Sometimes on defense your opening lead is crucial toward setting a contract.  Of course you hardly ever know when it is crucial, so act as though it is.  Here is my list of six  preferred leads against suit contracts.

 

1.  Lead partner’s best suit.  This is the suit she bid, if she bid, or it is one of the suits the opponents didn’t bid if she didn’t bid.

 

2.  Lead your shortest suit hoping to get an early ruff.  This would be your singleton or void!  Ok, so you can’t lead a void; then lead to your partner’s ace so she can return to your void.  If you lead from a doubleton, play high-low so partner knows you only have two.  Never mind that you rarely get to ruff a suit that requires three rounds to do it. 

 

3.  Lead your best suit - top of a sequence or forth-best, but don’t lead away from an unprotected king unless partner has the ace!  If you have all four kings, don’t tell.

 

4.  It is ok to lead a suit headed with the ace-queen if the opposition is in slam or if declarer does not have the king!

 

5.  Lead through dummy’s strength rather than into declarer’s strength.  How do you know?  Listen to the bidding.
 
6.  When you can’t find a rule to guide you, don’t guess because you will be embarrassed if partner asks why you lead that suit rather than _______ (the suit she wanted you to lead).  Instead, lead the highest-ranked unbid suit, with authority.  Now you have a plausible response: “The odds favored my lead being your best suit, even if it wasn‘t.”