Tricky Teams by Ben Norton

A: ♦J. Partner must have good Diamonds to bother introducing the suit, and it’s likely that more rounds of Diamonds will stand up than Hearts, given your respective lengths. Try the ♦J.

Your result so far:

A: ♠A. Partner could be Doubling because he thinks the cards are lying badly for declarer, knowing East/West have limited values (Zia calls this a Panther Double), but more likely he wants to deflect you from your natural lead. He could even have a solid suit himself and be making a Lightner Double.

You can’t be certain what’s going on and which suit partner has, but one thing’s for sure, you mustn’t lead a Heart, your normal lead. Try the ♠A. If partner has good Spades, this will work well. If not, at least you’ll keep the lead and have time to figure out what you should have led.

Your result so far:

A: ♠A. Declarer won’t drop the ♣K, so you can count two tricks. Another could come from any suit, but you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket with a Heart lead.

Lay down the ♠A, retaining the initiative. You can then decide where to look for the third trick. A Heart lead could allow declarer to dispose of his Spade losers on dummy’s Diamonds.

Your result so far:

A: ♠A. Yes, another Ace lead! It’s probably right to attack Spades, but it can’t really lose to lay down the Ace. There’s no need to keep a link with partner when you have so much in the way of values, and by leading the Ace, you give yourself the chance to shift to a Diamond at trick two. Who knows, declarer might have nine tricks on top and you need to cash the Diamond suit.

Your result so far:

A: ♣10. A Heart lead is all too likely to give away a trick. If the suit needs to be attacked, it can be done later, and hopefully by partner, so as to pick up any honors in declarer’s hand. Kick off with the safe ♣10. This might even set up some tricks.

Your result so far: