Remain focused

On the last board of the night, after a non-spectacular game, I am looking forward to a shot of scotch.

I was South and holding,

N

Pard

♠

xx

♥

Axx

♦

J9xxxx

♣

xx

Lead: ♣Q

S

Me

♠

Axxx

♥

Kxx

♦

AKQ

♣

Axx

I opened the bidding 2NT. Partner simply raised me to 3NT.  How many tricks should I make?

Can you believe that I made only 9 tricks?

What on earth could have happened? Well, halfway through the hand, as I was cashing the diamonds, East said to my partner "you have to bid 3nt with this hand."

"I did bid 3nt," said dummy, and in the confusion of verifying that the contract was 3nt, I neglected to cash the last diamond.

That lapse in concentration was worth one gold point. One whole gold point!