What do you lead?

[clons]

[hv=pc=n&s=st98h872dj972c654&d=s&v=0&b=11&a=p1hp2cp2hp2np3cp4np5dp6cppp]133|200[/hv]

 

 

What do you lead from South's hand and why?

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

 

unbid suit, ..., I think I am going with spades.

It is quite likely, that neither opener nor dummy will have a 4 card spade suit,

i.e. partner will have a 4 carder.

Leading the seq. is also easier to defend, than leading from J9xx.

 

I assume, we are talking about IMPs.

 

With kind regards

Marlowe

[mikeh]

Hearts are going to set up easily, and a club lead simply blows a tempo, which is likely important because of those hearts.

 

Declarer almost surely has to set up the hearts in order to make so there’s no sense in my leading one

 

As for the pointed suits, we have a clue. Partner did not double 5D, which he would with the Ace and often would with the King.

 

Thus he doesn’t hold that ace nor, probably, that king.

 

It’s not that I have an inference about the spades….partner lacks a 1S overcall, but that doesn't mean much: declarer has a very good hand. It’s more that I have an inference about diamonds, and the rounded suit alternatives are probably simply giving up.

 

Thus a spade by process of elimination.

[paulg]

It does not look promising.

 

We have no tricks to help the defence, only four small hearts would be worse than our actual holding ( it looks like hearts can easily be set up), and partner did not double 5♦ for the lead.

 

I do not lead a trump since this is most likely to help declarer, which really only leaves a spade. At least I'm leading from a sequence which, in the context of my hand, is relatively strong.

[LBengtsson]

Even if the three previous forum commentators prove wrong, and mikeh is rarely wrong ( :)), leading a ♠ seems right. Partner could have X'ed the 5♦ bid but did not. Leading the unbid suit in many auctions works well just on principal.