[pclayton]

A 6♠ I kibbed last night:

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Bidding: 1♠ - 2♦ - 2♥ - 2N - 6♠ (!) - AP.

Pro on left, client on right.

Pro leads the ♦10. Jack from dummy....which HOLDS, the client playing small without a hitch. You pitch a heart.

At this point the Pro says,"ZIAAAAAAAAAA".

What is going on and how do you play this?

[Gerben42]

Looks like the pro is in heat 3

[Fluffy]

Somethign weird is going on, what need should west have to get care of ♦A on first trick? Obviously not having the ♥K, so might be a goodtime for an intra finese

[PMetsch]

Very strange. Pro is forcing a decision at trick one and think he has given away the contract. I think he would lead a high diamond if he holds the king of hearts. So I can try to drop ♥K doubleton with the client or an intra finesse. Another plan is to ruff diamonds high, after all with 5 diamonds it is useless to lead the diamond ten. So lets draw trumps, if spades are 3-3, then play a club to the ace and then diamond ace and a diamond ruff. Maybe the diamond 9 is now high. If not, I have to guess whether the pro has 2 or 3 hearts.

[mikeh]

very odd: to whom did the pro intend to refer with his Ziaaaa!

I think that he was referring to his partner's duck of the J holding the Q. She would have reasoned (non-zia-esquely) that declarer held the K so did not want to sacrifice the Queen, and the pro has led from the K10 in order to fool you if dummy had hit with AQJxxx in ♦.

So it has turned out to be spy-versus-spy, for those of you who read MAD magazine.

Okay, if the pro made that lead, does that tell us anything about his ♥ holding?

I do not see the need for a void: I do not think he underled KQ10 of ♦: the Q is at least as plausible a card for him to lead in that scenario, and few pros would ever expect their partner to work out what was intended anyway.

I think he has the ♥K, and expects a trick with it and wanted to establish a second red trick, probably by way of a ruffing finesse in ♦. So I draw trump (not ruffing a ♦ since I cannot stand a 5-1 break, unlikely as it is (the pro does not hold 5 of them), and then if they are 3-3 I cross to a ♣, cash the ♦ A and ruff a ♦ to get more of a count and then, absent a miracle or a strong hint that ♦ are 4-4, I cash ♥A and low towards the Q.

[pclayton]

Mike: I got the impression from the pro (Chris Compton) that he was needling himself for making a weird lead. Assume that Chris underled the KQT.

I tried to imply this by saying the client played low without a hitch. If the client held the Q he'd have a problem to consider.

Carry on.