A cautionary tale

[Cyberyeti]

[hv=d=e&v=b&s=s1093h865d97532c95]133|100|Scoring: IMP[/hv]

 

You hear unopposed from the opps:

 

1♣-1♦

1♠-2♥

3♣-4N

5♦-6N

 

At this point partner doubles, this goes P-P- and after a long tank LHO bids 7♣ which partner also doubles, your lead:

[hanp]

It sounds like partner has the AK in some suit. It is safe to assume that this suit is not clubs.

 

Surely RHO would not bid 6NT with club support missing the AK of hearts or diamonds. Their partner can easily have shortness there, so they'd bid 6C instead. But with a very strong hand and Qx in spades it is somewhat believable, if partner doesn't have the ace or king of spades then at least 6C isn't making either.

 

I'll go with a spade lead.

[vuroth]

I agree that partner has AK. I was tempted to try hearts before I read han's post, but I think he's got it right.

[mikeh]

The double of 6N called for an opening lead of a club...dummy's first bid suit...at least, this is the traditional meaning of a Lightner double of a voluntarily bid slam with us silent. However, we can deduce that this is not the case here...or, rather, that we don't need to lead clubs if it were.

 

It is a good thing that LHO didn't work this out....he is looking at solid clubs, I assume...so should have known that the double was a gift from the heavens....

 

Typical layout: Jxxx x Qx AKQJxx opposite Qx AKQx AKJ10x xx

 

So here, a spade seems clear.

 

Two wrongs can make a right, it seems. The double of 6N eliminates the chance of beating the contract, while the runout to 7♣ clues us in to the correct lead.....which is the suit that one would expect to lead were the contract 6N undoubled.....no way one is leading one of declarer's suits on this auction, and declarer will usually, on this type of auction, need to attack clubs anyway, leaving only the spade suit.

 

BTW, a layout consistent with the double of 6N being 'correct' would be something like AKxx x Qx KJ10xxx opposite Qx AKQx AKJ10x xx.

[Cyberyeti]

The double of 6N called for an opening lead of a club...dummy's first bid suit...at least, this is the traditional meaning of a Lightner double of a voluntarily bid slam with us silent. However, we can deduce that this is not the case here...or, rather, that we don't need to lead clubs if it were.

 

It is a good thing that LHO didn't work this out....he is looking at solid clubs, I assume...so should have known that the double was a gift from the heavens....

 

Typical layout: Jxxx x  Qx AKQJxx opposite Qx AKQx AKJ10x xx

 

So here, a spade seems clear.

 

Two wrongs can make a right, it seems. The double of 6N eliminates the chance of beating the contract, while the runout to 7♣ clues us in to the correct lead.....which is the suit that one would expect to lead were the contract 6N undoubled.....no way one is leading one of declarer's suits on this auction, and declarer will usually, on this type of auction, need to attack clubs anyway, leaving only the spade suit.

 

BTW, a layout consistent with the double of 6N being 'correct' would be something like AKxx x Qx KJ10xxx opposite Qx AKQx AKJ10x xx.

The double of 6N said he was on lead against that with an AK <_<

 

I led a spade, in fact it didn't matter.

 

Dummy was AKQ, AK93, QJT86, K

 

Declarer had J542, Q72, VOID, AQJ863

 

Partner has 876, JT4, AK4, T742

 

What I said to partner was that even if 7♣ was losing a diamond, there was every chance that I'd find the wrong lead and the diamond would go west on dummy's hearts. I had a much smaller objection to the double if partner would have been on lead against the likely running place.

 

Anyway the double turned +100 into -2330.