[pclayton]

A bizarre hand from a team game today

Scoring: IMP

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West North East South

 Pass  1♠    Pass  2♥
 Pass  3♠    Pass  4♣
 Pass  4♠    Pass  6NT
 Pass  Pass  Pass  



I was West and led the ♣4, Declarer won the Queen and took a winning heart finesse, played two top spades and noted my QJ dropping. At this point, Declarer claimed.

With the blocked club position, and no certain entry to his hand, my partner (a star player from Chile) and I declined.

We watched in pain as the play continued. The position before the last spade is cashed:

Scoring: IMP

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Note declarer has STIFFED the ♦K. Declarer has a simple 12 tricks if he just bares the A♥ and knocks out the ♦A (7 spades, 2 hearts, 1 diamond and 2 clubs). With the baring of the ♦K, however, the communication is damaged.

Here's where it gets weird. On the last spade, east is squeezed out of a diamond. South pitched the worthless ♥Q and I feel the pinch. I am also squeezed out of a diamond.

Now when declarer plays the K♣ and a diamond off the board, partner rises and either has to give declarer the entry to his hand to cash the two aces, or to put him on the board to cash the two established diamonds.

A double stepping stone with Grosvenors all over the place.

I just cried.

[luis]

Absolutely irregular. Once he tried to claim he is down 1 since there's no automatic line to 12 tricks and a lot of logical ways to go down.
Once a claim has been tried the play must stop that's in the rules and I'm not sure why this is not observed when the game is played online.

[sceptic]

I think once a claim is made and opps refuse to accept or reject, most people play out the hand (as you have siad Luis) because, otherwise, you will sit there at the table with no play happening and you have no director to call, so it seems to me, that playing the hand out is the only option, something exclusive to online bridge

[luis]

While hard to apply I think that is the claim is not proceeding the defenders should ask the claimer what 12 tricks ( in this example) he is going to take and if declarer can't make a clear statement about what 12 tricks he is taking then the defenders should politely ask declarer to claim down 1.
Should be part of the online playing ettiquete.