[xeno123]

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So the most interesting part begins when Graves is on lead at trick 4 after winning with the Ace of Hearts - see if you can come up with what he played to set the contract.

(Accurate play is still needed after this trick as well).

So my question is what his thought process must have been here to come up with the only correct choice. Anyone care to speculate?

[mikeh]

xeno123, on 2014-July-23, 15:53, said:

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So the most interesting part begins when Graves is on lead at trick 4 after winning with the Ace of Hearts - see if you can come up with what he played to set the contract.

(Accurate play is still needed after this trick as well).

So my question is what his thought process must have been here to come up with the only correct choice. Anyone care to speculate?

Alan is a friend of mine, and a former teammate and partner and a great player, but I don't see this as especially difficult for an expert.

One can look at it either as there being positive reasons to work out a spade shift, or negative reasons making any other choice less attractive than the spade.

Positive reasons:

Declarer attacked a 5-1 fit, missing A10xxxxx in hearts, rather than spades

Declarer chose to try for game in notrump, never raising spades

In addition, Alan can reasonably infer that declarer probably has only 2 clubs, or (more accurately) that the defence cannot set the hand if declarer has Hx in spades and 3 clubs, hence 2=5=3=3 shape...not to mention the 2 points above, both of which reduce the likelihood of these holdings.

Finally, if one is shifting to spades, the Q is the obvious card for several reasons, of which the best is catering to a stiff J in declarer.

The negative reasons:

a heart....one need look no further than the fact that it is virtually never right to play on the suit declarer is establishing unless one has a very unpleasant surprise in stock for declarer, which we definitely don't have

a diamond: declarer is marked with some length, at least 3 plus, and some strength in diamonds and probably lacks dummy entries to play them to best effect, unless we help him.

a club: what's the point? we don't have a shred of an entry now the heart A is gone.

I don't claim that any of the above meshes precisely with Alan's thinking. I always enjoyed talking bridge with Alan, because he saw into the game differently than I did. We'd have some really enjoyable (well, I enjoyed them and I think he did too) discussions about the relative merits, for example, of up the line bidding as opposed to walsh....he was strongly up the line and I was passionately walsh.

I learned a lot about the game from Alan and am really delighted that he is playing so well these days.

[xeno123]

Thanks for your informative response.

You make it sound so easy, but trust me it isn't for an intermediate player. (I would add there wasn't a long think in the actual game here on the viewgraph).

I would have worried about establishing spades for declarer in the event he started with three clubs and so would have an entry to dummy in the club suit. I guess your point is that the defense likely has no shot then.

Is it that obvious that you shouldn't just play passively with something like the ♥ ten?

[nige1]

Brilliant double-dummy defence!

[Antrax]

If declarer has ♣Kxx, would they have necessarily won the first trick with the K?

[Mbodell]

xeno123, on 2014-July-23, 19:24, said:

Thanks for your informative response.

You make it sound so easy, but trust me it isn't for an intermediate player. (I would add there wasn't a long think in the actual game here on the viewgraph).

I would have worried about establishing spades for declarer in the event he started with three clubs and so would have an entry to dummy in the club suit. I guess your point is that the defense likely has no shot then.

Is it that obvious that you shouldn't just play passively with something like the ♥ ten?

You still stop opponent from getting to dummy if he holds 3 clubs because he didn't win the first club with the K (which he should with 3). If he plays the K on second round, you can duck. If he plays low on second round you win A and either he had only 2 and can't reach in club's, or he has 3 but the 3rd is the K.

I agree that this defense is fairly obvious at imps. I might not find it, but I'd be mad at myself if I didn't and think it a fairly big mistake.

[phil_20686]

xeno123, on 2014-July-23, 19:24, said:

Thanks for your informative response.

You make it sound so easy, but trust me it isn't for an intermediate player. (I would add there wasn't a long think in the actual game here on the viewgraph).

I would have worried about establishing spades for declarer in the event he started with three clubs and so would have an entry to dummy in the club suit. I guess your point is that the defense likely has no shot then.

Is it that obvious that you shouldn't just play passively with something like the ♥ ten?

Attacking the spade entry makes it impossible to reach the third club, and likely generates an extra loser. Since if you do nothing, then he can next play the club K, if you cover it he can later cross and pitch on the club Q.Scoring 2c 1s 2d 3h for 8 tricks.

[xeno123]

Mbodell, on 2014-July-24, 02:00, said:

I agree that this defense is fairly obvious at imps. I might not find it, but I'd be mad at myself if I didn't and think it a fairly big mistake.

FWIW, the commentators, despite the benefit of seeing all the cards, still thought the contract was making.