[pclayton]

Scoring: IMP

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2♣ - 2♦ - 2♥ - 2N - 4N - 6N

You elect to lead the ♠3, J, Ace, small. Pard returns the ♦3. Declarer cashes the top diamonds and you put off the inevitable by pitching a spade.

Declarer plays the ♠K and the ♠9 to the Q and cashes the ♦J. You need to find two discards away from your round suit holdings.

What are they?

[awm]

It seems like declarer's shape is 3-2-4-4 from the bidding and play.

If declarer holds ♣KQ here, then I'm squeezed. Partner has only two hearts and cannot guard the suit (despite possibly holding ♥Q). So let's assume that declarer has only one of the club honors. In this case partner can guard the clubs, and I need to guard the hearts. So I pitch two clubs away from the Jxxx.

The same analysis works if declarer has 4-2-4-3 (although I will be forced to pitch yet another club on the long spade and now require partner to hold ♣QTxx instead of just ♣Qxx).

The only real issue is when declarer has singleton heart. If declarer has 3-1-4-5 it seems like clubs might've been mentioned in the bidding. So it's really just 4-1-4-4 that remains a possibility, and even then a suit contract might've been looked for over 4NT, and certainly 3244/4243 is more likely shape for declarer then specifically 4144. It is also possible that I can use partner's plays to the later spade rounds to get count in that suit, eliminating the 4144 possibility.

[pclayton]

Pard gives you present count on the spade plays so you can be confident declarer has 3 spades.

[awm]

So it's 3-2-4-4 versus 3-1-4-5. Note that if declarer holds one of:

♠Qxx
♥xx
♦Jxxx
♣KQxx

♠Qxx
♥Q
♦Jxxx
♣Kxxxx

then I am legitimately squeezed in the round suits. So I must assume that declarer holds either:

♠Qxx
♥Qx
♦Jxxx
♣Kxxx

♠Qxx
♥x
♦Jxxx
♣KQxxx

(there are some other possibilities where declarer has no club king, but in those cases it is always right for me to pitch club, and many of those hands wouldn't have accepted the slam invite).

It's not particularly obvious how I would "know" which of these is right, but I expect:

(1) The first hand is probably more likely a priori (more balanced).

(2) The second hand might've bid 3♣ over 2♣, or over 2♥, or tried clubs over 4NT.

I'm pitching clubs.

[pclayton]

Well done declarer did indeed hold Qxx Qx Jxxx KTxx.

I got it wrong unfortunately, but I think its a great problem.

[cherdano]

Why are we guessing here? If partner has ♥Qxx he should give SP for hearts on the diamonds. If he doesn't do that we just have to hope he has Hxx in clubs.