[ralph23]

Scoring: IMP

South opens 1♠, North bids 2♥. South rebids 2♠ and North raises to 4♠, ending the auction. EW silent.

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Yes, this one really happened in a National Championship many years ago. Eddie was sitting East with this fine collection.

Partner is on lead against 4♠, and leads the King of ♦. Dummy plays low and it's your play, Eddie.

What do you play on trick one, and why?

Adv & Exp. pls hide your answers.

[Quantumcat]

Well a low one for 5.

Declarer has a million tricks. Probably 6 spades, 5 hearts, 2 clubs, don't need to give him a diamond too. Hopefully partner won't play another high diamond.

Is it really possible to break this contract? No one has replied so maybe you can give us the answer, ralph.

[brianshark]

My 2 cents:

Spoiler

With Qxx in dummy, partner can see a continuation will set up a ♦ so your card is suit pref. If this contract is to be beaten, your partner has the goods so you need to help him by not blowing a trick. Signal high (♦8) for a ♥. If partner has the K, he now knows you have nothing (in the side suits anyway) and can do what is necessary (cash out or exit safely or whatever). If partner doesn't have the K, then at least a ♥ switch hasn't blown a trick. And killing dummy's long heart suit before trumps are drawn might be the only way to stop him pitching his losers on it.

[ArcLight]

Spoiler

To make your trump K, you must panic declarer into believing a ruff is imminent.
Hearts is probably the most likely suit.
You want a heart shift, and declarer to go up with the ace and play ace and another trump, you win, but then what?
Lead a dime for the 2nd dime? Thats just 3 tricks.
Pard needs another trick somehow. Does he hold the ♣A or the ♥K?
He can cash which ever he has

[pclayton]

I'm sure I'm missing something, but...

Spoiler

Lets let pard cash the 2nd diamond, so I'm going to encourage with the 7, and follow with the 8. This may even create a losing option for declarer if he has ♦xx ♥xx.

I can't see the setting trick at this point, but it looks like a good start.

[ralph23]

Here is the full deal, and I'll try to recreate Eddie's commentary on it .....

♣♦♥♠

Scoring: IMP

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"Pard led the King from AK and I thoughtlessly played the deuce. Partner then started to think what this signal meant. (Note -it is of course an attitude situation -- attitude can apply, so it does apply. Root/Kantar rule)

He reasoned correctly that I must have a big honor in a round suit to make this play. While it wasn't entirely without doubt, the most logical one on the bidding was the King of ♥, so he shifted to a heart at trick two, based on my signal.

This was of course a disaster, as declarer played three quick rounds of hearts to rid himself of his diamond loser, then gave up two trump tricks to make the game.

To the casual observer, sure, it looks like partner blew it by not cashing his Ace of diamonds. However, any expert will tell you that *I * was the one in error, not my partner. I should have given him false encouragement in diamonds, and made him cash his Ace, to prevent him from making the disaster-shift. If I had had the King of hearts, and declarer had the King of trumps, (instead of the actual layout, which is vice-versa), then partner would have desparately needed to shift to the heart."

(I.e. if that had been the case, then if his partner had continued with the Ace of ♦, the ♦Queen would have been a parking place for declarer's heart loser.)