GaryFisch Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 [hv=pc=n&w=saj2ha5dak96ckj53&e=sq985hkjt6dj8caq8&d=w&v=b&b=4&a=2np3cp3dp6nppp]266|200[/hv] If you want to skip all the analysis, I'm asking how you would play if North finds the strongest lead of a club. I was sitting East and used Stayman to check for a 4-4 fit after my partner's 2NT opening. Not only might a suit slam be better than 6NT, I didn't know my partner's 2NT range. If it was 22-24, we might have a grand. I intended to use Blackwood if partner responded in a major. Traditionally 4NT would be quantitative, but most BBO players automatically treat it as Blackwood. If 4♣ is not Gerber on this sequence (how I play it), 4NT is indeed Blackwood. Change West's diamond 6 to the spade K and 7♠ is cold on any 3-2 and almost any 4-1. My partner, who shall remain nameless, received a helpful lead of the spade 4 to the 5, 10, and J. Let's just say he didn't find the best line and leave it at that. The way to maximize one's chances, after winning the spade jack, starts by crossing to dummy in clubs and running a spade. This solves your problem entirely if South started with K10 or K103 (with the latter, South had to play the 10 or the 5 might have won if declarer had A2). On the actual deal, North wins and does best to return a club. Win this in hand, unblock the spade ace, then go to dummy with a club to cash the good spade, discarding the low diamond. Now lead the diamond jack, hoping for a cover, but intending to win in hand regardless. Suppose South does cover, and you win with the king. Here are the remaining East-West cards. [hv=pc=n&w=sha5da9cj&e=shkjt6d8c]266|100[/hv] Cash the club jack and discard the low heart. Now you have to decide who might have what and who might have been squeezed out of what. When you see South cover the diamond jack and toss 2 or 3 diamonds, you can reasonably conclude South has the diamond 10. So cash the heart ace and king, and if the queen doesn't drop, finesse the diamond nine. If South did not cover the diamond jack, you can assume North started with either the queen, the ten, or both. A good player sitting South will realize that declarer will not run the jack (not having a trick to give and having a threat in hearts) and so will not cover with Qxx or longer. So if a high diamond falls from North, there's a fair chance that South has the other. Cash the heart ace and king and finesse the diamond nine if the heart queen doesn't fall. The exception to this is if only one or two diamonds are out, when you should play the diamond king and fall back on the heart finesse if the remaining diamond honor does not drop. If neither diamond honor has been played, and three diamonds are still out, you will have to get the hearts right (you should be counting them all along). Either play to drop the queen or take the finesse. Cash the heart A, then the diamond K, and assume both follow (if North shows out on the diamond, assume that player has the heart queen). If there are two or fewer hearts remaining, play for the drop; if three, play the J if North plays low. The full deal: [hv=pc=n&s=st3hq87dqt754ct64&w=saj2ha5dak96ckj53&n=sk764h9432d32c972&e=sq985hkjt6dj8caq8]399|300[/hv] South can see the heart/diamond squeeze coming, so should try for the most deceptive play. Covering the jack might be the best defense. South should then discard one heart and two diamonds. North can help by seeing that South will do this and discarding a diamond on the 4th club rather than a heart. After cashing the diamond king, in the three-card ending, declarer will likely take the heart finesse, knowing that North has three of the missing five hearts -- North will discard on the diamond king. If South does not cover the diamond jack, South still has to toss a heart. A discard of the diamond Q or 10 is fatal; declarer will cash the heart ace and king and then the remaining high diamond will fall in front of the K9. But now, declarer is more likely to place North with a diamond and play for the drop, figuring that if North has the queen, it will fall on the second round. The moral is, sometimes it's most deceptive to tell declarer the truth about your distribution! This may be so when you want to encourage a finesse towards your unguarded honor, or towards an honor that you intend to unguard to protect another suit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryFisch Posted December 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 One minor point more. If North holds up on the second spade, cash the ace, cross to dummy in clubs, and concede a spade. Win the club return in dummy and lead the diamond jack as before. North does better to win the second spade. First, declarer clearly started with AJ2, so the ace will be blocking. Winning the king and returning a club gives declarer a chance to go wrong by winning in dummy. Declarer would then have no choice but the losing heart finesse towards dummy (no entries). Second, declarer might actually have a red queen and be trying to steal a trick in spades, then play for an overtrick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryFisch Posted December 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 Actually, a more interesting question might be what do you do on a heart or diamond lead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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