What is best play?

[kgr]

[hv=d=s&v=n&n=sj98xxhkxxdaq9xcx&s=saxhaqjxxxdxxxcxx]133|200|Scoring: IMP

1H-(1S)-2S-Pass

4H-All Pass[/hv]

2S showed a limit raise with 3 card H.

LHO leads the ♠K and you take it with the Ace.

What is the best play now:

- Club to setup a ruff

- Spade back to setup the ♠J

- First play one or two rounds of ♥?

Note: Opps are no beginners, but certainly no experts! Maybe on some lines they will not find the best defence.

[nige1]

[hv=d=s&v=n&n=sj98xxhkxxdaq9xcx&s=saxhaqjxxxdxxxcxx]133|200|Scoring: IMP

1H-(1S)-2S-Pass

4H-All Pass

2S showed a limit raise with 3 card H.

LHO leads the ♠K and you take it with the Ace.

What is the best play now:

- Club to setup a ruff

- Spade back to setup the ♠J

- First play one or two rounds of ♥?

Note: Opps are no beginners, but certainly no experts! Maybe on some lines they will not find the best defence.[/hv]

I guess to lead a ♣. I hope to make at least 7♥ (including a ♣ ruff). 2♦ and 2♠. If I lead an early ♠. LHO may duck, allowing his partner to ruff.

[kgr]

[hv=d=s&v=n&n=sj98xxhkxxdaq9xcx&s=saxhaqjxxxdxxxcxx]133|200|Scoring: IMP

1H-(1S)-2S-Pass

4H-All Pass

2S showed a limit raise with 3 card H.

LHO leads the ♠K and you take it with the Ace.

What is the best play now:

- Club to setup a ruff

- Spade back to setup the ♠J

- First play one or two rounds of ♥?

Note: Opps are no beginners, but certainly no experts! Maybe on some lines they will not find the best defence.[/hv]

I guess to lead a ♣. I hope to make at least 7♥ (including a ♣ ruff). 2♦ and 2♠. If I lead an early ♠. LHO may duck, allowing his partner to ruff.

Thanks for the answer.

I started with 1 trump and then played ♣. RHO took this ♣ and returned a trump and trumps were 3-1 with RHO.

...It is clearly better to start with a ♣ in trick 2.

RHO had something like:

♠x

♥xxx

♦KJTx

♣KJxxx

I should make?:

If LHO takes the ♣ and returns a ♦ for RHO who plays trump. I take this trump in my hand a ruff a ♣ and draw trumps and play a ♠ to dummy.

[ceeb]

[hv=d=s&v=n&n=sj98xxhkxxdaq9xcx&s=saxhaqjxxxdxxxcxx]133|200|Scoring: IMP

1H-(1S)-2S-Pass

4H-All Pass

2S showed a limit raise with 3 card H.

LHO leads the ♠K and you take it with the Ace.

What is the best play now:

- Club to setup a ruff

- Spade back to setup the ♠J

- First play one or two rounds of ♥?

Note: Opps are no beginners, but certainly no experts! Maybe on some lines they will not find the best defence.[/hv]

I guess to lead a ♣. I hope to make at least 7♥ (including a ♣ ruff). 2♦ and 2♠. If I lead an early ♠. LHO may duck, allowing his partner to ruff.

Nice point about the duck-and-ruff defense if declarer returns an immediate spade.

 

There is, though, another way to look at it. A poor West will grab the spade willy-nilly, and if trumps are 4-0 that will be very helpful. A good West might decide to grab the spade rather than allow partner's trumps to be weakened; the duck defense isn't automatic.

 

Finally, if you play a club at trick 2, a really good West can win it and play a low spade himself anyway -- especially if RHO's ♠x is smaller than declarer's ♠x. This defense seems to work against the actual lie.

 

It's partly a psychological question whether excellent defenders (digression I know) are more likely to find the spade ruff if declarer plays a spade, or if they have to play it themselves.

[lowerline]

Playing a ♣ in T2 seems best. Even if LHO wins and returns a low ♠ for the ruff, you can ruff a ♣, draw trumps and play a ♦ to the 9. You win if LHO has the ♦K or ♦JT.

 

Steven