[Cyberyeti]

This is a very simple problem (non N/B please hide), but my partner got it wrong (although it didn't matter on the actual layout)

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So you're in an indifferent 6N.

Small heart lead, you win, play K♠ to the A and another heart is returned, what do you discard ?

[robert2734]

Is the second heart larger or smaller than the heart led?

[Cyberyeti]

robert2734, on 2016-April-10, 19:19, said:

Is the second heart larger or smaller than the heart led?

8 or 9 led (2 played by RHO), J returned.

[Zelandakh]

Spoiler

It seems to me we can answer this without any reference to the pips and without even thinking about the hand at all. We know that we are either throwing a spade and a diamond or 2 diamonds on the ♥AK, so it can never be wrong to throw a diamond now. But I might need to actually look at the hand properly to work out why it matters!

[Cyberyeti]

Zelandakh, on 2016-April-13, 02:56, said:

Spoiler

It seems to me we can answer this without any reference to the pips and without even thinking about the hand at all. We know that we are either throwing a spade and a diamond or 2 diamonds on the ♥AK, so it can never be wrong to throw a diamond now. But I might need to actually look at the hand properly to work out why it matters!

Spoiler

exactly, partner threw a spade and would have been embarrassed if ♠109 had dropped and the diamond finesse had worked but the 10 had not been cooperative. As it was the diamond finesse lost and on a heart lead there was no way home.

[helene_t]

Assuming that ♦K is onside (which I believe it needs to be), we have 11 tricks and the 12th comes from either ♠T9 dropping or from a finesse against ♦T. Since we need at most one extra diamond trick, we can afford one diamond discard.

[robert2734]

Spoiler

We have ten tricks. The diamond finesse is our 11th. The twelfth can be a) favorable spade position b) guessing the diamonds or c) west in a heart-diamond squeeze. So a diamond pitch here. The real question is what to pitch on the Q♥. The lead is top of nothing but I can't tell if it is top of 3,4, or 5. The play goes Q♠, club to your ace, J♠ pitching a diamond, club to the queen, Q♥ pitching the 8♠, J♣ overtaking, T♣ pitching the heart. Q♦ coverred and won with the ace. 9♦ guessing whether to finesse based on the cards so far and the long diamond.

[Phil]

[quote name='robert2734' timestamp='1460545904' post='881869']

Spoiler

We have ten tricks. The diamond finesse is our 11th. The twelfth can be a) favorable spade position b) guessing the diamonds or c) west in a heart-diamond squeeze. So a diamond pitch here. The real question is what to pitch on the Q♥. The lead is top of nothing but I can't tell if it is top of 3,4, or 5. The play goes Q♠, club to your ace, J♠ pitching a diamond, club to the queen, Q♥ pitching the 8♠, J♣ overtaking, T♣ pitching the heart. Q♦ coverred and won with the ace. 9♦ guessing whether to finesse based on the cards so far and the long diamond.

Spoiler

The spade /diamond squeeze is problematic but I think you can make it operate by not unblocking dummy's high spade early.

[Cyberyeti]

The heart lead takes away some of the squeeze possibilities. Bear in mind that LHO doesn't have to cover the diamond with K10x so can manipulate to your disadvantage which hand has the subsequent diamond entry.

This was not intended as a squeeze question as I'd not have put it in N/B if it was.

[robert2734]

Yep. The entries make squeezes clunkier than I thought. If LHO has diamond K10x the hand is unmakeable unless he also has 5 or longer hearts. Then the last club forces him to pitch a diamond. If there's a spade-diamond squeeze, it isn't simple.

Quote

Spoiler

The spade /diamond squeeze is problematic but I think you can make it operate by not unblocking dummy's high spade early.

Please explain.

[robert2734]

Spoiler

If I know RHO has length in spades and diamonds it goes ♥ A, knock out the ♠ A,♥ K, club to my hand, ♦ Q coverred and won on the board, ♣ Q, club to my hand, fourth club pitching a heart. Spade to the queen, on the ♥ Q RHO must pitch a diamond to hold two spades. Now I pitch a spade behind him, diamond to the jack, ♠ J, long diamond.

But notice anytime I think RHO has D 10xx or D 10xxx, I can finesse the nine so all the squeeze does is let me pick up king ten tight of diamonds by LHO at cost of not picking up some other positions which somehow I know don't exist.