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What’s Standard? by David Lindop

This series is based on Grant 3. Lead A Short Suit Standard, a set of conventions and We can try to use the trump suit to agreements that are in popular use Leading Against our advantage by leading a singleton, today, such as 15-17 1NT openings, hoping to get to ruff one or more of five-card majors, and weak two- Suit Contracts declarer’s winners. However, we have bids. A summary chart of Grant to pick the right time. Standard and the corresponding Leading a singleton is most likely to convention card can be found at be effective when: www.AudreyGrant.com . The site away a trick on the opening lead. If • It is in an unbid suit , where there also has Grant Basic, a simpler set partner has overcalled a suit, then is a good chance partner holds the of agreements. we can expect partner to have a good ace, or some strength. Earlier articles in this series holding in the suit. In fact, one of the • When we expect partner can gain appeared in the Bridge Bulletin and reasons partner may have overcalled the lead and return the suit before can also be found under ‘Articles’ at is to help us get off to the best lead. declarer can draw all of our trumps. www.AudreyGrant.com . If partner has opened a major suit, • When we hold the trump ace or showing five or more cards, it’s best king , so that we are likely to he opening lead can often be to lead that suit with nothing clearly regain the lead before our trumps critical to the success or failure better to do. It’s unlikely to cost a are all gone. trick, since declarer will also be aware Tof a contract, so it’s important Leading a singleton is less likely to of partner’s holding in the suit. to get off to the right start whenever be effective when: possible. There are two aspects to If partner has opened 1 p or 1 o, the situation is not quite as clear- • It is in a suit bid by the opponents. the opening lead: First, there is less chance partner cut. Partner might have opened a • Choosing the suit holds the ace and can give us a three-card suit and may hold a good • Choosing the card ruff. Second, even if that happens, four-card major suit. So this is one Choosing the suit to lead requires we may have helped declarer time when we might exercise a little good judgment. Choosing the right establish winners in that suit for judgment and choose another suit. card once the suit has been decided later use. If we do lead their suit, is more a matter of rote. There are 2. Lead An Unbid Suit however, partner should strongly many guidelines to cover that aspect. It is usually a bad idea to lead a suit suspect that we have a singleton. In this issue, we’ll focus on leads bid by the opponents. They are likely • When we hold four or more trumps. against a suit contract. to have length and strength in the Getting a ruff may make it easier suit. It will usually help declarer to for declarer to draw our remaining Choosing the Suit develop tricks in the suit and is trumps. It’s usually better to lead The key to choosing the best suit to unlikely to be a good source of tricks our long suit, hoping to force lead is to listen to the auction. The for our side. Even if declarer has declarer to ruff. We may then end standard guidelines are: losers in the suit, they are unlikely up with control of the trump suit. 1. Lead partner’s suit to go away. Leading a doubleton is typically 2. Lead an unbid suit Even if leading their suit doesn’t less effective. It requires more from 3. Lead a singleton or doubleton give away a trick, it often loses a partner if we are to get a ruff. It is also 4. Lead a trump ‘tempo.’ The opening lead is a chance difficult for partner to distinguish between a singleton and a doubleton. 1. Lead Partner’s Suit to start developing winners in our suit(s). If we give up that opportunity, Partner may try to give us a ruff when The popular comment here is that declarer may win the race to develop we still have to follow suit. Leading “leading partner’s suit may not be tricks or eliminate losers. a doubleton honor, such as nQ-3, right, but it is never wrong!” In other Of course, that doesn’t mean we can be especially confusing and words, partner can rarely fault us for never lead their suit. Their minor- dangerous. For example, partner leading the suit. suit opening bids could be on a might think we have the nJ and are If our side has bid and raised a suit, weak three-card suit —just like ours. leading top of touching honors. then that is obviously a likely source Also, with K –Q–J–10 in their suit, we A popular guideline is, “Don’t lead of tricks, and it is unlikely to give shouldn’t shy away from leading it! a doubleton unless it’s a singleton!” BETTER 14 BRIDGE VOL . 