The Systematic Selection of a Lead in Auction

Showing How the Knickerbocker Whist Club's Experts are Trying to Arrive at Uniformity in Play

R. F. FOSTER

IN most of the books on bridge, certain rules are given for the choice of a suit to open, according to whether the partner has made a bid or not. These are followed by very full rules for the correct card to lead from the suit, after the suit itself has been selected, and what to follow with for the second round. The text-books also give us elaborate directions for the partner's play under various conditions.

But, unfortunately, our bridge authors do not agree upon these details. While there is no such great difference of opinion as led to the acrimonious newspaper controversy over the so-called "American Leads" when whist was the game, there is still sufficient variation to lead to some confusion between partners who arc not familiar with each other's methods.

Against a trump contract some players, for instance, play down and out only when they have exactly two small cards, and want to get in a ruff. Others will make the same play when they have three or more to the queen. Some again, do it no matter what card the partner leads, while others restrict it to the lead of a king, as that indicates the leader's ability to win the second round of the suit, with ace or queen, and to be in a position to lead a third round.

Several writers insist that no play should have a double meaning. If a play shows a desire to ruff at one time, and ability to win the third round with the queen at another, it is often difficult for the original leader to know what to do in case it is one and not the other.

In order to obviate this difficulty, the best players have formulated the rule that a downand-out echo should mean: "It is safe to continue that suit." This covers all cases in which dummy could also trump, showing third hand can over-trump. It also covers cases in which no harm can come if the declarer is allowed to get in an early ruff.

Disputed Leads

A NOTHER point upon which writers do not agree is whether to lead the top of a suit bid by the partner, when he has not landed the contract, no matter what the cards are or how many of them, or whether to lead the top only under certain conditions. Under other circumstances, to lead the smallest, or perhaps an intermediate card.

Still another point in dispute is the proper play as third hand against no-trumpers, when no attempt is made to win the trick. The plain-suit echo is to follow suit with the secondbest, regardless of number or value, and to follow with the next lowest when one has four or more; the highest when one had only three to start with. Others think it better to confine the echo to four cards or more, and to make no attempt to distinguish between two and three by holding up the lowest of three to the last.

Still other writers advise using the down-and-out echo with two only, as against a trump contract, on the ground that it is usually an easy matter for the leader to distinguish between a holding of two and four.

The Knickerbocker Whist Club's experts have been investigating all these matters for the past year or more, and have given their endorsement to a little text-book by Wilbur C. Whitehead, entitled, Authoritative Leads and Conventions of Play, which sets forth their conclusions very fully and clearly.

Selecting the Suit

THE most original thing in the system is probably the idea of grading the various openings according to their probability of success, rather than because they are the suits bid, or denied. The table of selections is chiefly useful, of course, when there is a choice of openings, and no apparent reason for picking one in preference to another. The system of selection is devised with a view to furnishing this reason. For some reason or other, not mentioned, nothing is said about leading trumps right up to the declarer; but otherwise the list seems very complete, starting as it does with the most desirable things to lead from, and ending with the worst, so that a player with several alternatives may be guided in his choice. The leads are given in this order; starting with the best. These are against suit contracts:

1. Any suit of four or more cards, headed by A K or better, or K Q J.

2. A singleton; provided the leader has not more than three trumps.

3. Three or more cards headed by K Q 10.

4. Three or more cards headed by Q J 10.

5. Three or more cards headed by K Q; no other honor.

6. Three or more cards headed by Q J, or J 10.

7. Three or more cards headed by O 109.

8. Three or more cards headed by Q, or J, or 10.

9. Suits containing interior sequences, such as K J 10, or Q 10 9.

10. Suits headed by the ace alone; no other honor.

11. Suits headed by A Q, or A J.

These are modified, of course, by the bidding. If the partner has called a suit, the Knickerbocker experts believe in leading the lowest of four unless they have two honors in sequence, or the ace. In such cases they follow the old rule about leading the top. Some of the foregoing may occasion some comment among the old style players, such as the low place given to No. 9.

