Simon Cochemé, whose witty column appears monthly in English Bridge magazine, celebrated his 70th birthday with a knees-up and duplicate at Young Chelsea at the end of November. The hands were ‘prepared’, each containing a problem of one sort or another, some well-known, others less so. The question was, would the players reach the intended contracts and recognise the problem, or would they find their own unique way to get lost? The party was overseen by club manager Nick Sandqvist, who, when he heard thunderous laughter from one table, went to investigate.