We started on Sunday against Sweden, who played soundly on a flattish set of boards and beat us by 13 IMPs. Then we faced Hungary, winning by 22 IMPs with Oscar and Harry twice making vulnerable 3NT games not reached in the other room. Our third match was against Poland, whom we'd guessed would be our strongest opponents, but they gave us a couple of presents and we won by 23. Isaac and Liam defended one vulnerable 5♦ contract imperfectly, but it didn't much matter since the Poles were playing in Exclusion Blackwood in a 3-0 fit. And Jack and Daniel bid and made two vulnerable games which Liam and Isaac defeated.
On Monday we started slowly again against France, losing by 29 IMPs, before bouncing back against Ireland, who are fielding an ineligible player and so are playing without standing. Our third match was against Israel, another fancied team, whom we beat by 24. The two double digit swings came on a hand where it was easier to judge the fit if you didn't open a strong NT — we play weak — and another where Harry's youthful 5♣ pre-empt allowed Oscar to push opponents to 6♠-1.
We finished both days in sixth place out of twelve, but we've already played four of the five teams above us. We've got three pairs sharing playing time equally, so we're fresh, and cautiously optimistic about our prospects.
This morning we start against the Netherlands, the current leaders. This would be a good day to get our first win in a morning match. We've tried two of our possible line-ups for the morning matches so far, so my contribution is to select the third.
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