| Here is a little Bridge quiz. You being North, hold AQJT7632, J4, 6, A7 You are the dealer and choose to open 1S. Bidding goes like this: N E S W 1S 2D 3S* 5C 5D DBL 5S P P 6C DBL PPP 3S = Mixed raise. 4 card support and side values. Say, 6-9 hcp kind of hand. You may disagree with the bids by North, and probably some are not right, but let’s just say this happened. What do you lead and with what logic? (You are vul, they are not. Format IMPs) |
Considerations
While you are thinking of the right solution, here is some food for thought (also to move the solution down below the screen to not distract you).
A few things you may want to clarify in your partnership:
- What are responder’s options on 2D to show variety of hands?
- What does my 5D show? What would other bids have shown?
- What do different bids by responder’s hand on 5D-X show? What would be redouble? Pass? 5H? 5S?
- What does his double of 6C show?
- With the sequence that has happened, what all possibilities are there for partner to hold? What has he denied or showed?
I follow Partnership Bidding at Bridge by Andrew Robson and Oliver Segal like a bible. I think this is a MUST-READ book for any serious partnership. Free copy is available at http://bridge.mgoetze.net/robson-segal.pdf
This book would help at least in some of the questions I have mentioned.
What happened here?
Now coming to the actual hand.
I suppose you have already thought through your answer.
Here’s the full hand: https://tinyurl.com/y98a5kcw
I led a diamond, and in a flash declarer made 6C. Thing here is H lead keeps option of taking contract down with H K or A while singleton D lead takes it down only when partner has D A or H A. One extra chance with H lead.
When it happened on my table, my partner had shown 3 card support only as he bid 3D instead of 3S, so I had another possibility of S lead too. But I should have still worked out the right solution. I didn’t.
Of course whether H lead is right or not cannot be derived just on the basis of what happened on this hand. As was pointed to me, H lead could go wrong in cases where partner just has Q of H and it would give away the downing trick. That’s why the right answer probably depends on the answers to various questions I listed above. Can you think of absolute reasons on why H is the right lead (after altering the bidding sequence if required)?
It is an interesting case where doubleton lead is better than singleton. Trump control causes that I guess. That’s my point of sharing it.
What happened on other table?
What happened on other table is even more interesting. Here are the proceedings. https://tinyurl.com/y9axghft
They also reached minor slam (albeit 6D) and got doubled. But the other hand was on lead and not knowing partner has 8 carder S, led S instead of H. Now declarer got a chance to make and he utilised it well.
He pulled a small club from dummy, and when Ace appeared, dropped his C King on it to keep the communication.
And I am told he did it in a flash.
Would you have found this play?
Finally, so much action resulted in a push board!