1. See also

2. References

The Belladonna coup is the play of a low card away from an accompanying high card, giving the opponents the impossible choice between setting up a winner for declarer and abandoning an attack on another suit.

The provenance of the following spectacular hand,^[1] which illustrates the Belladonna coup, is uncertain. A similar layout, with the same key play, is discussed by Victor Mollo.^[2] Both sources attribute the coup to Giorgio Belladonna, for many years a cornerstone of the Italian Blue Team. (Belladonna later said that he could not recall having made the key play.) It is said that Belladonna played it as described in a European Community championship in Belgium during the 1980s. But it is also said that Paul Lukacs, the game's pre-eminent composer of single-dummy problems, composed it away from the table.

Instead of relying on the position of the heart ace or a favorable diamond split, South played for the nearly sure thing by taking a safety play in hearts.

South led to dummy's {{Diams}}K and played the {{Hearts}}6 away from the {{Hearts}}K! This gave the E-W an impossible choice:

• If East takes the trick with either the {{Hearts}}A or (if he has it) the {{Hearts}}Q, South eventually takes a heart trick by force of cards. East can continue trumps safely from his side, but South would no longer need to ruff a heart to reach ten tricks.
• If West takes the trick – say, by capturing the {{Hearts}}J with the {{Hearts}}Q – then South might never take a heart trick. But West could not lead another spade without sacrificing his trump trick. South can't be stopped from either ruffing a heart in dummy, or (if West leads another trump) from taking five spades in his own hand.

Notice that South gives up the best chance of making a heart trick (leading toward the {{Hearts}}K). By giving up the chance for one trick in hearts, South virtually guarantees ten tricks (now only a very unlikely defensive minor suit ruff can defeat the contract).

Notice the presence of the avoidance play theme in this deal.

See also

• Morton's fork coup

References

• Sudden
• Sudden adult death syndrome
• Sudden Adult Death Syndrome
• Sudden arrhythmia death syndrome
• Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome
• Sudden death
• Sudden Death (movie)
• Sudden death (sport)
• Sudden Fear
• Sudden impact
• Sudden Impact
• Sudden infant death syndrome
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
• Suddenly (1954 film)
• Suddenly (1954 movie)
• Suddenly (1st LP)
• Suddenly 30
• Suddenly Last Summer
• Suddenly (Marcus Miller album)
• Suddenly Susan
• Suddenly There's a Valley
• Suddenly There's A Valley
• Suddenly Thirty
• Suddenly Weekly
• Sudden Motion Sensor