Bridge

Do you get the idea, get the idea?

Napoleon Hill, who was a self-help author, wrote, “Any ideas, plan or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought.”

For many people, repetition is the best way to learn something. If you keep doing it, doing it, doing it, slowly the idea will sink in and become known.

Today’s deal echoes yesterday’s. South is in four spades after the auction began with three passes around to him. West leads the diamond king. How should declarer plan the play?

It is the modern style to open one notrump when balanced with the right point-count, even with a five-card major. When North responded with a transfer bid, South jumped to three spades, a superaccept, promising at least four-card support, a doubleton somewhere and not a minimum opening.

Declarer was faced with five potential losers: one spade, two hearts and two diamonds. He needed a winning spade finesse and a good heart guess.

After ducking the first trick and taking West’s diamond-jack continuation with his ace, South led the spade queen: king, ace. Declarer drew the missing trump, cashed his club winners and exited with his third diamond. West took that trick and shifted to a low heart. What did declarer do? Why?

It was time to recall the auction and — repetition from yesterday — to count the high-card points. West had already shown up with 9 points in spades and diamonds. If he also had the heart ace, he would have opened the bidding as dealer. So, South called for dummy’s heart jack, hoping that West had started with 11 points, not 9.