[lamford]

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London Superleague so a good standard. Partner leads the five of clubs (fourth best from an honour). Dummy plays low. Plan the defence, and what would you do if declarer played the jack from dummy?

[AL78]

We need one more trick outside my black suits. If partner has a club honor, there is little room for another useful honor in his hand unless declarer has bid game on distribution as much as HCP strength. If dummy plays low I am inclined to win and play the ten back hoping partner led from Q9xx or Kxxx. If declarer plays the jack from dummy, I give declarer for the king so win and switch to a top heart hoping partner has the king. I find it difficult to go through all possible hand layouts declarer could hold on the bidding, filter out the ones where the contract is cold, and calculate the most likely source of a fourth trick from the remainder based on the limited HCP partner holds, so I am somewhat guessing here.

[LBengtsson]

AL78, on 2022-September-08, 05:16, said:

We need one more trick outside my black suits. If partner has a club honor, there is little room for another useful honor in his hand unless declarer has bid game on distribution as much as HCP strength. If dummy plays low I am inclined to win and play the ten back hoping partner led from Q9xx or Kxxx. If declarer plays the jack from dummy, I give declarer for the king so win and switch to a top heart hoping partner has the king. I find it difficult to go through all possible hand layouts declarer could hold on the bidding, filter out the ones where the contract is cold, and calculate the most likely source of a fourth trick from the remainder based on the limited HCP partner holds, so I am somewhat guessing here.

I think the board orientation threw you AL78. It threw me also

The cards look very kind for declarer. Can I ask: Are East/West playing Acol or 5M, lamford?

[mikeh]

I think we have to assume that we have a trump trick. It seems probable that declarer has AQxxx(x) and he’ll have little reason to double hook (but see below)

So we need two more tricks. AQxxx Kx AQx Kxx?

On that, we need to win the club Ace and return the 10. Declarer will likely win the King and go for a club pitch on the hearts, which won’t work. Partner ruffs and exits the club Queen. Now declarer is dead…indeed he will probably go two off.

Of course, he might win the king of clubs, cash the spade Ace and, having taken his pitch, will know the spade situation. Now he tracks a high spade from dummy and makes.

This layout requires that partner led a club from x xx Kxxxxx Qxxx, but that seems plausible to me.

I don’t think declarer’s play from dummy is meaningful. Yes, if he held Qxx he’d not play the Jack, but I can’t see any holding on which playing the 10, if he calls low from dummy, is the right play. I may have missed something.

[AL78]

LBengtsson, on 2022-September-08, 08:19, said:

I think the board orientation threw you AL78. It threw me also

Yes it has. I attempted to reverse the order of card play based on the misplacement of the players but only partially managed to do that. I now realise my trump holding is sitting under declarer so my previous response is probably nonsense.

[lamford]

Declarer had AQxxxx none AQxx K9x and we have to put in the ten of clubs and declarer cannot make it, Note that it if declarer had played the jack of clubs on the first round, we have to win and return a low clubs from Tx. Tough league, this London Superleague.

[mikeh]

lamford, on 2022-September-11, 15:28, said:

Declarer had AQxxxx none AQxx K9x and we have to put in the ten of clubs and declarer cannot make it, Note that it if declarer had played the jack of clubs on the first round, we have to win and return a low clubs from Tx. Tough league, this London Superleague.

I’m busy watching the NFL so haven’t spent much time on this, but I can’t see how declarer can make this on club Ace, club 10. Certainly not without peeking at my hand….I don’t think much of any declarer who, with no clues from the bidding, plays me for KJx in spades…not that I can see any way he can make even if he does.

Your problems are usually well presented so I look forward to learning what I’ve missed.

Obviously declarer has to win the club king, or partner wins and end plays declarer, who can’t get to dummy so presumably exits a diamond, won by partner who continues the suit…won in dummy. I cover whatever spade is led and overruff the third round of diamonds.

So he pops club king. Now what? Best, I think, is to exit a club…partner plays a heart and no matter what declarer does, I think we have an answer. What have I missed?

Also, btw, what if declarer held, say, AQxxxx Kx AQx Qx? Or some other holding where we can’t affod not to take our two club tricks when partner has the King?

[smerriman]

mikeh, on 2022-September-11, 16:24, said:

I don’t think much of any declarer who, with no clues from the bidding, plays me for KJx in spades…not that I can see any way he can make even if he does.
..
So he pops club king. Now what? Best, I think, is to exit a club…partner plays a heart and no matter what declarer does, I think we have an answer. What have I missed?

Solely from a double dummy perspective, if declarer does peek and knows you have KJx, it's a nice solution; after finessing for the trump jack once, you can lead the queen of diamonds to force another entry to dummy, as South can't duck without the diamond trick disappearing (a variety of Morton's fork maybe?)

