Calling the Twenty — Puzzle M3

You are the Declarer in a Solo, planning a quiet Pagat Ultimo. It is trick 8 of 10. You hold: I, XXI, and K♦. Taroks still unaccounted for at the table: the XVII and the XIII.

zwanzigerrufen Puzzle #180

What do you lead?

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Answer

The XXI. Lead the Moon to pull the enemy Taroks now: whatever falls, two tricks from the end you have shortened the list of cards that could beat your Pagat at trick 10. Keeping the I home while the big ones clear the road is the whole art of the quiet Ultimo. (Lead the K♦ instead and the XVII may simply trump it and lead Taroks back: your Pagat dies young.)