[lamford]

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Matchpoints or Teams it matters not.

Partner dutifully leads the K♦ against the opposing game. Plan the defence. Including what you do at trick one.

[TylerE]

Duck however systemically asks for a !H switch.

[akwoo]

Given that this has been posted as a hand...

Go up with the A♦ and switch to a low heart, getting declarer to misguess with Qx of hearts and 2 small clubs. (If partner leads a heart, declarer manages to pitch a club on the third heart and doesn't need the club finesse. If partner leads a club, you get the king of clubs, but now declarer can discard a heart by finessing your partner for the J♣.)

No I don't do this at the table.

[Cyberyeti]

 akwoo, on 2020-October-20, 01:08, said:

Given that this has been posted as a hand...

Go up with the A♦ and switch to a low heart, getting declarer to misguess with Qx of hearts and 2 small clubs. (If partner leads a heart, declarer manages to pitch a club on the third heart and doesn't need the club finesse. If partner leads a club, you get the king of clubs, but now declarer can discard a heart by finessing your partner for the J♣.)

No I don't do this at the table.

The only problem with this is that if a heart goes to the J-A with declarer having Qx, he just plays a second heart and subsequently pitches his club on the 10 so you need to hope he has 3 hearts or 3 clubs which would mean partner has led ♦K from more than 2 most of the time or he's lacking ♥KQ.

[AL78]

My plan would be to try and kill the dangerous looking club suit by attacking hearts and knocking out the ace (maybe a key entry). Trick one signal for a heart switch with the queen, the heart partner switches too will determine whether my plan is likely to work. I'm hoping partner has ♥QJ and four trumps so declarer cannot draw them and leave a trump in dummy as an entry. If partner's lead suggests an absence of heart honors, force dummy with a diamond after getting in with the king, hope that partner has a slow trump winner.

[lamford]

 AL78, on 2020-October-20, 06:55, said:

My plan would be to try and kill the dangerous looking club suit by attacking hearts and knocking out the ace (maybe a key entry). Trick one signal for a heart switch with the queen, the heart partner switches too will determine whether my plan is likely to work. I'm hoping partner has ♥QJ and four trumps so declarer cannot draw them and leave a trump in dummy as an entry. If partner's lead suggests an absence of heart honors, force dummy with a diamond after getting in with the king, hope that partner has a slow trump winner.

All interesting ideas, but no cigar. AL78 is nearest. I think you are struggling if partner does not have four trumps, and East might have bid 3S with KQxxx. But a little more imagination is needed.

[mikeh]

Partner may have led the diamond king fromKxx, in order to take a look at dummy, but I’m going to assume that either he has Kx or that it doesn’t matter.

If he does have Kx, I can’t see declarer bidding 4S with xxx xxxx in the reds. In any event, for the heart switch to be necessary at trick 2, we need partner to hold precisely QJxx, which is possible but improbable, in my view.

I’ve struggled with constructing plausible hands for declarer, on which we can beat him. However, on all but the one with partner holding QJxx in hearts, the best shot is to combine tapping dummy with sticking declarer on the board. So I overtake the diamond and return the Queen.

[lamford]

 mikeh, on 2020-October-20, 10:50, said:

I’ve struggled with constructing plausible hands for declarer, on which we can beat him. However, on all but the one with partner holding QJxx in hearts, the best shot is to combine tapping dummy with sticking declarer on the board. So I overtake the diamond and return the Queen.

I found this quite a tough problem, and it took me several minutes to find the right defence when I was given it as as a problem, so I am surprised you have not found it yet. To get you started, you have no heart tricks and no natural spade tricks. You do have a club trick. How are you going to conjure up a couple more tricks?

[mikeh]

 lamford, on 2020-October-20, 10:59, said:

I found this quite a tough problem, and it took me several minutes to find the right defence when I was given it as as a problem, so I am surprised you have not found it yet. To get you started, you have no heart tricks and no natural spade tricks. You do have a club trick. How are you going to conjure up a couple more tricks?

One can, of course, play for partner to be 4=6=2=1. A club switch, by him, at trick 2 leaves declarer helpless. I’m not sure that’s clearly better than playing partner to hold K9x Jxxxx Kx xxx, as one example in which forcing dummy makes life very difficult for declarer, and it’s worse if partner’s hearts are Qxxxx.

