Take one heart

[mohitz]

Declarer is playing 2HX. 9 tricks have been played. He has lost 6 tricks so far. Last 4 cards he has

 

♥T7 ♦Ax. Dummy has ♦Kxx and ♠Q. Spade Q is a winner. RHO has J8 of hearts and 2 small diamonds.

 

Declarer is in hand and claims 3 tricks saying "Take a heart". RHO doesn't accept claim and calls director.

 

Declarer tells director that he would have played Ace of diamond, diamond to King and Spade Queen. RHO claims that this is not the line suggested by "take a heart" and that this line must have occurred to the declarer after RHO refused to accept claim.

 

At some point of time earlier, LHO had already shown out of hearts.

 

How do you rule?

[iviehoff]

Two tricks to the defence. L70D1.

 

We don't know whether declarer had this line in mind, or whether he thought of it afterwards once the defence's objection made clear things weren't quite as simple. But it doesn't matter, because we give two tricks to the defence whichever it is, because a line of this complexity must be mentioned in a claim statement.

 

Knowing the need to cash the diamonds first; knowing they won't be ruffed; having remembered that RHO has a second trump; leading the spade through E's trumps to contain him to one trump winner: these are all things that are significant enough normally to need to be mentioned in a claim statement, individually. Together, declarer hasn't a breath of chance of having his claim without stated line of play being respected.

[jvage]

I agree with iviehoff.

 

The suggested play of 2 rounds of diamonds is actually quite poor, maybe declarer came up with this after seeing his opponents hand. If he just knew the trump-position clearly best was a diamond to the K planning to discard the A on the spade Q if this was not ruffed. This would secure 3 tricks even if RHO had a singelton diamond.

 

John