Matchpoint Defense

[BunnyGo]

You hold K97, T54, T542, 862. 1st seat R vs W.

 

You and partner pass throughout:

 

1H-1S

2H-3D

3H-3N

 

You lead the 2 of clubs.

 

Dummy:

 

J, AK98763, AJ, QT7

 

Trick 1) 2, 7, 9, A

2) Heart 2, 4, A, Q

3) Heart K, J, spade 2, heart 5

4) heart 9, club 5 (UDCA), diamond 3, heart ten.

 

Now what?

[JLOGIC]

I see I'm becoming too reliant on signals because I find hands like this to be difficult without signalling. In the old days of the forums I said signals don't matter, just figure it out :) Specifically, what partners queen then jack of hearts said. Usually I play suit preference so he would be signalling for spades. If you played some kind of smith, that would help too as partner could give a more meaningful discard in clubs. What is partner's club pitch supposed to be, suit preference or count (if count do you play standard present count or ud?). Obviously it's not attitude since partner would not pitch a club with KJ9 whatever in clubs.

[BunnyGo]

The only signals we've explicitly discussed are UDCA, so he intended the discard as attitude. I agree that SP here is probably better, and considered that he might have extrapolated that himself too (he's a good player without much experience, especially experience against good players). I wondered the same thing about his QJ, but then decided he was probably just false-carding because he thought declarer might have a second heart (I don't know why he'd think this) and hook into him.

[xcurt]

Missing HQJTxx declarer knows he isn't going to pick up hearts so the avoidance play can't cost (a heart trick). Also

 

Partner echoed hearts

Partner pitched club, if he is 4234 with CKJ95 he would not do this

 

I'll play declarer for something like Qxxxx, x, KQxx, AKx and play a low spade.

 

Edit. I guess declarer could have AQxxx, x, Qxxx, AKx or so but partner can certainly afford to encourage diamonds with Txxx, QJ, Kxx, J9xx. He can see we are playing matchpoints too and has to account for KQxxx x Qxxx AKx if he has that hand.

[mfa1010]

It looks like a spade. ♣5 is a big club, but presumably we shouldn't read more into that than it is discouraging. If spade is wrong then partner might have discouraged spades or encouraged diamonds instead. Also he did play big heart then big club. If he has ♦K out he has not been helpful.

Maybe he has ♠A + ♦Q and hopes for a switch to the suit where we have the king?

[mikeh]

It certainly looks as if declarer has AKx in clubs, since as Justin observed a long time ago, nobody would pitch a club from a current holding of KJx(x).

 

I would also have read something into the heart plays, but understand that with this partner, that would be unwarranted, so will ignore this.

 

We can't beat this contract. Declarer has 6 hearts, at least 3 clubs and a diamond. He probably won't have 4 clubs...with 4=1=4=4, he'd presumably have bid 3♣ not 3♦. But he may well hold the diamond K.

 

A lot of bad players respond 1♠ with 4=1=5=3 and gf values, but I am inclined to assume declarer is 5=1=4=3 for now.

 

I am playing a low spade. Partner should win the A and if he the 10, we can at least

hold the contract.....if he has AQ10x, we can but probably won't beat it...he won't play the Q at trick one and we won't play the K on the small one back, so we'll block the suit. But we'll still do very well indeed compared to defending 4♥, even if declarer has Q10xxx.

 

If the switch costs, well, we'll have a useful topic to discuss in the bar after the game.