Review 120, The Golden Rules of Opening Leads, David Bird

Reviews

The Golden Rules of Opening Leads
by Julian Pottage

Cassell / Peter Crawley, £10.99, ISBN 0 304 36663 3

This is the fifth Golden Rules book and I have been very impressed by their scholarly nature. No-one could claim that they are entertaining to read, but they do give you an excellent chance of improving your game and this is the main reason that people buy bridge books.

As previously, various Golden Rules are presented. In this case they include: Lead Partner's Suit, Lead an Unbid Suit, Avoid a Trump Lead, Attack Small Slams and Do Not Underlead an Ace. Half a dozen sample hands are given for each Golden Rule, illustrating the various ways in which following the Rule may benefit you. Then several situations are given in which you should ignore the Rule. I was interested by this deal:

Dealer: South. E/W Vul.

9 7
K 10 5 3
K 9 6
A 10 7 2

K 10 6 2
9
Q 10 4 2
Q 9 6 4 J 8 4 3
A J 7
J 5 3
J 5 3

A Q 5
Q 8 6 4 2
A 8 7
K 8

West North East South

1

Pass 3 Pass 4

End

Pottage explains that you can quickly dismiss the singleton trump lead. There is too much risk that it will trap an honour in partner's hand. What of the other three suits? I had never thought about it before but Pottage writes: 'Expert opinion says that you should prefer to lead from a queen than a king. The rationale is that whilst the third round of a suit (which the queen might win) often proves unimportant - because an opponent may ruff - the second round of a suit is much more significant.'

So, it is better to lead a minor suit here, rather than a spade. Which minor should you choose? Pottage explains that the presence of the ten makes the diamond lead a better bet and so it proves on the sample hand. This exception to a Golden Rule is expressed as: 'Skip fourth highest of your longest and strongest suit when you prefer to play from a queen than a king.'

I very much agree with the author's advice that trump leads are overrated, except in certain particular circumstances (which are explained in the book). I once played with a partner who led trumps for years, hoping to find the right moment. He gave away countless games in the process, including one on which he held A-K-Q in the side suit that needed to be led. I will send him a copy of this book!

Pottage recommends the popular system of leads: fourth-best from a suit headed by an honour, second-best from a suit with no honour. However, he notes an important exception to this rule. Suppose your opponents bid 1NT - 3NT and you hold:

A 8 2
9 8 4 3 2
6 3
A 7 6

You are going to lead a heart, yes, but don't lead the 8 and leave partner to guess whether you want the suit to be returned. Lead a fourth-best 3 and make sure that he returns the suit.

I was very happy with the author's workmanship on this book. If you liked its predecessors in the series, you will surely be well pleased by this latest addition.

David Bird