Warming to the Task - Venice Cup, Chennai 2015 (1)

Venice Cup, day two - the English women warmed to the task.   There had been no chance to ease our way gently into the tournament, having been assigned  three tough matches on the opening day.   These were against Poland, France and China (all likely qualifiers for the knock-out stages) and, although the results were not disastrous, things did not go as we might have wished.

It was important, therefore, to produce a good performance in match four against the Italians, fourth in last year's European championships.   On boards one and two, lady luck did not smile on the English but after a very polished performance, we overturned an early deficit to emerge victorious in a tight match. 

With renewed confidence, the momentum gathered pace in the next two matches, resulting in two near-maximum victories (versus South Africa and Egypt).   After a day of very fine play, we ended the day in ninth position and having played four of the top teams already, we are handily placed for the rest of the round-robin phase.

Bermuda Bowl - England Open Team Part 3

A rather rough day for the Open Team in Chennai. The first match of the day saw us take on a strong Brazilian team, and some rather unlucky boards saw us lose by 25 imps. Next up was Singapore - and a couple of ropey results gave us a 13 imp loss. Last up came the strong USA II team, and in a set of boards which didn't offer too much scope for big swings we lost by 10 imps. Whilst results were disappointing today, I am optimistic that with a small upturn in form and a bit of a following wind we can turn things around tomorrow with matches against Denmark, Bulgaria and Canada. You can follow the results at http://www.worldbridge.org/repository/tourn/chennai.15/Microsite/Results.htm

A bit of a bumpy ride ~ Seniors Day 2

As predicted, it was a tough day … for me, anyway. The team performed heroically, but I found it exhausting, following their roller-coaster progress board by board. 

We were behind against Indonesia until the eleventh board (of 16), but then a fine grand slam, bid by David Price and Colin Simpson (against a slam slam at the other table), saw us take the lead, and we hung on for a 29-24 IMP victory.
  
Poland played their top two pairs against us and won a high-scoring match by 50 IMPs to 41. This was our first loss and it dropped us down to third place.

For the third match we were up against the leaders, Bulgaria, so it was what followers of football like to call a 'six pointer'. This was another nail-biter to watch; after seven boards we were 4-19 down and had slipped to sixth place overall. Then 28 unanswered IMPs saw us win the match 32-19 and, with the other results going our way, we were suddenly lying in first place!

It is all incredibly close; the host nation, India, are in eighth place, just 8 VPs behind us. And there is still a very looong way to go.

Tuesday’s menu is Egypt (bridge playing membership: 913). Then Pakistan (525), whose team includes a certain Z Mahmood. No, not that one, but Zakir Mahmood. We are saving the other Z Mahmood for later. Third up are Japan (7,600). 

The England supporters' club are here in force. Godfrey King is the founder and organiser, and with him, looking good in their England BridgeMates shirts, are June Forte, Maureen Dennison, Gill Harris, and Ruth and Paul Vogt. The European Championships are in Budapest next June; please let Godfrey know if you are interested in seeing some fine old structures there (and I am not referring to the England Senior team).

“Never give in and never give up.” Hubert H. Humphrey

Bermuda Bowl - England Open Team Part 2

So after much waiting, much talking, a few press conferences, a few good curries and a lot of speculation, our Open Team finally got their Bermuda Bowl campaign underway today. We started with a match against host nation India, doubtless fired up for their opening match on home soil. Things looked difficult for a little while, however a super last 6 boards or so saw us to a nine imp victory, including a Robson redouble of 6H resulting in the unusual score of a non-vulnerable 1620. The second match was against Sweden, one of the replacements in Chennai, but a fierce opponent over the years. Some good results were secured at both tables allowing us to secure a 22 imp victory. The last match against Australia produced a slightly disappointing two imp loss - some chances went amiss but at the end of the day we had a solid start under our belts, with us currently occupying sixth place in the table. Tomorrow sees us play Brazil (0630 UK Time), Singapore (1000 UK Time) and USA II (1250 UK Time). Let's hope to kick on a little and build a solid foundation for our qualification for the last eight.

