Knowing Your System
By Mike Lawrence

My estimate of partner's hand was off by a few factors. It had the missing queen of spades but it lacked a few key cards. Still, it was necessary to finish the play, a rule in tournament events. The play was more fun for our opponents than us.

West's lead of the ace of diamonds set seven notrump immediately. Some defenders would have signaled that they like diamonds, but East played the two of diamonds, discouraging the suit. West, perceiving what had happened, switched to the queen of hearts. 3200 points later, Bill and I decided to spend another hour on Blackwood!