Which card should you lead? by Matthias Huberschwiller

A: ♠Q – On the contrary to a No-trump contract, two honours are enough to form a sequence. Therefore, you need to lead the Spade Queen.

Your result so far:

A: ♥2 – Leading anything else but a trump is excluded. Underleading honours is dangerous, especially as declarer has a strong hand.

With a doubleton trump, you need to lead the smaller card. It is not very important for partner how many cards you have, but it would be a shame if, on the third round of Spades, declarer ruffed with the ♥7 and you don't have the ♥8 to overruff.


Your result so far:

A: ♦Q – You have the choice between two sequences, Hearts or Diamonds.

To choose, you need to consider the risk of giving out a trick. In Hearts, you can easily give away a trick if declarer has A-J-10, whereas Diamonds are a lot safer because you also have the ten, making it a three-card-sequence.


Your result so far:

A: ♠6 – All suits besides Spades are too dangerous, but which Spade should you lead?

If you lead the two, your partner will think that you have an honour. If you lead the nine, he might think that you have a doubleton.

With four small cards, you need to lead your second best, showing that you have nothing in the suit but without the risk that the lead could be mistaken for a doubleton.


Your result so far:

A: ♥A – You have to possible leads, a sequence Ace-King or a singleton. How should you choose?

Leading the Ace from Ace-King is ideal, because it assures you to stay on lead after the first trick. This way, at the sight of the dummy you’d have an extra chance to guess if switching to your singleton Club is a good move. Therefore, you need to lead the Heart Ace.


Your result so far: