Do you remember better if repeated?

An early Egyptian inscription, written circa 2000 BC, claimed: “Would I had phrases that are not known, utterances that are strange, in new language that has not been used, free from repetition, not an utterance which has grown stale, which men of old have spoken.” But old men tend to need repetition because they do not remember as clearly as they did when younger. I hope you remember this key point about opening leads. Which card should West choose against three diamonds after the given auction? Note the disciplined bidding. East has a perfectly respectable one-spade opening, but when West can offer only a single raise, East should not go higher, because he has no extra values or spade length. Follow the Law of Total Tricks — only bid to the three-level with nine combined trumps or an interest in game. West must lead the spade seven: high from a low tripleton after supporting partner. If West does this, East stands a good chance of finding the right defence. He must win with the spade king and shift to the club king. (West should then signal enthusiastically with his nine to show the jack.) A moment later, when West gets in with the heart ace, a club continuation gives the defence five tricks: two spades, one heart and two clubs. If West leads the spade three, East will assume his partner has an honour, which must be the jack. It would then be safe for East to start with two spade winners before switching to clubs. Here, though, that is fatal because South discards a club from the dummy on his spade jack.