Dealer: N Vul: N/S
NORTH
♠ —
♥ AK10754
♦ K10942
♣ K2
WEST EAST
♠ J9753 ♠ AK82
♥ — ♥ J9832
♦ QJ53 ♦ A76
♣ A1096 ♣ 5
SOUTH
♠ Q1064
♥ Q6
♦ 9
♣ QJ9743
The art of cross-ruffing is a valuable skill for bridge players. When the distribution of the cards is suitable it allows declarer to win trump tricks separately in hand and in dummy.
East/West winners last Monday,Janny Sipple and Warwick Milne, took advantage of this strategy to make 4S, a contract which evaded all other pairs. It would appear that they entered the auction when Janny (West) made a take-out double of the hearts being bid by North/South. Warwick then gave full value to the singleton club and pushed the bidding to 4S.
South, obediently but futilely, led the Queen of hearts, which was trumped in dummy (West). The stage was now set for the cross-ruff. The winning line is to cash the Ace of clubs and to send a low club to declarer to be trumped. A second heart was trumped in dummy and yet another club was trumped.
The key play at this point was to cash the Ace of diamonds to prevent South from discarding the nine of diamonds. South could soon win the Queen of spades, but at this point had only clubs and spades left. Whatever South continued, declarer could win and continue the relentless cross-ruff. Declarer had to concede two diamond tricks at the end, but by that time had won the necessary ten tricks.
Results, 27/01/25 (6-table Mitchell): N/S Nankervis Kelly (58.0) 1; N. Collins D. Moran (57.0) 2; R. Hart N. McGinness (49.3) 3. E/W Milne J. Sipple (61.7) 1; P. Campbell T. Hinde (60.3) 2; N. Bonnell V. Prentice (53.0) 3. Friday, 31/01/25 (5-table Mitchell): N/S T. Hinde J. Mobbs (60.7) 1; J. Smith R. Hart (60.1) 2. E/W Moran N. McGinness (60.1) 1; A. Macdonald B. Reid (53.2) 2.
