[jdonn]

Scoring: IMP

P 1NT P 3♦
P 3♠ P 4NT
P 5♠ X P
P 6♥ P P
P

---

1NT = 15-17
3♦ = good hand with hearts
3♠ = cuebid
4NT = keycard
5♠ = 2 + queen

Perhaps you wouldn't have doubled 5♠ but too bad.

What do you lead?

[Mbodell]

I haven't seen the hand but I voted trump. My K♠ is behind the A♠ and I've got the A♦ and enough clubs to hopefully stop them from running. Trump lead seems like the best, safest lead for me to make.

[Free]

I'd lead a ♣, but I'm not convinced this is the best choice. Trumps is quite useless, ♦A is dangerous to rectify the count for a possible squeeze, and ♠ is dangerous.

[Halo]

Spade.

I am not sure what the opponents auction is about. For example, where is the King of diamonds? Why did South not bid 6H, does he not have King of diamonds or King of clubs?

Since I don't know what is going on, I'll just try to set up a spade trick.

[pclayton]

Spade too.

I'd be curious what the agreement about the pass after the x of 5♠ means and what the table discussion was about.

I really didn't like what was led at the table.

[kenrexford]

I have just doubled 5♠, asking for a spade lead.

We want to set this contract; the value of a lead-director for a set is much greater than the risk of the doubled contract making.

The opponents have placed me on lead.

Partner knows that I will be thinking about leading a spade.

Partner knows that I have the Ace or King of spades and the Opener has the other one. I probably have the King for my double.

Partner knows, therefore, that I am wondering whether he has the Queen.

His pass of 6♥ should tell me whether he has the Queen.

If pass says "got it," then double says "ain't got it, and ain't got a good chance of setting this." That makes little sense.

So, double would say, "Got it." Pass means he "ain't got it."

I will not lead a spade, therefore.

We are in trouble. I might need to lead the diamond Ace immediately, to get off of a throw-in. However, that may cost a trick in diamonds. I think the risk of a throw-in is greater than the risk of establishing a critical diamond. So, I now lead diamond Ace.

The up-side is that the guy at the other tabel elected a spade into the AQ, whether the Queen is on dummy or in hand.

[keylime]

I think leading the AD is a give up play here.

A club lead is too passive against this slam.

A trump lead, why?

So, that leads a spade. It's mildly aggressive from leading away from the K, and it's the safest lead to set the contract.

[kenrexford]

keylime, on Oct 10 2007, 10:45 AM, said:

So, that leads a spade. It's mildly aggressive from leading away from the K, and it's the safest lead to set the contract.

A spade lead is horrible if partner's pass denied the spade Queen, of course.

If that occurred, the spade King has more chance of success. At least I might smother dummy's stiff Queen (if it is there) and avoid a late pitch.

[pclayton]

kenrexford, on Oct 10 2007, 07:49 AM, said:

keylime, on Oct 10 2007, 10:45 AM, said:

So, that leads a spade. It's mildly aggressive from leading away from the K, and it's the safest lead to set the contract.

A spade lead is horrible if partner's pass denied the spade Queen, of course.

If that occurred, the spade King has more chance of success. At least I might smother dummy's stiff Queen (if it is there) and avoid a late pitch.

Does anyone else read anything into partner's final pass? I sure don't.

[awm]

I'm sure that I would lead a club.

I do think a double from partner asks for a spade lead, but the non-double is only a mild deterrent for the spade lead (i.e. I have seen/made too many doubles where the lead requested by the double is the only lead to hold the contract to just making, so will not "automatically double" just because of holding the ♠Q).

Leading the ace of diamonds does seem kind of like giving up. Where is the ♦A going? It certainly will not be pitched on spades. If it can be pitched on clubs, then our "spade trick" that we're hoping will set the contract can also be pitched on clubs. I suppose there could be a trump trick.

Leading a spade could be right, but I don't like leading from this kind of holding. It's too often the only lead to allow the contract to make. I know the spade ace is on my right, and it's hardly far fetched for opener to have ♠AQ in which case spade is a terrible lead. Opponents have been careful to get me on lead rather than my partner after my lead director, perhaps because they think a spade lead from my hand is safe?

