[Fluffy]

♠A1084
♥QJ3
♦75
♣QJ64


opponents bid (nobody vul)


-----pass
1♣-1♥
2♣-2♦
2♠-2NT
3NT


and I obviously led badly, 2♦ is nat F1 and 2♠ is no-agreement.

[ahydra]

S4?

ahydra

[aguahombre]

ahydra, on 2012-August-13, 14:00, said:

S4?

ahydra

Yep. Probably that means Ahydra, Fluff, and I all failed to qualify, but oh well. I don't think opener has a lot of spades...sounds more like a good hand in context for diamonds (2-1-4-6?). We had to guess, just like responder had to guess ("no agreement"). That's my guess.

[mikeh]

I'd lead a low spade, hoping to find dummy with say KJx and partner Qxx(x).

You can make a case for just about any lead other than a diamond...even a club might work out well when declarer has a stiff and partner has the 10...but the spade seems normal while the heart is a distant 2nd than the club a very distant third.

Now I'm no doubt going to learn that a diamond was the only lead to beat it

[jogs]

♦7. Go completely passive. Just hope to not give them a trick on opening lead.

[Aberlour10]

I took a look in the statistics. It was board #14 vs India. At both tables the same ♠4 lead , but the defenders took 4 tricks at one and 5 tricks at the other, so the deciding move was not on the lead but elsewhere I suppose?
Anyway your team is at the moment in very good position so forget it and GOOD LUCK for tomorrow!

[TimG]

Only because it's been posed as a problem: ♠10.

[Cyberyeti]

TimG, on 2012-August-13, 14:47, said:

Only because it's been posed as a problem: ♠10.

More or less this, it's not difficult to visualise a situation where this gains, can it lose in a situation consistent with the bidding ? Doesn't look like either of them has 4 spades, can dummy really have a stiff honour in this sequence, I doubt it.

[MrAce]

TimG, on 2012-August-13, 14:47, said:

Only because it's been posed as a problem: ♠10.

Expecting pd to hold K7xxx or Q7xxx or 76532 ♠ ? Maybe

[Cyberyeti]

MrAce, on 2012-August-13, 16:59, said:

Expecting pd to hold K7xxx or Q7xxx or 76532 ♠ ? Maybe

Dummy Jxx, Partner Qxx, declarer K9x I would think.

[bluecalm]

Hard to imagine plausible reasoning for other lead.
Diamonds are out in absence of overcall, a heart might work but we need much more here than in spades.

[aguahombre]

Only one plausible reason: if Fluffy is saying that the obvious lead cost his team the Q spot. Otherwise, he is saying that he didn't make the obvious lead and blew it.

BTW: being amused by Timo's 76532, maybe I could spare the spade 8 instead of the 4.

[Fluffy]

A10xx blows a trick most often, specially on a bidding where thye both seem to have half a stopper or so, sadly I Didn;t find an alternative, the spade position was as cyberyeti posted.

Club inmediatelly beats it as dummy is unreacheable twice even when declarer guesses club possition, blocked by his own stiff 10

diamond blows a trick as partner has ♦A10xx, but a trick that declarer found himself against us finesing the 9.

---

Yes, we could beat this even after a spade lead, but we didn't.

[Cyberyeti]

Nobody's answered the question I posed, the situation where the 10 gains over the 4 is what actually happened. Is there a situation consistent with the bidding where it loses as stiff honour in dummy doesn't seem that likely and neither does QJ/9xx.

[MickyB]

Cyberyeti, on 2012-August-14, 02:37, said:

Nobody's answered the question I posed, the situation where the 10 gains over the 4 is what actually happened. Is there a situation consistent with the bidding where it loses as stiff honour in dummy doesn't seem that likely and neither does QJ/9xx.

KJx opposite 9xx or KJ9 opposite xxx I think, the ten seems a reasonable shot.

[Cyberyeti]

MickyB, on 2012-August-14, 03:05, said:

KJx opposite 9xx or KJ9 opposite xxx I think, the ten seems a reasonable shot.

When I went away to think about it, unfortunately so does Qx, K9x and I don't see Qx as any less likely than Jxx, so it's not as clear as I thought.

[Fluffy]

very good, nobody in my team sleeped this night, we played against korea who were last a very flat match except for 2 boards, in 1 of them they went 3 down in a cold 3NT vulnerable, and 800 in the other table, for a 15 lose instead of 22 if they boards were separate, the other was playing a grand with AKxx versus J9xx making, so +11, now everybody is even more nervous and last match will be against netherlands, whoever wins qualifes and whoever doesn't probably doesn't

[Fluffy]

yes great, 5 against belgium as always we get close but ***** it all enough in the end.

[aguahombre]

Interesting, Fluffy. a post at two minutes until game start.

[Phil]

gg Gonzo