[FrancesHinden]

Here's another one of these defensive problems that you can get right if you think carefully about the hand. Our opponents didn't.

Note this is total points scoring, overtricks are irrelevant.

You are West, on lead. Dummy is North.

Scoring: Total Points

1♥ 1♠ 2♥ P
4♥ all pass

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You elect to lead a club.
Declarer rises with the ace in dummy, partner showing either an even number or encouraging.
Declarer plays a heart to partner's Jack and declarer's Queen, then cashes the ace of hearts and which partner plays the King. You discard a black card of your choice; a diamond discard looks fairly silly so assume you won't do that.

Declarer plays a spade towards dummy, and you play the ace. Partner's card is consistent with either a singleton or doubleton spade.

Now what?

[Trumpace]

Looks like we have 3 tricks. ♠A, ♦A and ♣K. The fourth can only come from diamonds. Also, we need to take out tricks quick. Declarer likely has ten tricks. (seven hearts, ♣A, ruff in dummy and ♠K). We must make our tricks before declarer gets a chance to cash the ♠K.

Also, we need partner to lead diamonds in case declarer has the K.

So low club it is. Hope partner wins with the ♣Q and returns ♦Q.

[temp3600]

If declarer has the ♦KQ, he is cold, so partner needs to hold one of the two.

Suppose declarer has the ♦Q. He doesn't have much of an opening without the ♣Q, so I would place him with that card. Partner's signal shows 4 clubs in that case, and declarer's hand is x(x) AQ10xxxx Qx(x) Qxx. I don't think declarer would go up with the♣A at the first trick with this hand, and also partner might have discouraged in clubs, holding the ♦K.

Let's suppose declarer has the ♦K. We need partner to hold both the ♦Q and the ♣Q. That leaves declarer with something like x AQ10xxxx Kxx xx, or maybe x AQ10xxxx Kxxx x. It's possible I guess.

Small club, hopefully to partner's queen.

[kenberg]

I am also going to lead a club to partner's Q but I think it is only mostly rather than entirely clear.

If declarer has the Q of clubs we do not have two diamonds to cash: Declarer at trick one would have seen that playing the ace [edited, I misspoke] would establish four defensive tricks and surely would have bet that the lead was from the king rather than betting the defense would not cash their tricks. If we cannot cash two immediate diamonds, and declarer has the Q of clubs, we are dead.

So: I play partner for the Q of clubs. ( I prefer a strict attitude signal, rather than "encouraging or an even number", but at any rate I play him for the Q.)

But: Declarer may have started with a stiff club.

If he was dealt xx/AQTxxxx/Qxx/x I must lead a low diamond.
If he was dealt x/AQTxxxx/Kxxx/x I must lead the club.
If he was dealt x/AQTxxxx/KT9x/x I must lead the club and stay alert enough to play small if declarer ruffs and immediately leads the ten of diamonds from his hand. (Not hard.)

This last hand resembles an opening heart bid, the first doesn't. So I lead the 9 of clubs. If declarer ruffs, finesses in spades and dumps a diamond, tabling the first hand, I congratulate him. Or her.


Now leading the 9 of clubs presumes that I still have the 9 of clubs. So what is it that I tossed on the ace of hearts when it was played? At that time I had not yet seen partner's king of hearts falling under the ace so I was not yet able to count declarer for seven hearts. Throwing the king of clubs at T3 seems dramatic. Probably I threw the 9 and must trust my alert partner to overtake the Jack when I lead it. He can count the nine tricks, and ten tricks if declarer can either take the J or ruff a later club, so this should not be a real toughie.

[Blofeld]

Frances, would partner have played this way in trumps with KJT?

[FrancesHinden]

This is clearly too easy for you...
Yes, you have to play a low club. The full layout is

Scoring: Total Points

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At the table West tried to cash the king of clubs, and looked a little perplexed when it held, declarer discarding a diamond...

As a slight side note, I've been wondering what the best line as declarer is. There's certainly something to be said for ruffing a club to hand at trick two and trying to drop the HK singleton, to ensure LHO is endplayed on winning the spade. But then the Ace of diamonds might be onside, or doubleton offside with the HK onside...