[antonylee]

From today's BBO/JEC game:

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T1: ♥K ♥6 ♥8 ♥2
T2: ♣6 ♣5 ♣A ♣2
T3: ♥A ♥3 ♥4 ♥7

Standard leads + UDCA.

Would you have overtaken at trick 1? What does partner's carding under the ♥A show? How do you defend from there?

[SteveMoe]

I'll venture the ♣9.
(Partner should be signalling suit preference if they have the count on the suit - that requires partner to have 6 ♥ cards).
What I want is the ♥Q from partner so I can pitch a !D and stop declarer from finessing twice in !S and perhaps deny access to running ♦.

I'm playing declarer for 6=2=2=3 and partner for 1=6=4=2

[rmnka447]

SteveMoe, on 2015-November-22, 12:21, said:

I'll venture the ♣9.
(Partner should be signalling suit preference if they have the count on the suit - that requires partner to have 6 ♥ cards).
What I want is the ♥Q from partner so I can pitch a !D and stop declarer from finessing twice in !S and perhaps deny access to running ♦.

I'm playing declarer for 6=2=2=3 and partner for 1=6=4=2

A third ♥ also insures a second ♠ trick. If declarer pitches, you can ruff low. If Declarer ruffs with a spot, you can overruff and retain ♠ Kx for another trick. If Declarer ruff with an honor, you pitch and K108 should provide a second trick. Clubs will provide an exit if necessary.

I would overtake the ♥ A at trick 1, cash ♣ A and return ♥ 8. If partner held ♥ KQ10(...) to start, we haven't lost anything. But even if not, partner should see that playing a third ♥ may lead to a trump promotion. Partner is looking at most at a stiff ♠, opener presumably has 6 and dummy has 3. That marks my hand with at least 3 trump. So a promotion is quite likely on how the defense has been conducted.

As the defense has actually been conducted, I would also return a ♣ at this point hoping partner holds no more than KQx in the suit. If opener decided to open 2 ♠ with ♥ AQJxxx and ♣ Kx/stiff x, 3 ♠ is making at this point.

[jodepp]

If you trust your partner...

Partner should have the ♣K. If partner had the ♣Q without the king he/she should have led it at trick two to clarify the situation for you. You can cash the ♥A, cross to partner's ♣K to let partner play the ♥Q so you can shake a diamond and make a trump trick (maybe a second one if partner has a stiff ♠Q).

[antonylee]

I do like the idea of partner returning the ♣Q to clarify his holding.
Say he returned it instead of a low club. What now?

[jodepp]

If partner returned the ♣Q, I confess I can't see a defense that matters. I might falsecard with the ♠10 on the first trump, but I'd look mighty silly if partner had the stiff jack instead of the queen (declarer having the ♣K implies declarer's trumps are full of holes).

I'd just cash out at that point, I guess.

[Vampyr]

rmnka447, on 2015-November-22, 13:21, said:

A third ♥ also insures a second ♠ trick. If declarer pitches, you can ruff low. If Declarer ruffs with a spot, you can overruff and retain ♠ Kx for another trick. If Declarer ruff with an honor, you pitch and K108 should provide a second trick. Clubs will provide an exit if necessary.

This assumes that you can predict declarer's action, and also that declarer will not take your play into consideration when making her own choice of play. I doubt that declarer will, for example, underruff.

[gszes]

It is not all about signaling -- the fact that you deny the ace when u play the 8 should not deter partner from continuing hearts. What are the particular odds of declarer owning Axx of hearts and deciding it is in their best interest to duck the opening lead (and risk a heart ruff at trick 2) in a suit contract looking at the dia AKQ (I personally rate the odds at close to absolute zero)? So once lho figures out that you own the ace NOW they can try to signal how to defend by signaling with their heart return. Problem solved.

[cherdano]

I don't see how the heart card (on our ♥A) can be anything but count. That's what we would need to know when we have three hearts, and if partner has 5 hearts, he won't know whether we have 2 or 3 hearts. Yes when he has 6 hearts he will know we have two, but he won't know that I will know, so...

Regarding the defense now, of course it is possible that partner has ♠A, 5 hearts, and we need to cash the third heart now by putting partner in with a spade. But I do think partner should have continued with a heart at trick two if that is his hand.

[PhantomSac]

cherdano, on 2015-November-23, 15:46, said:

I don't see how the heart card (on our ♥A) can be anything but count. That's what we would need to know when we have three hearts, and if partner has 5 hearts, he won't know whether we have 2 or 3 hearts. Yes when he has 6 hearts he will know we have two, but he won't know that I will know, so...

Regarding the defense now, of course it is possible that partner has ♠A, 5 hearts, and we need to cash the third heart now by putting partner in with a spade. But I do think partner should have continued with a heart at trick two if that is his hand.

I would always return a club so I looked up the real hand to see why a club shift was losing, it's pretty epic what the winning play is and why. I think even in a JEC match almost no one would find the winning play

[kuhchung]

PhantomSac, on 2015-November-23, 16:23, said:

I would always return a club so I looked up the real hand to see why a club shift was losing, it's pretty epic what the winning play is and why. I think even in a JEC match almost no one would find the winning play

I haven't looked up the hand but I'm glad I wasn't only the one baffled by this decision point!

[antonylee]

The real hand

Spoiler

{comments}

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Would you have found it?

[Mbodell]

antonylee, on 2015-November-23, 21:32, said:

Would you have found it?

I seriously doubt it, but it isn't completely unreasonable. As in, there is logic to it, and cutting off the dummy from a good suit is frequently the sneaky right sort of thing to do. Is that more likely than a club winner needing to be cashed now? Unlikely, partners lead is consistent with Kxx of clubs, and that seems more likely to me.