Demon Double of 3NT

Dlr: E Vul: All J98 AJ72 62 Q1096 10762 Q9 A75 AK75 AQ4 K64 Q9843 42 K53 10853 KJ10 J83

After TWO PASSes W (my Lefty) opens proeceedings with ONE DIAMOND. Partner, an action player introduces a DOUBLE. Righty brushes this aside with THREE NOTRUMP. I think this is based on minor length and I think partner must hold club honors for his DOUBLE, and I have diamonds well under control, Partner is implying the majors and we should have tempo and quantity. So I make a penalty DOUBLE, all passing.

I lead H3, declarer plays the Q (nine would have forced partner to put in the J) parter wins The Ace, and returns the deuce showing a four card suit. I chuck the 8 under the nine as declar wins just in case it is a five card suit, T3, Diamond to T and A, partner playing the 2. T4. Diamond back to myJ. T.5 T6 hearts ending in partner's hand (he overtakes to cash) two clubs pitched from dummy and a spade from declarer's hand. Partner switches to 8 of spades Q , King,
and having already taken FIVE tricks, I am on lead in this position.

Dlr: E Vul: All J9 none none QT96 T76 none 7 AK A none Q94 42 53 none K J83

Well, two things should be clear now. A. Partner's double was comic. B.The score we are going to get is excellent, be it 200, 500 or 800. Therefore, one need not cash the DK now, since declarer and dummy are marked with diamonds, and declarer with the Ace of spades, setting up a spade is the right thing to do.

I pondered in the speedball tournament, and gave up on the spade play, as the position was not clear enough in my mind. A mistake! I cashed the DK for 500, simply worried I might not get my DK, and now declarer took his diamond tricks and clubs and SA for down 2 doubled.

These are the situations where you have a declarer on the ropes and you have to deliver the knockout by careful calculation. Only 9.44 IMPs won on this hand instead of 12.44 IMPs.

What to say about partner's action? At duplicate, needing swings, one can do all sorts of things, some of which of course have the potential to backfire, say E redoubles and then I hold a Yarborough and they double all runouts for 1100?