Crossruff

	10 9 3
	A K 10 3
	9
	A 9 7 5 4
6 2		5 4
Q J 7 6 2		9 5
A K Q 8		7 4 2
10 6		K Q J 8 3 2
	A K Q J 8 7
	8 4
	J 10 6 5 3
	------

Crossruffs are a prime time to be counting winners. The above hand with a 6-3 trump distribution may not be considered primarily as a crossruff, to be sure. You could as easily think of it as ruffing out three diamonds (if allowed), and throwing a fourth on the A of clubs. They amount to the same thing. Another problem is that most people were in 4 spades, which can hardly be butchered, not in 6 which is possible without a trump lead and the crossruff is necessary. In any event, you can count nine trump winners (without a trump lead), two hearts and a club.

Now there are several things to look at when embarking on a crossruff. How many side-suit winners can you cash and how many low trump do you need to get through before you have only high trump left. Here, of course, you have three side-suit winners and just one low trump that can be overruffed. (Well, none can be overruffed on first-round ruffs, but I mean from declarer's viewpoint.) Please remember that you've got to cash your side-suit winners early. Otherwise, the opponents will be discarding that suit as you crossruff and you won't get them as winners. And if there's a singleton heart? Oh, please. You can always envision a distribution that will queer your plans and sometimes you'll find them, but you can't back off relatively small risks like that. With 7 hearts outstanding, you're going to get unsettled by the possibility of a 6-1 split? And ultimately lose a trick, not gain one for your concern. Another declarer was undone by fear of the same split in diamonds! (which I'll get to in a moment).

So I looked at some declarers making only five. The all got a diamond lead. A couple of them got a trump switch by an alert West, and now there's no way to make 12 tricks. You can't establish a long club for an obvious reason, and you can't establish a long diamond, even with a 4-3 split because West holds the K Q 8 tenace over J 10 6. So the shift can only be chalked up to good defense.

But a few declarers were their own defense against 12 tricks. Opening lead the K of diamonds and a shift to club. Declarer now only had to cash his top hearts and push through one -- count 'em -- one diamond with a low ruff. This first declarer started crossruffing away and didn't get around to cashing his top hearts till tricks 8 & 9. By that time, East had discarded a heart and was able to ruff the second round of the suit. Tough luck.

The next declarer I looked at got the same favorable shift to a club at trick two, cashed his A K of hearts at tricks three and four! What on earth could inhibit a run for twelve tricks now. Well, I'll tell you what it was. With just one trump that could possibly be overruffed, and that obviated by ruffing the second round of diamonds with the 3, this declarer ruffed the second round of diamonds with the 9 and the third round with the 10! Now he can't use the 3 of trump any more than could those who got a spade shift at trick 2.

One trump that can be overruffed! The second round of diamonds can eliminate any danger. The funny thing is that this is the second case of that I've come across in a week. On another hand, declarer just had one trump that could be overruffed, which danger could have been obviated with a second round ruff which would have held. But he got too scared and wound up losing a trick for his caution, not gaining.