[xcurt]

Scoring: IMP

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P-P-1NT-2C (natural)
3C-P-3H-P
4H-AP

You get a low diamond lead and dummy's T holds. You draw trumps in 3 rounds, LHO pitches the ♠Q on the third round. LHO has ♦Jxx. How do you continue for the overtrick?

[hackenbush]

After 3 trumps and 3 diamonds, I lead a club towards the 10.

[xcurt]

hackenbush, on May 31 2009, 12:23 PM, said:

After 3 trumps and 3 diamonds, I lead a club towards the 10.

Correct (I cashed a 4th diamond, which is OK too). If you cash the fifth diamond, you squeeze your hand because you have to come down to Kx in both black suits.

I thought it was a good B/I hand because:

• The auction and play let you place the cards with some assurance.
  
• You have to temporarily leave the last diamond uncashed at a point you have no quick entry to cash it, a counterintuitive play.
  
• You have to take a small chance of going down if LHO has ♣QJ.... This would require the weird diamond lead, followed by super defense by RHO ducking the club off the table. It's pretty unlikely that LHO would find the defense to give you this problem on his actual hand. In fact he cashed the ♠A and I claimed. I think it's worth this risk to pick up the 1 IMP.
  
• RHO missed a nice falsecard with ♣J9x. He should play the ♣J, which is technically correct anyway in that it gives him the best chance to stop an endplay on LHO. Now, if LHO wins the ♣A and fires back a low club, it's a lot riskier to run it to the ♣T.