Keep the Same Number as Dummy


And Do Your Best if that is Impossible


Q 3
Q J 5 4 3
J 10 2
A 9 3
J 4 9 8 7
8 7 6 2 K 10 9
Q 7 6 4 A K 5
K 5 4 Q J 8 6
A K 10 6 5 2
A
9 8 3 Contract: 2 spades
10 7 2 Opening lead: 4 of diamonds

Of course you can't keep the same number of hearts as dummy is showing when you start with one less. But you sure can do your best and not give up a heart as long as there are more than or the same number as you've got in your hand. This is particularly so when the defense takes three rounds of diamonds on the first three tricks, making West's last diamond almost assuredly worthless.
West led a spade at trick 4, won in the closed hand with the 10. The A of hearts was cashed, and now a spade was led to the Q and the Q of hearts was cashed, covered by East and ruffed by declarer -- with the 5, luckily not finding an overruff with the 9, which was still out.
Declarer now drew the last trump -- getting the 7 of hearts from West (! !) and led the suit again, getting a virorous 8 of clubs from East, unfortunately a bit too late.
Declarer now went to the A of clubs, cashed the J of hearts, sluffing a club, and upon drawing the last heart, went on to play the 5, sluffing another club, and now ruffed the last heart for plus 4 and a snazzy 94.44% board! On a mere partial.
An unusual hand, where a second overtrick meant so much. Those who were also in a spade partial but only plus 3 got 57.41%, so that overtrick coughed up by West was worth 37 matchpoints!
Could West have known? Well, of course he should have. He knew the 13th diamond had to be worthless. He first must get the lead in order to lead it and so should direct his thoughts in that direction, and should then consider whether it would do declarer any harm to be forced on that card if West gets the lead, which would seem to be very unlikely.
West should certainly throw the worthless diamond first. Then, at trick 9, when West has no more diamonds and no more spades -- and not so incidentally, dummy is showing the J 5 of hearts and the A of clubs -- West must certainly sluff a club. He can see that the hearts will run and that only he can guard the fourth round of hearts, so there's nothing to think about.
The next two paragraphs are completely hypothetical and not for anyone not wishing to read about a holding that wasn't there. I have said countless time elsewhere, if in guarding the suit that only you can guard you give up a trick elsewhere, then you were squeezed, and there's no shame in that. But you don't wanna play squeezed when you're not and it is 100% times better to say, "I'm gonna turn over the 3rd round of clubs to my partner," than to give up a control you can see you'll be giving up with no possibility of turning that suit over to your partner.
Lemme see. What would give declarer a holding that means West is squeezed. Ah, I've got it: Let's give declarer Q J 8 of clubs -- well, East's holding -- while East, of course, holds 10 8 x. West wants to cover the last of equal honors, in which East's 10 would hold up. If West covers the first of equal honors, declarer wins in dummy and finsses through East's 10.<
Actually, this analysis would be valid only if West held the high heart on that trump lead. Ah, that would be a squeeze: On declarers trump lead -- well, he would hafta lead the suit one more time -- West hangs onto the high heart, so declarer discards dummy's last heart. Now he leads the Q of clubs. If West ducks, declarer ducks and then picks up the K with the A without spending the J, and if West covers, declarer wins and finesses past East's ten.
Never lead from a King? Well, of course you'll wanna lead from a K from time to time. I have warned against such a practice when it's a gratuitous lead, by which I mean, there's no reason behind it, no bid in the suit by your partner (or no trump bid), and particularly against a slam bid, where you may be coughing up the one trick declarer needs, as opposed to a 3 no contract where you have a fair chance of getting the lead back a couple of times, and of finding your partner with either the A or Q.
Further, I'm well aware that hindsight makes for an easier analysis and I try to guard against "hindsight brilliance" myself. Nevertheless, having said that, I'm going to say that after three rounds of diamonds and looking at a 5-card heart suit in dummy, not knowing where the A & K are, and equally important, the A of clubs showing, with only the Q doubleton in trump offering another entry, then I think West might think mightily hard about chancing a club lead at trick 4.
I'm sure some readers could come up with some configurations in clubs where that proves harmful, and I'm not saying that cannot be. But I'll wager that I could come up with 2 configurations where the low lead there is called for with that A of clubs and 5-card suit showing for every one a reader could come with. For starters, let's (remembering that they're only in a 2 bid) switch the A & K of hearts! Now the club shift would be very welcome to East.