[Benoit35]

Here's a defending story from the club yesterday. Not a difficult problem, but I found it pretty cool - not least because we got a top out of it.

LHO opens 1NT and RHO staymans. For better or for worse, I double with nothing better than ♣A7532 and a couple of stray jacks.

Opponents reach 3NT and my very obedient partner leads the ♣8 (top of nothing). Declarer plays small from dummy's ♣J4.

Take it from there... Do you persist with the clubs, or do you try to find partner in some other suit? (For example, leading from ♥Jxx into dummy's ♥10xx.)

[pooltuna]

Benoit35, on May 26 2010, 10:05 AM, said:

Here's a defending story from the club yesterday. Not a difficult problem, but I found it pretty cool - not least because we got a top out of it.

LHO opens 1NT and RHO staymans. For better or for worse, I double with nothing better than ♣A7532 and a couple of stray jacks.

Opponents reach 3NT and my very obedient partner leads the ♣8 (top of nothing). Declarer plays small from dummy's ♣J4.

Take it from there... Do you persist with the clubs, or do you try to find partner in some other suit? (For example, leading from ♥Jxx into dummy's ♥10xx.)

you need to reproduce the whole dummy and your whole hand as well as the complete auction if you expect reasonable answers. Altho since I have made my bed I am inclined to lie in it so probably will play an encouraging ♣ on the first 2 leads of the suit planing on winning the third lead so I can run the suit. BTW how do we know if partner led 8 from 8xx as opposed to 8xxx?

[jjbrr]

I'd duck, I think.

[Benoit35]

Sorry pooltuna, I don't remember much of the other suits. Suffice to say that I had a balanced 5332 with a couple of jacks outside the clubs, and a heart switch was a viable option.

The auction was something like:
(1NT) - p - (2♣) - X
(2♦) - p - (2NT) - p
(3NT) - all pass

[rogerclee]

In order for something to be an interesting bridge hand, there must be a hand.

[Benoit35]

OK, I lose.

The interesting point was, I had to notice the ♣8 wasn't top of nothing after all. When I realized that I could see all the spots except the ♣6, I saw the good probability of the 8 being my partner's lowest card.

After seeing that I shouldn't give up on the clubs so soon, I ducked with an encouraging ♣2 (playing the ace would hopelessly block the suit). As it turns out, partner held ♣Q98 and played clubs twice more to set up three tricks for me.