No 15 Ł January - June 1994 Editor: Panos Gerontopoulos .

EBL Review4romdentfter PresiteL hetIwould like to say how happy andproud I was to be associated withthe launching of bridge in school inItaly, after France has shown the way.President Gianarrigo Rona and histeam must be thanked and congratulatedfor this initiative, which brought together the leaders of both the Ministry ofEducation as well as the provinces; thegroup met in the great halls of theItalian Olympic Committee in Rome.This is a strong indication that this country, considered the cradle of civilization,recognizes what bridge can engender inmatters of intellectual, moral and humaninstruction.Much like music, bridge is the universal language. And it is its privilege tosee, seated at one and the same table. afather and son, a man and a woman, anemployer and his employee, a doctorand a workman, an Australian and anIcelander, a Chinese and an American,an African and a European.I am sure you will agree, therefore,that bridge deserves to be developed andperpetuated. Obviously, it is throughteaching bridge in school that this willcome about.To start with, it was necessary to convince a number of doubters in our ranks;playing parents were scared of seeing anormal practice of bridge transform itself into a devastating passion. I, myself,had to fight for years to prepare theground for the remarkable feat achievedby J.C.Beineix and R.Beurtey, in France,over the last four years.In fact, our modern society is more orless ruled by the laws of statistics and Isee no reason, either here or elsewhere,why it should introduce any particulardeviationist tendencies. Many youngpeople practise other sports or variousactivities and each can show a specialinterest in one or other activity simplyfor pleasure without any ambition to become a champion, which is not our purpose either in this field.Nevertheless, it is possible to creatediverse parallel careers and, throughthem, to find a way of offering a certainJanuary-June 19941994 with bridge in schoolsnumber of jobs, which is not to be ignored in view of the present economic crisiswith which we are faced. Already alarge number of people make a livingfrom bridge, as teachers, directors, instructors or even players, writers andjournalists. And this is only a small facetof the beneficial aspect which the teaching of bridge in school will bring.Effectively, this intellectual sport hasproven to be extraordinarily formativefor the young today. It encourages observation and concentration, which arefollowed, after deduction, by a numberof decisions. It is like a doctor who, inorder to reach a diagnosis, carries outanalyses before reaching a synthesis.Over and above the aspect of play,bridge is a very convivial activity whichbrings together partners and opponentsin a competitive dialogue. Isn't this amarvellous preparation for active life,for greater social harmony, as opposedto the solitary and passive pleasure oftoo much television? If bridge can prideitself on being the precursor of interactive software, it is also the perfect example of communication, a major preoccupation in our time.Finally, I would add that bridge seemsto me to be the game with is nearest tothe psychology of the passage from the20th to the 21st century; one which hastruly integrated the probability side ofmany aspects ofour life. Bridge, isthe best prop ofthe calculation ofprobabilities andprepares us, asnothing else can,to the gains andlosses which eachof us in his lifemust garner or assume.This explainsthe interest bankers and insurershave for bridgeplayers, such asBridge, like music,is the universal languageEUROPEAN BRIDGE LEAGUE OFFICIAL SPONSORPHILIP MORRISBanco del Lavoro and Generali in Italy.This collection of recognized qualitieshas opened the way for the teaching ofbridge in school in some countries.The French are probably ahead atpresent with 500 school establishmentshousing 1,000 instructors who have already trained 15,000 students. To makea success of such a challenge, they needed a definite consistency between themini-bridge taught to students and acomplete teaching system of training forthe instructors. René Beurtey has alreadyhad the opportunity, in Amsterdam andRome, to describe the rigorous methodsused to obtain the magnificent resultswhich the French Bridge Federationshares with the sponsors I have associated with this operation: BP France,Tropico and Larousse Diffusion.In Holland, a similar approach hasgiven excellent results and, if the aim ismuch more far-reaching than the formation of future champions, the fact remains that the new world championsLeufkens and Westra were taught bridgein school.The Poles succeeded in setting up aschools' championship with more than3,000 finalists, contributing to theprogress the EBL is making in its project for organizing a junior championship for the under-20s in the near future.It is clear that bridge presently is helping China to achieve a transition fromcollectivity to a certain form of socialliberalism, as desired by Deng XiaoPing who encouraged the latest generation to learn and practise our sport.If chess, or other sports, have unfortunately been used in the Kriegspiel (theart of war), I am certain that these teaching programmes will contribute to thismarvellous bridge for peace which willmake up the world of bridge players.Bridge for peace is the creed I wish toshare with your future students, and Ihave no doubt that each of the 40 member countries of the EBL will includebridge in school in their developmentprogramme. This is my hope in wishingyou a happy and peaceful 1994.

