Posted 2012-October-11, 08:57
You have lost twotricks and have a third ready to lose. If you win the diamond Ace, that sets up a fifth loser if the opponents can work out the transportation, which seems eventually inevitable. So, I will assume that ducking the diamond again is critical.
Sure -- that shuts down yet another trick temporarily, but it also stops the opponents from continuing diamonds.
If LHO, who is also out of hearts now, plays a club back, you could play him for only two clubs, stripping that suit, cashing the heart winners, and then playing a spade. Of course, this is now a problem because you did not play the spade Jack at trick one, so all that LHO needs to do is duck the Jack. But, maybe you catch RHO with 10-9 doubleton and can overtake?
LHO, however, can counter this by switching instead to the spade himself, cashing the Ace before leading a club. Now, the opponents have 4 tricks taken, and you are dead stuck in Dummy.
So, ducking the diamond again is out. You must instead hope that you can win the diamond and cause a transportation problem in diamonds and clubs both. For that to work, you need LHO to have 7-2-2-2 shape, I think. That seems unlikely, but it might be the only hope.
Now, what if RHO actually holds the spade Ace? That would be strange, but perhaps this is possible. LHO might have ♠xxxxxx ♥xx ♦KJx ♣QJ or ♠xxxxxx ♥xx ♦KJ ♣QJx? With the former, your club 10 just sets up magically, where the play for 7-2-2-2 shape actually works for an unexpected reason.
All in all, I wish I had played the spade Jack earlier, as this is much easier if I need only play for LHO to have 6-2-3-2 shape.
"Gibberish in, gibberish out. A trial judge, three sets of lawyers, and now three appellate judges cannot agree on what this law means. And we ask police officers, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and citizens to enforce or abide by it? The legislature continues to write unreadable statutes. Gibberish should not be enforced as law."
-P.J. Painter.
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