[daveharty]

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Matchpoints, unknown opponents. South leads the ♣6. How much credit do you give them?

[TWO4BRIDGE]

Although the 1C bid could be anything, how often would you lead INTO the Club bidder holding the ♣King ?

[aguahombre]

I give them credit...due, or not. Partner will get to remind me the game was matchpoints after I rose in clubs and banged the top hearts; she will do it later at the bar as a gentile needle.

[CSGibson]

low. K could be onside, this could be a doubleton 65, or this could just be asking them to ruff with their natural trump trick. Also, its not like this auction screams for any particular lead once they decide not to lead their ace of diamonds - you've "shown" 3 suits between you, and clubs, well, doesn't really show anything in particular.

[daveharty]

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If you flew Ace, like I did, +450 for an average-minus; if you played small, +480 for a shared top.

[aguahombre]

u mean someone else actually led a club? You break even with all the declarers who didn't get a club lead and gain if leader had five to the 10, or a stiff.

You lost to one pair who also got a club lead and didn't have your skills. You ended up with more masterpoints for the session than that pair, right?

[daveharty]

aguahombre, on 2012-July-09, 13:09, said:

u mean someone else actually led a club?

No, I mean there was a South that neglected to cover the club Jack. The Blue Ribbon Finals this was not.

[rmnka447]

Some things you might have thought about ...

South made a 2 ♦ overcall, received no raise, yet the opponent's hold 10 ♦s between them. The missing honors are ♠ J ♥ Q ♦ AQJ ♣ K.

If South holds just ♦ AQJ and length you might have gotten a weak jump overcall or preempt. With ♣ K10xxx and supportive ♦ length, you probably would have heard a ♦ raise from North. So, it's not altogether clear that a ruff is imminent.

At the somewhat less than clear possibility of a ♣ ruff, playing low might gain an extra trick if the lead is from the ♣ K.

At matchpoints, it's often proper to play for the extra trick if you judge everyone else will be in the same contract especially if the risk of taking a trick less than your competition isn't particularly large.


That being said, overcaller gets some credit for putting to the guess with the opening lead.

[Cyberyeti]

daveharty, on 2012-July-09, 16:02, said:

No, I mean there was a South that neglected to cover the club Jack. The Blue Ribbon Finals this was not.

Or one of them discarded a club when the majors were played and declarer guessed right.

[aguahombre]

rmnka447, on 2012-July-10, 04:15, said:

That being said, overcaller gets some credit for putting to the guess with the opening lead.

Credit for giving declarer a chance for a shared top, which he can't get with reasonable defense. This is a cousin of the Grosevenor gambit.

[CSGibson]

Let me add that this would be much easier at the table, where you have a chance to read the tempo of the opening lead.