[Phil]

---

(Make sure you notice the explanation about 2♥)

1. You lead the ♣K, 3, 5 (standard), T
2. You continue the ♣Q, 6, 4, J
3. Right or wrong, you continue the 2, 7, 8 ruff with the 5

4-6 declarer continues the ♠AK and ruffs a spade.

7. Diamond to the Ace, and partner will indicate an odd holding, leaving:

---

Your bell moment is coming up. What is it, and what shall you do for the rest of the hand?

[Cyberyeti]

can you give the explanation for 2♥ I get as far as "no voids and not m" then the text disappears.

[Phil]

Cyberyeti, on 2013-April-16, 09:15, said:

can you give the explanation for 2♥ I get as far as "no voids and not m" then the text disappears.

8-11 HCP
5-6 hearts
2-3 spades
no voids
Not more than 9 cards in two suits

[mikeh]

I'm having trouble visualizing a bell moment: it seems to me that on most layouts, declarer is either cold or always down. However, the analysis does depend to some degree on what declarer does at the point the problem is posed.

It seems to me that he has options, which are not limited to but include:

cashing a second diamond (he surely has the K since he didn't hook), and then leading a black card from dummy....usually a spade

cashing a second diamond and playing a 3rd one

ruffing a spade, crossing in diamonds and either playing a club (and pitching) or playing another diamond (in which case, he could win the 2nd one in hand or dummy)

He has AK spades, a spade ruff, a club ruff, and 2 diamonds (inferred) so needs only 2 more tricks. On layouts where his trump are KJx or better, he is cold. KQJ, flat out cold, and KJx he ruffs/overruffs a spade and then plays on diamonds.

Weaker trump holdings seem to always fail so long as we and partner defend normally, so I am still looking for what I have missed, in terms of a Bell moment.

[gnasher]

Quote

On layouts where his trump are KJx or better, he is cold. KQJ, flat out cold, and KJx he ruffs/overruffs a spade and then plays on diamonds.

When his trumps are KJx, can't we put him to a guess? Partner throws his diamond on the last spade, then overruffs my 3 to lead a trump through. But the only way I can contribute to this is to pray that partner doesn't attempt an uppercut.

If this is the layout, declarer does better to play Mike's alternative line: spade ruff, diamond, club discarding a diamond. Hence we have to persuade him that we're 4=3=3=3, and it's probably best not to tell him the diamond count.

I doubt if this is the answer on the card.

[billw55]

I'll think out loud a little here.

Declarer seems to be 2542, and trying to make his contract via two spades, two diamonds, and four trumps by ruffing in hand. He hasn't claimed so I think his remaining trumps are KJx.

Next he can ruff/overruff a spade, cross to the diamond queen, and lead the club pitching a diamond, forcing me to ruff partner's ace and endplay myself. So, this seems like more of a bell moment for partner, who can avoid this by pitching the ♣A on the spade, then ruffing the club lead low, giving declarer a ruffing guess. I don't see how I can help him do this, since I have to follow suit.

I wonder what I am missing.

edit: amusingly, if partner holds ♥Qx2, he must ruff with the middle one (not the 2), else declarer can again pitch, forcing me to overruff. This is a tricky test for partner!
edit 2: and when partner does ruff middle, if declarer pitches, I must underruff - perhaps this is my bell moment? And last partner must continue his remaining small trump through declarer's remaining KJ. After much effort by the defense to dodge the endplay, declarer is finally out of options and must guess.
edit 3: dang, this doesn't work after all, per mikeh below.

[PhilKing]

I play the ♦2 on the previous trick, fooling partner into discarding a diamond on the fourth spade.

trick 8: ♦Q
9: spade ruff, partner pitching
10: diamond, ruffued and overruffed
11: heart, declarer misguessing

I doubt this is the answer. (edit - sorry hadn't seen Gnasher said exactly the same)

[Phil]

Declarer will take four pointed tops. He has ruffed a club and a spade - that's 6. The evidence points to 2542.

As Mike correctly surmises, if he has ♥KQJ, he's cold, so focus on lesser holdings.

With KJx(xx) or KQx(xx), when the 4th spade is played and declarer is allowed to ruff with his low trump, he sits back and waits for a trick with remaining KJ / KQ. Therefore partner will need to uppercut.

But where's the catch?

[billw55]

Phil, on 2013-April-16, 14:09, said:

... Therefore partner will need to uppercut.

But where's the catch?

I think declarer can make it if partner ruffs the spade at trick 8, per my post above.

[mikeh]

Phil, on 2013-April-16, 14:09, said:

Declarer will take four pointed tops. He has ruffed a club and a spade - that's 6. The evidence points to 2542.

As Mike correctly surmises, if he has ♥KQJ, he's cold, so focus on lesser holdings.

With KJx(xx) or KQx(xx), when the 4th spade is played and declarer is allowed to ruff with his low trump, he sits back and waits for a trick with remaining KJ / KQ. Therefore partner will need to uppercut.

But where's the catch?

One of us has a blind spot: I'm open to learning it was me (it wouldn't be the first time).

