[FrancesHinden]

Scoring: IMP

1♠ 2♥ 2♠ 4♠
P 5♣ P 5NT
P 6♣ P 6♥
Dbl

---

IMPs, 48-board KO, you are playing my husband and me.
4♠ = splinter, likely to be a void
5♣ = cue, would usually be first round control
5NT = grand slam force
6♣ = Ace or King of hearts, no other top honour

As a bonus question, what were you going to lead without the double?

[kfay]

Well without the double I'm leading a spade.

With the double I'll lead a ♦.

[pclayton]

When pard doubles, a diamond seems kind of obvious. LHO certainly has a spade void, probably Axx or Kxx (maybe 4th) of hearts and a big trick source outside, which in this case appears to be a diamonds. If I had to guess, LHO is 0=3=7=3 or 0=3=6=4. While pard is ruffing the diamond, I can't tell where our 2nd trick is coming from, but its reasonable to hope its the heart A, or that pard has ♥Kxx and declarer misguesses the suit.

Without the double, I would assume diamonds are 5=6=1=1 around the table. Now it looks right to lead a spade, hoping to tap dummy so that pard can hold off on a heart winner to cash a spade, or two.

[cherdano]

RHO should have 3 spades, as otherwise partner would be passing with 8 of them, and so he also has a minor void. (That's another reason to rule out Phil's constructions, the first one being I certainly expect 4 trumps for a splinter.)
Partner's void must be in RHO's side suit, and our second trick is coming from partner's trump honor. But I still don't know which suit it is....

[pclayton]

cherdano, on Sep 22 2008, 07:53 AM, said:

RHO should have 3 spades, as otherwise partner would be passing with 8 of them, and so he also has a minor void. (That's another reason to rule out Phil's constructions, the first one being I certainly expect 4 trumps for a splinter.)
Partner's void must be in RHO's side suit, and our second trick is coming from partner's trump honor. But I still don't know which suit it is....

Why does RHO have to have a minor suit void?

I would expect 4 trump for the splinter too, but a solid side suit mitigates the need. If LHO has four trump, it doesn't seem to make much difference.

[kfay]

cherdano, on Sep 22 2008, 10:53 AM, said:

But I still don't know which suit it is....

I certainly felt this way when I thought about it. Almost wrote 'close my eyes and pick a minor' but I'll just go with what my length tells me and lead the ♦. Clearly LHO has some and RHO has some. Neither has shown great club length. There's really not any indication to me that a ♣ is right but these reasons are an indication that a ♦ is right. So that makes up my mind.

[cherdano]

Sorry I misread the auction.

[dburn]

If you believe partner has a minor-suit void, you should probably lead a club. Over the years I have been involved in several deals on which it was right to lead your second-longest side suit following a Lightner double, but it was not until recently that the reason for this dawned on me: your second-longest side suit was more likely to be the opponent's solid suit.

[uqx]

I voted diamond since it'll be hard to justify to partner why I didn't lead his diamond void when he has one. Though my intuition tells me that [for the same reason(s) as dburn] that a club might both be best and create a match swing (hopefully for us).

[han]

Club, for the same reason as Burns.

[pclayton]

dburn, on Sep 23 2008, 04:56 AM, said:

If you believe partner has a minor-suit void, you should probably lead a club. Over the years I have been involved in several deals on which it was right to lead your second-longest side suit following a Lightner double, but it was not until recently that the reason for this dawned on me: your second-longest side suit was more likely to be the opponent's solid suit.

With RHO cuebidding clubs twice, I doubt LHO has the suit.

[FrancesHinden]

RHO cued clubs once. The second time was an artificial response to GSF.

[mikeh]

pclayton, on Sep 23 2008, 09:44 AM, said:

dburn, on Sep 23 2008, 04:56 AM, said:

If you believe partner has a minor-suit void, you should probably lead a club. Over the years I have been involved in several deals on which it was right to lead your second-longest side suit following a Lightner double, but it was not until recently that the reason for this dawned on me: your second-longest side suit was more likely to be the opponent's solid suit.

