[hrothgar]

Here's an interesting hand from yesterday:

You hold

---

RHO opens 1N and you overcall 2♠.
LHO bids 3N which ends the auction.

Name your poison and explain why

[pclayton]

I'm assuming 3N denies a stop?

Just a small spade. My spots and my entries aren't good enough to try a high spade and spear a stiff J or K in dummy. If I give declarer #9 with the lead, thats life. I think its way more likely pard has a doubleton spade and declarer needs to knock out a card for 9.

At MPs I think I'd stay off a spade lead, but it's not clear.

Pard has roughly 2 to 7 points. Even if pard has clubs (which is a long shot), its far from clear I should lead them.

[mikeh]

A non spade requires that partner have either the Jx(x) or that the suit be 2=2 in the opps's hands and that partner has 3 of them (or the ♠ are 1=2 and partner have an even less probable 4 card holding).

If I were to lead a non-♠, it would be a ♥, since dummy may well hold a good minor but will not hold 4+♥.

However, the realistic lead (altho, I suspect, not the winning lead) is a low ♠.

PS I am also assuming, as does Phil, that 3N denies a stop: if it promised a stop I'd lead the ♠Q while if is was uninformative, I'd lead a low ♠

[FrancesHinden]

Low spade, and live with it.
I'm not going to get hung up over the whole 'promises or denies' thing. I play 3NT in this auction as "showing" a stop (I can bid 2NT then 3NT to deny) but if 3NT looks like the right call I'll bid 3NT holding, say, Jxx if there's no real prospect of playing anywhere else.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

spade, small.

Declarer most likely will hold KJx,
i.e. waiting to get partner on lead, wont
establish the suit, if you lead anything
else, you bet on it that declarer has only
one stopper.
The risk that giving away a spade trick
is also present, if you lead something
different.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[Flame]

If 3NT show stop i lead the Q♠ if it deny stoper Ill lead a small ♠.

[Free]

IF we're afraid of giving away a ♠ trick (which we certainly do if we lead it), ♥ seems the only alternative. LHO hasn't tried to find a fit, and opener has maximum 4 or 5.

I think I'm not that afraid, so I'll lead a small ♠.

[cherdano]

I disagree with the ♠Q lead even if LHO had promised the K. The problem is it only works if declarer misguesses which defender has the entry.

I think in all cases that matter partner has a doubleton, and not the Jack. Now if
- dummy has Kx and declarer has Jxx, low wins, and queen loses if declarer ducks
- dummy has Kxx and declarer has Jx, low loses, but queen only wins if declarer covers with the K - why should he?

I think Queen from holdings like this one can only be right if we have an entry.

Arend

[akhare]

Q♠ -- I suppose this can blow a trick if dummy has JXX and declarer has Kx, but caters to many other holdings.

[cherdano]

akhare, on Oct 20 2006, 10:30 PM, said:

Q♠ -- I suppose this can blow a trick if dummy has JXX and declarer has Kx, but caters to many other holdings.

Which one?

[Flame]

cherdano, on Oct 20 2006, 03:32 PM, said:

akhare, on Oct 20 2006, 10:30 PM, said:

Q♠ -- I suppose this can blow a trick if dummy has JXX and declarer has Kx, but caters to many other holdings.

Which one?

Your points about not leading the Q is good, but its far from obvious to declarer to find the duck when needed and sometimes even the duck wont help because he wont have enough tricks for the 3NT.
I think if if the K is marked with LHO leading the Q will win more then leading small' yet i agree it got less to win then i initially thought and i wont lead it unless im sure the K is there.

[pclayton]

Leading the Q doesn't pay off. If dummy has Kxx and declarer has Jx, holding up is routine.

But leading the Q could be detrimental if declarer has KJx and pard a doubleton. Pard will probably place declarer with AKx and pard may make a desparate shift when the spade suit is cashing.

[cherdano]

pclayton, on Oct 21 2006, 06:35 PM, said:

But leading the Q could be detrimental if declarer has KJx and pard a doubleton. Pard will probably place declarer with AKx and pard ay make a desparate shift when the spade suit is cashing.

Declarer can also duck with KJx. Really, the queen lead only works when partner's entry is an ace (in which case I admit declarer may well misguess). Otherwise declarer knows who has the entry and has to find the duck.

Arend