Okay, here's a quick summary of the Cayne match, board by board.

Board 1

A strange push at +200 E/W where Jeff/John stopped in 2 Spades making 5 and Wally/Piotr luckily weren't whipped in 4 Hearts down 4.  E/W had a combined 21 HCP and it was only an 8 card Spade fit. Tough game to get to after a 1 Diamond opener, but not impossible (for example: 1 Diamond P 1 Spade P 3 Hearts minisplinter gets the job done.)

J764 / T62 / 8 / AKT94

AKT8 / A / J96532 / J3

Push

Board 2

This was the first slam hand discussed yesterday.  Jeff seemingly made a strange 2nd rebid here.  I'm not sure what the reasoning was.

T / AT75 / AK9754 / 76

After opening 1 Diamond and showing his 4 card Heart suit after JZ showed 4 Spades he rebid 2NT (no alert) over JZ's artificial 2 Diamond game force.  Maybe 3 Diamonds would show a better hand or be systemic, I dunno, but 2NT looked odd.  I think you want to be in slam (not a great slam, but a very good one,) but you're not getting there with 2NT.

AKJ42 / 42 / QJ3 / A43

T / AT75 / AK9754 / 76

Win 10

Board 3

Piotr took 1 more trick than Michael Seamon in a Spade partial.  170 vs 140

Win 1

Board 4

As lucky as board 2 was, this was an unlucky board for Canada.  Jeff/JZ played in a sensible 2NT (E), which can't make double dummy.  Michael Seamon made a pitch midway through the hand that lets it through, but ONLY double dummy.  Jeff made a sloppy pitch at the end which cost a 2nd downtrick. -200

At the other table, Cayne played in what looks like a virtually hopeless 3NT (W) which only happens to make on Wally's natural lead, a Club.  Again the Cayne player slipped, but Piotr wasn't up to the double dummy task of returning a Club (knowing it will set up a 2nd Club trick for Dummy's original holding of Txxx.)  He then would have had to unblock Spades to let Wally back in to cash the setting trick in Clubs.  It's a neat hand but not a happy one for Canada. -600

Lose 13

Board 5

Flat at +460

Push

Board 6

The other slam hand I mentioned yesterday that Jeff defended really well.  This slam isn't as good as Board 2, so no fault for Wally/Piotr not getting there.

Win 11

Board 7

Weedo took 1 more trick in 3N than Piotr. 460 vs 430

Lose 1

Board 8

After a Multi opener by Wally in 2nd (all white) and a double, Piotr chose to bid 3 Hearts (pass/correct) with

K753 / 9873 / QJT5 / 8

which looks a little funny when contrasted with Board 1.  It makes a certain amount of sense, though.  He doesn't want to propel the opponents into a 5 Club contract that they weren't getting to on their own.  When Wally passed and the doubler rebid 3NT, Piotr went quietly. -430

At the other table, JZ had to decide what to do with

J86 / 5 / K42 / 976532

after Jeff doubled 2 Hearts and doubled again when 4 Hearts came around to him.

He chose to sit and collected +300 (instead of +400 in 5 Clubs.)

Close decisions.  Unlucky.

Lose 4

Board 9

I loathe this auction by Jeff and JZ. 

 

Weedo opened 1 Diamond in 3rd and JZ overcalled 1 Spade with

 

AQJ86 / 4 / KJ93 / Q75

 

Now Seamon made a negative double and Jeff showed a limit raise (systemically by bidding 2 Clubs) and Charlie doubled.

 

Red at IMPs I don't see how you don't bid game here. 

JZ bid 2 Diamonds and Jeff bid 2 Hearts.

Now JZ's hand isn't looking quite so great.  He bid 2 Spades.

Seamon now bid 3 Clubs, passed around to JZ.

Is there anything in this hand that justifies bidding 3/3 at IMPs?  You've got an 8 card fit.  They've got an 8 card fit.  You've got the minors covered.  Your partner has Hearts covered.  To me, double stands out (I'd expect down 2 more often than not and down 1 about 95%) but pass, while timid, isn't awful, and at least you go plus.

KT3 / KQJ86 / 864 / 94 (Jeff's limit raise left a lot to be desired as well)

 

AQJ86 / 4 / KJ93 / Q75

 

On a Club lead and a Diamond switch (Q offside) JZ had no chance.  EDIT: Seamon led a trump, though, and JZ can make if he guesses everything.  He didn't guess everything.  -100

At the other table, Wally and Piotr bounced the opps into 4 Spades but slipped a trick on a less informative auction.

