BILmanager: => Club: !d!D Beg/Int Lounge Members- paulg's session on DEFENSIVE PROBLEMS starts in 5 min---- All Members Welcome! !D!D sceptic: we agreed on std carding hi enc paulg: fine paulg: leads may come into too ... paulg: so are you playing 4th best ... sceptic: y paulg: and what do you lead from xxx and xxxx geofspa: standard lead ... MUD from rubbish sceptic: mud from 3 crappola geofspa: 2nd from xxxx paulg: although MUD is popular ... I was always taught that the acronym described its usefulness paulg: however leading anything from three small is no way to make a living Beky (Broadcast): !c !d !h !s !d REGISTER NOW !d 4 min !d #397 BBOITALIA !d ISCRIVETEVI ORA !d 5 min!d !c !d !h !s ->BILmanager: so I have 8 hands tonight that I will not need any help with .... if they are quick then we shall play some random hands with all BILmanager: ok thanks orla: oh, now I know where I had seen you before .... I knew your "face" was familiar when I played with you the other day paulg: so I'm not sure how difficult this session will be ... so feel free to ask questions of me and the audience if you are unsure ->orla: :) sceptic: ok thx paulg: so the kibs may prefer to view just one of the hands .... paulg: both West and East will have problems to solve on these hands paulg: so, first hand ... BILmanager: => Club: !d Beg/Int Lounge Members- paulg's session on DEFENSIVE PROBLEMS has just begun---- All Members Welcome !d jillybean2->Club: !d need one more boeh: yes boeh: :) paulg: geof, what do you think that Wayne has? geofspa: 3!s ... to a honour fifa: staart unbocking paulg: what are this 3 spades if he leads the !s8? geofspa: H8x paulg: I would expect him to lead small from this? sceptic: I would lead low if I had 3 to an honour and would not support with 3 cards unless I had 3 good ones ->sceptic: lead again sceptic: smae card? ->sceptic: yes paulg: so now you have to work out who holds what paulg: And count how many tricks declarer has ..... you can both do this paulg: it should be clear that declarer has !sKJ .... otherwise Wayne would have led low sceptic: 2!C 3!D prob 2!s maybe 1!H paulg: declarer is balanced ... so probably 6!d, 2!c and 2!s ... sceptic: they can make extra they need in !D I think paulg: if fact you each know that diamonds are breaking paulg: so to break this contract you need to play the only remaining suit paulg: because when I get the lead next I will cash 10 tricks Sherri: no, just begun, it looks especially good paulg: so the !hQ was a good try ... but fails when South has 4 hearts paulg: it was better than the !h4 :) paulg: and that is best .... sceptic: :( paulg: so as you can now see, the !h9 is the only card that beats the contract Gaya: this does not work if S has K 10 x x :) how to know ? paulg: the key to this defence is working out what is needed to beat the contract ... when you can see 10 tricks ready for declarer ->Gaya: you can never beat the contract then paulg: if South has better hearts then you can never beat the contract paulg: the !hQ does work when Wayne has 5 hearts and South only !hKxx reinhard m: ach so :) geofspa: so wayne has 4 spades only paulg: yes, so what does South's hand look like sceptic: qxx!S geofspa: 4414 paulg: probably, may be 4405 but more likely to bid 2!s with a void sceptic: 3415 paulg: geof has a better count since he knows how many spades he has himself :) paulg: so geof also knows that wayne does not hold !sKQTx since he would have led !sK with that paulg: correct switch but wrong card ... aditan: how do we know geof has 4 spades? aditan: i meant wayne sry paulg: geof knows Wayne has 4 spades because he has led 4th highest, !s3 aditan: ok ty geofspa: I could see the 2 so can't have one lower paulg: also it could not be from Hxx as that would mean South held 5 spades, impossible on the bidding ->geofspa: keep going on !d paulg: well done ... paulg: you did well to work out the diamond switch .... paulg: but as you've seen twice now, these hands require the precise CARD to beat the contract ollozzo (Lobby): hi Paul paulg: