From our first Tuesday session of 2025 come two interesting deals where what we have discussed about opening leads can make all the difference to the result. That is why we have agreements about opening leads.
Board 11
Dealer South Nil Vul
I don’t expect any South would open a weak 2H with that assortment, nor would I expect North to get too carried away when East competes in spades but some Norths did end up in No Trumps, one or two even in 3NT! That would be when North has either forced in the bidding and got a forced response (or two) in hearts, or just bid 2NT or even 3NT more in hope than expectation. East’s ‘book’ lead is the jack of spades from the interior sequence. But the ten is a better lead IF you have an agreement that from interior sequences you will lead the TEN, so that partner can know it is likely to be an interior sequence. But then again, another option is the fourth highest seven, which in fact turns out best because the jack or ten blocks the suit. My own recommendation though, given that the bidding has shown that declarer will have a strong hand with spades stopped and nothing useful in hearts, is to try the ace of hearts. The lead of an (A)ce against a NT contract is asking for (A)ttitude and can be from specifically AKx OR AQx if you have read some of my ramblings from earlier. When East leads the HA, the heart situation becomes crystal clear and four rounds of hearts is extremely embarrassing to declarer, who has to find FOUR discards from hand! And even if declarer keeps all four spades, a low spade from West to East’s ten and a spade back to the king gives the defence the first nine tricks, a good lesson to anyone who wants to bid while ignoring everyone else at the table!
Q982
AK76
AKQT7