The Virtual Game by Ben Norton

A: ♥3. You’re unlikely to beat this on passive defense. With East’s having issued a slam try, declarer will have plenty of high cards at his disposal. Try an active lead, aiming to set up tricks in one of the side-suits.

It might seem that a Diamond lead is best, from the shorter holding with the higher honor, through West’s cue-bid. However, partner had the opportunity to double for either a Spade or a Diamond lead. That he didn’t should point to a Heart lead.

On the full hand, partner had ♥K 10 x over dummy’s Q x x. A Heart lead would set up two tricks to cash when you got in with the ♣Q. On any other start, declarer could knock out partner’s ♠K for two Heart discards.

Your result so far:

A: ♦K. There’s a good chance that declarer has short Clubs and will be aiming to ruff Clubs in his hand. You should lead a trump to cut down on his ruffs, the usual defense when an opponent is two-suited.

The ♦K is very unlikely to give anything away. For one, West is a big favorite to hold the ♦A. He did force to the five-level, after all. Even if East does have the ♦A, though, he’s likely to place you with the King for your somewhat warped strong no-trump.

A trump lead did help the defensive cause, preventing an extra Club ruff in declarer’s hand.

Your result so far:

A: ♥3. West has length in the minors, so you’re going to lead a major, and a Heart is best. Partner had the chance to double 1♠ to show the suit. Thus, he’s more likely to have length and strength in Hearts, as was the case on the full hand.

Your result so far:

A: ♠9. There’s no need to go active here. You have length and strength in declarer’s possible long suit, and no appealing sequence to lead from. A trump won’t give anything away, and it might even be necessary to cut down on declarer’s ruffs.

If a Heart lead were needed, partner might have raised, and it’s generally unappealing to lead from a side-suit King anyway. Put the ball in play and try to beat the contract later on.

On the actual deal, the game would fail on a pointed-suit lead. Declarer had ♥A 10 9 x opposite dummy’s ♥J x, so a Heart lead would blow the suit, while a Club would give declarer a cheap trick with the Jack. Simply giving nothing away would have worked.

Your result so far:

A: ♠9. As was the case on hand two, it’s often right to lead trumps when one of the opponents is two-suited, to prevent them from taking ruffs in the other long suit. Here, you know the strength is evenly balanced between the two sides and you have a potential slow trick in Hearts. Partner has a balanced hand, so there’s a good chance that East is short in Hearts.

If declarer can be deprived of ruffs, he might struggle to reach nine tricks. Lead your singleton Spade. It’s not too dangerous, for declarer is likely to play your partner for the outstanding Spade strength on the bidding anyway.

A trump lead was necessary to set 3♠, to prevent declarer from cross-ruffing. Partner had ♠A K J x sitting over dummy’s Q x x x and could therefore draw all the trumps straight off the bat. After that, declarer didn’t have enough ammunition in the side-suits to get home.

Your result so far: