AUCTION BRIDGE

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 1735, 30 April 1930, Page 6

AUCTION BRIDGE

\, LESSON XII. . .. Written by S. N. Lythgo. (Special to the Alexandra Herald.) [Copyright.]

The opening leads against No Trump bids given in.., .the last lesson are few, and easy to remember; but leads against a suit eall are many and; difficult. You are not expected to learn them in a day; but if you write the card combinations" on slips of paper, with the correct lead on the reverse side,' and go through the slips carefully, you will soon master them. When playing witli friends, don't be afraid to take a list of the leads with you and consult it when necessary. The first lead is a blind one, and, when possible, you should lead a card which will do the least possible damage to your hand. Holding Ace, King and others, the correct lead, is tlie King. Unless trumped, it takes the trick, and partner knows you have the Ace.. You can now have a look at Rummy, and lead accordingly. , If partner wins a trick and wants you to lead a suit through Dummy, lie can lead a card of your Ace, King suit, knowing you have the Ace. When holding Ace, King, without other cards, lead the Ace,. then the King, and partner knows you have no mora,of that suit, and can trump the third round. Naturally, after leading the Ace and King, you would try and give him the lead. If there were two Aee suits in Dummy, you would lead a card of the other suits. , ' . ~

■When partner has bid, the best lead is the highest card of his suit; but if your hand. contains either of the combinations given above, or a singleton Ace, lead from that suit first,: and then lead the highest card of partner's suit. Many players neglect to do this, and so miss opportunities of giving valuable information* TABLE OF BLIND OPENING LEADS AGAINST A SUIT DECLARATION. The bracketed card is the one to lead. A.(K.)Q. A.(K.) and others. ' (A.)K. alone. ' (K.) Q. alone or with others. , (Q.)J. alone or with others, :'.. (J.)10. alone or with Others; (10.)9. alone or with others. Highest card of suit bid by partner. - A singleton, provided it is not a King. \. ■ ' :• •;.'■ :••...■■. '

The fourth highest of longest and strongest suit. - A. weak doubletou. Lead highest card. DISADVANTAGEOUS. LEADS AGAINST -A- SUIT DECLARATION. Do not lead from any .suit containing honours not. in sequence, such as: A.Q.J., A.Q., A.J., K.J., Q.lO. alone, or with.other cards. Any suit headed by a King without the Queen. Do'not lead a low card from a suit headed by the Ace. Of course, conventional leads are not found in every hand, and when not present, lead low from a worthless threeeard suit or fourth best. Th 6 matter given in this and the foregoing lesson does not cover all the leads; in many cases, the lead' depends on whether you hold a card of re-entry or.not, but the leads given are sufficient for ordinary bridge. Memorise them, and you will avoid a lot.of trouble. v* '/■■"'.■".>■ ".-•.