I always put on weight when I play in bridge tournaments: the build-up of stress and concentration makes me ravenous.

Sally Brock often reminds me of the time, many years ago, that we played in the women’s trials at the YC, which was then based in Earl’s Court. When it was over, she asked if I’d like to join her and a few others for dinner at a local Italian. I told her that, unfortunately, I had other plans. In truth, I was craving junk food. Fifteen minutes later, Sally and co were sitting at a window table, when they saw me walk past stuffing a Big Mac into my mouth. Ten minutes later, Sally saw me walk past again, this time scoffing KFC drumsticks from a bucket.

Last weekend was Stage 1 of the Women’s European Trials – 144 boards over three days – and let’s just say I won’t go anywhere near the scales for a while. But it was worth it: my partner Paula Leslie and I qualified for Stage 2, a head-to-head match in two weeks’ time to decide the winners. I hadn’t played much with Paula before – she used to represent Scotland before switching to England – but she’s a terrific player, and we gelled well. Here, she’s declaring 2♠ (see diagram).

West led the ♥K, and when East encouraged, continued with the ♥J to East’s ♥A. East switched to the ♣3, an obvious singleton. With three hearts and the ♠A to lose, Paula couldn’t let East ruff more than one club. If she played on trumps and West held the ♠A, West could give East a ruff, and get back in with the ♥Q for a second ruff. However, if West held the ♠A, that gave her 12 points – which made it unlikely she also held the ◆K. Paula had a plan: she won in dummy, cashed the ◆A, and played the ◆Q – when East covered, she discarded a heart. Having swapped losers to sever communication, West was able to give East one ruff when she got in with the ♠A, but that was that.