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"Choose your Poison" from Alister Buchanan
I hope to make this a page of interesting and challenging hands. Problems in play and bidding. If you have any hands that you find interesting and would like some advice on play or bidding then send it to me (buch99@xtra.co.nz). Say ” Tuesday night hand 23.”
I should be able to pick up the hand from the net.
This one intrigued me. 12 top tricks but Deep finesse says you can make all of them .
Choose your method of death
Shooting, hanging or poison
The only difference is how long it takes you to die you are still dead at the end.
T6432
J73
3
QT72
J AK85
AQT9652 K84
942 AT8
K8 A96
Q97
--
KQJ765
J543
9 of diamonds, 9 of clubs or 8 of spades?
Which of these unlikely cards do you think will take the 13th trick The answer is that any one of them is possible After an auction that showed D in the South hand a 7H contract is reached and the 3D is led
After trumps drawn a S to the AK dropping a small D from East and a spade ruffed
Now the D threat is isolated to the South hand and the S to the North
Now on run of the H suit North and South must find discards
With 4 cards remaining in each hand this is now the situation
T
--
--
Q72
---- 8
5 --
9 - -
A8 K96
--
--
K
J54
Now when the last H is led North can’t discard a S as the 8 would take the trick so must discard a C Similarly South must hold a D so discard another C
Then the small club in East takes the 13th trick.
The same result is always on whatever the lead only when if a C is led it must be taken by the A not the K and you come to the same ending less 1 C in each hand
/TinyFileManager/resources/files/105///this challenge/TinyFileManager/resources/files/105///this challenge
"Striptease" The latest hand from Alister
Striptease
K2
JT
KJT94
7652
AQJ943 T876
A94 K862
6 A72
AJ9 KQ
5
Q753
Q853
T843
Once again you have reached an entirely reasonable slam contract.
Looks on the surface to need the Spade finesse to work. So you only lose 1 Heart trick
But Deep finesse says that you can even when it doesn’t which is the case here.
So how can it work?
Simple isn’t it? Don’t take the finesse.
Strip the hand. A of Diamonds, ruff 1 Diamond and cash the Clubs throwing the last Diamond.
Now A of Hearts, K of Hearts A of Spades and a small Spade and hey presto! you have the North hand having to give you a ruff and sluff
Ruff in dummy and throw the last Heart from the East hand.
This is called a “strip and throw in”. However if you made this contract you might by accused of having a peek at Norths hand unless they had shown some sort of minor holding