ark@rabbit.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (05/02/84)
With opponents silent, you bid to 6 Spades. When the opening lead is a trump, things suddenly become more difficult: S: J98 H: AK63 D: AK542 C: Q S: AKQ10 H: 54 D: Q3 C: A9653 If you don't want any hints, stop reading here. If you didn't get a trump lead, you would win whatever it was, Ace of Clubs, club ruff, diamond to the Queen, club ruff, and draw trumps. You would succeed unless trumps broke 5-1 or worse, with four trump tricks, two hearts, three diamonds, the Ace of clubs, and two club ruffs. With the trump lead, you have a problem: after ruffing the second club, you have no way back to your hand except by ruffing a red card, and you will then be unable to cope with the likely 4-2 trump split. If you don't like to gamble on 3-3 trumps, you can gamble on 3-3 diamonds: just draw trumps and run the diamonds. In fact, if you ruff a club before drawing trumps, you'll make all 13 tricks, so if you're banking on the diamonds being 3-3, you might as well have bid seven as six. That's all the hints for now.
rainbow@ihuxe.UUCP (Rob Buchner) (05/03/84)
With opponents silent, you bid to 6 Spades. The opening lead is a trump. S: J98 H: AK63 D: AK542 C: Q S: AKQ10 H: 54 D: Q3 C: A9653 I think I'll gamble on a four-two break in spades and diamonds. I claim if this is the distribution. The play proceeds: win spade, AC, club ruff, duck a diamond. I plan on using the QD if necessary as an entry to draw trumps. I'll win 4 spades, 4 diamonds, 2 hearts, 1 club, 1 rough. 12 tricks. Or 2 roughs and only 3 diamonds if the opponents so desire(ie they return a club).