Townsend wins twice at Easter Festival

Tom Townsend (London) was the star performer at the Easter Festival in London, winning both the Championship Pairs and the Swiss Teams.

Playing with Mark Teltscher (London), Tom finished the three session Championship Pairs on 59.94% (they are pictured receiving the trophy from Heather Dhondy). Michael Byrne (Manchester) & Kieran Dyke (London) were second with 58.90%, with Celia Oram & Derek Oram third on 58.50%.

Tom then teamed up with Nick Sandqvist (London), Janet de Botton and Thor Erik Hoftaniska (both Middlesex) to win the Swiss Teams event (see picture here). They won six of their seven matches to finish on 101 VPs. Gerald Tredinnick, Derek Patterson, Norman Selway & Kay Preddy (all Kent) also won six matches, but by smaller margins, and finished second on 95 VPs.

The event concluded with a Flighted Swiss Pairs event. The A flight was won by Waseem Naqvi & Tony Waterlow (both Middlesex) (see picture here). They won six of their seven matches, only scoring less than 15 in the match they lost, to finish on 115 VPs. Sarah O'Connor & David Bakhshi won all seven of their matches, but by smaller margins, so finished in second, 8 VPs behind.

The B flight was won by Andy Margetts & Michelle Margetts (both Surrey) (see picture here). They were only defeated in their final match, and finished on 100 VPs. Ruth Masri & Sami Masri (London) were second on 90 VPs.

The event also included a Really Easy Afternoon, for less experienced players. The same hands were played at various locations, and scored across the whole field. The winners were Amarjeet Singh & Gurdeep Singh (both Essex) who played in Billericay. Naseer Dashti (Kent) & Andrew Cull (Surrey), who played in Wimbledon, were second. Margaret Edwardson & Stuart Edwardson (Yorkshire), who were the top pair at the Ilkley heat, were the leading pair in the 'B' stratification.

March 29, 2016