[1eyedjack]

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MP, Instant, 34

Not a sequence that you see every day. Shared for amusement. Not least because the contract makes at DD (on the chosen non-D lead).

[ahydra]

The DD is quite interesting on a diamond lead, who would guess to underlead ♣AKQ as South when winning the first trump?

ahydra

[cloa513]

ahydra, on 2016-February-11, 07:56, said:

The DD is quite interesting on a diamond lead, who would guess to underlead ♣AKQ as South when winning the first trump?

ahydra

Its North that leads. I think the diamond lead is winner because it severs communications to West to deny one club ruff. A club lead is ruff that EW wanted anyway. Heart Lead forces South to take out all the hearts for 3 heart winners since North has no ruffing possibility for a duck to work and then there are 11 tricks off the top. The spade lead- not sure of that one.

[smerriman]

cloa513, on 2016-February-12, 08:37, said:

Its North that leads. I think the diamond lead is winner because it severs communications to West to deny one club ruff.

After the diamond lead and declarer plays a heart, South must win and underlead the AKQ, which was what ahydra was saying.

[cloa513]

smerriman, on 2016-February-12, 14:17, said:

After the diamond lead and declarer plays a heart, South must win and underlead the AKQ, which was what ahydra was saying.

Why would declarer lead a heart playing DD- no he'd take the entry and ruff a club but he has too few entries to make it work. Suppose declarer leads a heart, South has to cash AK of hearts and lead any club- East will ruff any club return- he has to. South's third trump is gain for a gain- either using it to drain trumps or get a ruff is the same.

[1eyedjack]

cloa513, on 2016-February-12, 17:15, said:

Why would declarer lead a heart playing DD

Because he makes no fewer tricks by that line than by any other - the very definition of DD play.

cloa513, on 2016-February-12, 17:15, said:

- no he'd take the entry and ruff a club but he has too few entries to make it work.

Why would he choose that line over playing a heart, since at DD he can see that it is destined to fail, taking no more and no fewer tricks than a Heart play.

cloa513, on 2016-February-12, 17:15, said:

Suppose declarer leads a heart, South has to cash AK of hearts and lead any club- East will ruff any club return- he has to.

South "has" to do nothing of the sort. Having won the first tump, Law 44A permits him to lead any card. Choosing the other top trump costs two tricks compared with a low Club. East ruffs the Club continuation, crosses to SK, draws the last trump with HJ and runs the diamonds. Suicide for the defence and not the defence of choice for one playing DD. The interesting point that is highlighted is the distinction between South playing a high Club and a low Club having taken just one trump. In that case East does not "have" to ruff. Law 44D permits him to play any card when unable to follow suit. DD procedure expects him to select from that choice a card which increases his total trick count over a lesser. If South wins a Heart and continues a high Club at trick 3, declarer makes by discarding a Diamond or low Spade from East. So East should do that, just as South should not.

If we were playing in an environment in which declarer were playing DD but the defence were playing SD, then the Heart play is clearly superior, as the low Club defence would be extraordinarily hard to find.

That said, winning trick 1 in hand and leading a Club is not heinous. North then has to split his JT98 of Clubs to defeat it, else East discards and South wins the trick but at the cost of the contract. However splitting JT98 is a pretty auto thing to do even if you have no idea of its effect.