Make the strongest play 3

[JLOGIC]

[hv=pc=n&s=skj2hkq7d942cat98&w=sa63ha83dkt73cj54]266|200[/hv]

 

RHO opens 1D, you X, LHO XXs (strong), partner bids 2H (preemptive), RHO Xs (takeout), you pass, LHO bids 3H, RHO bids 4C, LHO bids 4D, RHO bids 4H, LHO bids 4S, RHO bids 5D AP.

 

You lead a trump. Declarer plays 3 rounds of diamonds, partner pitching 2 hearts (indicating that he has 6). Now declarer plays the CK out of his hand. Do you win or duck? If you duck, declarer plays a club to the jack and another club, partner pitching another heart. What do you play now and why?

[dustinst22]

so declarer started with something like

 

Qxx x AQJxx KQxx

 

 

I think i should win and continue with my top club now, hopefully scoring 2 spade tricks.

[quiddity]

If declarer is ruffing hearts in hand, he has 4 diamonds, 1 heart, 2 ruffs, 2 clubs, 1 spade. If he can endplay me into leading a spade to his queen, that's his 11th trick. Clearly I can't take the first club, since then he can use the two side entries (♣J, ♥A) to eliminate hearts before endplaying me with the fourth club. After I duck and declarer plays two more clubs it seems clear to play a fourth club and knock out an entry to dummy before he is ready to ruff hearts - if I play a heart instead he can win, ruff a heart, club ruff, heart ruff. Then if he has QTx of spades I'm dead - he can lead a top spade and when I cover he ducks.

 

But it seems like he misplayed the hand - can't he just play ♥A, ♥ruff after winning the ♣J?

[masse24]

I play the ♥K (equally as safe as a ♣) to prevent my Intermediate partner from dropping :blink: another ♥ on the table on my ♣ exit.

[dustinst22]

I play the ♥K (equally as safe as a ♣) to prevent my Intermediate partner from dropping :blink: another ♥ on the table on my ♣ exit.

 

Then I think you can get endplayed as pointed out by quiddity. Whats wrong with another H discard?

[masse24]

Then I think you can get endplayed as pointed out by quiddity. Whats wrong with another H discard?

 

Unless you jettisoned your ♥Q when he ruffed in hand?

[Antrax]

I think win third ♣, play ♥K and play the ♥Q when he ruffs a heart.

[CamHenry]

4

6

1

2

 

A63

A83

KT73

J54

 

KJ2

KQ7

942

AT98

 

Declarer must have additional clubs (can't be 6=1=5=1) so there's no reason to grab the ace. Having got the duck right, I win the third club giving:

 

4

3

0

0

 

A63 3

A83 1

K 2

-- 1

 

KJ2

KQ7

--

8

 

The fact that the club's gone makes my 8 a master; we need two more tricks. Declarer's ruffing the club and two small hearts, and if his spades are QT9 he can pick up the suit for one loser *provided he leads them from hand*. Can I stop that, or make it too risky? Declarer's best line is clearly to lead the Q, plaing me for the K and hoping I cover. If he gets this right, there's no defense.

 

What if declarer's spade holding is QTx or Q9x? In the first case, I have to cover when he plays an honour; in the second case, I have to cover the Q but not the 9 (so I'm always getting it right). Partner can exit a spade safely, but do I need to keep an exit?

 

There's the rub. I can't lead spades at any time. If declarer ducks something into my hand, I need an exit card in reserve. If I lead a small heart now, declarer can win, ruff a heart, ruff a club, and duck a heart - boom. The key, therefore, is to retain the small heart as an exit card, and play a high heart now. If declarer ruffs a heart, I need to drop the other honour.

[Free]

So we know partner is a 4=6=1=2, so declarer has 3=1=5=4. He may lose only 1 more trick. If declarer has ♠QT9 there's nothing we can do. So we must assume partner has the T or the 9.

 

At first sight I'd continue my 4th ♣. This is a huge thread to get endplayed, so better get rid of it while you can. What can declarer do? If he ducks, we just continue with ♥K and play a passive defense. So he must ruff, and play ♥A, ♥ ruff, and then what? If he plays another trump we can discard a ♠ and score a ♠ and a ♥ in the end. If he starts playing ♠ himself, he'll lose anyway. I have the feeling I'm missing something.

