IRELAND got off to a flying start at the Generali European Bridge championship in Montecatini, Italy yesterday by defeating Turkey 19-11 in the first round of the Open championship.
Tom Hanlon, Hugh McGann, John Carroll and Tommy Garvey played the entire 24 board match against a team which had decisively beaten the Irish on their last meeting. It was a particularly fine match for Carroll and Garvey who were making their full international debuts.
Finland, Poland, Russia Italy Austria and Sweden were all big winners but the favourites France, had a setback losing 10-20 to Lebanon. Ireland lies 9th of the 35 competing nations.
Ireland's next two matches are against Lebanon and France. Both will be difficult opponents but the Irish players will want to avenge a defeat suffered at the hands of the Lebanese in Rhodes last October. Donal Garvey and Micheal O'Briain will join Hanlon and McGann for that match. The match against the French will be one of the most difficult the Irish team will face.
France, a team of many professional players, are Olympiad champions but the Irish won the encounter between the two sides at last year's Olympiad and are in a confident mood.
This championship is the most demanding ever played in international competition. The teams face a round robin of 35 matches over 14 days.
Seven Irish teams compete for the European women's players championship, the qualifying rounds of which began yesterday and continue today.
They are Aileen and Rebecca O'Keeffe, Valerie Hand and Anne Montwill, Patsy Meehan and Petra O'Neill, Elva Gannon and Pauline Maguire, Claire Pippet and Emer Joyce, Grace Finegan and Bernie Lynch and Hilary Dowling Long and Teresa Rigney. The first three players constitute the Irish women's team in the women's teams championship which begins on Wednesday.