This is aHand:

Bidding.

After East Passes as dealer we open 1NT and partner raises that to 3NT.

Well, the bidding is easy enough – how about the play?

Play.

West leads the ♣10 and we see we have a 5-5 Diamond fit. Interesting, but it doesn’t imply 5♦ would have been better…

Well, this is all too easy, right? Run the Club to the ♣Q in hand and make buckets of overtricks if West has led from ♣K 10 9 8 × and still make plenty of tricks if West has led from ♣10 9 8 × ×. What a dull hand.

Maybe.

Maybe, though, we ought to return to basic principles here before we fall into the trap of saying (as so many declarers do, in one breath) “Thank you, partner, play small, please�. Where’s the Count? Where’s the Plan? Playing too quickly is a bridge crime!

The indispensable count of tricks shows us that we have just five on top (one Spade, three Hearts and one Club). Where are four extra tricks coming from? Diamonds, of course – once the ♦A has been forced out we can reap the harvest from that field.

So we have nine tricks without any problems unless… unless what? Well, allowing East to gain the lead early to shoot a Spade through the ♠A Q would be unfortunate, to say the least. On this layout it would be fatal.

Suppose we made the “routine� play of running the ♣10 around to the ♣Q in hand. East would win his ♣K and shift to the ♠J. We’d have to try the ♠Q, which would allow West to win the ♠K and clear the Spades. Now we would be tempo behind in the race. When East gained the lead with the ♦A he’d have a fistful of Spades to cash. Oops.

With absolute certainty staring us in the face this is no time to take risks. We must call for the ♣A from table and immediately attack Diamonds, planning to make one Spade, three Hearts, four Diamonds and one Club.

The fall of the singleton ♣K is an unexpected bonus that you may choose to see as another reward for accurate play. Had His Majesty not fallen we were sure of at least nine tricks; now we actually make eleven.

By concentrating our focus on just one area (the play in the Club suit) it is easy to miss the danger looming from another direction.

We will leave you with the wisdom of Tennessee Ernie Ford. (Sixteen tons):

If you see me comin', better step aside
A lotta men didn't and a lotta men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don't getcha, then the left one will.