Devious Defense

[mtvesuvius]

[hv=pc=n&n=sq73hq9dkj9cakt98&e=skt2hk82dq8532c63&d=s&v=0&b=11&a=1n(14-16)p2s(Size%20Ask)p3c(Maximum)p4c(G*rb*r)p4h(0%20or%203%20Aces)p6nppp]266|200|You are playing the last match of a swiss team. If your team wins this match, you will place fairly high overall. If you lose it, you won't place at all. The general state of the match is that you are up by 5 or so IMPs with this board to play. Unfortunately it's a swing... How do you defend this pushy contract?

 

Partner leads the ♥J, and declarer plays the Queen, King, Ace.

Now comes the ♣Q, and declarer hooks the Club to the ten after some thought.

What do you pitch on three rounds of clubs? You play UDCA.[/hv]

 

I was the declarer on this hand, so you can judge however you'd like about my skill, and base your defense from there. I won't be surprised if a few people play me to revoke multiple times :lol:

[Fluffy]

Damn lucker, did you see my partner clubs or mines?, maybe you overheard from another table :P

 

I am discarding 2 diamonds and a heart, hopefully nothing very revealing. I keep both my red 2s if it matters.

[gnasher]

What do you pitch on three rounds of clubs?

At the moment I only have to decide what to pitch on one round of clubs. I throw a diamond. What do declarer and partner do?

[mtvesuvius]

At the moment I only have to decide what to pitch on one round of clubs. I throw a diamond. What do declarer and partner do?

 

On the first round of clubs, declarer will pitch a heart, and partner will play his lowest club (I think).

On the second round of clubs, declarer will pitch a spade, and partner will follow with the ♣J.

Third round of clubs then is up to you :)

[gnasher]

OK, so now I do actually know that declarer has taken a club finesse. Until now that was mere suspicion. I wonder why he did that?

 

If declarer has AJxx Axx A10xx Qx or AJx Axxx A10xx Qx, I can't stop him getting diamonds right - now that he knows the club layout, he's almost certain to play me for diamond length. He still has a guess about who has ♠K - if partner has it, declarer should cash five clubs and four diamonds, then exit with a heart. What would I discard from 10xx K8x Qxxxx xx? It looks natural to probably hold onto the hearts, in case declarer has ♥7. So I should throw two diamonds and then a spade.

[mtvesuvius]

[hv=pc=n&s=saj985ha74da74cq4&w=s64hjt653dt6cj752&n=sq73hq9dkj9cakt98&e=skt2hk82dq8532c63]399|300[/hv]

 

The only solution is to persuade declarer that you have Kx♠ (or Kxx), or to lose a diamond finesse to you.

Therefore, by pitching three rounds of diamonds, declarer will almost never go right. Once your partner follows to the second round of diamonds, declarer will assume you started with 4 small diamonds. As declarer, I received this this imaginative defense (perhaps accidentally), and went wrong. Instead of playing for a simple double-hook in Spades, I played the ♠Q from dummy, covered with the King. I then played the ♦A, and a diamond to the jack, planning on throwing my LHO in with the ♥9 in the 3 card ending... Unfortunately my RHO won their (now stiff) ♦Q, and cashed a few hearts to put me down three. I played my LHO to have begun as 3334.