EBU Easter Congress - B Flight Swiss Pairs Claim

[mjj29]

The EBU's Easter congress finished with the Swiss Pairs. This is from the (combined) B and C flight, for which we had 12 tables.

[hv=d=w&v=n&n=saj84haj42dkt62c8&w=s9652hq97d54ck964&e=skq7hk63dq98ct532&s=st3ht85daj73caqj7]399|300|Scoring: MP

Contract: 3NT by South[/hv]

 

The first 5 tricks were played out (I don't know precisely in which order), but they were 3 spade tricks and two club tricks, south discarding a heart and north discarding a diamond. At this point declarer has taken two tricks and claims saying "I have two aces (gestures to the major suits in dummy), four diamonds and two clubs. This is the position, the lead is in dummy:

 

[hv=d=w&v=n&n=saj84haj42dkt62c8&w=s9652hq97d54ck964&e=skq7hk63dq98ct532&s=st3ht85daj73caqj7]399|300|Scoring: MP

Contract: 3NT by South[/hv]

 

East calls the director after pointing out that he has Qxx of diamonds which the declarer later admitted he had forgotten about. How do you rule?

 

I believe declarer is more experienced than the section would suggest, I think he was filling in for a missing player that day.

[MFA]

I think we have to give east three more tricks, because south might have cashed the ♥A before trying the diamonds. When he thinks all are winners it will be random which ones he will try to cash first.

 

South's statement about his winners (the order he mentioned them) doesn't matter for the ruling.

But perhaps it will make it a little bit easier for declarer to accept the ruling, since now it seems to be even more clear that the play might well have continued: the major suit aces, the diamond winners, ... oops!

[jdonn]

Yup seems straightforward, 3 tricks for the defense since south might take the ace of hearts before accidentally losing a diamond.

[WellSpyder]

I can't believe it - is this a claim ruling that we all actually agree on?

[aguahombre]

declarer even mentioned the two major suit aces before "running" the diamonds, so cashing the heart ace first was more than a possible action.

[duschek]

I can't believe it - is this a claim ruling that we all actually agree on?

Apparently :)

[bluejak]

I can't believe it - is this a claim ruling that we all actually agree on?

No.

 

But I may have got it wrong. :)

 

For some reason I cannot now work out I assumed that if declarer cashed his two aces, came to hand with his ♦A, he would cash two clubs before leading a diamond to the ten. That would force a discard from East who would not unguard his ♦Q, thus leading to only one off.

 

I doubt that one off gets any more matchpoints than two off. :D