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The Sneak Attack.

It seems to happen quite often. The opposition bid 3NT, not with a balanced 17 count opposite a balanced 12 count with holds in every suit but “just in case it makes”! Or, alternatively, because they were asked by their partner whether they had a hold in a particular suit and owned up to having one…or two…or half a hold. No-one cared about other suits. The focus was on the one suit the opposition had bid.

If one looks at such bidding, then far too many of these contracts have made because of a little lack of imagination by the defender on lead. Of course, were this article being written from the point of view of a declarer, then the language would be rather different.

Don’t let them get away with it! Can you hit them with something other than the suit about which they, the declarer, is supposed to have a hold? In so many of these cases, declarer (occasionally dummy) has a long suit and they intend to score at least 9 tricks before the poor defenders can find their way to 5.

So, to yesterday’s problem…and it’s tough…but..

 

 

You are playing 5-card majors. Thus, partner usually bids 2 with just three spades, as you have other ways to show more spades. Nothing fancy, 6-9 hcp.

It may be tough but on this particular hand, I do not believe West really tried. Go down fighting but do not go down leading a spade. I should know as I was the declarer! Assuming the raise to 2 was on a 5 count, there was a slim chance that I, declarer, had the missing 20. However, there was also the possibility, maybe the probability, that I wanted to run a long minor suit (from West’s point of view diamonds) and that, unless I was entirely reckless, that I did have a spade hold, which was not the ace. KQ or  KQT? Both were possible but if I was going to take at least 7, maybe 8, quick diamond tricks, there was no time to hang around and present me with a spade trick as well.

So, after ruling out two suits (the diamond lead could be right though having to discard to numerous rounds of diamonds is not usually much fun), you had a 50% chance of finding the winning lead for the defence. I suspect you would have been wrong and had tried a club but note that had declarer only had 7 top diamond tricks, then the club lead would have still defeated the contract, or should have done, whereas the spade lead would not. That K or even 4 was hard to find:

 

Of course, had West one more and East one less diamond, the need for a non- spade lead was not there. However, the 3 lead did not trouble the declarer, at least not when the second round of diamonds saw the queen felled.

North-South were, of course, vulnerable. 4 down on a heart lead (either heart) or making one over on the spade lead. Condolences (well, polite ones since I have already declared an interest!) if you led a club. At least you made some effort to beat the contract.

 

So, what about this one?

 

 There is no actual evidence of a long suit, a club suit, in declarer’s hand but it does seem that South was quite prepared for a diamond lead or else could have asked for help in that suit or looked for an alternative game contract.

So, are you prepared to risk a polite but telling comment from partner after the hand that they had suggested a good suit to lead…or are you playing for the post-mortem by leading partner's suit? It was a good time to say “sorry, partner, I did not see your bid!” as these were the four hands:

 

A heart lead was followed by six rounds of clubs and a losing spade finesse..down 2. Any other lead would give South at least 9 tricks, maybe more.

Sometimes, the alternative suit is before your eyes, as indeed in the above example. At other times, you might need to make an inspired guess. As West, with an auction like:

                                West                North            East                South

                                                                              2                   2NT

                                    Pass                3NT        All Pass

where 2 is hearts and a minor, it may well be worth, with just a couple of small hearts at most, looking for the minor with your lead, the suit the opponents did not bother to investigate.

Beware, though, the hastily bid, gambling style 3NT and look for the unusual especially where you have the ace of the apparent key suit. I suppose one effect of today’s article could be for declarers rushing to bid 3NT with just two small cards in the danger suit because the advice has been not to lead it. Fortunately for defenders, they know when not to follow such advice! Beware!

and onward to Wednesday...

 

You are playing Pairs, 5 card majors. Partner reverses but shows no inclination to cue-bid after you show three card heart support. You cue first and second round controls together though perhaps partner’s 4 semi sign-off is because you hold all the side-suit aces.

Undeterred, you use Key-Card Blackwood, the response showing two key cards but no Q. What is your next bid? See you tomorrow.

Richard Solomon

 

 

 

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