However, if declarer has KJx or KQx, then no matter how high partner ruffs, declarer overruffs for his 6th trick, cashes the diamond for his 7th and exits a diamond, which we have to ruff, whereupon we are endplayed.

If declarer has Kxx or QJx, then he is down after partner ruffs in, provided that his card is higher than declarer's best 'x'.

If partner pitches, as others have suggested, declarer has an answer. If partner pitches a diamond on the spade, declarer ruffs low, cashes the diamond in dummy, and leads a club, forcing us to ruff. If he pitches the club A, then declarer simply plays 3 rounds of diamonds...he can always avoid partner giving him a losing option in trump.

What have I missed?

[billw55]

mikeh, on 2013-April-16, 14:30, said:

However, if declarer has KJx or KQx, then no matter how high partner ruffs, declarer overruffs for his 6th trick, cashes the diamond for his 7th and exits a diamond, which we have to ruff, whereupon we are endplayed.

aha, I figured I was overlooking something. So that means declarer's trumps must be even worse.

[Phil]

mikeh, on 2013-April-16, 14:30, said:

What have I missed?

At a minimum, you are duplicating the count on declarer's diamond tricks. I'm giving declarer four pointed tops - two of those are diamonds. You are giving the top diamond to declarer for #7 (as I read your post).

[billw55]

edit: removed nonsense .. getting lost

[mikeh]

Phil, on 2013-April-16, 14:36, said:

At a minimum, you are duplicating the count on declarer's diamond tricks. I'm giving declarer four pointed tops - two of those are diamonds. You are giving the top diamond to declarer for #7 (as I read your post).

Not so:

club ruff at trick 3 for the 1st trick

2 spades and a spade ruff to get to 4.

Diamond to dummy and a spade ruff or overruff to get to 6.

Second diamond to dummy to get to 7.

IOW, 4 pointed tops, and 3 ruffs, and at trick 9 we are down to A109x in trump and declarer has two trump left.

Now, what declarer does is contingent upon how our partner defended on the 2nd spade ruff, but declarer can now exit a club, if partner kept his club A, or a diamond, if partner pitched the club A. In either case, we have to ruff, since this is trick 9 and we haven't played a trump yet, and we're endplayed.

That is if declarer started with KQ/KJ in trump.

What have I missed?

[Phil]

Mike, I don't think you've missed anything.

What had happened at the table was that declarer opted to cash two diamonds and then tried a 4th round of clubs (definitely wrong based on the prior play) from the table and ruffed it low, which changed the dynamic of the hand. Later, the 4th round of spades saw partner uppercut with the Q.

Perhaps this might be enough to ring some bells. I hope anyway.

[PhilKing]

I might be being a bit thick, but declarer is just down now - I can play any card in my hand, but I shall draw trumps to finish it quickly.

Disclaimer - I have been drinking heavily, so claiming seems best this point. The bells, the bells!

[Phil]

PhilKing, on 2013-April-16, 17:44, said:

I might be being a bit thick, but declarer is just down now - I can play any card in my hand, but I shall draw trumps to finish it quickly.

Disclaimer - I have been drinking heavily, so claiming seems best this point. The bells, the bells!

What card did you overruff the club with?

[PhilKing]

Phil, on 2013-April-17, 08:27, said:

What card did you overruff the club with?

I'm losing the will to live here. Declarer's last four cards are KJ♥ and Kx♦. I overruff with the nine and play ace and another.

I presume I'm wrong of course.

[mikeh]

PhilKing, on 2013-April-17, 08:45, said:

I'm losing the will to live here. Declarer's last four cards are KJ♥ and Kx♦. I overruff with the nine and play ace and another.

I presume I'm wrong of course.

I think Phil has completely lost his bearings on this one.

He has declarer playing very, very strangely and has the defence doing weird things as well, altho no-cost weird as it happens. Let's see if we can make it all clear.

We start with 3 rounds of clubs, declarer ruffing in.

Declarer plays 3 rounds of spades, ruffing the 3rd.

He cashes 2 diamonds in dummy.

This is 8 tricks played, of which he has won 6.

He now makes the glaring error of a club, which he compounds, when partner follows, by making the zero play of ruffing low. He needed the AQ trump onside at this point so should have ruffed J.

We overrruff: why Phil is interested in our choice of card here is a mystery: as far as I am concerned, I would make a defensive claim as I overruffed, announcing that I am playing A and a trump and my hand is good (tho partner, as it happens, will ruff my good spade).

We have a 4 card end game, as you announced. I don't know why Phil mentioned an uppercut. Certainly, we could exit our spade rather than pull trump: the position is the same if declarer has KJ/KQ in trump, but if he has QJ we are giving him an unnecessary trump trick with this defence. I assume, from Phil's reference to an uppercut, that we did make this misplay of exiting a spade, which is a zero play, that never gains and occasionally loses an undertrick.

Declarer overruffs the Q and we should now claim but the defence to date suggests we have no clue what's going on so I guess we don't.

[jmc]

BUMP

What happened?