West was surely good enough to know better here, especially holding 3 trumps (2 might have been different) – “Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes” as the classic warning on Greek gifts goes. Ruffing fresh air (which declarer must have been prepared for) is unlikely to help while if declarer has solid clubs he’d surely be tackling trumps instead.
Regards,
Iain
Iain ClimieJanuary 4th, 2023 at 1:41 pm
A further point on the bidding – why did E bid D rather than spades (or perhaps redouble) here given that he / she has equal length? Maybe lead directing but 4S is cheap (especially double dummy) over 4H – or would be if declarer doesn’t mess up.
Iain
Bobby WolffJanuary 4th, 2023 at 3:11 pm
Hi Iain,
Although I think predictable, the gift of ruffing with low (expected worthless) trump becomes just too tempting not to indulge. While definitely part of the learning, yes
for even promising students, that experience and its necessity seem to be the last hurdle to master while jumping the fence to bridge maturity.
Yes, no doubt East was only trying to get in a lead director, but as is so often the case
good intentions do not necessarily lead to advantage.
Also, while it is close as to whether or not EW should be taking the 4 spade sacrifice,
when seeing the dummy as declarer, I would rather anyone else but me, especially my worst enemy, to be at the helm.
In any event, John Powell’s quote can often be applied to our great game, hopefully with many taking advantage by so doing.
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Hi Bobby,
West was surely good enough to know better here, especially holding 3 trumps (2 might have been different) – “Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes” as the classic warning on Greek gifts goes. Ruffing fresh air (which declarer must have been prepared for) is unlikely to help while if declarer has solid clubs he’d surely be tackling trumps instead.
Regards,
Iain
A further point on the bidding – why did E bid D rather than spades (or perhaps redouble) here given that he / she has equal length? Maybe lead directing but 4S is cheap (especially double dummy) over 4H – or would be if declarer doesn’t mess up.
Iain
Hi Iain,
Although I think predictable, the gift of ruffing with low (expected worthless) trump becomes just too tempting not to indulge. While definitely part of the learning, yes
for even promising students, that experience and its necessity seem to be the last hurdle to master while jumping the fence to bridge maturity.
Yes, no doubt East was only trying to get in a lead director, but as is so often the case
good intentions do not necessarily lead to advantage.
Also, while it is close as to whether or not EW should be taking the 4 spade sacrifice,
when seeing the dummy as declarer, I would rather anyone else but me, especially my worst enemy, to be at the helm.
In any event, John Powell’s quote can often be applied to our great game, hopefully with many taking advantage by so doing.