January-June 1994ProgrammeSep. 16Opening Ceremony17-19Mixed Pairs17-21Continuous Pairs(1st segment)20-21Par contest20-27McConnellWomen's Teams20-28RosenblumOpen Teams22-24Zonal Teams*(open & women)22-26Continuous Pairs(2nd segment)24-27Senior's Teams(swiss)25-1/10Open Pairs25-1/10Women's Pairs27-2827-1/10Zonal Pairs*(open & women)Continuous Pairs(3rd segment)28-1/10 Senior's Pairs29-1/10Oct. 1America Cup(swiss teams)Prizegiving* fon non-qualifiers onlyEBL Review5In the second fortnight of September,Albuquerque, the capital of the State ofNew Mexico, will become the centre ofinternational bridge, as thousands ofplayers from all over the world willgather there to take part in the 9th NECWorld Championships.This is the most celebrated event ofthe tournament calendar. It takes placeevery four years and includes competitions of all kinds and for allplayers.the New Mexico State Fair. It is widelyregarded as one of the better state fairsheld in the U.S. and it comes completewith rodeo, midway, carnival rides,horse races and a lot of entertainment.Albuquerque (pop. 480,000) lies onthe banks of Rio Grande and the foothills of the Sandia mountains, at thesame latitude as Tokyo, and its terrainresembles parts of Greece andSpain. ItsEspecially for the Europeans, theforthcoming Championship presents afirst class opportunity for visiting amostly unknown but nevertheless quiteinteresting area of the United States.With air fares over the Atlantic being ascompetitive as they are and with rockbottom hotel rates, one can hardly affordto miss the country of Santa Fe and Billythe Kid - and site of one of the most exciting top class bridge tournaments.All championship events will be played in the Albuquerque Convention Center. Besides the main tournaments, thereis a variety of competitions for all players, including the Continuous Pairs andan american-style Regional with tournaments running all day long.The Championships are sandwichedbetween two other premier events in Albuquerque. The International Hot AirBalloon Festival begins October 1 andthere will be over 300 balloonists fromall over the world competing in variousballon races. Just before the Championships, Albuquerque will be the scene ofhigh altitude results in a mild, dry climate, with summer temperatures averaging about 31ºC and humidity at 43%.The sun shines 259 days a year.EUROPEAN BRIDGE LEAGUE OFFICIAL SPONSORPHILIP MORRISHotels & Rates(double room per night)Hyatt RegencyLa PosadaDouble TreePlaza InnFriendship Inn 94 83-93 87 55-60 30-45Reservations( 100 deposit required)Albuquerque Housing BureauAttn.: Valerie Anzalone, WBFP.O. Box 26866Albuquerque, NM 87125,U.S.A.2 1-505-243 3934

EBL Review6January-June 1994NorwayL.Aaseng, G.Helgemo, S.Kalberg, E.Kvam,J.Molberg, K.Thomassen, S.Johnsen (npc)United StatesChip Martel (npc), Eric Greco, Kevin Wilson,Debbie Zuckenberg, Leonard Holtz,Jeff Ferro, Richard PavlicekDenmark: a Universal ExampleYour country has been very unlucky inlosing several major internationals bytiny amounts, the smallest being the halfIMP by which your junior team lost thesemifinal of the recent World Championships held in your own country.How can a country with a population ofonly 5 million stage a World Championship?We had the ideal venue in the Sports school inÅrhus, and we have 17,000 individual memberswho supported the project. Ib Axelsen was OnsiteOrganizer with 50 volunteers and we were veryproud of the result.What is the history of the DanmarksBridgeforbund?Before the war there were two organizations bothof which started around 1932. They began to cooperate in 1939 so we had only one of each national championship, but it was not until 1963that they formally merged to create the DanmarksBridgeforbund. We held a European Championship in 1948 in Copenhagen, and a Junior European there in 1975. In 1977 the Europeans wereheld in Helsinor, and then the World Juniors thisyear in Århus.What is the structure of the DanmarksBridgeforbund, and your part in it?We have 11 districts who elect a Council whichmeets once a year. The Council chooses a Board ofDirectors who are responsible for running theorganization. By 1970 we were big enough to justify the purchase of a headquarters, which we stillhave now in Hillerød near Copenhagen. I workedas Editor of the Danish Bridge Magazine whichgoes free to every member, and in 1983 I also became the Secretary, in charge of the office. Wehave six full time staff, including myself.Interview withIb LundbySecretary ofDanmarks Bridgeforbundby Patrick JourdainDo you have government support?Recently we have made a breakthrough, after along struggle.There was enough political pressure to persuadethe Danish Sports Organization to change itsrules and create a new mindsports section whichcontains chess and bridge. This change was greatly assisted by the increased income due to the success of our National Lottery.The mindsports section starts formally in December 1993, and should lead to us receiving agrant each year of anything up to 2 million Danish kroner (about 300,000).EUROPEAN BRIDGE LEAGUE OFFICIAL SPONSORPHILIP MORRISHow is your membership going?We have 350 affiliated clubs. Their combined22,500 members must be registered as members ofthe DBF. (As people belong to more than oneclub, we actually have some 17,000 individualmembers.)Inspired by the EBL Promotion Week in Amsterdam a couple of years ago, we decided to double our club membership from what was then20,000 with a target of 40,000 by the year 2000.We call it ‘Plan 2000’. It has these key elements:(a) A Bridge Teachers Organization with 400members who receive a course by mail and a weekend course at our centre, in teaching a standardsystem (a natural system based on strong notrump);(b) A scheme to encourage all people learningbridge to become members of the DBF - they payhalf the normal subscription and in the first yearreceive two of our standard textbooks (which arethemselves worth more than the fee), and thebridge magazine, which now has 8 pages aimed atbeginners, to their home address;(c) A youth scheme which is aimed at schoolsand colleges.How good is publicity for bridge?The leading newspapers all have bridge columnswith hands and tournament news. We have not yetsucceeded with television programmes but for justover a year we have had four pages on teletextwhich are very popular.Is there anything special about your national championships?We have all the usual championships and a verysuccessful National League. The League is stratified, and the top Division of 12 teams is a majorinfluence on the selection of our national teams, aswe do not usually hold trials.

