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After the following auction, both white:
1H(partner)-2H(Michaels)-x(suggests defending)-P
P-2S-x-All Pass
You hold KJ7x xx Q9 AK98x
You lead the CA, and dummy comes down with:
9x KQxx JT QTxxx
Partner plays the lowest club spot and declarer follows. After thinking about it, you play another high club, and partner pitches and encouraging low heart,, you play a heart to the Q and ace, and partner returns a low trump (ok partner screwed up and didn't play a trump, but he should have) and declarer plays low and you win with the J.
How do you defend?
(How likely is it for partner to have a second spade that beats the 9, vs having the AK of diamonds, and are there any other cases that matter?)
Note: Partner is marked with 2641 shape.
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Defensive Problem
#2
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Posted 2007-September-19, 11:39
I think partner has the AK of diamonds and poor spades for two reasons:
i) he has an opening bid which seems to be made up of the AJ of hearts, a top diamond honour and either the other top diamond honour or a spade honour. With Ax of spades he would have played ace and a second spade, so he'd need to have exactly Qx, as opposite to all the various xx holdings he can have.
ii) with a poor diamond holding (one of the top two honours) and a trump higher than dummy, he might not have played a trump, he might have tried for some sort of cross-ruffing idea by playing a heart back. Planning for a potential trump promotion in due course. Partner doesn't know you have the DQ (you've got enough stuff not to need it); for all he knows declarer wants to draw trumps and knock out his one diamond honour, so it's much less tempting to try and draw trumps for him.
i) he has an opening bid which seems to be made up of the AJ of hearts, a top diamond honour and either the other top diamond honour or a spade honour. With Ax of spades he would have played ace and a second spade, so he'd need to have exactly Qx, as opposite to all the various xx holdings he can have.
ii) with a poor diamond holding (one of the top two honours) and a trump higher than dummy, he might not have played a trump, he might have tried for some sort of cross-ruffing idea by playing a heart back. Planning for a potential trump promotion in due course. Partner doesn't know you have the DQ (you've got enough stuff not to need it); for all he knows declarer wants to draw trumps and knock out his one diamond honour, so it's much less tempting to try and draw trumps for him.
#3
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Posted 2007-September-22, 12:29
well?
#4
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Posted 2007-September-24, 13:21
Well in actuality partner returned a heart, which was the wrong defense. I was planning on returning the DQ and a Diamond (playing partner for the AK) so as to get another heart thru, but I didn't get the chance. But this play would have been made in part because return a trump is way too risky (not based on your good analysis). DQ when its wrong costs us a trick, a trump when its wrong might cost us multiple tricks.
Partner actually had xx AJT9xx AK8x x
So thanks to the D8, this defense would have set it 800. We only got it 300....
Partner actually had xx AJT9xx AK8x x
So thanks to the D8, this defense would have set it 800. We only got it 300....
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