Placing the cards

“Possession is nine-tenths of the law. Possessio is ninetenths of the word.” — graffiti

“Card reading” — discerning what your opponents hold by drawing inferences from the bidding, opening lead and play — is alleged to be the domain of the expert. In truth, the process can be simple in principle, often amounting only to counting to 13. But you must be in possession of the relevant facts.

In today’s deal, South opened one diamond after three passes and leaped to five diamonds, reasonably enough, when North raised. West led the queen of spades, and South took dummy’s ace and tried a heart finesse with his queen. West won and continued with the jack of spades.

South ruffed, led a trump to dummy and returned a club. When East played low, South agonized and played ... the ten. West took the queen and returned a club to East’s ace for down one.

South would, or should, make his contract if he possessed all the facts. After he ruffs the second spade, he can

dig for information. He takes the ace of hearts, ruffs a heart high in dummy and ruffs the last spade. He draws trumps with the ace, ruffs his last heart in dummy and leads a club. East plays low.

At that point, South knows that West had K-J-5-4 in hearts, probably Q-J-10-x in spades and a singleton diamond. Suppose West’s clubs were A-9-7-4. Then some aggressive Wests might have opened the bidding, but every West would have doubled South’s one diamond for takeout as a passed hand, not vulnerable.

South should put up his king of clubs, placing East with the ace.