Opening Lead for Intermediates 4 by Andy Hung

A: ♣4.

"What? A trump lead away from Qxx, you must be mad!" is probably what you're thinking - but it is not a joke! Look at the auction. West has passed out 2♣, giving clear preference to declarer's second suit. What does this tell us about West's Hearts? West doesn't have many of them! In order to cut down the Heart ruffs, you must lead a trump immediately. Sometimes it's best to not look at your hand at all and lead a trump when faced with such an auction! You may be sacrificing a trump trick, but you will regain them back with future Heart tricks that cannot be ruffed.

Your result so far:

A: ♦5.

Your opponents did not search for a grand slam, so they are quite likely missing a key card (possibly an Ace, or a crucial King). Against small slams, it is always best to lead aggressively (yes, you heard right!). What do you think will happen if you lead a passive trump? Or a Spade? Declarer will win, draw trumps, and use dummy's Spades to discard his losers. What you must hope for is that a Diamond trick can be established before partner's key card (e.g. the Ace of trumps) is knocked out. If you don't aim to set up a trick, the defense won't have enough time to cash (establish) that trick when partner's key card gets knocked out.

Your result so far:

A: ♣5.

Clubs is the unbid suit, and the auction suggests that the opponents struggled a bit in the bidding to get to the eventual 4♥ contract. Their weakness is likely to be in Clubs, but not only that, we can see that our Spade honors are well placed for declarer (the finesses are onside). There's no better time than now to take our Club tricks - pronto!

Your result so far:

A: ♦Q.

Do not lead the ♥5! Your opponents have checked on the Aces and discovered that they were missing one - and you can see it! Therefore, partner will NOT have the ♥A. The singleton Heart lead now becomes dangerous as it may pick up a crucial finesse for declarer. Instead, opt for the ♦Q. Who knows, this might set up a defensive trick before your ♠A gets knocked out.

Your result so far:

A: ♥2.

Trump leads can work, but more often than not they tend to be quite unproductive for the defense. The obvious reason is because a (passive) trump lead gives up the tempo to declarer. On this deal, there's no reason to lead a trump, and out of the other three suits, Hearts are less dangerous than the Diamonds or the Clubs (honor doubleton leads are also not that great). Having the ♥10 makes a Heart lead quite attractive as any honor (♥A, ♥K, or ♥J) help from partner is a good help.

Your result so far: