The Aces on Bridge: Monday, 16 March 2026

Lead the heart ace. You have no idea which suit to attack, so, rather than guess, lay down the trump ace to get a look at dummy. It could even be right to continue with a passive trump. This is unlikely to cost a trick when declarer has opened at the four-level without the ace of his suit, though admittedly it could relinquish a tempo. That is less likely to be critical than that a bad guess on opening lead would be fatal, I would say.