Mix and Match by Ben Norton

A: ♦6. East will have a good Club holding for his jump to 2NT, thus a Club lead is too likely to give away a trick. A Heart is also out, so the decision is between dummy’s suits. A Spade from Q x will blow a trick too often, and you’re not too likely to find partner with a good five-card suit given that he didn’t overcall 1♠. Everything seems to be lying badly for declarer, indicating that you should aim to be passive and leave him to his own devices, trying not to laugh as all of his finesses fail.

A Diamond is your best passive shot, and who knows, partner could have something worthwhile in the suit. You don’t really want partner to return a Diamond, so lead your second-highest to show a poor suit.

Your result so far:

A: ♠10. The ♣A is an option, hoping to find partner with a singleton, and if not at least you’ll get a look at dummy. However that’s too likely to present declarer with a trick or a tempo. Besides, if partner has a singleton Club he can lead it later on. It’s not as if you have any quick outside entries. Leading either red suit is too risky, so the ♠10 it is. With any luck you'll find partner with an honor and set up some tricks.

Your result so far:

A: ♥K. You can expect to have practically all of the defensive strength, which would suggest leading your own suit. However, declarer almost certainly has a double Spade stopper to bid No-trumps so confidently, meaning you won’t be able to get the Spades going before he knocks out the ♦A. A better shot is to kick off with a top Heart. Neither opponent will hold four Hearts on this auction, so partner rates to have five Hearts. If declarer can hold up his Ace only once you’ll be in a good position, and even if he does hold ♥A x x you’ll still have chances when partner has a slow Club stopper such as J x x x.

Your result so far:

A: ♠10. East will almost certainly have both missing Club honors for his 2NT bid, but even if he doesn’t he’ll hold at least A x x, making it impossible for you to get back on lead to cash the suit when he holds up twice. Therefore a Club lead can accomplish very little, and you should aim to get partner on lead for a Club shift through declarer. A Heart won’t do anything but give declarer a tempo or a free finesse, so it’s between the pointed-suits.

The ♦J could be right, after all partner didn’t overcall 1♠, but it will probably do declarer’s work for him. After all Diamonds rates to be his primary source of tricks, and if East has a Diamond holding such as 9 x opposite dummy’s A Q 10 x x you’ll have given a trick away. The ♠10 might not be dynamic, but it’s your best chance of getting partner on lead. If you find him with a strong Spade holding you can play another one through after winning a Club trick.

Your result so far:

A: ♠8. A major suit lead is attractive since West didn’t use Stayman, but still your Clubs are better than your Spades and it usually pays to lead aggressively after 1NT-3NT, although not so much here as West is a Passed hand, so the maximum extras East-West can have has gone down. K x x x is not an attractive holding to lead from though, into the strong hand. A Spade is best, giving you a better chance of hitting partner with length. Lead your second-highest to tell partner you have a poor suit. If a Club switch is necessary this will help partner find it.

Your result so far: