Bridge - The Scotsman 17/12/2011

CROSSRUFF technique, when you must make your trumps separately, requires great care in timing. On this deal an unwise intervention from North should help.

Playing a strong no-trump and five-card majors, West opened 1D, promising a four-card suit. North’s cue overcall showed the majors and East marked time with a cuebid of his own. 2NT showed a weak no-trump hand, so East leapt to slam in the known 4-4 fit. North led the queen of spades. How would you plan the play?

You have six side-suit winners in aces and kings with no prospect of developing extra tricks in these suits. So you need six trump tricks, ruffing twice in one hand or the other. You cannot ruff spades in dummy, since South will surely overruff, so you plan is to ruff two hearts in hand, knowing that North must follow suit. You cannot draw trumps yet, so you must cash endangered side-suit winners early to prevent them being ruffed. Win the ace of spades, then lead a spade towards your king – if South has a singleton and ruffs in you can discard a club on the king of spades later.

When South follows you must hope that he also has two hearts and play the ace and king. Now lead a third heart, ruffing low if South discards a club. Cash one top diamond and play king and ace of clubs before leading dummy’s last heart. If South discards again you score your last little heart for your ninth trick, and still have three top trumps to bring the total to 12.

If South ruffs in to prevent you from scoring your low trump you can overruff and cross to a top trump in dummy to play the fourth heart.

If he ruffs in again you simply overruff and draw his one remaining trump. If he discards on the last heart you can ruff low and draw his last two trumps. Either way, mission accomplished.