Help
Your hand is AT632 KQJ KJ64 Q all white MPs. You open a strong club...
1C (1H=transfer)-P (GF)-1S (accepting transfer)-dbl (showing 5 spades) all pass
Partner had other options with minimum hands and spade shortness besides his first pass, so he is likely to have one or two spades.
What's your lead? CQ? HK? spade? other? What's your reasoning?
Page 1 of 1
opening lead
#1
- Group: Advanced Members
- Posts: 4,096
- Joined: 2009-January-18
- Gender:Male
- Location:Vancouver WA USA
Posted 2010-May-07, 14:30
#2
- Tubthumper
-
- Group: Advanced Members
- Posts: 2,835
- Joined: 2007-July-11
- Gender:Male
- Location:Portland, OR, USA
- Interests:Bridge, pool, financial crime. New experiences, new people.
Posted 2010-May-07, 23:01
Heart K. Let's get this party started by establishing tricks on a low risk lead.
Chris Gibson
#3
- Group: Advanced Members
- Posts: 4,096
- Joined: 2009-January-18
- Gender:Male
- Location:Vancouver WA USA
Posted 2010-May-08, 01:34
Thanks. I've thought that doubles at low levels usually call for trump leads or long suit leads...i.e. a forcing game. With low trumps I would think to lead a side suit and the best here is KQJ of hearts.
#4
- Group: Advanced Members
- Posts: 1,261
- Joined: 2005-September-04
- Gender:Male
Posted 2010-May-09, 12:16
straube, on May 8 2010, 02:34 AM, said:
Thanks. I've thought that doubles at low levels usually call for trump leads or long suit leads...i.e. a forcing game. With low trumps I would think to lead a side suit and the best here is KQJ of hearts.
I disagree here -- I think it's important to score as many ruffs in hand given the relatively poor spots.
Also, we don't really have length in ♥s to play a forcing game...
foobar on BBO
#5
- Group: Advanced Members
- Posts: 4,096
- Joined: 2009-January-18
- Gender:Male
- Location:Vancouver WA USA
Posted 2010-May-09, 20:00
This is from "Defensive Bridge Play" by Edwin Kantar....
"Can it be wrong to lead a short suit? You better believe it. Particularly if the opponents have bid the suit and you have some outside strength but no trump control. Declarer may be able to draw trumps and run his side suit, discarding losers that you and your partner might have been able to cash had you led an unbid suit. It is also wrong to lead a short suit with a particularly strong trump holding such as JTxx, QJTx, ATxx. With these holdings you lose a natural trump trick even if you do get a ruff. Besides, leading a short suit often finesses partner out of a queen or jack, or both.
In fact, it is usually, but not always, wrong to lead a short suit when holding four trumps (unless you have reason to believe that declarer has seven or eight). In most cases when holding four trumps, or believing partner does, it pays to lead your LONGEST SUIT.
This has the effect of forcing declarer to ruff. Eventually the player with the four trumps will have as many or more trumps than the declarer and the hand will explode for the poor fellow. (You know how you feel when you play a hand and find that one defender has as many or more trumps than you."
On this particular hand, leading the HK is a safe lead and works to establish heart tricks. It maybe be possible to force dummy to ruff (if dummy has two or fewer hearts) and it may assist partner if he has four or more hearts in continuing a forcing game.
When one has the balance of power and a significant trump holding, a forcing game is the most natural defense. If one has very good trump, consider drawing trump and then playing on side length.
"Can it be wrong to lead a short suit? You better believe it. Particularly if the opponents have bid the suit and you have some outside strength but no trump control. Declarer may be able to draw trumps and run his side suit, discarding losers that you and your partner might have been able to cash had you led an unbid suit. It is also wrong to lead a short suit with a particularly strong trump holding such as JTxx, QJTx, ATxx. With these holdings you lose a natural trump trick even if you do get a ruff. Besides, leading a short suit often finesses partner out of a queen or jack, or both.
In fact, it is usually, but not always, wrong to lead a short suit when holding four trumps (unless you have reason to believe that declarer has seven or eight). In most cases when holding four trumps, or believing partner does, it pays to lead your LONGEST SUIT.
This has the effect of forcing declarer to ruff. Eventually the player with the four trumps will have as many or more trumps than the declarer and the hand will explode for the poor fellow. (You know how you feel when you play a hand and find that one defender has as many or more trumps than you."
On this particular hand, leading the HK is a safe lead and works to establish heart tricks. It maybe be possible to force dummy to ruff (if dummy has two or fewer hearts) and it may assist partner if he has four or more hearts in continuing a forcing game.
When one has the balance of power and a significant trump holding, a forcing game is the most natural defense. If one has very good trump, consider drawing trump and then playing on side length.
Page 1 of 1