OPENING LEADS - Trumps, or No Trumps?

Chapter 1: Trumps, or No Trumps?
The first thing we must learn is that the opening lead against a NO TRUMP contract needs to be different from the opening lead against a TRUMP contract, for good reasons: If your opponents have chosen a suit as trumps, they have done so because they believe that they will have the advantage that whatever suit the defenders have strength and/or length in can not do any damage as long as the declaring side have trumps when they have no cards in the defenders’ suit or suits, in either dummy or declarer’s hand. That is what is known as ‘trump control’.

If your opponents have chosen to play in No Trumps, then they have given you the advantage of being able to use your own suit or suits, with the opening lead giving you the first opportunity to do so. Let’s take a look at our first opening lead problem. Put yourself in the WEST seat.
1.

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AKT83

JT9

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(a) South has opened 1NT and North raised to 3NT. Your lead?
(b) South has opened 1S, North bid 3S and South 4S. Your lead?

In a) you know enough about the NS hands to be able to make the best opening lead. There can be no argument that the suit you should lead is hearts. Because there are NO trumps, you hope to be able to take some of your low hearts as well as the ace and king. So, the opening lead should be a heart, but which one?

You have no doubt been taught about leading ‘fourth highest of longest and strongest’ against No Trumps. That is an excellent ‘rule of thumb’, but is it one that we should follow literally, given this particular hand? Some of our keener (but meaner) players will look at the ace and king and be reluctant to lead a low card in case it gives declarer a cheap trick. But that is often the very reason that you do lead a low card, to give away a trick (or even two) early in order to enjoy more tricks from that suit later. In this case, you lose one to make four later. What you must always, when defending, be aware of is that there are thirteen cards in each hand, and hence thirteen tricks to be taken. If there are to be only two tricks for your side, it does not matter whether they are the first two or the last two. While it is always possible that losing the first heart trick on the opening lead will turn out badly, the probability is hugely in favour of such a lead reaping the benefits by turning the loss of the first trick into the winning of three, hopefully four, later in the play.

If you are not convinced, here are some things you should think about (given this particular hand and the bidding) before you make your opening heart lead: You have five hearts, declarer has at least two and dummy could be expected to have two or three. What if your partner has only two? By taking your ace at trick one, you will now cut yourself off from partner, and who is likely to win a trick outside hearts during the play of the hand? You certainly won’t, you can tell that from looking at your cards in the other suits. Worse still, what would happen if your partner had the queen and only one other heart? Then, two heart tricks will be your lot, no matter how you continue. Defence requires two partners, two hands of thirteen cards, and two partners who cooperate and do things in the right order so that they can get the best possible outcome in the battle against declarer.

Another thought: When opponents have bid to 3NT, their expectation is nine tricks and four losers. Those four losers could well be four hearts, if you can take them. But declarer may also need to lose a trick while setting up his own hoped for nine tricks. If your partner wins that one trick that declarer must lose early enough, you can hope for four heart tricks. In fact you can expect four heart tricks then.

And you can still hope that something good happens at trick one if you open proceedings with a low heart: partner might have the queen, or dummy might have the queen and play low, partner winning the jack! A low heart, therefore, should be a standout opening lead this time. But maybe we should think about whether it should be ‘fourth highest’ as per the textbook. The fourth highest is the eight, but there are two reasons why the THREE might be a better lead: partner might be unsure when you have led an unusually high card (from their point of view), but that should not be a consideration here, since partner will surely play their highest card and also return the suit later; and, the lead of the THREE might, however, give declarer the wrong impression of your hand and expect you to have only a four card suit, and possibly play the hand on that assumption, and take the wrong line if there is an alternative. A lesson you will learn later in your defensive play: if you can mislead declarer without any risk of misleading your partner, do it!

1 b) Your hand sitting South:

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AKT83

JT9

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South has opened 1S, North raised to 3S, and South gone to game in 4S. You have the same hand, but the bidding and contract are different. Totally different! This situation is totally different because now opponents have a TRUMP suit, spades. There has been no real indication about opponents’ distribution or side suits but you have a 100% clear cut lead this time. One of our American experts has coined the phrase: “God didn’t deal you AK in a suit for you to lead any other suit.” He was of course talking in context, and with opponents having decided on their own trump suit. Your only hope and expectation in this instance would seem to be two heart tricks plus anything else that might come during the play. You can hope for two heart tricks but certainly no more, unless a third comes when partner is short in the suit and can ruff the third heart. I think most people will agree that the clear cut opening lead against 4S is the ace of hearts. What happens after that will be governed by two things: what you see in dummy and what your partner has to say in response to your ace of hearts opening lead. Here is where it is so important that you and your partner have an agreement on opening leads, from aces down to the ‘pip’ cards, and as well as that, a SIGNALLING system that both of you have agreed on and know how to follow. You just can not defend against any contract without knowing what the card your partner has led means, and what, in turn, your partner has signalled in response to the lead. A defence has to be planned and executed well, just as declarer has to plan and execute that part of the play.