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Open Interstate Teams Selection pt 8


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I'm simple.  Ace of diamonds, planning to hook the Queen.

Okay, it loses, LHO following. The 10 is returned. It appears that LHO has KQJxxxx of spades! Continue?

Well, that's nice!

 

The club Ace is assuredly to my right.

 

So, I'll win the heart King and play the club Jack toward dummy, planning to finesse. I hope this forces the Ace. If not, I still have the hope of catching the heart Qx with LHO, in which case my heart Jack will promote as a stopper/trick, "squeezing" RHO into deciding whether my heart Jack or my club King will produce the 9th trick.

 

I think that's my best chance.

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I'm simple.  Ace of diamonds, planning to hook the Queen.

Okay, it loses, LHO following. The 10 is returned. It appears that LHO has KQJxxxx of spades! Continue?

Well, that's nice!

 

The club Ace is assuredly to my right.

 

So, I'll win the heart King and play the club Jack toward dummy, planning to finesse. I hope this forces the Ace. If not, I still have the hope of catching the heart Qx with LHO, in which case my heart Jack will promote as a stopper/trick, "squeezing" RHO into deciding whether my heart Jack or my club King will produce the 9th trick.

 

I think that's my best chance.

I decided to win with the A of hearts LHO following, and run the diamonds.

 

Does LHO showing up with 3 diamonds influence your line of play? Looks like there is a 100% line to me...

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You end up in a four-card ending, it seems. KJ of hearts and J10 of clubs in hand, heart and Kxx of clubs on dummy.

 

If RHO saves down to AQ in clubs and xx in hearts, and LHO one spade, one club, and two hearts, I don't see a 100% play.

 

If LHO has only one heart, and the count makes this obvious, then you could play the heart King (in case the stiff heart is the Queen) and exit to RHO for a ninth trick.

 

In retrospect, that might be better.

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You end up in a four-card ending, it seems.  KJ of hearts and J10 of clubs in hand, heart and Kxx of clubs on dummy.

 

If RHO saves down to AQ in clubs and xx in hearts, and LHO one spade, one club, and two hearts, I don't see a 100% play.

 

If LHO has only one heart, and the count makes this obvious, then you could play the heart King (in case the stiff heart is the Queen) and exit to RHO for a ninth trick.

 

In retrospect, that might be better.

Yes, LHO turned up with a singleton heart - thus making it unbeatable. Also, even if LHO has two hearts, you can still play the K of hearts and endplay east in whatever suit he bares (unless LHO is 7330).

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This is a strange psychological problem hand, at least for me. However, I often find myself chasing windmills.

 

The part of this situation that I could not understand was the 2 opening with KQJxxx(x!) in spades. I understand that Opener was vulnerable, but so are we. Most people would be expected to open 3 with this hand (especially if not 7-2-2-2).

 

So, I had to wonder at this point. Would a person be more likely to low-ball with a 2 opening because of KQJxxxx and out? Or, would that person perhaps opt 2 because that call is semi-constructive (11-count possible) rather than opening 1 because, with KQJxxxx and an outside Queen (hence Quick-Trick paucity), especially if that Queen is unprotected (Qx), this "8 HCP hand" can be evaluated up to a maximum "constructive variety" weak 2 opening?

 

I initially guessed that the 2 call was opted because Opener was actually trying to be constructive, giving room for a 2NT call or a rebid on his own if necessary, thus making it likely that he has a Queen (a suspicion justifying the diamond hook in the first place, considering the weighty pass from Responder, who would normally be expected to have three-card support and some values). As he lacks the diamond Queen, per the losing finesse, then he seems to have either the club Queen or the heart Queen, under this logic, and, as I mentioned, I can handle guessing which Queen he has incorrectly more often if I guess that he has the club Queen.

 

Of course, this entire analysis assumes that pener thinks like I think, which proved inaccurate.

 

Neat problem.

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