A trump lead seems bad here, since it's possible partner has Jxxx or the like, and I wouldn't expect all that many ruffs in the short hand (which opened 1NT) anyway. It seems like leading a club has to be better than a trump, since it's equally "passive" but sometimes finds partner with the king behind the ace.

[bid_em_up]

pclayton, on Oct 10 2007, 10:57 AM, said:

kenrexford, on Oct 10 2007, 07:49 AM, said:

keylime, on Oct 10 2007, 10:45 AM, said:

So, that leads a spade. It's mildly aggressive from leading away from the K, and it's the safest lead to set the contract.

A spade lead is horrible if partner's pass denied the spade Queen, of course.

If that occurred, the spade King has more chance of success. At least I might smother dummy's stiff Queen (if it is there) and avoid a late pitch.

Does anyone else read anything into partner's final pass? I sure don't.

I was watching the hand at the time, and thought that it would make a lot of sense for doublers partner to be able to say "go ahead with the spade lead" by doubling 6H or for it to say "I have nothing in spades, don't lead one if you need help from my hand".

[mikeh]

No way would I read anything into partner's pass of 6♥. Ken's view has some attraction, but I doubt that anyone actually has that agreement...

And I am not at all sure that it makes real sense anyway. I think the risk that the Queen-showing double costs 6 imps (more if they redouble) is under-rated. From partner's perspective, he doesn't know you hold an Ace: the opps may have all the keycards and simply know that their combined strength argues against making 13 tricks... after all, opener is well-defined.

Now, if we KNEW that responder's pass of 5♠ doubled showed a 2 card holding, there is more to be said for the queen showing double, and maybe, at the table, we'd know that... but maybe the pass merely said 'I want you to play this contract'. And even if it showed two spades, why can't opener have clubs adequate to provide a dumping ground for the slow spade loser(s)? So, to me, the risk of the loss of 6+ imps on a routine slam makes the queen-showing double borderline at best, and certainly not something any pair should invent at the table.

As for the lead: I go with a spade. I can't give the opps time on this hand... at least, that's the way I feel.

[kenrexford]

Of course, one solution for one objection to the double, meaning "go ahead and lead the spade," would be for the person who makes a lead-directing double before the opponents have determined who will declare the contract to not make that double unless he has enough to enable the double from his partner. Same for a "lead-director" if you know that you will be on lead.

[jdonn]

From memory so I hope no cards are off

Scoring: IMP

---

Club or bust this time.

[Apollo81]

A black suit lead is clearly right on this hand. Which one works is pretty random IMO.

[joshs]

I find partner's KQ.

[jdonn]

I have no strong opinion since I'm biased anyway from watching the hand. But it seems to me like the opponents have found a way to rightside the spades after my double, so I'm not at all keen on that lead any more (it would obviously be the normal lead otherwise.) So I like to think I would have found a club, but really I don't know.

Partner didn't need KQ btw, just K

[cherdano]

jdonn, on Oct 11 2007, 05:35 PM, said:

I have no strong opinion since I'm biased anyway from watching the hand. But it seems to me like the opponents have found a way to rightside the spades after my double, so I'm not at all keen on that lead any more (it would obviously be the normal lead otherwise.) So I like to think I would have found a club, but really I don't know.

Partner didn't need KQ btw, just K

What makes you think they right-sided it? RHO pretty much had no choice except to bid 6H.

[jdonn]

cherdano, on Oct 11 2007, 11:41 PM, said:

jdonn, on Oct 11 2007, 05:35 PM, said:

I have no strong opinion since I'm biased anyway from watching the hand. But it seems to me like the opponents have found a way to rightside the spades after my double, so I'm not at all keen on that lead any more (it would obviously be the normal lead otherwise.) So I like to think I would have found a club, but really I don't know.

Partner didn't need KQ btw, just K

What makes you think they right-sided it? RHO pretty much had no choice except to bid 6H.

Several things make me think that. But my biggest clue during the auction is that the one who passed over the double did have a choice. And my biggest clue after is that they did in fact rightside, which there is some finite chance happened on purpose.