Leading Questions in Bridge
by Sally Brock

Master Point Press, £11.95 plus p&p from The Bridge Shop. Tel: 020 7486 8222

There are not many bridge books that deal exclusively with the problem of what our opening lead should be. For that reason alone we must be thankful to Sally Brock for producing this comprehensive treatise on a subject which is all too readily brushed under the carpet by teachers and writers alike. As the back-cover blurb points out, more points are won and lost on the opening lead than at any other stage of a bridge deal and yet, although it is an inexact science, a little more thought can be richly rewarded. The concept of whether to be active or passive in defence should be at the forefront of the leader’s mind and a good rule of thumb, as Brock points out, is to be active i.e. lead dangerously, perhaps from K-J-x-x type combinations when the cards are known to be lying well for declarer. In other words it pays to take risks. On the other hand, if you are sure the cards are lying well for you, then you should seek to find a lead that will give nothing away. Most people know that, but I imagine they might be thinking along the wrong lines if they held a hand such as:

10 9 4   Q 10 8 6 2   7 6 4   J 5

You are West and the bidding has gone:

West	North	East	South
	1	Pass	1NT
Pass	3NT	End

What do you lead? Of course a heart is clearly out of the question so it comes down to picking another suit and I bet a lot of you have opted for the 10. Be honest now! But Brock points out that this is sloppy thinking because partner is marked with a near opener – if he doesn’t have one then there is not much hope – and the one five-card suit he is unlikely to have is spades because he didn’t overcall. And if he had a 1-4-4-4 distribution, he might have made a light take-out double, so he is more likely to have length in a minor. A diamond lead would have been the winner.

There are so many questions answered that torment us all from time to time. Shall I lead my singleton? Shall I lead partner’s suit or my own? Shall I lead an ace against a slam? Shall I lead the fourth suit? What shall I lead when partner has doubled the final contract? And so on. Once we have chosen what we hope is the right suit then there is the choice of which card to pick from that suit and we may feel that that is well documented. So it is but sometimes you have to do a bit of extra thinking. If you are on lead to 3NT after the bidding 1NT – 3NT and you hold:

9 6 2   9 8 6 5   3   A Q 9 8 5

It is certainly right to lead a club but the lead of the eight might convince partner you have led second best from a holding such as 9-8-x-x and in some circumstances he might withhold the king if he held it. In short, always try to think of things as your partner might perceive them.

I thought some of the hands were a bit contrived but hey! the author has to reinforce her ideas, and certainly a lot of the deals were taken from real match play and the leads credited to the stars that made them. This isn’t an easy book but well worth studying and assimilating If you do that well, you can’t fail to be a better player

Dave Huggett