So while I can see some lies where the winning view at trick 1 leads to a set, I’m not sure that one can say that any particular line is demonstrably best. Perhaps the 4=6=2=1 is slightly more plausible in that declarer, holding KQxx x xxxx Jxxx might bid game more readily than with other examples (although constructions with hxxxx in spades might be enough for many)

It would be easier to play for 4621 had I made a support redouble, since partner would compete in hearts over 1S with some weak hands with 5 and all hands with 6. I think my hand is worth a redouble, intending to bid diamonds at the 3-level if need be. Also, some partners might compete to 3D over 2S with say xxxx QJxxxx Kx x in the given auction, somewhat reducing the likelihood of that pattern.

Well done to any defender who guessed correctly at trick 1, and played his lowest diamond, if this was the winning defence.

[Zelandakh]

 mikeh, on 2020-October-20, 13:25, said:

Well done to any defender who guessed correctly at trick 1, and played his lowest diamond, if this was the winning defence.

What if we were to play a middle diamond like the 10? Would that make it possible for partner to find the right continuation by looking at their own hand and working out why we neither overtook nor indicated a round suit?

[akwoo]

 Cyberyeti, on 2020-October-20, 03:00, said:

The only problem with this is that if a heart goes to the J-A with declarer having Qx, he just plays a second heart and subsequently pitches his club on the 10 so you need to hope he has 3 hearts or 3 clubs which would mean partner has led ♦K from more than 2 most of the time or he's lacking ♥KQ.

You're right. I miscalculated. Somehow I overlooked that the T♥ became a trick.

Here's the thing - I get this sort of calculation right more often than wrong, but I make these kinds of blunders a lot - on the order of one board in ten when I'm trying hard, and worse when I'm not. (Since most boards don't really give an opportunity for this kind of blunder, I'm probably getting at least a third of my real decisions obviously objectively wrong.)

I suppose that puts me ahead of the vast majority of players who never calculate, but have most experts gone through a phase where they blunder all the time, or am I doomed to always be a good but not that good bridge player?

[lamford]

 mikeh, on 2020-October-20, 13:25, said:

Perhaps the 4=6=2=1 is slightly more plausible in that declarer, holding KQxx x xxxx Jxxx might bid game more readily than with other examples (although constructions with hxxxx in spades might be enough for many).

Well done to any defender who guessed correctly at trick 1, and played his lowest diamond, if this was the winning defence.

I think East will have the KQ of spades and the jack of clubs, as you surmise, for the barest of acceptances. and you are getting there. But you have still not worked out the winning defence.

[lamford]

 lamford, on 2020-October-20, 17:53, said:

I think East will have the KQ of spades and the jack of clubs, as you surmise, for the barest of acceptances. and you are getting there. But you have still not worked out the winning defence.

OK, as I have given the analysis on Bridgewinners, I may as well repeat it here.

When I was first given the problem, I tried to construct hands for declarer. Any hand with five spades seems hopeless for us. ♠KQxx ♥Jx ♦xxxxx ♣Jx was one but now there is no defence and it doesn’t matter what I do. The ship sailed when partner led the ♦K; perhaps we should not have bid them twice! Similarly ♠KQxx ♥x ♦xxxxx ♣Jxx and again there is no defence, but this time there never was. What about ♠KQxx ♥x ♦xxxx ♣Jxxx? Now we are getting somewhere. A spade switch from partner might leave declarer too much to do. Of course the ox opposite might not find it, and, in any case unless partner has both the 9 and 8 of spades and switches to it, that will be no good. We should therefore overtake and lead our spade, and hope partner’s spades are as good as 9543. That appears to be the minimum we need, and mirabile dictu he has that.

We therefore beat the contract even when declarer has the king queen of spades and any four clubs (we need partner to have a singleton club so that he can ruff the second round and play another trump). Whenever partner’s spades are 9xxx, regardless of the other pips, we beat it. About half the time. Failing to overtake the diamond and play a spade is a clear mistake I think. And if partner does have that and does find the spade switch, then a perspicacious declarer will overtake the ♠6 and ruff a diamond before leading the ♣Q from dummy. This will work even if South's singleton club is the jack. The spade lead needs to come from your side whenever partner has the nine of spades and no eight. I was able to solve the defensive problem when given it, but still cannot work out how to rotate the hand or italicise mirabile dictu (on Bridgewinners). Horses for courses, I guess.

[mikeh]

 lamford, on 2020-October-21, 07:43, said:

OK, as I have given the analysis on Bridgewinners, I may as well repeat it here.

When I was first given the problem, I tried to construct hands for declarer. Any hand with five spades seems hopeless for us. ♠KQxx ♥Jx ♦xxxxx ♣Jx was one but now there is no defence and it doesn’t matter what I do. The ship sailed when partner led the ♦K; perhaps we should not have bid them twice! Similarly ♠KQxx ♥x ♦xxxxx ♣Jxx and again there is no defence, but this time there never was. What about ♠KQxx ♥x ♦xxxx ♣Jxxx? Now we are getting somewhere. A spade switch from partner might leave declarer too much to do. Of course the ox opposite might not find it, and, in any case unless partner has both the 9 and 8 of spades and switches to it, that will be no good. We should therefore overtake and lead our spade, and hope partner’s spades are as good as 9543. That appears to be the minimum we need, and mirabile dictu he has that.

We therefore beat the contract even when declarer has the king queen of spades and any four clubs (we need partner to have a singleton club so that he can ruff the second round and play another trump). Whenever partner’s spades are 9xxx, regardless of the other pips, we beat it. About half the time. Failing to overtake the diamond and play a spade is a clear mistake I think. And if partner does have that and does find the spade switch, then a perspicacious declarer will overtake the ♠6 and ruff a diamond before leading the ♣Q from dummy. This will work even if South's singleton club is the jack. The spade lead needs to come from your side whenever partner has the nine of spades and no eight. I was able to solve the defensive problem when given it, but still cannot work out how to rotate the hand or italicise mirabile dictu (on Bridgewinners). Horses for courses, I guess.

So we overtake the diamond in order to return a trump. Declarer wins in hand, plays heart Ace and ruffs a heart high. Now declarer runs the club Jack.

You suggest partner ruffs in order to lead a second trump. Declarer wins that second trump lead in dummy, ruffs a heart with his last trump, ruffs a diamond in dummy, pulls trump and claims.

Ironically, given how you posted in response to suggested answers, I think you’re close to a solution, but not quite there yet.

[mikeh]

Also, you dismissed my initial suggestion that we overtake the diamond at trick one and return the diamond Queen. Of course, at that time you did not reveal the layout.

After forcing dummy to ruff, how do you expect declarer to make 10 tricks? He’s in dummy. He can’t pull trump, since we eventually win the club King and cash diamonds. So he plays heart ace, ruff a heart, and hooks the club. We win and lead another diamond. Dummy has to ruff. I don’t think there’s any way home for him.

He can ruff the third heart, and then another diamond, but now he has a trump and A10xx in clubs in dummy and two trump and xxx in clubs in hand, He’s scored three hearts (ace and 2 ruffs) plus 3 diamond ruffs, so he has 6 tricks in. Partner has 4 trump and a heart.

In fact, this defence leads to down 2�� Of course, declarer can take a different line and escape for down 1.

Taking the initial ruff in dummy and crossing to hand in trump, in order to preserve declarer’s trump length, then hooking the club gets a third diamond, trapping declarer in dummy. Unless declarer has KQ9x, he can’t ruff high, pull trump and run the clubs.

So, unless I’ve missed something, tapping dummy at trick 2 beats the hand anytime partner has 9xxx in spades.

Edit: this is a great hand for one of those ‘would you rather play or defend’ polls. I erred (again) in my analysis, but still think that tapping dummy works.

At trick 3, declarer can exit the club Queen, which we have to win. Another diamond allows him to ruff and play 3 rounds of trump and then run the clubs until partner ruffs in. Partner is endplayed into a heart. Declarer gets 2 ruffs in dummy, the heart Ace, 3 clubs and 4 trump in hand.

So when we win the club King, we need to switch to a heart. Now if declarer plays 3 rounds of spades, partner declines the club ruff until the 4th round of the suit, and exits a heart, forcing declarer to ruff, and sticking him in hand, the last club winner stranded in dummy.

Down 2.

If he tries, instead, a cross-ruff, he runs out of tricks.

[lamford]

 mikeh, on 2020-October-21, 10:53, said:

So we overtake the diamond in order to return a trump. Declarer wins in hand, plays heart Ace and ruffs a heart high. Now declarer runs the club Jack.

You suggest partner ruffs in order to lead a second trump. Declarer wins that second trump lead in dummy, ruffs a heart with his last trump, ruffs a diamond in dummy, pulls trump and claims.

Ironically, given how you posted in response to suggested answers, I think you’re close to a solution, but not quite there yet.

No, if you play that way, North when he wins the first club just plays a diamond and you are down. If instead North makes the mistake of tapping dummy at trick two. There are lots of lines home. Leading the queen of clubs from dummy is simplest and NS can give up.



On the actual layout the only defence is to overtake the diamond and return a spade. Not found at the table. And a spade from South is not good enough at trick two. East overtakes the six of spades, ruffs a diamond and leads the queen of clubs.

{comments}

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As someone pointed out on Bridgewinners, another possible layout is when East has KQ8x Qx xxxx xxx when now partner needs to switch to a club at trick two. As the heading said, too tough.