[Siegmund]

Both vul, partner deals. (MPs if it matters, but it looks like you're just trying to beat it in any case.)

You allow your opponents an uncontested auction: 3♣ on your right, a long pause followed by 5♣ on your left. All you have to do now is beat it.

♠6532
♥A97543
♦3
♣K7

1) Your lead?

2) If you selected the ♥A, see hidden text:

Spoiler

Dummy is AJT4 Q2 AKT87 Q2. This trick goes 2-J-8. What do you lead to trick 2?

Your opponents are an up-and-coming B pair, capable on their good days but a bit erratic. Your partner is strong and reliable but old-fashioned (so you are playing standard leads and signals.)

[quiddity]

♥A and switch to ♠2. Hopefully declarer is 2137 with ♦Q and not 3127 with ♠K.

[mikegill]

1) I would have led my singleton.

2) Switching to a spade looks normal.

[Jlall]

quiddity, on May 3 2010, 08:16 PM, said:

♥A and switch to ♠2. Hopefully declarer is 2137 with ♦Q and not 3127 with ♠K.

If declarer is 2137 with the DQ, you can still beat it by playing a heart. If he has the QJ of diamonds you've messed up though.

A heart back seems really clear here. declarer can just have 2 hearts and something like 2227 +SK, or 1237, or w/e. A heart back almost never gives up the contract.

Leading anything but the HA is completely terrible.

[Codo]

I thought two rounds of hearts had been obvious even before Justin explained it so well.

[rhm]

Jlall, on May 3 2010, 09:03 PM, said:

quiddity, on May 3 2010, 08:16 PM, said:

♥A and switch to ♠2.  Hopefully declarer is 2137 with ♦Q and not 3127 with ♠K.

If declarer is 2137 with the DQ, you can still beat it by playing a heart. If he has the QJ of diamonds you've messed up though.

A heart back seems really clear here. declarer can just have 2 hearts and something like 2227 +SK, or 1237, or w/e. A heart back almost never gives up the contract.

Leading anything but the HA is completely terrible.

If declarer is 2137 with the ♦Q (without the ♦J), a ♥ continuation at trick 2 is fatal and an immediate ♠ switch is required to beat the contract.

After a ♥ continuation, declarer will ruff and probably play a ♦ to the table and try the trump finesse. He will simply have to rise with the ace when you switch to ♠ after you came in with the king of trumps. When he finds out that ♦ do not break declarer will have a (lucky) ♠-♦ squeeze against your partner, since your spade pips are so low.

I do not say that a ♠ switch is right, but the ♥ jack might be interpreted as a suggestion to switch to ♠, since it does not make much sense to show the ten of ♥ here. (Even with standard signalling you encourage with a high card but not with an honor.)

Rainer Herrmann

[Jlall]

rhm, on May 4 2010, 05:41 AM, said:

After a ♥ continuation, declarer will ruff and probably play a ♦ to the table and try the trump finesse. He will simply have to rise with the ace when you switch to ♠ after you came in with the king of trumps. When he finds out that ♦ do not break declarer will have a (lucky) ♠-♦ squeeze  against your partner, since your  spade pips are so low.

You're right, I did not see the squeeze possibility given our very bad spade spots. Hopefully the flight B declarer will miss it too lol

Quote

(Even with standard signalling you encourage with a high card but not with an honor.)

This I really don't agree with though. Why should partner not be playing the J from KJ6 and KJT as well as KJT6? As you say it does not make sense with Qx in dummy for the jack to be informatory about the ten/queen, so it is an irrelevant card that can be used for attitude. Even if dummy had xx, assuming my ace denied the king the jack should be an attitude signal in this type of situation (cashout, when I've denied the AK).

[Siegmund]

At the table, I held this hand, and continued a heart, and that was curtains: declarer had Q7 8 QJ9 AT96543 and doesn't even need to stumble into a squeeze. Only a spade lead or a HA lead and spade switch beat it.

I don't honestly know if partner would have played J from KJ6. He doesn't know I have six of them; he might be afraid of declarer having Txx hearts and giving him his 11th winner to go along with 7 clubs and the visible SADAK. I also don't know if this particular declarer would have routinely falsecard 8 from 86 in his hand. IF the answer to both of those is "no," maybe I can work out he has KJTx (or just JTx) and find the switch.

[whereagles]

I'll open a terrible diamond, obviously not expecting anything like what happened.

[Fluffy]

I'd lead a spade directly, but I am trying to learn to lead unsupported aces more often.