Milan Kundera, a Czech author, said, “Happiness is the longing for repetition.”

Happiness can come from repetition if it helps to reinforce key topics. In this deal, for example, South is in three no-trump. After West leads the heart king, how should the play proceed?

You would prefer to be in five diamonds or five clubs, which, after a heart lead, requires one out of two finesses to work. However, unless you are sure that three no-trump is hopeless, if you spend your time playing in five of a minor, you will be a big loser in the long run.

South starts with only five top tricks: two spades, one heart, one diamond and one club. He can establish the extra winners that he needs if he takes a winning minorsuit finesse. However, if his chosen finesse fails, the opponents will surely cash a fatal number of hearts.

As I pointed out earlier this week, the technical play is first to cash the diamond ace (you have more diamonds than clubs); then, if the king doesn’t drop, to finesse in clubs. Here, that would have worked.

Instead, the original South won trick two with dummy’s heart ace and led the club queen. He hoped that if East had the king, he would either cover an honor with an honor, or at least think about it. But when East played low in tempo, declarer won with his ace and took the diamond finesse. Now he went down two.

How did East know what to do?

From the point count. Since West was marked with his three heart honors, South had to have the club ace. So, East could anticipate the actual position. Well defended.