Menu Vu-Bridge | Play like a Champion!

 European Championships by Ben Norton

European Championships

Funchal, Madeira played host to the European National Team Championships in June. As well as being a prestigious event in its own right, this tournament functions as a qualifier for the World Championships the year after.

Have a go at these five opening lead problems from the South position.

Question 1

  Your Hand
♠ 9
♥ A 8 6 5 4
♦ 10 5 4 2
♣ Q J 9 		 
Q: 1 - This has some promise.

*West’s sequence denotes an invitational hand with five Hearts and four Spades

SouthWestNorthEast
-PassPass1NT
Pass2♦Pass2♥
Pass2♠Pass4♥
All pass


 Your choice:
A: ♣Q. Your long trumps will surely prove problematic for declarer, but if you go looking for ruffs on a Spade lead, you might simply make life easier for your opponents, by helping declarer pick the Spades up. Your fifth trump will come in useful by itself, especially if you can force dummy’s long trumps.

You would normally lead your longest side-suit to try and set up a force, but your Diamonds are too weak for that here. Try the ♣Q from your strong sequence.

Take a look at the full hand below. On a Club lead, declarer would find the hand very difficult to manage, with your being poised to win the third trump and force dummy in Clubs. He would likely end up needing to finesse the ♠10 at some point, whilst also taking great care with his timing. A Spade lead would pick the suit up for East and make his life much easier.

♠  A 6 5 3

♥  Q J 10 9 2

♦  J 8

♣  7 4

♠  J 8 7 4 2

♥ 

♦  K 6

♣  A 10 8 5 3 2

♠  9

♥  A 8 6 5 4

♦  10 5 4 2

♣  Q J 9

♠  K Q 10

♥  K 7 3

♦  A Q 9 7 3

♣  K 6



Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 2

  Your Hand
♠ A K 5 2
♥ 10 8 7
♦ Q 3
♣ J 5 4 3 		 
Q: 2 - Should you still go by the old maxim?

*2♦ showed both majors; at least 5/5

SouthWestNorthEast
--1♣2♦*
Dble3♦All pass


 Your choice:
A: ♠A. Even though East has shown the majors, you should still lay down a top Spade to get a look at dummy and a signal from partner. It could well be necessary to draw trumps before declarer can set up a Club ruff, or you may just need to cash out before declarer can run his Heart tricks. This lead is unlikely to give away a trick when your spots are so poor.

On the full deal, you had four top tricks in the side-suits to cash and had to score a trump promotion for the fifth, by leading a third round of Spades through dummy. This would be difficult to find on any lead but a top Spade – how would North know to play you for both Spade tops?

♠  Q 8

♥  5 2

♦  A K J 9 8 6 4

♣  7 2

♠  J 9

♥  A 9 6

♦  10 7 2

♣  A Q 10 9 6

♠  A K 5 2

♥  10 8 7

♦  Q 3

♣  J 5 4 3

♠  10 7 6 4 3

♥  K Q J 4 3

♦  5

♣  K 8



Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 3

  Your Hand
♠ A 6
♥ J 9 6 5
♦ A K 9 5 2
♣ 10 6 		 
Q: 3 - Is there any reason to alter your preconceptions here?

*3♣ was a mixed raise, showing 7-9 points with four-card support

SouthWestNorthEast
1♦Dble3♣*3♠
Pass4♠All pass


 Your choice:
A: ♣10. The conditions are perfect for a doubleton lead, seeking a third-round ruff; you have a control-card in trumps and can expect partner to have enough strength to not only set up a quick ruff, but also harbor an entry back to his hand.

The Diamonds can surely wait, and it’s unlikely that more than one Diamond trick is standing up on the bidding anyway. Indeed, partner’s entry for the third Club lead may lie in Diamonds, when cashing the ♦A now would cost the contract.

The actual layout is below. You had to lead a Club on the go to pave the way for a ruff whilst preserving a Diamond entry to the North hand. He would win the ♣K and return the ♣5 as a suit preference signal for the lower side-suit. Upon winning the first round of trumps, you’d underlead your top Diamonds to partner. A rare exception to the old adage that God dealt you an Ace-King for a reason.

