[antonylee]

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Matchpoints, ♥4 lead to the 10 (1♥=5 cards).
Now, what?

[hrothgar]

antonylee, on 2012-October-02, 14:00, said:

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Matchpoints, ♥4 lead to the 10 (1♥=5 cards).
Now, what?

Looks like West is odds on to have the Ace of spades
I'm winning the heart in hand and leading a spade to the King

[antonylee]

Spades break 0-6. East wins your king with the ace and plays a diamond to West's ace, king and small. Now (I think that) you can play two rounds of clubs, to which both follow low, and you have to choose between clubs breaking and diamonds breaking (allowing you to set up the hearts, the ♠Q is an entry if west ducks once). Am I correct, and which choice do you pick?

[DrMunk]

antonylee, on 2012-October-02, 15:35, said:

Spades break 0-6. East wins your king with the ace and plays a diamond to West's ace, king and small. Now (I think that) you can play two rounds of clubs, to which both follow low, and you have to choose between clubs breaking and diamonds breaking (allowing you to set up the hearts, the ♠Q is an entry if west ducks once). Am I correct, and which choice do you pick?

No, I think you are wrong. First, what would you learn from playing two rounds of clubs? Probably nothing. And if you choose to set up your heart trick, I think west can lock you in dummy, so that you cannot get your third heart trick.

You did not give any information about what West threw on the second trick..

But still, i think your best chance is to play for west to be 0-5-4-4, and it is likely that he have that shape.

So when you win with the queen of diamond i would just play for setting up heart tricks immediately.

[antonylee]

You are correct, if I play clubs now I cannot get the last heart.

[antonylee]

Actually no, West cannot remove my spade entry to dummy (he doesn't have a spade anymore). I was thinking of catering for ♣Jx by playing two rounds of clubs before attacking the hearts, but this is in fact useless (East doesn't have enough room to hold four clubs and if west holds four clubs then he is 0544 and attacking hearts works as well). Still, I assume that you discard the possibility of West being 0553 (in which case you have to play on clubs) instead of 0544 because he didn't bid 2♦ (a reasonable assumption)?