So here we are the finals… live blog

The action starts right away.  On Board 1 Moss and Gitelman arrive at a hopeless 3NT.  Moss bid the non vulnerable game because he has a source of tricks.  Unfortunately their 22 HCP did not prove to contain enough stoppers (or other tricks), four down and 6 imps.  You can see this will be an imaginative match.

Dealer: Vul:	Moss ♠ J7 ♥ K6 ♦ AKQ765 ♣ K96
West ♠ K9853 ♥ A84 ♦ 43 ♣ A103		East ♠ A1042 ♥ J9532 ♦ 102 ♣ Q5
	Gitelman ♠ Q6 ♥ Q107 ♦ J98 ♣ J9842

If this was intended to test the waters then so far they have found the waters a bit choppy.  On Board 3 we seem to have a pretty routine spade game.  But Zagorin-Bathurst had a big misunderstanding around a transfer advance (was it or wasn’t it after a negative double) which is about to cost them 11 imps.  It just reminds me how we all walk the edge sometimes with are complex bidding systems.  Colin used to call transfer advances “F–K Up”  (I have censored this for any younger readers.)  Ray and I are interested in doing a book on transfer advances.  I don’t think it has to be that complicated and it can be very useful.  All long matches will have big mistakes.  You just have to take them in your stride.   Of course those are the boards that haunt you if you lose.  (They can even become amusing if you win.)  So Diamond has regained the early lead 11 to 6.

Board 4 is a slam.  And it is amazing.  6♣ makes on 25 HCP but a 5-5 club fit North-South.  This was reached by lall-Grue in 4 bids.   .  Gitelman-Moss just ended in 1♠ on this board.   (Oh and there was a revoke by the defense which made no difference to the score …nervous anyone?)   I am glad I didn’t come to this match late.  In the first four boards we have seen 23 imps change hands.  Here is the deal

Dealer: Vul:	North ♠ 9 ♥ 1076 ♦ AQ53 ♣ 109862
West ♠ J102 ♥ 32 ♦ KJ1086 ♣ 543		East ♠ KQ74 ♥ KQ984 ♦ 9742 ♣ –
	South ♠ A8653 ♥ AJ5 ♦ – ♣ AKQJ6

In both rooms East opened 1H in third but Lall bid 2♥ with the South hand and Gitelman bid 1♠ .  Over 2♥ Grue bid 2NT and Lall just bid 6♣ .

Back to the Closed Room on Board 5, Grue and Lall did well to push on to 5♥ against a 4♠ “save” that might even make.  Now in the Open Room Gitelman-Moss sold out to 4♠ .  It should go down but we will see.  Oh no the Vugraph is down..come back, come back.  Good place to stop the blog.  I will start a new one if Vugraph returns.