Defence

Opening leads vs NT

No trump contracts are a race between declarer and the defenders, and it’s vital to get off to the best start. Watch the video to discover the few differences between leading against trump contracts and NT, then take the quiz to make sure you’ve got this.

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Opening leads in NT contracts

Question 1/7

What is Hermia’s best lead here?

Hermia has a nice spade suit. She wants to start the process of establishing it right away, even though that risks giving a trick to Helena if she holds the king. You would definitely not lead this suit against a trump contract but with a good chance of setting up a few winners in the suit, and a side suit entry, leading a spade is best. With no honour sequence, she should lead her fourth highest card in the suit: the four.

Another very straightforward auction. What is Hermia’s best lead this time?

Hermia has two nice long suits this time. Whilst we say 'lead your longest and strongest suit' against NT, and her diamonds are a teeny bit stronger because of the nine, it's much better to lead a major suit if the opponents have not bid one or looked for one (by bidding Stayman). Always think about leading an unbid major against notrumps if you don't have a better option.

A bit more information in the auction this time. What do you think Hermia should lead?

Hermia does have a long suit, but there are two reasons why a club is not her best option. Firstly, her partner has bid hearts at the two level, so she knows that he has at least five decent hearts. Secondly, she has very little prospect of getting back into her hand if she is able to set up her clubs. Lysander has the majority of her side's assets, so she should help to establish his long suit instead of her own. As she has only two hearts, she should signal this by leading her doubleton high-low, so the ten first.

No help from partner here. What is Hermia’s best lead from this hand?

Hermia has a nice, five card heart suit, and she also has about half of the points that she and Lysander hold between them, so she should definitely try to set up her long suit. Her best bet is to lead top of touching honours - the king - and if Helena has the ace but holds up, she should keep leading high hearts until Helena wins the ace. The J♦ is by no means a guaranteed entry back to her heart winners after that, but this is still her best bet. N.B. if Lysander holds the ace, he should play it on the first trick, over Hermia's king, and lead a small card back to the queen that Hermia is now known to hold. This has the effect of unblocking the suit

A slightly roundabout route to 3NT for the opponents. What is Hermia’s best lead this time?

Hermia knows that Lysander has pretty much all of the points that their side holds, so she should be looking for his long suit. The opponents have shown three suits between them, but neither of them has bid spades, so this looks like the best choice of suit. When leading from three small cards (no honour), you should lead middle, up down (MUD) to signal that holding. So Hermia should start with the seven, then remember to play the nine on the next round, so that her lead does not look like a doubleton.

The brassicas have set their sights a little lower this time, and are playing in 1NT. What is Hermia’s best lead?

As neither major suit has been bid by her opponents, and they haven't shown one by bidding Stayman, it's definitely a good idea to lead a major suit. Hermia should choose hearts, because they are longer, and because the position of her ace and queen of spades, sitting over the strong hand, means that she may well be able to prevent Helena from making a trick with the K♠ if she holds that card. Having chosen hearts, Hermia's best choice of card is top of an internal sequence, so the ten from ten, nine, eight. Remember that it's ok to underlead an ace against a NT contract.

Back in 3NT again. What should Hermia lead?

Hermia should definitely not lead a spade, even though that's the only suit where she has high cards. Helena has opened the bidding with a 1♠ bid, and is very likely to hold the king, so if Hermia leads any of her three spades she will give declarer a trick that she cannot otherwise make. As the unbid major, a heart looks like the best choice. From a four card suit that doesn't contain an honour, we lead second highest, so the six of hearts is the right choice.

There are no practice hands for this module, as the quiz enables you to practice finding the right leads.