Page 11 - ABF Newsletter June 2024

club nine to McGann’s ace. McGann led his carefully preserved \[3 through declarer’s queen-six, and the contract was down two tricks, after a card-perfect defence. There were two interesting lead hands that I noticed: Board 23. Dealer South. Both sides vulnerable. \] A Q 10 7 \[43 \}AKJ8 \{Q74 \]98532 \]J6 \[ K J 10 2 \[AQ9765 \}Q54 \}2 \{J \{A982 another trump, leaving East only able to trump two clubs in dummy. In the Open Teams, only one South led a trump, and 4\[ failed. Kudos to Mathew Vadas. Finally: Board 14. Dealer East. Neither side vulnerable. \]Q94 \[KJ4 \}KJ653 \{K5 \]K863 \[ 10 8 \}72 \}984 WEST 4\} 2 1. Either major. 2. Enquiry. SOUTH pass all pass A typical auction involved East opening spades, South bidding hearts and, in some cases, East saved in 4\] with South continuing to 5\[, passed out. What should West lead? Logic dictates that they should lead the \]K rather than a small spade. Why? They know there is a 9+ card fit, and therefore it is likely that only one spade will win. If that’s the case, then they will only have the lead once if they lead a small spade. Given partner has the better hand, it may be important to receive a suit preference signal from partner at trick one. On the \]K lead, partner plays the \]2, which should be suit preference for club. West can now lead the \{J, taking declarer down one trick. Where West led a small spade, 5\[ was cold – making eleven or twelve tricks. Whilst a few Wests led the \{J, only three Wests led the \]K, and two defeated the contract. Kudos to Lauren Travis and Andrew Peake. \]K4 \[8 \} 10 9 7 6 3 \{ K 10 6 5 3 NORTH EAST 1NT 2\} 1 pass 4\[ \{ J 10 9 3 2 \{AQ76 \]J \[AQ97653 \} A Q 10 \{84 East’s 2\} overcall showed a single suiter in a major. West has a perfect hand for a preemptive jump to four of partner’s major, whichever suit it is. A current response structure: 4\{ asks for partner to transfer to their major (so you become declarer) and 4\} simply asks them to bid their major. What should South lead? Logic dictates that they should lead a trump. Why? South holds 6 HCP and North has shown 15-17 HCP. Therefore, this game has been bid on distribution rather than HCP, meaning you should lead trumps to reduce the ability to ruff. The trump lead is the only lead to defeat the con- tract. When partner regains the lead, they can lead \] A 10 7 5 2 \[2 Top three pairs from the TBIB Open Butler Swiss Pairs Ron Cooper - Phil Gue, Mathew Vadas - Jamie Thompson, Axel Johannsson - Kate McCallum Australian Bridge Federation Ltd. Newsletter: June 2024 Page: 11