Everyone has moments of tiredness during bridge tournaments. But it’s a merciless game. Taking your eye off the ball for a second – even missing something as small as a spot-card – can lead to disaster. At the recent Spring Fours in Bristol, on a team with Sebastian Atisen, Alice Coptcoat and Ollie Burgess, I found myself defending this hand:

Sitting North, I led a spade to dummy’s ♠️10. Sebastian (South) played low, and declarer overtook with the ♠️Q. Next, he led a low diamond. I played the ♦️Q, he ducked, I pondered dummy, turned the trick over and – disaster! I couldn’t recall which diamond Sebastian had played. The ♦️6 maybe? The ♦️4? It would have been a suit-preference signal – this was no time for count – and now I had to guess.

West had a weak NT and had shown up with six points (♠️AQ). If he held the ♥️K, along with the ♣️A or ♣️K, I should play a club – partner could knock out West’s honour, removing the entry to his hand before he could unblock his spades. If West held the ♥️K(xx) and ♣️KQ, Sebastian could win the ♣️A and push a heart through.

But what if West held the ♣️AK or ♣️AQ? I should play a top heart, hoping partner had ♥️KJxx or ♥️Kxxxx. I closed my eyes (for the second time) and played the ♥️A. Wrong! When I apologised to Sebastian later, he asked, as kindly as he could, ‘Would you have remembered if I’d played the ♦️10?’ Yes, I replied. So then you know I played a low diamond. Declarer can’t have the ♦️10 or he wouldn’t have ducked your ♦️Q (I might have ♦️Kxx). So I must have the ♦️10 – and if I’d wanted a heart, I’d have played it’. Aaargh, ever felt like a double-dummy?