Friday, January 28, 2005 2:40 AM

Defense - Opening Leads

PITBULLS:

Leading blind is dangerous. Good defenders avoid “groping in the dark” almost at all cost. In previous e-mails we have discussed that expert players quite often lead a bare Ace to look at the board instead of guessing what to lead. If the opening leader has an AK combination that lead will almost always hit the table. You can use this inference when partner has overcalled and chooses another lead. This means that he does not have the AK combination in his suit.

The auction goes 1♠-2♦-2♠-3♥ 4♠-X-P-P partner leads the heart Ace and the board hits with

Axx xxx Qxxx xxx and you have xxx KQJ10x xx Qxx . You win the 2^nd heart so now what ? Switch to a club at the speed of light. Partner does not hold the AK of diamonds or he would have preferred that lead. Declarer has the diamond king or Ace therefore we must get our club tricks before a diamond sets up for a club pitch.

Tom Gandolfo had a hand recently against Patty & Leslie that uses the opening lead inference. The contract is 5♥X after Leslie opened a diamond and bid diamonds again at the 5 level vulnerable. Patty had bid 2NT over Tom’s overcall of 1♥ which was invitational showing 10-12 HCP’s. The board was ♠ AJxxx ♥ KJxx ♦ void ♣ xxxx and Tom held ♠ Kxx ♥ A1098x ♦ xxx ♣ Jx . Patty led the 7 of diamonds which Tom ruffed on the board. How do you continue ? This hand is all about the opening lead. Patty should not have the AK of clubs as she would have preferred that lead to look at the board. Therefore we give Leslie either the Ace or King of Clubs. From the lead & bidding Leslie has all the diamond HCP’s. Her opening bid must be AKQ of diamonds and either the Ace or King of clubs. This gives Patty all the remaining HCP’s ! The spade queen , heart queen and AQ of clubs for her 10 HCP’s. Tom leads a a heart to the Ace and finesses the heart and draws trump. Knowing the spade queen is on side he takes 5 spades , 5 hearts and a diamond ruff for making 5♥ doubled.

Lead directing doubles should be used more often than not in IMPS. They prevent partner from “leading blind”. If you get partner off to the correct opening lead and beat the contract you win a bushel of IMPS . If they make their doubled contract you lose only 4 unless they redouble which is very rare. I was playing with a tormentee who opened 1♣ with J10xx Kx Qx AQJ98 . RHO passed and I bid 2♥ with Kxx 1098xxx Jxx x . LHO crawled in with 3♦ and they bid 3NT . I was on opening lead so I was “leading blind” and I had the inference that partner did not support hearts nor did he make a lead directing double for a club lead. I led a spade and it was not a success . If partner doubles for a club lead , we get 3 clubs , a diamond and a spade for down one.

I opened a spade and the opponents competed in hearts and I ended up in 4♠X . The opening leader had Ax of spades and the Ace of hearts . She thought it was safe to lead the heart Ace “blind”. Wrong as my partner held a doubleton heart and I had the heart king . I scored my heart king and a heart ruff for +790. The spade Ace to “look at the board” and a spade continuation I am two down.

Leading blind plays right into the hand of declarer . A “peek” is worth a thousand finesses. Use lead directing doubles and lead bare Aces rather than guessing and leading blind. Unbelievably somebody made 5♦x tonight because the person on lead decided to lead partner’s suit (spade) with xx AKxxx void Jxxxxx instead of the heart Ace. Partner had opened 1 spade in 3^rd seat but it does not matter it is still a “blind lead”. The heart Ace and you give partner a ruff for +500 . A spade lead and you were minus 750.