Our opponent went for -200 at 4♥ on the following deal, trying her best. It took us quite a while after the round to remember how in the world she managed it. Any ideas?
Scoring: IMP
South declares 4♥ and received a lead of the club Queen. She went down two tricks. This seems impossible, but it occurred. Can you figure out how?
The answer (hidden):
Spoiler
She won the club on dummy (1) but then wanted to be able to ruff a club. So she played a club to her hand (2) and cashed the heart Ace (3), finding out the bad news. She then ruffed a spade on dummy (4). A club ruff in hand would be with an honor, so she instead elected a heart back to her hand (5), to work on the diamonds. A diamond to the Queen was won by the Ace (-1). A heart back was won on dummy (6), to cash the established diamond Queen (7). Now, because the diamond Jack dropped to her left (falsecard), she tried the "ruffing finesse" in diamonds (diamond 9), pitching a spade, but won by the LHO (-2). He cashed a club, on which Declarer ditched a spade loser rather than trump with an honor (-2); RHO ditched his remaining diamond. A fourth top club by LHO seems to give a ruff-sluff, but Declarer tried to trump in dummy, over-ruffed by RHO, and won by her in hand (8). The balance goes to the opponents (-3, -4, -5).
BTW, Declarer at the other table made six after a diamond Jack lead (we think that must have been the lead, strange as it is).
"Gibberish in, gibberish out. A trial judge, three sets of lawyers, and now three appellate judges cannot agree on what this law means. And we ask police officers, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and citizens to enforce or abide by it? The legislature continues to write unreadable statutes. Gibberish should not be enforced as law."
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