Glad I got the right idea on the first attempt (although I can't count correctly xD). 1) I started by imagining about squeezing East in red suits, but it wouldn't work because West would be guarding hearts as well. It also means ducking the first trick is not an option because West would then be guarding hearts only. 2) Then I imagine about cashing all the winners in clubs. a) Since West is guarding hearts, East could throw all the hearts and match North's holding of 1 spade 1 heart and 3 diamonds (Qxx). b) We also know that if West ever discards a spade (at any point), we can just lose the diamond queen to East and South's last diamond would be set up. 3) So assuming East's holding of (2a) described above, we can now imagine cashing both winners in diamonds. West is now squeezed in hearts and spades. We can easily see that they either a) guard hearts with 2 hearts, which means we can cash the Heart King and play the spade to them. b) guard spades with Qx in spades, which means we can just overtake in hearts for 2 heart tricks. The rest is about counting. Based on all the deduction above, starting in diamonds give the most info and reduces the effort in counting. After cashing both diamond honors, we only need to look out for any spade discards from East (based on (2b)), and also count West's spade discards.
A double stepping stone squeeze, since East can also hang on to two hearts, but only at the cost of discarding the spade. Then you just play the last diamond at the end to force East to give access to your ace.
Glad I got the right idea on the first attempt (although I can't count correctly xD).
1) I started by imagining about squeezing East in red suits, but it wouldn't work because West would be guarding hearts as well. It also means ducking the first trick is not an option because West would then be guarding hearts only.
2) Then I imagine about cashing all the winners in clubs.
a) Since West is guarding hearts, East could throw all the hearts and match North's holding of 1 spade 1 heart and 3 diamonds (Qxx).
b) We also know that if West ever discards a spade (at any point), we can just lose the diamond queen to East and South's last diamond would be set up.
3) So assuming East's holding of (2a) described above, we can now imagine cashing both winners in diamonds. West is now squeezed in hearts and spades. We can easily see that they either
a) guard hearts with 2 hearts, which means we can cash the Heart King and play the spade to them.
b) guard spades with Qx in spades, which means we can just overtake in hearts for 2 heart tricks.
The rest is about counting. Based on all the deduction above, starting in diamonds give the most info and reduces the effort in counting. After cashing both diamond honors, we only need to look out for any spade discards from East (based on (2b)), and also count West's spade discards.
What happened to your Fun Bridge tournament?
In the end we still have to guess whether West started with 7-3 or 8-2 in majors, to choose whether to exit with a spade or a diamond.
A double stepping stone squeeze, since East can also hang on to two hearts, but only at the cost of discarding the spade. Then you just play the last diamond at the end to force East to give access to your ace.
Weird, I thought this was easier than L4.