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First thoughts on seeing dummy (continued)

You may remember that we were just about to consider the deductions we can draw from the opening lead. Here are some examples. We must divide this section into trumps and no-trumps.

NO TRUMPS

 Against a no-trump contract, the lead is likely to be 'fourth highest'. (Don't forget that you can ask if this is the partnership agreement). If this is the case, there are two pieces of information you can glean.

• The likely length of the suit. If it is a 'two', say, then it must be from a four card suit. If it is, say, a 'four' and you can see the 'three' and the 'two', then again, it must be from a four card suit. If it is a higher card or if you can't see the smaller ones, then it is probably from a five-card suit or longer.

The point here is that a four-card suit probably does not pose too much of a threat. If you hold

and the 'two' is led, if you are sure it is fourth highest then defenders have four cards each in this suit and you have no need to hold up. If the lead is the 'seven', say, then the 'three' and the 'two' are missing so this lead is probably from a five or six card suit, and you very definitely must hold up your ace.

The other way in which the lead may affect your play is that it may give you the opportunity to throw a particular opponent in at a crucial stage later in the play. Suppose you hold

and the lead is the 'three'. The defender on lead has four cards in this suit and must hang onto all of them otherwise you will get a cheap trick. Later on, it may be opportune to play this suit out putting that particular defender on lead when she may do you some good.

• The rule of eleven tells you the likely location of the missing high cards. Suppose the initial lead is the 'six'. Take this away from eleven and the answer, 'five', represents the number of cards higher than the 'six' outside the hand that has led. Since you can see your hand and dummy, you know exactly how many high cards the other defender has got. In the case below, you can see all the five cards higher than the 'six', so you know that the defender on your right has no cards higher than the 'six'.

  	Dummy
  	Q 9 3
  The lead	#	other
  6		defender
  	Declarer
  	A J 8

TRUMPS

If the opening lead is against a trump contract, it is most likely to be from a short suit, a singleton or a doubleton. This can often dictate your early play.

You are in a spade contract. Suppose the lead from South is a small heart. You can duck this round to your queen, but if there is any chance that North started with five hearts (perhaps she overcalled), she will take this trick with her king and give partner a ruff. Safer, if you can afford it, to rise with your ace, draw trumps and give up one trick in this suit later on.

The other clue that a lead from a short suit in a trump contract gives you is the probable distribution of this suit. In the hand above, the knowledge that North started with five hearts gives you vital information on the overall shape of the hand. If she follows to three rounds of trumps, then you know eight cards in her hand. She only has room for five clubs and diamonds. If you are looking for, say, the king of clubs in the play, South has more clubs and so is more likely to have the king.