Keep plugging away at that one suit

Napoleon Hill, a self-help author, wrote, “Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.” In bridge, I am not so sure about perspiration. Bridge rooms are often far too cold, especially those at North American Championships. But patience and persistence are usually valuable virtues — as in today’s deal. How did the play go in three no-trump after West led the club six: four, two, king? Much as I agree with treating a singleton king as if it were king-doubleton, holding those five strong hearts, South might well have opened one heart. Then, though, probably North would have responded one spade, South would have rebid two notrump, and North would have passed. As usual in no-trump, this was a race. Could South take one spade, two hearts, three diamonds and three clubs before the defenders could collect two spades, two hearts and one diamond? At trick two, South led his spade king. East, expecting South to have a doubleton, did well not to duck. Then declarer could have succeeded with a good heart guess. East shifted to a low heart. When South played his queen (not that it mattered), West won and returned the heart nine, ducked to declarer’s 10. Now came a low diamond. West jumped this hurdle by winning with his ace. (If he had ducked, South would have led the spade jack from the board to get home.) But then West’s persistence petered out; he returned a diamond instead of his last heart. Declarer drove out the spade queen and had his nine tricks.