On the auction/play at Jim's table:
I agree that we take the spade at T1. I don't want to give a spade and then cope with a heart switch. So now what?
If spades are 4-3 then it seems very likely that they can establish two spade tricks, and they already have the two top clubs. So if I take a
finesse and it loses, they continue a spade, I will be losing two spades, two top clubs and one diamond.
Ok, looking at Jack's display of how the spades are arranged, we see that after a small spade by Lho and the J by Rho the sades are blocked. And maybe we can work that out. Lho would not lead a small spade w/o the Q, Rho would play the T from JTxx, the spades are probably 4-3, maybe maybe maybe. It's a tough contract, so we need some maybes to be right.
Still.
If I give them their top clubs, at least I establish a couple of tricks for myself.
Of course I still do not have 9 tricks after establishing the clubs, but I will need those clubs so might as well get started. So: Club toward the board, losing to Rho. A heart comes back.
I am not so sure I would duck. After a heart duck, a switch back to spades might well net them two eventual spades, two clubs, and the ducked heart.
My plan would be two lose a couple of clubs and hope that after that, playing my club winners, would cause someone, or both someones, discarding problems.
So: Unless we assume that the spades are blocked, it seems to me that a losing
finesse leads to them establishing five tricks: two spades, two clubs, one diamond. So I start on clubs. If the
finesse is working, it will still be working later. But if Rho shows up with
AK, I will assume the
finesse is not working. I might be able to engineer a throw in. I still need to drop the T. Unlikely.
Not a great contract. I think I agree with Jack that the 3NT call was optimistic. The
K is not a great card with the A probably on the left, and when partner helpfully has the A that means, when he has a minimum, he has fewer high cards in the other suits. If he does not have a minimum he will raise 2NT to 3NT.