[Chamaco]

Scoring: MP

E.....S.....W.....N
p....1NT...X(1).3NT
all pass

---

I was playing with my friend, a bright beginner.
The double by West (an elder very strong national player) showed a 1-suiter.

When dummy came down I regretted pard did not decide to look for a penalty at favourable vuln, but my pard was not used to handle conventional bidding, so he preferred a practical bid rather than look for something fancy (e.g. he did not know what a redouble or pass then double would mean).

The lead was small diamond (attitude lead, says nothing of suit length), and East played the Ten.

How do you play to make ?

[Free]

With only 13 HCP out, guess who has them? So I'll just play my ♠s and ♥s, and endplay West in ♦. He'll have to play low from under his ♣K to bring me my 9th trick.

You'll have a good view on West's distribution, so if he'd decide to put his K stiff, you'll know it and don't have to endplay him.

[Fluffy]

Or either East will have 6♦ and west has no ♦ to return after winning his ♣ honnor.

But the strip squeeze seems the more likelly anyway.

[inquiry]

Cash majors, strip squeeze as pointed out correctly by free.

Ben

[FrancesHinden]

Well, you've all gone off when LHO has
Jxxx
xx
AKxxxx
K

and discards a diamond on the third round of hearts.

I agree the strip squeeze looks like the right line. But it's by no means 100%.

[Chamaco]

West had:

Jxxx
xxx
AK87x
J


I would have made the hand by going to dummy and running the queen.
Instead, I played for a likely 6-1 diamond break and cashed A of clubs right away to cater for singleton K in west's hand

[inquiry]

Chamaco, on Mar 24 2005, 11:10 AM, said:

West had:

Jxxx
xxx
AK87x
J


I would have made the hand by going to dummy and running the queen.
Instead, I played for a likely 6-1 diamond break and cashed A of clubs right away to cater for singleton K in west's hand

A brazen bid Vul to show this weak two suited hand as a one suited hand. But unfortunately not everyone knows how to bid. The club queen caters to exactly two holdings, singleton JACK with WEST or Six diamonds with WEST with EAST having KJ(x) of clubs.

Nothing in life is guaranteed but you will eventually die, and in birdge few things are 100% (some are, but most aren't). The best play given the vul overcall is still to play for the strip squeeze...it just doesn't work here.

Ben

[cherdano]

I don't disagree with the analysis of everyone else. However, I wonder whether we may have the following inference from the lead:

If LHO has AKxxx(x) and out, he needs help from partner and will definitely underlead his ♦AK. If he has ♦AKxxx and ♣Kx, he could as well lead top diamonds, and wait for his ♣K entry, hoping that declarer has only 6 tricks in the majors.

Do you agree that this is a (possibly weak) inference? Or would you still always lead a low diamond?

(This would be an argument against the strip squeeze.)

Arend

[Free]

Chamaco, on Mar 24 2005, 04:10 PM, said:

West had:

Jxxx
xxx
AK87x
J


I would have made the hand by going to dummy and running the queen.
Instead, I played for a likely 6-1 diamond break and cashed A of clubs right away to cater for singleton K in west's hand

This is not a singlesuited hand... A 5332 I could've accepted, but calling a 5431 singlesuited is like saying balanced against a 7330.

[Chamaco]

One question about the strip squeeze suggestion.

Let's assume west has indeed a 1-suiter.
But I think that the best line should be the one that is not strictly based on west having the club King.

If he has 3-3-6-1 (stiff club), and I playoff my 6 top tricks in the major, and everyone follows suit, how do I decide whether to throw in west in diamonds ?
He shall cash 5 diamond tricks and I will be down !
I cannot just hope that the stiff club is the K !

If I cash the Ace and no club honor drops, I shall have to lead away from clubs, losing (besides the diamond trick), 2 clubs and 1 trick in each major to east.


On the other hand, if I play off the 6 major top tricks ending in dummy, I cannot switch plan to the double finesse in clubs, since have exhausted the entries to repeat the club finesse when East has KJxx, or even Kxxx.


What am I missing ?

--------------------

[inquiry]

Chamaco, on Mar 25 2005, 08:07 AM, said:

On the other hand, if I play off the 6 major top tricks ending in dummy, I cannot switch plan to the double finesse in clubs, since have exhausted the entries to repeat the club finesse when East has KJxx, or even Kxxx.


What am I missing ?

--------------------

Here is the point. If WEST shows up with 2 cards in either major, you know he is 3-2-6-2 or 3-2-5-3. If he follows to all three rounds of both majors, he is theoretically 3-3-6-1 or 3-3-5-2. So what you have to decide (what you always had to decide) was rathe he has 6 diamonds or only five.

You have to stretch to find the clues. What spot card did west lead, any info in that? What was EAST's diamond? Did that help. Is the west play a conservative bidder Vulnerable (more likely a six card suit) or a wild man (would jump to 3D with a six card suit preemptive), or a disturb their NT (bid vul on five card suit with very little in reserve).

With EW vul, I would play WEST for x-y-6-2/3 with the club king. Of course, after the west shows up with two three card majors, I would still play west for six diamonds at this vul. When he show up with 3-3 in the major, therefore, you have to play him for a stiff club KING or JACK (one case play club ACE, other play club QUEEN). That will be a guess, of course.

Ben