Daily Bridge Club

Choose your lead

Here’s a crucial lead problem from the Senior Knockout Teams final at the Fall NABC: Nick NICKELL vs. Mike LEVINE. Look at the West cards and digest the auction.

North’s two-spade cue bid showed a heart fit. South’s four diamonds suggested a good two-suited hand, but his five-club response to North’s 4NT inquiry showed only one “key card.” North’s five diamonds was a further artificial ask.

If West leads a spade, South can set up his diamonds with two ruffs in dummy and lose only to the ace of trumps. But LEVINE’s West, Jerry Clerkin, led the ace and a low trump, and South was sunk. When neither diamonds nor clubs lay well for him, he went down one.

SACRIFICE

In the replay, North-South got to six hearts after East-West competed in spades. There, East-West must not have felt confident that any lead would beat the slam: They sacrificed at six spades, down 1,100.

LEVINE won 15 IMPs — and the match by 14 IMPs. If West doesn’t lead a trump against six hearts, NICKELL wins. DAILY QUESTION You hold: ♠ K J986 ♥ A7 ♦ 10 2 ♣ K 10 6 5. Your partner opens one heart, you bid one spade

and he rebids two hearts. What do you say?

ANSWER: You have the values to invite game but not to force to game, hence you can’t bid three clubs, forcing. Partner’s two hearts shows six or more hearts. If he had only a five-card suit, he would have had a more descriptive second bid. Your best call is a raise to three hearts. East dealer N-S vulnerable