International Replay by Ben Norton

A: ♠6. A Diamond lead from the Ace is unthinkable and Kings shouldn’t be underled without good reason. That leaves the black suits, and while a Club could easily be right, it may blow the whole suit.

There’s no reason to think an all-out attack is necessary, so put the ball into play with a trump lead. If declarer had a Spade guess, he would likely have finessed through partner anyway, with the law of vacant places favoring that line after your two-level overcall.

A Heart lead would be the only one to give the contract. A Club would net down two on a third-round ruff, but a trump lead sufficed to set the contract.

Your result so far:

A: ♣K. It could be right to lead partner’s Diamond suit with the expectation of scoring a ruff, or perhaps promoting the ♠J, but a Club attack will very likely establish a trick and might set up an overruff for partner. The strength of your Club holding is a known quantity, but who knows how good partner’s Diamonds are. The ♣K is your best shot.

A Club lead was necessary to pave the way for partner to score an overruff on the third round. A Diamond lead would sacrifice a crucial tempo.

Your result so far:

A: ♥J. One should lead passively against grand slams. You could try a trump on the basis that your opponents have that suit sewn up, but it might be that they’re on a guess for the ♣J if they only have an eight-card fit, so avoid that. It would be natural to lead from a King-Queen sequence against a small slam, but it has little to gain against a grand slam, and West has shown a void in the suit. Attacking Spades could even give away a trick if declarer has the ♠A J 10.

A red-suit lead is your safest bet, and the ♥J from a longer sequence in an unbid suit is more passive than a Diamond.

Only a Spade lead would concede the grand slam, by giving declarer an extra entry to score the contract-fulfilling ruff in dummy.

Your result so far:

A: ♥6. You omitted to take a call at unfavorable vulnerability facing a passed partner, but your stoic silence may have worked badly since if you had overcalled 1♥, the rest of the auction might have told you whether to lead one or not! As it is, you’re on a guess between your two long suits.

While it might seem natural to lead your stronger suit, there are various reasons why a Heart is preferable. First, West has denied a major but he could have Diamond length. Second, you already have a trick in Diamonds, so that’s one fewer trick you stand to set up by attacking that suit and knocking out an enemy stopper. You don’t have any tricks in Hearts yet, though, so finding partner with some help there might be enough to establish four tricks, while at most three tricks can be set up in Diamonds. Last but not least, if you need an outside entry to get back to your hand, the ♦A will provide that for Heart winners, but there may be no entry even if you manage to establish the Diamonds.

If the auction suggested that East-West had nine tricks ready to run, you’d lead a Diamond as that suit would harbor the best chance of taking five quick winners, but the auction doesn’t indicate that here.

A Heart lead found partner with ♥K J x x, setting up four tricks to go with the ♦A. A Diamond opening would cost a vital tempo.

Your result so far:

A: ♠7. This is an exceptional case. Your Heart holding is so strong that it shouldn’t be led, not from your side of the table at least. Declarer is marked with the ♥K for his 1NT bid, and partner must have some values as East-West didn’t investigate game. You can therefore hope to get partner on lead a couple of times to play Hearts through declarer.

To lead a Heart now would give a trick with little reward. There’s nothing to set up as the tricks are already there, and if you need to knock out the ♥K, you can surely do so later. Remember, the play is rarely a race in 1NT.

The ♥Q lead could give declarer his seventh trick, or it could conceivably cost your side a trick in the suit if declarer has ♥K 10 x x and partner a singleton. Put the ball in play with a passive lead, the only one of which you own is a Spade. West would have overcalled 1♠ with five of them and East would have mentioned a four-card Spade suit, so partner has at least four Spades.

A Heart lead would give declarer his seventh trick. You eventually prevail on slow, passive defense.

Your result so far: