OCBL Open III by Ben Norton

A: ♦A. You would normally look to establish a trick on lead against a small slam in a suit, hoping you will get in with your side’s keycard in time to cash it. However, a Spade lead needs a fair bit from partner, and you have a decent hand yourself.

It’s more reasonable to rely on partner for a singleton Diamond. Dummy will often have three Diamonds and declarer could easily have four, so lay down the ♦A.

Partner did indeed have a singleton Diamond and the ♦A, to be followed by a second Diamond, was the only lead to set the slam.

Your result so far:

A: ♣7. It doesn’t appeal to lead from A x x x, especially here. Partner doesn’t rate to have five of them because East didn’t convert to 4♥, suggesting some Spade length, and since East has a very strong hand, it’s all the more likely that you’d be handing him a trick with the ♠K.

If it’s necessary to attack Spades, you can do so later. For now, put the ball in play with a passive Club and wait.

A Spade or a Diamond lead would give declarer his ninth trick. Your Club lead beat the game.

Your result so far:

A: ♣A. You should lay down an Ace to get a look at dummy. You may have to cash out before declarer takes discards on the Diamonds. However, to lead the ♥A could cost a trick, as could the ♠A.

The ♣A is your safest shot. Partner is likely short, so unless he has the singleton King specifically, this won’t cost, and you’ll get to decide how to proceed from a more-informed viewpoint. Indeed, dummy rates to be short in Hearts on the bidding, so it could be right to lead trumps to cut down on ruffs.

Kicking off with Ace and another Club would net 500. To cash the ♥A first would give you a guess as to how to proceed. If you attempted to bank the ♠A, you would concede the contract.

Your result so far:

A: ♠K. Dummy has long Clubs, so you should go on the offensive, aiming to set up or cash tricks quickly. Partner didn’t compete to 3♥ and East bid 3NT rather than asking for a stopper via a 3♥ cue-bid. You’re unlikely to have much luck in Hearts, therefore, and should look to another avenue.

You need less from partner to run the Spades than you do the Diamonds. Try the ♠K.

As it happened, either a Spade or a Diamond would work, but a Heart would give declarer a tempo to go about his business.

Your result so far:

A: ♠6. It doesn’t appeal to lead dummy’s five-card suit as partner most likely has a singleton. In fact, it would be preferable if partner could broach Hearts from his side of the table. You should therefore lead a passive Spade, hoping partner will find a Heart shift when he gets in.

There’s no pressing need to defend actively when dummy is limited to ten or eleven points on the bidding, especially when you have his five-card suit sewn up.

A Spade lead gave nothing away, and partner was able to switch to his singleton ♥J through declarer’s Q x, giving East a nasty guess. In practice, declarer covered and you could clear two more tricks in the suit with the ♦A as an entry.

Your result so far: