Defend with your life

[nickf]

[hv=d=s&v=n&n=s6haq76dt8763ck54&e=sq85hj9dkj52ca972]266|200|Scoring: MP[/hv]

 

Playing in a weak field, partner (South) deals and passes. RHO opens 1S (5cM), LHO raises to 3S (limit) and to your surprise, all pass.

 

You lead a diamond, declarer plays low from dummy and partner's 9 forces the Ace from declarer.

 

Declarer plays a spade to dummy's queen and partner's Ace. Partner returns the H3.

 

Playing matchpoints, how do you defend (and why)?

 

nickf

sydney

[badderzboy]

Just a BILlie

 

What do we know?

 

LHO should have 12-13 pts and we have seen 4 of them.

 

Is Declarer good enough to play A from AQx in ♦'s here to hide partners singleton ♦. The hand is either

 

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or ...

 

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I play a 8 ♦ asking for another Heart and if partner can ruff great we set it if not hope oppo has 3♥ and 2♣ and so discard can't help?

 

No doubt miles away...

[han]

Partner can't have a stiff diamond, he would have returned a higher heart than the 3. I cash the ace of hearts, and switch to a club. The only thing that could convince me to play a diamond anyway is if partner follows with the heart 2 next.

[luke warm]

partner would not return the ♥3 with 3 or 4 babies... almost any declarer would play the ♦A on the first trick, if holding the Q... if not holding the Q, i think he'd finesse the J

 

i take the ♥Q and lead the ♦8, expecting a ruff, a heart return, and another ruff for down 2

[inquiry]

[hv=d=s&v=n&n=s6haq76dt8763ck54&e=sq85hj9dkj52ca972]266|200|Scoring: MP[/hv]

 

This is matchpoints, not imps, so just holding it to 9 tricks might be the idea. Let's see.

 

1) Partner, with a diamond singleton, would not return a low heart. He would lead a high heart EVEN WHEN HOLDING THE KING to discourage a heart return (attitude lead, low heart, encourages defense in that suit, high heart encourage something else).

 

2) Since partner discouraged a diamond switch with a low heart, what does that mean? First, partner probably has the heart king, but he has to lead low if he doesn't want a diamond (and is unsure about club return). If he has heart KING or CLUB Queen, that will be about it for him. This gives declarer ♠KJ, ♦AQ ♣Q and probably ♣J, or ♠KJ ♥K ♦AQ ♣J

 

What other tricks beside your two hearts and spade ACE might you get?

 

You will win a second heart, because partner can not have six hearts for the 3 return. IF declarer had two hearts and two diamonds, he might have tried for early heart discard, so I suspect his distribution is 6-3-2-2 or 5-3-2-3. It is not likely that partner has Q8 doublton as declarer might have tried the diamond jack at trick one, and from low heart we know that declarer doesn't have ♦AQx

 

Win a second heart and if partner showed four hearts (that is didn't pay heart 2 under the second heart winner)..consider to continue a heart to force dummy to ruff. In this case if partner has four spades to something useful like AJT8 you will set the contract, and if he has four to the ATxx declearer will not find out about the spade split in time to take a hook against the spade Ten, so you will hold him to 9 tricks.

 

What if he partner has five hearts? Do you give up a ruff and sluff? Do you try an entry destoying club king? Would it be better to win first heart and underlead the heart ace so partner can lead a club from hypothetical JT doubleton? IF partner has the heart KING there is no doubleton club partner can hold where club king is useful, so if partner has five hearts to the KING, I DO NOT TRY CLUB KING. So I will continue with a heart giving up a ruff and sluff. IF declarer ruffs in dummy, we are back to hoping partner will get a spade trick because of this. if he ruffs in his hand, he does not gain any tricks from the ruff and sluff. Now he might pick up ATxx in partners hand but that only gives him 4S, 4D, and 1C so far. If partner has Jx of clubs, we will still score our club trick.

 

Some question exist what should your partner return with a doubleton diamond (with or without the queen) and the club queen without the heart king? A low heart of course. In this case, on the third heart, dummy will pitch a club, this may give declerer his 9 tricks (4S, 4D, 1C). But here, partenr with club QUEEN, the club KING would be "brilliant" as it prevents the unblocking of the diamond suit. This holds declarer to 2D tricks and potentially 2C tricks.

 

So the entire trick to this hand, is after taking the second heart trick, do you exit a heart (if partner has five hearts, answer is yes for sure) or the club KING. The answer depends totally on who has the heart KING, partner or opponent. If partner, exit a heart, if opponent, exit a club (club king is cute) trying to ruin entry conditions.

 

Assuming partner doesn't play heart two (if he does, we will see declarer's last heart), lets assume his second heart is the TEN or the FOUR. How do you read this card. Suit preference? Heart attitude? Neither? I would like to think there is some way for partner to signal something in clubs. Maybe you play this as suit preference so the heart four would suggest something in clubs. That would suggest king of club play and heart ten would suggest continue heart here. Actually, my partner, with four card suit, would play heart four to suggest continue hearts, and would play the heart TEN to encourage a switch. I have to work out what to switch too, but it will not be diamonds, so even I will get this right... the heart ten would suggest something useful in clubs.

 

Ben