on your fingers, then take your shoes off and count on your toes, then grab your partner's hands and count on his fingers... and you just barely have enough digits to count your hcp on. You start wondering if you have that many, how many your partner might have?

Working it out, you decide that if
2C - 2D - 2N = 23-24 hcp, and if
2C - 2D - 3N = 25 - 27, then
2C - 2D - 4N must = 28 - 30.

Luckily, your partner is on the same wavelength and with his five hcp, he pulls out a stayman bid... lucky for you. Of course, maybe partner was just telling you he had no aces...

Plan you play.

[inquiry]

Font=courier]IMPS
VUL BOTH
DEAL: South

K832
Q6
T64  
9853


AQ9  
AKJ
AK82  
AKQ  

So We No Ea
2C P  2D P
4N P  5C P
5D P  6N P
P  P   [/font]

Opening lead HEART - SEVEN
Plan you play.

A few people got this right, I thought I entered their names, but now I see that I didn't. It was probably Rain, Jstroke, and maybe efjee, they seem to get all of these right. Sorry, my bad.

The solution is fairly easy. You have 11 sure tricks (3S, 3H, 3C and 2D). If either black suit splits 3-3 you will have a 12th trick. But before you test those suits, you should see that if diamonds split 3-3, you can duck a trick in that suit early in the hand, and then you will make 12.

So the correct play is to win the first heart and duck a Diamond. This allows you to make if DQJ doubleton or the suit is split 3-3, or if SPADE JT or Club JT is doubleton or either black suit of those 3-3. For the mathematically interested, I think the odds of one of these six conditions (3-3 or doubleton honors) is roughly 56.%.

So ducking a DIAMOND increases your chance of making by a 3-3 split in a suit by whatever percentage having luck in any of three suit versus two suits can. But your chance of making 12 tricks is even better than that. The reason is because there must be an elementary squeeze position here if none of the three suits split 3-3.

What you need to realize is that only ONE opponent can hold 4 or more SPADES. Only one oppoenent can hold 4 or more CLUBS, and only one opponent can hold 4 or more DIAMONDS. The obvious implication here is that if none of the suits split 3-3, one of your opponents will have 4 or more in two of these suits and that person can be squeezed if you time your plays right.

On the real hand. WEST had 4Clubs, and EAST had four DIAMONDS and SPADES. You duck a diamond, and they return a heart. Cash winners, and see how you do. It is important to cash you last heart early.  

So, duck diamond.. .maybe Diamonds 3-3
No suit 3-3, then squeeze come to rescue...
AFTER ducking diamond, cash 3CLUBS, the SPADE AQ then the last heart (see below). Play with the hands by moving the cards around. Pay close attention to heart spots...as you need to figure out if WEST is long in hearts... with 4C and long hearts, can help with selection of right line some times.  

The ending would be....
                K8
                 void
          T  
....            9          
void                     JT
xxx                void
void               Q93
J                         ....void
          9  
         void
         AK2  
          void


East still have to play a card in this ending (on say your last heart). If throws a spade, two spades in dummy are good. If throws a diamond, you win 3 diamonds in your hand (you threw away one diamond from dummy on the last heart).