[helene_t]

Indy, IMPs, white vs red. RHO deals and passes. Over to you:

Scoring: XIMP

(Pass)-?

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At these colors, you have to do something. To obstruct opps' bidding, to discourage p from preempting in a minor, but above all to pay tribute to this nice hand.

(Edit: was Burges') Leufken's rule (with 11 cards in the two longer suits, open at game level) comes to mind. But RHO passed so p could have a strong hand, and a 4♠ opening would work terribly if we belong in 6♥.

You chose 1♠. What? 1♠ in 2nd seat at IMPs with 8 points, among which a sec jack? Yes, why not. If p is strong with a good fit, this hand will not be a disappointment. If p is weak, a 1-level opening may bluff opps out of their minor suit slam or 3NT (or they may reach 5m and take the finesses over you). And if if p is strong with a misfit .... oh well, we are nonvulnerable and it's IMPs.

The auction proceeds (opps are silent):
1♠-2♣
2♥-3♦
3♥-4NT
5♦-7♥
pass

Scoring: XIMP

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Plan the play. The opening lead doesn't matter. Solution in hidden text. Remember, the difference between made and down one is 1560, the difference between down one and down two is only 50.

Spoiler

You have 9 tricks (assuming no trump losers) so you need to ruff the spades high. You must use the small trump in dummy for that. Cash trump AK, now QJ must fall. And spades must be 3-3. Good luck.

With trump QJ sec (offside!) and spades 3-3, the grand made.

[goobers]

Well HQJ need to be doubleton and I think you have no choice but to hope spades are 3-3

[hrothgar]

helene_t, on Nov 6 2007, 02:46 AM, said:

Burges' rule (with 11 cards in the two longer suits, open at game level) comes to mind. But RHO passed so p could have a strong hand, and a 4♠ opening would work terribly if we belong in 6♥.

Burgesses' rule refers to 7-4 patterns, not any hand with 11+ cards in 2 suits

[helene_t]

Sorry, should be Leufken's rule, then

[helene_t]

Now that I think more about it, it's not so interesting as it felt. After all, there is no way a heart finesse could work anyway.

Anyway, still fun to make a 2% grand

[Mbodell]

helene_t, on Nov 5 2007, 07:29 PM, said:

Now that I think more about it, it's not so interesting as it felt. After all, there is no way a heart finesse could work anyway.

Anyway, still fun to make a 2% grand

You have a little better chances than just spades 3-3. After all spades 4-2 with QJ tight also works.

Seems obvious to me to drop AK of ♥, ♠A, ruff low ♠, ♦A, ♦ ruff, T♥, K♠, 9♠ make. It seems like you have no other reasonable lines to make all 13 tricks.

[gwnn]

helene_t, on Nov 6 2007, 02:29 AM, said:

Now that I think more about it, it's not so interesting as it felt. After all, there is no way a heart finesse could work anyway.

Anyway, still fun to make a 2% grand

i think i made a grand that needed QJx exactly with LHO from 6 cards and another suit breaking 3-2 and LHO not splitting at trick 1 (aktxxx opposite stiff). is that less than 2%, assuming LHO plays at random?

[whereagles]

In an indy, I would have opened 4♠ and probably would have ended up in 6 of those.. lol.

As for the play, no further comments to what my fellow forunists said.

[skjaeran]

I'd open this hand 1♠ too. But partner's got no reason to jump to the grand.
There's not much to the play - either you're very lucky and make the silly contract or you deservedly go down.