Hindsight

In my first post, I shared a defensive triumph, so it seems fitting for my second, to lament a defensive failure.

Imps Dealer:S Vul: All		North
		♠
		♥
		♦
		♣
West				East
♠				♠	Q5
♥				♥	QT64
♦				♦	96
♣				♣	AJT84
		South
		♠	T842
		♥	9
		♦	AKQ52
		♣	KQ7

Lead: ♦4

After the lead of the 4 of diamonds (3rd best), I won the Queen, noticed declarer’s 7, and put on my thinking cap.  Based on Declarer’s quick accept of the game-try, they are likely to have the AK in both majors, unless they have some shape.  Extremes like 5=6 in the majors, or maybe 5-5 in the red suits suggest that we can’t beat them, or if we can, it is not going away.

What about hands missing the K of spades?  Against 3=6=2=2, if I don’t shift to a spade, declarer will be able to duck a club, then ruff the clubs out, draw trump ending in dummy and enjoy 2 clubs for 2 spade discards.  So I cashed another diamond, partner playing the 3, confirming that declarer had started with 2 or 4 diamonds, and shifted to a spade.  The full deal:

Imps Dealer:S Vul: All		North
		♠	J976
		♥	J87
		♦	J843
		♣	63
West				East
♠	AK3			♠	Q5
♥	AK432			♥	QT64
♦	T7			♦	96
♣	952			♣	AJT84
		South
		♠	T842
		♥	9
		♦	AKQ52
		♣	KQ7

Declarer won in dummy, drew trumps in three rounds, and finished the spades. Then a club to dummy’s Jack finished me. I had to lead clubs or concede the ruff-sluff. Do you see the winning defense?

At trick two, I had to underlead in diamonds to allow partner to play a club through dummy, while I still had a safe exit in a major. Should I have done so, when declarer might have won their Jack as the game-going trick in a 2=6=2=3 hand missing a major-suit King? (Declarer can now cash their winners and put my partner in with their King to lead a club through, and again I am end-played)

Ahh, hindsight.