They’re Off ~ Seniors Day 1

We hit the road running against Brazil and a fine performance saw us win by 61 IMPs to 8 (I say 'us' when we win a match to look as though I contributed something; it will be 'them' when 'they' lose a match – nothing to do with me). John Holland and Gunnar Hallberg bid to a slam over an opposition opening bid; the opener was so affronted that he doubled, but the contract rolled in. That was 19.43 VPs (a Casablanca) and England were in second position.

Australia have the great Ron Klinger in their team, but he was rested for the England-Australia match. They did have Henry Christie playing for them. Henry used to live in London and was a contemporary of some of the England team at the Young Chelsea Club in the 70s. We squeaked home in this one, 37-36 in IMPs and 10.31 in VPs. (Note to Stuart Lancaster: please emulate us and beat Australia by one point next weekend.)

Guadeloupe were leading 13-6 after five boards of the third match, but England fought back to win comfortably by 56 IMPs to 15, 18.21 VPs, moving us back up to second place behind Austria.

 

Visitors to India are fearful of getting upset stomachs. My master plan is that the three Senior pairs should eat in three different restaurants every evening. What do you think?

Colin Simpson sends his best wishes to all the member so Gerrards Cross Bridge Club.

Back to the matter in hand: Monday is likely to be one of our toughest days. Our first opponents are Indonesia (bridge playing membership: 17,750), who qualified by winning Zone 6, Then we have Poland (7,000), perennial medal contenders, and third in the European Championships last year. Third up are Bulgaria (1,300); we lost to them in the preliminary rounds in Opatija, but beat them heavily in the final round robin.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.  Aristotle

On your marks ~ Seniors D

Things started happening today. First there was the registration process – signing in and collecting our badges, programmes and goodie-bags (two packs of cards and a small stationery kit). The programmes were printed in Italy a week or so ago and they do not include the most recent team change, brought about by the withdrawal of Germany.

Next there was an eagerly awaited Press conference, in which the WBF was expected to explain its process for handling the recent allegations of cheating by players from Israel, Monaco and Germany. The meeting was a big disappointment to all the attendees I spoke to, but it seems that while their leader waffled, the WBF had been doing some real work behind the scenes; 95 minutes later we were informed that the WBF Credentials Committee had withdrawn its invitation to play in the Bermuda Bowl from the Polish pair, Cezary Balicki and Adam Zmudzinski. It remains to be seen whether Poland will withdraw the whole Open team.

Then there was the captains’ meeting, in which we were reminded of some of the specific rules for the championships. Mobile phones are not allowed in the playing area, even if switched off (unlike in the European Championships). There will be no Appeals allowed against a director's ruling (unlike in the States), given that the director will have gone away and consulted his fellow directors and a panel of peer players.

And finally there was the Opening Ceremony. One is always fearful of too much cultural dancing and too many over-long speeches. This evening’s ceremony was the best I remember and I would give it eight out of ten; a little long at one hour and twenty minutes, but the band and singers were first class.

In case you didn't know, the EBU only pays for the entry fee and uniforms of the Senior team. I would like to thank Roger O'Shea and Pharon Financial Advisers, without whose support I would not be here. It is the Pharon logo that you can see on the team's blue shirts.

And so to bed. The team are under strict instructions not to watch the England-Wales rugby match (which starts after midnight, local time); I will be ringing them all at 1:00 pm to make sure they are asleep. After the cheating scandals, it will be a relief to get started on some proper bridge. There will be three matches every day for the next seven days, making up a complete Round Robin. The top eight teams will qualify for the knock-out phase next week. Our first three opponents are Brazil (bridge playing membership: 937, about the same size as Richmond Bridge Club), Australia (34,500) and Guadeloupe (170).

My third Senior quote is 
“I know not age, nor weariness nor defeat.” 
Sounds a bit Churchillian, but it was said by Rose Kennedy.

Getting ready ~ Seniors C

Today was the one full day off for the players – time for them to get over their jet-lag and have some quiet systems discussions amongst themselves. 

Paul Hackett and David Mossop have been acclimatising in Goa, and they arrived this evening.

I joined Sally Brock and Heather Dhondy on a tour of Chennai this morning. We visited two temples, one church, one basilica, one fort, one shop and saw the aforementioned Marina beach. What did I learn? St Thomas' Basilica is built over the tomb of St Thomas, one of the twelve apostles.

