[jchiu]

You hold ♠ Q96 ♥ 742 ♦ 10842 ♣ J63, second-in-hand with neither vulnerable. Your opponents, who are quite competent, bid

1♠ Pass 2♣ Dbl
2♠ Pass 3♠ Pass
4♣ Pass 4♥ Pass
4NT Pass 5♣ Pass
6♠ All Pass

If it matters, you are probably stuck a little more than a dozen IMPs with six boards remaining in a knockout match.

[Gerben42]

Partner got the red suits for his Dbl, yet the ♦ control is behind him but the ♥ control in front. I lead a ♥.

[Fluffy]

He also failed to double 4♥, I lead a diamond.

[FrancesHinden]

I lead a heart as they are shorter.

Partner didn't double 4H because he has honours in both red suits, and didn't want to put me off a diamond lead.

As it is, I have no honour in either suit so it's a guess. Leading through the heart control and up to the diamond control is irrelevant; we are hoping to set a red suit king up to go with our supposed spade trick, so it's the location of the red suit queens and/or the length of the red suit holdings that are important. We can't do anything about the red suit queens as we have no information; all we know is that our combined heart holding is likely to be shorter than our combined diamond holding so we have a better chance of setting up a heart trick.

[Free]

When opps are going to slam, don't dbl too much. So I don't think the pass on 4♥ denies wanting a ♥ lead...

Lead ♥. (unless I'm playing against Zia)

[Foxx]

However, you want to get partner off to the right lead, no matter where the opponents land.

When North has doubled for the red suits and then passes over 4♥, he should be expecting that all other things equal, his partner will table a diamond.

On a good day I'll catch the ♦A, or perhaps the ♦KQ.

[cherdano]

FrancesHinden, on Jun 29 2007, 03:43 AM, said:

Leading through the heart control and up to the diamond control is irrelevant; we are hoping to set a red suit king up to go with our supposed spade trick, so it's the location of the red suit queens and/or the length of the red suit holdings that are important. We can't do anything about the red suit queens as we have no information; all we know is that our combined heart holding is likely to be shorter than our combined diamond holding so we have a better chance of setting up a heart trick.

I am not sure I follow this logic. If partner has a king and the only control opponent's have is the ace, then the heart will always work, whereas the diamond will only work if partner has KQ or KJ with the queen onside.

[han]

Ok, heart lead it is.

[bid_em_up]

I would lead a diamond, as it is the loser that declarer might be able to dispose of quickly on the clubs.

[Apollo81]

I would lead a diamond both because partner didn't double 4♥ and because partner's ace is more likely to be the ♦A than the ♥A

[pclayton]

Heart.

I have a hunch I need to take the late entry off the board for the clubs. Could be vital if pard has a slow diamond trick.

[3for3]

In case anyone has noticed, this is the same hand in my thread, lead directing double.

At your table, Jason, you had no shot. If you lead a heart, declarer would pick up your spade holding....

Danny

[jchiu]

3for3, on Jun 30 2007, 03:14 PM, said:

In case anyone has noticed, this is the same hand in my thread, lead directing double.

At your table, Jason, you had no shot. If you lead a heart, declarer would pick up your spade holding....

Danny

Scoring: IMP

---

That's true, I had enough confidence in your teammate's play that I didn't post this here in hopes of beating the hand. I posted it here because I didn't understand my teammate's inference that Tom (my RHO) must be loaded in diamonds to blackwood in this auction. Apparently nobody found that conclusion.

With a diamond lead, Tom saw alternate line to play the spades from the top. If spades were 3-1, this meant clubs were 3-2 unless my partner's hand was exactly 1=4=4=4 or a two-suited freak 1=(5-6)=1. This guarded against 2=5=5=1 distribution with a doubleton queen in the wrong hand.

[TimG]

Why didn't the Blackwooder try for a grand? It would suggest to me that they're off a keycard. And, I'd hate for declarer's stiff diamond to go on the 4th round of clubs while I ruff with my trump trick.

[nige1]