🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <689@ihlts.UUCP> rainbow@ihlts.UUCP (Robert) writes:
>I had a most interesting hand come up. We bid an aggressive 6NT
>with the QD lead, east pitching the 8S. How did I make my contract?
>There was no defensive lapse and the opponents were good players.
>
>	AKT9x		S	W	N	E
>	Axx		-------------------------
>	x		1D	P	1S	P
>	AQJx		1NT	P	2C(1)	P
>			2H	P	4NT(2)	P
>	xx		6NT	P	P	P
>	Kxxx
>	AKTxx		(1)-forcing
>	Kx		(2)-invitational

   There are only a few possibilities that I can see, none of which seem very
likely...
   -- You can find a singleton (or doubleton??) spade honor with West, in which
case you have four spades, two hearts, two diamonds, and four clubs.
   -- You can find West with QJ doubleton of hearts, or Qx and failing to
unblock (presumably you have no heart spots...).  In this case you eliminate
the spade and three clubs from West's hand, let him win the second heart and
lead into your diamond tenace, and then squeeze East in spades and hearts for
your twelfth trick.
   -- You can find West with QJ10 tripleton of hearts, or Qxx and failing to
unblock.  Here you again eliminate his hearts and clubs, let him win the third
heart, and again he leads into your diamonds.  Now the thirteenth heart is good
with no squeeze.
   -- You can find West with Qxxx of hearts.  In this case you can play two
spades and four clubs, squeezing West out of a heart, then put him in with the
third heart to lead into your diamonds.

   It should be completely safe to play the clubs and get a count on West
(assuming one spade) and then follow the indicated line (unless of course a
spade honor drops from West).  It would be best to play a heart toward the 
board at trick two; this is completely safe, and should make it hard for West
to unblock with Qx of hearts...  Then a spade and four clubs (pitching two 
diamonds) should indicate the correct course.
   If the Qx of hearts is what actually occurred, I would be interested to
know if you played a heart early...

   -- David desJardins