Back To It by Ben Norton

A: ♦A. Sitting over a strong no-trump, it’s not unlikely that your ♣A Q will be worth two tricks if you sit back and wait. A Heart lead could work, but partner could well have nothing in the suit, and you might see dummy’s losers disappear on the Hearts.

Your primary hope is to find an entry to partner’s hand for a Club shift, and the ♦A gives you the best chance as you will retain the lead. Partner may only have one card of use, and the ♦A lead caters for his holding either the ♦K or the ♥A.

Partner had the ♥A on the actual layout, and a Club shift through declarer was needed to secure two tricks there. Anything but a Club lead would do as it happens.

Your result so far:

A: ♥7. East made a slam-try, so he will have the resources to make ten tricks if left to his own devices. You should go on the attack, and a Heart lead, from your short and strong holding, is best for that purpose.

You might consider leading the ♥Q as it’s your one time on lead. That could skewer dummy’s King or cause declarer to misguess the suit, but it could also go majorly wrong if partner misreads the hand. The ♥7 will do.

A Heart lead through dummy’s ♥K would give you two tricks there, to go with partner’s ♦A and his slow trump trick. If you didn’t lead a Heart, declarer’s second Heart loser would disappear on a Diamond.

Your result so far:

A: ♦J. Declarer is very likely to hold the ♠A Q for his leap to 3NT, probably with a long Club suit. If his Spades were weaker, he might have taken a slower route, bringing other strains into the picture. A Spade lead is therefore akin to surrender.

You should attack in another suit, and since West has implied Heart length with the negative double, the ♦J is best. You hope partner can gain the lead for a Spade shift post-haste.

A Spade lead would indeed have trotted around to declarer's ♠A Q, whereas a Diamond lead had the desired effect.

Your result so far:

A: ♠K. It pays to lead aggressively when declarer has pre-empted, since he rarely has strength in the side-suits. Therefore, the usual disaster scenario of leading unsupported honors - that it sets up a trick in declarer’s hand which he couldn’t have made otherwise - is less likely to occur.

It may well be necessary to cash or set up your tricks before they go on dummy’s potential Heart winners. The ♠K is a reasonable gamble, with the outside shot of scoring a third-round ruff.

A Heart lead would give declarer instant access to the ♥A K for two Spade discards, whereas the ♠K set up a trick and kept declarer off the dummy for the time being.

Your result so far:

A: ♦10. You should try to make something of your meagre assets, and a third-round Diamond ruff is your best shot. Your Hearts are too long to mount an effective attack on that front, and a Club lead has less to gain.

A Diamond lead set up an eventual trump promotion on the third round, with your ♠10 becoming the setting trick.

Your result so far: