ACES ON BRIDGE
On the deal that follows, Jovanka Smederevac of Austria had at least two reasons to want to make her contract. First, she had to justify her sporting bidding. Second was her partner, Maria Erhart, not the most tolerant player in the world if her partner were to depart from perfection! As South, consider which of your secret weapons is going to be worth a trick. Smederevac’s unorthodox overcall of one spade had the effect of guiding her side to a very playable contract. Her opponents did not try five diamonds because they were playing a strong club, so the opening bid guaranteed only two diamonds. However, West’s final pause before passing did not escape declarer.
On the lead of the diamond seven to the ace for a trump return, Smederevac played low, then repeated the trump finesse. Since she had only six trump tricks, she needed both the heart ace onside and an extra club winner. However, her gut reaction was that West had five diamonds, and therefore only two clubs. So Smederevac led a low club to the eight, nine and jack. She then won the heart return in dummy with the king, cashed the club king and finessed the club seven. When that held the trick, she had her 10th winner.
This maneuver is known as an intra-finesse, and it combines taking a finesse with a subsequent pin of the card against which you originally finessed — in my opinion, one of the most elegant trick-generating plays in the book.
ANSWER: Double. You are comfortable doubling at the two-level to compete the partscore. You would not double a raise to three hearts, and you might be warier if the majors were reversed (in the bidding and the hand), in which case you would be forcing your side to the three-level. Some safety at the two-level lets you be aggressive here.