Those of you who have lost a 24 board match by 6 IMPs, or a 32 board match by 8 IMPs, will know how it feels to lose a 96 board match by 24 IMPs. We drew the first segment and then won the second segment 53-16 to close to within 12 IMPs. Things got even better when we out-scored the Poles 15-1 over the first three boards of the third set and actually took the lead. Alas, it was not to be; the Poles rallied and eventually won by 24 IMPs, 219.5 to 196. We have played them many times over the past few years; some we have won and some we have lost. They are nice guys and I hope they make it to the final.
To cheer us both up, let me tell you a joke (you will have to forget it immediately, because I will probably use it in an article sometime):
"If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, then you probably shouldn't repeat the finesse."
"Winning may not be everything, but losing has little to recommend it." Diane Feinstein
The England Senior team will now 'drop into' the Transnational, which has been going for a couple of days. There are 146 teams playing, 99 of them made up of Indian players. After one more day of Swiss teams, the top 16 teams will play a knock-out that finishes on Saturday morning. Winning the Transnational is a world title in its own right; perhaps the equivalent of the mixed doubles at Wimbledon.
And, of course, the England Seniors will supporting the England Open and Women's teams. We're sorry we couldn't make it a perfect three out of three in the semi-finals, but we wish them the very best of luck. England certainly needs a sporting success to celebrate, and maybe bridge can have some coverage now that the rugby challenge has ended. (Another match I am glad I didn't stay up past midnight to watch.)To cheer us both up, let me tell you a joke (you will have to forget it immediately, because I will probably use it in an article sometime):
"If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, then you probably shouldn't repeat the finesse."
If either the Open or Women's team won their events would it not be a fitting tribute for Sport England to award Bridge Sport status. I challenge anyone viewing the excitement on the BBO coverage to challenge the notion that Bridge is not a Sport. The end of the USA2 - China match was something else!
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