[pescetom]

MP

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You were one of the few to bid this thin 6♠N, one way or another.
Now it's time to bring it home.

On the lead of ♥6 you play 9 from dummy which holds and you discard the 5 from hand.
Then small spade towards J, West rises with A and returns ♦2.

Your plan of play now (whatever you think of your play so far)?

[mike777]

I will need trumps 3-2 and the KD on side, JH on my left. Btw when the 9H holds I cover with the QH.
My plan is 5S, 4H, 2D and 1C.

[WasWinM]

I don't understand the play or the defense so far. Spade and a spade make the contract almost impossible if not massively lucky.

With the heart lead, I can't allow the 9 to win so I don't play it. I need to be able to get back to hand after the trumps are drawn and that 5 of hearts is all I have.
I win the Q of hearts and ruff a club, cross to the diamond ace and ruff a second club. Only now do I take the ruffing finesse in diamonds. When it wins, now I switch to spades.
I'll need the spades 3-2 and be not get overruffed on the third round of diamonds, but I might make it this way.

[pescetom]

WasWinM, on 2026-October-05, 20:57, said:

I don't understand the play or the defense so far. Spade and a spade make the contract almost impossible if not massively lucky.

With the heart lead, I can't allow the 9 to win so I don't play it. I need to be able to get back to hand after the trumps are drawn and that 5 of hearts is all I have.
I win the Q of hearts and ruff a club, cross to the diamond ace and ruff a second club. Only now do I take the ruffing finesse in diamonds. When it wins, now I switch to spades.
I'll need the spades 3-2 and be not get overruffed on the third round of diamonds, but I might make it this way.

Yes, that's quite reasonable.

I was also interested in how you read the situation I described, which is what I witnessed at one table, although I recognise that it has the vulnus of the hearts play.
Imagining for a moment you were capable of blowing the 5, do you assume that West is equally distracted?

[pescetom]

WasWinM, on 2026-October-05, 20:57, said:

I win the Q of hearts and ruff a club, cross to the diamond ace and ruff a second club. Only now do I take the ruffing finesse in diamonds. When it wins, now I switch to spades.
I'll need the spades 3-2 and be not get overruffed on the third round of diamonds, but I might make it this way.

When you switch to spades, West plays the Ace and then a small diamond.

[pescetom]

Nobody has been forthcoming since, for anyone interested here is the actual distribution.

MP

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I was curious about how people would have read the play of ♠A by West at table.

[Cyberyeti]

What theoretically was the lead ?

If I suspect hearts are 3-3 I will play very differently to if I think they aren't

[pescetom]

 Cyberyeti, on 2026-October-08, 16:01, said:

What theoretically was the lead ?

If I suspect hearts are 3-3 I will play very differently to if I think they aren't

By theoretically do you mean the best? I have no idea, but FWIW I can't imagine leading clubs King. Maybe a spade is a good idea, it looks as if opponents are 4-4 and may need to ruff a minor as well as tackle the unexpected split.

If you mean the agreed meaning of a lead of 6, by West's usual agreements I think it would have to be singleton, top of doubleton or bottom of J86 here, given the cards Declarer can see. But East is not good and it would be foolish to assume much.

Unless I miss something, Declarer has to play for hearts 3-3 given the actual trumps split. My doubt was whether West popping the Ace is sufficient grounds to bet that it was stiff (as Declarer ruefully chastised himself for not doing).