Push

Board 10

Push at +90 (1NT at one table, 2 Diamonds at the other, both cold)

Board 11

All white, 2nd

AKQ6 / K / A52 / KJ532

Holding this hand, JZ opened 1 Club. 1 Diamond overcall.  Jeff showed 4 Hearts.  Righty jumped to 3 Clubs (shapely Diamond raise) and JZ now bid 3 Spades.  Jeff bid 5 Clubs.

 

Jeff surely has a stiff Diamond, so the only question is whether he has an Ace.  I think surely you're allowed to play him for one card.

John didn't, and passed.  Opportunity lost.  Jeff had only one card, but it was a nice one.

87 / T632 / 9 / AT9874

AKQ6 / K / A52 / KJ532

Push (+630 at the other table after a 2NT opener with JZ's hand and no opposing bidding)

Board 12

Flat board 660

Push

Board 13

Jeff and JZ got caught in a low-level misfit.  All red in 4th, John held

AJ9832 / Q94 / - / AQJ8

2 passes to Righty, who opened 1 Diamond.  JZ overcalled 1 Spade.  Lefty bid 1NT passed around to him.

He chose 2 Clubs (looks normal to me) which was doubled on his left and passed back around to him.  Now what?

Passing gets you to your 6 card fit.  Bidding 2 Hearts gets you to your 8 card fit.  Bidding 2 Spades gets you to your 7 card fit.  How'd you do?

JZ bid 2 Spades and went down 2.  Wally and Piotr must have been disappointed to lose 3 for their +380 in 2 Diamonds doubled.

5 / 87532 / KQ762 / 52

AJ9832 / Q94 / - / AQJ8

Lose 3

Board 14

Cayne scored all the matchpoints: +120 in 1NT at one table and down 1 in 2 Spades at the other.  1NT could have been beaten, but on a completely uninformative auction it was awfully tough for Piotr to find the right early switch.

Lose 2



Board 15 was the beginning of the debacle.  Jeff made an extremely aggressive cuebid after 1 Diamond Pass 1 Spade (showing Hearts) Pass 4 Hearts and all John had to do was make 12 tricks on a hand that was cold for 13 double dummy.

J95 / A652 / KJ72 / 76

 

A / KJ83 / A863 / AQ84

Much easier said than done.  JZ won the Club lead cheaply in hand and cashed the Spade Ace (preparing to ruff 2 Spades in hand.)  Then a Diamond to the Jack (not wanting to play the Ace first in case Righty held something like Qxx Qxx in the reds and gives his partner a Diamond ruff after winning the Q.)  Okay so far?

...

If you said okay, you went down as well, losing to stiff Q of Diamonds offside.  I think the Qxx Qxx threat is an optical illusion.  If the Diamond hook loses, Righty returns a Spade, making you ruff.

J / A652 / K72 / 6

- / KJ8 / A86 / Q84

How do you intend to take the rest of the tricks from here? (Okay, there's a ridiculously remote potential squeeze in the blacks, but it's about 3%.)  You don't have the entries (or enough trumps) to ruff a 2nd Spade and hook the Heart and get back to dummy to draw the last trump (and doubleton Queen doesn't do you any good because once you've ruffed the Spade, you won't have the J left to pull the 3rd round.)  You could try Queen of Clubs, ruff a Club, Ace of Hearts, hook a Heart, ruff a Club (Righty following,) Diamond to Ace, draw trump, claim.  That just requires 6-3 Spades (I guess it's possible, since they're Red vs White.)  Who could know? ... (On 2nd thought, Hearts could be Qx in the pocket and then you don't need 6-3 Spades, that's actually not that unlikely.)

Alfredo Versace only managed 10 tricks on the hand on a line very similar to JZ's.  But Versace was in 4.

Lose 11

Board 16 was mostly bad luck.  Where would you rather be with these cards at unfavorable vulnerability, defending 4 Spades doubled or playing 5 Diamonds?

QT98 / QJ63 / J62 / A4

 

- / K97 / AQT8743 / 732

 

Jeff and JZ whipped out 4 Spades, collecting +300.  Wally and Piotr sensibly whipped 5 Diamonds, which was cold thanks to 4-0 Spades and the successful Diamond finesse. 

 

Lose 10

 

Board 17 was more bad luck

 

How often do you get whipped out and sent for a number in 1NT after showing a balanced 18-19 and with all suits stopped?  (Jeff opened 1 Diamond in 2nd.  Lefty bid 1 Heart.  Righty bid 1 Spade.  Jeff bid 1NT passed around to Righty who whipped.)

