The Senior Life Master had returned from his round-the-world cruise. All the bridge-club members, happy that he was back, were ready to hear about the trip’s highlights.

“Well, I tried to visit a bridge club and play in a duplicate at each port of call. It wasn’t always possible, because the schedules of the ship and the club did not mesh. But I did play with and against a lot of interesting people.”

One new member asked if any of the deals had been particularly memorial. In the background, someone whispered “rookie error” because the SLM tended to be long-winded.

Well (answered the SLM), there was this textbook declarer-play problem that faced my partner during a duplicate in Auckland, the beautiful major city of New Zealand. It highlighted a difference between pair and team events.

I agree with my partner’s three-diamond rebid. With only four losers, that hand was too strong for a non-forcing two diamonds.

My partner won the first trick with the club ace, cashed her top diamonds, and ruffed a diamond with my heart nine. However, disaster struck when East over-ruffed and returned a trump. Now my partner had to lose two spades, one diamond and the over-ruff.

To be fair to my partner, she immediately said that she knew she could have guaranteed her contract by ruffing the third diamond with dummy’s heart ace. But as she mentioned, if the first diamond ruff passed off safely, she was a big favorite to win a valuable overtrick.

In theory (the SLM concluded), she had made the right play, but it had not worked – unlucky.