[gareth]

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IMPS. D6 lead, 8 from dummy, RHO follows with 5.

[Hanoi5]

Win the Ace. ♣A, club ruff. ♥K, spade to the King. ♥AQ and a diamond. Except when hearts are 5-1 or 6-0 (or other freak accidents like clubs 6-1) this line makes all the time.

[Zelandakh]

♦2, ♥K-Q-A, ♦A also seems to work on normal breaks, using the ♠A as a late entry for thd diamonds. The question is whether there is a line to make when hearts break 5-1...

[Hanoi5]

 Zelandakh, on 2012-April-26, 07:49, said:

♦2, ♥K-Q-A, ♦A also seems to work on normal breaks, using the ♠A as a late entry for thd diamonds. The question is whether there is a line to make when hearts break 5-1...

Really? What are you going to do when hearts and diamonds break badly and the ♦A is not ruffed?

[Zelandakh]

 Hanoi5, on 2012-April-26, 08:36, said:

Really? What are you going to do when hearts and diamonds break badly and the ♦A is not ruffed?

Trumps are 4-2 and we have played 3 rounds with 2 remaining in hand. Diamonds run since they broke at worst 4-1. We have control in both black suits. So we play a 4th round of trumps, win the (club) return and have the ♠A to enjoy the diamonds. If trumps are 5-1 this line does not work.

[Phil]

At the table, I'm pretty sure I'd play the same as Zelandakh. If the ♦A isn't ruffed, then just give up a trump and claim. FWIW, RHO's failure to stick in the curse is a very odd play (assuming the lead is a singleton). If RHO would have covered, then the hand converts to NT - ♦A, three trump, ♦K, ruff diamond, concede trump and claim.

Lines that involved ruffing spades in hand and clubs on the board (with the ♥K too) might cater to 5-1 hearts, but it runs into problems on mundane layouts like trumps splitting and spades 5-3.

There might be some newspaper lines that cater to odd layouts (trying a 2nd diamond at T2 for instance), but they look inferior to me.

[Hanoi5]

 Zelandakh, on 2012-April-26, 08:49, said:

Trumps are 4-2 and we have played 3 rounds with 2 remaining in hand. Diamonds run since they broke at worst 4-1. We have control in both black suits. So we play a 4th round of trumps, win the (club) return and have the ♠A to enjoy the diamonds. If trumps are 5-1 this line does not work.

Oops. I didn't see that one.

[gnasher]

Win the ace and play three top hearts. Then:

- If trumps aren't 5-1, cash ♠K and concede a heart. I have four hearts, two spades, three diamonds and one club.

- If hearts are 5-1, I have to play for the diamonds to be good (either by playing for them to be 3-2, or by finessing against LHO's jack). Lead a fourth heart. If they play back a spade, win and play the last trump; if they play back a diamond, win in dummy and play another top diamond, with the spade as a re-entry; if they play back a low club through the ace, play low.