Quiz Expert by Vu-Bridge

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ K 10
♥ K Q J 3
♦ A K 9 3
♣ A J 7

Q: 1 - What will you lead against 4♠ doubled?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♠
Dble	4♠	Pass	Pass
Dble	All Pass

A: ♦A. You have two attractive leads in the red suits. It is better to lead a diamond because, for example, you may be able to give your partner a ruff. If you led the ♥K instead, the ruff would be lost. Right, take the East cards now and see if you can make the contract.

♠ Q J 8 6 3

♥ A 9 8 6

♦ 8

♣ 9 5 2

♠

♥ 10 7 5 2

♦ J 7 6 5 4

♣ 8 6 4 3

♠ K 10

♥ K Q J 3

♦ A K 9 3

♣ A J 7

♠ A 9 7 5 4 2

♥ 4

♦ Q 10 2

♣ K Q 10

South begins with the ♦A and switches to the ♥K when he sees the dummy. How will you play?

If there is a trump loser, you will need to avoid two club losers. An elimination end position may assist you. To begin to set this up, you must ruff a heart at trick 3. You cash the ♠A, finding that South has a trump trick. You then continue to cross-ruff in the red suits before throwing South on lead with a trump. He will have to lead a club, solving your problem there, or give you a ruff-and-discard.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ 5 2
♥ A Q 4
♦ J 9 4 3
♣ Q J 10 6

Q: 2 - What will you lead against 4♠ here?

South	West	North	East
-	1♣	Pass	1♠
Pass	1NT	Pass	2♦
Pass	2♠	Pass	4♠
All Pass

A: ♠5. Many would lead the ♣Q here, but a trump lead is the one that works (or one or more hearts followed by a trump switch). See if you can make the contract after the actual ♣Q lead.

♠ K J 10

♥ 9 8 3

♦ A 8 6

♣ A 9 8 3

♠ 9 7 3

♥ K 7 6 5

♦ 10 7

♣ K 7 4 2

♠ 5 2

♥ A Q 4

♦ J 9 4 3

♣ Q J 10 6

♠ A Q 8 6 4

♥ J 10 2

♦ K Q 5 2

♣ 5

You win the club lead. If your next move is to draw trumps, you will need a 3-3 diamond break. Instead, you should aim to ruff clubs in your hand (a dummy reversal). You ruff a club at trick 2, cross to the ♠10 and ruff another club high. You then return to dummy with a trump and ruff yet another club. When you cross to the diamond ace and draw the last trump, your ♦KQ will bring the total to ten tricks.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ Q J 7
♥ A K 8
♦ J 9 6
♣ 9 7 4 3

Q: 3 - What will you lead against 4♠?

South	West	North	East
Pass	Pass	Pass	1♠
Pass	2♠	Pass	4♠
All Pass

A: ♥A. It is clear to start with the heart ace. The interest lies in the declarer play. This is the deal:

♠ 10 4 3 2

♥ 7 6 5 3

♦ Q 7 2

♣ A 2

♠ 8

♥ J 10 9 4

♦ K 8 5 4 3

♣ J 10 6

♠ Q J 7

♥ A K 8

♦ J 9 6

♣ 9 7 4 3

♠ A K 9 6 5

♥ Q 2

♦ A 10

♣ K Q 8 5

South plays his two top hearts, followed by a third heart, which you ruff. When, as East, you play the ♠AK, North discards a diamond on the second round. How will you continue?

You should play the three top clubs. On the 4th club, South follows and you ruff in the dummy. You then ruff dummy's last heart, South discarding a diamond. When you throw South on lead with his master trump, he returns the ♦9 in the 2-card end position. How would you have guessed whether to play the queen or the 10, (if you could not see the full diagram now!)?

South is a passed hand and has already shown up with 10 HCP. If he held the ♦K, he would have opened on his 13 HCP. So, you play the ♦7 from dummy and make the contract when North's ♦K appears.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ 8 7
♥ K Q 10 7 2
♦ J 10
♣ A Q J 4

Q: 4 - What will you lead against 4♠?

South	West	North	East
1♥	2♦	Pass	2♠
Pass	3♠	Pass	4♠
All Pass

A: ♥K. You should lead the ♥K, which for many players asks for 'count signal or unblock'. This was the deal:

♠ Q J 10

♥ A 8 6

♦ A K 7 3 2

♣ 5 3

♠ 9 5 3

♥ 9 4 3

♦ Q 9 6

♣ 10 9 8 2

♠ 8 7

♥ K Q 10 7 2

♦ J 10

♣ A Q J 4

♠ A K 6 4 2

♥ J 5

♦ 8 5 4

♣ K 7 6

Take the declarer's cards now, as East, and try to make the contract.

You do not want North to win the lead, so you duck the first trick. North signals with the 3, showing an odd number of cards, so South persists with the ♥Q. which is also ducked. You win the third heart with the ace, pitching a diamond. ♦AK and a diamond ruff with the ♠A, is followed by three more tricks with two diamonds and a trump. The game is yours with five trumps, four diamonds and the ♥A. If you had missed the avoidance play, North would have won the third diamond and sent a club through.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ 7 4
♥ A J 6 5 4
♦ 7 6 3
♣ K 10 6

Q: 5 - What will you lead against 3NT?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	2NT
Pass	3NT	All Pass

A: ♥5. A 5-card suit is the optimal length for a lead against NT. Take the East cards now and see if you can make the contract.

♠ K 9 2

♥ 9 7 2

♦ Q 10 9

♣ 9 7 3 2

♠ Q 6 5 3

♥ 10 8

♦ K 8 5 4

♣ Q 5 4

♠ 7 4

♥ A J 6 5 4

♦ 7 6 3

♣ K 10 6

♠ A J 10 8

♥ K Q 3

♦ A J 2

♣ A J 8

The ♥5 is led, North playing the 10. You win with the queen and must turn your mind to taking all the spade and diamond finesses into the safe hand. How can that be done?

You lead the ♠J to the ♠K and run the ♦Q, unblocking the jack. You then run the ♦10. Still in dummy, you now run the ♠9! Because you thoughtfully unblocked the ♠J previously, you remain in dummy to take a second spade finesse, The game is yours.

Your result so far:

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Leads Quiz 256 by David Bird

Question 1

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Question 4

Question 5

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