[Fluffy]

I have seen many lead problems in the forum about leading against 3NT, 6♦ etc, but there is another, not uncommon problem, that is nearly never taken.

That is, what to lead with a trump stack.

I haven't ever read a line of theory in this matter, and my few knowledge comes from experience.


for example I picked yesterday

♠K653
♥AJ10982
♦104
♣Q


And the bidding went, all vul

1♦-(1♥)-pass-(pass)
X-(2♥)-X- all pass

I could see arguments for leading any suit except but trumps, but didn't really know what to do. As the cards lied only a spade gives you a far away chance of 1100, but the most sure thing is that whatever you do it is +800, but what would you lead and why?



now switch your hearts to ♥K107532, same bidding, do you change your lead?


another one similar today, nobody vul

♠10986542
♥K984
♦KJ
♣-


1♦-(X)-1♠-(pass)
2♣-(2♠)-X- all pass

now even a trump is reasonable, what would you lead?

[billw55]

On the first hand, lacking imagination I lead a diamond because partner bid them. Spade seems reasonable too.

On the second hand I have more trumps than declarer and can't give anything away by leading them, so that's my choice.

[Codo]

I would lead trumps if I have good trumps and a side suit to get ruffs with bad trumps...

So in the first example I had lead the jack of hearts. Of course a short side suit could have worked much better, but spade had been my fourth choice.

In the second example I had lead a club. I want to ruff with my low trumps.

In the third I want to ruff again, but declarer pronounced a real strong hand with spades and extra strength, so every suit besides spade can blow a trick and I doubt that I can reach partner often enough to produce 3 ruffs before he can draw trumps himself. So I would lead the ten of spades.

[gnasher]

With this much trump length, we want partner to lead winners through declarer in a suit that we're overruffing, using partner's winners as surrogate trumps.

That usually means leading partner's suit, because that's where he has length and strength and I have shortage. I'd do that on all three of these hands.

This post has been edited by gnasher: 2010-February-10, 09:27

[pooltuna]

1. ♥J
2. ♣Q
3. ♠T

[bid_em_up]

1. Spade. We want partner to be the one to lead a trump through declarer on the first trump lead, if it all possible. If it turns out that he doesn't have one to lead, then a forcing game may be best, and if not, we will still be able to lead the heart Jack at our next opportunity.

2. Club Q. The trumps are not good enough to be able to draw declarers trumps, so we need to score as many trumps of our small trumps as possible. This type of holding is also subject to either being endplayed or being forced to ruff some of partners winners later in the hand if it does not shorten its trump holding as quickly as possible.

3. I would choose the spade 10. At this point, it is uncertain which plan of attack would be best. I want to see dummy before deciding what to do. The spade 10 is the only card that might not blow a crucial trick.

In general, strong trump holdings should attempt to draw declarers trumps or play a forcing game. Long weak(ish) trump holdings go for ruffs.

jmoo.

[Fluffy]

here my own thoughts, wich seem to be completelly different from other people O_o:

1: the key to the hand seems to be not end up endplayed letting declarer score ♥KQ but to kill one of them with the ace, leading the ♥J is the worst thing towards this goal.

Leading spades will shortnen declarer, but with big stacks the one who shortnens quicker often wins. our trumps are solid, and we want them to kill declarer's tinny trumps. Spade is probably worst.

from diamond of clubs, both seem to acomplish the same goal, clubs are safer in a sense, and it might very well be that we find partner with ♦A+♣K and we don't let their ♦K score. On the actual hand declarer had ♣KJ and the ♣Q guessed the suit for him. I went for a diamond willing to overruff, I hated that after ruffing clubs and overruffing diamonds I end up with exactly ♥AJ, and no more entries from partner to promote the jack



2: here my feeling is this: everytime declarer ruffs, we win a trick with one of the tiny hearts: make him ruff as much as possible, I'd lead a spade. Or maybe a diamond.


3: heart is completelly out, we in no way want declarer to use his small trump(s), spade 10 to see dummy looks best after reading other's responses, I led ♦ thinking that I'd enjoy some top clubs from partner before declarer can cash 2 or 3 heart winners, partner had ♣KQ but he didn't have the entries to cash his club trick.

[bid_em_up]

Think about how you would play the hand if you were declaring and then defend in the same manner.

jmoo.