The York Spring Congress took place 28th February to 2nd March, substituting for the usual congress in Harrogate.
The Swiss Pairs was won by Cathy Smith & Andrew Smith (pictured left). The narrowly trailed Ed Scerri and Gary Jones prior to the penultimate round, but a 19-1 win saw them leapfrog their nearest rivals, and a victory in the final round secured the title. They finished on 142, with Ed and Gary on 130 and Celia Oram and Derek Oram on 129.
The Swiss Teams was won by the team of Michael Byrne & Andrew Murphy and Ben Green & John Holland (photo). They comprehensively won their first six matches, but defeat in their final match meant they only won by 4 VPs. Second were Martin Jones & Gavin Mackay and Matthew Brown & Degsy Williams who, by beating the Byrne team in the final round, moved up a place in the standings. Tied for third, 1 VP back, were the team of Joy Blakey & Irving Blakey and Rhona Goldenfield & Bernard Goldenfield, and the team of Paul Hackett & John Sansom and Sandra Penfold & Brian Senior.
The weekend opened with the Open and Mixed Pairs events. Bogdan Drobny & Roman Gembicki won the Open Pairs, ahead of Ben Green & John Holland. The Mixed Pairs was won by Celia Oram & Derek Oram with Lorna Swadling & Alastair Gidman in second.
March 1, 2014