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 Testing Trials II by Ben Norton

Testing Trials II

Five more opening lead problems from the second stage of the trials for the English open team now. The South chair awaits.


Question 1

  Your Hand
♠ K J 6
♥ Q J 4 3
♦ 10 8
♣ 10 8 3 2 		 
Q: 1 - What do you make of this?

SouthWestNorthEast
---1♣
Pass1♥Dble3♣
Pass3♦Pass3NT
All Pass


 Your choice:
A: ♠6. Partner has shown the pointed suits, but he didn’t double 3♦ for the lead. Best try a Spade, then, specifically the ♠6, to pick up the Queen in declarer’s hand. You need partner to have an outside entry come what may.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 2

  Your Hand
♠ 6 3 2
♥ J 5 4 3
♦ K J 7 2
♣ A 4 		 
Q: 2 - A bit guessy.

*2♣ was Drury, showing a Spade fit and a maximum pass

SouthWestNorthEast
-PassPass1♠
Pass2♣*Pass4♠
All Pass


 Your choice:
A: ♠2. No need to get cute here. Any lead could work, but you have little reason to think declarer is a favorite and should therefore seek a safe, non-committal lead, and that’s a trump from three small. If an active defense is needed, you will likely have time to change tack later.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 3

  Your Hand
♠ 9 2
♥ A 8 2
♦ K J 8 4 3
♣ 8 5 4 		 
Q: 3 - Thrown in at the deep end.

*East’s double showed zero keycards

SouthWestNorthEast
---3♠
Pass4NT5♣Dble*
Pass6♠All Pass


 Your choice:
A: ♦K. Don’t lead partner’s suit. Dummy or declarer will certainly be short there, and you know partner doesn’t have the ♣A, with your holding the ♥A after an RKCB sequence. West probably has a source of tricks in Hearts, so like most suit slams, you should attack. Thus, a trump lead is out. The ♥A is an option, seeking to give partner a second-round ruff, but that’s a lot to wish for.

A more realistic chance is to find partner with the ♦Q. A Diamond lead will then set up a trick for you to cash when you get in with the ♥A. The ♦K is the best card to lead, since you know the ♦A is in dummy. This way, you might survive when the ♦Q is on your right, for you stand to be knocking out the late entry to the long Hearts before they’ve been established – a Merrimac Coup on lead!

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 4

  Your Hand
♠ J 3
♥ Q 6 4 3
♦ K Q 8
♣ A Q 9 2 		 
Q: 4 - Back to planet Earth.

SouthWestNorthEast
---3♠
Dble4♠All Pass


 Your choice:
A: ♦K. It’s between the red suits and a Diamond needs less from partner to work. Not only that, but you have fewer Diamonds and your Diamond winners are therefore more likely to stand up than anything you can set up in the Heart suit.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 5

  Your Hand
♠ K 10 7 6 4
♥ K 6
♦ A Q 3
♣ K J 2 		 
Q: 5 - Some rules have to be broken.

*West’s double promised three-card Heart support
*Partner could have redoubled to show honor-doubleton Spade

SouthWestNorthEast
-1♣Pass1♥
1♠Dble*Pass*4♥
All Pass


 Your choice:
A: ♦A. Yuck. Partner has room for very little, so any lead you make could give away a trick. A Spade is very likely to blow it, with partner having not redoubled for the lead, and a Heart is suicidal, although it has some deceptive value. A Club into the jaws of dummy’s suit is far from attractive, but a Diamond isn’t much better.

The advantage of the ♦A is that it allows you to retain the lead and find out what you should have led. Also, if you play Ace and another Diamond, declarer may place you with Ace-doubleton and refuse a second-round finesse against your ♦Q.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Overall Results

Your results:   out of    Average: 

What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
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