Thirty Ahead At Half-Way Stage. Venice Cup, Lyon, Day 11

After 48 boards of our Venice Cup semi-final, we lead Sweden by 30 IMPs overnight.   At one point the lead was as much as 67 IMPS but some aggressive play by the Swedes led to an erosion of our advantage.

Nicola Smith and Catherine Draper performed admirably on this deal.

Board 26. Dealer East. All Vulnerable.
	♠ K J 7 ♥ K 9 6 5 ♦ 7 5 3 ♣ A K T
♠ A Q 9 6 3 2 ♥ Q ♦ Q 6 ♣ Q J 9 8		♠ T 8 5 4 ♥ T 7 4 ♦ K 8 ♣ 6 5 4 3
	♠ - ♥ A J 8 3 2 ♦ A J T 9 4 2 ♣ 7 2

Nicola Smith                       Catherine Draper
      South               West               North                    East

        1D                    2S                   3NT                     Pass

        4H                   Pass                 5C                       Pass

        5D                   Pass                 5H                       Pass

        6H                   All Pass

After the 2S overcall, Catherine made the practical call of 3NT, which Nicola removed to 4H.   This would make no sense on a 4-card suit and so, in conjunction with the opening bid, Nicola had described the 6-5 distribution.   At this point, Catherine made a key decision to try for slam and cue-bid the club control.   This was all the encouragement that Nicola required - 13 IMPs to England.

There are still 48 boards to go so there is still much to do.   Hoping for a good day!