if you mindlessly return spades then I can easily establish 9 tricks orla: how on earth can you decide to lead the king under the ace ? ->ollozzo: hi there raychan: sorry how will u noe tat south has queen singleton in diamond? orla: if you look at the 4 hands, yes, but at a normal session? paulg: a number of folks are asking how you know that South has singleton !dQ ... paulg: the answer is you do not know ..... Gaya: not easy decision to sacrify !d k ... :) paulg: however you do know that South has only 1 diamond .... OliverC->Kibitzers: hi all geofspa: at most paulg: as South has bid !c, !h and has 4 spades 1marko->Kibitzers: hi Oliver aditan: if wayne would have been asked how does he lead..then it would be ok:) paulg: so it does not matter what that singleton is ... the !dK never loses ->aditan: we covered their leads at start, sorry aditan: sry..i wasnt here:) paulg: imagine South has !d3 ... then partner has !dQJxx orla: that makes sense :-(( lol paulg: and you've just started the unblock aditan: e alta regula similara cu 11..nu stiu nu i-am intrebat da m-ai suparat..prea ma suspectezi de magarii nzakosek: couldn't south have 3clubs,2diamonds and 4-4 in the majors? ->aditan: wrong person;) jmzelis: can South be 4 4 2 3 ...? paulg: If South held 3!c, 2!d, 4!h and 4!s then he would open or rebid NT aditan: :) jmzelis: ok ty paulg: Certainly this South would ... and I'd advise all of you to bid this way raychan: sorry how we noe tat he has 1 d? y not 3 clubs n 2 d? Gaya: S could have 2/3 in minors, no ?... raychan: oic ->Gaya: no, rebid NT paulg: so i'll take a moment to let you look at dummy & consider the defence paulg: i notice that online players often play too quickly from dummy ... whereas experts will tend to consider a plan before they play paulg: thinking as declarer also gives the defence time to think .... paulg: will declarer be happy at dummy ... how many tricks does he have, paulg: how many do we have .... paulg: what am I going to do when he leads the !cJ to me.... etc. geofspa: he has 3 higher than the 5 in !s paulg: yep geofspa: so 3 cards in !s therefore p started with 5 paulg: yes, otherwise I would have responded 2!s geofspa: 2 or 3 !h paulg: wayne's turn for the inquisition :) paulg: who has the !s10? sceptic: RHO paulg: who has the !sK? sceptic: Geof paulg: i think geof would play it on the first round ... in case you had the !sA paulg: in case South has !sQxx paulg: how many clubs does Geof have? sceptic: ok so declarer played club finese sceptic: so he may go back with a diamond and try finese again IF he needs it paulg: Geof carefully played the !c6 .... suggesting an even number paulg: that's probably 2 clubs, so South probably has 5 clubs ... sceptic: so heart switch may be needed to beat contract paulg: yes sceptic: so plya ask as see if it is encouraged sceptic: play ace sceptic: 3!h mising so prob Geof played hi sceptic: 9J paulg: well done, Geof's signalling a little constrained with the !hT8 in dummy paulg: so, once again, this hand is about understanding what partner/declarer has .... paulg: ... counting the tricks probably available to declarer ... paulg: .... and then playing for the perfect distribution to allow you to beat the contract paulg: notice the inferences you can make at trick 1 when partner plays the !sJ .... paulg: Also notice how South tries to make it difficult by "hiding" cards ... geofspa: playing A at trick one you mean? paulg: yes ... Gaya: _!c ? Gaya: 8!c paulg: when you are declarer try not to advertise your holdings ... paulg: if you hold KQJT9 ... do not play small to the 9 ....as it tells the defence what you hold paulg: pretend to take a finesse, play to the Q for example paulg: so this has is about making life easier for partner .... eileencyn: play !d on A!h paulg: ... and does involve a fair amount of trust ... sceptic: thinking Gaya: 9!d ->eileencyn: yes, i've misplayed the hand purposely sceptic: they strained to get to 4!S so geof has about 9 points paulg: wayne, where is your next trick coming from? paulg: or, more