Law 62 C

[DuaneC]

[hv=pc=n&s=shd7cj64&w=shd9caq5&n=sahdckt9&e=s9hdjc73]399|300|Spades are trump, North is Declarer, and has the lead.[/hv]

 

In the 4 card ending in diagram, North, declarer, leads the King of Clubs. East ruffs! Dummy and West follow low. Then East discovers he has a club, and corrects his play to the 3 of clubs. Dummy still follows low, and now can West retract his Club 5 and take the trick with the Ace?

 

Also, If West can win the club Ace (or if he can not, pretend the layout was different, and dummy changes his play, so that now West can and does change his card so that he wins the trick), now West is on lead with the retracted 5 of clubs as a penalty card, and his partner has the 9 of spades as a penalty card. In this situation, should Declarer request a spade lead, is West technically complying with a lead restriction by leading something other than the 5 of Clubs, or must he lead the Club 5 since he can not comply with any lead restriction regarding the spade suit?

 

Thanks,

Duane Christensen

[blackshoe]

East has the ♠9 as a major penalty card (Laws 62B1 and 50). It appears that the original play from dummy was not changed. In that case, West cannot change his card (Law 62C). North wins the trick.

 

If dummy's play is changed, West can change his play, presumably winning the trick with the ace. Now he has the ♣5 as a major penalty card (MPC), and East still has the ♠9 as a MPC. If declarer now requires West to lead a spade, and as West doesn't have any he must lead the ♣5, since the requirement to lead or play a penalty card takes precedence over other options (Law 59, Law 50).

 

Looks to me like any way you look at it, declarer gets a club and a spade.

[barmar]

Declarer also succeeds if he forbids West from leading a spade, as that means he must lead the penalty card. And if he chooses neither option, West has to lead the ♣5 as well.

 

So the only difference between any of the options is whether the ♠9 remains as a penalty card. If declarer chooses require or forbid, it gets picked up.

 

The prohibit option lasts as long as West keeps the lead, but that's irrelevant in this case, since declarer can't duck the club.