As West on these 10 deals, you are on lead against 3 NT. Your hand may be a dog, but only a doggone fool would come unleashed. Choosing the best lead could win some tasty biscuits, I mean IMPs. Decide the card you would lead and enter its suit and rank. For example, if you would lead the A, type CA.
Compare your choice with the two experts who faced the exact same situation in real life and led differently. Click Score Me at any time to see your running score. If you finish plus after 10 boards, you will win a treat! Bone appetit!
Your lead against 3 NT
1999 Spingold Final, Beatty vs Nickell
Billy Eisenberg led the 2. Down 2, +200.Richard Freeman led the 3. Made 3, -600.
2003 Bermuda Bowl Qualifying, Brazil vs Bulgaria
Marcelo Branco led the 8. Made 4, -630.Rossen Gunev led the 5. Made 6, -690.
2005 USBC Semifinal, Welland vs Robinson
Zia Mahmood led the 7. Down 4, +200.Peter Boyd led the 5. Made 3, -400.
2005 Bermuda Bowl Qualifying, England vs Japan
Justin Hackett led the 10. Down 1, +100.Kenji Miyakuni led the 4. Made 4, -630.
2006 USBC Round of 32, Fout vs Onstott
Will Ehlers led the 10. Down 1, +100.Samuel Cohen led the 5. Made 4, -630.
2007 Bermuda Bowl Semifinal, Netherlands vs Norway
Ton Bakkeren led the 4. Down 1, +50.Boye Brogeland led the 6. Made 4, -430.
2007 Bermuda Bowl Qualifying, Argentina vs USA1
Carlos Pellegrini led the J. Down 1, +100.Zia Mahmood led the 8. Made 5, -660.
2008 Spingold Round of 32, Gromov vs Ivatury
Andrey Gromov led the J. Down 1, +100.Bas Drijver led the 10. Made 5, -660.
2009 Vanderbilt Quarterfinal, Katz vs Pszczola vs
Bobby Levin led the J. Down 2, +100.Gary Cohler led the 9. Made 3, -400.
2009 USBC Playoff, Nickell vs Fleisher
Jeff Meckstroth led the J. Down 2, +100.Marty Fleisher led the 10. Made 4, -430.
Results and IMP scores are determined from actual play, so the winning lead is not necessarily correct in theory nor proves anything. This is the way it happened! Scoring gives full credit (plus IMPs) to any lead that would have worked as well as the winning lead.
If you finished with plus IMPs and are wondering where your treat is, Im sorry I lied. Next time you walk into your local pet store on a leash, try to look emaciated, and the owner may throw you a biscuit.
© 2009 Richard PavlicekOutside of a dog paraphrases a quote by Groucho Marx