[SteveMoe]

Swiss Team IMPS vs strong team. (7 boards)
You hold ♠10842 ♥J87542 ♦63 ♣10
LHO opens the bidding 1NT (15-17) and partner doubles = Brozel Penalty or equal or better.
You choose rightly or wrongly to pass.
To your delight partner leads the ♥Q asking count or unblock the J. Your count signals are upside down.
You play the ♥2 first.
Partner slowly plays the ♥A next. It's looking like partner might hold the ♥AKQ10...

Declarer played the ♥9 to the first trick.
How do you get partner to continue a 3rd round????

I chose the ♥4 - the stiff 6 was in dummy.

Partner pauses then switches to a black suit for minus 980.
Minus 180 would have saved the match.

[akhare]

SteveMoe, on 2012-August-07, 10:30, said:

You hold ♠10842 ♥J87542 ♦63 ♣10
LHO opens the bidding 1NT (15-17) and partner doubles = Brozel Penalty or equal or better.
You choose rightly or wrongly to pass
....
Partner slowly plays the ♥A next. It's looking like partner might hold the ♥AKQ10...

Declarer played the ♥9 to the first trick.
How do you get partner to continue a 3rd round????

I chose the ♥4 - the stiff 6 was in dummy.

Partner pauses then switches to a black suit for minus 980.
Minus 180 would have saved the match.

Can we have all of dummy's cards please?

Without looking at dummy, the key to the problem might lie in the "...rightly or wrongly..." statement. Having passed out 1N-X, it might be difficult to convince pard that third hand has a weak 6 card suit in a weak distributional hand.

[TimG]

I think your partner should not have led the Queen, he doesn't want an unblock, very probable that he would like to find an entry to your hand to play something through declarer. So, he'd really rather you give attitude about the Jack, probably that means lead the King. If you encourage, he cashes the high ones and then leads to your Jack. If you discourage on the lead of the King, he can next cash another high honor and you will play present count. He should be able to tell the difference between 875432 and 8532 (because the Jack will have fallen).

I think once your partner led the Queen and didn't see the Jack, he just had a block and didn't consider J87542.

[nigel_k]

I don't agree that partner should have led a card that asks for attitude. He wants to know if declarer's jack will fall. Jxxxx(x) in your hand is possible but not a major consideration and you will have values outside in that case so there will be time. Pass on the actual hand is very wrong IMO.

[Phil]

Why did I pass the double? LOL

I don't think I've ever seen -980 this way.

[SteveMoe]

Phil, on 2012-August-07, 14:07, said:

Why did I pass the double? LOL

I don't think I've ever seen -980 this way.

That makes 2 of us LOL.
THe pass was speculative. Say partner has KQJxxxx in a minor and and an outside A in a minor...(not a good chance really)...

[wyman]

The ability to play 2H on a hand like this is one of the reasons I like having a penalty X available over a strong NT.

Now that we're here, though, I wonder if the ♥8 at T2 would have made partner wonder why declarer would false card from J9xx. [I guess it is free, though, so why not?]

It's gonna be tough for p to get this one I think.

[SteveMoe]

akhare, on 2012-August-07, 13:02, said:

Can we have all of dummy's cards please?

Without looking at dummy, the key to the problem might lie in the "...rightly or wrongly..." statement. Having passed out 1N-X, it might be difficult to convince pard that third hand has a weak 6 card suit in a weak distributional hand.

Dummy showed up with
♠853 ♥6 ♦AQJx ♣Qxxxx
I had assumed no redouble because they were playing some sort of rescue.
Partner knows I'm broke.

[wyman]

Actually, I wonder if you can play the 7 T1, then the 8.

Now, something weird is clearly going on. You can't really have a doubleton heart here.

I guess the other option one could try to craft is a situation where partner sees declarer's 9 and realizes that it can't have been right (in fact, it would be silly) for declarer to play the 9 from the holding you're suggesting declarer has [but it's not immediately obvious to me what the right way to do this is, if it's indeed possible at all]

[JLOGIC]

It is well known with KQT9 fourth or AKQT fourth you do not lead your unblock card

[phil_20686]

When you play standard count, then in these situations you are meant to start with the second highest card, so I suppose that applies in reverse in udca. You start with the two and follow it up with the 8. Partner will then know that you hold one card higher than the 8 and problem is solved when declarer follows with the nine.

[akhare]

JLOGIC, on 2012-August-07, 20:55, said:

It is well known with KQT9 fourth or AKQT fourth you do not lead your unblock card

Can you please elaborate (and provide similar nuggets as well ))?

Do you lead the Q from KQT9 to ask for attitude for the A/J (assuming K is the unblock card)? Along, the same lines, is the Q led from AKQT to presumably ask attitude about the J?

[dave_w]

JLOGIC, on 2012-August-07, 20:55, said:

It is well known with KQT9 fourth or AKQT fourth you do not lead your unblock card

Well known to you and well known to me might be different things.

As to which card to play next I'd have thought the 8. Surely we can't have 82 doubleton. And can't play the 8 without the 7. This will make declarer's card seem odd (and partner might work out that we have chosen _not_ to unblock. Alternatively give false count at trick 1 and partner might play us for 5 Hearts (and thus work out that we chose not to unblock).

I'm glad this wasn't given as a bidding problem. I'd not answer on the basis that it's in the wrong forum. Not bidding 2♥ with this hand is pure insanity.

[JLOGIC]

akhare, on 2012-August-08, 09:24, said:

Can you please elaborate (and provide similar nuggets as well ))?

Do you lead the Q from KQT9 to ask for attitude for the A/J (assuming K is the unblock card)? Along, the same lines, is the Q led from AKQT to presumably ask attitude about the J?

With KQT9 fourth not only will partner unblock the J from Jxxxx, or not do it and you will think declarer has AJ (or Jxxx could often be wrong, but they will still unblock), they will also play the ace from Axx type holdings with xx in dummy which will often be bad. On the other hand, you can ask for attitude and partner will just encourage with the ace or the jack and there is no problem.

[lalldonn]

It's not what was asked, but it's quite clear to me that the most important thing to learn from this hand is to not pass the penalty double on a 1 count with a six card major.