[jchiu]

Scoring: IMP

Pass Pass 1♥ Pass

1N Pass 2♠ Pass

3♦ Pass 3N All Pass

---

You are playing upside down carding

♣ 5-Q-2-6
♥ 4-5-K-2
♥ 8-3-A-♦5
♠ 4-10-6-2
♣ 3-10-4-K
♠ A-Q-5-3
♠ J-♣7-8-K

Over to you MacDuff ....

Scoring: IMP

Pass Pass 1♥ Pass

1N Pass 2♠ Pass

3♦ Pass 3N All Pass

---

[gnasher]

Assuming that partner's first club was attitude and his second showed a remaining even number, declarer is 2=2=6=3. If declarer's diamonds are as good as AQ, I can't beat it, because declarer can set up a heart trick by force.

I'm going to have to play a diamond at some point, to set up partner's queen before dummy's heart is established, so I play ♦K now.

If I exit with a spade instead, I think we can just survive, even if declarer's diamonds are headed by AJ108:
- If declarer plays a heart, I switch to ♦K now.
- If declarer cashes a club, I have to throw ♦9 (if I threw a small heart, he'd play a diamond to the jack, endplaying me). If declarer now plays a heart, partner has to throw a diamond, keeping two club winners, and now I exit with ♦K.

Edit: that last sentence isn't quite right. After spade exit, club, heart, if partner throws a club winner I can cash my heart winner. Now partner has to throw a diamond.

This post has been edited by gnasher: 2008-April-15, 03:08

[Free]

♦K seems obvious...

[rbforster]

gnasher, on Apr 15 2008, 03:59 AM, said:

Assuming that partner's first club was attitude and his second showed a remaining even number, declarer is 2=2=6=3.

I'm pretty sure that since South followed to the 3rd spade trick, that makes him 3=2=5=3, consistent with partner's low card (even remaining) from 4 clubs left on the second club trick.

K♦ for me too, hoping for either the Q or J♦ with partner.

[gnasher]

Rob F, on Apr 15 2008, 10:32 AM, said:

I'm pretty sure that since South followed to the 3rd spade trick, that makes him 3=2=5=3, consistent with partner's low card (even remaining) from 4 clubs left on the second club trick.

Good point.

Quote

K♦ for me too, hoping for either the Q or J♦ with partner.

If partner's diamonds are headed by the jack, declarer has nine tricks.

[dburn]

I don't quite see the point of this problem. If declarer has the ace and queen of diamonds he is cold; if he doesn't he is down. But I had better not shift to a diamond, just in case he has the ace and queen but doesn't work out how to make the hand. Playing a spade is sure to beat the contract whenever we can beat it, and may also beat it some of the times we can't.

[FrancesHinden]

dburn, on Apr 17 2008, 01:57 AM, said:

But I had better not shift to a diamond, just in case he has the ace and queen but doesn't work out how to make the hand.

Particularly as he seems not to understand what a finesse is.

...and chose to bid his 5-card diamond suit rather than show Kx heart support

[jchiu]

Either the last two posts are English humour (1) well beyond my American perceptions, or this forum is becoming very caustic

It seems that nobody cares to explain how to take themselves off a two-suited endplay. I played the remaining spade, declarer cashed the ♣A from dummy.
Here, if I tossed a heart as happened in real life, he would play a diamond to the jack (AJ107 left) to endplay me to lead into his diamond tenace. I can do no better than to cash my ♥Q. If I toss a diamond, declarer can cash the ♣A, ♦A, and establish a trick by force.

Note that I would have survived my spade play had my partner not tossed any clubs at all. Of course, I should take the full charge here, since I can hardly expect my partner to defend as well as Mr. Callaghan every hand.

(1) Yes, I realise (1) that's how they record this word on a keyboard.

[dburn]

jchiu, on Apr 18 2008, 11:32 PM, said:

Either the last two posts are English humour (1) well beyond my American perceptions, or this forum is becoming very caustic

It seems that nobody cares to explain how to take themselves off a two-suited endplay.  I played the remaining spade, declarer cashed the ♣A from dummy. 
Here, if I tossed a heart as happened in real life, he would play a diamond to the jack (AJ107 left) to endplay me to lead into his diamond tenace.  I can do no better than to cash my ♥Q.  If I toss a diamond, declarer can cash the ♣A, ♦A, and establish a trick by force.

Note that I would have survived my spade play had my partner not tossed any clubs at all.  Of course, I should take the full charge here, since I can hardly expect my partner to defend as well as Mr. Callaghan every hand.

(1) Yes, I realise (1) that's how they record this word on a keyboard.

Oh, I see. East had thrown a winner (♣7) rather than a loser (any diamond except the queen) on the third round of spades. In that case, you had certainly better play a diamond, hoping that partner has the queen and wondering why it is that you need to save him from himself so often.