This hand cropped up in the BFH weekly Monday Musings event.
Dummy (East)
A732
AQ86
3
AQT2
Hand (West)
Q9854
74
K6
J987
On the opening lead of DA by North, South playing the DJ, and shift to H3, you insert Q losing to K in South hand and back comes HJ with North playing H2. How do you play this hand?
Ms Rina Khaitan, KSBA scholar partnering her mentor B.N.Jamkhandi was the only declarer who found the play to this contract out of 10 tables in Monday's game
North made a sub optimal double in a live auction and Rina took full advantage to find the winning play in a flash. Can you spot the percentage line based on the bidding?
Rina correctly judged that SK must be with North after South has already come up with HK, HJ and DJ.
She clearly needs CK with North to have any chance. Now how does one play the spade suit?
If spades are 2-2, it is easy. If spades are 3-1 one option is to play North for SK. The other option is to play North for KJ 6 or KT6 and stiff J/T with South hand.
Rina correctly judged that the latter case is more likely, especially after South bid 4D on flimsy values (must have shape).
Rina ruffed a 3rd round of hearts and played SQ from hand pinning the ten in Souths hand, lost a spade trick to J and eventually took the club finesse to make.
Brilliantly played by Rina! The full hand is given below.
R V not only acknowledged her good play, but also took the trouble to write it up and report it for our reading pleasure.
To put it in perspective, he also added "This play was missed by many experienced players who played the event. Of course, quite a few Norths unsportingly passed making it very difficult (impossible) to find the winning play."
This takes nothing away from Rina's play of the hand. She made full use of the information available to her and secured a near top on the board.
Our congratulations to her as well.