CHENNAI: Indian players were on a high in the morning session but did poorly in the Bermuda Bowl competition in the day’s final round, the 12th overall, with a heavy loss to Sweden to slump to 10th place in the HCL 42nd World Bridge Championship on Wednesday.
India started the day well and led 18-5 after six of 16 boards but flopped thereafter. Gopinath Manna and Subir Majumder played in open while Rana Roy and Amarnath Banerjee were in the closed room. Indecisiveness took over while the Swedes handled the situation steadily. Sweden, aiming to make a mark, overtook India after registering a 64-18 VPs win to reach the sixth place. The seniors in d’Orsi Trophy also fumbled after leading Indonesia to finish 21-32 in IMPs but remained in the top eight (in sixth place). The ladies lost 16-54 IMPs against China in the Venice Cup.
The 12th round proved tough for a few countries, a fair indication of the competition getting tighter as the knockout phase nears. The biggest gainers were USA while France fell from first to fifth after two successive defeats. The Indians regrouped well as their stocks rose in the 11th round, the day’s second of the Bermuda Bowl competition, when the team beat leaders France 34-30 IMPs.
Bermuda Bowl: 1. Bulgaria (156.33 Vps); 2. USA 1 (155.43); 3. China (150.96). Venice Cup: 1. USA 2 (186.23); 2. USA 1 (170.24); 3. Denmark ( 167.04). d’Orsi Trophy: 1. Australia (163.86); 2. USA 1 (160.90); 3. Austria (158.72).