[Trumpace]

I was kibitzing this hand yesterday. The declarer made nine tricks, but I have a feeling the defense slipped.

Scoring: IMP

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Bidding was: (North was dealer)

P-P-1D-P-1S-X-2C-P-3C-PPP

So, south ended up in a 3C contract on a 4-3 fit.

The play went as follows:

Heart 3 was led. East won with the Q and continued with the K and small heart.
South ruffed with the 3 of clubs and led the diamond K. This was ducked. Declarer led the diamond Q next, won by East. East then shifted to a spade. Declarer won the A and K and continued with the Q. East ruffed, but with the 2! and declarer overruffed with the 6. Declarer then played the AK of clubs and continued spades, maintaining control and making 9 tricks.


What mistake(s), if any, did the defenders make?

[pclayton]

This contract is unbeatable.

An illusion of this hand is that the defenders can take 2♥'s, 1♦ and 2♣'s. Not true!

If East ruffs in on the 3rd or 4th spade, the play simulates what actually happened.

So East can't ruff in on any of the spades. So - south just plays A-K♣ to this position:

Scoring: IMP

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South leads the 5th spade off dummy and has to make a 9th trick.

[Trumpace]

pclayton, on Apr 25 2005, 12:01 PM, said:

This contract is unbeatable.

An illusion of this hand is that the defenders can take 2♥'s, 1♦ and 2♣'s. Not true!

If East ruffs in on the 3rd or 4th spade, the play simulates what actually happened.

So East can't ruff in on any of the spades. So -  south just plays A-K♣ to this position:

I am still not so sure that the contract is unbeatable.

If East does not ruff in on any spades, Declarer loses just one club in the end, making the contract (Edit: Not really true, Declarer needs the Club T). So East has to ruff in, and in order to avoid declarer making a small trump, he has to ruff in with the J (or 9, hoping West has the QT). The declarer can still get home, but, couldn't the defenders have made a mistake earlier in the hand?

This post has been edited by Trumpace: 2005-April-25, 12:57

[HeartA]

How about East continues with ♥ after ♦A?

[pclayton]

Ruffing with the 2, the 5 or the 9 all lead to the same result.

I had considered ruffing with the J after I made the post. It leads to more complications - let me chew on it (along with feast of 'chilli crab')

The 4th round of hearts is interesting too, I'll have this as a side dish.