Autumn 2013 has been the single worst season of my bridge career. Actually, do I have a bridge career? Doesn’t a career suggest some kind of financial gain and status, rather than a substanstial loss and rapid downward spiral?

My Autumnus horribilis kicked off with the first of three Premier League weekends, from which we were unceremoniously relegated. Then we jetted off to Monaco for Pierre Zimmermann’s second Monaco Cavendish, in which we did rather well last year and rather badly this time. Then came the Lederer, where we got off to a flying start and a crashing finish. And the final nail (hopefully) in the coffin of disasters was playing Sally Brock’s immensely strong squad in the Hubert Phillips, and getting mullered!

Here is the great rubber bridge stalwart, Robert Sheehan partnering Gunnar Hallberg, with Sally and Barry Myers as teammates, making a difficult defence look effortless:

Robert was West and led the Jack of Diamonds. Gunnar won the King and shifted to the ♠6. When South played the Queen, Sheehan ducked without a flicker. As we can see, declarer can enter dummy with the ♥A and play another Diamond towards hand to establish his Queen, then win the Spade return with the Ace and take a Diamond ruff to emerge with a total of five tricks in trumps plus three side winners. However, South hadn’t forgotten that East passed third in hand and, if he had the King of trumps, as seemed likely, he could not also have the Heart King. Consequently, when declarer confidently finessed the ♥Q — the roof caved in. When the smoke had cleared, South had only made four trump tricks, the Ace of Clubs and a long Diamond for —200!

Well done that man, good luck in the next round and roll on 2014. Oh — I nearly forgot — Merry Christmas!