Lady Milne Challenge by Ben Norton

A: ♠Q. You can see two tricks. The third could come from any of the suits, but the only one that is pressing is Spades. If partner has the ♠K and the suit is divided 2-2 in the enemy hands, a Spade lead may be necessary to set up a trick before declarer can knock out one of your side Aces and take discards. If partner has the ♥K or ♣K, that can wait, for you control both side-suits.

A Spade lead was needed, to set up the third trick in the form of partner’s ♠K before it was too late.

Your result so far:

A: ♣7. You’re not going to go looking for tricks in Hearts, where declarer has length, and a trump could blow partner’s holding in the suit. Between the minors, a safe Club is best. It doesn’t pay to go committing yourself with active leads in general, unless there is a pressing need to establish and cash tricks quickly.

A Diamond is not only dangerous, but even it if finds partner with strength, your winners are unlikely to stand up, given your length in the suit.

A Diamond lead would present declarer with a trick on the layout, running around to his unsupported Queen. A Club gave nothing away.

Your result so far:

A: ♠8. You have potential for taking lots of tricks in the side-suits, but you’d prefer declarer to play those suits himself. It would be dangerous to lead from one of your side-suit tenaces, and while a singleton trump may seem just as risky, it isn’t.

For one, dummy probably has five Spades, so a trump won’t do any harm. Secondly, you’ve already implied short Spades in the auction, so if declarer had a decision in trumps, he would have got it right by himself anyway.

On the actual layout, a Heart or a Club lead would gift declarer a cheap trick. A Spade was safe.

Your result so far:

A: ♥2. Your side surely has the balance of power and something in all of the side-suits, judging from partner’s take-out double of Hearts. If that’s so, the bulk of declarer’s tricks will have to come from trumps. Lead a Heart to cut down on his ruffs, then you can score your winners in the side-suits.

A trump lead was the winner, preventing two Spade ruffs in dummy. A top Spade lead would concede a tempo.

Your result so far:

A: ♥9. You have high hopes of taking side-suit tricks, but you mustn’t dash those chances by leading away from an honor now and potentially surrendering a trick.

A trump lead often provides safe passage, and that rates to be the case here as well. East probably has solid, or at least very strong Hearts for his bidding, and the dummy is unlikely to be terribly short there either, having denied four Spades and not responded in a minor suit. Therefore, the risk of giving away a trick with this lead is diminished. Sit back and wait for declarer to play on the plain suits himself.

The ♥9 is a slightly better shot than the traditional ♥6, to protect partner’s holding when he has such as K 10 x x.

A trump attack was the best passive move on the layout, but it also achieved an active aim, in that it cut down on dummy’s ruffs. Declarer was unable to ruff a Spade in dummy and had to eventually lose three Spades and a Diamond.

Your result so far: