Not many of the good Bridge players hit the mark with accuracy when it comes to the opening bid in a defense of the contract lead by the opponents. Undoubtedly opening leads are not easy to comprehend especially when the contract is bid without giving away much information through the series of bids made with partner remaining also silent. Then the opening lead becomes really tough and not many of us can be too pontifical on it. Sometimes even after the lead, the leader is not too certain whether he has hit the barrel or not.

The importance of a good, intelligent opening lead however cannot be over emphasised. For clearly in most of the cases, the lead to the first trick can either make or break the entire defense. In some routine hands, the normal opening leads are irrelevant. But at times, even the experts turn out with on ill-fated opening lead that becomes lucky for the declarer. This luck factor makes the issue of opening lead so intriguingly important and to find the killing lead becomes a matter of great satisfaction for those whose opening leads are consistently above average. For you cannot make an effective opening lead without imagination, visualisation, experience and luck. The expert draws on the inferences available at the table suggesting whether dummy is weak, strong, balanced or unbalanced, with or without trump support and more importantly with or without a strong side suit. So generally speaking, the logic of Bridge dictates that if bidding has been hesitant, the opening calls for a safe passive lead and vice versa - if bidding has been strong with plenty of values declared where an aggressive attacking opening lead is called for.

But in Bridge, relying more on intelligence deductions is far better than on mere generalities. Let us put you through the test of thinking intelligently for finding the most effective opening lead. Sitting west, you hear the following bidding:

Holding these cards as west:

What do you open? First assess the dummy's likely holding, the bidding dummy will have a good hand with heart support and also a good spade suit. Quashing your queen of spades to probably give declarer room for establishing discards with the spade suit splitting evenly declarer can establish it even with a ruff. Thus with such an easy sailing for the declarer, your opening lead should be aggressive and attacking - lead the 2 of diamonds of course. Had your spade holding been K J 9 6 3, the spade threat would be off, calling for a pedestrian lead, the 10C which is more a combination of safety with aggression. In making opening leads avoid worthless doubletons, selecting the opening lead that turns out to be the best in the long run.

With the above guidelines, let us put you in charge of your fate in an all American Swiss Team competition. You are west holding.

Dealer south opens 1C, you pass, north responds 1S and south rebids 1NT which his partner raises to 2NT which becomes the final contract.

As west, what is your opening lead? Did you lead the fourth best diamond deuce? I am afraid that would not turn out well as the pull deal is as under:

Here on your diamond lead, declarer wins the JD, leads a low club to your king. Your shift to 10S (late) will be taken by your partner's QS, who will naturally shift to KH. Declarer wining the second heart, cashing Q & A of clubs and the KD and AD, arrives at the following position:

East has to find a discard on the last diamond. On the last diamond east is helpless. If he throws a spade, he would be thrown in with ace and another spade, forced to give declarer his 10H in the end. On the heart discard, declarer exits with a heart, ducks the KS return forcing east to lead from his 97 of spades into dummy's A8 at trick 12 - contract made.

Here, it was good time to depart from passive to an active attacking lead - the 10S knowing partner has at most 4 and with clubs under control by you, the contract could be tough for declarer to find tricks. On 10S led to partner's QS. The K&J of hearts ducked switch now to diamonds to declarer's ace. Ace of club and club back would make you lead another spade to partner's king and now a diamond unsuccessful finesse of the jack would yield your side 7 tricks for 2 down. True, doubleton leads need to be avoided but it pays to be logical.

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North        West      East       South

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A 8 6 3 2    10 4    K Q 9 7        J 5

6 4         9 5 2    K Q J 8   A 10 7 3

A 8 3    Q 10 7 2      9 6 5      K J 4

Q 5 3     K J 9 4        8 6   A 10 7 2

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North    South

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-           1H

1S          2H

4H           -

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       Q 6 4

       7 6 3

       K J 3

    10 7 6 3

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        10 4

       9 5 2

    Q 10 7 2

     K J 9 4

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North     West    East    South

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A 8 6 3     4    K 9 7        J

-           9     Q 8      10 7

-           Q      -          -

-           J      -         10

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