The great Bob Hamman, in his heyday the best player in the world, was once asked what the biggest mistakes of his bridge career had been, and he answered: ‘To gamble on a penalty instead of bidding our own contract.’

The longer I play this game, the more I realise how right he is; defending is hard and full of surprises, and defending doubled contracts – especially part scores – is as unprofitable as it is stressful.