His safe approach and his subterfuge

Calvin Coolidge said, “The right thing to do never requires any subterfuge. It is always simple and direct.”

At the bridge table, that can be right and wrong, sometimes even in the same deal.

In today’s layout, how should South plan the play in six hearts after West leads the diamond 10 to dummy’s king? What is the best defense against this contract?

North responded with a splinter bid. He showed four-plus hearts, at least gameforcing values, and a singleton (or void) in clubs. South then bid what he hoped he could make.

Since South’s third diamond could be discarded on dummy’s spade queen and his club seven ruffed on the board, declarer apparently needed only to avoid losing two trump tricks. The concern was a 3-0 break.

The right play at trick two is for South to lead dummy’s heart two and, when East covers with the three, to put on his four! Here, after it wins, declarer cashes the heart ace and claims. But if the four loses to West’s jack or king, the trumps must be 2-1. Or, if East discards on the first trump, South wins with his ace and leads a heart through West toward dummy’s queen.

That looks easy enough, but if East is in midseason form, he will produce some excellent subterfuge: He will drop his diamond queen under dummy’s king at trick one.

Now South will be reticent to take the trump safety-play for fear that East has two hearts and gains a diamond ruff when the first trump trick is taken by West’s singleton honor. South is highly likely to play a heart to his ace and, here, go down..