As we enter the final day of the congress, Nichola Cockerill-Smith, Catherine Thompson, Lesley Bridson and Stuart Davies are leading the Swiss Teams by 4VPs, so we are expecting a close-run thing, with the possibility of the lead changing several times during the afternoon’s four matches.
Match 7. The lead has changed. Liza Furnival, Karen Dewar, Adrian Fontes and Peter Randall now lead by 6 VPs, having beaten the Cockerill-Smith team 15-5 in match 7.
Match 8. We are back to the leading ranks at the start. In match 8, Cockerill-Smith won 19 – 1 and Furnival lost 8 – 12, so Cockerill-Smith now lead by 5. It’s all getting very exciting. What’s going to happen in match 9, when Cockerill-Smith plays Sanders and Furnival plays Catchpole.
Match 9. The leading teams haven’t changed, but the difference between them is now 13 – a comfortable lead, but not enough to be certain about the final outcome. So on to the final match.
Match 10. Cockerill-Smith lost 13 – 7 but Furnival also lost (14 – 6), allowing the Catchpole team (Anne Catchpole, Rachel Bingham, Steve Cane and Tony Hall) to overtake them in the last round and claim second place and a share of the prize money. So, congratulations to Nichola Cockerill-Smith, Catherine Thompson, Lesley Bridson and Stuart Davies (pictured above) who narrowly held on to win.
Once the Swiss Pairs ended, everyone helped to help clear the bridge room. Afterwards, First for Bridge sponsored a reception in the hotel bar which gave us the opportunity to unwind and relax. During the reception there were many positive comments about the quality of the bridge programme and how it was run. When we went into dinner, there was a lovely surprise waiting. The hotel had baked a special cake which helped to round off the week in a cheerful and special way. So thank you to Mauro, Raphaello and all the hotel staff who worked so hard during our stay.
It was really good to see so many players as winners:
- Pre-Congress Pairs Pauline Cohen and Elizabeth Barnard
- Swiss Pairs Joy and Irving Blakey
- Pivot Teams Joy and Irving Blakey, Raymond Semp and John Holland
- Open Pairs Sue McIntosh and Philip Cooper
- IMPs Pairs Joan Murphy and David Killick
- Swiss Teams Nicola Cockerill-Smith, Lesley Bridson, Catherine Thompson and Stuart Davies
Congratulations to all the winners and to the players who made the event so friendly and enjoyable.
We look forward to seeing you at the next overseas Congresses in Tunisia in the spring and Crete in the autumn.