[hatchett]

Scoring: IMP

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1♠ P P 3♥
P 4H all P

I have been reading Bourke/Hoffman's 'Imagination and Technique in Bridge'.
There are some good hands but the analysis is a little sloppy on occasions I thought. Here is an example.

The assumption is West has the SA for his opening bid (5 card majors), reasonable enough. What is you line in the interesting case when west has 2 diamonds and trumps are 2-2?

The lead is K♣

[bid_em_up]

I could be mistaken, but it seems like your only real chance is to duck the first club, win the 2nd, cash two rounds of trumps (all following), AK♦, ruff a diamond in hand, and exit with the K♠, hoping that east originally started with the singleton Q or J. Now, no matter what west does, he must either give you a ruff/sluff, or allow the ♠10 to score.

[mikeh]

Win the first ♣, draw trump, and ruff the 3rd round of ♦ and exit that small ♣.

If LHO is unable to get out of the way, he is endplayed.

More often, RHO will win the trick. He will likely lead a ♦ and that reverts back (almost) to the scenario in which you ducked the 1st ♣. However, he may err and exit a ♠, in which case you are home (unless he holds QJ tight and you cover the Q and then play the 10...oh well.

If he does exit a ♦, you ruff, and now you have to exit in ♠.

Exiting the K caters (now) to stiff Q or J or, and this is important, Qx or Jx, while exiting the small caters to stiff x or any xx in East.

Note that the line of ducking the first ♣ and then stripping the reds and exiting in ♠ is less successful: exiting the K requires stiff honour on your right while exiting low requires West to hold AQJxx(x).

If you have not allowed east to strip himself of his 4th ♦, you are down, no matter which ♠ you lead, if East has Jx Qx.

My approximation is that there are more Jx or Qx combos than there are xx combos, so I exit the ♠K.

[FrancesHinden]

What mikeh said.

[jdonn]

mikeh, on May 30 2006, 10:30 AM, said:

...
Note that the line of ducking the first ♣ and then stripping the reds and exiting in ♠ is less successful: exiting the K requires stiff honour on your right while exiting low requires West to hold AQJxx(x).

That is true, but that particular line can be improved upon since we were told west has two diamonds (presuming that means exactly two rather than at least two.)

You can duck the club, win club, trumps, AD KD and lead a spade off dummy, covering with the 7 if rho plays the 3 or 5. Now you make when east's spade holding is Q, J, 3, 5, 35, Q3, Q5, J3, J5.

This is still worse than the line you stated, but it is the far better version of the line that begins with ducking the club lead.

[FrancesHinden]

True, but usually when we're told West has a certain holding, we're not supposed to play for that layout without finding it at the table....

[jdonn]

FrancesHinden, on May 30 2006, 11:00 AM, said:

True, but usually when we're told West has a certain holding, we're not supposed to play for that layout without finding it at the table....

I actually think that would be the right version of the line where a club is ducked at trick one even if we weren't told west has just two diamonds, since it picks up so many more of the spade combinations. I'm not sure about that though.

[FrancesHinden]

If we were forced to duck the club at trick one, an alternative line would be to win the the second club, draw trumps and play 3 rounds of diamonds planning to discard on the 3rd diamond if it looks as if West has QJx or Qxx and forgot to unblock.

[FrancesHinden]

p.s. the really advanced & expert-class players bid

1S P P 3H
P 3S P 3NT

and didn't have a play problem

[hatchett]

Quote

p.s. the really advanced & expert-class players bid

1S P P 3H
P 3S P 3NT

p.p.s the really,really advanced & expert class players would take their 4♣ save over this

[jdonn]

hatchett, on May 30 2006, 11:33 AM, said:

Quote

p.s. the really advanced & expert-class players bid

1S P P 3H
P 3S P 3NT

p.p.s the really,really advanced & expert class players would take their 4♣ save over this

The one that goes for 500?

[hatchett]

oh yes forgot the vul!