♠  K J 10 3

♥  10 8 3

♦  8

♣  A Q J 4 3

♠  9 5 2

♥  Q 7 4

♦  Q J 4 3

♣  K 8 5

♠  A 6

♥  J 9 6 5

♦  A K 9 5 2

♣  10 6

♠  Q 8 7 4

♥  A K 2

♦  10 7 6

♣  9 7 2



Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 4

  Your Hand
♠ J 10 7 2
♥ A J 7
♦ A 7 3
♣ 10 5 2 		 
Q: 4 - Should you be put off?

*2♦ was a game-forcing checkback bid and 2♠ showed four Spades whilst denying three Hearts

SouthWestNorthEast
--Pass1♣
Pass1♥Pass1NT
Pass2♦*Pass2♠
Pass3NTAll pass


 Your choice:
A: ♠2. A Spade lead is your still your best shot. There’s a good chance you’ll be able to set up tricks. As little as ♠Q x x in partner’s hand might be enough to establish two Spade winners. The alternatives are much worse; a Club around to declarer’s primary suit would only help him, whilst a Diamond lead would be dangerous with little to gain regarding trick-establishment.

In terms of which Spade to lead, you could set off with the ♠J, but without a powerful supporting intermediate card, that lead doesn’t stand to gain much, and it might block the suit or crash an honor in partner’s hand. Try the ♠2 instead.

On the full hand, a Spade opening was the only one to give the defense a chance, keeping you a tempo ahead to establish two Spade tricks along with a Club and the two red Aces. Declarer could still make by banking on ♥A x x onside; leading twice up to dummy’s honors and knocking out the ♦A en route, but he may well simply play for both the ♣K and ♥A to be onside instead. On any other lead, he could afford to take a losing Club finesse as long as he played a Heart up at some point in the early play.

♠  8

♥  K Q 8 5 2

♦  Q J 10 9

♣  A 7 6

♠  Q 9 6 3

♥  10 9 3

♦  6 5 4

♣  K 8 4

♠  J 10 7 2

♥  A J 7

♦  A 7 3

♣  10 5 2

♠  A K 5 4

♥  6 4

♦  K 8 2

♣  Q J 9 3



Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 5

  Your Hand
♠ 7 4
♥ 5
♦ A K 10 6 3 2
♣ J 7 6 3 		 
Q: 5 - What do you make of this?

SouthWestNorthEast
--Pass1NT
3♦3NTAll pass


 Your choice:
A: ♦6. The Diamond suit surely represents your best chance of setting this, and given that you don’t have an outside entry to your long cards, you had better kick off with a low Diamond, hoping to keep a link with partner when he has a doubleton.

Yes, this could strand the ♦A K in your hand forever more, but why should partner provide three defensive tricks? If this ploy works, all you’ll need is for partner to hold one entry. It’s unlikely that you can run the whole Diamond suit right away on this auction.

A low Diamond lead was the only effective attack, establishing the whole suit whilst preserving an entry to the rest of them. Most West players would double 3♦ for take-out, leading to a 4♥ contract which would fail on three rounds of Diamonds, ruffing out dummy’s winner.

♠  A 6 5 2

♥  Q 8 7 4

♦  J 9 7

♣  Q 5

♠  Q J 8 3

♥  A 9 3

♦  8 5

♣  10 9 8 4

♠  7 4

♥  5

♦  A K 10 6 3 2

♣  J 7 6 3

♠  K 10 9

♥  K J 10 6 2

♦  Q 4

♣  A K 2



Your result so far:
Open Question

Overall Results

Your results:   out of    Average: 

What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
More informations on our website: www.VuBridge.com

Rate yourself:

0 - 40% We applaud your effort.
Review the subject and try again. You'll be surprised how much better you'll do.
We're here for you!!
41 - 50% Buy your mentor a cuppa and ask for clarification on the ones you got wrong.
No mentor? Make finding one a priority!
51 - 60% Nice improvement! One more review and you'll have this down solid!
61 - 80% What a good job! All that's left is some fine tuning
Over 80% Wow! It's time for you to become a mentor. Find someone who needs help and share your knowledge!
Return To Home

© 2014 - 2019 Vu-Bridge. All Rights Reserved.