Phil Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 A problem my teammate had in the Loser Swiss yesterday: [hv=d=e&v=e&n=st987hkjdk42c8642&e=sq6542ha642dqt3ca]266|200|Scoring: IMP1S - 2C - pass - 3C; Pass - 3N - AP[/hv] 1. ♠J, 7, 2 (standard carding) - K2. ♦5, 6, K, 33. ♣2, A, 5, 7 Ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vuroth Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 The bidding confuses me a bit. Seems like they should be a bit light on points for 3NT. That said, south almost has to have KQJxxx in ♣. From partner's lead, south also has AK♠. Ok, so that 5♣, 1♦ and 2♠. South only needs 1 more trick. That trick could come from leading the T♠ through me. However, south has at MOST 1 club entry to dummy (less if partner had the 73 and is giving me count), and only has a heart entry if she has the Qxx(..). South can't have more than AKx in ♠, so no entry there. If south has the Q♥, then we need to take some tricks very quickly indeed. (The 9th trick can come from hearts, and not spades.) Clearly, those tricks would need to be in ♦. If partner has the Q♥, south will not take a (visible) heart trick. Leading spades gives up a trick if south can duck. Leading hearts gives up a trick period. Leading clubs is impossible. Ergo, I need to play a ♦, and hope. If I play the T♦, and it goes J♦, A♦, 2♦, then I've just blocked the suit. So, better to cash the queen, then lead the ten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailoranch Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I think I'll take a stab at this one. First, let's assume declarer has six to the king. In this case, we have to place partner with the diamond ace, although I have a hard time buying this auction and this play if that's the case. Anyway, partner has given us odd count in diamonds, so declarer has at best Jx (unlikely) or Jxxx (maybe). I don't buy declarer's 3NT call on a heart void. I think the most reasonable hand is AK Q Jxxx KJxxxx, and even then the heart stiff is unlikely. If this is the case, playing a spade gives us five tricks next time we're in, whereas a diamond continuation establishes declarer's ninth trick. Another reasonable possibility is that declarer has overcalled on a five card suit, something like KQxxx or KJTxx. It really looks like declarer has the ace of diamonds, so let's give it to him. With KQxxx, he's got eight tricks and can secure an immediate ninth in hearts by driving out our ace. So play for KJTxx, and partner will have Qxx. This means three eventual clubs, two diamonds, and two spades, and we have two clubs and the heart ace before that. Say declarer has the jack of diamonds. If we lead a red card, he takes the diamond finessse immediately and drives out the club, making with the eventual heart. If we lead a spade, he wins, and drives out the club queen. If partner plays a spade or a diamond, it creates an eighth trick. Declarer then eventually drives out the heart ace and we don't have our tricks. If partner plays a heart, it does declarer's job for him. So with the jack of diamonds tucked in partner's hand, what to play? The diamond queen is fine if declarer has Ax. But what if he has Axxx? He'll win immediately, drive out the club, and we attack his shortness in hearts. But if he has AKx spades, he may take the spade finesse for trick nine! In this case, only ace and another heart is correct. But I think a heart stiff is unlikely, so either spade or diamond queen works here. Between 1. AK Q Jxxx KJxxxx2. AKx xxx Ax KJTxx3. AK xx Axxx KJTxx I can't decide, since #1 doesn't look like a 3NT call, and #2 and #3 are possible 1NT overcalls. But #3 doesn't really matter. Spade if you decide #1 is a more consistent with the auction, diamond queen for #2. I really think declarer has the diamond ace, so I'll play the queen. What was the layout? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Good enough. A♥ and a heart works fine. Declarer had ♠AK ♥xx ♦AJxx ♣KJTxx. I'm not sure I'd trust pard's diamond card here, but I could have made pard peter if I thought it mattered. I think the winning defense can be worked out without real count in diamonds. I think the key point for the B/I's is why is declarer bothering to lead a diamond to dummy before a club up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vuroth Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 I think the key point for the B/I's is why is declarer bothering to lead a diamond to dummy before a club up? I admit, that's a good question, and I did not think of it. I honestly don't know how I would balance that question against the "what the heck did she have to bid 3NT?" question. Declarer has no solid suit, and in the end may have to rely on 4 diamond tricks to bring it home. When two valid questions lead me to 2 different conclusions, I'm going to wind up with a guess. The bidding just makes no sense to me. 0.02 V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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