[This is a hand from the 2000 Indian Nationals held in Baroda, and was given to me by Rajendra Gokhale.]
You are South and with no opposing bidding, you reach a small slam in hearts.
West leads the DK.
You see:
West wins the trick and continues with the DQ.
How will you play?
[Please think about it before reading on.]
You have 2 spades, 5 hearts and 4 clubs. Where is the 12th trick going to come from?
If the hearts are 4-1, you probably have to rely on the spade finesse (a diamond-spade squeeze seems unlikely from the initial two tricks).
One option with hearts 3-2, is to ruff another diamond in hand and try for a diamond-spade squeeze/guess for finesse in the end position.
When hearts are 3-2 one could also think of trying for a dummy reversal: ruff 3 diamonds in hand, giving 6 heart tricks.
Opponents have been kind enough to lead the second round of diamonds, but you are still an entry short to dummy. You need the heart T to draw the last trump, and cannot use that as entry to ruff the diamonds in hand.
So, besides the heart T, SA and CQ, you need another entry.
Is there some situation where you can get an extra entry to do the dummy reversal?
The heart 7 should give you an idea: what if one opponent holds the heart 98 doubleton? Now you can use the heart Ten as an entry and use the H7 to draw the last trump!
With all these options available, you need to time your play correctly:
Ruff the second diamond with heart A. Play the heart K and the heart 4 to the T. Now you know whether heart 98 is doubleton or not, or whether the hearts are 4-1.
If hearts are 4-1, you just draw trumps, play clubs and rely on the spade finesse/unlikely diamond-spade squeeze.
If hearts are 3-2 with 98 doubleton, you can do a dummy reversal.
If hearts are 3-2 without the 98 doubleton, you can ruff a diamond and go for the squeeze/finesse ending.
The exact play to the tricks 2,3,4 is crucial: HA, HK, HT in that order. Deviate from that order, and you might not be able to pick the right play.
On the actual hand, the only chance that let it make was the dummy reversal with the heart 98 doubleton! The finesse and the squeeze don't work.
You are South and with no opposing bidding, you reach a small slam in hearts.
West leads the DK.
You see:
| IMPS None | North ♠ A73 ♥ T73 ♦ 7643 ♣ Q64 | |
| South ♠ KJ2 ♥ AKQJ4 ♦ J ♣ AKJT |
West wins the trick and continues with the DQ.
How will you play?
[Please think about it before reading on.]
You have 2 spades, 5 hearts and 4 clubs. Where is the 12th trick going to come from?
If the hearts are 4-1, you probably have to rely on the spade finesse (a diamond-spade squeeze seems unlikely from the initial two tricks).
One option with hearts 3-2, is to ruff another diamond in hand and try for a diamond-spade squeeze/guess for finesse in the end position.
When hearts are 3-2 one could also think of trying for a dummy reversal: ruff 3 diamonds in hand, giving 6 heart tricks.
Opponents have been kind enough to lead the second round of diamonds, but you are still an entry short to dummy. You need the heart T to draw the last trump, and cannot use that as entry to ruff the diamonds in hand.
So, besides the heart T, SA and CQ, you need another entry.
Is there some situation where you can get an extra entry to do the dummy reversal?
The heart 7 should give you an idea: what if one opponent holds the heart 98 doubleton? Now you can use the heart Ten as an entry and use the H7 to draw the last trump!
With all these options available, you need to time your play correctly:
Ruff the second diamond with heart A. Play the heart K and the heart 4 to the T. Now you know whether heart 98 is doubleton or not, or whether the hearts are 4-1.
If hearts are 4-1, you just draw trumps, play clubs and rely on the spade finesse/unlikely diamond-spade squeeze.
If hearts are 3-2 with 98 doubleton, you can do a dummy reversal.
If hearts are 3-2 without the 98 doubleton, you can ruff a diamond and go for the squeeze/finesse ending.
The exact play to the tricks 2,3,4 is crucial: HA, HK, HT in that order. Deviate from that order, and you might not be able to pick the right play.
On the actual hand, the only chance that let it make was the dummy reversal with the heart 98 doubleton! The finesse and the squeeze don't work.
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