Using a system that involved transfer responses in competition, I assume East showed both majors here from the final of the 2025 Copenhagen World Bridge Tour. Whatever the case, his subsequent defense was admirable.
Dennis Bilde and Martin Schaltz bid to three no-trump, and Andrea Manno, West, led a spade, won by dummy’s ace. Schaltz then called for the diamond king. How should East defend?
Most players would instinctively win with the diamond ace at once, but Massimiliano Di Franco knew better. He ducked, which could scarcely cost a trick, given South’s diamond raise, and might even cramp declarer’s communications.
Di Franco won the next diamond trick perforce and returned a spade. If declarer played a heart now, to establish his ninth trick, West could rush up with the heart ace, cash spades and shift to a club. Declarer would have to win and either cash the diamonds, stranding his heart queen, or lead a diamond to his jack and abandon the long diamonds. In practice, Schaltz tried running the diamond suit immediately, but the defenders each discarded down to a single heart, and the contract was defeated.
Had East taken the first diamond trick, declarer would have retained communication in diamonds. South would win the spade return and concede a heart, after which he could reach his hand in diamonds to score the heart queen and still get back to dummy with the third diamond.
A similar defense would have been necessary if declarer had played on hearts at trick two.