The Bridge Corner
By Gary Mitchell, April 13, 2007

Opening Lead: Diamond eight


The bidding explained: I hate these auctions. Talk about drawing a road map for the defenders. Hello West, if you have any doubts, lead a Diamond! I much prefer this auction go one Heart—three Hearts—four Hearts. Against that auction, there is a good chance West will lead a Club.

The play: Oh well, a Diamond was led. So, you play the Ten from dummy, East plays the Queen and you win the Ace. You play the Ace and King of Hearts and get the bad news. So, now you lead a Spade. West wins the Ace and leads another Diamond. The defense takes two Diamonds, the Spade and Heart, for down one. Bad luck to get the Diamond lead before you could set up those Spades.

With the Diamond lead you should be able to see what is going to happen. The eight of Diamonds looks like a “top of nothing” lead. This means East should have both Diamond honors. If that is so, then you should refuse to play your Ace at trick one! What can East do? A Diamond return lets you win the Jack. Any other return lets you set up the Spades to get rid of your Diamond loser. Stop and PLAN at trick ONE.

Questions: email me at gary@smabridge.com. Lessons: Call 152-6351