SLAM BIDDING AND PLAY

Your question   partner opens 1NT(15-17),I am holding-♠AK ♥6 ♦AK8642 ♣K754, How to proceed?. I bid 6 Diamond blindly and the following dummy appears--after spade 10 lead from LHO.
♠QJ65 ♥AQ5 ♦J3 ♣AJ32 > How to play this hand? When u play ♦A , LHO drops ♦9.

Sridhar’s views :

With a hand rich in controls , 6-4 shape , and 17 HCP , your hand warrants a slam force auction ; the only question is whether you have to bid a grand slam OR be content with a small slam ; as little as ♠JXX ♥AXXX ♦QXX ♣AQX in partner’s hand is enough for grand slam ; depending on your methods you should transfer to diamond and show clubs and then cue bid; if partner cue-bids showing interest in slam then you can try for grand slam via KCB ; if he shows no interest in slam, then stop at small slam.

With these two hands a possible auction is :-

1NT - ----- - - - - 2N ( Trf to diamond)

3D -------- - - - - - 4C ( Second suit )

4NT(no interest)--- 5N( Pick a slam)

6C---------------------- PASS

PLAY IN 6D:-

If diamonds are 3-2 the slam makes easily ; after the fall of diamond 9 on left , the only problem is a 4-1 break in diamond with RHO holding Q10XX in diamonds; in that case you need club finesse to provide 3 entries to dummy for the trump coup ; after Diamond Ace, play a small diamond to dummy’s jack ; if diamonds break 3-2, you can draw trumps and claim ; if LHO shows out , you have the 3 entries for two ruffs and reach back to dummy to administer the trump coup .

The only risk in this play is if LHO has smartly dropped the Diamond 9 from 109X and a singleton spade , RHO can give his partner a spade ruff- congratulate him if that happens !!