[plaur]

Scoring: XIMP

2♦*-P-2♠-3♥
p-3NT-X-ppp
* both majors
Lead ♠K
then ♠Q and ♠7

---

2♦ both majors (could be 4-4), 2♠ to play, opps took a long time for their bids.
Partner leads ♠K follows with ♠Q and ♠7. There are no experts at the table, but your partner is the best cardplayer at the table.
What now?
(Dummy played two clubs and a diamond)

[pooltuna]

plaur, on Nov 14 2009, 06:32 PM, said:

Scoring: XIMP

2♦*-P-2♠-3♥
p-3NT-X-ppp
* both majors
Lead ♠K
then ♠Q and ♠7

---

2♦ both majors (could be 4-4), 2♠ to play, opps took a long time for their bids.
Partner leads ♠K follows with ♠Q and ♠7. There are no experts at the table, but your partner is the best cardplayer at the table.
What now?
(Dummy played two clubs and a diamond)

you need better presentation

[Quantumcat]

Partner would have led a low spade from KQxx so declarer has five to the J-9. Declarer would have overcalled 3C if he had six, or five good ones, so probably partner has two club stoppers. Declarer would not bid 3NT being void in his partner's suit, so he should have eight tricks off the top: six hearts, a spade, the ace of clubs. His ninth would be the nine of spades if we played the ace and returned one so we'd better not do that. If he has the king of diamonds, he can force his own ninth trick so we'll assume he doesn't have it. He is left with very few points so he probably has 5 clubs. This is what he looks like:

J9xxx
x/x
Jx
AQ9x/x

Say he has two hearts.

We just have to avoid giving him the nine of spades, or a diamond trick. If we don't take the ace now, we'll never be able to cash it later because then we'd be giving him his ninth trick. We have to take it now. If we return a diamond, he can play low and force partner's king. Partner might return a heart but then declarer can force out out ace of diamonds and have another heart to claim his queen.

The only thing that is left is a heart. Partner can return a diamond to our ace after winning a club, and we'll return a heart. His queen of diamonds is not yet set up but he has run out of hearts. (Assume declarer has the 76 etc of clubs so partner can't safely return a high club)

If he has only one heart:

If he cashes his hearts immediately, he will be stuck for discards. No matter what he does we can avoid giving him a trick.

Declarer might trick us by not cashing his hearts while he's in dummy when he only has one heart. But partner will know this, because he has two. He can indicate this to us by cashing the king of diamonds before putting us in with the ace. This way there is NO WAY anybody would return a heart or a diamond, and a spade is the only other choice! Then declarer will go many down, but may be clapped on the back for a good try.

[jdonn]

I thought about this quite a bit, wrote a very long analysis, kept finding things I missed, and gave up. If declarer is void in hearts a spade could even be right. I'm going to play a heart, playing declarer for a stiff heart and king of diamonds and partner for ace of clubs. I think partner is more likely to double on something like KQx of spades and good clubs like AQxxx than he is on KQx of spades, K of diamonds, K of clubs. There are also cases where declarer has a stiff heart but has trouble with his discards, I think.

[gwnn]

I know this is not being helpful but there are two formatting options for defence problems to help your readers:

• Declarer is S (and you are E or W)
  
• You are South

[jdonn]

I didn't find the problem that tough to read. I've certainly seen a lot worse.

[Quantumcat]

Declarer must have a heart, who would bid 3NT holding void in their partner's suit, a broken club suit and the king of diamonds? Partner should have the king of diamonds for his double, anyway: otherwise how would he know declarer doesn't have a solid diamond suit? We showed a weak hand with the majors remember, we are unlikely to have anything in other suits.

[jdonn]

I would usually have a heart to bid 3NT, but declarer may not bid as well as you or I do and I want to set him anyway. He also could bid 3NT on a heart void just based on general strength, although that's not as likely after partner doubled. Frankly your example hand for declarer is not a good 3NT bid anyway, so we may have to assume he stretched. It's also an impossible hand for him unless he is Zia since he pitched two diamonds from dummy.

Regarding partner having the king of diamonds for sure, I totally disagree. You wouldn't double with KQx xx xxx AQxxx? The opponents are surely light, you have top tricks, a great lead to make, your partner showed hearts and is over the heart bidder. You can't wait a decade for a perfect double. They might even go down a couple if they do have 6 running diamonds (like if we had ATxxx Axxx xxx x instead, can win the ace of spades and play a club through).

I think you are putting way too much faith in the specifics of what you believe everyone should have for their actions. It's a pressure auction, lots of hands are possible for everyone.

[cherdanno]

jdonn, on Nov 15 2009, 05:56 PM, said:

I thought about this quite a bit, wrote a very long analysis, kept finding things I missed, and gave up. If declarer is void in hearts a spade could even be right. I'm going to play a heart, playing declarer for a stiff heart and king of diamonds and partner for ace of clubs. I think partner is more likely to double on something like KQx of spades and good clubs like AQxxx than he is on KQx of spades, K of diamonds, K of clubs. There are also cases where declarer has a stiff heart but has trouble with his discards, I think.

I don't get this line. It seems to me declarer is always making on this return if he has the ♦K and doesn't misguess. We have to come down to ♠Tx ♦AT, so declarer comes down to ♠J ♦Kxx and plays a diamond up.
I haven't thought through it but my current guess is to duck the spade.

[y66]

SA then D7 guessing declarer gambled on running clubs and pard has KJxx of diamonds for his double.