Pressure Play
After your LHO opens a 12-14 NT and your opposition have agreed 
, you end up in 4
xx (yes redoubled - we had a bad night and I thought he was being cheeky in doubling us). LHO leads K and dummy goes down with
Q9xxx
x
and your hand is
How do you play? I am really annoyed that I saw the right play too late.
My analysis now is...
Provided there is no ruff, and trumps are 2-2 then I am home and dry. Now the bidding leads me to think that maybe the trumps are not 2-2. If they are 4-0 I have no chance. If they are 3-1 then the only chance I have is if the singleton is an honour and I can persuade the person with 3 to put an honour on.
So, the right play is win A. Ruff a . Lead the T. Whatever happens put up the ace.
As it turns out, LHO had KJx and I feel he probably would not have put an honour on the T. However, if he had QJx, I suspect most people would put an honour on.
I am annoyed because I played for the 2-2 split by immediately leading the A, it failed and I went 1 off for -400!
A Grand, a Grand, my kingdom for a grand
I knew we were on for a good day - the very first hand, after 3 passes, I look at my hand and see
Very nice, methinks. Open 2. After a pass by my LHO, my partner bids 4. Now, I am playing with my regular partner and am so glad. This is obviously not a suit. He is a passed hand and has jumped beyond game. Therefore, this must be a splinter, agreeing , saying he is a maximum pass, and saying he has a singleton (or void) . This makes my hand enormously powerful. After a brief excursion into blackwood, I bid 7. If partner has A and K it makes. If partner has AKQ it makes. Otherwise there are finesses, etc, etc.
As it turns out, partner has
Looks like either or finesse is required. The best line is to take out trumps, then play A, K, 9 (ruffing the 9). The Q may drop in which case it is made. If it does not, then rely on the finesse. Must be at least 60% chance.
Anyway, its all irrelevant - I get lead into my tennace. This is my thirteenth trick. The above play would have failed as the Q does not drop and the K is wrong.
So, first board of the night we bid a 'good' grand slam (IMHO) that should go off, but we made it - fantastic. Top in our club and 98.92% nationally.
IN PROGRESS - Defensive doings
North
West
East
South
After 3 passes, West opens 1NT and is left to play. There is an argument for
North to overcall 2,
but this did not occur.
North opened with 3,
on which was played the Q, K and A. Declarer cashed A and then continued with the 7. The result is for
South to win the K. South then cashed the J. If at this point, south plays his last , then North is thrown in, forced to
allow declarer to make the 6 tricks he deserves.
Instead, the first master stroke of the hand occured and South played a small
. If declarer takes the
Ace, then the defense get 8 tricks - 2 off. Declarer played correctly by
ducking letting North win the K. An initial glance make it seem like this
has gained the defense nothing and that North is thrown in. However, the
discards for East are tough. This is the state of the hands after North has
cashed all his Hearts.
North
West
East
South
Leading a allows declarer to make 4 more tricks. However, a small is different. If declarer wins the J on table, he has to
give up the last 2 s. If he wins in hand, then North makes A and Q.
Did you spot the error by declarer? A little more care in his dummy play
would have resulted in assured 4 tricks at the end. Instead of coming down
to J, he should have
come down to 9. He
then lives to enjoy either both
s and both
s, or the s, one and one .