Leading from Strength by Ben Norton

A: ♥A. With poorly textured holdings in all the other suits, a Heart lead from A K x is best, not with the aim to find partner with Heart values (although that could happen), but to not give much away.

There is a phrase – “don’t lead from J x x x”. Of course this is only a guideline, and there will be situations where it’s right to lead from J x x x, but generally it rates to lose more than it gains. For it to work you need to hit partner with big cards in the suit, usually at least two honor cards, but if partner has only one honor, for example Q x, a lead from J x x x may serve to pick up the whole suit for declarer.

Here, since partner can have at most a Queen, there is no advantage to a Spade lead, it risks giving a trick away, either by catching partner’s Queen (or Ten), or just by gifting declarer a cheap trick. A Diamond from K x x x is no better. Even if partner does hold the ♦Q you only stand to promote one trick most of the time. But if declarer has the Queen and dummy the Ace, you might just be handing the suit to him on a plate.

To lead from K x wouldn’t be a good idea, so you’re left with the Heart suit. A K x is a good holding to lead from, since for the most part you won’t be giving declarer anything that he can’t take himself. No matter partner’s signal at trick one, you plan to follow up with the King and get off lead with your low one, leaving declarer to his own devices.

Your result so far:

A: ♥2. With vulnerable holdings in the other suits, a low Heart from A x x is the least likely lead to blow a trick.

A Diamond lead may seem natural, but in fact it’s exceptionally likely to give something away, especially seeing as your spot cards are so good. If you were going to lead the suit you’d lead a low one, but even that might trot around to declarer’s tenace. For example he could have J x x in hand opposite A 10 x x on table.

A Spade could allow declarer to score a cheap trick in hand and finesse against your King again later, and a Club could just eliminate declarer’s loser in the suit, say if partner has J x or declarer holds A K J x.

Since you control the suit and your holding there isn’t finessable, a Heart lead is best. It’s true it could pick up partner’s Queen or Jack, but that’s unlikely. The most probable outcome will be that you’ve just led into a suit that declarer can establish himself anyway, except when he leads the suit again you can just rise with the Ace and exit with another Heart.

Your result so far:

A: ♣7. Leading from low cards is a very good passive tactic, so a lead of your second-highest Club stands out here.

A Spade lead would be the clear alternative, but the most partner can have in the suit is the Jack, so you’re more likely to be opening up a frozen suit or leading around to declarer’s tenace than to be doing any good. Leading the ♦Q will set up a couple of quick defensive tricks, but after that? Even if partner has 10 x x x, you still won’t have five tricks, and may have granted declarer an undue trick with his King.

To lead a Heart would be to give away the position, so that’s out as well. A Club lead from x x x is the safest, because you’re not leading away from an honor. The worst it could really do is to take away declarer’s guess in the suit when partner has the Queen, but if not then it will be safe as houses.

Your result so far:

A: ♠10. Leading from a sequence of low cards rarely gives anything away, especially from a short holding.

If you were on lead to 1NT then the ♦5 would be pretty automatic, but since the most partner can have is a Jack given your fifteen count, a Diamond lead rates to do more harm than good. With strong holdings sitting behind declarer in Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs, it’s quite likely that declarer will just go down if you leave him to struggle by himself.

A Diamond lead would most likely unravel the suit, while a Heart honor would dispose of one of declarer’s losers for him if he holds the ♥A. A Club is suicidal from A Q doubleton, so you are left with Spades. 10 9 x is a very attractive holding to lead from. It’s hard to construct a layout when it will cost, since partner doesn’t have room for so much as a Queen in his hand.

If you had ♠10 9 x x there would be more danger, since you could in theory be allowing declarer to finesse against your Nine if he has H x x opposite H H 8 x in dummy, with partner holding J x. Holding only three cards in the suit there’s no prospect of this happening.

Your result so far:

A: ♦J. With no completely passive lead available, you opt for the one that’s least likely to cause a great deal of damage.

Since we’re all programmed to lead a major suit after the auction 1NT-3NT, as the opponents haven’t investigated a major suit fit, a Spade lead jumps out to us here. However, leading from Q J x x is a dangerous prospect in this scenario. The most partner can have in Spades is the Ten, so best case scenario you’ll be establishing one or two Spade tricks.

However, if partner doesn’t have the Ten, you will just be presenting declarer with a cheap trick. Even if partner does have the Ten, there are holdings (mainly 10 x) where a Spade lead still loses. In fact a Diamond lead from J 10 x x is more appealing, since if partner has either the Queen or the Nine then you’ll be alright (and may even be able to establish a trick).

But even if partner has neither the ♦9 nor the ♦Q, you might not be binning a trick as long as you lead the Jack, since the Nine will probably have to be in dummy to allow declarer to pick the suit up. Even then he’ll need to have four Diamonds in at least one hand to gain anything, since he’ll have three top tricks there anyway.

A lead from either rounded suit is very likely to give the position away; therefore it is a question of Spades or Diamonds, two suits headed by sequences. Here you want to lead from the weaker one, since there’s less to lose if it’s wrong to lead that suit.

In principle, if you’re trying to lead passively against a No-trump contract, try to lead from a holding that declarer has strength in. The more strength the better because there's less to give away. Thus:

- suits without an honor are very good. E.g. x x x or x x x x
- suits headed only by the Ace, since the opponents’ honors may well be solid in that suit. E.g. A x x or A x x x
- failing that, leading from a sequence is a fair choice, the smaller the card heading the sequence the better, and the shorter the suit the better, e.g. 10 9 x. Of course if you have a sequence of three cards, e.g. Q J 10 x, then that’s likely a good choice too

You should try to avoid leading from:

- suits with good tenaces, because they’ll likely become tricks anyway. E.g. K J x x or Q 10 x x
- suits headed by finessable honors, for the lead will either help declarer place the honor or allow him to win cheaply in hand and finesse later. E.g. K x x x or Q x x x
- poor suits that are headed by an honor, because you might just be leading into a frozen suit and picking up partner’s honor, or just enabling declarer to take a cheap trick. E.g. J x x x
- suits with good intermediate cards, since declarer won’t be able to establish tricks in that suit himself without your help. E.g. K 10 9 x
- suits headed by two high honors, either touching or non-touching. You’ll either be giving up a quick trick, giving away the position or just exposing your other honor to a finesse. E.g. A J x x or K Q x x

Remember, the idea when leading passively is not to set up tricks (although this could be a welcome side effect), but to not give anything away, and leave declarer to do his own work.

Your result so far: