[MickyB]

Scoring: IMP

4♣-P-6♣-AP, your choice?

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[gwnn]

♦ wtp?

[655321]

Nothing is particularly attractive.

I don't like to lead a club or a heart from these holdings.

A spade is possible, but because we have 6 spades, even if we set up a winner on the lead, declarer may have a singleton i.e. there is (the usual) risk in leading from the King, with not so much upside when it works.

So a diamond is left. But there is still a problem of which diamond. Leading low will work if it frightens declarer out of taking a finesse. But declarer will expect us to lead from a king, and with the strong hand in dummy is likely to finesse anyway. Leading the King will work better in some positions, if we can't afford to block the diamonds, or don't want to get thrown in with the diamond later on, etc.

OK, in the forums perhaps I lead a low diamond anyway. Not sure that I would do that in real life. Perhaps a spade in real life. If declarer does have a singleton it is a safe lead, if he doesn't perhaps we can set up a spade trick.

[ochinko]

♠J. What are the odds that RHO has ♠Q and ducks in dummy? It may not develop a trick, but at least looks safe.

[FrancesHinden]

I know the hand, and I would still lead a spade.
While a diamond is attractive, there's a good chance that diamonds is dummy's suit. My second choice is a heart.

[mikeh]

LHO rates to be gambling with his leap to slam, and our hand suggests that this gamble may have paid off.

The small diamond lead is sexy, but I don't see why it should be a favourite to work even if declarer has to decide whether to hook at trick one, risking a quick set if we have a stiff.

This type of gambit works best when we have a surprise in store... we expect to take a trick in a suit where declarer thinks he has no loser. Thus, if we held Qxx in trump, the diamond makes a lot more sense.. picture

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We have no such surprise.. so, even tho I sense, from France's post, that a diamond may have worked out, I am leading as she does.. a spade.. the J to be precise.. I don't see any merit to the Sexy K... playing rho to have the stiff Queen and to duck if we lead the J does not appeal.

[Mosene]

I was leading the spade jack (for the same reason - diamonds are likely to be the long suit of the 6 club bidder). That sounds like the losing play though on the hand in question.

[whereagles]

Diamond is way too risky. RHO has hcps and might very well have a tenace. Spade is risky, but a bit less.

That leaves a heart and a club. I'll do the heart.

[Echognome]

whereagles, on Oct 29 2008, 02:23 PM, said:

Diamond is way too risky. RHO has hcps and might very well have a tenace. Spade is risky, but a bit less.

That leaves a heart and a club. I'll do the heart.

RHO is the preemptor!

I think a small diamond is the sexy lead, but of course the ♠K is another lead trying to get into the paper.

The ♠J seems the normal lead, although I certainly understand that the lead choices here are not too lovely.

[whereagles]

Oh, right. Saw it the other way. Then a diam is less risky, but I'll still go with a heart. Diam is the cunning lead, typical of a fox-style player

[MickyB]

When I held this, Andrew Robson was declarer. I led the JS, giving him a problem at trick one -

Scoring: IMP

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He went up with the AS and took the ruffing diamond finesse. Forrester led the KD at the other table, which made me think I'd done the "wrong" thing

[paulg]

MickyB, on Oct 29 2008, 11:10 PM, said:

When I held this, Andrew Robson was declarer. I led the JS, giving him a problem at trick one -

Dealer: East Vul: ???? Scoring: IMP

♠ Ax ♥ AKxx ♦ AQJxx ♣ Kx ♠ Qxx ♥ xx ♦   ♣ QJTxxxxx

He went up with the AS and took the ruffing diamond finesse. Forrester led the KD at the other table, which made me think I'd done the "wrong" thing 

Doing the same as Forrester is not a bad aim in bridge.

p

[FrancesHinden]

The clubs were actually Jx in dummy and KQ109 to 8 with declarer.

At our table we got a very slow jack of spades lead (I can no longer remember who from, but it was someone usually considered pretty good). My partner correctly decided to run the opening lead.

I think Andy may have insulted you by rising, because the ruffing diamond finesse line is worse odds, unless you believe that LHO wouldn't lead from the KJ10 of spades. I imagine that's the sort of insult you can live happily with, however.

(I remember the first time I played against Forrester, when he was kind enough to play in an invitation event against my university team. He went off in a slam taking an anti-percentage line because he believed my count signals - I guess I looked innocent.)

[P_Marlowe]

A spade.

As it is, the auction calls for an agressive
lead.

If you want to go passive, the alternative is
a trump, but I dont lead a single trump.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[gnasher]

I led a low diamond, so I must be as good as Forrester.

My reasons for choosing a diamond were:

- If dummy's suit is diamonds, our best chance is that declarer has an unexpected trump loser and can be induced to take DA on the first round.

- Apart from that chance, if dummy's suit is diamonds, the suit lies so well that we're probably not beating it. If, on the other hand, dummy's suit is hearts, my heart holding, partner's trump holding and a diamond winner may add up to enough to beat it.

[Edmunte1]

I would have lead ♠ too. Dummy has often a source of tricks (♦ or ♥). If that source is ♦'s leading diamond is bad, if it's hearts spade or diamond could work both, assuming that they have a trump loser (diamond has a bigger chance obviously). Going back to real life, what would have been the killing lead considering that declarer didn't have the ♠Q?