[hatchett]

Scoring: IMP

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1♥ X 2♥ P
P X P 3♦
P P 3♥ all P

You lead the ♠A and partner discourages with 2. What do you play next?

[FrancesHinden]

Declarer's silence indicates he is fairly balanced (or at least, doesn't have a club void) so if partner has the ace of clubs this is going off whatever happens. Declarer has a least a doubleton club, or else partner has at least 4 clubs and would have bid 2NT over the double.

I assume partner would have encouraged with a doubleton spade?

If declarer has the ace of clubs, which is far more likely, we need to find a fifth trick before declarer can draw trumps and run clubs (which are running). Where can we get another trick from?

i) Partner has doubleton spade (possibly Qx)
ii) Partner has the DK
iii) Partner has a trump trick
iv) Partner has a club singleton


The thing about these is that if we can only decide which one applies, the contract is probably going two off. If we get it wrong, it will make.

Do we have time to try for all of these?
Yes, we do. We have quite a lot of flexibility.

One approach is:
- Cash the DA next and see if partner encourages. Partner has enough length in diamonds that the signal should be unambiguous. Assuming partner discourages,
- Cash the SK and see if partner had Qx all along. If not,
- play a club, playing partner for xxx xxx KJxxxx x

The last is massively unlikely, because partner might have lebensohled into 3D over 2H last round, if available; or would have bid more than 3D this round. But we've run out of other things to play for by then!

[if partner would have discouraged with a low doubleton spade, I will play for that rather than club ruff, as the club ruff is pretty implausible]

[Codo]

What a beautyful analysis...

[whereagles]

Well, my analysis is rather more pedestrian... if we go passive, declarer will cash 4 hearts and 5 clubs, so we must go active.

I'm going to play pard for ♦K or ♦J (very likely) and lead the diamond QUEEN. If this holds, another diamond to pard's king will follow and we'll probably get 2 undertricks. If declarer has the ♦K instead, after taking the ♥A, I'll underlead the ♦A to pard's jack and spade switch. Seems to me this line virtually ensures 1 down... (looked at the for 30 secs, so bear with me )

[dake50]

What of lead club now, lead club after HA if partner has 3c club?

[ArcLight]

Frances,

Pard doesn't have room for many HCP, assuming dealer has at least 12 HCP.

If spades are 4=3=3=3 and we cash the K, dealers Q will make.
I think its important to get pard in to lead a spade.

Cash the A♦ and if pard discourages, play a club.
Don't cash the master Spade yet.


(or am I missing something?)

[Free]

I think our best chances of defeating this contract are to hope that partner has something in ♣ and the suit blocks. Therefor we need dummy to ruff, so I'll play ♦A and ♦Q.

[akhare]

Partner is pretty broke and declarer is likely 5332 or 6322. The bad news is that declarer almost certainly has the A♣ and ♣ are breaking likely 3-3. The good news is that declarer doesn't know about the ♣ break yet and might defer taking a ♠ discard (in case he's 2-6-3-2).

It looks like I need to somehow get pard in to lead ♠. Since leading the A♦ is likely to cost a trick anyway, I might as well make a play that has the potential of creating an entry into partner hand.

So, play the Q♦ and hope that pard has the J♦...

Atul

[pclayton]

This is a very similar hand to one in a Swiss Match in a Bridge World - maybe 3 years ago.

I like the Q♦ shift. Declarer really needs the K♦/A♣ for the opening. The spade can probably wait; I'd rather see the signal on the ♦Q.