[kereru67]

I made what I thought was the standard lead of the low card from QT2 in a suit my partner bid. Dummy had Kx and played low, partner played J and won, then lead out the A to capture dummy's K. I was unable to unblock, and partner had no side entry, so the contract made. (Yes he could have ducked a trick to dummy's K to maintain communication but he wasn't such a great player).

My question - is it better to lead the 10 from this combination? I still don't really like leading the Q from this because the K might very well be on my right.

[Stephen Tu]

Low is standard. K being on the right isn't really the issue, it's more AJx or KJx on your right, then leading high gives declarer a double stopper.

[neilkaz]

In order to better answer your question in this specific sequence I need to see the bidding and your entire hand.

[akwoo]

2 is the normal lead.

(Near)-expert players will sometimes figure out from the bidding and the entire hand that the Q is the better lead, more rarely the T.

[sfi]

If I am worried about the blockage I am much more likely to lead the 10 rather than the queen. It retains flexibility in the suit and is not as committal overall.

And yes, it is worth thinking about.

[kereru67]

Anything with 2 honours carries the risk that leading low will block the suit. This also applies to holdings like KJx. I had a few points here and there and reason to believe that my p had very little outside his suit. So maybe under the circumstances Q or T was a better lead.

[PhilG007]

You don't mention whether your partner overcalled in their suit. If they did,I would be more inclined to lead it. As beginners,we are taught to lead
partners suit but this advice should be tempered with common sense as we grow more experienced. Bridge players are not automatons(!)
If an alternative suit was available,I would prefer to lead it and get a look at dummy rather than blindly follow "tradition"

[Tramticket]

As other's have said, it would help to know the hand and bidding. But if partner's suit is AJXX(X) (5 HCP) it is unfortunate that he had no other entry. Was partner's bid a one-level overcall?

[cherdano]

I think leading the T is quite normal when you know from the auction and your hand that partner is unlikely to have an entry. Say you have 10 hcp and they bid 3N.

[nekthen]

If partner has bid the suit freely and not just as a response to my opening bid, I am going to lead the Q

[HardVector]

I depends on what the bidding said about your partner's hand. You knew the suit, but did they show values? If they showed something like an opening hand, then you can expect an outside entry and lead the 2. If partner's hand is a preempt, they don't promise any other way into their hand and you should lead the T.

[ggwhiz]

I have seen many examples when it is right to lead a middle or 2nd best card, ie from KJ9(x) when a surrounding play may be available as well as an unblock as here.

I have NEVER seen the top card recommended. Leading the Queen could catch dummy with Ax and declarer with Jxx blowing a trick.

[cherdano]

ggwhiz, on 2018-December-04, 16:27, said:

I have NEVER seen the top card recommended. Leading the Queen could catch dummy with Ax and declarer with Jxx blowing a trick.

The top card is right when you expect declarer to be short in the suit.

[barmar]

cherdano, on 2018-December-04, 17:48, said:

The top card is right when you expect declarer to be short in the suit.

The OP is leading partner's known suit, which implies that they bid it and then declarer bid NT anyway. While sometimes players will consider Kx or Ax a sufficient stopper, it's not something you can generally expect.

[cherdano]

barmar, on 2018-December-05, 00:15, said:

The OP is leading partner's known suit, which implies that they bid it and then declarer bid NT anyway. While sometimes players will consider Kx or Ax a sufficient stopper, it's not something you can generally expect.

Yes of course. If you had read my post, you would have realized that I only reacted to the claim that the Q is never the recommended card.

[sfi]

barmar, on 2018-December-05, 00:15, said:

The OP is leading partner's known suit, which implies that they bid it and then declarer bid NT anyway. While sometimes players will consider Kx or Ax a sufficient stopper, it's not something you can generally expect.

I think cherdano might have been talking about declarer being shorter than that in the suit.

[pes_6]

Q

[GrahamJson]

it's impossible to say what the best lead is without knowing the auction. For example, does the auction suggest that partner has good values, hence no shortage of entries? In that case leading low is probably correct. On the other hand if the bidding went something like (1D) - 1S - (X) - P - (3D) - P - (3NT) it now suggests that oppo will have plenty of tricks unless you can cash yours first, in which case the lead of the queen looks correct.