[Tramticket]

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We have had unusually high temperatures in the UK recently and maybe the heat was affecting everyone’s judgement on this hand from a club Match-point pairs facing opponents that we would expect to score well against.

North opened one diamond and my partner intervenes with a three spade overcall (very restrained by her standards). South bids four hearts, I pass and North now bids four no trumps. We didn’t ask, but this was probably intended as natural and South now, of course, responds five clubs. It seemed instinctively obvious to me to double this – if the bid is natural I want to make a penalty double and if it is a Blackwood response I want to suggest a lead …

North took an age over the next bid and after asking partner what the double showed (response: lead directing) decided to bid five hearts, ending the auction. I needed to select a lead and elected to lead partner’s suit. Declarer wins in dummy and plays a trump, won perforce by partner.

Decision time: does partner give me a ruff (we lead the top card from a doubleton) or return a diamond? – which also sets the contract. She takes her time before obediently selecting the club indicated by my lead-directing double.

A top transformed into a bottom. What was the worst error?

[yunling]

If you play standard count then the ♠ ruff is quite obvious.

With KQ8 in dummy a club return is hopeless anyway.

[eagles123]

well of course being in the UK too, I blame the heat! But more seriously this is all on your partner, they just have to be able to count to know u can ruff a spade, so surely as Yunling says, a spade is quite obvious!

[FelicityR]

 Tramticket, on 2018-July-10, 05:22, said:

What was the worst error?

Beyond partner's inexplicable error of failing to give you a ♠ ruff, doubling 5♣ is so unnecessary as it's unlikely they are going to arrive in a ♦ or NT contract on the bidding, and it's unlikely you will be on lead anyway. With a very experienced pair you have not only given them information about the distribution of the hand, but provided them with a potential extra bid of 'redouble' to use to convey information.

But the X of 5♣ is a miniscule error compared to partner's failure of reading your lead as a singleton.

[Winstonm]

Sometimes partner is not "all there" so you have to joust him a bit - starting a trump echo with the 9 should help alert partner of the desire to ruff.

[rmnka447]

A key question that has to be asked and consistently thought about during the defense is "How do we defeat this contract?"

3 ♠ is obviously a singleton. The question partner should then ask is "Do you have more than 1 trump?" Logically, if you have only one trump, then Declarer has 10 ♠ and you can't beat the contract. Declarer would then have one card in a minor. If it's a ♦, declarer is making 6 no matter what partner returns, but if it's a ♣, you might hold Declarer to 5.

OTOH, if you hold more than 1 trump, failing to give you a ♠ ruff, may cost big time when Declarer only holds 8 or 9 trumps. If your ♣ A will score, the contract can't be made after the ruff. If it can't, the only hope is that a ♦ winner can be found, but returning a ♣ may set up 2 valuable pitches for Declarer.

So it looks like a ♠ ruff if it exists is essential to beating the contract if it can be beat. Partner should return ♠ Q to prevent ♠ J winning and setting up a pitch on the remaining high ♠ honor in dummy.

[johnu]

 rmnka447, on 2018-July-10, 11:02, said:

OTOH, if you hold more than 1 trump, failing to give you a ♠ ruff, may cost big time when Declarer only holds 8 or 9 trumps.

Playing against me, you shouldn't return a spade because I usually have at least a 10 card suit for this auction. I like to have extras.

[gszes]

Brexit is one thing but the soft landing Brexit sort of makes England look like a colony of the European union -- umm anyway I fail to see ANY purpose that is served by the x of 5c. It is sheer luck that the spade lead is an obvious singleton (switch the spade 9 for the spade 2 and declarer follows trick 1 with the J to see what I mean). Having said that, there really seems to be no excuse for not returning a spade and taking the defenses "lucky" ruff. so 99.9999 against east for not returning a spade and the rest to west for x of 5c which cannot possibly do anything but sow confusion. If we are totally honest we do NOT want a club lead and would vastly prefer a dia anyway. The best way to get a dia is to NOT x 5c.

[neilkaz]

 FelicityR, on 2018-July-10, 07:20, said:

Beyond partner's inexplicable error of failing to give you a ♠ ruff, doubling 5♣ is so unnecessary as it's unlikely they are going to arrive in a ♦ or NT contract on the bidding, and it's unlikely you will be on lead anyway. With a very experienced pair you have not only given them information about the distribution of the hand, but provided them with a potential extra bid of 'redouble' to use to convey information.

But the X of 5♣ is a miniscule error compared to partner's failure of reading your lead as a singleton.

Yes this...exactly this.

[Trick13]

We show suit preference in the trump suit. Works well on this hand.

[msjennifer]

The question before your partner is if, 1)give you a ruff by returningSQ or 2) to push a diamond through.I think giving a ruff should work in majority of hands and so a safer play.

[maartenxq]

 FelicityR, on 2018-July-10, 07:20, said:

But the X of 5♣ is a miniscule error compared to partner's failure of reading your lead as a singleton.

Alas have to agree here, but the double of 5 ♣ deserves an extra prize of bad conduct in its own right.

Maarten Baltussen