With RHO cuebidding clubs twice, I doubt LHO has the suit.

Phil, you misread the auction: the second club bid by rho was in response to GSF.

I lead a club but my reasoning for doing so is far different from anything I have read so far... I simply don't expect LHO to have a solid suit at all.

I find this hand very interesting, and only hope that I am not digging too deeply in my efforts to construct hands consistent with the auction. We have a LOT of clues.

LHO must hold a spade void, the diamond Ace and a heart honour, almost certainly the Queen. He also expects that his long minor will be a source of tricks in grand. Partner holds the heart A.. he couldn't double with the King, since it would be finessed, and the auction tells him that one ruff won't beat the contract.

So RHO overcalled on a K high suit, and therefore must have 6 of them... if LHO has 4, partner has Ax and declarer Kxxxxx.

Partner opened a non-preempt with a highly distributional hand so we have to assume he has at least minimum opening strength. Overcaller bid 2♥ on a weak suit, so has to have some strength as well.

All of this seems to make it very unlikely that LHO has 10 hcp in the minors... thus he doesn't hold AKQJxx in diamonds or the diamond A and KQJxxx in clubs.

So he has a suit that is weaker but that he expects will still be a source of tricks. It can't be diamonds, because he has not heard of any help from partner in that suit. But he has heard of the club A.

Consider this hand: void Qxxx Ax Kxxxxxx on the auction. It may well be a 5 or 7 hand after the club cue... opposite xxx AKxxx xxx Ax, and partner rates to hold better than this.. this is a heck of a good grand.

So I think that a club lead is a stand-out.

[TimG]

han, on Sep 23 2008, 09:04 AM, said:

Club, for the same reason as Burns.

Club, for the same reason as Hans.

[dburn]

mikeh, on Sep 23 2008, 10:52 AM, said:

I lead a club but my reasoning for doing so is far different from anything I have read so far... I simply don't expect LHO to have a solid suit at all.

Oh, his suit may not have been solid originally. But he might now consider it solidified by the cue bid in clubs from his partner.

[nige1]

FrancesHinden, on Sep 22 2008, 09:18 AM, said:

Scoring: IMP

1♠ 2♥ 2♠ 4♠
P 5♣ P 5NT
P 6♣ P 6♥
Dbl
IMPs, 48-board KO, you are playing my husband and me.
4♠ = splinter, likely to be a void
5♣ = cue, would usually be first round control
5NT = grand slam force
6♣ = Ace or King of hearts, no other top honour
As a bonus question, what were you going to lead without the double?

---

IMO

• Doubled: ♣ = 10, ♦ = 8, ♥ = 6, ♠ = 5. Lightner double so partner does niot want major lead. The unbid suit may be ruled out too.
  
• Undoubled: ♠ = 10, ♥ = 9, ♦ = 7, ♣ = 5.

[mikeh]

what happened?

[Hanoi5]

I said Diamond (because I have 6). Club is my second option.

[skjaeran]

Hanoi5, on Sep 26 2008, 11:22 AM, said:

I said Diamond (because I have 6). Club is my second option.

Do you mean because you have the diamond 6 (you do) or that you have 6 diamonds (you don't)?

[FrancesHinden]

The opening leader, David Gold, led a club but not for the reason stated: he argued that a diamond was the normal lead on this auction (club cue on the right, diamond control indicated on the left) and hence the double suggested not leading a diamond.

The doubler thought he was just stopping a boring major suit lead, and was indicating a void.

A diamond lead beats it as partner ruffs, a club is -1210.

Neither declarer or dummy have anything resembling the constructions suggested. Dummy doesn't have a solid suit in either minor but has

-
Qxxx
AKxxx
KJxx

Declarer doesn't have the ace of clubs at all, declarer cuebid her singleton club and then lied about the top trump honours in response to GSF (known in England as the 'Fleet recovery').

Partner's pass over 4S was slightly odd. At the other table the auction was

1S 2H 2S 4S
5C 6H P P
x

which neatly highlighted the diamond lead.