I don't think that's ever happened to me in the tens of thousands of hands I've played.

Should JZ run to 2 Clubs?

JT2 / 83 / J9 / 976542

Hard to say.  2 Clubs is safer, for sure, but you're not going to score +180 or +280 or +380 in 2 Clubs (well, arguably they could get in a doubling rhythm, so you just might.)  I think if you pass, you take the blame when it's wrong. 

Some would argue Jeff deserves some of the blame, but to me this is a pretty clear upgrade (he alerted it as 17-19, not sure if he did that just because he happened to have 17 or because 17 is their agreement, in which case he is completely blameless):

A4 / QJ9 / KQ743 / KQT

The defense scored 5 Hearts, 1 Club, 1 Diamond and 2 Spades.  -500

Wally and Piotr were in 3 Spades making.

Lose 8

Board 18

Favorable, 3rd

83 / 962 / K987532 / Q

 

Pard opens 1 Club, you bid a nebulous (negativeish) Diamond, pard bids 1 Spade and you bid 2 Diamonds, to play.  Lefty doubles for takeout and Righty bids 2 Hearts.

Are you done?

It's close, but I think you're done.  If pard has a stiff Diamond, you probably want no part of 3 Diamonds.  If pard has a stiff Heart, he's never selling to 2 Hearts.  It might cost if pard is specifically 4-2-2-5, but even then I think he's likely to take the push. 

JZ bid 3 Diamonds (a lot of players probably would, figuring that being white they don't stand to lose much) and failed to distinguish himself on play to go -50 (it's not the easiest hand, but he had a lot of information from the auction.)

Wally and Piotr wisely sold to 2 Diamonds at the other table.  -90

Lose 4

Board 19

Wally/Piotr bid a thin 3NT (white, 23 high, lots of intermediates, 3-2-3-5 opposite 2-4-4-3) that happened to make, picking up a swing against the Club partial at the other table.  Canada's last swing (I don't call anything under 4 IMPs a swing) of the match.

Win 7

Board 20

I hate it when bad bidding gets rewarded and I feel like it did for Cayne here.

All red, 4th

A3 / T86 / AJT965 / KQ

Righty opens 1 Heart, you bid 2 Diamonds.  Pard bids 2NT.

...

Okay, how long did it take you to bid 3NT?  One nanosecond, or two?

Charlie Weed went into the tank and came out with 3 Diamonds.  I don't have the words to fully describe what I think of this bid (well, I do, but I don't feel like seeing them in black and white.)

It sure worked well, though, when dummy tracked:

QJ97 / J54 / Q4 / A854

 

At the other table, Piotr opened 1 Diamond in 4th and Wally somewhat timidly passed the 2 Diamond rebid.

Making 4 at both tables.

 

Push

Board 21

Jeff had a rare ugly defensive lapse and let 5 Diamonds doubled through (he had to overtake and give his partner a ruff in a position that was 100% clear.)  The only silver lining on this cloud is that against most of the Declarers in Shanghai, he never would have had a chance (5 Diamonds was cold at the start of the hand.)

UPDATE: Jeff and John have agreed this hand is JZ's fault due to the Heart spot JZ returned (he returned the J from J3 with a stiff on the board, apparently intending it as an 'attitude lead'.)  JZ definitely should have returned the 3, but you get strong hints from the bidding (with A43 in Diamonds and KJ2 in Clubs, do you really bypass Clubs to bid 5 Diamonds when partner shows minors?) and JZ's Diamond spots (with KJ975, wouldn't you play them up the line (when not trying to win a trick) when Declarer knows your Diamond length and pard doesn't?  But the biggest inference is that Weedo's line is absolutely insane if JZ has 5 Diamonds.  Weedo can either cash his long running side suit and keep control, going for 500, or he can keep playing trumps and lose control, going for sticks and wheels or worse.

I do owe Charlie a bit of an apology, though.  I don't think most of the Declarers in Shanghai would have gotten this right either.


At the other table, Wally and Piotr did well to go +100 against 4 Hearts whipped.

Instead of Win 7 ...

Lose 12

Board 22

Wally had an awkward decision after Lefty opened 1 Diamond and Righty bid 1 Heart.

KQ8 / AKQJ76 / K2 / 75

 

He chose a very heavy (and distributional) 1NT.  Lefty now rebid 2 Clubs and Piotr bid 2 Hearts.

 

What's 2 Hearts?

 

I'd guess (and I think Wally guessed) that it was a transfer.  He leapt to 4 Spades.

 

Piotr intended it as 'values'.

 

AT92 / 82 / QJ98 / 964

 

KQ8 / AKQJ76 / K2 / 75

 

On the Ace of Diamonds lead, do you unblock or not?

I think it's right to unblock.  If Lefty is 3-1-5-4 (as seems rather likely) and doesn't have the Jack of Spades, how do you intend to make after three rounds of Clubs?

Maybe I'm missing something, but Wally didn't unblock and went down when Spades were 3-3 with the Jack behind the Ace.  The defense can always prevail legitimately by going for the Heart ruff, but that seems virtually impossible on this auction (to play Wally for 6 Hearts.)

At the other table, Seamon passed with Wally's hand and then when 2 Clubs was passed around to him he'd decided he'd heard enough and bid 4 Hearts.

Lose 11

Board 23

JZ decided to try a 1 Heart overcall in 2nd with

K / QJT9 / A876532 / Q

after Charlie opened 1 Diamond on his Right.

That prompted Jeff to bid 5 Hearts over 4 Spades with

763 / A8753 / JT / AJ2

later in the auction.

JZ had a chance to play for down 1 at the risk of down 3 (he would have succeeded,) but settled for down 2, undoubled. -200

A much less exciting auction at the other table ended in 2 Spades.  10 tricks

Lose 1

Board 24

Was a push in 5 of a minor, making.  3NT making 4 wins the matchpoints.  (Weak suit was T4 opposite J832)

Push

Board 25

More filthy luck on this board.

Favorable in 3rd

A962 / T63 / 9762 / 72

Pard opens 4 Spades.  Righty bids 5 Clubs.  You bid 5 Spades.  Lefty bids 6 Clubs.  Pard doubles.

Do you sit?  If so, what do you lead?

...

If you lead the Spade Ace, +200.  A Heart (preferably the Ten) +500.  A minor suit -1860.

I'd have been initially tempted to lead the 9 of Diamonds here.  Surely partner's void isn't Hearts (as if the opponents have 10 Hearts and never bid them!)  Surely the Spade Ace is unlikely to cash.  But surely you need the Spade to cash to beat this and surely partner wouldn't bid like this with 7-4 in the majors?

Stop calling me Shirley!

3 / KQ9742 / AQJ / K85 Dummy LHO

 

A962 / T63 / 9762 / 72

Charlie led the Ace of Spades to have a look and knew which suit to switch to when Seamon played the King.  Seamon ruffed.  +200.

Jeff held

87 / AJ85 / 3 / AQJT43

At the other table, Jeff's hand Doubled instead of bidding 5 Clubs.  To me, that's pretty gross (what did he intend to do if partner bid 5 Diamonds?) but it sure worked here when his partner bid 6 Hearts, which can't be touched.

Piotr did the best he could by diving in 6 Spades, but -500 was still ...

Lose 12

Board 26

Jeff and JZ played in a better fit (6-2 vs 4-3) than the Italians (but were a level higher.)  140 vs 110

Win 1

Board 27

Wally, holding T8 / AJ87 / AK98 / A63 found out his partner was specifically 3415 with 10-14 HCP and opted not to try for slam (understandable in that his Diamond King is almost useless.)

 

Slam was good, but not great (it was a 5 or 7 hand) and was bid and made at the other table.

 

T8 / AJ87 / AK98 / A63

A72 / KQT6 / 2 / KJT42

Lose 11

Board 28

Canada had one last chance to beat Cayne, as Jimmy Cayne appeared for the final board.

Jimmy and Seamon broke the LAW, bidding 3 Hearts over 3 Diamonds with 8 card fits both ways.

Wally and Piotr sensibly sold to 3 Diamonds.

Surprise surprise.  3 Hearts and 3 Diamonds both cold.  Both made (Diamonds with an uptrick.)

Lose 7

Summary

The Canadians had some good luck early, but overall Cayne had the better of the luck.  There were a few calls I disagree with pretty strongly, but the only really horrible board was Board 21 (when Jeff & JZ - edit misdefended 5 Diamonds doubled.)  Wally and Piotr were definitely the stronger Canadian pair today, but the only boards where any of the Canadians really distinguished themselves were Board 6 (where Jeff defended like a demon) and Board 19, where Wally and Piotr earned a nice plus position with a 23 point game.