specifically, does Geof have an Ace? OliverC: hmmm. would geof rise with the A!S holding Ax? I doubt it sceptic: prob an ace or even both missing ones, I dont know where to go paulg: so a good partner would cash an ace before leading the diamond back to you .... paulg: in case you guessed wrongly which suit to lead sceptic: that was my dilema paulg: Geof would make your life easier ... that's the point of the hand .... sceptic: did not knowwhich suit to lead paulg: so he does not hold an Ace .... sceptic: ah I c ->sceptic: diamond sceptic: ruff and sluff? ->sceptic: yep, to everyone sceptic: that was reason not to play my !D I hated all other choices paulg: as Oliver has pointed out, Geof may also duck with any other !sAx holding sceptic: I never thought about that jmzelis: declarer can make if discard 1!D on !H....? paulg: South could have done better in the play by throwing a diamond on a heart ... but raychan: sorry wat is duck? paulg: the defence has to take all opportunities offered paulg: duck is "play small" jmzelis: ok ty raychan: oic thanx geofspa: precision ? paulg: North-South are playing Blue Club paulg: so South has 6+ points, but fewer than 3 controls where A=2 controls and K=1 control geofspa: and 5 !h ? ->sceptic: as you have 3 tricks in hand, i suggest leading !cA before it goes away paulg: no, South's 1!h is purely artificial and says nothing about hearts geofspa: Ok paulg: North's 2!h is natural, and South's raise would show 3+!h ->geofspa: so I think you should show length here ->sceptic: how many points does Geof hold? sceptic: 7 sceptic: in !D I think ->sceptic: i make it 4 or less paulg: so Geof has played a high club, suggesting an even number sceptic: yes forgot q!C paulg: i think it is fair to suggest that South probably has more than 3 hearts sceptic: I was tempted to lead J!D sceptic: hope goef has K!10!D paulg: so there are a couple of things wayne can do ... leading a diamond is very aggressive and requires partner to hold the !dA or !dKT to work paulg: Wayne knows that Geof probably has 4 clubs, so it does not hurt to continue clubs at this point ->sceptic: cash 2nd heart paulg: so now Wayne needs to count the hand ... BEFORE leading to the next trick :) paulg: you know a fair amount about south's hand .... what does he hold? Gaya: the first one who touches !d gives tricks to opps... sceptic: 2!C 5!h ->Gaya: yes, but it's why you must not lead diamonds paulg: good, so how many spades? sceptic: 3 paulg: .. or 1 or 2 or 4 or 5 sceptic: 2!S and 4!d Gaya: yep, give the baby to opps or something like that :))))) paulg: suppose South has 3 spades ... then he will have 3 diamonds ? paulg: And, as spades would then break 3-3, declarer gets to throw 1 diamond away sceptic: he has discard then paulg: however he will always have 2 diamonds left paulg: if they are !dAK you can never beat this ... (and South denied it in the bidding) sceptic: k10 !D is only holding to defeat contract paulg: well, the real thing is that YOU do not need to lead diamonds paulg: whatever the diamond holding is ... paulg: right paulg: as you can see, it does not need Geof to hold the !d10 ... sceptic: :( paulg: the interesting aspect of this hand is the counting of South's hand ... paulg: when you know he has 6 cards in !s and !d ... you can see that there is no rush paulg: so I'll warn you that this hand is about counting too ... as most slams are :) OliverC: lol, if this hand doesn't get them to count properly and draw the right inferenes, nothing will LOL ->sceptic: passive lead is best hali11: why 5C! if you had only 2 A? ->hali11: it was roman keycard blackwood - !sK counts as ace hali11: TY 1marko: wow paulg: so this is the keypoint of the hand .... paulg: so important not to rush and lead the obvious card ... paulg: in real life a little pixie jumps up at this point and says "TAKE YOUR TIME ... THIS IS THE IMPORTANT BIT" .... hali11: sscepptik sh play j!C? paulg: but that does not happen online ... paulg: so the question is how many hearts and clubs does South have at this moment