Active or Passive? by Ben Norton

A: ♣10. Here the emphasis is on maintaining a tempo, therefore a Club lead is best to ensure you establish the tricks that are owed to the defense.

Holding a fourteen count over a strong No-trump, your values are well-placed. It feels unlikely that declarer will be able to set up seven tricks if you lead your longest suit, for even if he does have a textured suit to play on he might not be able to come to seven tricks before you do.

The problem with the more aggressive ♥A lead is that it can often give away a tempo, for if you don’t hit partner with long Hearts then you will just be doing declarer’s work for him. But even if partner does have say Q x x x x, there’s no need to start on Hearts now, for you’ll have time to switch to them later when in with one of your pointed suit Kings.

Another potential problem with a Heart lead is that partner will assume you have greater length in the suit, leading him to encourage holding Q x x, at which point you won’t know whether he has length or just the Queen, in which case you need to give up playing the suit.

It’s very unlikely that anything bad will happen on a Club lead, for there’s no real urgency in this situation. Even if partner has very little in the suit, a slow Club trick could be the key to setting the contract.

Your result so far:

A: ♥K. When the opponents have made a slam try but stopped in game, an aggressive lead is usually called for, because declarer will very often be able to establish the tricks he needs on pure power.

In situations like this it’s good practice to make a plan for the defense. It’s likely the opponents will have around 31 high-card points between them to stop short of slam, so that leaves partner with four. If left to his own devices declarer is very likely to be able to scoop up ten tricks, so you must construct a hand for partner wherein you can take four quick tricks.

The only card of consequence that partner can have is the ♥A, thus it’s best to kick off with the ♥K in the hope of finding partner with length there. It’s a slim hope but it’s really your only one.

Your result so far:

A: ♦A. Here declarer is likely to have nine quick tricks with the aid of the Club suit, therefore you must find five tricks before he gains the lead.

The tell-tale signs are there. Your Club holding is just about as bad as it can get, for there’s almost certainly a tenace on dummy which will allow declarer to pick up the suit for no loss. With seven Club tricks in the bag declarer will need only two more, which he will surely have bearing in mind partner didn’t make a take/out Double of 3♣, which marks East with some values.

Even if declarer has only one side-suit Ace, it’s very likely that he will be able to pick up partner’s Heart holding given that you have x x x. Your holdings in both rounded suits strongly indicate that declarer will be able to run nine quick tricks as soon as he gets in, so you must cash five tricks now.

A Spade lead could be right, but there’s no need to bank on it. You can afford to find out more about the hand by leading the ♦A. This will allow you to have a look at dummy to confirm your suspicions about the Club suit, and partner will provide you with an attitude signal for Diamonds. If he discourages you will have no choice but to switch, most likely to Spades in the fading hope that he has something like A K x, but if he encourages you will continue Diamonds in the hope that he has K Q x x rather than Q x x x.

It’s hard to see the ♦A lead going wrong, for it won’t be gifting declarer his ninth trick. Moreover it allows you to learn more about the layout of the hand before committing yourself to a certain line of defense.

All in all the lead of a small card in either pointed suit is too committal, for it puts all of the defensive eggs in one basket, whereas the ♦A lead allows you to retain the lead and gain more information.

Your result so far:

A: ♥8. When the opponents have announced that they can make a slam based on the weight of their cards, it’s often best to lead passively.

After the auction 1NT-6NT the opponents rate to have a lot of power rather than playing strength and distribution, for then West would take a slower route and possibly try to play in a suit. As such they rate to have about 33 high-card points between them and there is very little chance that you can beat this with two quick tricks. Thus it’s best to lead passively in this scenario.

To lead the ♠Q here would be far too optimistic, and indeed dangerous, for it may blow the suit and present declarer with his twelfth trick. No, your focus should be to not give anything away, and the lead that is least likely to concede an undue trick or reveal the layout of the suit is a Heart.

Your result so far:

A: ♣3. In this situation it appears as though the cards are lying well for declarer, so an active lead is called for.

Your Heart holding speaks volumes about your defensive chances on this hand, for you K J x will be waste paper under dummy’s tenace. Your x x trumps are also quite bad, for declarer will probably be able to pick the suit up, especially with the lack of a bad break.

Overall the cards seem to be right where declarer needs them, therefore an active defense must be employed. On a passive lead there’s a strong possibility that declarer will just draw trumps and cash the Heart suit, with the aid of a ruff if he has a singleton. As such there is a clear and present danger that whatever tricks you have will run away on this hand, and a Club lead is the most effective way of ensuring you take what’s yours.

If you are to beat the contract, you’ll most likely need to find partner with three tricks, and the only way you could possibly conjure them is by means of the Club suit to go along with a side-suit trick. Because you hold the ♣K you hope that partner’s values are in that suit, for his Club values will be supported by your King, and combined you stand to take three tricks there.

A Diamond lead is hardly an attractive alternative, for even if you find partner with strength there it’s unlikely that he’ll have enough to beat 4♠, an argument which rings true when you consider that, because you hold five cards in the suit, the maximum number of tricks you can possibly take in Diamonds is only two.

When considering whether to lead passively or aggressively, remember that your action is setting the course for the defense, therefore the decision should not be made on a whim. By fully appreciating the inferences available to you it’s possible to make an informed decision so as to get the defense off to the best possible start.

The normal indicators of when to employ a passive lead are:

- If the opponents have stretched to their game (unless they have a big source of tricks it’s usually best to lead passively, for your opponents will often have stretched too far)
- If they have bid to a slam based on power rather than shape
- If the cards are lying badly for declarer (e.g. a bad trump break)
- Overall, if you believe declarer will be unable to get home under his own steam

Whereas the warning signs are usually more apparent if an active defense is required:

- If the cards are lying well for declarer (e.g. one of your high cards is under a tenace)
- If the opponents have a lot more values than they’d usually need for their contract (typically after a failed slam try)
- Altogether, if you believe declarer will make his contract if you give him the breathing room to do so

Your result so far: