[Phil]

Here's a hand from a JEC match today:

---

The opening lead is a middle club. You win. Rightly or wrongly, you start with the ♠A, hoping to lose 1♠ + 2♦.

Oops, RHO shows out and discards a club.

Can you recover?

[FrancesHinden]

I can if LHO is 5332 and RHO 0337 with KQ10 of diamonds. AK of hearts, club to dummy, heart ruff, ace of diamonds and a diamond. RHO wins and must cash the other diamond (or the ruff discard gains me a trick). Now he plays a club in this position:

Q
xx
x
-


J1087

I ruff with the 7 and LHO, looking at K9xx of trumps, is stuffed.

There are some other layouts where I can get to a similar position: the problem is that I can't let LHO get the lead in any position where he can cash the king of trumps and exit with a non-trump. (There's things like KQ doubleton diamond as well, of course)

I'm sure it's possible to find other, more likely, making layouts with a bit of effort. This is the first one that I came up with.

[mikeh]

FrancesHinden, on 2012-May-14, 15:09, said:

I can if LHO is 5332 and RHO 0337 with KQ10 of diamonds. AK of hearts, club to dummy, heart ruff, ace of diamonds and a diamond. RHO wins and must cash the other diamond (or the ruff discard gains me a trick). Now he plays a club in this position:

Q
xx
x
-


J1087

I ruff with the 7 and LHO, looking at K9xx of trumps, is stuffed.

There are some other layouts where I can get to a similar position: the problem is that I can't let LHO get the lead in any position where he can cash the king of trumps and exit with a non-trump. (There's things like KQ doubleton diamond as well, of course)

I'm sure it's possible to find other, more likely, making layouts with a bit of effort. This is the first one that I came up with.

That's what I came with as well....sort of an extended smother play.

However, I think it works on twice as many diamond layouts as does Frances....if RHO holds KQ10 or KQ9, I don't think he can escape...if he unblocks an honour under the Ace, we lead low...and cover whatever LHO plays.

[c_corgi]

If you think LHO is 5323 then play the first 6 tricks as per Frances, duck a diamond, win the Ace and play a spade. If LHO rises the defense cannot come to both the 9S and the 3rd round of D. If he ducks, pitch the diamond on a heart.

[nige1]

Phil writes "Here's a hand from a JEC match today: The opening lead is a middle club. You win. Rightly or wrongly, you start with the ♠A, hoping to lose 1♠ + 2♦. Oops, RHO shows out and discards a club. Can you recover?


Easy if ♥QJ or ♦KQ are doubleton. Otherwise, as Frances points out: Necessity is Invention'

Spoiler

s m o t h e r

If LHO wins the third ♦ (with a ♦ or a ♠), then perhaps he should exit with a small ♠

Thank you Phil, for an unusual and interesting deal!

---

[Phil]

RHO was 0337 with KQT so the smother play works. I've never seen one before that involves picking up an intermediate trump. The book example seems to
always involve picking up Kx with dummy's stiff A.
Declarer just played the ♠Q which left him no practical chance.