Lead with Barry - Which card/which suit? by Mkuemmel

A: ♦K - If you are going to lead a diamond you might as well lead the king – dummy could easily have the singleton queen and it is almost impossible for this play to cost a trick in the suit. With two possible entries on the side, you can apparently afford to sacrifice a diamond trick in exchange for developing the suit as fast as possible.

Your result so far:

A: ♠3 - In auctions of this sort it may look safer to lead a club but in fact it makes more sense to set up a spade trick quickly in case partner has the spade king, and declarer can establish a home for his spade losers. Remember, partner has not shown real clubs in auctions of this sort -- he has merely named the suit.

Your result so far:

A: ♠4 - A spade lead is far more attractive here than a heart. Although it is slightly more likely to give up a trick facing no honors, it is much more likely to work out well when you hit partner with either of the missing honors. After all, imagine partner with ace-fourth or queen-fourth in the suit you lead; in both cases, leading from the hearts may still actually set up an extra trick for declarer – but this is far less likely on a spade lead if you find partner with the desired fit.

Your result so far:

A: ♦4 - There are three approaches you could take with this hand: the mundane lead of a top diamond, the ‘surprise’ attack in hearts, and the ‘newspaper column’ choice of a small diamond. I vote for the last of these three, trying to get partner on lead for the club ruff. And if you are wrong, maybe the opponents will get the newspaper column hand! Had dummy shown a side-source of tricks, I might revise my opinion.

Your result so far:

A: ♠6 - While a case could be made for leading hearts, fourth highest of your long suit still looks a fair way to set the hand. Even if partner has no more than a small doubleton spade, he may still get in and clear spades while you have the heart entry.

Your result so far: