[ArtK78]

A simple opening lead problem. For what it is worth, it is the last round of a small sectional Swiss Team event, and you are playing for the win.

You hold:

Scoring: IMP

1♦ - 1♥
4♣ - 4♦
4♠ - 6♥

---

4♣ was a splinter.

Your lead.

[hanp]

I'd lead the spade jack.

[hrothgar]

From the sounds of things

The Ace of Spades is on your left
The Ace of Diamonds is on your right

You have a couple reasonable choices

1. Lead a club (hoping to find parter with the Ace)
2. Lead a Spade, put declarer on an immediate guess, and hope to get in when they lose their Diamond finesse

I lean towards the Club lead. The Spade has the chance to go spectacularly wrong...

[Codo]

Had this not been posted, I had tried a club...

[ArtK78]

Codo, on Sep 13 2010, 08:59 AM, said:

Had this not been posted, I had tried a club...

Yes, that is always an issue with presenting an opening lead problem.

[hanp]

Could you explain your choice of the club lead Codo?

FWIW I assumed that RHO did not necessarily cue diamonds, in practice I might (should?) have asked. It's pretty hard though to construct a hand for LHO without the diamond ace that is consistent with the auction.

[Fluffy]

I'd always lead a spade here, LHO's fragment after a splinter, and my holding is not particurarilly relevant.

[pooltuna]

♠J looks like the best chance to put declarer on an immediate guess and before he can discard any ♠ from his hand on the set up ♦. Not sure where the A♣ trick is disappearing if partner has it.

[ArtK78]

Thanks for the replies. I was just curious as to the choice of the Forum members.

There is no lead that beats the slam, but I took some heat for not leading a spade. The full hand:

Scoring: IMP

1♦ - 1♥
4♣ - 4♦
4♠ - 6♥

---

After declarer claimed, I asked him what he would have done on a spade lead. He said he would have finessed the diamond. This was before I let him know where the ♦K was.

[655321]

We have 5 small clubs and there is a singleton club on our left. A club lead just seems horrible to me.

[cherdanno]

A spade looks quite obvious.

[Codo]

I still do not understand the spade lead.

From the bidding you know that long diamonds, 4 hearts and the ace of spades are on your left.

You have very seldom a slow trick to come, because all slow losers will go on the long diamonds. So, playing partner for the spade queen could be too slow.

OTOH: They did not blackwood, it is entirely possible that you have two cashing aces- or one ace and a trump trick.

Yes this is far fetched. But how likely is it, that you will gain the lead AND be able to catch a spade trick even when partner holds the queen?

Surely not on the actual hand.

[hanp]

If we have the club ace and a slow trick I think the slow trick is very likely to be a spade trick. If we lead a club, the slow spade trick may go away on the clubs, or declarer will be able to set up diamonds, using club ruffs as entries to dummy.

[Codo]

Which hand do you think about where we can have a slow spade trick without a diamond trick?

And I doubt that entries to dummy is an issue for declarer after this bidding anyway...