Double Cross

Playing in the Reisinger (Board-A-Match) against a pair of Italian world champions, I am declarer after a simple auction.

	10 K954 92 AK9654

	AK8432 Q32 K5 73

North	East	South	West
Pass	1	1	Pass
2	Pass	2	All Pass

The opening lead is the

10. I have to lose two hearts, probably one diamond, and one or two trump tricks, depending on how spades break. They are probably not 5-1, or I'd've been doubled at this form of scoring.

The opponents play five-card majors and standard leads, so I know the 10 is a singleton. RHO doesn't know; it may be a doubleton as far as he can tell. There appear to be two normal defenses. Either RHO can win the A and give his partner a ruff, get back with the A and give another ruff, or RHO can duck the first trick and sit back and wait. I much prefer that they perform the first defense. If trumps are 4-2 with the length on my left, which seems likely given the 1-5 heart split, that'll compress one of their trump tricks with my heart loser.

Aha! I can help them take the line I want. I play the K from dummy at trick one, showing RHO that I have three hearts. If the hand were different, that play might freeze the heart suit, but RHO will then know that his partner has a stiff heart and will take the two ruffs defense.

That's what happens, of course. When trumps do turn out to be 4-2, I make nine tricks, one more than I'm entitled to. I'd like to say it won the board, but our teammates' result rendered ours irrelevant. That doesn't bother me at all.