It does not look too difficult, but let's see how the teams fared. Names have been deleted to avoid embarrassment but you know who you are!
SBU v Ireland
England v Scotland
Northern Ireland v Wales
Congratulations to Ciara Burns and John Murchan, Northern Ireland, for being the only pair in the solid grand slam. But strong twos would have made this hand simple. They are the future!
7 comments:
It should have been simple to get to 6S at a minimum, regardless of the system. I have a tiny bit of sympathy for the West who had to deal with a 2D opening on his right but the other four tables were pretty idiotic really.
West hand looks like a 2C opening to me: 4 quick tricks, something slightly less than 4 losers, easy rebid. North might well/should muck matters a bit with an overcall, but with trump support and five controls opposite a 2C opener, it is hard to fathom stopping short of slam. Ascertaining the queen equivalent of having ten total trumps seems to me to be the only problem that would cause a pair to settle in a small, rather than a grand, slam.
This does not exactly defeat your argument either, Paul. Like Michael said, it should have been simple regardless of system. Lessurl and I play weak 2s and we'd be in slam in a heart beat.
West: 2C (GF; asking aces)
East: 2S (2 aces)
If we're having a bad day at the office, we might find ourselves in a making 7NT when really we should be in 7 Spades.
Awful bidding.
Using Namyats or bidding 4S with this hand is bonkers. It's a clear 2C opener.
P - 2C - P - 2D (one or more quick tricks; 2H would be negative)
P - 2S - P - 3S (accept spades; slam interest)
P - 4D -P - 4H (diamond control, no club control; heart cue-bid also shows club control)
Now, blackwood by west to confirm that east has the club ace and not the club king and he can bid 7S since east has 3 spades, and so it's likely that he has the queen or that the queen drops. At matchpoints, I might ask for the queen of trumps and stop at 6S.
With interference, east has to gamble by bidding 4NT directly, but should still get to at least 6S.
I doubt that any of the pairs who played in game are very happy with their bidding on what appears a very simple hand.
But I feel it does highlight what pressure can do. This is no ordinary club game, it is a very important international match.
You may feel that this should make no difference here, but it is extraordinary what pressure can do to you. There were numerous instances of people doing things that they would never consider at the club, let alone actually do.
A bit like the Ryder Cup which can make the world's best golfers look foolish. Generally the standard of play in the second weekend (in March) is higher.
Surely the South who opened 2D infringed Health and Safety legislation.
It was a trash multi, described as 3-8 HCP and, commonly, a five-card major.
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