Bridge Base by Ben Norton

A: ♥A. Your opponents are likely prepared for a Spade lead, and the Diamonds are too weak to consider setting up. Instead of making a committal attack in one of your long suits, you should lay down the ♥A.

If this collects an encouraging signal from partner, you can continue and perhaps cash the first five tricks, or at least get off to a good start. If not, you can plan your defense from a more informed position.

A top Heart or passive Diamond lead was needed to realistically set the contract when the hand was originally played.

Your result so far:

A: ♣9. You should lead partner’s suit, in search of a possible ruff. Yes, East should have a Club stopper, but he needn’t have either the ♣A or ♣K. Even if you can’t score a ruff, by threatening one, you might persuade declarer to reject a winning Heart finesse through partner’s hand, or force him to draw trumps prematurely.

The alternatives of a Spade and a Diamond are too passive, but a Diamond might at least serve to set up a trick and do something positive, as was the case on the actual deal. Partner had the ♣AK and ♦A, so a minor-suit lead would see you score his three tricks and a Club ruff.

Your result so far:

A: ♥5. Declarer has shown five cards in each pointed suit along with controls in both Hearts and Clubs. Thus, the ♣A doesn’t rate to do much good. It will either set up declarer’s ♣K, or potentially dummy’s ♣K when declarer has a singleton. That could make the hand a lot easier to play on the bad breaks you know exist.

Lead a passive Heart, giving nothing away. Declarer might struggle if left to his own devices. That was so on the full deal. Partner had a fourth-round Spade stopper and declarer could not afford to take a Spade ruff without first drawing all the trumps. Declarer then didn’t have enough discards on the Hearts. To lash down the ♣A would establish his ♣K.

Your result so far:

A: ♦2. East-West have bid and raised Diamonds, so will have at least an eight-card fit, quite possibly nine. Either way, you can envisage giving partner Diamond ruffs with his long trump holding, using the Clubs for entry. The ♦2 is the right card, giving suit preference for Clubs when you know partner is short.

Partner had a void Diamond on the actual hand, and an original Diamond lead secured three ruffs for him, using two Club entries.

Your result so far:

A: ♣5. For his passed-hand game try, West rates to have a six-card Spade suit which he’s hoping will run, which indicates urgency in setting up your own tricks. East no doubt has both red suits well-stopped in the face of your side’s bidding, but they won’t be expecting a Club lead.

In fact, partner rates to have Club length, having not raised Hearts, likely denying three, or rebid Diamonds, and if your hypothesis about West’s Spade length is correct, partner probably has only a doubleton there, leaving him with a 2.2.5.4 distribution.

A Club attack was necessary to set up three tricks there (partner had ♣KJxx) to cash when partner got in with the ♦A. A Heart switch through then beat the game by two. Anything else would give away a crucial tempo, enabling declarer to establish two Diamond tricks to go with six Spades and the ♣A.

Your result so far: