Round Robin Final

Today was filled with emotion and we are all drained. I had very much hoped that our team could finish 3rd, so that we could have had some choice on opponent in the round of 16, and we did climb into 3rd twice but finally ended 4th. As it turned out, it was completely irrelevant, as Poland chose England, leaving us with Hungary, the team we would have chosen. We do need all our team to play well tomorrow. Up until yesterday, Doug and Ed were lying second in the Butler, and I expect they held their position today. Stephen and Jurek have been steady but the Beagles have had some shaky sets - they have played some super bridge but have had a few too many disasters. Board 26 was one of their finer results. They reached 6C with

W: A10 A9853 542 K75 opposite E: KJ7 Q72 - AQJ10642

North pre-empted 3D over 1C P 1H and south bid 4D over 4C. This is the information you have to work with, on the DA lead. After playing as many cards as possible, Johnny finally played the heart 3 and covered north's 4 with the 7, losing to the 10. In again, he led the QH, smothering the jack and claiming his contract, one of very few declarers in all the events to bring home the slam.

The senior round robin ended after the second match of the day and we all went to the Vugraph to cheer on our Open Team, who were playing Trinidad and Tobago in their final round, lying 14th, and needed a small victory to cinch a playoff spot. Alas, it was not to be, and although we did show a Q a couple of times, by the time the smoke cleared, we ended 9th!

Keep your eyes glued on the results tomorrow. Our Old Men will try their best and need all your Karma.