Show William McKenney Improving Your Bridge i The table of blind opening leads that I r have given and the discussion of negative and positive positive post post- tive responses by no means exhausts exhausts ex ex- the subject of conventions conventions conventions conven conven- as to leading There are other conventions as to specific situations For example you have opened from A Q In accordance with accepted practice your first lead was the king If you are going to lead a second round what card do you lead If you lead the ace your partner has no way of knowing whether you have the queen If you lead the queen your partner can be fairly sure that you have havethe havethe havethe the ace both from the declarers declarer's declarers declarer's declarers declarer's ers er's failure to win the trick and because you must have either the ace or the jack to continue with an honor lead A K KJ J 10 4 65 N 98 W E S Q 4 3 43 3 eT D Dealer I ea er 4 eYe Q Duplicate None tc None vu South South SouthWest West Vest North E East st stI 1 I A Pass PaSs PaSs' 2 24 A Pass 2 N. N T. T Pass 4 4 A Pass Opening Opening- toTe Opening 43 3 25 I IR 1 R 8 Therefore your second lead should be the queen On the same principle if you have opened the king from A- A Q K-Q-J or Q K-Q-J your second lead If you hold the first should be the jack But be wary of carrying carrying carrying car car- this down to low lowse se se- se For example if you open the jack from J 9 dummy turns up with x Q-x-x and your jack holds the first trick It is risky to continue with the nine Your partner may imagine that you have led from J 9 and credit cred cred- it declarer with the ten If however however however how how- ever you open the queen from Q J and hold the lead dummy dummy dummy dum dum- my having x K-x-x it should be safe to continue with the ten The suit preference signal was devised to meet a very special special cial situation One defender has given the other a ruff the ruffing ruffing ruffing ruff ruff- ing hand will want to give his partner immediate reentry to lead for a second ruff How is he to guess which of the two neutral suits to lead The partner may be able to direct this return at the time he leads for the first ruff If he can get in through a return of the ranking higher-ranking of the two neutral suits he leads an unnecessarily high card If his entry is in the lower suit he leads his lowest card of the suit to be ruffed puffed For example in the h hand a and ii d shown today East wins the first lead with the ac ace of clubs ReadIng ReadIng Reading Read- Read Ing the lead as a singleton he returns a club for West to ruff But to indicate his quick reentry reentry reentry re re- re- re entry he leads the jack of clubs which tells West to return a aheart aheart aheart heart not a diamond |