by Oswald Jacoby and Alan Sontag for Gadsden Times – Feb 18, 1982
Here is a fairly simple example of counting the hand from Kelsey’s “‘Advanced Play at Bridge.” For Kelsey, it is very, very simple. Don’t criticize the bidding. Books on play are designed to got declarer to a problem contract, not to show how to bid.
Contract: 5
West is allowed to hold the first trick with his king of spades. Since East has played the deuce, West shifts to the king of clubs. South wins this trick in dummy and draw trumps with two leads. He notes that West has followed to both trumps while East has dropped a low diamond.
It is a simple matter to count the hand and to see that unless West is slightly insane he was dealt at least 10 black cards. The queen of diamond finesse going to be a certain loser, but if South has counted he has no worries.
South leads a diamond to his king and since West shows out South’s worries are over.
He plays his ace of spades, ruffs his last spade in dummy and leads a club. If West wins he has to lead a black card to give a ruff in dummy and a diamond discard. If East wins he has the additional option of leading away from his diamond queen.
South notes that if West had opened a club instead of the spade the end play could not have been developed.