The Unusual Suspects

[daveharty]

[hv=pc=n&s=sa7642hkt7da6cq53&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=pp1sp2s2nppp]133|200[/hv]

 

Matchpoints. The opponents are a pick-up partnership in a side game at the local sectional; East visibly grimaces when West passes 2NT. West, however, is a reasonable player; did he have a brain freeze, or is he crazy like a fox? What is your opening lead?

[Fluffy]

4 of spades

[kenberg]

I also am leading a small spade. I suppose dummy is about to hit with substantial spade length, and several hearts as well. But I am not staring opponent's minors for them, and a spade seems more sensible than a heart. My guess is that partner does not have much, no one forced him to pass, and probably 2NT is making. I'm still leading a spade.

[helene_t]

what about the ace if spades ? declarer could have a sec king or queen

[Fluffy]

or partner Q10x

[TylerE]

I like a small heart here

[Zelandakh]

Let's start by asking West about 2NT. Presumably it was not alerted...

[daveharty]

Let's start by asking West about 2NT.

"No agreement."

[FM75]

No agreement. LOL.

 

The grimace clearly shows that it was intended as Unusual 2NT. Partner supported spades.

 

Either LHO did not take it as Unusual, or he has absurdly short minors.

If he did not interpret it as Unusual, then he must be assuming his partner has a spade stop.

 

I expect few will agree, but here, I am leading the ♠A. That gives me a look at dummy,

and I get some help from partner. I do not expect to be finessing partner with this play, since

RHO is short in spades - worst case 3=0 is highly unlikely. Other distributions favor, my second,

lead to be finessing W. I get to tell partner how to get back to me, after he runs spades.

[JonnyQuest]

I do not expect to be finessing partner with this play, since

RHO is short in spades...

No kidding :D

 

- worst case 3=0 is highly unlikely.

Huh? How many ♠'s do you think your partner has?

 

Other distributions favor, my second,lead to be finessing W. I get to tell partner how to get back to me, after he runs spades.

Huh? All two of them that remain? :blink:

[masse24]

♠4

 

West is loaded.

Maybe, as Fluffy suggested, partner has ♠QTx.

♥'s scare me. (I am assuming West has those as well)

My guess is West has a 1NT strength hand but that it is somehow flawed for that overcall and he passed 1♠ awaiting developments? Maybe 5=4=2=2

 

I hate any other lead for the reasons mentioned by others above.

[PhilKing]

West is going to be something like 4522 or 5422, maybe even 5521.

 

Leading, of all things, fourth highest of our longest suit, rates to be pretty safe and constructive. Yes, declarer could have a stiff honour, but so what? Leading the ace is still not going to help much when partner holds three, and could be catastrophic.

[Zelandakh]

"No agreement."

And what are their meta-agreements for bids with no agerement? I do not believe that this explanation meets the criteria for full disclosure.

 

 

Either LHO did not take it as Unusual, or he has absurdly short minors.

If he did not interpret it as Unusual, then he must be assuming his partner has a spade stop.

If he interpreted it as Unusual, or indeed as any 2 suits, then it requires an alert and an entry in the explanation imho (not what it is being taken as but the logic why). In EBUland this is explicit.

[Phil]

Just lead a low spade. Even if your LHO is competent, there may be an element of panic in the pass. With some luck, partner has something useful in the suit.

 

If RHO has hearts and a minor (very possible) a heart lead would be very bad.

[mikeh]

The spade A is incredibly dangerous and caters to a vanishingly small target.

 

In real life I know I would always lead the low spade. I suspect, however, that the heart K was the winning lead :P

 

It is easy to see how and why 'hearts are us': give dummy KQJ10x AJxx and 2=2 minors, probably with at least one honour.

[daveharty]

Mike's example hand was pretty much it. I led a low spade and dummy hit with KQJ9x Ax xxx xxx, and when partner's ten fell dummy was worth four tricks rather than just one. A heart was the best lead, partner had QJxxx.

[Zelandakh]

West so clearly interpreted East's 2NT bid as natural. There is a thread in the Laws section at the moment where bluejak complains about players being suspicious of "No agreement" as an explanation. Does anyone seriously believe full disclosure was provided here? In cases like this you can squarely put me in the skeptical camp. What would our more experienced players do next? Is this "rub of the green" or would you ask the TD to investigate whether there was a CPU/MI?

 

Edit: Dummy should presumably have corrected the explanation before the opening lead too if they had (non-GBK) reasons to believe that their 2NT bid would be understood. And if they did not then why did they make the call? Not that there was damage from that after the reaction but if we are playing serious bridge then they should at least pretend to be following the Laws.