My dear Dad is a year older today.  Happy Birthday Dad!

Here's my favorite declarer play hand from Saturday's set with Adam:

I picked up in 4th, all red:

AJ42 / A6 / J9432 / AK

Righty, a sweet-looking LOL, opened 1 Club in 3rd and I chose to bid 1NT (not ideal shape, but I think it's the smallest lie by far.)  Adam trotted out Stayman.  I confessed to my 4 card major. He bid 4 Spades.

Lefty led the 5 of Clubs, Righty played the ten.

KT973 / K532 / A6 / 92

AJ42 / A6 / J9432 / AK

We've got a monopoly on the Aces and the Deuces.  Can we take all our tricks as well?

We can play for 2-2 spades, making 6 if we're right.  But that LOL on my right looked so sweet and innocent that I just couldn't imagine her opening the bidding with less than a 12-count, vulnerable, even in 3rd seat.  So I decided to play her for the Queen of Spades.

If she has Queen third of spades, it's not enough to play a spade to the King and a spade back to the Jack, since you plan to ruff 2 Hearts in your hand (and you would prefer not to ruff with the Ace of trumps.)  So I played Ace of Hearts and a heart up and led the ten of spades, hoping for a cover or a tank, but getting a smooth duck.  Here goes nothing ... I played low and lefty followed with the 8!  That's great news, the 8 is probably singleton (most club players play trumps up the line) so we're probably looking at close to a top.

There was still the business of ruffing 2 Hearts in my hand, but first I played a club to my hand and played a diamond to the Ace and the King fell on my right.  I figured that had to be from KQ tight and so I continued diamonds, to set up the Jack for a Heart pitch.  Righty ruffed and that was the only trick for the defense (I could now draw trumps and crossruff.)

I was fortunate to have chosen the right line, but obviously for the WRONG reason.  Here's the 'solid' opener that I chose to play Righty for to justify the Spade finesse:

Q65 / QJ98 / K / JT643

+680 was worth 90% of the matchpoints.