Not the ideal start

[manudude03]

Imps scoring, nv vs vul, assume 2/4 leads and standard carding.

 

[hv=pc=n&s=sj8652hq76dt4caj8&w=sqt4ht3daqj9ck965&d=s&v=e&b=3&a=p1dp1hp1n(11-14)p4hppp]266|200[/hv]

 

You lead the ♠5 which goes to the T-K-3. At trick 2, partner tries to cash the ace of spades and declarer ruffs. Declarer then leads the ♣4 from hand. You do not have suit preference on "cashing" the winners. Do you win or duck?

[helene_t]

I don't see any reason to win. Both declarer and partner are unlikely to have a stiff club. I'm obviously missing something.

[Cyberyeti]

I don't see any reason to win. Both declarer and partner are unlikely to have a stiff club. I'm obviously missing something.

 

The reason to win is if declarer has something like x, AKJxxxx, xxxx, x or x, AKJxxxx, xxx, Qx where you thwart the morton's fork by winning and playing a diamond to remove the entry prematurely, if you don't declarer's second club whether he has the Q or not disappears on the spade and partner's ♦K is the third and last trick for the defence.

[mikeh]

We pretty much need partner to hold the diamond King and, indeed, declarer’s line strongly suggests that he lacks that card. If he has no diamond K, then his 4H call was aggressive if based only on a 6 card suit, so there is a real chance he has 7. If he were 1723, he’d play trumps or diamonds before playing clubs, so he may well be 1732, in which case we have to rise and switch to a diamond (obvious once we infer that partner has the King)

 

If he’s on 6 hearts, he pretty much has to hold the club Queen to play this way, but ducking can’t really help, even if he’s 1633, and 1624 makes no sense..he’d take the diamond hook.

 

So I think all constructions that seem (to me) plausible, call for popping the Ace and playing a diamond.

[manudude03]

Full hand (and yes, 4H was very aggressive)

 

[hv=https://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?bbo=y&lin=pn|South,West,North,East|st%7C%7Cmd%7C1S2568JH67QD4TC8JA%2CS4TQH3TD9JQAC569K%2CS79KAH9AD567C237T%2C%7Crh%7C%7Cah%7CBoard%203%7Csv%7Ce%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7C1D%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7C1H%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7C1N%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7C4H%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cpc%7CS5%7Cpc%7CST%7Cpc%7CSK%7Cpc%7CS3%7Cpc%7CSA%7Cpc%7CH2%7Cpc%7CS2%7Cpc%7CS4%7Cpc%7CC4%7Cpc%7CC8%7Cpc%7CCK%7Cpc%7CC7%7Cpc%7CSQ%7Cpc%7CS7%7Cpc%7CCQ%7Cpc%7CS6%7Cpc%7CHT%7Cpc%7CH9%7Cpc%7CH4%7Cpc%7CHQ%7Cpc%7CCA%7Cpc%7CC5%7Cpc%7CC2%7Cpc%7CH5%7Cpc%7CH8%7Cpc%7CH6%7Cpc%7CH3%7Cpc%7CHA%7Cpc%7CS9%7Cpc%7CHJ%7Cpc%7CS8%7Cpc%7CC6%7Cpc%7CHK%7Cpc%7CH7%7Cpc%7CC9%7Cpc%7CC3%7Cmc%7C10%7C]399|300[/hv]

 

Ducking leads to letting the contract home while if you win, you just wait for your 2 trump tricks.

[LBengtsson]

Why are not north-south overcalling ♠ on this hand? Green/red. Then no chance that north make error in defense by playing ♠A

 

If contract 3♠-1, then opps can make 3♥ on my LOTT calculation. -50 against +140. Or -100 if X

[Cyberyeti]

Why are not north-south overcalling ♠ on this hand? Green/red. Then no chance that north make error in defense by playing ♠A

 

If contract 3♠-1, then opps can make 3♥ on my LOTT calculation. -50 against +140. Or -100 if X

 

S has a crappy suit, the last thing you want is partner leading one from Kx(x) against 3♦ and them making a trick more than anybody else, N could overcall 1♠ if that's your style.

[AL78]

S has a crappy suit, the last thing you want is partner leading one from Kx(x) against 3♦ and them making a trick more than anybody else, N could overcall 1♠ if that's your style.

 

In the book The Complete Boook on Overcalls, Mike Lawrence advocates overcalling on such suits and worse, but only if it has some obstructive potential and the hand has trick taking potential outside. ♠8 ♥65432 ♦AQ32 ♣AK4 and ♠J8742 ♥8 ♦AK3 ♣AJ42 are both 1♥ and 1♠ overcalls over 1♣.

[Cyberyeti]

In the book The Complete Boook on Overcalls, Mike Lawrence advocates overcalling on such suits and worse, but only if it has some obstructive potential and the hand has trick taking potential outside. ♠8 ♥65432 ♦AQ32 ♣AK4 and ♠J8742 ♥8 ♦AK3 ♣AJ42 are both 1♥ and 1♠ overcalls over 1♣.

 

Yeah, but this is an ace or more light of those, it's neither a suit nor a hand.

[mikeh]

I don’t see how south can bid, but there’s some basis for north to overcall 1S. He has an opening hand (ok, depending on style) and a decent suit, plus he preempts a 1H response.

 

I’d not do it at imps because if my diamond holding....xxx in the suit opened to your right is the worst possible holding, though not as bad as when RHO opened a major.

[lamford]

I don't overcall 1S as I don't want partner leading from ♠Kx so partner will lead the king when I do overcall.

 

And it does look automatic to rise with the ♣A.