For the seventh and final day of the EBU Spring Overseas Congress, sponsored by First for Bridge, tournament Director Chris Benneworth talks through the thrilling end to the Swiss Teams competition:
Today was the final day of the Congress. For Mothering Sunday, a small number of guests went to the nearby Catholic church service (in Spanish – but recognisably the same ritual.) But the main event of the day was the final four rounds of the Swiss teams.
Two teams (Randall and Murphy) began the day contesting the top spot, with Randall holding a small lead of 2 VPs. We moved to Danish assignments so they played one another again in match 7.
Board 2 was significant.
While Randall played in a quiet 2S making 9 tricks, Murphy staggered into 5D which was duly doubled and went 4 down. That was 15 IMPs to Randall.
Then on board 4, Mike Fithyan for Randall played in 4S making, while at the other table Richard King stopped in 3S, making the same ten tricks. That was a further 10 IMPs to Randall.
Further small swings meant that Randall led by 35, converting to 19 – 1 in VPs and giving them a substantial lead of 20 VPs over Orsmond who had moved into equal second place.
In the next round, two game swings to Randall could only be matched by one to Orsmond, giving Randall a 14 -6 victory. Murphy managed to make up a little ground, by winning 17 - 3 so Randall finished session 3 with a comfortable lead of 17 VPs, with Murphy back into second place.
In match 9, Randall played Talbot, losing 4 – 16. On board 3, which looked like a simple part score hand, Chris Taylor played in a quiet 1NT – 1, but Mike Fithyan found himself in 2C which went four off for -7 Imps. A poor choice of part score on board 1 and an ambitious game on board 5 lost a further 11 Imps.
Match 10 started with Randall on 127, Murphy (who had also lost 7 – 13) on 113 and Orsmond on 108. In theory, any one of the three could win, but it was Randall’s to lose. Randall played Matthews, Murphy played Talbot and Orsmond played Summers.
Randall won the competitive auction at each table on board 12 to make major suit part scores both ways and a good save on board 12 also resulted in 6 imps to give an overall 14 – 6 victory. In the other matches, Murphy beat Talbot 14 – 6, while Summers beat Orsmond 13 – 7.
Winners of the Swiss Teams:
From left: Mike Fithyan, Adrian Fontes, Val Cornock (sponsor First for Bridge), Liz Furnival and Peter Randall.
The final ranking was:
- Peter Randall, Liz Furnival, Mike Fithyan and Adrian Fontes - 142
- Joan Murphy, David Killick, Peter King and Richard Armstrong - 127
- Graham Orsmond, Jackie Fairclough, Nick Hunter and Ruby Schnalke - 113
- George and Tanja Summers, Srimath Agalawatte and Rachel Thomas - 113
Summers won the prize for the highest placed B ranked team not in the first two places.
Once the dust had settled over the bridge and the results published, First for Bridge sponsored a drinks reception in the bar with a chance to reflect on the whole Congress, make presentations by Val Cornock from First for Bridge to all the prize-winners, thank the hotel staff and congratulate Chris and Linda Benneworth and Ro Kaye for running such a happy and successful Congress. After dinner, the celebrations continued with live music and dancing, making a happy and fitting end to the Congress – we look forward to seeing many of the players again in Crete in October and the Algarve next February.
Ro Kaye, Chris and Linda Benneworth:
