England's Open and Women's teams both bowed out of the World Bridge Games in Wroclaw, Poland, yesterday, having lost in the quarter-finals.
The Open team fell behind early in their match against the Netherlands, and trailed by 42 IMPs after two sessions. Gains in sessions three and four meant they were 8 behind with 32 boards to play, but a bad fifth session saw the Dutch take an almost unassailable lead, which they increased in the final session.
The Women's Team started well against China, in a match where the lead changed hands multiple times. They trailed at the midway point, but rallied in the early stages of Tuesday's play, and led during a fifth session which ultimately ended with the Chinese 6 IMPs ahead. China then went on to win the final session by 20, eliminating the defending champions.
The 'home nations' will be represented in the semi-finals, however, after the Scottish Women's team beat Norway convincingly in their quarter final. They will now play France.
The Mixed Team reached the knockout round on the very last board of the qualifying stage, but were then defeated by Bulgaria in the last-16. The Seniors team exited the competition during the group stage, finishing in 18th position.
The NPCs have continued to add to their blog during the event, with news and deals from the competition.
Open team: Frances Hinden & Graham Osborne, David Bakhshi & David Gold, Tony Forrester & Andrew Robson, NPC: Chris Dixon, Coach: David Jones
Women's team: Sally Brock & Nicola Smith, Fiona Brown & Catherine Draper, Heather Dhondy & Nevena Senior, NPC Derek Patterson, Coach David Burn
Seniors team: John Holland & Brian Senior, Patrick Collins & David Kendrick, Sandra Penfold & Norman Selway, NPC Paul Hackett
Mixed team: Susanna Gross & Alex Hydes, Catherine Seale & Tom Paske, Sarah Teshome & James Thrower You will be able to watch some of the matches on Bridge Base Online.
Simon Cochemé has written an introduction to the event below.
England at the ‘Olympiad’
By Simon Cochemé
The Bridge Olympiad was first held in 1960 and took place every four years, in the Olympic year, until 2004. In 2008 bridge became part of a multi-sport event – the World Mind Sport Games – held in the Olympic city of Beijing. It has now reverted to being a bridge-only affair, known as the World Bridge Games, although still called the ‘Olympiad’ by many. This year’s event is being held in Wroclaw, Poland, from September 3 to 17. There is no qualification process and there will be more than 60 teams competing. It is a wonderful opportunity for the minnows of the bridge world to challenge the giants. For example, Malaysia beat the mighty Italy by 1 IMP in 2000.
The Open team has four changes from June’s European Championships, with players Frances Hinden & Graham Osborne joining David Bakhshi & David Gold, Tony Forrester & Andrew Robson. The new NPC is Chris Dixon, and the new Coach is David Jones. Debutants Frances and Graham will become numbers 111 and 112 in the list of English players who have played in major internationals. Frances is the third woman to play for an England (or Great Britain) Open team, following Edith Sefi (one cap in 1932) and Dimmie Flemming (one cap in 1953). Tony Forrester will become the joint most-capped English player, equalling Kenneth Konstam with 18 caps.
The Women’s European Gold medal winners from Budapest are unchanged. They won in Beijng in 2008 and Lille in 2012, and so will be going for a hat-trick of ‘Olympiads’. The team is Sally Brock & Nicola Smith, Fiona Brown & Catherine Draper, Heather Dhondy & Nevena Senior, with NPC Derek Patterson and Coach David Burn.
The Senior team is also unchanged: John Holland & Brian Senior, Patrick Collins & David Kendrick, Sandra Penfold & Norman Selway, with NPC Paul Hackett.
The schedule will be enlarged in Wroclaw; a Mixed Teams event will be played in parallel with the Open, Women and Seniors competitions. England will be represented by Susanna Gross & Alex Hydes, Catherine Seale & Tom Paske, Sarah Teshome & James Thrower.
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September 14, 2016