[Trumpace]

This hand is from a book by Frank Stewart. I don't remember the title, sorry.

You are west, and hold Ax, JT9xx, AKxx, Jx and open 1H.

LHO doubles, partner bids 4H showing a weak hand with 5 hearts. RHO bids 4S and bidding ends there.

You decide to lead the DA (your agreement) and partner plays low showing odd number of cards, while declarer follows.

Scoring: Rubber

You lead ♦A, partner shows odd number of cards and declarer follows.

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What is your plan?

[jjbrr]

Hidden:

Spoiler

♣J

[quiddity]

If declarer is 5224 with the HA but without CQ, he has 4 spade tricks, HA, H-ruff, and 2 clubs. Two diamond tricks would give him 10, and he can set them up unless we continue diamonds to let partner ruff the 4th round.

However, if declarer is 6223 with the CQ and without the HA, and we continue diamonds, then partner will be unable to ruff the 4th round and declarer can pitch both losing hearts on the diamonds. So in that case we need to lead a heart and cash the ace.

Theoretically we could always continue DK and a third diamond and decide what to do when we get in with SA based on partner's diamond plays, but I don't know what high-low versus low-high would mean here. Would high-low signal the HA?

I'd probably just continue diamonds on the theory that partner might have bid 5H with a singleton spade and 5 hearts to the ace.

[billw55]

Declarer looks to be 5224. He probably has the ♥A and if he doesn't, we are always getting it anyway. So I'll play a club hoping for ♣Qxx in partner's hand. Declarer has time to pitch one on a diamond, but not both.

[andrei]

if on the 3rd ♦ declarer pitches:
- ♥, play ♥ after winning A♠
- ♣, play 4th ♦ after winning A♠

[quiddity]

andrei, on Jan 20 2010, 03:45 PM, said:

if on the 3rd ♦ declarer pitches:
- ♥, play ♥ after winning A♠
- ♣, play 4th ♦ after winning A♠

oh right..
I hope that would occur to me at the table! :-)

[Vilgan]

The K of diamonds and a diamond are likely correct and were already mentioned, but for anyone considering the J♣:

The J♣ can never ever be right. Assume partner has Qxx(x) of clubs. We lead a club and continue clubs after declarer leads a spade off dummy. Now declarer is out of top clubs. However, when they play a diamond to set up the suit we have no entry to partner's hand. If partner DOES have the A of hearts, we were always going to beat it so its irrelevant.

There is a small chance that a heart is the correct switch, if spades and hearts are 6/1 with partner having the A of hearts. However, partner should probably lie about their count in that situation to discourage a diamond continuation. The odds are strongly against a heart switch though, as a diamond continuation wins whenever partner had a singleton OR Qxx of clubs which is a lot more likely than 6/1 6/1 major suit splits.