13, N O. 6 JULY /A UGUST 2009 BB 2. Lead A Trump Ace from Ace-King DUMMY There is a popular saying: “When in At one time, it was popular to lead o 9 7 2 doubt, lead a trump.” This is usually the King from a suit headed by either US PARTNER bad advice! We should only lead a A–K or K –Q. This was so that the o K 6 5 o A J 10 4 trump when we think it’s the best lead. lead of an Ace would specifically DECLARER It’s usually declarer’s job to draw deny the King. Defenders sometimes o Q 8 3 trumps, so we don’t want to help our lead an Ace against a suit contract If we lead the oK, declarer will opponent! Even if it doesn’t cost when not holding the King (see eventually get a trick with the oQ. If directly, it will often give up a tempo, below), either looking for a ruff, or we lead the o5, as recommended by allowing declarer to take the initiative for a helpful signal from partner. the guidelines, declarer’s oQ is in developing tricks. The popular style today is to lead trapped, and we get all the tricks to Is there a time to lead trumps? Yes. the Ace from a suit headed by A –K, which we are entitled. If we suspect from the auction that consistent with always leading the Leading From Three Low Cards top of touching honors. The standard declarer is likely to want to trump There are three possible approaches losers in the dummy, we can try to ACBL Convention Card no longer defaults to K from A –K–x, but if we when leading from three low cards: prevent this by removing dummy’s • Top of nothing ( n7–5–2) trumps. For example, suppose we are lead Ace from A –K–x, we should • MUD ( Middle- Up- Down) ( n7–5–2) on lead as West after this auction: mark it appropriately on the Card. If we hold a doubleton A –K, we can • Low ( n7–5–2) WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH alert partner by reversing our usual The problem with leading the top 1m lead. So we lead the King f ollowed of three low cards is that partner Pass 1NT Pass 2n n by the Ace, if we normally lead Ace may have difficulty determining that Pass 4 All Pass from A –K–x. Knowing this shows a we aren’t leading from a short suit. m South has a five-card doubleton, partner might be able to Holding the nA–K–x, for example, A Q J 8 3 spade suit which North gain the lead and give us a ruff on partner might try to give us a ruff, n 7 4 2 didn’t support. Dummy the third round of the suit. thinking we have a doubleton. o Q 6 is almost certainly p Q 9 3 Leading the Ace The only time it is recommended short in spades, and A popular saying is: “Don’t lead away to lead top of three low cards is declarer is likely to want to ruff from an Ace against a suit contract.” when we have raised partner’s suit. some spade losers in dummy. We This is a good piece of advice. If we Partner will know we don’t have a should lead a heart. decide that the best suit to lead is singleton or doubleton. By leading Another time to lead a trump is clubs and we have a holding such as high, we are denying an honor, so when the lead of any other suit looks pA–J–7–4, we should lead the pA, partner can usually visualize the dangerous, since it is likely to cost a not a low club —away from the pA. layout of the suit. trick. It’s not that we’re in doubt; it’s The danger of leading a low club is Leading the middle card presents that we don’t have a doubt! that declarer might have a singleton a challenge in that partner may have difficulty visualizing the layout of Choosing the Card pK. Declarer would win the first trick, and we’d never get our pA, the suit until the third round. When This is the easy part. Having chosen since declarer could trump if we lead we follow ‘up’ on the second round, the suit, there are specific guidelines the suit again. Even if declarer does partner may assume we have led about which card to lead: not have a singleton, declarer might low from an honor. By the time we win the first trick and discard any follow ‘low’ on the third round, it LEADING AGAINST remaining club losers before we may be too late for partner to switch A SUIT CONTRACT regain the lead. If we don’t want to to a different suit. p The standard guideline is to lead • Lead the top of a doubleton lead the A, we should probably pick another suit to lead. low. Partner may not know if we are (mK–5, n5–3). Note that this only applies against leading low from an honor or three • Lead the top of touching honors suit contracts. Leading away from low cards, but neither will declarer. (oK–Q–6–2, pQ–J–4, mK- J-10). an Ace is common against notrump At least partner won’t expect us to • Lead the ace ( nA–J–7–4–2). contracts. Declarer won’t later be have a singleton or doubleton. • Lead fourth best ( oK–J–7–3, able to ruff our Ace. The guidelines for leads are based pJ–9–7–6–3, m8–5–4–2) Top of Partner’s Suit on long experience. They usually or low from three cards Another saying is: “Lead the top of help our partner on defense. So we partner’s suit .” This is typically not a shouldn’t stray from them without a (nQ–10 –5, o8–6–3). good idea. Consider this layout: good reason. BETTER 15 BRIDGE VOL . 13, N O. 6 JULY /A UGUST 2009