CBAI v England
It was no surprise that this match got top billing for Round 2, as with 16 and 19 VPs respectively, they were the top two. I was late to start viewing this match, as I was finishing up my previous post, and when I came in, North and South held these cards on Board 14:
5 4
A 7 3
Q 5
K Q 6 5 3 2
K Q J 10 7
Q
A J 8 4
A J 7
The diamond finesse is onside, so 6 Clubs is the optimum spot. 6NT by North is reasonably good on the lie, as East would have to find the lead of King from K J 9 4 in hearts to beat it. But do you want to be in a 50% slam? Personally, I want to be in a 50% slam only on the 50% of occasions that it works. England went to Five Clubs with an Overtrick, where Gormally and Synnott went to 3NT and made 3 overtricks for 2 IMPs. They were the only 2 IMPs scored at that point, and with six boards played and four comparisons made (one table having played boards 23 and 24 first), the score was still 2-0 to the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland.
The boards were looking a bit flat, with no IMPs scored at all in the other match, and it required someone to take action in the bidding to cause more IMPs to flow. The Irish East-West found themselves in 2 Spades one off on Board 17, but after the same 1 Club opening from East, Gormally (South) held this:
A K
10 3
K 9 7 5 4 3
9 7 4
He found a bid of 3 Diamonds. This was well judged, as it might make, and it caused the English pair to try their luck in 3NT. Their luck was out; they came four off, and CBAI took a 6-0 lead. That remained the score after six comparisons out of 12, and we were looking at a low scoring match. Boards 23 and 24 looked flat too (though you can never tell, and when I say "you", I do of course mean: "me"). On Board 18, an English Declarer in a superior contract to his counterpart went two down, losing three more IMPs. I won't post that one here. Not long after, the Irish gained an IMP on Board 23 (the other table clearly slightly ahead of time), and it was 10-0. Both England and Ireland played well enough to flatten Board 20 at 630 to North-South. Ireland did well on Board 24 to get a 15-0 lead with one table having two boards to play, but then came the "swing" board.
Q 8 6 5
A K J 10 4
A 8 5
4
K 10 4
Q 5
K 7 4 3 2
Q 10 8
These were the North and South hands. The English North played in 4 Hearts, making exactly. Gormally was in 3NT, and he had no chance of making it when West led from K J x x x in clubs. Suddenly, with one board to go, it was 15-13. That was hard lines on Ireland, on a set where one bad board can finish you off. And if your luck is out, it's out.
On the final board, Ireland gained an IMP in generally confusing circumstances, which I won't go into here. However, the 16-13 result was not necessarily final, as the English East-West called the Director to ask for an adjusted score. The result at 4:11pm British time was 16-14 to CBAI.
Scotland v CBAI
This started off as Bottom versus Second Top. Scotland had thrown away a narrow lead in a very short space of time against Northern Ireland, to find themselves headed for a 19-11 defeat at one stage, having to battle back to a 16-14 loss. CBAI were second by one VP, but had won two out of two matches.
As is my want, I watched the table that started with Board 35, so that I would see the comparisons. So for Board 35 I found myself casting a virtual IMP to Scotland, as Ireland made a 4 Heart contract without the possible overtrick. On Board 36, Scotland bid to 3NT without a diamond stop, and took 8 tricks. Therefore, I made a mental note to deduct x amount of IMPs from Scotland's score. The next question that arose was how do you get to the optimum contract here:
A K Q 4
10 9 8 6 4 2
6
A 4
J 6 3
K
A 5
K Q J 9 8 7 2
The Irish North-South did not manage, and I was left to assume the Scottish pair did, assuming because the running scores said Scotland were 11-0 up, but BBO had completely frozen. I tried closing it down and logging back in, but that maybe wasn't a good idea. For some reason BBO was suddenly running at dead slow and stop.
So, I took a break for supper, and returned to find that the Scots had indeed bid the slam and built up a 29-0 lead in my absence. That was with 7 boards played and 5 comparisons made. On board 30, Wilkinson took a wrong guess in 2 Clubs, but did enough to make the contract and flatten 1NT making 7 to retain the 29 IMP lead.
Board 31 was a sore missed opportunity for Scotland.
Q J 2
6 4 3
Q 9 7
A K Q 2
K 10 6 5 3
2
A K 5 4 3
10 5
The other table had already played the board; the Irish pair coming down in 4 Spades. I was keen for the Scottish pair to get to the same contract. After 2 Hearts from West, raised to 3 Hearts from East, South doubled at unfavourable vulnerability. North pondered and bid 4 Clubs, and South bid 4 Diamonds. North went into the tank again, and eventually bid 5 Diamonds. Gormally led his singleton ace of spades and played partner in with a heart to generate a ruff; flat board.
On Board 32, the same contract was played at both tables; 2 Spades by North. The Scottish East was unlucky that his choice of lead was a disaster that allowed the contract to sail to ten, whilst Alex Wilkinson had to play carefully just to make 8. There was a double dummy route to 9, but not a line that an International player is going to find, or even look for, when he doesn't have the benefit of seeing all the cards. Ireland were off the mark with 2 IMPs. Almost immediately, the IMP in reserve appeared for Scotland from Board 35. Whilst writing that up, Wilkinson found an inspired trump lead on the next board to flatten it.
I was happy to see Board 36 going flat, meaning that the other table had finished and we just had to see what happened on Board 34. The Scottish EW bid and made 3 Spades. Gormally found himself in the same contract, and NS always have four tricks (cashed off the top), so the match ended with a 22-8 VP win to Scotland.
Meanwhile, England won by the same VP scoreline to retain their lead at the top. The table after the first round robin:
England: 55
Scotland: 47
CBAI: 40
NIBU: 38
This brought it to supper time for the players.
I shall conclude with a bit of unfinished business - the hand I left at the end of my Retaining the Reid post. The "answer" is that the player who held that hand made a well-judged bid of 6 Clubs. Jun held:
K Q 5
K 10 7 4 3 2
A Q 3
Q
He raised to 7 Clubs, making.
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