paulg: it should be clear that I am trying for an endplay .... Gaya: is the question "why S has eliminated 2 suits" a good one ? paulg: forcing a diamond lead or ruff'n'discard paulg: so you should know from your signalling what South has .... sceptic: 1!c paulg: .... or you can assume that I have no more clubs and hearts because I would have RUFFED them and done a proper endplay paulg: so, if I have no more !h & !c .. what is my distribution? Beky (Broadcast): !c !d !h !s !d REGISTER NOW !d 7 min !d #49 BBOITALIA !d ISCRIVETEVI ORA !d 7 min!d !c !d !h !s geofspa: 2!s and 4!d left paulg: correct ... paulg: so I have !dAxxx opposite !dK?xx .... paulg: and actually it never costs to provide a ruff and discard paulg: however leading a diamond concedes the contract paulg: one more hand for this evening ... geofspa: I get to lead one tonight Gaya: i dont understand the bidding : why 1!c first ? hope: ?!cbefore !S ->Gaya: it is one way of showing 5-5 black suits ->hope: it is one way of showing 5-5 black suits Gaya: ok :) hope: Tks ->geofspa: what is North's likely shape? geofspa: 65 !c adn !s paulg: yes hali11: why you lead 1C! and not 1S!? paulg: so North has implied 5 spades and at least 5 clubs hope: I would read 6!C 5!S:-) hali11: sorry, bid paulg: some people would always have 6 clubs, but this pair open 1!c with 5-5 shape chandaa: why not open 1!s ? hypatia_3: no on the last one to stop the end play? hypatia_3: sorry private hope: tks paulg: in the UK opinion is mixed as to whether to open 1!c or 1!s with 5-5 lcmdir: i thought in sayc open clubs 1st, in 2/1 open spades 1st paulg: in terms of what to lead, often best to try and keep the lead ... paulg: especially when you had a trump trick ... paulg: ... sorry have a trump trick paulg: so I'd lead the !dA paulg: and have a look at dummy paulg: As we know that declarer only has 2 or 3 red cards, it might be important to cash them paulg: Geof, why switch to hearts? geofspa->Club: unusual high !d Gaya: brilliant : thx i've learned much geofspa: asks for high suit otuside !s paulg: yes, good signal by Wayne ... but actually there is another reason too paulg: Suppose North holds !hAx ... paulg: then the small heart will be discarded on the !dK ... so declarer does not need finesse ... as he only has 3 red cards paulg: so, good switch, well done ... paulg: So that's it for tonight as it has been a tough session for Wayne & Geof, many thanks to them robertn: thx Paul, Wayne, Geof lcmdir: thanks, good lesson Sherri: ty Paul, great lesson geofspa: thanks Paul and Wayne for letting me sit in sceptic: thx Paul, that was great hope: Tks Paul paulg: i hope it shows that defence can get easier .. but it takes lots of work .. especially counting! 1marko->Club: thx Paul, very useful lesson NormaAB: thanks - great lesson geofspa: I need lots more of this type of lesson himera: ths OliverC: wd paul, nice set of hands aditan: ty for the lesson boeh->Club: thx all mortinii: the 'inquisition' is over already? flames were just gettin' good baven: thx paul wayne and geof chicamonk: thanks, twas great lesson ->mortinii: :) rcbought: excellent lesson ty ->rcbought: ty sceptic: cheers Paul, very good session :) Sherri: Is counting a thing you either can or can't do...or (hopefully) there are methods to use? BILmanager: !D!D Paul-thank you so much-You make learning fun even if it hurts my brain! And Wayne, thanks for sharing your lesson !D!D aditan: vv nice..ty v much mortinii: nice lesson paul ->Sherri: everyone can count to 13! ->aditan: good, ty Sherri: 4X at once is what I find difficult, lol, thx again ->Sherri: :) eileencyn: thanks guys/great lesson but will never be able to do that paulg: it's all a matter of practice sugarspun5: thanks paul and the gang for the lesson :) paulg: As you play more, you get used to when important things are happening paulg: that little pixie pops up ;) hope->Club: 2 seats available next door paulg: thx everyone sceptic: I only see the pixie after 8 pints ->sceptic: glad you enjoyed, i'll try to think of something else next week