In the evaluation of a hand most players rely almost entirely on high card points whereas distribution often plays a bigger part in the trick taking value of the hand – the problem, however, is that bridge bidding is pretty efficient in exchanging high card point information, but needs a lot more system work in order to also describe distribution.

One bid that most players use that does well in both areas is the “splinter bid” where a jump to the four level usually shows a game going hand, at least four-card support for partner’s last bid suit and a singleton in the suit that has just been bid. This is valuable information – in a splinter bid hand if you think you and your partner have 28 HCP outside the splinter suit you must be in slam as you are, in effect, playing with a 30-point deck of which you have 28 of the 30 points.

Let’s take a look at a simple example – you hold AKJ43. KJ5, A4, 832 – partner opens one diamond you bid one spade and partner jumps to four clubs showing four-card spade support and a singleton club – your next bid must be six spades as the opponents have ten points in clubs that will only get them one trick!

The rest of the points in the other three suits belong to you and partner – partner’s hand Q983, AQ64, KQ86, 9 – you can pretty much claim the slam without seeing dummy.

Today’s hand (see Figure 1) is not as obvious as the above, but North applied the same thinking when he put his partner in the small slam.

South opened one heart and West jumped to three spades – North had an awkward decision over the three of spades and, in the end, decided to rely on South not having wasted honours in spades based on West’s vulnerable jump overcall.

If that were the case, his side would have a minimum of around 26 or so points in the other suits, making slam a distinct possibility. Accordingly, he enquired about keycards with 4NT, and bid the slam when South admitted holding two of them with his bid of five hearts.

West led the King of spades, taken in dummy with the Ace. Declarer saw that even on a 3-2 trump break he only had 11 tricks. It seemed to declarer that relying on a 3-3 club division after finding trumps 3-2 was a poor chance (less than one in five).

Instead, declarer asked himself: “What if I could make all of the small trumps in my hand by ruffing two diamonds and dummy’s fourth club?”

Declarer saw this would yield 12 tricks so long as East had three or four trumps and at least four cards in each minor! So, declarer put his plan into action by cashing the Ace and King of trumps.

Next, he took the King and Ace of diamonds and then ruffed a diamond. Declarer crossed back to dummy with a low club to the King to ruff dummy’s remaining diamond.

Declarer continued by playing the Queen and Ace of clubs. When West showed out, declarer ruffed the five of clubs, bringing his trick total to 11 with dummy’s good Queen of trumps still to come. (If clubs had proved to be 3-3, declarer would have drawn the last trump with dummy’s Queen and cashed the 13th club.)

A great partnership success – North’s analysis in bidding the slam was great, and the declarer play by South was flawless! The sort of hand that leaves you buzzing long after the cards are put back in the boards!

• The team of Rachael Gosling, John Glynn, Charles Hall and Stephanie Kyme are representing Bermuda in the Bermuda Bowl Trials under way in Barbados. I will bring you a full report in next week’s column.

• David Ezekiel can be reached on davidezekiel999@gmail.com

BRIDGE CLUB RESULTS

Friday, April 25

1 Erika Jones/Delton Outerbridge

2 Gertrude Barker/Martha Ferguson

3 Jane Smith/Sancia Garrison

Monday, April 28

1 Sheena Rayner/Magda Farag

2 Lorna Anderson/Heather Woolf

3 Louise Rodger/Molly Taussig

Tuesday, April 29

North/South

1 James Mulderig/Robert Mulderig

2 Amanda Ingham/Heidi Dyson

3 Sandra Ogden/Sally Irvine

East/West

1 Erika Jones/Jean Schilling

2 Veronica Boyce/Carol Eastham

3 Richard Bruton/Chris Van Rooyen

Wednesday, April 30

North/South

1 William Pollett/Linda Pollett

2 Gertrude Barker/Jane Smith

East/West

1 Sheena Rayner/Molly Taussig

2 Patricia Siddle/Diana Diel

Granaway Bridge Club

1 Tracy Nash/Des Nash

2 Wendy Gray/Richard Gray

3 David Cordon/Julie Lunn