[ewj]

Scoring: IMP

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So you reach 6H by south after a Drury auction, opposition silent.

The opponents are not a great pair but not terrible but you can't necessarily expect them to do the right thing.


Anyway, you get a club lead. What's your line basically.

I won in hand and cashed a top heart for starters which looks fairly safe...both follow with low cards, i.e. the QT9 are the only ones out. Do you:

a) bash out another top heart and rely on the diamond hook now if the queen falls
or

cross to the king of clubs and play the jack of diamonds, being fairly sure they won't duck it if it's offside....if that works then safety play the hearts (presumably that was the point of this), although obviously only catering for QT9x on your left and risking a potential diamond ruff both on the first round and after the queen of hearts is taken.....

[655321]

AK of hearts for me. This makes whenever the queen is doubleton, and half of the other 3-2 breaks - just under 50%.

An immediate low heart makes when the King of diamonds is onside and trumps are not 4-1 offside (unless they can get a first round diamond ruff).

Taking a diamond finesse planning to take the safety play caters for hearts 4-1 onside, and the diamond King onside. About one quarter of the Qxxx breaks. What you lose when they get an undeserved ruff is surely more than this.


But I suppose the lead matters too - did you bid diamonds during the auction? If not, Kxx in an unbid suit is an attractive lead, as is a singleton diamond. If diamonds were unbid, you might decide diamonds are more likely to be 2-2, and consequently the risk of trying the diamond finesse is not so great. Yet, on the other hand, a defender holding QT9x of trumps may choose not to lead from a King or a singleton anyway...

(edit) My last point is wrong I guess, if they don't lead a diamond because they have QT9x of trumps, and you take the diamond finesse assuming that playing on diamonds is safe, you have done everything you could to pick up QT9x, so that is not a problem.

This post has been edited by 655321: 2008-September-14, 18:22

[ewj]

No not really, I bid 2D over 2C although that could probably be some generic try.

My opponents were more sort of good club players who would never underlead Ks v slams (in my opinion) and partner of my considerations in my head was that I wouldn't expect them to find a ruff if it were there v 6 after taking the DK....they'd never really expect declarer to give them that chance I don't think...I dunno

[655321]

For your second line to work, if West does have QT9x you need East to have the king of diamonds doubleton, don't you? There aren't enough entries to draw trumps and cross to dummy to take a second diamond finesse.

Club to dummy. Diamond to Q. Heart. West will win his ♥Q and exit a heart or a spade or even a club. Now you can't pick up Kxx diamonds onside, if hearts were 4-1.

(If the diamond King pops up on the first round, I assume you would play hearts from the top.)

[nige1]

ewj, on Sep 14 2008, 06:36 PM, said:

Scoring: IMP


So you reach 6H by south after a Drury auction, opposition silent. The opponents are not a great pair but not terrible but you can't necessarily expect them to do the right thing. Anyway, you get a club lead. What's your line basically.
I won in hand and cashed a top heart for starters which looks fairly safe...both follow with low cards, i.e. the QT9 are the only ones out. Do you:
a) bash out another top heart and rely on the diamond hook now if the queen falls
or
cross to the king of clubs and play the jack of diamonds, being fairly sure they won't duck it if it's offside....if that works then safety play the hearts (presumably that was the point of this), although obviously only catering for QT9x on your left and risking a potential diamond ruff both on the first round and after the queen of hearts is taken.....

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More interesting problem if RHO drops the ♥T or ♥9 on your ♥A but even then, IMO, ♥AK is the better play. Pity you couldn't find the ♦ slam.

[ewj]

Fair enough, I led the jack of diamonds off the table and it was covered...I then "safety played" the trumps and it was QT9x on my left but thinking about it afterwards I felt that I was a bit foolish.

[pclayton]

ewj, on Sep 15 2008, 07:04 AM, said:

Fair enough, I led the jack of diamonds off the table and it was covered...I then "safety played" the trumps and it was QT9x on my left but thinking about it afterwards I felt that I was a bit foolish.

Foolish is an overbid.

Agree with the ♥AK here. I don't think this is the time for checking the ♦K to see if we need to safety hearts, but if we had say one less diamond, there's some merit to that line.

[cherdano]

Opponents would have to be bad AND the auction unrevealing before I try the diamond finesse.

[skjaeran]

cherdano, on Sep 15 2008, 05:35 PM, said:

Opponents would have to be bad AND the auction unrevealing before I try the diamond finesse.

So you'd take the !D finesse playing vs Han and yourself?

[cherdano]

skaeran, on Sep 15 2008, 11:43 AM, said:

cherdano, on Sep 15 2008, 05:35 PM, said:

Opponents would have to be bad AND the auction unrevealing before I try the diamond finesse.

So you'd take the !D finesse playing vs Han and yourself?

Depends on who of us is LHO