[pescetom]

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This hand from Wuhan resulted in a 12 IMP swing to Italy over Argentina a few days ago.

It is interesting that LoTT and HCP suggest that 3♠ should be safe, whereas deprecated LTC does not

Lauria Versace bid aggressively (vulnerable at IMPs) to 4♠ and somehow made it. In the other room, the opponents stopped in 3♠ and yet Madala (in North) and Duboin still set them by one. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be vugraph of the games, but it is instructive to consider how the defence should take 5 tricks.

What would be your sequence of play here and with what reasoning, in particular what does every card played by North or South say to the other player? Signal conventions vary widely and are notoriously hard for intermediates to grasp, so please spell out the meanings without assuming prior knownledge.

[sfi]

Presumably Versace played a heart honour at trick 1 and North tried for a favourable diamond position by underleading the DA.

This can work if South signals count and declarer plays the HQ. if the defence is giving attitude, it looks like dropping the ten makes more sense, since South would encourage with Qxxx but not Txxx. The defence isn't immediately obvious at this point.

[Vampyr]

Hmmmm link does not work for me. I just get a black screen 🙁

[sfi]

Try this link - it's board 4 in the last round robin match.

http://db.worldbridg...rd=004.23..1640

[KingCovert]

I mean, I'm not really sure what the question is here? There are no real choices here for declarer other than dropping the Q♥ under the A/K♥.
If defenders break clubs before you establish a pitch on the diamonds/hearts, or if opponents find their ruffs, you're down.
This is all on the defense? Or is that what you're asking?

Seems kind of straight forward, you encourage the heart continuation, get your ruff, and if your partner had any opportunity to show you suit preference, you lead it... Is your partner ever going to show you a club preference over diamonds here? Probably not. You'll take 4 tricks. If you find a miraculous club switch at Trick 4 after taking your ruff, and lead any club from KJXX with the A♣ on your right. You'll take 5.

[pescetom]

sfi, on 2019-September-23, 09:26, said:

Try this link - it's board 4 in the last round robin match.

Thanks, updated in OP.

EDIT - that link stopped working too, I have now inserted the hand directly in OP.

[pescetom]

KingCovert, on 2019-September-23, 10:12, said:

If defenders break clubs before you establish a pitch on the diamonds/hearts, or if opponents find their ruffs, you're down.
This is all on the defense? Or is that what you're asking?

That's all I'm asking, it's all on the defence and it's far from automatic for most pairs to make 5 tricks - even an international pair only made 3, somehow. I thought it was an instructive problem for intermediates. I'm an advanced player according to results, but far from sure we would have made more than 4 at the table and quite willing to learn something from experts or advanced players who are confident of their defence play.

KingCovert, on 2019-September-23, 10:12, said:

Seems kind of straight forward, you encourage the heart continuation, get your ruff, and if your partner had any opportunity to show you suit preference, you lead it... Is your partner ever going to show you a club preference over diamonds here? Probably not. You'll take 4 tricks. If you find a miraculous club switch at Trick 4 after taking your ruff, and lead any club from KJXX with the A♣ on your right. You'll take 5.

Exactly. But I was asking you to explain clearly whether you lead A or K and what it means to South, how South gives count and/or encourages the heart continuation, how North managed to show a preference for clubs if at all, why South chose the miraculous switch to clubs if not