[bd71]

Scoring: IMP

Penultimate board of 28-board team match with intermediate/advanced players. You were up 15 at half, and feel good about 2nd half so far...especially since you made 3HX+1 on last hand and it's a real longshot the other team will ever bid 4H. Opponents comments suggest they are desperate.

Their unopposed bidding on this hand:
1♣-1♥
3♣-3N
5♣-6♣

You lead K♠, taken by dummy's A♠. Declarer then ruffs a spade and leads a low heart.

What do you play?

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[Fluffy]

duck is good when partner has 2 slow diamond tricks, raise will be good when he's got ♦A wich one is most likelly? I think ♦A is more likelly this time, and add to that that he might even have a trump trick.

[pooltuna]

Fluffy, on May 24 2010, 09:18 AM, said:

duck is good when partner has 2 slow diamond tricks, raise will be good when he's got ♦A wich one is most likelly? I think ♦A is more likelly this time, and add to that that he might even have a trump trick.

so you are saying declarer found a 3♣ call holding

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[Fluffy]

yeah, more likelly than ♦AKxx, specially when you think of the likelly 8 card club suits. and that partner might have ♣K, wich even stiff, is a likelly trick.

[Phil]

Two main possibilities:

- Declarer has x, x, Axx, KQJxxxxx (we need to duck)

or

- Declarer has the hand Fluffy describes, or perhaps more likely: x, x, KQx, KQJxxxxx (we need to win).

Initially, I was going to ask "what spade did partner play on the 2nd round", but I can't see how partner would signal suit preference any differently holding the ♦A versus holding the ♦KQJ.

It seems to me that there are five KQ"x" combinations, but there are six Axx combinations.

Not much to go by, but it looks right to duck this.

EDIT: Saw Fluffy's ♦AKxx....good point - ducking is right with AKxx / AQxx too - (more likely combos too)

[bd71]

pooltuna, on May 24 2010, 09:53 AM, said:

so you are saying declarer found a 3♣ call holding

Dealer: ????? Vul: ???? Scoring: Unknown

♠ x ♥ x ♦ KQJx ♣ KQJxxxx

So remember that North (me) and South were desperate...

My actual holding was not much better than suggested here...

x
x
AJxx
KQxxxxx

Congrats to those who ducked because you eliminated my only chance at slam. At the table, LHO went up with the Ace and led another. When clubs broke 2-2 and the J♥ dropped under the Q♥ I had the 23-point slam.

Those who ducked won a net of 24 IMPs since our counterparts bid and made 3N.

I know I got lucky here on many fronts (club split, A♥ onside, J♥ falling)...I posted this to clear up whether I was also lucky in getting less-than-optimal defense. Seems like that's the case.

Punchline...we still lost by 50 IMPs.