[ewj]

---

Partner leads the ♥6 playing 3/5 (so looks like 4 - to be honest I've made up the heart pips....there were two lower outstanding ones). You win the queen, LHO plays the 8 if that's relevant. LHO is a decent ladies player, RHO a client.
What do you do?

[PhilKing]

Don't see why partner can't have 3 hearts, but whatever.

Spade. WTP. Could be wrong I guess, but it seems blindingly obvious.

If partner has:

Jxx
Jxxx
Kxx
Jxx

Then I think they are nuts.

[helene_t]

Unless partner thinks we were in an FP situation, he should have ♠A in addition to his trump trick. I play a spade before declarer's spades disappear under the clubs.

Partner might have two trump tricks instead, in which case the spade switch could blow the second downtick.

[awm]

It looks like declarer has two hearts; this would give a shape like 2263 or 3262 or maybe 3253. I am not really afraid of spades going away on clubs opposite these shapes... but it seems quite possible that partner has two trump tricks and no spade ace. I'm continuing hearts.

[PhilKing]

I still don't really get why we are supposed to assume pard has four hearts. Declarer can have both lower pips (lets assume the lead was the ♥7 rather than the nonsense 6). What am I missing?

[gnasher]

I agree with Phil - I can't see any reason to assume partner has four hearts, unless "decent ladies player" is supposed to mean "not good enough to falsecard". What raises did partner have available over 2♦?

[ewj]

Sorry, my comment about being four was perhaps unnecessary....I was just trying to clarify the 3rd lead bit...I'm not adamant my partner has 4. Wasn't trying to influence any answers!!

[gszes]

Lets take a critical look at our hand form a defensive
standpoint----we managed a heart trick and we wont
get another. Our side needs at least 2 more tricks and
we can only offer partial help for one of those with the
spade K. Our 4h bid was based on distribution and p
might easily have expected more from us when they x.

Lets quit being so optimistic and concentrate on actually
trying to set this contract rather than making a play that
might allow the opps to make. Do not play a spade that is
quite easily the only play that could allow this contract to
make. If i had a trump i would switch to it but as it is I will
continue with the heart A. WHY? well if declarer has the
spade A 6 dia trick club J they have 11 tricks and it makes
no difference what i do. If p has a trump trick they are down
to 10 tricks and leading a spade lets declarer ride it around
to their Q for their 11th trick. will our spade tricks go anywhere
if we continue hearts?? NOT likely

declarer has 2h and say 6dia they have 6 black cards of which
only 4 can disappear clubs so if we are due 2 or even 3 spade
tricks we wil get them in due time. Sit back relax try for down 1
and take down 3 if it happens to present itself.

Not knowing openers count in hearts also hampers our
assesment. If we strongly suspect opener has 63 in the
with only 4 black cards 3 would go on clubs for sure so that
would leave only 1 winner. That means we need to make a
spade switch immediately or forever give up more than 1
spade trick. Even this assumption could be wrong if
declarer only has 5d and a spade switch is the only way for
declarer to avoid a spade loser. Defense is hard good luck.

[awm]

We can see 23 hcp between our hand and dummy. Partner seems like he should have a trump trick for has double. If we give partner the spade ace and one of the top three diamonds, that leaves declarer with at most 11 high and that is including four jacks. I guess that is an overcall but it is a very specific hand and this sort of hand might have bid 3♦ considering. It just seems more likely that South's non-jump overcall includes a useful card outside diamonds (rather than a great suit and every jack in the deck).