Later on I sat in on the Press conference for the Indian press, which was very well attended, with quite a few TV cameras. So far nearly a hundred Indian teams have entered the Transnational teams (open to anybody from anywhere) and the total entry may break the record set in Veldhoven, The Netherlands, in 2011.

In the main events there are 66 teams playing and 35 countries are represented. India (as hosts) and 12 other countries (including England) have teams in all three competitions. Six countries have two teams and 15 have only one team. A few famous European teams didn't qualify; for example, France, the Senior World Champions in 2011, aren't here.

David Price sends greetings to all his friends at Clare Bridge Club.

Yesterday's Senior quote is credited to Abraham Lincoln. Today's is by C.S. Lewis: 
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

Touchdown ~ Seniors B

Most of the players arrived today. The daily British Airways flight from London lands at 03:30 – not a nice time to arrive anywhere. And certainly not nice for those who live under the flight path. Chennai changed its name from Madras in 1996 but IATA doesn't recognise such rebranding, and the airport code is still MAA (Madrid got MAD). Similarly with Mumbai (BOM), Beijing (PEK), St Petersburg (LED) and a few others.

We are all staying in the Grand Chola Hotel. It is enormous – 600 rooms and very large public spaces. Luckily they give you a big ball of string so that you can find your way back to reception.



The really good news is that all the bridge takes place in the hotel, so we won’t have to travel outside in the heat (33
degrees today) or the monsoon rain (forecast for a few days' time).

More facts about Chennai: It is known as 'the Detroit of India' (because of its car-building) but prefers to call itself 'the cultural capital of India'. At 6 km, Chennai's Marina Beach is the second longest urban beach in the world.

And the answers to yesterday’s questions are:

(A) Guadeloupe is representing the Central American & Caribbean Bridge Federation in all three events. Surprisingly, Guadeloupe is not the competitor with the smallest number of registered bridge players. The country/countries with fewer will be revealed over the coming days. (Now there’s an incentive to read the blogs every day!)

(B): Yes, the Rugby World Cup is being shown on one of their six sports channels.

Today's Senior motivational quote is:

"It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

Who said it? Unless your curiosity overcomes you and you google it, the answer will be revealed tomorrow. And it isn't Mae West.

Off to Chennai! ~ Seniors A

England have three teams at the World Championships for the first time (the Senior event only started in 2001). There are 22 Open, Women’s and Senior teams, made up of qualifiers from each of the world bridge zones. At one end of the scale Europe provides six teams in each event; at the other end the Central American & Caribbean Bridge Federation provides one team in each event. Can you guess which country is providing all three CACB teams?

The England Senior team is the one that won the European Championships in June 2014 in Opatija, Croatia: Paul Hackett & David Mossop, Gunnar Hallberg & John Holland, David Price & Colin Simpson. Five of the team (with Ross Harper instead of David Mossop) won the World Champioships (for the d'Orsi Bowl) in Sao Paulo in 2009. I have the honour of being their non-playing captain.

Chennai was founded in 1639 and is the capital of Tamil Nadu State. It has (depending on which web-site you read) an urban population of 4.8 million and it is the fourth largest city in India after Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. (Or it is the sixth largest, and Hyderabad and Ahmedabad have pushed it down the table.)

The question on everybody’s lips as we set off for Chennai: are the Indians showing any of the Rugby World Cup matches on television?

Bermuda Bowl - England Open Team Part I

In six days time, England's Open Team will begin its quest for Bridge's Holy Grail, the Bermuda Bowl which takes place in Chennai (formerly Madras) in India. Whilst the Bridge World has been rocked by recent goings on with reference to several high profile International Pairs being accused or confessing to cheating, the next few weeks brings another focus for myself, coach Andrew Murphy and six players - David Bakhshi, Tony Forrester, David Gold, Jason & Justin Hackett and Andrew Robson. The time for us to focus on the job in hand has arrived, and we will be doing our very best to get the results I am sure we would all love to see. Chennai is 4.5 hours ahead of London, so whilst some of the matches will be rather early for those still in the UK, all support will be gratefully received! Matches will be broadcast on www.bridgebase.com, so tune in and enjoy the show!