[Mbodell]

IMP pairs scoring. Private league with reasonably good field strength.

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T1 ♠2 J ♥6 ♠Q
T2 ♠A 4 3 ♥7
T3 ♠9 6 T ♥8
T4 ♦4 3 Q A
T5 ♥2 3 K 9
T6 ♥A ♠K ♥5 4
T7 ♦8 2 ♠7 ♦6

This leaves us with:

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West has shown up with ♠642 ♥52 ♦A2 and very likely the inferred ♥Q
East has shown up with ♠- ♥AK876 ♦63 and very likely the inferred ♥J and ♦K.

Given the play and the bidding and all, how likely is it that we should play E, the opening bidder, for the key ♣Q versus W, the responder and Xer, for that potentially setting card?
(also if you were playing would you complete the xruff before playing on the clubs and risk down several, and would it change your line much if the hearts were as inferred and the diamonds produced spot cards or produced a spot card and the K? - please answer the poll as if you were forced to play clubs at trick 8 even if you think that is a bad decision).

[han]

Given west's double I'd expect him to hold xxx Qxx AJxx Qxx and east - AKJxxx Kxxxx xx.

It is true that east might have bid diamonds with that at some point, but it seems that partnership bidding in this private league means knowing that your partner has 5-card support for his 2S raise. Perhaps I should play east to have only 5 hearts, completely in line with our own bidding, but that goes a bit far.

[Fluffy]

I ruff the third heart, doesn´t seem to hurt.

[squealydan]

Is this online or face to face?

If face to face, surely you ruff a heart, lead the J♣, and see if west twitches.

If online, I'd play for west to hold the Q, but I don't think the play to this point has helped me much.

[phil_20686]

I would guess that east is most likely to be 06(43), and the count suggests he has 3 diamonds, rather than three clubs. Further, its hard for me to believe on a competitive auction like this that east would not show a side suit if Kxxxx to bring partner into the game. Opposite, and ordinary, if perfect,hand of xxx xxxx AQx xxx i could easily be right to sacrifice over 5S in 6 of a red suit. Not bidding 5d instead of 5h is unthinkable to me, even if I could nto get the diamonds in early due to system restraints.

[JLOGIC]

Wait, so you're playing RHO for 0634? West might have led their stiff club AFAIK.

[phil_20686]

 JLOGIC, on 2012-August-30, 10:58, said:

Wait, so you're playing RHO for 0634? West might have led their stiff club AFAIK.

Good point. Maybe he is 0643 then.

I just can't believe he has Kxxxx diamonds and failed to ever show them to partner.

[Mbodell]

 squealydan, on 2012-August-30, 06:12, said:

Is this online or face to face?

If face to face, surely you ruff a heart, lead the J♣, and see if west twitches.

If online, I'd play for west to hold the Q, but I don't think the play to this point has helped me much.

It is online. And to Han's point the 2♠ obviously didn't promise 5, but is wide ranging in strength and shape. The 5♠ call is clearly a little pushy/crazy, but I tanked too long trying to picture my chances with something like Jxxx xxx Kx Qxxx opposite and felt if I passed partner would be barred and thought 5♠ had several ways to win/be ok (might make, might not be doubled, they might make 5♥, they might bid 6).

[han]

Looking at it from too closely it might seem really crazy, but if you take a few steps back and consider your auction as a whole you see that this is a well oiled partnership at work.

[FrancesHinden]

Sorry to sound rude, but if the EW bidding is of the same quality as the NS bidding, I don't think I can draw any conclusions about the EW holdings from the auction.
And East's heart carding was suit preference for clubs, when it's clear he has the AK of hearts and the king of diamonds and at most the queen of clubs.
So I'm not drawing any inferences from East's failure to introduce a putative long diamond suit.
I agree West might well have led a singleton club.

Against good opponents I would not give West the HQ necessarily. East knows West knows that South has at most a singleton heart, why should he bother to tell declarer who has the HQ?

That seems to leave West with the CQ for the double (and possibly for the trump lead).

[Mbodell]

Here was the full hand:

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I guessed the Q wrong, I think because I was more fixed on strength with opening bidder. Remarkably -200 was 0 IMP as the other tables were 3♠S+1 +170, 6♥EX-1 +100, 5E♥= -450, 5♥EX= -650.