Lead with Barry - Choice of evils

Choice of evils.

Anyone who thinks opening leads are easy should re-assess his own level of ability. If you are constantly finding the right opening lead, then 1) you have no need of this feature, and 2) please consider playing in your country’s trials. You may be the only person in the world to be able to say this honestly. I find opening leads hard, especially where, as on this set, there are no indications as to what is best, or least worst.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A 2
♥ Q 7 5 2
♦ J 9 4 2
♣ 10 6 3

Q: 1 - What do you lead as South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♦
Pass	1♥	Pass	1NT
Pass	Pass	Pass

A: ♣3 - No one could criticize any lead you made here – truly, you have a choice of unattractive alternatives! But your partner’s failure to act makes a spade lead unattractive. I’d guess a club lead is the best shot to hit partner’s length, and a diamond lead might be less likely to cost a trick than a heart lead because the diamond nine gives me some protection.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ Q 7 5
♥ J 6 5
♦ Q 8 4
♣ J 9 6 5

Q: 2 - What do you lead as South?

South	West	North	East
-	1♠	Pass	2♣
Pass	2♥	Pass	3♦*
Pass	3♥	Pass	3NT
Pass	Pass	Pass

* Fourth Suit

A: ♦4 - When in doubt the one suit that has not been bid naturally is diamonds, so lead it, and hope partner comes through with the goods for you. Yes, you could get lucky if you guess the right major-suit to lead, but you could also very easily cost yourself a trick by leading either major.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ J 7 5 4 2
♥ A 6 4
♦ 10 6 5
♣ J 2

Q: 3 - What do you lead as South?

South	West	North	East
-	1♠	Pass	2♣
Pass	2♥	Pass	3NT
Pass	Pass	Pass

A: ♦5 - Your guess is as good as mine, but I suppose a diamond lead is unlikely to do anything for declarer that he cannot do for himself. I think leading low is correct –the 10 is too likely to be a card I could not afford. My second choice would be to lead a spade, but with such poor spade intermediates it is hard to see anything being accomplished by that approach. With the spade 10 instead of the two, I might lead a low spade hoping to catch partner with a doubleton honor and perhaps for declarer to misguess the card to play from dummy at trick one..

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ K J 7 6 2
♥ Q 5 4
♦ 10 6
♣ K 9 4

Q: 4 - What do you lead as South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♦
1♠	2♣	Pass	2♦
Pass	2♠	Pass	2NT
Pass	3NT	Pass	Pass
Pass

A: ♥4 - Partner had the chance to raise spades or double a cue-bid for the lead and did not do so, so surely that lead cannot be right. The unbid suit is hearts, and a low heart therefore looks your best chance – however slim that might be. With not much likelihood of an entry to your hand, it seems that even finding partner with queen-third of spades might not suffice.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ J 9 2
♥ J 7 4
♦ Q 5 3 2
♣ A 7 4

Q: 5 - What do you lead as South?

South	West	North	East
-	1♠	2♣	2♥
3♣	3♥	Pass	Pass
Pass

A: ♣A - I’m not a huge fan of leading unsupported aces, whether in partner’s suit or not. But here I can’t see anything else that appeals to me at all, because a trump is quite likely to pick up a doubleton honor in partner’s hand. Perhaps after leading the club ace I’ll be able to work out what is the best move for the defense. If partner didn’t want me to lead clubs from the ace maybe he shouldn’t have bid them…

Your result so far:

Open Question

Overall Results

Your results: out of Average:

What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
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