Memphis National Mixed Pairs Finals Play Hand 3/30/2012

Eric Leong

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Mar 31, 2012, 12:18:59 AM3/31/12

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Memphis National Mixed Pairs Finals
Dealer West
Both Vulnerable

As North, you hold S 2 H K987 D 10864 C AQ104.

The bidding proceeds:

West North East South
1NT(1) Pass 2D(2) Pass
2H Pass 2S Pass
3S Pass 4S Pass
Pass Pass

(1) Weak Notrump 12-14
(2) Forcing to game Stayman

Opening lead: C 4

Dummy
S 1086
H AJ43
D AJ5
C K73
You
S 2
H K987
D 10864
C AQ106
Declarer

The play proceeds:

Partner Dummy You Declarer
1. C4 C3 *CQ C2
2. S4 S10 S2 *SA
3. S3 S8 D4 *SK
4. C6 CK *CA C8

Playing standard leads and signals, how do you defend?

Eric Leong

Frances

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Apr 2, 2012, 4:36:04 AM4/2/12

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There are two 6 of clubs in the pack.
I don't understand the auction: what did 2S mean?

Dave Flower

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Apr 2, 2012, 5:06:44 AM4/2/12

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Partner's C6 is a clock-radio signal, designed to tell you that you have taken your hand from the wrong board!

Dave Flower

Eric Leong

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Apr 2, 2012, 3:51:17 PM4/2/12

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Typo. You have the club five instead of the club six. 2S is forcing
and shows a five card spade suit.

Eric Leong

Charles Brenner

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Apr 2, 2012, 4:48:43 PM4/2/12

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Declarer's spade plays can only come from AKxxx or AKJxxx, and the
former is counter-indicated by partner's echo (why falsecard when
partner -- me -- is the only one who can be fooled?).

Assuming 6 spades with declarer, if declarer has 3 clubs then we'll
have to problems after a club return. Someone will win it, partner
will gain the lead in trumps, and partner can work out that a heart
play is safe. If declarer instead has 2 clubs, the club exit is still
safe: declarer ruffs and if partner gains the lead in trumps he can
exit with his 4th club. That will force a discard from the dummy which
is critical for our case if declarer has AKJxxx, 10x, Q9x, xx (i.e.
eradicates the danger of endplaying me in hearts.).

So the answer to "How do you defend?" is that in truth I wouldn't
waste effort on this one and would just return the obvious club, which
seems always safe and also is the only safe exit in some reasonable
seeming deals where declarer has red-suit intermediates. I look
forward to learning why it is wrong.

Charles

Eric Leong

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Apr 2, 2012, 5:16:23 PM4/2/12

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Declarer showed a five card spade suit. What do you mean by the
"obvious club"?

Eric Leong

Charles Brenner

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Apr 2, 2012, 7:11:29 PM4/2/12

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I didn't assume that you meant exactly five, especially in view of
partner's plays and that from my experience that seems an unusual
treatment. However, if NS assure us that exactly five is their system
then maybe West will rely on his partner relying on that and
consequently signal in some different way. I don't think I could bring
myself as East (or as West) to rely on it though!

> What do you mean by the "obvious club"?

I simply meant that it's obvious to play the club suit; I didn't mean
either club in particular. Since it's posed as a problem I did
consider the signalling aspect of one club or the other, but concluded
there's no point because (a) partner doesn't know I have 4 clubs
anyway so won't be able to read a signal, and (b) partner won't need a
signal anyway. Admittedly that's predicated on the 6-spade idea.
There's no harm in choosing the club 10 but I don't see how it can
help. Come to think of it while I'm grasping at straws to find a
reason however improbable to support a choice, maybe partner cleverly
led low from a doubleton in which case the 10 would be a losing play,
subverting partner's brilliance.

If declarer has only 5 spades then I guess he's already down in the
black suits and if anything matters we have a heart coming as well for
down 2. I don't see any hand where a red shift from me is helpful, but
even if you show me one I don't think I would ever at the table risk
letting a 6-spade declarer make the contract just for a notional
chance of the 3rd downtrick against a 5-spade declarer.

But show -- what have you got?

Charles

Eric Leong

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Apr 3, 2012, 3:18:40 PM4/3/12

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I accept your comment on partner's brilliance.
Okay, the hands were:

Dummy
S 1086
H AJ43
D AJ5
C K73

Me You
S J543 S 2
H Q652 H K987
D K93 D 10864
C 64 C AQ105
Declarer
S AKQ97
H 10
D Q72
C J982

Returning the club 10 give you an average board of 45 out of 90.
Returning the club 5 will certainly cause declarer to misguess and
give you two down for close to a top..
Declarer was Buddy Hanby a sometime poster to r.g.b in the past.

The point of the deal is you have a free shot at playing for partner
doing something deceptive. When he gets in he is clearly not going to
return a diamond given your low diamond discard.

My partner got this wrong and a number of players I polled returned
the club ten. Later, I was reading the Daily Bulletin and I saw Barry
Rigal's article where a defenders on two different occasions led a low
club from C 63 and got declarer to misguess. So I thought, surely this
a trivial problem worthy of Barry. Unfortunately, Barry also returned
the club ten, Argh!

Eric Leong

Charles Brenner

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Apr 3, 2012, 4:13:30 PM4/3/12

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AKQxx -- I didn't think of that holding but it makes sense.

I don't mind partner's trump plays, but as I commented before it seems
perverse to falsecard partner and not declarer. Why?

> Returning the club 10 give you an average board of 45 out of 90.
> Returning the club 5 will certainly cause declarer to misguess and
> give you two down for close to a top..
> Declarer was Buddy Hanby a sometime poster to r.g.b in the past.

I recall playing a few hands with him on OkBridge years ago. Good
player.

> The point of the deal is you have a free shot at playing for partner
> doing something deceptive. When he gets in he is clearly not going to
> return a diamond given your low diamond discard.

Signal or no the diamond exit looks really risky to West.

> My partner got this wrong and a number of players I polled returned
> the club ten. Later, I was reading the Daily Bulletin and I saw Barry
> Rigal's article where a defenders on two different occasions led a low
> club from C 63 and got declarer to misguess. So I thought, surely this
> a trivial problem worthy of Barry. Unfortunately, Barry also returned
> the club ten, Argh!

I see why you and others led low -- to not encourage a ruff with your
probable natural trump trick. But when partner doesn't read it I'd
just shrug it off. At the table I might have returned the club x more
or less at random as I discussed, but unlikely I'd do it for what is
in fact the winning reason even though I did sort of find it in our
discussion.

Charles

Thomas Dehn

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Apr 3, 2012, 5:10:09 PM4/3/12

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Well, you already showed the hands, but
I am playing back the C6 (or rather the C5),
and I do not see the problem.

Thomas

vsp...@hotmail.com

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Apr 3, 2012, 8:20:24 PM4/3/12

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I don't understand why anyone would
return the CT, and not the C5.
If partner has four clubs and declarer
has six red cards, the HK can't disappear.
Declarer will ruff. Why signal?

Sue Picus

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Apr 4, 2012, 10:14:17 PM4/4/12

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On

>
> > My partner got this wrong and a number of players I polled returned
> > the club ten. Later, I was reading the Daily Bulletin and I saw Barry
> > Rigal's article where a defenders on two different occasions led a low
> > club from C 63 and got declarer to misguess. So I thought, surely this
> > a trivial problem worthy of Barry. Unfortunately, Barry also returned
> > the club ten, Argh!

My article referred to leading low from 63 doubleton. I certainly
never suggested leading low from 64 doubleton.
That would be ridiculous.

Barry
>