March 2024 - 51

Newer Players
Defensive Basics
BY LARRY COHEN
larrycohen.com
I
Opening leads against notrump contracts
n the previous two months on
opening lead, we were happy. We
had either a sequence, or we had
a partner who showed a suit. Unfortunately,
most times you are on lead,
neither of those will be the case. Then
what?
This month we will be on lead
against notrump (next month against
suit contracts).
Leading against notrump isn't too
complicated. Essentially, we want to
lead our best suit (as long as it wasn't
bid by the opponents). Best means
longest. If a tie for the longest, then
the stronger of those two suits.
We can lead from any holding, even
from an ace (a no-no against suit
contracts). Without a sequence (as
described in January), we lead our
fourth-highest card in the suit. For
example:
From A-Q-7-6-5, lead the 6.
From J-10-6-4-2, lead the 4.
From J-10-9-4-2, lead the jack
(because it is three in a row, as described
in January).
From A-10-9-8-2, lead the 10
(the top of the interior sequence, as
described in January).
Lessons Learned
continued from page 48
singleton gets; dummy is known to
have heart length, and West potentially
has a natural trump trick (as
is the case here). That said, it's still a
singleton and we like leading singletons
generally and there's no other
lead that looks very attractive single
dummy (without peeking at all four
hands). As declarer, your opponents
will sometimes help you out if you're
able to take advantage. 2
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March 2024 | Bridge Bulletin |
51
From K-J-3-2, lead the 2.
From K-Q-10-3-2, lead the king
(because it is 2 1/2 in a row as described
in January).
Because length trumps strength,
lead the h5 from 10-7-6-5-2 instead
of the s2 from Q-9-7-2. Lead
the sQ from Q-J-9-8 instead of the
hK from K-Q-10. Lead the s6 from
Q-J-7-6-3 instead of a diamond
from K-Q-7-2.
What if our two suits are approximately
equal? Maybe we have
sK 8 6 2 and dQ 10 5 3. We should
prefer to lead the major. Our opponents
would not have settled into notrump
with an eight-card major-suit
fit (but they might easily have an
eight-card or longer minor-suit fit).
If partner has shown a suit, we
would tend to lead that suit instead
of our own suit. If partner opens 1c,
and you have not much in clubs, but
Q-J-10-9-8 in some other suit, it's
OK to lead your suit. But say partner
opens 1h and you are on lead against
3NT with:
sJ 8 7 6 5 h4 3 dQ 8 7 6 c3 2.
You should lead a heart, trying
to set up partner's suit; he has the
stronger hand with likely entries. If
instead you guess to lead your own
suit, you'd better be right, especially
if playing with your spouse.
QUIZ
After 1NT-Pass-3NT-All Pass,
what should you lead with:
1 sQ J 10 9 hA J 3 2 d5 4 c4 3 2
2 sK 8 7 6 5 hA 10 3 dA 2 c6 5 4
3 sJ 3 2 hK J 10 9 8 dA 3 2 cQ 2
4 sQ 8 3 2 hJ 2 dQ 9 3 2 c10 3 2
After 1h-(1NT)-Pass-(3NT), what
should you lead with:
5 sK J 3 2 h10 d7 6 5 4 c8 7 6 5
6 sK Q J 10 9 h2 d8 3 2 c8 7 6 5
After the opponents bid 1d-Pass-
1s-Pass; 1NT-Pass-3NT-All Pass,
what should you lead with:
7 sA 10 3 2 hJ 10 9 dQ 7 6 5 c3 2
8 sQ 3 2 hJ 9 3 2 dJ 3 2 cJ 3 2

http://www.larrycohen.com
March 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2024
