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PLAY and DEFENCE for Improving Players
OVERBIDDING SHOULD NOT PAY
“They overbid to a silly slam and it was just too hard to find the lead to beat it” said a mournful South after a slam had slithered home giving the defenders a rank bottom board. Judge for yourself whether you think our South had good cause to moan their bad luck.
So, guess what?! You are South holding:
8762
109
853
K964 and with just the opponents vulnerable, hear the following:
West North East South
1 Pass
2 Pass 3 Pass
3 Pass 4NT Pass
5 1 Pass 6 All Pass
1 one ace
What would your choice be?
There’s the possibility of leading through dummy’s first bid suit, of trying the unbid suit, maybe declarer’s second bid suit or maybe a trump. There was only one successful lead on this occasion.
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The heart lead made at the table did not trouble the declarer who won the lead in hand and switched immediately to the J. North could win their ace now or not at all. If they ducked, East would play a trump to dummy and play a top diamond, discarding clubs if North still withheld their ace. There was just no defence.
Only a club lead beats the slam as then a club trick is lost by declarer after North wins their A.
On some days, a trump lead might be a winner for a positive reason of reducing tricks in a cross-ruff. Had you led a trump for that reason, I would have some sympathy but it seems the lead of either red suit, especially a heart requires partner to have almost certainly two honours to be a winner. Too often, it will be a passive lead or maybe even worse giving up a two way finesse.
The lead which requires least from partner is a club. It is true that this lead could be disastrous if declarer or dummy had AQ and that only a club lead allows the contract to make. On many occasions when declarer has AQ, the contract will be cold and at worst, you have only given up the overtrick.
By leading a club, you hope your partner has the queen and declarer has to lose a trick before clubs can be discarded, as above, or that your partner has the ace and that two clubs tricks can be taken, quickly.
Even if you did not guess right (and opening leads are so often a “guess”), I hope you were positive, so often the only attitude to have to beat 6 of a suit slam.
Ps. Where had East-West overbid their hands? All was well until that 3 bid by West. Presumably 3 promised a game-going hand with 5+ spades. Thus, West should have bid 4, fast-arrival style, showing a minimum hand for their 2 response. That should have slowed East down, though just maybe East should have been a bit more cautious having a singleton, not the best holding in partner’s suit. However, this time, the blame should have gone to West…though +1430 was ample compensation.
Richard Solomon
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