[nige1]

Not really an interesting hand, except to me.
Match-pointed pairs, None vul, You deal yourself ♠ 9753 ♥ 7 ♦ A8632 ♣ J74.
Using basic 2/1, opponents conduct this uncontested auction...
- 1♣ - 1♠
- 1N - 2♥
- 3♥ All pass
Your lead?

[bluecalm]

Small club looks normal. A♦ look like it rarely hurts. Small ♦ looks fancy and may work but I think it doesn't work often enough.
I don't want to lead a trump because I am more than happy about declarer trying to establish spades by ruffing (which partner will over ruff).

[Fluffy]

dummy is 2434 and declarer 5422 or 54(31). Spades won't need ruffs to be stablished so our best ain is to shortnen declarer.

We must hit his shortness/weakness and any of low diamond, diamond ace or low club might work.

We don't have many entries, and we will probably need partner to have cards to force declarer when he wins his trumps. This will rarelly happen in diamonds, but it is likelly in clubs, that's why I attack low club.

[gwnn]

I think low club is normal, but I don't think diamond ace or small diamond are strictly horrible. Opps are silly, why is opener raising his p? Perhaps some sort of almost reverse 2425??

[rhm]

Fluffy, on 2011-March-24, 03:56, said:

dummy is 2434 and declarer 5422 or 54(31). Spades won't need ruffs to be stablished so our best ain is to shortnen declarer.

We must hit his shortness/weakness and any of low diamond, diamond ace or low club might work.

We don't have many entries, and we will probably need partner to have cards to force declarer when he wins his trumps. This will rarelly happen in diamonds, but it is likelly in clubs, that's why I attack low club.

I agree that we want to hit declarer's shortness/weakness. However, I do not understand what makes ♣ more attractive than ♦.
From your hand alone it must be more likely that declarer's shortness / weakness is in ♦ and dummy's bidding seems to confirm this. If declarer's shortness is in clubs, chances are that he might discard ♦ losers on dummy's ♣.
A low ♦ is a newspaper lead, but I can not see any reason to get desperate at match-points. Opponents have denied values for game and ♥s are not breaking.
I would lead the ♦ ace, not least because you can switch to ♣ after having inspected dummy.

Rainer Herrmann

[gwnn]

I don't like the club anymore. I think opener has very good clubs, otherwise his bidding is even more nonsensical.

I think I lead the dA.

[gnasher]

I'd lead a trump, which is what I nearly always do on this sort of auction.

Dummy will usually be 1435 or 2425. A trump lead may well help to prevent a crossruff.

I don't see the need to force declarer immediately - we can probably do it later if necessary. If declarer had enough high cards to set the spades up and draw trumps without being forced, he would have bid game.

[gwnn]

that sounds better than my diamond. good point.

[phil_20686]

surely the explanation is that dummy is 1444 or 1453 and had no good rebid to risked a NT. Then when partner turned out to have 4 hearts he thought better of it and decided a raise might be right. (one assumes that basic 2/1 includes checkback)

Its a bit tough I think. Would not lead a club. Think I have reasoned myself into leading a trump, but I hate leading a stiff trump. If we had xx or xxx trumps I would lead one of them. Its too hard. Would probably lead a diamond.

[Free]

I'd lead a small ♣, fairly normal imo. ♦ might be better but I've had so many disasters after underleading Axxxx that I won't do it anymore. Leading Aces usually doesn't work either.

[Phil]

I like RHM's argument for the ♦A. I'm not terribly worried about stopping ruffs, since (looking at my clubs) dummy's clubs will probably be the suit they run instead of declarer's spades. Not everyone upgrades 2=4=2=5 14's.

[whereagles]

The leads all suck. A diamond might work, but it can also see dummy with Kxx opposite singleton.

Anyway, spade is bad, heart is bad, club sucks. I'll just try a diamond because that's the only lead that might work, eventhough it will probably blow a trick.

[nige1]

Thank you for voting and commenting.
This was the full hand. (I did warn you that it wasn't interesting) .
I, West, led ♦A. Not a brilliant success.

Match-pointed pairs, None vul, Dealer West.
Using basic 2/1, opponents conducted this uncontested auction...
- 1♣ - 1♠
- 1N - 2♥
- 3♥ All pass

---

[whereagles]

lol.. small diamond lead would be pretty cool, assuming pard reads it correctly

[Free]

whereagles, on 2011-March-26, 07:53, said:

lol.. small diamond lead would be pretty cool, assuming pard reads it correctly

for once