Last weekend saw the qualifying matches for the Tollemache Cup, the inter-county championships for teams of eight. I didn’t play because …well, because I wasn’t asked. But I’m not bitter — not so you would notice anyhow. Two members of my team, Nick Sandqvist and Tom Townsend, played for London and squeaked into February’s final despite their little disaster on today’s hand.
Tom’s 6♣ bid was what Nick describes as ‘a sudden outbreak of optimism’, while the raise to 7♣ looked fairly automatic — to Nick!
On West’s trump...

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