[Cyberyeti]

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Assess your contract. please say if you'd have done something different in the auction, I considered doubling 1N.

W leads 4♠ (lowest from 3 whether an honour held or not, 4ths, top of doubleton), E plays the J plan the play.

[DavidKok]

Spoiler

Win the ace, duck a diamond, let them cash two spades, win the heart return, cash the ace of diamonds and run the clubs? You could duck the first spade to cater to a 5-2 break, but that is almost 0% on the auction and loses a trick on a heart switch if the suits break favourably. I don't think West bid 1NT on a singleton diamond (that would give them something like 3=3=1=6) or East to double with a singleton (4=4=1=4?), so I think the 3-2 break is a favourite. If the person holding the third diamond also has at least 3 clubs we get to dispose of both heart losers, and even if they have only two we still get to ditch one of them. I think we rate to take 1 spade, 1 heart, 4 diamonds and 3-4 clubs, making +1 or +2 depending on the actual layout.
East is probably 4=4=3=2 and West 3=3=2=5, but I don't see a line for 10 tricks on that layout. If we run the clubs immediately, pitching a loser on the ruffed third round, then after winning the return we cannot play a fourth club (East will ruff again and West will still have a diamond trick, so we lose three trumps along with a spade and a heart) or a small diamond (we will immediately lose a third trick in the majors).

As an aside, I think it might be worth doubling to show a strong NT over 1NT. If partner has a bust they can retreat to 2♦. On the layout I think is most likely it seems there is tempo to set up the diamonds (with a diamond lead, diamond ace after getting in and a third diamond) so EW can be held to 5 tricks (2 diamonds and 3 in a major suit of their choice). Maybe at MPs I should cater to other tables getting this result and look into funky layouts, because we're not beating that anyway. But at the table this is as far as I could reason without boring the other participants with my lengthy pause.

[Cyberyeti]

David, I agree with a large part of your analysis, but you missed something which is the layout that actually occurred at the table. My partner played as you did.

[nige1]

CyberYeti 'Assess your contract. please say if you'd have done something different in the auction, I considered doubling 1N. W leads 4♠ (lowest from 3 whether an honour held or not, 4ths, top of doubleton), E plays the J plan the play.'
+++++++++++++++++++
Contract OK. I guess: win ♠A, ♦A. Exit in ♦s.

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[Cyberyeti]

When you win the ♦A the J drops on it.

[Winstonm]

As long as RHO holds 4 clubs it can't hurt to guard against a 4-1 trump break by winning trick one, playing a diamond to the ace, then cashing the 4 clubs. After all, if LHO has 3 clubs and did not bid a major it looks like he is most likely 3343.

[Cyberyeti]

Winstonm, on 2021-June-08, 09:11, said:

As long as RHO holds 4 clubs it can't hurt to guard against a 4-1 trump break by winning trick one, playing a diamond to the ace, then cashing the 4 clubs. After all, if LHO has 3 clubs and did not bid a major it looks like he is most likely 3343.

Right answer for the wrong reason. It looks the most natural thing in the world to duck the first diamond, in fact it costs you the overtrick. As David surmised, the doubler is 4432 but his 3 diamonds are KQJ, so when you play a diamond to the ace you now rumble 3 clubs, he ruffs with the Q, cashes spades, clears hearts and you lead the 4th club and get a second discard for the overtrick.

+90 was worth 1/3 of the matchpoints, +110 would be 3/4 of them

[DavidKok]

Ah, I miscounted the tricks on the distribution I expected. If the third club is ruffed I'm a tempo behind, losing two diamonds, two spades and the heart.

[Cyberyeti]

DavidKok, on 2021-June-08, 09:36, said:

Ah, I miscounted the tricks on the distribution I expected. If the third club is ruffed I'm a tempo behind, losing two diamonds, two spades and the heart.

It looks so natural to duck the first diamond, in fact it's fatal on this particular layout, not sure I wouldn't have done it as well, playing the NT bidder for xx is hard

[Winstonm]

Cyberyeti, on 2021-June-08, 09:21, said:

Right answer for the wrong reason. It looks the most natural thing in the world to duck the first diamond, in fact it costs you the overtrick. As David surmised, the doubler is 4432 but his 3 diamonds are KQJ, so when you play a diamond to the ace you now rumble 3 clubs, he ruffs with the Q, cashes spades, clears hearts and you lead the 4th club and get a second discard for the overtrick.

+90 was worth 1/3 of the matchpoints, +110 would be 3/4 of them

Duh. I don't know what there is about me and an iPhone but I tend to lose the bidding when I use it to answer. I was responding thinking RHO had made a takeout double of 1D, not 1C.