[ralph23]

♣♦♥♠

Scoring: IMP

South opens 2NT, showing 20-21 balanced. North bids 3♥ as a transfer and South bids 3♠. North bids 3NT, ending the auction.

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You open with your fourth-best ♥ and partner plays the Jack, declarer playing small.

Partner returns the Queen of ♥, and declarer plays the 9.

Just in case partner had a doubleton heart, you overtake with your King of ♥ (as you can afford to do), and return the ♥ ten. Partner, bless him, follows suit with the 7 and declarer takes his Ace of ♥ perforce.

Declarer now leads the 6 of ♠ and it's your play. What is your defense? Why?

Adv & Exp pls hide your answers.

[jtfanclub]

I know where you're going with this.

Spoiler

Declarer has a small doubleton spade. If you duck, he finesses the ten (won by your partner with the jack), wins any return, and finesses another spade, runs the spades, and claims.

If you play the king on the first spade, if he lets you take it, you cash your heart for down 1. If he plays the ace, returns to his hand, and finesses the ten, your partner wins, but now declarer is stuck in his had, unable to get to the good spades. Eventually, he'll have to give you a diamond.

Took me about 15 seconds...because I started with "why should I play my king", since if the answer was to play low it wouldn't be a problem. I should actually find this at the table, because I can count up points (11+6+3+20=40) and see that at most my partner has a jack left, so my spade king is going away not matter what.

I doubt I would, though.

[Trumpace]

hidden..

Spoiler

Rise with the spade K. If partner has the Jack, you restrict declarer to two spade trick. If you play low, declarer just loses on spade trick, by a double finesse in spades

...

[Quantumcat]

Obviously you have to play the king, but why?

Declarer must have 2 spades or he would have bid 4♠. Partner probably has the jack because declarer didn't run it (should he have if he had it?) Declarer needs the spades for his contract, if he only has two then partner has three, and if you play your king the queen still won't get rid of partner's jack, but since he has only two, when he wins what partner returns he has no entries to get the spades. He has to win your king otherwise you play your hearts. If you don't play your king, he loses to partner's jack but he can finesse your king and arrive in dummy (queen, then ace takes down king) then play the rest of the spades.

[jtfanclub]

Quantumcat, on Jul 29 2007, 10:54 PM, said:

Partner probably has the jack because declarer didn't run it (should he have if he had it?)

Doesn't matter if he has it or not. Declarer can always play the ten now, get back to his hand with a club, and play the spade jack and overtake. If you play the king now and declarer has the jack, you haven't lost anything. It's not like you're going to develop a trick in clubs.

[ralph23]

Quantumcat, on Jul 29 2007, 10:54 PM, said:

Obviously you have to play the king, but why?

Declarer must have 2 spades or he would have bid 4♠. Partner probably has the jack because declarer didn't run it (should he have if he had it?) Declarer needs the spades for his contract, if he only has two then partner has three, and if you play your king the queen still won't get rid of partner's jack, but since he has only two, when he wins what partner returns he has no entries to get the spades. He has to win your king otherwise you play your hearts. If you don't play your king, he loses to partner's jack but he can finesse your king and arrive in dummy (queen, then ace takes down king) then play the rest of the spades.

Great reasoning and of course right ! I will show you all four hands later but your thinking was right on the mark.

[ArcLight]

If South really has 20-21, and pard has shown up with 3 HCP, there is no room for pard to have the spade J. Dummy has 6 HCP, we have 11, pard has 3, thats 20 HCP. Declarer needs to have the rest.

I'm not saying people don't ever open "light", adding a point for length of 10's and 9's. But I wouldn't assume so.

However, if declarer has the J, then he makes the hand. So assume that he opened light (19 HCP), and pray that pard has the J.
In this case you have no alternative to assuming a < 20 HCP 2NT.

[vuroth]

Declarer has me. Does he know it?

From the bidding, declarer only has 2 spades. If I duck, he'll return to his hand and repeat the finesse.

I'll play the 4 of spades on the first round, and the 2 of spades on the second round. Hopefully, declarer will believe me, rise with the ace, and try to find his tricks elsewhere.

V

EDIT - I completley missed that the jack was not on the board. Gah!

[pclayton]

Ralph, I think its good form to mention that many of the hands you post are straight from published works.

At least they have a 'book' feel to me.

[ralph23]

Actually they are derivatives (the mistakes are all mine in the deriving, and I do make some) from my notes in the umpteen bridge classes I've had with several teachers. Lord knows where they got them, my guess is they probably made some up and were inspired by some published works for others. The themes are well known and well worn, in any case.