[rduran1216]

Club game, MPs, against a club game expert

You hold Qxx Q98x J10x Axx

Auction, you and partner pass throughout

1S 1NT (forcing)
2D 2S


partner leads club 3, 4th best, Dummy tables Kx Jx 9xxx KJxxx

Trick 1: ♣3, J, A, ♠x
Trick 2: ♠x, x, K, x
Trick 3: ♣K, x, ♥x, ♣x
Trick 4: ♣x, x, ♠x ♣x
Trick 5: ♦A, x, x, x
Trick 6: ♦K, Q, x, 10
Trick 7: ♦x, ♥2(encouraging), ♦x, ♦J



1) What the hell is going on.
2) Now what?

[gnasher]

It looks as though declarer is 5440 and is trying to make all his small trumps - something like Axxxx Kxxx AKxx void. It's a bit odd that he played diamonds rather than hearts at trick five, but I can't think of any other layout that fits.

I'd play a trump. If declarer ducks that to partner, we need him to force declarer. If declarer's trumps are AJxxx, he's going to make nine tricks, but he was always going to do that one way or another.

[Yu18772]

I think declarer started with 6:3:4:V (with 4 hearts he might rebid 2♥ in MP, and with 7 spades 2♠) and partner with 2:4:2:5.
From the missing honors - A♠ and AK♥ - declarer holds only one card (otherwise its really insane not to invite to game), and partner holds two.
My guess partner holds A♠ and one of the missing heart honors (a lead of AK♥ would be more appealing to me than Q 5th)

So declarer started with Jxxxxx, A(/K)xx, AKxx, -, partner was Ax, K(/A)xxx, Qx, Qxxxx (is that something partner may hold and not double over 2♦?).
By trick 8:
Partner is: A, Kxx, - , QT
Declarer: JTx, Ax, x, V
Dummy is: x, Jx, 9, 9x
It looks to me that if declarer holds the A ♥ we can get at most 4 tricks, ad heart looser is not going anywhere, if declarer holds the K♥ we shouldn't touch the suit....so small ♠ and let partner play clubs.
Thanks to gnasher for pointing out my mistake about trick one....
Yu

[gnasher]

Yu18772, on 2012-August-01, 02:13, said:

Dummy is: x, Jx, 9, Jx

Dummy played ♣J at trick one, so the current club layout is
        9x
Q10

[Yu18772]

gnasher, on 2012-August-01, 02:37, said:

Dummy played ♣J at trick one, so the current club layout is
        9x
Q10

Thanks! just fixed, then the play should be small ♠.
Yu

[rhm]

Yu18772, on 2012-August-01, 03:02, said:

Thanks! just fixed, then the play should be small ♠.
Yu

How does this help?
A competent declarer will throw you in with another spade and then you will have nothing left but hearts.
Exiting with the ♠Q could be right, if declarer has only 5 spades and partner a spade honor.
It is unlikely to cost even if it crashes with partner's trump honor.

Rainer Herrmann

[phil_20686]

gnasher, on 2012-August-01, 01:28, said:

It looks as though declarer is 5440 and is trying to make all his small trumps - something like Axxxx Kxxx AKxx void. It's a bit odd that he played diamonds rather than hearts at trick five, but I can't think of any other layout that fits.

I'd play a trump. If declarer ducks that to partner, we need him to force declarer. If declarer's trumps are AJxxx, he's going to make nine tricks, but he was always going to do that one way or another.

Its not odd iff declarer is missing the trump ace, then he would never be able to get a heart ruff anyway.

Also, if declarers trumps are very poor it might be necessary to ruff a club high. If you are going to do this though you sometimes need to play a heart at once, in order to prevent south from discarding a loser.

But it seems much more likely that a spade is right.

[Yu18772]

rhm, on 2012-August-01, 04:22, said:

How does this help?
A competent declarer will throw you in with another spade and then you will have nothing left but hearts.
Exiting with the ♠Q could be right, if declarer has only 5 spades and partner a spade honor.
It is unlikely to cost even if it crashes with partner's trump honor.

Rainer Herrmann

As I said in my post - I dont think declarer is 5440 - sorry I just dont buy that bidding and play in MP with Jxxxx,A(K)xxx,AKxx,V. Best player in the club would give up a chance of 4-4 major fit to play in 5-2 or in minor in MP? Competent declarer shortened his trump enough to give us control of the hand and then graciously let us in, on a position where we draw trumps and then the clubs? Or he has the AJ♠ and partner preferred underlead Q 5th to AK♥ lead? Or declarer is 5:4:4 with AJ♠, A or K♥, AK♦ and void - and did not invite over 2♠? all of this do not make a lot of sense to me - may be I will be wrong, but without prior knowledge about declarer personal style that would be my line of thought at the table.


If I got the distribution right (6340) - playing Q♠ is a disaster. True - when declarer throws me in with the last spade I will play a heart smoothly and he will have to guess (thats if he holds the K and not A), nothing I can do about it, but give declarer the chance to err.

Yu