It’s tough trying to recall every card that the opponents have played when you’re in the middle of a tricky contract. It reminds me of that old game show hosted by Bruce Forsyth – The Generation Game – where the winning contestant sat at a conveyor belt and watched prizes go past. They then had 20 seconds to remember – and take home – as many as they could: ‘Fondue set!… Clock!… Cuddly toy!…’. No one managed them all. So too with cards: after a few have gone past, they can become a bit of a blur.

Not at the highest level, of course; it’s one of the things that sets the experts apart from the rest. In the recent final of the World Mixed Teams, here’s how Daniela von Armin made 6◆(see diagram).

(*transfer.) South led the ◆5, won by the ◆7. The ◆Q came next. South ducked, declarer overtook with the ◆K, and North discarded the ♠2 (reverse count). On the ◆J, North threw the ♣5. South won and played another diamond, North discarding the ♣8. Von Arnim won, cashed ♥AK, played a spade to the ♠Q, cashed the ♥Q, and came back with the ♠A. Another diamond: spade discards. That left N: ♥10 ♣109, S: ♠J9 ♣K, W: ◆3 ♣64, E: ♥4 ♣AQ. Where was the ♥10? South had shown up with the ♥J96. With the ♥10 too might he have led a heart? Moreover, North’s carding strongly suggested 4414 shape. On the last diamond, North threw the ♣9, declarer threw dummy’s heart, and South threw a spade. At trick 12, what could be simpler to a great player who’s been watching and counting – a club to the ace, felling South’s ♣K!