[PhilKing]

It feels like declarer has butchered this one. :)

[JLOGIC]

Ducking 2 clubs then playing the 4th club is necessary, declarers hand being QTx x AQJxx KQxx. If you, say, duck 2 clubs, win the 3rd and play a heart, declarer can now ruff a heart, ruff a club, ruff a heart, and play the SQ out of his hand, ducking your K. You are now endplayed into leading a spade into his Tx.

 

If you play the 4th club, declarer has no entry to strip the 3rd heart, so you are ok.

 

In real life, easily one of the strongest declarers in the world played this way against me. After 2 rounds of trumps, he should have played ace of hearts, heart ruff, and then clubs himself and he would be ok (retaining an entry to his hand with the trump so if clubs are 3-3, he's ok, and if clubs are 4-2 he has this line available to him). I think declarer just thought clubs would be 3-3 when I had 3 diamonds, RHO might well bid 3H if he had 6 hearts and 1 diamond, and he could easily falsecard the heart count since the bidding marks declarer with a stiff. And if hearts are 1-6, LHO still rates to be 4333 since that is a more likely takeout X shape.

 

Anyways, the point is, he misplayed slightly and didn't cater to an unlikely layout, he did not make the STRONGEST play, and that gives you a chance. Ducking the club should just be a matter of technique (and if you don't, declarer has an extra entry to strip out the hand again), but many people would just win the CK with the ace without thinking. Then, it looks like your play of a heart or a club doesn't matter, but a club is the only play to beat them.

 

Don't feel bad if you got this wrong, I inexplicably got this double dummy position wrong at the table. Declarer did not err after that, he played me for KJx of spades since that hand is more likely to make a t/o X than Kxx.

 

My teammate at the other table played correctly and started to strip it out after 2 rounds of trumps, so this was a push and a missed opportunity. My teammate who hates t/o Xs such as this informed me that this hand has no play without a X :P

[syl]

[hv=pc=n&s=skj2hkq7d942cat98&w=sa63ha83dkt73cj54]266|200[/hv]

 

RHO opens 1D, you X, LHO XXs (strong), partner bids 2H (preemptive), RHO Xs (takeout), you pass, LHO bids 3H, RHO bids 4C, LHO bids 4D, RHO bids 4H, LHO bids 4S, RHO bids 5D AP.

 

You lead a trump. Declarer plays 3 rounds of diamonds, partner pitching 2 hearts (indicating that he has 6). Now declarer plays the CK out of his hand. Do you win or duck? If you duck, declarer plays a club to the jack and another club, partner pitching another heart. What do you play now and why?

Club. Ruining the communication for 3 ruffs (heart, club, heart) for a spade endplay having spade QTx in hand.

[syl]

[hv=pc=n&s=skj2hkq7d942cat98&w=sa63ha83dkt73cj54]266|200[/hv]

 

RHO opens 1D, you X, LHO XXs (strong), partner bids 2H (preemptive), RHO Xs (takeout), you pass, LHO bids 3H, RHO bids 4C, LHO bids 4D, RHO bids 4H, LHO bids 4S, RHO bids 5D AP.

 

You lead a trump. Declarer plays 3 rounds of diamonds, partner pitching 2 hearts (indicating that he has 6). Now declarer plays the CK out of his hand. Do you win or duck? If you duck, declarer plays a club to the jack and another club, partner pitching another heart. What do you play now and why?

Club. Ruining the communication for 3 ruffs (heart, club, heart) for a spade endplay having spade QTx in hand.

[jareja]

[hv=pc=n&s=skj2hkq7d942cat98&w=sa63ha83dkt73cj54]266|200[/hv]

 

Presentation comment: With clockwise play, I expected dummy to appear after opening leader and not the other way around as in the posted diagram. At least for not-so-young me, the eccentric choice demanded mental juggling before getting to enjoy the challenge of the interesting deal. Folk (Justin included), please use "normal" layout and terminology in your offerings if at all possible. Thus make South the declarer, North the dummy, and West on opening lead; then position West (opening leader) on the left of the diagram, North (dummy) on the right top, etc.

 

Yes, I'm enjoying the series. Will enjoy it even more with a bit of attention to layout :rolleyes:

[Zelandakh]

With clockwise play, I expected dummy to appear after opening leader and not the other way around as in the posted diagram.

Hello and welcome to the forums.

 

Take a look at the diagram again and imagine the green section in the upper right is the centre of the table. At the tables where I play, West generally comes after South but perhaps you are Australian...