[kenrexford]

A curiousity question...

Scoring: MP

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South opens 2NT (19+ to 21) and is raised to 3NT. Your opening lead was a fourth-best club, ducked by dummy to partner's King. Partner swtched to the heart 10, won by your Ace when Declarer played the King. A heart back yielded a pitch by partner and Declarer won. Declarer played two more rounds in hearts, ending in dummy. The diamond Queen was played next, winning. Declarer next plays the spade Jack from dummy and then rises with the Ace, to you.

What spade do you play, and why?

[Phil]

Please do not use titles like this. HanP will question your ability to think and reason since you clearly do not understand math.

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I play low.

If declarer is AKT, KQJxx, Ax, Qxx, he will fall into a showup squeeze.

If declarer is AKT, KQJxx, A9x, Qx, his play of the ♠J is very odd. Did he think he was going to get a cover? Cashing the ♠AK (retaining the J) and running hearts and then clubs seems like a much stronger play since he has a true squeeze on either of us.

I'd like to beat dummy's spot, in case declarer gets funny and unblocks the ♠K and later pitches a spade from hand on club. I'm probably missing something and am curious what others see here.

Make sure you thank partner for telling declarer how to play the hand with the senseless heart return at T2.

[kenrexford]

The real hand was such that a regular-old squeeze was operating against your partner (because he did not cover the diamond, because opener only had two diamonds, and because you actually had only two spades). I played the Jack because it did not seem to matter except as a possible 9-magnet if this hand had this problem. Whether the 9 should be played or not, it seemed that it might get played anyway.