[lamford]

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16 board match converted to VPs

This hand featured a concept that I have not seen discussed before. East-West were world-class, and, at the time of this board, I estimated that they were leading by around 16 IMPs mainly as a result of my passing a forcing bid. West led the eight of clubs against your 6NT contract. Plan the play.

Corrected typo in auction, alertly noticed by Rainer!

This post has been edited by lamford: 2015-November-09, 10:16

[rhm]

lamford, on 2015-November-09, 07:21, said:

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Out of curiosity

One of the biggest problems with the 2♣ strong opening is that the strong hand seems never to be in a position to know whether the responding has values or not.
In your sequence from top level play what bids by North did indicate to South that he would find values in dummy to make 6NT worthwhile?
Or is that a case to fill out a recorder form?

Thanks
Rainer Herrmann

[helene_t]

Very boring idea so probably not what you are looking for:

Cash a ♦A and lead a small towards the jack. If it loses to the queen we can still test if diamonds are 3-3 before trying heart finesse.

But I think we should first test if spades are 5-1 in which case we need to keep ♦K as an entry to the fifth spade which becomes a menace. But I can't figure this squeeze out

[WesleyC]

My first instinct would be to win in hand, cash 3/4 high spades pitching hearts (assuming they break), cash the ♣A, ♦A and then play a small diamond towards dummy.

Now if East wins the ♦Q, the suit isn't breaking and they aren't endplayed then i'll fall back on the heart finesse.

[rhm]

Win in hand.
Cash 2 top spades to find out if they break.

If yes, cash one high diamond and play a diamond towards the jack.
If you have 3 diamonds you are home and if East has the ♦Q and diamonds do not break you have the heart finesse in reserve.

If spades do not break and East has five spades it is probably best to cash both top diamonds.
If the diamond queen has not dropped you play a third one and know to take the heart finesse if West wins and plays a heart.
If East drops the queen I see 2 possibilities:

1) Try to run the ♥7.
If West plays low, play also low.
You can now win any return cash your minor suit honors and you have a double squeeze. West has to keep diamonds and East spades, so no one can keep hearts.
If West plays a card higher than the 7, cover.
If East wins and returns anything but a heart you can cash the remaining minor suit honors in dummy and execute the same double squeeze.
If East returns a heart try to squeeze West in the red suits.

2) play a diamond to the jack.
Then play all your black cards and throw East in with the last spade to hopefully force him to return a heart.

If West has 5 spades I could make if West has the queen of diamonds and the king of hearts.
I give up on this and cash 4 spades followed by 3 clubs.
After that I play diamonds from the top.
Hopefully East will get endplayed to lead hearts, either because West has Qx♦ and East gets endplayed on the fourth diamond or East has ♦Qxx and had either only 3 clubs or discarded some on the spades. (he has to find 3 discards on the spades)

Rainer Herrmann

[lamford]

rhm, on 2015-November-09, 09:09, said:

Win in hand.
Cash 2 top spades to find out if they break.
Rainer Herrmann

For better or for worse, you try a low diamond at trick two. West is a good enough player to duck with Qx or Qxx, in case you have ATxx without the nine. West plays the 9 and East wins with the queen and returns a spade. You cash another spade and West pitches a club. What next?

[rhm]

lamford, on 2015-November-09, 10:19, said:

For better or for worse, you try a low diamond at trick two. West is a good enough player to duck with Qx or Qxx, in case you have ATxx without the nine. West plays the 9 and East wins with the queen and returns a spade. You cash another spade and West pitches a club. What next?

Thank West for his club discard.
Cash your diamond tops to find out if diamonds break.
If yes, go to the king of clubs to cash the fourth diamond.
Come back to hand with the last club, which will tell you whether East has a club left (probably not)
Throw East in with the last spade if he has no clubs left and otherwise take the heart finesse which is a favorite if East has 9 black cards. .

If East shows out on the diamond you aim at squeezing West in the red suits, playing him for 1=5=4=3 or 1=6=4=2
Duck a spade.
Win any return to cash you black tops
If West has the ♥K he will be squeezed.

Rainer Herrmann

[lamford]

rhm, on 2015-November-09, 11:11, said:

Throw East in with the last spade if he has no clubs left and otherwise take the heart finesse which is a favorite if East has 9 black cards. .
Rainer Herrmann

Maybe I am missing something but I don't think the throw-in will work having already lost a trick. When you cash the diamonds, East began with four, but West began with T9 doubleton, and when you cash the long diamond and the clubs, you find that West began with 1-4-2-6 shape, and East was 5-3-4-1. Is there any reason to eschew the percentage play of finessing the heart?

[cherdano]

You should tell us which hearts they discarded.

[lamford]

cherdano, on 2015-November-10, 07:28, said:

You should tell us which hearts they discarded.

If you get to the two-card ending, you will find out that West began with either KJ9x of hearts or JT9x and East began with either T7x or K7x. In the former case you must finesse, in the latter East has been squeezed. If you have read the WBF IMP to VP document at

http://www.worldbrid...FAlgorithms.pdf

you will, of course, know that the risk-reward ratio is around 58% when you are trailing by 16 IMPs in a match. In other words, with all other things being equal, you gain by taking a 42% line over a 58% if the declarer in the other room is likely to take the 58% line.

Now some people might think that any reference to the WBF algorithm automatically prevents this appearing in "Interesting" Bridge Hands. Others may disagree.

[cherdano]

lamford, on 2015-November-11, 18:37, said:

If you get to the two-card ending, you will find out that West began with either KJ9x of hearts or JT9x and East began with either T7x or K7x. In the former case you must finesse, in the latter East has been squeezed. If you have read the WBF IMP to VP document at

http://www.worldbrid...FAlgorithms.pdf

you will, of course, know that the risk-reward ratio is around 58% when you are trailing by 16 IMPs in a match. In other words, with all other things being equal, you gain by taking a 42% line over a 58% if the declarer in the other room is likely to take the 58% line.

But I disagree that playing for the drop is a 42% line. I think it's quite likely that West would have chosen a heart lead from JT9x over a club lead from J98xxx. (That's why I asked for the hearts pitched.)

Of course, there is also a small chance that your teammate as West led the ♦T from x KJ9x T9 J98xxx, and that declarer in the other room is making 6NT no matter by covering with the J at trick one.