Just wondering what happens if South plays a simplistic line by taking the HA then running 5 clubs and ditching 2 diamonds. If West ditches two diamonds and a spade, as the cards lie he can be thrown in with a spade to give declarer a 2nd heart trick. The defence should probably get this right (West should keep 1 diamond and shed a heart but you never know.
Regards,
Iain
Bobby WolffJanuary 10th, 2023 at 6:10 pm
Hi Iain,
Apparently, this hand decides itself by declarer as to which defender he plays for the diamond ace, with some regard for the hearts to be 4-4 rather than 5-3 or even 6-2.
However, and I think a point worth mentioning, for declarer to decide whether or not he expects this defending EW pair to be capable of switching to a spade, after he ducks the first two hearts. While many EW’s would not fit the bill as likely to do that, methinks declarer gave it his best play, leaving 2nd best, win trick one and lead a diamond to the king (perhaps not immediately).
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Hi Bobby,
Just wondering what happens if South plays a simplistic line by taking the HA then running 5 clubs and ditching 2 diamonds. If West ditches two diamonds and a spade, as the cards lie he can be thrown in with a spade to give declarer a 2nd heart trick. The defence should probably get this right (West should keep 1 diamond and shed a heart but you never know.
Regards,
Iain
Hi Iain,
Apparently, this hand decides itself by declarer as to which defender he plays for the diamond ace, with some regard for the hearts to be 4-4 rather than 5-3 or even 6-2.
However, and I think a point worth mentioning, for declarer to decide whether or not he expects this defending EW pair to be capable of switching to a spade, after he ducks the first two hearts. While many EW’s would not fit the bill as likely to do that, methinks declarer gave it his best play, leaving 2nd best, win trick one and lead a diamond to the king (perhaps not immediately).