[mikeh]

smerriman, on 2022-September-11, 19:47, said:

Solely from a double dummy perspective, if declarer does peek and knows you have KJx, it's a nice solution; after finessing for the trump jack once, you can lead the queen of diamonds to force another entry to dummy, as South can't duck without the diamond trick disappearing (a variety of Morton's fork maybe?)

Exactly how does he take that double dummy early finesse in spades.? Last I saw, he had no quick dummy entry. He can force one with the diamond jack, but that gets him to dummy exactly once. I cover the spade and down he goes when I overruff his attempt to get to dummy that way

Edit. How about declarer unblocking the club king at trick one, should RHO win the ace? That’s more than slightly double dummy, but perhaps not if the N-S carding promises a top club honour in south’s hand. I’ve not seen that sort of lead convention myself…are we really expected to lead the 8 from say 108xx?

If he returns a club, he can force two entries to dummy, by smerriman’s suggestion of the diamond queen.

I have doubts not only about why declarer should play spades to be 3-0, but if declarer wants to play this way (as opposed, for example, to using the club entry to hook diamonds…if that wins, I make unless LHO has KJx in spades or RHO has both KJx in spades and a doubleton diamond), I’ll have north switch to a diamond at trick two.

Indeed, I think it clear to do so, no matter how he reads the club King play.

Now south wins the diamond king and returns the suit. Declarer wins in dummy, pitches a club on the A of hearts if he wants (but it’s irrelevant as far as I can see), leads a spade and say I put in the jack (which should be found even if declarer hasn’t revealed the heart void. No way is he unblocking in clubs if he has one or more hearts in his hand to use to get to dummy). He plays the queen and I don’t think he can make. If he exits a club, partner wins and gives me a diamond ruff.

As I say, I may have missed something (despite having spent more time on it) but I still can’t see how declarer can make after north wins the club Ace….it’s not as if a diamond back is difficult to find after the king appears.

[smerriman]

mikeh, on 2022-September-11, 20:05, said:

Exactly how does he take that double dummy early finesse in spades.? Last I saw, he had no quick dummy entry. He can force one with the diamond jack, but that gets him to dummy exactly once. I cover the spade and down he goes when I overruff his attempt to get to dummy that way.

Your start was (after club to the ace and ten return):

Quote

So he pops club king. Now what? Best, I think, is to exit a club... partner plays heart...

Declarer wins the heart in dummy, so is immediately in position to finesse a spade.

Again, this is double dummy mode only, not necessarily relevant to the real play/defense.

[mikeh]

smerriman, on 2022-September-11, 23:06, said:

Your start was (after club to the ace and ten return):


Declarer wins the heart in dummy, so is immediately in position to finesse a spade.

Again, this is double dummy mode only, not necessarily relevant to the real play/defense.

Good catch

How about south returning his 4th club rather than a heart?

If declarer ruffs in dummy, north pitches a diamond. Covers the spade from dummy and now declarer can’t lead the diamond queen without allowing south to win and give a ruff.

If declarer pitches from dummy, presumably a diamond, north does likewise. Again, declarer can’t stop losing two clubs, a diamond and either a spade or a diamond ruff.

Neat hand. I still can’t see how the club ace allows a make. Maybe the OP will let us know.

[smerriman]

On the 4th club, both ruffing and pitching work, actually.

If you ruff and take one finesse, you can play both aces and endplay North with the last trump.

If you pitch, then you can cash the diamond and ruff a diamond, with North again being endplayed if they overruff.

But I was only able to see any of this by actually looking at the double dummy result, rather than by any skill. Very cute as a double dummy problem, though.

[mikeh]

smerriman, on 2022-September-12, 03:33, said:

On the 4th club, both ruffing and pitching work, actually.

If you ruff and take one finesse, you can play both aces and endplay North with the last trump.

If you pitch, then you can cash the diamond and ruff a diamond, with North again being endplayed if they overruff.

But I was only able to see any of this by actually looking at the double dummy result, rather than by any skill. Very cute as a double dummy problem, though.

Thanks for this

I don’t know if you experience this, but once in a while my brain keeps worrying about a hand (fir me usually one I misplayed in real life) and I wake up at some ungodly hour with the answer…it’s 4:10 am here as I write this….and I’d woken realizing that if he ruffs in dummy on a 4th club, and I pitch a diamond, I can be stripped by, as you note, one trump hook then cashing the diamond ace before throwing me in with a spade

My brain apparently didn’t spend much time on the other branch of pitching in dummy, but of course that also results in an endplay…now when it goes diamond ace, diamond ruff and overruff, I’m down to major cards and whichever major I exit, he makes by hooking the spade

[lamford]

I did go off on the actual hand when East played the ace and another club. I exited a club. West played a heart and I took the diamond defence ahich lost and West played the fourth club and that was that.

I agree that declarer will probably not make it but to make assurance doubly sure you need to put in the ten of clubs as cards lie.