England has established a commanding lead in the home-international open championship (Camrose trophy) following the opening rounds which were played in Belfast at the weekend.
Holders for the past four years, the English are 21 points ahead of nearest rivals Wales and well clear of a disappointing Ireland side which is 33 points adrift in fourth place. The slim chance of regaining the trophy for Ireland now seems to rest with the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland (CBAI) squad which lies third, although, with 23 points to make up they have the proverbial mountain to climb. Signs were ominous for Ireland when losing the opening match 15-5 to the CBAI, a team they easily defeated in recent trials. They later lost to Wales and to England. The CBAI side had good wins over Scotland and Northern Ireland but also lost to Wales and England. Full scores: 1. England 81.47 points; 2. Wales 60.87; 3 CBAI 58.05; 4. Ireland 48.70; 5. Scotland 25.96; 6. Northern Ireland 25.04. The championship will conclude in Gormanstown, Co. Meath from the 3rd to the 5th of March.
Mini-congress
Waterford online, mini-congress attracted large and strong fields from around the country but mainly the competitions were won by local players. Full results: Masters and intermediate A competitions: Friday: 1. Neil Breheny, Rosaleen Glasheen; 2. Hugh McDermott, Joan Ryan; 3. Jean Sayers, Tess O’Hara. Saturday: 1. Marian Davenport, Mary P. Treacy; 2. Mary Trench, Miriam McConville; 3. Valerie Hand, Eoin MacNeill. Intermediate B and novice: Friday: 1. Anne Dunne, Éamonn Kelly; 2. Adrienne Lord, Liz Murphy; 3. Cora Ryan, Jean Hennebry. Saturday: 1. Ian Kingston, Maura King; 2. Ann Murphy, Gráinne Burke; 3. Elizabeth Butler, Helen O’Donoghue.
Results of the open intermediate pairs tournament (Cairnduff trophy), at the Regent bridge club, Dublin: 1. Jennifer Hughes, Naomi Mooney; 2. Jeremy James, Paul Clinch; 3. Nicola O’Dowd, Dara Voyle; Best intermediate B: Emer Murray, Eimear Fallon; session prizes: Marjorie and Max McNeill; Carol Horan, Phil Sweeney. 27 pairs competed.
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The national men’s and women’s pairs and team championships for the Revington, Jackson, Geraldine and McMenamin trophies respectively will be contested at Westgrove Hotel, Clane, Co Kildare, next Saturday (pairs) starting at 1.30pm and Sunday (teams) beginning at 11.00am. Entries via cbai.ie
- Grand Master Bridge, the online bridge academy, is open for enrolment and offering generous discounts for classes beginning soon. Contact rory@grandmasterbridge.com.