[kgr]

Scoring: IMP

1H-(1S)-2S-Pass
4H-All Pass

---

2S showed a limit raise with 3 card H.
LHO leads the ♠K and you take it with the Ace.
What is the best play now:
- Club to setup a ruff
- Spade back to setup the ♠J
- First play one or two rounds of ♥?
Note: Opps are no beginners, but certainly no experts! Maybe on some lines they will not find the best defence.

[nige1]

kgr, on Mar 29 2008, 06:57 AM, said:

Scoring: IMP

1H-(1S)-2S-Pass
4H-All Pass
2S showed a limit raise with 3 card H.
LHO leads the ♠K and you take it with the Ace.
What is the best play now:
- Club to setup a ruff
- Spade back to setup the ♠J
- First play one or two rounds of ♥?
Note: Opps are no beginners, but certainly no experts! Maybe on some lines they will not find the best defence.

---

I guess to lead a ♣. I hope to make at least 7♥ (including a ♣ ruff). 2♦ and 2♠. If I lead an early ♠. LHO may duck, allowing his partner to ruff.

[kgr]

nige1, on Mar 29 2008, 08:32 PM, said:

kgr, on Mar 29 2008, 06:57 AM, said:

Scoring: IMP

1H-(1S)-2S-Pass
4H-All Pass
2S showed a limit raise with 3 card H.
LHO leads the ♠K and you take it with the Ace.
What is the best play now:
- Club to setup a ruff
- Spade back to setup the ♠J
- First play one or two rounds of ♥?
Note: Opps are no beginners, but certainly no experts! Maybe on some lines they will not find the best defence.

---

I guess to lead a ♣. I hope to make at least 7♥ (including a ♣ ruff). 2♦ and 2♠. If I lead an early ♠. LHO may duck, allowing his partner to ruff.

Thanks for the answer.
I started with 1 trump and then played ♣. RHO took this ♣ and returned a trump and trumps were 3-1 with RHO.
...It is clearly better to start with a ♣ in trick 2.
RHO had something like:
♠x
♥xxx
♦KJTx
♣KJxxx
I should make?:
If LHO takes the ♣ and returns a ♦ for RHO who plays trump. I take this trump in my hand a ruff a ♣ and draw trumps and play a ♠ to dummy.

[ceeb]

nige1, on Mar 29 2008, 01:32 PM, said:

kgr, on Mar 29 2008, 06:57 AM, said:

Scoring: IMP

1H-(1S)-2S-Pass
4H-All Pass
2S showed a limit raise with 3 card H.
LHO leads the ♠K and you take it with the Ace.
What is the best play now:
- Club to setup a ruff
- Spade back to setup the ♠J
- First play one or two rounds of ♥?
Note: Opps are no beginners, but certainly no experts! Maybe on some lines they will not find the best defence.

---

I guess to lead a ♣. I hope to make at least 7♥ (including a ♣ ruff). 2♦ and 2♠. If I lead an early ♠. LHO may duck, allowing his partner to ruff.

Nice point about the duck-and-ruff defense if declarer returns an immediate spade.

There is, though, another way to look at it. A poor West will grab the spade willy-nilly, and if trumps are 4-0 that will be very helpful. A good West might decide to grab the spade rather than allow partner's trumps to be weakened; the duck defense isn't automatic.

Finally, if you play a club at trick 2, a really good West can win it and play a low spade himself anyway -- especially if RHO's ♠x is smaller than declarer's ♠x. This defense seems to work against the actual lie.

It's partly a psychological question whether excellent defenders (digression I know) are more likely to find the spade ruff if declarer plays a spade, or if they have to play it themselves.

[lowerline]

Playing a ♣ in T2 seems best. Even if LHO wins and returns a low ♠ for the ruff, you can ruff a ♣, draw trumps and play a ♦ to the 9. You win if LHO has the ♦K or ♦JT.

Steven