L118 Aces from spaces.When should we lead them? by linda green

We all know that it is not advisable to lead "Aces from Spaces" on an opening lead.That means Aces are meant to capture Kings and Kings are meant to capture Queens.However, there are certain instances when we SHOULD lead an unsupported Ace without having the king.Let us look at the reasons why and when?

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A 4 3 2
♥ 8 7
♦ J 7 2
♣ Q J 10 6

Q: 1 - As South which suit and what card should you lead?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♥
pass	2♣	pass	2♦
pass	2♠*	Double**	3♥
pass	4♥	pass	pass
pass

* New suit by responder ( 4th suit not necessarily that suit) is forcing to game
** Double of an artificial suit asks partner to lead that suit and promises 5-cards and 2 top honors

A: Ace♠. Partner doubled for a spade lead promising 2 of the top 3 honors. It is the unbid suit and responder was looking for a stopper in spades to play in NT. Opener denied a stopper by rebidding 3♥.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ K 5 3 2
♥ 8 2
♦ A K J 6
♣ 9 8

Q: 2 - As South what suit an which card would you lead on the bidding?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-
pass	1♥	pass	1♠
pass	3♥*	pass	3 NT
pass	pass	pass

* Invitational 9-11 HCP = 6-card suit

A: K♦. The King asks partner for an attitude and allows partner a guideline what to return should partner get the lead later. The Ace asks partner to drop the highest card if an honor. Declarer most probably has the Queen to bid 3 NT.We do not want to give declarer a cheap trick.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ 9
♥ 7 6 5
♦ J 10 9 8
♣ A Q 5 4 2

Q: 3 - As South what suit do you lead?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♦
pass	1♥	pass	1♠
pass	4♠	pass	4NT*
pass	5♥**	pass	6♠
pass

* Blackwood
** Two Aces

A: Ace♣. Despite holding the Q♣ and wanting to capture the King to make two more tricks, lead the Ace. There are many reasons why one leads the Ace even from that holding.
1. Partner may have a natural trump trick especially holding a singleton trump
2. Aces may runaway if declarer has a long suit in dummy to discard losers.
3.Timing is everything so take what you can get in a slam quickly.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ 9 6
♥ 8 7 3 2
♦ A K 4 2
♣ 10 9 8

Q: 4 - As South what suit do you lead?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♣
pass	1♥	1♠	pass
pass	3♣*	pass	pass
pass

* Invitational with 5 clubs.

A: Ace♦. Even though partner over called spades for a lead it is your duty to lead from what you have and tell partner where you have values first. Afterwards you can switch when looking at dummy.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ 9 8
♥ K 5 4
♦ A 3 2
♣ 10 9 8 7

Q: 5 - As South what suit do you lead?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♣
pass	1♥	pass	1♠
pass	2NT	pass	3♠
pass	4♠	pass	pass
pass

A: Ace♦. Declarer is showing 6 clubs and 5 spades. 11 cards. it is imperative to lead an Ace and look at dummy despite not having the king.One needs to look at dummy before switching in order to count what is missing ? Has declarer got a 6-1-1-5 or 6-0-2-5 shape?
Invariably it costs nothing to lay down an Ace first when listening to the bidding.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Overall Results

Your results: out of Average:

What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
More informations on our website: www.VuBridge.com

Rate yourself:

0 - 40%	We applaud your effort. Review the subject and try again. You'll be surprised how much better you'll do. We're here for you!!
41 - 50%	Buy your mentor a cuppa and ask for clarification on the ones you got wrong. No mentor? Make finding one a priority!
51 - 60%	Nice improvement! One more review and you'll have this down solid!
61 - 80%	What a good job! All that's left is some fine tuning
Over 80%	Wow! It's time for you to become a mentor. Find someone who needs help and share your knowledge!