More Live Blogging … Continuation of Segment 1

We are back.  Bathurst has now pushed their lead to 22 with 12 imps on a game swing when Diamond sold to 4S.

Things have quieted down with Board 6-7 being routine major suit games.   Play is much slower in the Open Room where Moss has gone into a huddle in the early stages of Board 7.  Of course many boards require some play and Board 7 is one of them but it is pretty safe on any reasonable line despite a poor trump break.

Board 8 brings another big swing.  This one to Diamond.  Here is the deal and the auction.  Nobody vulnerable.

Dealer: Vul:	Moss ♠ AJ97 ♥ Q3 ♦ Q532 ♣ KQ9
Zagorin ♠ K64 ♥ K876 ♦ K10964 ♣ 2		Bathurst ♠ 2 ♥ AJ10952 ♦ 8 ♣ AJ864
	Gitelman ♠ Q10853 ♥ 4 ♦ AJ7 ♣ 10753

Moss opened 1D and maybe Bahurst would have been best to bid 2NT to show his two-suiter but he chose to overcall 1H.  Gitelman bid 1S and Zagorin bid 4H. Over 5C Bathurst showed his clubs to help his partner out if the opponents bid 5S.  Gitelman decided he better show his diamond fit for much the same reason and bid 5D.  Now Zagorin really should double 5D to calm Bathurst down.  When Moss bid 5S Bathurst continued to 6H which was doubled.  This was 11 imps to diamond who played 5H making in the other room.   The room is wild with male hormones.

There is a small exchange of imps when each East-West goes down one less tricks on two failing partscores and now we come to Board 11 and more male hormones.  Lall and Gue got too high in a basically no play 7S.  6S is not bad from the South hand and may make on a club lead but Gitelman contents himself with 4.   He got the club lead and he might expect to lose imps on this board not win them.  +580 is worth 11 and we will have a tie.  Here is board 11.

Dealer: Vul:	North ♠ A4 ♥ J63 ♦ A9864 ♣ J109
West ♠ 632 ♥ KQ54 ♦ – ♣ KQ8753		East ♠ 5 ♥109872 ♦QJ753 ♣ 64
	South ♠ KQJ10987 ♥ A ♦ K102 ♣ A2

As you can see 6♠ is not a bad contract.  On a club lead you have 12 tricks and on another lead you can set up diamonds if they break (and sometimes when they don’t) for a pitch.  Grue showed a positive response  to a strong club after Hampson overcalled 2♣ and after that Lall used Blackwood and then bid the grand.  I see a lot of minuses on the horizon on the remaining boards coming from the Bathurst team in the Closed Room.   They just kept bidding.  My guess is that Diamond will end with a decent lead.  Let’s see.  In the end the minuses didn’t prove to be too bad with Diamond picking up 5 imps.  The score ended 41-36 for Diamond and I feel as if this final is going to be exciting to say the least.

These are two flamboyant teams with a lot of skill, a lot of flair and well real competitors.