Lesson 2R93 Main
Suit Leads & Signals
by Richard PavlicekLesson 2R93 Main |
| by Richard Pavlicek |
Against suit contracts your main goal is to set up and cash tricks in the side suits. Unlike notrump, the concern is not to establish a long suit, but to make tricks quickly with honor cards or by ruffing. This lesson will offer a few tips and example deals.
Listen to the bidding! You should almost always lead partner’s suit if he has bid, and avoid leading suits bid by the enemy.
In most cases the bidding will not reveal an obvious lead so you must decide based upon your own hand. Experience has shown this to be a good general priority:
Lead a suit in which you have both the ace and king.
Lead a singleton if you desire a ruff.
Otherwise, look for a safe lead such as from an honor sequence, a weak suit
(the longer the better) or a trump (with two or more).
Once you have chosen the suit, the proper card to lead is routine. The basic rules are:
Lead the king from ace-king (except if doubleton, lead the ace).
Lead the ace if you have it.
Lead the king from king-queen.
Lead the top card from an honor sequence if it is solid (J 10 9 2), almost solid (J 10 8 2),
interior (K J 10 7 2) or if it contains only three cards (J 10 2).
Lead high from a doubleton.
Lead low from three cards.
Lead the fourth best card from a four card or longer suit.
1.  |  J 10 5 2 | Trick | Lead | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
 Q J 8 4 | 1. W | K! | 4 | 2! | 5 | ||
 K 5 2 | 2. W | J! | 2 | 8! | Q | ||
 3 2 | 3. S | A | 3 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 4 3 |  | 7 | 4. S | 9 | 4 | 5 | 4
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| A K 7 3 | 10 6 2 | 5. S | 9 | A! | 8 | 6 | |
| J 10 9 4 | A 8 7 | 6. W | 10 | K | A | 3 | |
| J 7 5 | Q 10 9 8 6 4 | 7. E | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5 | |
| A K Q 9 8 6 | Win the rest, down 1 | ||||||
| 9 5
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| Q 6 3
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| 4 South | A K | ||||||
Holding ace-king in the same suit, that is the best lead since you will be able to see dummy and decide what to do next. East should play the 2, his lowest heart to discourage a continuation. (With a doubleton heart East would play his highest, then you would lead the A and another heart to score an immediate ruff.)
At trick two West should lead the J (top of a sequence); North plays the two, East the eight (an encouraging signal), and South wins. Declarer draws trumps and leads a heart won by West; then the 10 will defeat the contract.
| 2. | K 9 3 | Trick | Lead | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| 9 7 3 | 1. W | 4! | 2 | 9 | A | ||
| Q 10 3 2 | 2. S | 2 | A | 3 | 5 | ||
| A 8 3 | 3. W | Q | 3 | A! | 2 | ||
| A 8 4 | | 6 5 | 4. E | 5! | 8 | 4 | 3 |
| Q J 10 8 4 | A 6 5 | Lose 1 more trick, down 1 | |||||
| 4 | 9 7 6 5
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| 7 6 5 4 | K 10 9 2
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| Q J 10 7 2
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| K 2
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| A K J 8
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| 4 South | Q J | ||||||
The singleton diamond is an excellent lead because you have two small trumps and may be able to get a ruff. South wins the diamond and leads a trump which you take with the ace. Your only hope to get a ruff is to put partner on lead so you should shift to the Q.
East should win the A and return a diamond for West to ruff, then West should lead a club. If declarer takes the club finesse, he would go down two (West gets another diamond ruff); and even if declarer is shrewd enough to win the A, he will still end up down one.
| 3. | A K 9 5 | Trick | Lead | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| J 10 9 4 | 1. W | Q! | 3 | 2! | A | ||
| K Q | 2. S | Q | 2 | 5 | 3 | ||
| 6 5 3 | 3. S | 4 | 6 | A | 7 | ||
| 6 2 | | 7 3 | 4. N | J | 2 | 3 | Q |
| A Q 6 5 | 8 7 2 | 5. W | 3! | Q | A | 2 | |
| J 9 3 | A 10 8 6 4 | 6. E | 8! | K | 7 | 5 | |
| Q J 9 7 | 8 4 2 | 7. S | K | A | 4 | 7 | |
| Q J 10 8 4 | 8. W | J | 6 | 4 | 10 | ||
| K 3 | Win the rest, down 1 | ||||||
| 7 5 2
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| 4 South | A K 10 | ||||||
The club sequence is a reasonably safe lead, and East plays the 2 (his lowest) as a discouraging signal. South wins the A and draws two rounds of trumps ending in dummy, then the J is led and ducked to West’s queen. West must not cash his A now; this would be a gift to declarer.
It is tempting to lead another club, but you have to believe your partner; East told you not to. Instead West should shift to the 3; queen, ace. Then East returns a club through declarer. As soon as West gains the lead with his A, he can cash the J as the setting trick.
| 4. | K Q 6 2 | Trick | Lead | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| Q 3 | 1. W | 5! | 4 | K | A | ||
| 10 8 4 | 2. S | 5 | A! | 2 | 4 | ||
| A Q 7 6 | 3. W | Q! | 8 | 2 | 6 | ||
| A 3 | | 7 4 | 4. W | 3 | 10 | 7 | J |
| J 6 5 2 | K 9 8 7 4 | 5. E | 10! | 2 | 3 | Q | |
| Q 9 7 5 3 | K 2 | Lose 1 more trick, down 1 | |||||
| J 3 | 10 9 8 4
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| J 10 9 8 5
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| A 10
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| A J 6
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| 4 South | K 5 2 | ||||||
The long diamond suit is the safest lead, and the fourth-best card is chosen. South captures East’s king with the ace and leads a trump which West wins. West cashes his good Q and leads another diamond for East to ruff. Take that!
So far so good, but East has to be careful. If East were to lead a heart, declarer could make the contract by ducking this around to dummy’s queen (East can deduce that South must have the A for his bidding). Instead East should shift safely to the 10 (top of a sequence), and there is no way for declarer to succeed.
| Lesson 2R93 Main | | Top Suit Leads & Signals |
© 1998 Richard Pavlicek