Playing against Sam Spade, you find yourself on lead against 10 straight spade contracts. Choose the winning lead and you will win a priceless black bird, or at least a few falcon IMPs.
Choose your lead from the two options offered, then compare your choice with the two experts who faced the 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, youre a falcon hero!
Your lead? A 10
Nick Nickell led the 10. Down 2 +500.Ralph Katz led the A. Down 1 +200.
Your lead? 5 K
Howard Weinstein led the 5. Down 2 +100.Bob Hamman led the K. Down 1 +50.
Your lead? K 2
Geir Helgemo led the K. Down 2 +200.Alan Sontag led the 9. Made 2 -110.
Note: Choices offered by this quiz assume standard leads, so the 2 was substituted for Sontags 9.
Your lead? 6 3
David Berkowitz led the 3. Down 1 +100.Fred Gitelman led the 7. Made 3 -140.
Your lead? K 10
Alfredo Versace led the K. Down 2 +100.Steve Robinson led the 10. Made 2 -110.
Your lead? Q 4
Sidney Lazard led the Q. Down 3 +300.Bob Hamman led the 2. Down 1 +100.
Your lead? 6 K
Hugh McGann led the K. Down 1 +50.Sjoert Brink led the 6. Made 4 -420.
Your lead? 4 4
Peter Boyd led the 6. Made 4 -620.Lew Stansby led the 4. Made 6 -680.
Your lead? 8 4
Jeff Meckstroth led the 4. Made 4 -620.Giorgio Duboin led the 2. Made 6 -680.
Your lead? 3 J
Carlos Pelligrini led the 10. Made 3 -140.Gabriel Chagas led the 3. Made 5 -200.
Results and IMP scores are determined from actual play, so the winning lead is not necessarily correct in theory nor proves anything. This is how it happened in a major event! Therefore, luck is a big factor in your score.
If you finished with plus IMPs, Im sorry to inform you: I just ran out of priceless black birds, so youll have to settle for a rubber ducky. No, wait! Im out of them too, so take your falcon IMPs and get out of here!
Credits to Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) and The Maltese FalconPhoto is Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade in the 1941 film© 2009 Richard Pavlicek