Etiquette of the coopertition bridge

[Jon Stratis]

I'm trying to wrap my head around why a team wouldn't go for the coopertition bridge, and I can only imagine it would only be useful in very limited situations. For example:

Team A and Team B are playing against each other in the very last match of the qualification rounds. Team A is 1 point behind Team B in the standings. Lets assume that all other teams are beyond reach of Team A - whether Team A gets 0 points or 4 points, all they can hope to do is pass Team B in the standings.

In this situation, if the score is anywhere close as the game nears its end, Team A may decide to skip the coopertition balancing in order to keep scoring more points and ensure a win, thereby passing Team B in the standings.



Now, realistically, this scenario is probably one in a million... With so many other teams at the competition, getting 2 points for balancing the bridge is probably going to see you pass several other teams in the standings. Getting 4 points for a big win will be a huge advantage. Getting 2 points while your opponent gets 4 is still a win for you, even if they're going up more. For a majority of the qualification matches, there are too many games left for you to ignore coopertition - those two points may be the difference between playing Saturday afternoon and not.