[Echognome]

Scoring: MP

(1♣) - X - (1♠) - X
(2♣) - 2♦ - (3♣) - 3♦
(P) - 3♥ - (P) - 4♥
All Pass

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After RHO opens with 1♣ you overbid and reach 4♥.

LHO leads a small club and RHO takes the A and K. (It seems that LHO has the Q) RHO returns the ♠4.

Plan the play.

As usual, use hidden text if you feel it's appropriate.

[HeartA]

I play small from hand to make sure LHO has SK. If so, (s)he has CQ and SK, that adds up to 27 HCP together with dummy's and mine. It is reasonable to assume RHO has the rest. And I will play accordingly.

[flytoox]

I think you should not duck spade here. RHO is unlikely to give you a trick. Besides, LHO may have 6 card sapdes and he may win spade king and gives his pd a ruff. THat would be a disaster. SO I win the sapde ace and cash diamond ace, then play spades. LHO is supposed to win with the king. Now he is endplayed. If he plays any red suits, that would be great. if he plays spades, i will throw a diamond from dummy and ruff at hand. HOpefully by now I can get enough information to guess the position of red queens.

[cnszsun]

We can assume west holding ♠K, then east is very likely to hold both red Queens. You may have noticed only one entry to dummy, it may need a blind guess of east's which red suit to be doubleton Qx .
So i will win with ♠A, then a ♠ to Q. If west wins, i will get one more entry to dummy no matter what he returns.

[pclayton]

Nice hand Matt.

Spoiler

Lets be clear about something. RHO will never (repeat 3x) shift to a spade holding the King. There is simply no place for the spade loser to go.

It appears that RHO has AK-6th of clubs, but this isn't 100%. A good opponent will false card with the A-K since only 2 clubs are cashing anyway, and why give away unnecessary information.

We already know a heckuva lot about this hand. Are the opponents playing support redoubles? Most do so we can also place less than 3 spades with righty. Wouldn't LHO opt to rebid KJTxxx of spades instead of raising clubs?

So RHO has the AK of clubs. He really needs both queens to make up an opening bid (but remember the caveat about the club suit). Diamonds are very likely 3-2, since LHO would have led a stiff diamond instead of a club from xxx or Qxx. If RHO has the stiff Q♦, and 4 trump, you can't make the hand anyway.

So it appears RHO is 2=3=2=6 or 2=2=3=6. Superficially you are on a guess for the long Queen, since you only have one entry to dummy.

Win the A♠ and exit a spade. LHO must win and play...something. You can work out the continuations from here.

[kgr]

Spoiler

What is best? Win Spade A and:
1. return a small S (LHO wins and plays a spade for Q in dummy ruffed by RHO)
2. play 3 rounds of H finessing RHO and exit with a S

thanks,
Koen