[gnasher]

---

Matchpoints. West leads ♠Q, which wins. Now he switches to ♥J.

[helene_t]

♠10. It looks like LHO doesn't have the entry to take dummy's last trump.

[whereagles]

No, but he can certainly find an entry in pard.

The opening lead and RHO's reverse seems to mark him with something like

AKxx
xxx
A
AJTxx

That seems to call for pulling trumps and duck a diamond for 1 down. However, this scenario leaves LHO with (1) way too little to double and (2) four spades to the QJ. I'm beginning to wonder whether RHO has instead a 5-3-0-5. Gnasher, is it normal for your RHO to open 1♣ on this shape? (Not that I know what to do in that case LOL.)

[helene_t]

Nuno: LHO promised a heart stopper so RHO has no more than one heart, quite possible a void.

[whereagles]

Oh. Right.

I find it hard for LHO to have Jxxx and let go his natural trump trick. So I guess he has Jx or Jxx and plays "my way" (i.e. stoppers are for kids). Still, I fail to see what ♠10 might achieve... At table I might just run the trump suit to the end.

[Trinidad]

I would think that RHO is 5=0=2=6 and LHO is 3=5=4=1. I can't imagine LHO having four spades: He didn't make a negative double, and he didn't raise spades. But I can't solve the problem.

I want to make sure to take 6 tricks, since they will take 11 tricks in spades and the field will bid 4♠.

The legitimate way to make is if LHO has the singleton ♣A. If LHO has a small club, I think East can stop me from taking 6 by leading clubs through me. But there may be ways to persuade East not to do that.

Rik

[gszes]

silly question what did rho play to trick 2 after I played
small from dummy????

[MrAce]

gszes, on 2014-March-10, 13:19, said:

silly question what did rho play to trick 2 after I played
small from dummy????

Should we necessarily play 2 from dummy ?
Perhaps there is a reason why he did not tell you what RHO played and you were supposed to unblock ♥ T ?

I did not check closely but if we assume that Rik's analysis is correct and we are shooting for 6 tricks (-500) after ♠ T rho can not play trump, and LHO if plays trump we score 6 spades tricks alone + a ♣ trick. (or if 5-0 hearts we can score 5+1 in blacks,) If he does not play trump we score a spade ruff. I did not check what happens if we do not unblock ♠ T. We may still score 6 spade tricks but it may depend on what they hold. I may be totally off and missing a cow flying in front of me, have to get a coffee first to stop my hangover

I do not understand why Helene thinks E has AKJxx spade and W decided to lead Q from Qxx and has no entry. But it really does not matter i guess. Still it seems correct to play 2nd spade.

But i do not think RHO has 5-6 in the blacks. This is inconsistent with the bidding
(and perhaps the defense) . He is more likely to hold 5125 and decided to open 1♣ ? (i dunno England but it is common to open 1♣ from 5-5 in USA)

[gnasher]

RHO would normally open 1♠ with 5-5 and 1♣ with 5-6.

When LHO bids 1NT, he normally has a heart stop and doesn't normally have four spades.

LHO would normally lead low from Qxx.

RHO will discard an encouraging club at trick one.

[MrAce]

gnasher, on 2014-March-10, 15:07, said:

RHO would normally open 1♠ with 5-5 and 1♣ with 5-6.

When LHO bids 1NT, he normally has a heart stop and doesn't normally have four spades.

LHO would normally lead low from Qxx.

RHO will discard an encouraging club at trick one.

Ok most of those were predicted by other posters anyway. I stand corrected about 5-5 blacks possibility.

To continue my previous post about what can happen if we do not unblock ♥ T. Say we exit with ♠ T as Helene said. RHO takes and plays a ♦ (i think W has the A, unless he holds stiff club A and decided not to lead, which is weird, and you confirmed this by saying E encouraged clubs) W takes ♦ and play 2nd ♥ locking us in dummy. Now if we play a ♣ E takes it and gives W a club ruff,(Jumping A is no lose action however E has to be careful here by not killing his other entry which is spades to create a trump promo and continue clubs) W then cashes his ♦ A and exits with a spade to score another trump. If we play ♦ it does not change anything W will score the same tricks.


I already told the logic behind unblocking the ♥ T previously. I had hard time to construct a lay out where unblock costs while playing ♥ 2 wins.

[rhm]

---

Since East must have 5 spades and West a heart stopper, the ♥J looks to me simply as an attempt to draw trumps while blocking the trump suit.
That way the defense can draw dummy's trumps and at the same time get club ruffs.
If West has 5 trumps and you do not unblock the ♥T best defense will be able to come to 2 club ruffs, one of them being a trump sur coup, and avoid a spade ruff in dummy at the same time.
This would mean four down.

If you do not unblock the ♥T:
East will win the second spade and push a low diamond through, not the ♦Q. (which declarer should duck to establish diamond ruffs to hand.)
West will switch to a second trump.
Declarer can not overtake now and when declarer plays anything from the table the defense can engineer a club ruff and after cashing the second diamond and the third spade push another club (or spade) through.

If you play the ♥T under the jack you win in hand and play a spade.
Now the defense can play a second trump only by allowing you to play 4 rounds of trumps.
In the end you will get 5 trump tricks and a minor suit trick that way or a spade ruff in dummy.
The defense gets 2 spades, 2 diamonds and a club and in addition either 2 ruffs or one trump trick and a third spade, but the defense cannot get 3 spade tricks and 2 trump tricks.
(East West can make 6♠, by establishing clubs for one loser, but this contract is not easy to reach)

Rainer Herrmann

[whereagles]

If that is the real hand, I'll have to ask whether Kelsey rose from the dead to play East

[gnasher]

whereagles, on 2014-March-11, 11:22, said:

If that is the real hand, I'll have to ask whether Kelsey rose from the dead to play East

That is the real hand. Rainer even has ♦Q and ♦J in the correct hands

At the table, there was a slight variation in the play: declarer played low from dummy at trick two, then another heart to the 10 and a club towards hand. East rose with the ace, gave a club ruff, won the spade continuation, and played a low diamond through declarer, so the defenders got all their tricks.