January-June 1994EBL Review7GermanyKlaus RepsGuido HopfenheitRoland RohowskyMarcus JoestMichael Gromöller(npc)Europe recaptures World Junior titleAfter the 1991 disaster, Europe succeeded in regaining the world supremacy inthe field of Junior bridge. In the 4th World Junior Championship, held in Århus,Denmark, 3-12 August 1993, the European representative teams, spearheaded byGermany, captured three of the four top positions including the gold and silvermedals. The only other semifinalist was the United States, the defending champions, who ended up in third place. The Championship was very well organized byDanmarks Bridgeforbund, and was played in a particularly warm atmosphere.All zones of the World Bridge Federationwere represented in the fourth event of the series which was initiated as a biennial event in1987. Europe and North America were entitled to participate with three teams each, theother zones with two, and the host countrywith one. Asia and South America sent oneteam each, but the rest filled their quota, making the event the best attended ever.The format of the competition was a roundrobin of 20-board matches, acting as qualifierfor the 64-board semifinals and playoff andthe 96-board final - all played as knockoutmatches.After the opening ceremony which tookplace during a reception given by the Mayorof Århus - Denmark's second largest city - thetournament went under way. USA 1 took anearly lead which they kept until halfway inthe round robin. The second half was a battlebetween Germany and Norway for first place,and a struggle for Denmark, threatened byAustralia and China, to make it to the semifinals. At the end, Germany qualified first onsplit tie, while the host country succeededover the Chinese.Germany picked Denmark to play in thesemifinal, thinking that this was the easiestopponent. The result was a most exciting andincredibly close match; the final margin willsurely go on record as the smallest ever recorded: ½ IMP! - in Germany's favour. At thesame time, Norway started well against USA1 and never looked back.The final was less exciting. After two ratherflat sets, Germany struck building up a considerable lead which they lost in the fifth setmaking the match a close one. The last setwent heavily to Germany who captured theOrtiz-Patiño Trophy despite playing for 10days with only four players. USA 1 had nodifficulty beating Denmark in the playoff forthird place.The Championship was splendidly organized by Danmarks Bridgeforbund, thanks tothe efforts of President Bent Hæstrup, Secretary Ib Lundby, onsite organizer Ib Axelsenand a staff of some 50 volunteers. Idrætshøjskolen proved an excellent venue for theevent; it gave the young players many opportunities for mixing up - and they lost none!The well-planned outings to Legoland andSkanderbog offered rest, interest and room forcloser contact, while the night of the nations , where all delegations performed entertaining numbers, added a most welcome cosydimension.International bridge clearly showed its keeninterest on Junior bridge: the tournament wasattended by WBF President Bobby Wolff, thePresident Emeritus Jaime Ortiz-Patiño andEBL first Vice President André Boekhorst.All in all, Århus '93 was a wonderful tournament that will be remembered for long.EUROPEAN BRIDGE LEAGUE OFFICIAL SPONSORPHILIP MORRISRESULTSFINAL & PLAYOFFGermany - NorwayUSA 1 - Denmark254½ - 203173 - 137SEMIFINALSGermany - Denmark 103½ - 103Norway - USA 1208½ - 93ROUND ROBIN123456789101112131415GermanyNorwayUSA 1DenmarkChinese TaipeiChinaItalyCanadaAustraliaCentral America 2New ZealandUSA 2ArgentinaCentral America 200177168½146

