Board 1
Dlr North
Vul None
| ♠ | Q 9 8 6 3 | ||||
| ♥ | 9 3 | ||||
| ♦ | A 9 6 | ||||
| ♣ | K 9 2 | ||||
| ♠ | 7 | ♠ | A K 5 | ||
| ♥ | A Q J 10 8 7 | ♥ | 6 5 | ||
| ♦ | J 8 4 2 | ♦ | 10 5 | ||
| ♣ | A 3 | ♣ | Q J 10 8 7 5 | ||
| ♠ | J 10 4 2 | ||||
| ♥ | K 4 2 | ||||
| ♦ | K Q 7 3 | ||||
| ♣ | 6 4 |
| Franco | Andy | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| West | North | East | South |
| Pass | 1♣ | Pass | |
| 1♥ | 1♠ | Pass | 3♠ |
| 4♥ | All Pass |
Lead: ♠3
[Reasoning withheld for under the fold for those reading as a defense problem] I won, pitched a club on a 2nd spade and led a low diamond from dummy.
South won ♦Q and led a heart. I won the Queen and led another diamond to North's Ace.
What should North do here?
In practice, he led a heart. I was able to win, draw trumps, and lead the ♦J to pin the nine.
420 was good enough for 14/17 matchpoints.
My reasoning: I figured South likely holds at least one top diamond honor and obviously a spade honor, plus I basically need him to hold a heart honor. Given the preemptive raise, they also know to strand club winners in dummy if I set those up. At IMPs it might be harder not to take a club hook which seems like it has more legitimate ways to make. At matchpoints, I think my line offers some misdefense chances and otherwise has a decent chance of maximizing tricks in a poor contract. I suppose technically I make if there's Kx onside in trumps plus a natural diamond trick (e.g. HH9 tight with South).
As for what North should do: I have no entry for a heart finesse. Anything but a heart would have been successful.
Are you saying that without the interference you would have taken the club hook?
ReplyDeleteYes, for two reasons: I wouldn't have the inference about the plausibility of both kings onside; and, if it lost, the defense wouldn't know dummy was dead.
ReplyDeleteI ask because few people would ever consider this a loss associated with the overcall. Of course, as you say, the defense is less likely to know that dummy is dead if they had done no bidding. I do not mean to suggest that the whole charge should go to the overcall, just that some of it should.
ReplyDelete