Long pause before shift to doubleton. If W plays E for singleton club it's 2hx=.

someone order some extra double cards

yeah this has been a bloody set

wtf at board 25

yep everyone out for blood


re: 25 I guess there was disagreement over whether Bathurst's 2D was forcing or not - fmk thought it was so assumed he had to have the club king for his bid.

video of getting doubled in 5H:

Our agreement is 2D is inv+. Then X of 3D shows extras. It did not occur to me my partner had no CK.

He thought 2D was less than inv, so X showed extras in that context. Whatever.

diamond-platnick back in here is a switch up from recent rounds right?

guessing the strategy is diamond top 4 want a piece of paul fireman, while JD+BP can hold serve against jimmy and joel

Fireman had actually played 1/2/3 in all the other matches. There was def strategy by both teams for both to deviate from what they had been doing in the other matches but don't want to go too much into it here for obv reasons.

well, it will be exciting to see you guys get a piece of fireman then :P

translation:

Justin had to run to Walgreens to buy some lube, because he's a gentleman

I cannot fathom this decision on the 2NTx hand

even if it does work, I just don't get it

which decision?

Wooldridge has to be maddening to play against, his pace of play is glacial...

are all pairs required to play 60 boards?

also, gl

ugly set

yep

all players have to play half the boards, yes

I played with him once in a regional pairs. He was slower than I, but really not out of bounds imo (though there was a director call alleging that he had tanked and given UI; in context of his pace, he really hadn't, and nothing came of it). We did not run slow at all.

But many of these guys slow down a ton in big events. I remember once playing against one of the top Norwegian pros in the LM pairs and he played at a perfectly normal pace (and was incredibly friendly as well); when we met him the following day in the Reisinger he was agonizingly slow and all business.

This suggests to me that Wooldridge, while never known for fast play, may not be nearly as bad in general as he is now.


Edit: Can't figure out who it was. Young guy, playing with his wife in the LM Pairs. Their all-Norwegian team placed 14th in the Reisinger, it looks like.

It's been answered but I'll expand:

Basically, yes. There are exceptions in the conditions of contest for extraordinary cases (I presume it's something like a car accident on the way to the session, or something like that; they specifically say the absence can't be related to bridge skill, which is pretty obvious). And in contests in which there are an odd number of sessions, each player is required to play at least half, but rounding down (i.e., 4 of 9).

A related thing I find strange is that if a team of fewer than six players wins the trials, they have to be augmented to six for the worlds. And they don't get to choose; the selection of additions to the team is complicated, but basically, a committee gives the team a handful of options from which the team is then allowed to choose. They are not allowed to continue as the four- or fivesome who won the trials.

274 imps in 60 boards

God, what swing potential on 30. I was holding my breath on the heart play (for a while; Demuy can tank longer than I can hold it).

they should let justin play more imo, seems like they do good when he plays

I have to say the standard was a bit ragged these last couple sessions, fatigue has to be setting in on all fronts. It also seems like there have been more misunderstandings/lack of understandings than I would expect at this level.

fmk and bathurst have played super tough the last match and a half when its really counted

hope to see a lot more of you guys tomorrow