The exciting Cardology team game began under the clear sky on August 8th. Right off the bat, there was a 6-IMPs swing to one of the teams already. What could go wrong so early? We’ll be comparing Board 1 between both tables. If you want a bonus board to look over, I recommend Board 7 (1NT). Anyway, here is the link to the team game: https://webutil.bridgebase.com/v2/tview.php?t=8141-1596927857&u=chlochloee. Follow along!
bidding
Both tables’ auctions begin with a 1♦ opening by North, which shows an opening hand and 3+ diamonds. East, with an opening hand as well, overcalled 1♥. A takeout double can be considered here, but since East is 5-4 in majors and the majors are decent, I would argue this overcall is better.
After the 1♥ overcall, South at Table 1 bids 2♦, which is natural showing support. At table 2, South decides to go up with 3♦. It turns out 3♦ was better because it didn’t allow West to show heart support and compete. The best bid would have been 2♥, but we’re not going to get into that here today.
The auction at Table 1 continued with a simple heart raise by South. North then bids 2♠. I don’t agree with this bid because North should know that South does not have a four card major. If South had 4+ spades, South would have made a negative double or directly bid 1♠ instead of 2♦. Since NS has a diamond fit already, either North should bid 3♦ or South corrects North’s 2♠ bid to 3♦. 2♠ shouldn’t have been the final contract.
At the other table, the bidding ended after the 3♦ jump.
PLay
The plays at both tables were mostly fine. Here are a few remarks though:
Table 1 (2♠ by North):
The opening lead of the Ace of hearts was a bit weird. Even though EW does have a heart fit, leading the Ace generally should promise the King. Here, a better lead is the Ace of diamonds.
Trick 8, heart lead by East: North should overtake this with the Queen for down 2 instead of down 3.
Trick 9: West shouldn’t cash the Ace of spades. Instead, give partner a ruff with the club or take the King of diamonds first. Playing a low spade would be fine as well.
2♠ ended up going down 2, which could have been down 3.
Table 2 (3♦ by North):
Trick 1: West should have definitely played the Ace of spades. The singleton on the board was not supposed to win.
Trick 3: It didn’t matter in the end, but leading 5th best from Axxxx is odd. I would go for a club to avoid underleading the Ace of hearts.
Everything else played out nicely for a final result of 3♦+1.