Passive leading a trump
Ace from ace-king (best of all), singleton, king from king-queen; these are the good opening leads. What happens when you don’t have such a lead?
Best now is to eliminate the really bad leads, then see what you have left. Let’s look at the approximate ratings - without bidding inferences - of the medium and poor leads:
Holding |
Rating |
83 |
5 |
Trump |
4 |
852 |
4 |
Q952 |
4 |
J4 |
3 |
K752 |
2 |
A1074 |
0 |
West had a choice of unsavoury options on this deal. What would you choose?
South Deals
None Vul |
♠ |
Q 9 7 2 |
♥ |
8 5 2 |
♦ |
Q 9 2 |
♣ |
K 8 4 |
|
♠ |
8 6 3 |
♥ |
K J 4 |
♦ |
A J 7 5 |
♣ |
A 3 2 |
|
|
|
|
|
♠ |
5 |
♥ |
10 7 6 3 |
♦ |
10 8 4 3 |
♣ |
J 10 6 5 |
|
|
|
♠ |
A K J 10 4 |
♥ |
A Q 9 |
♦ |
K 6 |
♣ |
Q 9 7 |
|
East |
South |
West |
North |
|
1 ♠ |
Pass1 |
2 ♠ |
Pass |
4 ♠ |
All pass |
|
What happened
West led a heart. Admittedly this was (slightly) wiser than a minor-suit, the dreaded lead away from an ace. But declarer was nonetheless now able to make his game. Beating East’s ♥ 10 with ♥ Q, he drew trumps in three rounds, then led ♥ A and ♥ 9. West won perforce, but (fatally) had to lead a minor (he chose a club). Declarer ran his ♣ 2 to ♣ Q, and led towards ♣ K. He just lost ♣ A and ♦ A. 10 tricks and game made.
What should have happened
The only lead to defeat the game is a passive trump. By giving nothing away, declarer cannot wring a tenth trick. Say he wins the trump and leads ♦ K. West wins ♦ A and leads a second trump. Declarer wins, plays ♦ Q, and trumps ♦ 9, to eliminate the suit, then crosses to dummy with a third trump, in order to lead to ♥ 9. Declarer has played the deal well, and West is endplayed. But because West has avoided giving away a trick on opening lead, the endplay gives declarer a ninth trick not a tenth trick. Say West leads a club. Declarer wins ♣ Q
and leads towards ♣ K, but West grabs ♣ A, exits safely with a third club to ♣ K, and waits patiently to score ♥ K. Down one.
If you remember one thing...
Consider a passive lead such as a trump, when all other options are worse.