I held A QJ763 A853 AJ9. We were playing against strong opponents in a weakish field (Monday morning, the day after a regional). We were unfavorable. Partner passed, RHO passed, I opened 1H, and LHO jumped to 2S. Partner negative-doubled, so I jumped to 4D. She bid a fifth and final diamond, and the king of spades was led. Here's the hand:
I won the spade lead with the ace and played a heart toward the king. LHO won with the ace and played a low spade to his partner's jack. I ruffed, played a club to the ace, and played three rounds of diamonds, finessing for RHO's king-third. Now out of trump, I cashed the top two hearts, pitching spades (everyone following). This was the position I saw:
I ruffed the six of hearts, establishing my 7. LHO pitcheda spade. I led a club off the board toward my AJ.
So... finesse or not?
The answer is in the Comments section. Click the word "Comments" at the end of the post to see what happened at the table, and my thoughts on the situation.
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1 comment:
At the table, I took the finesse.
I'd been counting -- LHO had six spades, three hearts, and two diamonds, therefore only two clubs. Also, he'd shown up with 9 HCP (KQ of spades and A of hearts), so the club queen would have given him 11, more than most folks would have for a weak jump overcall.
I was wrong!
No, West didn't have the queen of clubs. Yes, I made an overtrick in 5D. But I failed to think about the matchpoint angle of the problem. We were in a great spot, and I'd played it well up to that point. So we were already doing better than most of the field.
The traveler for this board read:
+130
+300
+620
+140
+50
+130
+150
+620 and +600 would have been the same matchpoint score. And if the CQ had been on my left... well, you can see how many matchpoints minus 200 would have been.
I've certainly made a weak jump overcall opposite a passed partner with KQT9xx Axx xx Qx before... haven't you?
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