BY DAVID LINDOP
PLAY OF THE HAND
BY DAVID LINDOP
The defenders have to communicate with each other through the cards they lead and play . As declarer , we can sometimes take advantage of what the defenders do . The opening lead is on the table before we start making our plan as declarer , so we should take it into consideration .
When we are playing in a suit contract , the opening leader tends to follow a number of guidelines :
• Lead partner ’ s suit .
• Prefer to lead an unbid suit .
• Rarely lead away from an unsupported ace .
• Often lead the top of touching honors .
• Lead low with no touching honors – fourth highest from a four-card or longer suit .
• Sometimes lead a short suit , looking for a ruff .
We should have all this in mind when analyzing the defender ’ s opening lead .
Let ’ s suppose we reach 4♥ . West leads the ♦Q . What ’ s our plan ?
LEAD : ♦Q
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Dummy Q 10 7 5 K 10 8 4 K 7 6 K 6
W
N
S
E
Declarer ( Us )
A A Q J 7 5 9 5 3 Q J 8 5
Read the Lead
Part 1
4♥
2 Audrey Grant ’ s Better Bridge | July-August 2023
We don ’ t have any spade or heart losers , but we have three diamond losers and two club losers . We have to lose the ♣A but can subsequently ruff the remaining club loser in dummy . But how do we avoid one of the diamond losers ?
Normally , we would plan to lead toward dummy ’ s ♦K , hoping West holds the ♦A , a 50 % chance . That doesn ’ t take into account West ’ s ♦Q opening lead , which almost certainly places the ♦A in East ’ s hand . Is there anything we can do about that ? We ’ ll have to play low from dummy and play low again if the ♦Q wins and West continues with another diamond . We need East to hold a singleton or doubleton ♦A . This might be the full deal :
Dummy
♠ Q 10 7 5
♥ K 10 8 4
♦ K 7 6
♣ K 6
♠ K 8 6 4
N
♥ 6
W E
♦ Q J 10 8 2
S
♣ 9 7 4
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Declarer ( Us )
A A Q J 7 5 9 5 3 Q J 8 5
4♥
♠ J 9 3 2
♥ 9 3 2
♦ A 4
♣ A 10 3 2
Fortunately , East has only two diamonds . So dummy ’ s ♦K becomes a winner after the second round . Equally fortunately , East holds the ♣A , so East doesn ' t have a way to reach West to lead a third round of diamonds for a ruff .
Without the knowledge from West ’ s choice of opening lead , we would likely have gone down in this contract . Suppose West led a spade . We ’ d win , draw trumps , and eventually try the diamond finesse , losing to East ' s ♦A . Down one .
On this next deal , we reach 4♠ . West leads the ♥J . What ’ s our plan ?
LEAD :
♥J
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Dummy Q 8 3 K Q 9 4 A Q 7 10 5 4
W
N
S
Declarer ( Us )
♠ A K J 9 7 4
♥ 5 2
♦ J 10
♣ A 8 7 We have a sure heart loser , a potential diamond loser , and two club losers . There will be no problem if East wins the first trick with the ♥A and shifts to a trump . We can draw trumps and try the diamond finesse . If it wins , we can repeat it and make an overtrick . If the diamond finesse loses , we can discard one of our club losers on dummy ’ s established diamond winner .
But are we prepared when we play the ♥K or ♥Q from dummy and East wins the ♥A and shifts to a club at trick two ? Now if the diamond finesse loses , the defender may take two established club winners to defeat the contract .
No problem if we read the lead . With no information from the auction , West ’ s ♥J is presumably the top of touching honors from a suit headed by the ♥J-10 . In that case , we have a better choice than the diamond finesse … the heart finesse !
At trick two , we win the ♣A , draw trumps , and then lead our remaining heart and finesse dummy ’ s ♥9 when West follows with a low heart . When this – hopefully – wins , we discard a club loser on dummy ’ s remaining high heart . Now we can try the diamond finesse for an overtrick . We
E
4♠