The Leading Question

V N Ramamoorthy

Ladies and Gentlemen

The game of bridge is simple, however complex that may sound! As a declarer your task is simple - just plan for the number of tricks to fulfill your contract 🙂

It is equally simple for the defense too, just organise to take those number of tricks to defeat the contract!

Funny that both sides are on the same mission with different plans 😇

The task becomes more onerous when the adversaries are on a " Moun vrat "- maintaining a pregnant silence throughout the auction!

For the defense, of course, the leading question is - what else - the Lead!

The simple act of "Lead" can make or break a contract.

I don't know about you but many a time I had wished, I was not on lead 😅

As for declarer, some noise from the opponents could help, but the silence is a silent killer alright!

There is a Tamil proverb "A toad invites it's own death by opening his mouth" - holds true for bridge players too, especially when they are defending.

Back to the leading question : how do you decide what to lead when your side has kept silence throughout?

A daunting task ,indeed. How many times you have heard this conversation on the table " If only you had chosen to lead.... ".

But instead you can take some basic precautions like :

# Listen to the bidding carefully and remember it
# Pay attention to the system, gadgets and alerts / clarifications by opponents
# Note clearly about unbid suits, pauses / hesitations during auction

When the dummy hits the green baize, every one starts thinking, including the dummy!

Sometimes, Silence speaks louder than thousand words. At other times sounds make more sense than silence 🤫

Whether you are Journalist, Editor or Publisher, the lead always foxes you!

No wonder, people say, you "Lead" by example!

Happy bridging,

Cheers
VNR

Disclaimer : All opinions are entirely those of the author and are no reflection of the views of the BridgeFromHome Team.