Can you do Better? by Ben Norton

A: ♦5. You have good holdings in both black suits, which will be sitting over declarer’s honors. East will probably have both the ♠K and ♠J for jumping to 3NT, so leading a Spade will just give a trick away. You’re not going to lead declarer’s suit, so it’s between the reds. A Heart from Q x x rates to give away a trick too often, practically whenever declarer has a stray honor.

You don’t expect declarer to make his contract if left to his own devices, because everything appears to be lying badly for him. Therefore a passive lead is in order, and the best passive choice is usually dummy’s first bid suit. You have x x there and will hardly ever be giving a trick away.

At the table I decided to lead Spades, the ♠Q specifically, because I thought partner would struggle to get on lead with his few high cards, therefore I’d have to tackle the suit from my side of the table each time. Then the ♠Q would be best to crush a possible J x in dummy. This was not a success as it gave declarer his ninth trick. I realise now that a Spade lead isn’t right.

Your result so far:

A: ♥5. Even though partner has raised Spades, it wouldn’t be right to bang down the ♠A. Declarer is very likely to have short Spades, in which case you need partner to have values outside of Spades to beat this. If partner does have his high cards elsewhere as you hope then dummy will be the one with the Spade strength, so leading the ♠A will just give a trick or a tempo away. It’s very unlikely that declarer will be able to get his loser away if you don’t lead the ♠A. The ♦K is the obvious alternative, but that’s just too risky. If declarer has the Ace then you’ll be blowing a trick a lot of the time.

There’s no rush to take your tricks on this hand, therefore a passive defense is called for. Partner rates to have values in Hearts, so a small Heart lead is indicated. This won’t give anything away unless declarer has a holding like K 9 x opposite A J x in dummy, but that’s not very likely. A trump lead could just be blowing a tempo and even a trick if partner turns up with the Ace and there are no trumps in dummy.

The ♠A lead would have done in this instance but I think it’s wrong. The ♦K lead, which was my choice at the table, blew a trick with the Ace in declarer's hand and the Jack on dummy, converting 500 into 300. Not a big deal if you’re not making game, as you most probably wouldn't have done, but on another day it would be the difference between a small loss of 3 IMPs and a much bigger loss of 8.

Your result so far:

A: ♥9. It’s generally best to lead a major after the auction 1NT-3NT, because the opponents haven’t investigated a major suit fit, making it more likely that your side has a fit in one of them. With this in mind it’s a choice between Spades and Hearts. The ♠8 lead is a passive option, it won’t give anything away very often but it could still set up slow tricks in the suit. A Heart is much more aggressive, and could easily blow a trick if declarer has a stray honor, but against this auction, where the opponents could have an excess of high cards, you need to adopt an active line of defense.

With this in mind a Heart lead is best, because it has the biggest upside. You’ll be setting up tricks pretty much whenever partner has an honor there, and you could even be cashing the suit out. What’s more if you’re going to lead a Heart the Nine is best, picking up the Ten in dummy if for example there’s A 10 x on your left and Q 7 x on your right. It could even be necessary to unblock the suit, say if partner has Q 7 x x x. Partner won’t read the ♥9 as being from shortness. Why would you choose to lead from a doubleton here?

It takes a Heart lead to beat 3NT off the bat, since you can cash the first five tricks, but in practice declarer may well go off on a minor suit lead as well, by misguessing the Spades. Declarer had 4.2.2.5 shape with ♥x x and ♦A Q, which you don’t really expect for a 1NT opening, indeed most would start with 1♣ then rebid 1♠ with such a suit-orientated collection, but these off-centre No-trump openers are becoming more and more common in the modern game. I led my second-highest Spade, which was not a success, giving declarer his ninth trick without a guess needed.

Your result so far:

A: ♠J. You have pretty much all of the defensive strength, besides a point or two that partner could have. This means you’ll be doing all of the work from your side of the table. It’s going to be very difficult to set up tricks holding length in both of declarer’s suits, but by the same token it’s also going to be difficult for declarer. You should strive to give declarer nothing he can’t take for himself, letting the tricks you’re owed come to you in due course. Therefore the ♠J is your best lead. The ♥A is a possibility, but it will just be giving a trick away when declarer has the ♥Q J. A Diamond lead doesn’t rate to do any damage and a Club from K x x will only help declarer.

In this case a Spade lead is needed for an active purpose, to extract dummy’s entry before declarer can set up the Clubs (declarer had a singleton Spade and ♣A Q x opposite J 10 x x x). The ♥A lead and a Spade switch is also good enough. I chose to lead a Diamond, hoping to hit partner with the Jack and be able to set up a trick, but this was wishful thinking. Even if partner had the Jack, which was unlikely, my spot cards weren't good enough to establish the suit.

Your result so far:

A: ♥6. A Heart is unlikely to be standing up, but the only other thing you can really play for is partner having the ♣A over dummy’s King. That would make for an unruly 6♠ bid on your left though, who must have a Club control for raising to slam and who is aware that your partner opened the bidding, and so rates to have the majority of the high cards for your side.

You hope to cash a Heart trick and then take a trick in one of the minor suits. The problem with leading anything else is that if a Heart trick is standing up, it’s fairly likely that declarer will be able to get his loser away. On balance a Heart lead seems best, your opponents are gambling after all.

You have both red suit Aces to take but if you don’t cash your Heart trick declarer can get his singleton ♥K away on a Club. That’s fairly unfortunate, but East must have a lot of playing strength to bid to the five-level at unfavorable vulnerability opposite a hand that doesn’t have to have that much in the way of high cards. My opponents only bid to 5♠, West wisely deciding not to raise to slam after the same start. I led the ♣Q, knowing it would be my only time on lead I was hoping to pick up the King in dummy underneath partner’s Ace. I might have led differently against a slam though.

Your result so far: