[ahydra]

... and a partridge in a pairs tree...

1a) After the opps bid 1S-2D-2H-3C-3NT, partner leads the ♣J and you see ♠9 ♥K5 ♦AKJ986 ♣A954 in dummy. Your hand is ♠Q102 ♥963 ♦Q1054 ♣K82. Declarer plays the ♣4 from dummy. Do you duck?

1b) At the table I ducked. Declarer won the Q and played a diamond to the 8 which I took with the 10. What now?

2) Can you bid this small slam, or even the ridiculously lucky grand? (nobody vul, South deals). Your methods are weak NT, 4cM, RKC3041, cue bids show first or second round controls.

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3) What to do with this (NS vul, East deals) after the bidding goes as shown?

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ahydra

[Cyberyeti]

On the second one, Jon Mestel and Jon Cooke bid 1♠-2♥-4♥-5♥(bad ♥)-6♥ against us.

3. is only awkward because it's matchpoints so you don't want to pinpoint the lead, but I'd bid 5♦ emphasising the lack of a club control and let partner take it from there.

[sasioc]

By my reckoning the slam on 2 is only just above 50% (51.8 if you want to know) - it's not exactly one that I'm gutted to have missed, although my partner and I didn't even play in hearts on the deal. At my table, p opened 2♠, showing 8-12 points and a 6 card suit. Seeing no good option, I passed this for a pretty poor board.

On 3 I definitely think you have to do something, although my picture of partner's hand depends somewhat on what x and pass over 3♣ would have been. Iirc, many people from the CUBC play pass as non-forcing and x as pens here (which I dislike very strongly). If this is what you play, partner didn't have very many options now with the majors and a good hand, although I suppose he could bid 4♣ with some of these hands. I like 5♦ from you now.

[mike777]

agree with others on 5d on last one.
On two perhaps:

1s=2h
3h=4c
4nt?!=5d
6h

4nt is a spade cue, agree h, 4s would be rkc in h...but I could understand bidding 4h and not 4nt.
does not seem like that great of a slam at mp

[Cyberyeti]

I should have added on 3, I found the unusual no trump, N bid 4♠, partner bid 5♣, S bid 5♠ and I bid 6♣, N made what he thought was a forcing pass, S thought N might have Kxxxxx and out and passed, -150 was pretty useful, but -500 would not have been bad.

[quiddity]

Why did you duck the club on the first hand? It's not obvious to me how that can gain.

[ahydra]

quiddity, on 2012-March-20, 12:24, said:

Why did you duck the club on the first hand? It's not obvious to me how that can gain.

I don't know Perhaps I figured it didn't matter whether I take the club now or later. But this was my worst hand of the day, which is why I posted it here (apart from finding out whether anyone else can find the winning defence & explain how they arrived at it).

ahydra

[dkham]

1a) Partner's lead is a bit funny, the Jack without holding JT9 or JT8. Could be from ♣JTx (declarer has three clubs, hence three club tricks now via a finesse) or ♣JTxxx (declarer has a singleton). I'll win the King.

1b) I'd guess to return a heart

2) After 1♠-2♥ is South allowed to raise with only three hearts, and if so, is a raise to 3♥ forcing? I think if South can support hearts at any points then you'd get to slam via 5♥ from North.

3) My first thought was RKCB as North, but we could be missing a club control so other people's suggestions of a 5♦ cue bid are better. Only problem is never asking about aces we might miss 7♥.

[mikl_plkcc]

At the second hand, slam depends the position of the trump Q and club K/Q, so it cannot be said as a "missed slam". At the table, I would stop at 4H.

[Cyberyeti]

mikl_plkcc, on 2012-April-18, 07:11, said:

At the second hand, slam depends the position of the trump Q and club K/Q, so it cannot be said as a "missed slam". At the table, I would stop at 4H.

The second hand requires nothing of the sort, it requires:

Trumps 2-2 and (♦ 3-3 or 4-2 or stiff honour or one of several favourable ♠ positions)

or

Trumps 3-1 and (♦ 3-3 or QJ tight or ♠ KQ tight)

Significantly over 50%.