[mr1303]

Scoring: IMP

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You play 3NT by South on the primative auction 1S 1NT 3NT

You get the 5 of hearts lead (2nd/4th). How do you play it?

[lowerline]

I'll start with the ♦K and a ♣ to the J...

[whereagles]

I'll let the heart ride into my hand and finesse the spade jack. This probably stupid, but I'll stick to it since it was my first feeling

[FrancesHinden]

Clearly we'll let the heart come round to hand as that increases no end our chance of two heart tricks.

You haven't given us the heart pips, so I don't know what the odds are of hearts being 5-2. We also need to know what happens on the first heart - I may find I have 3 heart losers.

My first feeling was to play a spade to the jack, but my second feeling is to reject that line: it goes off at once with hearts 5-2 and the SQ wrong; that's why I want to know the heart position!

Anyway, I think I agree with unblocking the diamond at trick 2 and playing a club. If a club to the jack holds, I'm going to assume RHO has the CA (which I wouldn't assume if the CK had held) and cash one top diamond (discarding a spade) before playing a spade to the jack. If the CJ loses I've probably got 9 tricks.

[Gerben42]

Assuming I have 2 tricks in ♥ after letting one run to the King, I will cross to ♦K and turn my attention to ♣ and cash a top one in DUMMY first: ♣K. Next I will run one to the Jack.

[skjaeran]

I've got 2♠, 1♥, 3♦ and 3♣ tricks by force. The only problem is that opponents might be able to cash 4♥'s and the ♣A or 3♥'s, ♣A and a ♦ trick.

The odds strongly suggest that the ♥ lenght is with the opening leader. I'll thus let the lead go to the hand. Then I'll lead a ♦ to the king and play ♣K off dummy. This is a safety play, to force opponents to win the ♣A before I cash my ♦'s, if possible.

If the lead was from a doubleton and opening leader can win the ♣A and lead another ♥ through dummy, so be it.

[mr1303]

Heart suit in isolation:

Q97

opposite

K84

If you play low at trick 1 RHO plays the 10

[lowerline]

mr1303, on Apr 11 2007, 02:50 PM, said:

Heart suit in isolation:

Q97

opposite

K84

If you play low at trick 1 RHO plays the 10

So West lead from AJ65(x) and East had Tx(x)...

♥K
♦K
♣K
♣J
(assuming they ducked twice)
♦A
♠J
even it loses to the Q, your contract is made...

Steven

[mr1303]

If only

Glad to see everyone else got it wrong as well though

The full hands:

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LHO found a lead from 53 doubleton. His explanation was that it was unlikely that I had 5 or 6 hearts, so partner would appear to have length in the suit, and a spade lead was beyond pointless on the auction.

I won in hand with the king, unblocked the K of diamonds and played a club, LHO won and put a heart through for 1 down.

Someone said that ducking the first heart was "routine". I wasn't too sure about that.

[whereagles]

Ducking 1st heart doesn't seem right. Opps just keep playing hearts and when you break clubs it's 1 down if the ace is alongside the heart length.

Taking 1st heart virtually guarantees it if LHO has length or the ace (in the line of ♦K+♣).

[Free]

It all depends on where you place ♣A and the ♥. I would've started with ♥Q because I thought LHO had ♣A AND the ♥ length. However, this was probably influenced by the fact that you posted this as a problem, so I'm not sure if I'd do it correctly at the table

If you play low, it's obvious to take ♥K imo. Congratulate your LHO for his very inspired and successful lead.

[FrancesHinden]

mr1303, on Apr 12 2007, 08:29 AM, said:

Someone said that ducking the first heart was "routine". I wasn't too sure about that.

Well, just swap the CA for a a small club between the EW hands and see how routinely you go off by ducking the heart. Even if you know hearts are 2-5 it's not obvious to duck.

[Fluffy]

The way to block ♥ suit is not to duck first but to play ♥Q from dummy at trick 1 (wich also has some chances if LHO has hearts and ♣A)

I wonder for wich kind of player is that duck a rountine, I've seen people ducking with AJ10 (not a beginner at all), maybe the same kind of player.

[FrancesHinden]

Fluffy, on Apr 12 2007, 11:02 AM, said:

The way to block ♥ suit is not to duck first but to play ♥Q from dummy at trick 1 (wich also has some chances if LHO has hearts and ♣A)

Well, not exactly 'block', but yes, keep control of the suit.
Still, that looks a bit silly whenever RHO has the CA, as well as costing a trick when LHO has underled the J10 of hearts.

Most of the 'odd' plays associated with this type of layout (rising with an honour with Qxx opposite Kxx or rising with the Q with Q10x opposite Kx or.... only make sense when you know from the auction how the suit is lying. Here there is no real reason to suspect that LHO doesn't have long hearts, and the best play in the suit then is low from dummy.

[Fluffy]

yeha, but Q from dummy is better than ducking.