Prague Day 3 - Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

Board 4. All Vulnerable

Opponents	Partner	Opponents	You
1♦	P	1♥	2♣
3♥	P	4♥	AP

As South, you’re on lead against 4♥, all vulnerable. What’s your best shot?

No lead guarantees success:

• A ♣ or spade lead could easily blow a trick, especially with such fragile holdings.

• A singleton trump might expose partner’s holding or hand declarer improved timing.

• A ♦ lead walks straight into dummy’s first-bid suit, potentially handing declarer an early tempo.

So what did the players choose?

44 out of 78 South players opted for a low ♠ lead. In fact, nine of the ten tables in the top five matches began with a low ♠. The only exception was the tenth table, where 4♥ was played by the other side, so South was not on lead.

Why a spade lead?

A ♠ lead seemed most attractive to these players, likely because it came from neither a tenace nor one of the opponents’ suits. It put immediate pressure on declarer and disrupted their timing. 

The full layout of the hand:

The defense is able to score two ♠’s, the offside ♥K, and a ♣ on a low ♠ lead. 

However, the ♣A lead followed by a ♠ switch would probably have done the job just as well. Declarer would have to bypass the ♥ finesse and then play ♦ to shed ♠ losers, a line they would likely only see if they had a peek at the opponents’ cards.

At five tables where the ace of clubs was led, the defense still managed to defeat the contract. Meanwhile, six tables that led a spade were unable to defeat 4♥, likely due to judgment errors later in the play.