Selecting the Card

QUITE a number of changes from the usual system of leading high cards are recommended. Against no-trumpers, for instance, with A K Q, or A K J at the head of the suit, they lead the king with only four cards; the ace with more than four. This is not intended as a number-showing lead, to distinguish four in suit from five or more; but is an invitation to the partner to give up the best he has; it being the rule for the third hand always to play his best card when an ace is led originally against a no-trumper.

The old rule was to lead an honor from any three, and to start with the king holding, A K 10 9. The Knickerbocker experts have decided it is better to lead the ten from any number in suit, unless there are seven, and a sure reentry in another suit. The danger of the old lead was exhausting the partner's power to return the suit later.

With A K 10 and small cards; that is, without the 9; or with A K and no other honor, they lead the small card, regardless of number. On the same principle, they lead the ten from A Q 10 9 and any number of small cards short of seven. With seven in suit, the ace is invariably led from almost all the foregoing combinations. From A Q 10, without the 9, they lead a small card, unless they have seven The old king lead, from king at the top of any three honors, is still retained; but with K Q alone, the king is not led with less than seven in suit. They have apparently definitely settied the long standing dispute between the advocates of leading the ten, or the jack, or a small card, from K J 10 and others, and have come out in favor of leading the jack always.

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The Partner's Play

THE chief departures from the old rules to which most players are accustomed will be found in the unblocking tactics. Against no-trumpers they recommend playing the lowest of three, unless the lead is the ace. In that case the highest card is the invariable rule, unless it establishes a trick in the dummy. Holding four or more small cards, they follow the plain-suit echo with four, playing the second-best to the first trick and the next lowest to the second round. But with five or more, they play the penultimate to the second round. Another new rule is that if the third hand holds any honor in the suit led. and the lead is an honor, the honor held by third hand should be given up, unless it establishes a trick in the dummy.

Against trump contracts, the Knickerbocker experts confine the down-and-out echo to king leads, apparently; but they allow the third hand to start an echo with the jack and one small. This is contrary to present usage, which considers the echo unnecessary, because if the jack falls on the second round the player is marked with queen or no more. Seeing the jack fall on the first round, the leader might underplay his ace, reading his partner for queen or no more.

They have also evolved quite a number of rules governing cases in which the usual methods of play should be departed from; such as covering an honor with an honor; second hand low; leading through strength and up to weakness, which furnish instructive reading

Here is an example given to illustrate the importance of not allowing yourself to be led through, when it does not matter whether you set up a trick for your partner or not.

Z dealt and bid a heart, which all passed. A led the king of diamonds, and B played the nine, new style. Ace of diamonds from A allowed B to complete the echo, and a third round forced Z to trump, Three rounds of trumps followed.

With the entire sequence in clubs between the two hands, Z endeavors to confuse his opponents by leading the seven, instead of the ten. "In this situation," says Whitehead, "second hand should jump in with the king to force the ace from dummy, or hold the trick; because if partner does not hold the queen well guarded, nothing is lost, as the king could not possibly make."

But A did not play the king, and dummy passed up the seven. The declarer trumped the diamond, or would have won a spade lead with the ace, and caught all the clubs, winning the game, If A puts on the club king, it does not matter what dummy does with it. B stops the clubs and Z will have no more to lead, so that game is impossible.

Answer to the December Problem

THIS was the distribution in Problem LIV, which had a rather neat little trap in the opening lead.

Hearts are trumps and Z leads. Y and z want scven tricks This is how they get them:

Z starts with the king of spades. A as well trump as discard, but whether A trumps or not Y puts on the ten of tr and leads the seven This enables z to make two tricks in hearts with the eight and ace, whatever B plays to Y's lead. Y discards a diamond on the second trump lead from Z's hand.

If A trumped the first trick, and now discards the eight of clubs; or discarded the eight of clubs on the first trick, Z leads the losing spade, throwing the lead into B's hand. If A sheds a diamond, Y's discard does not matter, as all his diamonds are good, and Z has the ace of clubs. But if A sheds another club, keeping all three of his diamonds, Y keeps the club and lets go another diamond as all Z's clubs are good.

If Z starts with the smaller of his spades, the problem cannot be solved; because Z cannot get rid of the lead at the critical point.