[inquiry]

IMPS
VUL N/S  (you)

S - A87
H - 432
D - 52
C - AT984

S - 652
H - K85
D - AKQJ63
C - 3

BIDDING
YOU   LHO   PARD   RHO
1D         2C         PASS    2S
2N         PASS  3NT    end

Opening lead SPADE-KING, rho plays SPADE QUEEN.

Your partner meant 2NT as good/bad of course. But given the vul, and your two aces, you take a shot at 3NT, hoping your partner is up to it. Would you be?

Plan your play

[eyhung]

Quote

IMPS
VUL N/S  (you)

S - A87
H - 432
D - 52
C - AT984

S - 652
H - K85
D - AKQJ63
C - 3

BIDDING
YOU   LHO   PARD   RHO
1D         2C         PASS    2S
2N         PASS  3NT    end

Opening lead SPADE-KING, rho plays SPADE QUEEN.

Your partner meant 2NT as good/bad of course. But given the vul, and your two aces, you take a shot at 3NT, hoping your partner is up to it. Would you be?

Plan your play

Don't have time for a full analysis, but at the table I would duck trick 1 and win the second spade trick (I assume spades are 2-5 -- if the spade ace is not knocked out at trick 2, my line changes).  Then I would run 6 diamonds (assuming diamonds not 5-0) and try to throw LHO in with a club (ace of clubs, ten of clubs) to lead a heart.  (Of course, if LHO bares his HA and keeps his clubs, I lead a low heart from hand).  Wins whenever LHO has HA and RHO does not have a doubleton club honor -- and if RHO has HA and spades are 2-5, I'm down no matter what so the first assumption is mandatory.  

Eugene Hung

[inquiry]

hi eugene, yes of course you got it right.

The hands are just what they must be... wish either your or I was playing as my partner... or any reasonable advanced or better player. In fact, anyone just cashing out will make, if win SPADE ACE second round, run diamonds, win CLUB ACE... and exit CLUB (Again, double dummy you can watch for stiffing heart ace).

BRIDGE LOGIC
S-KING lead, SPADE QUEE?N signal...and 2SPADE bid, gives EAST five spades to QJTxx

West lacks CLUB KQJ, for with KQJ-long, SPADE KING and the heart ACE, would double. Without heart ACE would lead club KING instead of SPADE KING.  So EAST has SQJT.. .plus a club honor.

For WEST to have reasonable bid... he has heart ACE. Hope he has six club.... something like his actual hand.......

Kx
AJx
xx
KJxxxx

On Diamond run... count his heart discards. You know about the 2S and 2D, and if he throws away the Jx of hearts, you duck a heart as eugene said. If not, CLUB to ACE, and exit CLUB TEN.  Simple, clear, precise.

very well done...

Ben

[pkl]

The only problem is that the contract is defeated if you do not take the first spade trick: LHO will switch to clubs, dooming the contract.
So: against first class defenders, take the first spade and take your diamonds - continuing with the plan of either endplaying LHO or dropping the heart ace.

Kind regards
Peter

[inquiry]

Quote

The only problem is that the contract is defeated if you do not take the first spade trick: LHO will switch to clubs, dooming the contract.
So: against first class defenders, take the first spade and take your diamonds - continuing with the plan of either endplaying LHO or dropping the heart ace.

Kind regards
Peter

Hi Peter,

No. Your analysis is slighlty flawed. While it is true you can make by winning the FIRST SPADE, you can also make by winning the SECOND SPADE (as eugene said), or by winning the club switch (you speculated a club switch at trick two will defeat the contract).

When you win the club, and EAST drops the CLUB QUEEN, the hand becomes an open book. West is 1-4-3-6, 1-3-3-6, 2-3-2-6, or something like that.... The play is the same, after winning the club ACE, run the diamonds.....Eventually, you arrive at the point of truth.... which would be something like this....

                A
                xx
                void
                T98
x
AJ
void
KJ7
                xx
                Kxx
                x
                void

When you lead the last Diamond, what is WEST to play? Whatever he pitches, you throw a heart from dummy, cross to the spade ACE, and throw west in with a club. He has to have kept either AJ of hearts, or KJ7 of clubs.... either way, he give you a club or heart trick at the end.

This line is, in essescenes, the inverse of eugenes line. There is no real need to "guess" if the heart ace is stiff or not... because if it is not, you win a heart at the end, and if it stiff, you win a club at the end....

Ben