IAC Forums
Chew the Fat! => Sleight of Hand => Topic started by: kenberg on June 03, 2020, 12:23:09 PM
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Some days nothing goes right. But there is always a bright side. I'll give you my hand, tell you what happened, and then show all four hands.
My hand, everyone vul, imps, playing with and against bots:
!S K32
!H A97
!D AK952
!C Q5
Looks like a 1NT opener to me, so I opened 1NT. The uncontested auction:
1NT - 3 !D (alerted as a splinter, 4-4 in the majors and 4 or maybe 5 clubs.
3NT - 6NT.
The opening lead is the !D 4.
Both hands:
!S AQT4
!H KQT5
!D J
!C AT64
!S K32
!H A97
!D AK952
!C Q5
I suppose pard has his bid but this is a truly lousy contract. If, a big if, I can bring in both majors then that gets me to 11 tricks. Ok, I assume both majors come in. Now what? Maybe the !C K is on my right. If the !C K is on my left, maybe the !c j is also on my left. So, if the majors come in then all I need is some decent luck in !C to bring this in. Well, both of the majors are 3-3 but the !C K is on my left, the !C J is on my right, off 1. Gob says I can make it. Gib is right, he always is, but it took me a while to see it. That's the puzzle I give you, double dummy, same as Gib. So: Are you smarter than a robot?
!S AQT4
!H KQT5
!D J
!C AT64
!S 765 !S J98
!H 542 !H J83
!D T864 !D Q73
!C K98 !C J732
!S K32
!H A97
!D AK952
!C Q5
After !D: 4 - J - Q you have to make a plan. It seems to me that hoping for the majors to come in and then hoping for a decent break in clubs is a reasonable line when only the NS cards are seen. But now, like Gib, it's double dummy. How to do it?
Enjoy!
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Looks like you can put in West with K !C to lead from !D 108 into A9.
So cash all your major suit winners discarding down to !D A9 !C Q5. West must keep !D 108 !C K9. Then A !C and another.
I think this has to be DD as it looks natural to play for East to have the K !C.
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The problem is that after the initial diamond and cashing all of the majors, you are on the board with nothing but clubs.
W can keep the !D T and the !C K98. So now you could drop the !D T if you could get to your hand, but you can't.
E holds on to !C J73.
If you lead A and a small !C then the A takes the Q and leads to the J.
Nothing can be done, I think, if you come to that ending.
The solution, surprising I think, is to cash only 7 of the majors ending in hand. Let's say you cash all of the spades, throwing a !D from hand and then cash three !H ending in hand.
So 8 tricks have been played.
!S
!H 5
!D
!C AT64
!S
!H
!D K95
!C Q5
How about W?
Maybe W keeps
!S
!H
!D T86
!C K9
Maybe W keeps
!S
!H
!D T8
!C K98
In the first case you play A and another !C, W is in and must lead a !D and after you take your two !D you go to the board in !C and cash your !H
In the second case you play A and another !D, W has to lead a !C, and whether small or large you get the two clubs and you have the transportation to collect both the !D A in hand and the !H 5 on the board.
It's a fun hand. Certainly against the odds to play it that way, even if the possibility occurred to declarer,but it does work.