Can you untangle the defence?

[sfbp]

Playing as a sub in a matchpoint pairs game, you pick up the following:

 

[hv=d=s&v=n&s=s82h543dkjcaq9642]133|100|Scoring: MP[/hv]

 

You pass and RHO opens 1NT. You have no agreements with partner and 2C seems a little risky at adverse vulnerability so you decide to wait it out.

 

The bidding is relatively uneventful and goes thus

 

P P P 1N

P 2♣ P 2♠

P 2N P 3♥

P 4♥ AP

 

You decide to lead a spade.

 

Here is LHO's hand (dummy)

[hv=d=s&v=n&s=s82h543dkjcaq9642]133|100|Scoring: MP[/hv]

 

South ♠8, 3, Q, A

East ♥K, 3, 8, 2

East ♥6, 4, Q, T

West ♥A, ♠6, ♥7, 5

West ♠4, K, 7, 2

North ♦3, 5, K, 2

 

You are on lead. What now? (don't look it up in BRidgeBRowser)

 

For extra credit: :)

Where did the defence go wrong, and whose fault is it?

 

Stephen

[Finch]

Dummy only has 12 cards. That makes things a little more challenging.

 

Assuming they play 15-17 1NT opening, then Declarer started with

 

AJxx

KJxx

Ax(x)

Kx(x)

 

Plus the 10 of diamonds or the CJ.

The major suits are known about, and he needs those minor suit honours to get to 15-17 balanced.

 

So at this point he is down to

 

-

9

Q98

10x

 

plus the 13th card

 

opposite

 

Jx

J

A(x)

Kx(x)

 

and has lost two tricks.

 

If I return a club, the ace or a low one, he makes the king of clubs, 2 trumps, the SJ and the AQ of diamonds.

 

Therefore I return a diamond.

[jdonn]

Dummy is 12 cards, I'll assume one more club.

 

It would have been clear to me to lead a trump, not a spade. In any case I seem to have survived the lead. Declarer's highcards are AJ, KJ, and some combination of A, K, J. Obviously this is AJxx KJxx Axx Kx or AJxx KJxx Ax Kxx. In either case I certainly don't want to play a club, so I return the other diamond which can't do worse than break even, unless declarer has AJTx of spades, but in that case partner has made a lousy return indeed.

 

Partner should have returned a higher diamond to deny an honor, in case I couldn't read declarer's high cards so well.

[Finch]

I agree I don't like the spade lead either.

[sfbp]

Dummy only has 12 cards. That makes things a little more challenging.

 

Typo fixed, sorry dummy has 3 small spades

[sfbp]

If I return a club, the ace or a low one, he makes the king of clubs, 2 trumps, the SJ and the AQ of diamonds.

 

Therefore I return a diamond.

 

 

That's just what I did, I returned the J of diamonds.

 

Declarer makes 2D 4H 3S and a diamond ruff in hand (sigh).

 

Thanks, I feel better now.

 

But that's not the solution.

 

Stephen

[sfbp]

Josh Donn wrote:

partner has made a lousy return indeed.

 

Seems true. But in fact he has made the only correct return.

 

A paradox, a paradox, a most ingenious paradox......

(W.S.Gilbert)

 

So where did we mess up?

 

One more time: whose fault is this?

 

Stephen

[mikeh]

I agree with Frances and jdonn re the opening lead (a trump seems to stand out) and the return of the ♦J once I win the K.

 

I was posting when I read that the ♦ back allows declarer to make... but unless partner holds the ♣K, we cannot beat it on a ♣ back and why would we play declarer for AJ10x KJxx Ax Jxx? Sure, he might have fudged his 1N, but why should we play for that, rather than for the legitimate beat if he holds AJ10x KJxx Axx Kx?

 

BTW, this would be a good hand for the defence to play suit preference in trump: by playing trump up the line, I ask for a ♣ switch... and this sets the contract even if declarer has AJ10x KJxx A10x Kx... where a ♦J fails.... I can give declarer a ruff sluff and still beat it.

[sfbp]

I was posting when I read that the ♦ back allows declarer to make... but unless partner holds the ♣K, we cannot beat it on a ♣ back and why would we play declarer for AJ10x KJxx Ax Jxx? Sure, he might have fudged his 1N, but why should we play for that, rather than for the legitimate beat if he holds AJ10x KJxx Axx Kx?

 

Alright, suppose he leads the club, you take the Q and A and are now endplayed as declarer has only 2 of them (remember he is 4-4 from the auction)

 

sfbp

[mikeh]

I was posting when I read that the ♦ back allows declarer to make... but unless partner holds the ♣K, we cannot beat it on a ♣ back and why would we play declarer for AJ10x KJxx Ax Jxx? Sure, he might have fudged his 1N, but why should we play for that, rather than for the legitimate beat if he holds AJ10x KJxx Axx Kx?

 

Alright, suppose he leads the club, you take the Q and A and are now endplayed as declarer has only 2 of them (remember he is 4-4 from the auction)

 

sfbp

As I said before (in the part of my post that you deleted for some reason) a ruff-sluff beats him: give him AJ10x KJxx A10x Kx.... you lead a 3rd ♣ and he has a choice of losing plays.

 

He can pitch a ♦ from dummy while ruffing in hand. He can cash his ♠ winners and pitch one more ♦, but then has to play Qx opposite A10x for no losers

 

Or he can ruff in dummy, pitching a ♦ from hand, and reduce to Q98 opposite A10 and play that for no losers.....not in this lifetime :P

 

As is often the case, counting tricks can lead you to the correct play... in this case, a ruff-sluff.

[sfbp]

I deleted nothing, I merely didnt quote all of what you wrote. It's there for all to read.

 

I apologise, i think you are right, IF partner didn't lead the diamond, the ruff sluff now beats declarer.

 

Of course there's no way that partner and I had an agreement like Smith (or whatever your suit preference signal in trumps means), thrust together like this.

 

The problem is that this partner, at least, is never leading a club, his hand is

 

[hv=d=s&v=n&s=skq96ht2dt643ckj5]133|100|Scoring: MP[/hv]

 

If he does NOT lead a club, the contract is cold regardless because of course declarer just plays A and another diamond after discarding one club on the last spade.

 

And the answer to the riddle is that it is all declarer's fault :P

 

Question: how many times have experts like yourself pulled off seemingly impossible contracts like this by overbidding simply because opponents were quite certain that declarer held the card that they did?

 

Of course what noone yet noticed is that I could have saved it by cashing out. The diamond Jack was a give up play.

 

But I'm glad that you all made it too.

[mikeh]

I thought he was in game: he has lost a ♠, 2♣ (assuming a ♣ return as I posited) and I do NOT duck the ♦... so we get 4 tricks... contract down.

[sfbp]

Sorry I posted the previous one too quick - and deleted its contents without realising you had replied.

 

Yes, club club club by me beats him. At that point what choice do I have? - since I havent made the diamond trick we so badly need. Declarer has 3S, 4H 1D and 1 ruff for 9 tricks. QED.

 

Stephen