[FrancesHinden]

Haven't been playing much bridge recently, but now it's getting busier again and we had a 32-board IMPs KO match yesterday including this hand:

Scoring: IMP

1♥ P 2♦ x
2♥ P 3NT P
P P

---

1♥ = 5-card majors, 1NT would have been 10-13
2♦ = "Acol style" i.e. 9+ HCP, can pass a 2♥ rebid by opener
LHO's pass over 3NT was not in tempo

LHO leads the ♣K, asking for count, 10, 4, 3
LHO continues with the ♣Q, spade discard, 6, 2 (LHO looks cross)
LHO thinks for ages and switches to the ♥7

Plan the play.

[655321]

RHO showed 3 clubs?

I try the ♥J now. On the assumption the diamonds are running, the Jack will work: when it wins; when RHO wins and returns his last club; when RHO wins and returns a heart from a 4 card holding.

I don't want to see RHO win the heart and return a spade, but if that happens I will play RHO for the ♠J. If LHO has the KJ of spades, and RHO wins the heart and returns a spade, I am in trouble, but all I can think of, is to hope that doesn't happen.

If RHO does return a heart, unless they have crashed enough heart pips, I play LHO for a doubleton heart and knock out the ♣A.

[Free]

What good is the J? I play the 9

[pclayton]

Rise with the A♥ and strip squeeze LHO. I may have to guess what LHO's shape is.

Ducking the heart gets a spade through which ruins the squeeze.

Nah - this doesn't work unless LHO has specifically a stiff heart. Ducking the heart is necessary when LHO has two hearts.

Do we have a clue? None that I can see.

This post has been edited by pclayton: 2008-March-10, 12:14

[mikeh]

If LHO has a stiff heart, we need to pop the Ace, as Phil says, because we will then run the diamonds and exit a club, endplaying LHO who presumably holds the spade K. But this fails if LHO holds 2 hearts, even if he began with Qx, because we have to pitch down to a stiff heart in dummy on trick 10... and RHO can then overtake LHO's stiff Q.

If LHO has 2 hearts (other than Kx), then we need to duck the heart... I'd play the J but think that there is no real advantage to it apart from LHO holding KQ7.. a holding that suggests the 7 switch. Yes, RHO can break up the squeeze by returning a spade, but he has two problems, one possible and the other real.

The possible problem is that RHO may hold the spade Jack. The real problem is that any play by RHO other than a club is unethical. Imagine LHO holding AKQ9x of clubs... how would the defence go... ignoring the obvious annoyance shown by LHO at trick 2.

So, while I hate to win by a director call, I hate to lose due to poor ethics even more.. I duck the heart... if he switches to a spade, I play low and if the J forces the Ace, I grit my teeth, play it out and, if this event means anything to me, call for protection should RHO hold 3 clubs.

[Apollo81]

I think stiff is the most likely holding from LHO, but, as Mike said, ducking the heart is almost guaranteed to work as RHO will probably return a club, so I would do that.

[FrancesHinden]

SOrry, I shouldn't have mentioned the look of annoyance - I don't think RHO noticed it, pretend you are playing with screens if you like!

[FrancesHinden]

mikeh, on Mar 10 2008, 06:16 PM, said:

But this fails if LHO holds 2 hearts, even if he began with Qx, because we have to pitch down to a stiff heart in dummy on trick 10... and RHO can then overtake LHO's stiff Q.

If LHO started with Kx or Qx of hearts we can simply rise on the heart, cross on a diamond and knock out the club, without running the diamonds first.

[mikeh]

FrancesHinden, on Mar 10 2008, 12:28 PM, said:

mikeh, on Mar 10 2008, 06:16 PM, said:

But this fails if LHO holds 2 hearts, even if he began with Qx, because we have to pitch down to a stiff heart in dummy on trick 10... and RHO can then overtake LHO's stiff Q.

If LHO started with Kx or Qx of hearts we can simply rise on the heart, cross on a diamond and knock out the club, without running the diamonds first.

Yes, but how do we know??? If we rise, knock out the club, and he started with xx, we are done. I suppose rising with the Ace and knocking out the club wins when he has a stiff heart or Kx or Qx.. but surely no-one switches to the 7 from K7 or Q7?

Ignoring the ethical issue for the nonce, I still think that most RHO's would return a club rather than a spade... and I think that the odds of LHO having 7x or KQ7 in hearts are enough to warrant the play of the J at trick 3... in fact, having regard to LHO's reluctance to pass 3N, I would far rather play him for 4=3=1=5 with KJxx KQx x AKQxx than for KJxx x xxx AKQxx... now, if he had 5-5, that might account for the slow pass.

I think that with the KJxx KQx x AKQxx, he'd be concerned that driving out your club stopper would lead to an inexorable squeeze

[mikeh]

so what happened?

[FrancesHinden]

mikeh, on Mar 12 2008, 06:54 PM, said:

so what happened?

LHO didn't return a heart, he thought for ages and then cleared clubs. He said afterwards "can I make it harder for you" and I said "I hadn't decided what to do if you played a heart, that would have been very nasty".

The double-dummy correct answer is you need to rise with the ace, LHO has Kx. If you ducked the heart, I can't tell you if RHO would have continued clubs or not. Maybe I should have given it as a defensive problem!