Always Count

Alford 25/02/04

N/S Vul. Dealer: N. Aggregate Pairs

	A Q 10 5 2
	A K 10 4
	8
	A 6 3

	J 9 8 6 3
	8
	Q 10 7 6 5
	5 2

	N
W		E
	S

	4
	J 9 7 6 3
	3 2
	K 9 8 7 4

	K 7
	Q 5 2
	A K J 9 4
	Q J 10

North	East	South	West
1	Pass	2	Pass
2	Pass	2NT	Pass
3	Pass	4NT	Pass
5	Pass	6NT	Pass
Pass	Pass

The bidding is Precision, of course.

You can sometimes use RKB to find out if your partner has the King of a suit. Partner thinks we are intending to play in Hearts. Our 5C shows 0 or 4, and I need the KH to be in a safe NT Slam.

West sensibly did not lead away from his J9 or Q10 (nearly always a bad lead in NT), and chose the 5 of Clubs to East's King, and then a Diamond switch.

It is always good Bridge to remove Dummy's singleton in NT to prevent a squeeze, as it removes an entry back to Declarer's hand. The JS is going to be the important card, as I need 5 Spade tricks. Experienced players postpone the critical suit as long as possible and perhaps get a favourable discard.

The Diamond Ace wins, and a Heart to the Ace and back to the Queen shows the singleton. Another Heart and the two Club winners squeeze West, and three discards are too much and he is unable to keep his DQ protected and keep 5 Spades. The Spade was discarded, and I was able to take the marked finesse in Spades against West, as I know he has 5 Spades, 1 Heart, 5 Diamonds and 2 Clubs. Slam made. 5 Spades, 3 Hearts, 2 Diamonds and 2 Clubs.