Testing Trials by Ben Norton

A: ♠A. It might be tempting to lead the ♠2, hoping partner can win the ♠9 and give you a Club ruff, but that would be very dangerous. Partner surely an outside entry for his double, in which case there’s no need to underlead in Spades. Indeed, a Club ruff might not even be necessary; partner could well have some slow Club tricks for his double. Lead a safe ♠A.

I held the South cards and put all of my eggs in one basket with a low-Spade lead. The last two cards to appear in dummy were the ♠9 8 doubleton, so declarer couldn’t help but win the first trick. Declarer soon drew trumps and set up the Diamonds, making 650. My silly lead gave away three tricks, for partner had two Diamond entries to provide two Club ruffs, and one top Spade was standing.

Your result so far:

A: ♠10. By far declarer’s most likely shape is 1.3.5.4. What’s more, dummy rates to have some Heart length. West has only four Spades for his double, and might have converted to three of a minor with four Clubs or three Diamonds. In that case, a Heart lead is unlikely to achieve much and could easily give away a cheap trick.

Try a Spade instead. If your assessment is correct, partner has five of them, and leading the ♠10 will serve to pin a high spot-card on your right (or remove a guess for partner).

A Spade lead found partner with K 9 x x x sitting over dummy’s Q J 8 x. Declarer’s bare Ace was ducked out on the first round, and Spade continuations set up the whole suit.

Your result so far:

A: ♥9. Partner didn’t double 3♠ for the lead, so an attack in that quarter is unlikely to do much damage, and may assist declarer with his entries. In fact, given that dummy has short Hearts, a Heart lead is by far your best chance of setting up tricks. As little as x x x in partner’s hand might be enough, provided he has an entry or two.

While you would often lead your lowest card in an opponent’s suit, to conserve the high spot-cards and unblock the suit, you don’t necessarily have an outside entry here. The ♥8 or ♥9 is your best shot, so that partner can retain his ten for later when he holds 10 x x, then play it through on the second round to retain the lead. The ♥9 is your very best choice in this regard, since partner will know to play low from such a holding.

A Heart lead put declarer under pressure. Partner held the ♦A and ♥10 x x under declarer’s K J x x. After the ♥9 lead trotted around to the jack, declarer had to avoid playing on Diamonds, banking on finding both the ♣K and ♠Q favorably placed instead. He might misread the hand and play for Hearts 4-4, in which case working on Diamonds would be best to avoid creating a fifth loser.

Your result so far:

A: ♥3. The key to this one is to delve deep into the bidding. If partner had an unbalanced hand, therefore holding real Clubs, he might have bid 5♣ over 4♠. He’s probably balanced, leaving West with only four Spades for his raise to game. West probably doesn’t have much in terms of values, so his raise must be based on shape, specifically shortness somewhere. That shortness is likely to be in Clubs.

If West is short in Clubs, a Club lead would only help declarer set up tricks. Try a different avenue of attack. Partner can’t have Diamond length if he’s balanced, else he would have opened 1♦, but he could have four Hearts. For that reason, and that it’s slightly safer to underlead a Jack than a Queen, try the ♥3.

Partner had the ♥A Q over dummy’s ♥K, good for only one trick, but a Diamond shift at trick two would set up two tricks there before the ♣A was knocked out. A Club lead would concede a crucial tempo.

Your result so far:

A: ♦10. Declarer has at least ten cards in the minors, and West probably has three Diamonds and four Clubs in a very weak hand. If you have this beaten in top tricks, it won’t matter what you do. The dangerous case is when your side has only three tricks.

You had better go on the offensive, and a Diamond lead offers your best chance. If partner has a singleton Diamond and a control card in trumps, you might be able to give him a ruff. You had better lead a Diamond on the go, while you still have plenty of entries in the majors. Your tricks aren’t going anywhere, unless it’s just a matter of overs.

One final point. It might be necessary to prevent declarer from reaching dummy to take an early trump finesse through partner. Lead the ♦10 in case there’s something like 9 x x on your left and A K Q J x x on your right.

A Diamond lead found partner with a singleton. Declarer, who held 2.1.6.4 shape and ♦A K Q J 9 x, needed to enter dummy to finesse in trumps. He led towards dummy’s ♠K, allowing South to fly in, give his partner a Diamond ruff, then win the Heart shift and deliver a second Diamond ruff. Bravo.

Your result so far: