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4th from Longest


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Our convention card indicates the lead is 4th from longest when defending against A NT contract.

In the real world Is a deviation from the CC a legal lead?

If the lead is deviation from the CC and consequently defeats the contract can the director be called and what is the penalty ?

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Hi Resnad, welcome to the forum!

 

You can lead what you want. That is an important principle: The lead itself can never be an infraction. Only the way you filled in your CC can be an infraction (if 4th best is not your true partnership understanding).

 

If you deviate from the lead and it damages declarer because he trusts your lead to be 4th best, the director may investigate.

 

The director may conclude that your deviation can be explained by you thinking that the 4th best could cost a trick or would be difficult to read as a small card by partner. In that case there is no issue.

 

But if you led the 3rd or 5th for no particular reason then the incident may be recorded. If it happens often, it is evidence that 4th best is not your true partnership agreement and you need to disclose it differently.

 

Note that if you defeated the contract because you found a technically better lead of the 3rd or the 5th then there is no reason to adjust the score.

 

It is only if the director judges that 4th best is not your real partnership understanding, and declarer took a line that was reasonable given the information that you lead 4th best, and he went down because he was misled by the signal, that he may decide to adjust the score.

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It's absolutely fair ball for tactical reasons as long as your partner is unaware.

 

In a KO match I once got the 2 lead (4th best) against my spade grand slam and with several options for my 13th trick I ruffed a club in dummy.

 

Over ruffed, the leader had 7 of them. It was a push on the same lead!

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1NT(12-14)-X(penalty)-XX(penalty)-AP.

 

True to his card, Opening leader led his fourth-best...J. Of 7.

 

Ah well, at least I have a story.

 

On the topic: I have nothing to say that hasn't been said. "your system is an agreement with partner, not a promise to opponents." However, "your system consists of agreements, express *and implied*, generated through discussion *and experience*. Failure to disclose an agreement discovered through shared experience is just as much Misinformation as an agreement explicitly discussed."

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If i didn't lead the 4th ( being a 2 ) with the only excuse that it would give declarer my shape (4.4.4.1) after my first discard on a lead of the singleton suit.

Is that sufficient reason.

 

Quite sufficient--it may backfire if partner misreads that hand, but may gain if declarer does. A legitimate falsecard.

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