[lamford]

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Defence is tough. You decide to pass your 12-count as dealer at adverse, playing a weak NT, and are on lead after a simple auction. You cash two high clubs, all following, and now have to plan to take two more tricks. What is your choice?

[rhm]

Hard to see how a club continuation can hurt.
For a diamond switch to be right, declarer must have something like 3 hearts and a slow diamond loser. Among others this means the 4♠ preempt would have to be based on a 6 card spade suit.
My QJ in spades argues against that.
If he has bid that way with ♠AKT9xx ♥Axx ♦Ax ♣xx or ♠AKT9xx ♥AKx ♦xx ♣xx I pay of.

Rainer Herrmann

[lamford]

 rhm, on 2018-May-07, 11:48, said:

If he has bid that way with ♠AKT9xx ♥Axx ♦Ax ♣xx I pay of.

Declarer has more than six spades.

[Cyberyeti]

 rhm, on 2018-May-07, 11:48, said:

Hard to see how a club continuation can hurt.

Declarer has AK9xxxx, AK, Ax, xx (which admittedly is a pretty big 4♠ 4th in), either partner ruffs high and declarer pitches a diamond or he ruffs low and the trump loser disappears.

Even worse, partner has ♠Kxx and declarer's hand is otherwise high and he ruffs low.

[lamford]

 Cyberyeti, on 2018-May-07, 12:08, said:

Declarer has AK9xxxx, AK, Ax, xx (which admittedly is a pretty big 4♠ 4th in), either partner ruffs high and declarer pitches a diamond or he ruffs low and the trump loser disappears.

Even worse, partner has ♠Kxx and declarer's hand is otherwise high and he ruffs low.

It seemed to me that a heart could not be right, as that would fail if declarer had Ax or Axx in hearts. A club is needed when declarer has something like AKxxxxx Kx(x) A(x) xx but will not work if declarer has the spade 10 which he is about 70% to have. A spade works when declarer has AKxxxxx A(x) AK(x) xx, but again fails if declarer has the ten of spades. AT9xxxxx A(K) A(K) xx with no losers outside trumps needs a club switch. I think there are slightly more hands where it is right to exit with a trump, but it is very hard to know which hands would open 4S in fourth.

[rhm]

 lamford, on 2018-May-08, 04:46, said:

It seemed to me that a heart could not be right, as that would fail if declarer had Ax or Axx in hearts. A club is needed when declarer has something like AKxxxxx Kx(x) A(x) xx but will not work if declarer has the spade 10 which he is about 70% to have. A spade works when declarer has AKxxxxx A(x) AK(x) xx, but again fails if declarer has the ten of spades. AT9xxxxx A(K) A(K) xx with no losers outside trumps needs a club switch. I think there are slightly more hands where it is right to exit with a trump, but it is very hard to know which hands would open 4S in fourth.

I agree that a trump switch caters to most conditions.
A diamond switch looses when declarer has something like AKxxxxxx A Kx xx
A club continuation is only necessary if declarer has AKxxxxxx Kx A xx and partner has the spade ten or the above when partner has the king and declarer 8 spades and no loser in the red suits.

[lamford]

 rhm, on 2018-May-08, 05:34, said:

I agree that a trump switch caters to most conditions.
A diamond switch looses when declarer has something like AKxxxxxx A Kx xx
A club continuation is only necessary if declarer has AKxxxxxx Kx A xx and partner has the spade ten or the above when partner has the king and declarer 8 spades and no loser in the red suits.

Declarer actually had AK9xxxx A AKJ xx and I wrongly played a club, and partner ruffed with the ten, but the diamond loser went away. Mea culpa.