The NetherlandsWubbo de BoerPiet JansenEnri LeufkensBauke MullerJan WesterhofBerry WestraHenk Schippers (npc)Jaap Trouwborst (npc)4 medals for Europe inAfter a fine performance, European teamssucceeded in winning four of the sixavailable medals at the 1993 NEC WorldChampionships held in Santiago, Chile, 29August-10 September.Thanks to the Netherlands, the Bermuda Bowl- symbol of world bridge supremacy - remainedin Europe; and so did the silver medal, won byNorway. The bronze medal went to Brazil.In the women's series, the United States onceagain retained the Venice Cup, but Europe wonthe other medals thanks to Germany andSweden.The NEC Bermuda Bowl2. Norway3. Brazil16 teams took part in the open series, representing all WBF zones. Europe fielded the four topteams of the recent Championship in Menton:Poland, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands.The competing teams were split intotwo groups and played a double roundrobin to decide four quarter-finalistsfrom each group. Matches thereafterwere knockout.There were no surprises at the qualifying stage. USA 2, the Netherlands,Poland and Brazil from one group -and China, Norway, Denmark and USA 1 fromthe other, made it to the quarterfinals.Then, the situation became more tight. 1989champion Brazil outscored China, and Norwaybeat Poland decisively. The other two matcheswere sensational: Denmark was leading USA 2for most of the 96-board match, while USA 1 hadthe best of the ups and downs against the Dutch.However, both losing teams came from behind towin their matches at the very end.The excitement continued in the semifinals.The matches were very close and the results weredetermined by the same incredibly small marginof 3 IMPs! When the smoke cleared, the scenehad been set for an all-European final betweenNorway and the Netherlands.The final was hard-fought all the way. TheDutch led most of the time but suffered a greatloss near the end, which reduced their lead to 15IMPs with 5 boards to go. At the end, however,all was well for the Netherlands who won theirfirst Bermuda Bowl ever, thanks to a very youngteam (average age just over 32 years). It is worthmentioning that their Norwegian opponents werealso quite young (average age 34 years; the teamincluded Geir Helgemo aged 23).At the same time, Brazil beat USA 2 in theplayoff and won the bronze medal.EUROPEAN BRIDGE LEAGUE OFFICIAL SPONSORPHILIP MORRIS

United StatesWorld ChampionshipsThe NEC Venice CupThe women's series was played under exactlythe same format, and once again Europe was represented by Menton top performers: Sweden,France, Italy and Germany.The first surprise was the elimination of Franceat the round robin qualifying stage. The otherEuropean teams did well to make it to the quarterfinals: Sweden, USA 2, Germany and Argentina advanced from one group; Chinese Taipei,Canada, USA 1 and Italy from the other.In the quarterfinals, it was Italy's turn to leavethe competition, being outscored by USA 2. Inthe other matches, Sweden narrowly beat Canadaand Germany eliminated USA 1 without difficulty. The fourth semifinalist was Argentina whohad the better run against Chinese Taipei.Argentina had already cheered local fans whenthey were defeated by USA 2 in the first semifinal match. In the other, Sweden developed whatwas initially considered to be a healthy lead against Germany; this was gradually reduced andsubsequently reversed, giving Germany a spectacular victory.The 128-board final started with a small carryover in favour of USA 2. Some points won andthen lost left the American advantage almost un-changed at half-way. At the beginning of the second half, however, USA 2 scored well and movedahead. Germany fought back and recovered someof the losses, but it was not enough. At the end ofthe day, the United States were worthy winners ofthe world women's title, which they have hadcontinuously since 1987. Meanwhile, Swedenhad no difficulty getting the bronze medal in theplayoff.Karen McCallumJill MeyersSharon OsbergSue PicusKerri SanbornKay SchulleJo Morse (npc)Splendid TournamentThe 1993 NEC World Championships hadsome additional winners: the South AmericanFederation, the Bridge Federation of Chile andRoberto Gracia, the Chief Organizer.They all worked hard for a long time to presenta magnificent tournament, and there is no doubtthat they fully succeeded.Thanks to the support of numeroussponsors, the government of Chile andthe authorities of

tent with the ever growing path of in-ternational bridge in general, and of . Hotel Princesa Sofia, Barcelona, Spain Ł 22-27 March 1994 . Teams may comprise 4, 5 or 6 players (play-ing in mixed partnerships); they will play 12 rounds of Swiss followed by a semifinal and