[paulg]

Scoring: IMP

    2NT
3♥ 3♠
4♠ Pass

---

This is not a trick or deep question, just helping me provide advice to an improving U20 player.

The opponents have a transfer auction to 4♠ denying slam interest. The strong hand is on your right.

What leads do you consider?

Thanks

Paul

[hrothgar]

I lead the appropriate club.

Here is my reasoning:

I don't want to lead (or worse yeat underlead) an Ace, so Hearts are right out.

If I am going to lead a suit headed by the Queen, I prefer to lead from a six card suit rather than a three card suit. (Less chance that I might establish declarer's suit, More chance that declarer has some two card holding where my Queen won't be carrying weight)

The real decision would seem to boil down to a spade versus a club.

I don't want to lead a Spade. I risk blowing a tempo. Partner could easily be long in Spades, so there is a decent chance that I'd be finessing partner.

I suspect that better players than I will recommend some other lead...

[helene_t]

Small diamond, just in case we need to set up a diamond trick before dummy's diamonds disappear on declarer's hearts.

Clubs are less likely to achieve the same, but otoh we might set up a club ruff for p. Not so likely and maybe p has enough trump lenght/strength that he doesn't want a ruff anyway.

Trump lead could help declarer guess the suit right. This is true for diamonds as well but I don't think a trump lead can achieve anything.

A heart lead is very bad, maybe we have two heart tricks if I don't lead a heart and only one if I do, and it's unlikely to achieve anything.

[gwnn]

♦. the most likely source of tricks

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

Are you sure, no slam interest?

With shown slam interest, the answer would be to go agressive,
but I am not going to lead spades and diamonds, and leading the
Ace does not look good either, so club it is.

But I think, even when slam inerest was denied, clubs is best.
Club is most likely the suit, which provides the safest lead as well.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[gnasher]

Trumps are breaking badly for them, ♦Q is likely to be well-placed, and if partner has any heart honour my hearts are useful too. A passive lead seems called for, and a club is the the closest I can get. My length in the suit makes it more likely that the ace or king will be unprotected by small cards, and less likely that they'll have a useful discard if I do give them a trick with the jack.

[OleBerg]

Putting it slightly less elegant than Gnasher:

Fourth in the longest and strongest. Not a hand to ingenious on.

[jdonn]

hrothgar, on Jan 4 2010, 02:39 PM, said:

I lead the appropriate club.

Here is my reasoning:

I don't want to lead (or worse yeat underlead) an Ace, so Hearts are right out.

If I am going to lead a suit headed by the Queen, I prefer to lead from a six card suit rather than a three card suit. (Less chance that I might establish declarer's suit, More chance that declarer has some two card holding where my Queen won't be carrying weight)

The real decision would seem to boil down to a spade versus a club.

I don't want to lead a Spade. I risk blowing a tempo. Partner could easily be long in Spades, so there is a decent chance that I'd be finessing partner.

I suspect that better players than I will recommend some other lead...

I think your reasoning is perfect all around.

[paulg]

Thanks everyone for explaining so concisely.

[bluecalm]

The choice is between ♣ and ♦.
I am not convinced either way. ♣ looks standard but I am not buying argument about "obvious source of tricks". It's not obvious to me that it's more likely we need to cash our club tricks before they got discarded on clubs or hearts or that we need to cash diamonds for similar reasons.

Anyway, I lead club. Even if it's close I prefer normal leads to make it easier for partner to read hands.