Camrose Carnival by Ben Norton

A: ♠A. Even though West has length in Spades, you should still lay down the ♠A, to get a look at dummy and plan your defense whilst retaining the lead. It could easily be that a Spade ruff is required to set the game. Any other lead would be a stab in the dark.

On the full deal, the defense had two Spades, a Diamond and a Spade ruff to come. Leading either black suit would let the contract through.

Your result so far:

A: ♦7. There’s a good chance that declarer has little to spare for his 3NT bid, in which case he might struggle if left to his own devices. Go passive by leading from small cards, giving nothing away. If a heroic major-suit attack were necessary, partner might have overcalled in the suit.

A Diamond lead gave nothing away and the contract was eventually beaten. Anything else would make declarer’s task easier.

Your result so far:

A: ♦J. You have no bad surprises in store for declarer; if he has a trump finesse to take, it will work. He will have little trouble making his game on passive defense. You should therefore go on the offensive, and the ♦J is your best shot.

A Diamond might set up tricks for partner whilst also threatening a third-round ruff. A Club, into dummy’s bid suit, is less attractive, and a Spade doesn’t rate to do much damage because the third round won’t stand up.

A minor-suit lead would defeat the game. Partner would take the ♣A K and ♦A, then play a third Club for a trump promotion.

Your result so far:

A: ♠A. You can see two likely tricks in your own hand. Rather than guessing where the third will come from, it’s best to lay down an Ace, then you can plan the defense from a better-informed position at trick two.

The ♠A is safer than the ♦A, since you could easily have two Diamond tricks coming by force, holding the A Q over declarer’s King. Your ♠A J are less likely to form a tenace. A Club lead is too passive; it could allow declarer to cash out for contract.

A Spade ruff was needed for the setting trick, so leading either Ace would be good enough on the layout.

Your result so far:

A: ♣A. Your best chance to set the contract is to score a Club ruff in addition to two pointed-suit tricks. It’s unlikely that you’ll take more than one Diamond winner, in which case leading the ♦K could prove costly, by breaking the link between you and partner. The ♣A probably won't give away a trick, although it could concede a tempo.

A Club ruff was necessary to set the contract, but the other two tricks both came from the majors. Partner had the ♥A and ♠Q, so the ♣A lead followed by a Spade shift would establish a Spade whilst paving the way for a ruff.

To lead the ♦K would provide access to the stranded ♦A in dummy for a discard, and partner wouldn’t be able to give you a Club ruff, the suit still being blocked when he took the ♥A.

Your result so far: