DAILY BRIDGE CLUB

and Look the at auction. today’s Pick West your cards opening lead against seven diamonds. ( Hint: South’s bid of six clubs showed interest in a grand slam, otherwise he would have just bid six diamonds. So South should have first- round control of spades as well as clubs.)

A defender usually prefers a safe, “passive” lead against a grand slam, trying not to give away a vital trick. So West looked no further than a spade, the suit East had bid.

South ruffed East’s jack and got to dummy with the king of hearts to ruff a second spade with the ace of trumps. He took the K- Q of trumps, and when both defenders followed, declarer drew the last trump with the jack and claimed the rest with hearts and the ace of clubs. Making seven.

West’s lead wasn’t passive enough. If South was void in spades, as was likely, a spade lead might ( and did) help him reverse the dummy. West should instead lead a completely safe trump. South reversalcan’t pull andoff his goes dummydown.