[JLOGIC]

At the table, the CQ was chosen (world class declarer), but full marks to either a low club or the CQ (personally, I think a low club is better). The point of the club play is simply that declarer can ruff his last diamond and ruff back to his hand high on any other play. It is a simple enough seeming play that I think is easy to miss.

[PhilKing]

JLOGIC, on 2013-March-06, 09:21, said:

At the table, the CQ was chosen (world class declarer), but full marks to either a low club or the CQ (personally, I think a low club is better). The point of the club play is simply that declarer can ruff his last diamond and ruff back to his hand high on any other play. It is a simple enough seeming play that I think is easy to miss.

Since declarer was WC, I'm doubtless about to get into an egg-on-face scenario, but ...

I don't get why declarer did not play on clubs earlier. And shouldn't he still make it?

[JLOGIC]

PhilKing, on 2013-March-06, 09:32, said:

Since declarer was WC, I'm doubtless about to get into an egg-on-face scenario, but ...

I don't get why declarer did not play on clubs earlier. And shouldn't he still make it?

He did make it on the CQ back (he had Jx), he should make it on a low club back. The theme of this set of hands has been if you make the strongest play always, people will make some mistakes, and if you don't make the strongest play always, sometimes the opponents will find a good play to beat you.

Why did declarer not play clubs earlier? I don't know, maybe he was worried about 5-1 clubs or maybe he did not see that this might happen, who knows. People routinely make slightly sloppy plays no matter who they are. Maybe this is more true at regional bridge tournaments simply because we play so many of them and we play so many boards. For instance, the declarer in question probably played 5 out of 6 weeks in a row, sometimes 72 boards a day and sometimes 48, flying/travelling in between to the next one. If you can play 25-30,000 hands a year and travel to 30 different cities/states and always avoid making natural looking plays like ruffing your losers in the short hand and taking a trump finesse, more power to you It is hard. That is why I still find it laughable that people think the bermuda bowl schedule is hard for a bridge pro, when in reality even the best in the world just make more bad plays than one would think...

Which is why I think playing a low club back is better than the CQ. But my partner was on your side since he played the CQ after much thought, he clearly was thinking what you thought and that is fine, as I said I give full marks to any club play. The fact that it is cold on any return is the point of this excersize. When they can make on any play, you should make the strongest play. Surely you will agree that a club is a much stronger play than a trump or a diamond, where declarer just ruffs a diamond and claims. Make them find the best play and they won't always. In another of these hands, declarer took a bad line and I made a shockingly horrific play to not beat them. It was much easier than anything else posted, and yet...it happens.

[kenberg]

This all seems right to me. Before retirement I was a college math prof. I once went into class and said "Some of you may think that last time I said [whatever]. You may even have it in your notes that I said [whatever]. The is a mass hallucination. I could not possibly have said [whatever], it would be wrong and stupid to have said [whatever]. "

Michael Rosenberg remarks in Bridge, Zia and Me that when he first started observing top level players he was stunned to see so many mistakes. He realized then that he could win by making fewer mistakes. Often I think that one's level of bridge can be defined by what he regards as a mistake instead of as bad luck.

[ctuncok]

I'd assume partner would have 2 other places to run to when he overcalls AJxx at 2 level. I would play partner to have 9 AJxx Hxxx Jxxx. In which case, playing a trump or a free diamond ruff just gives the contract away. If I return a trump, the 7 spot wins, a D ruff with the T follows, and declarer can ruff the 3rd club high to draw trump. And If I play a diamond he simply ruffs and draws trumps and claims with 5332. As for which club is the right play, if partner has the J of clubs, I don't need to play the Q, if declarer has it, not knowing the trump split he has no reason to duck to Jx of clubs.

So I think a small club is the right play. Declarer will likely play a trump to A and ruff a diamond with T, and will have to lose another trick to the uppercut for -1.

[iamrobusto]

Play another diamond. Declarer has to ruff and can't get off table without you making your 8s.