Sweden putting up a consistent display had Bulgaria on the run all through the first three sessions of the knockout quarterfinals of the Bermuda Bowl in the HCL-42nd World bridge championships at the ITC Grand Chola here on Sunday.
The hectic day in which all the eight teams had to play three rounds of 16 boards each saw the robust Swedes dominating in all the three segments before winding up the day with a healthy lead of 49.5 points (123-73.5). In the other matches of the same section, China led over USA2 135-110, England ahead of USA1 101-99 and France up 127-102 against Poland.
All eyes were on the preliminaries toppers Bulgarians who started off carrying over a score of 8.5 gained from their victory over the Swedes in the round-robin league. But the Swedes had come well prepared, enjoyed luck with the cards and just blew the Bulgarians away in the first round with score of 57-10 before continuing with their dominant show through the next two rounds as well. In the second, the Swedes were up 43-34 and in the third 23-21.
The well-drilled Swedish machine was up and running right from the start, gaining a lead of 16 IMPs by the end of the third deal of the first round. With a contract of 2 spades being played by Bulgaria in both the rooms and was doubled in the open, the Swedes straightaway took 7 IMPs, setting up their opponents quite comfortably.
And in the very next deal, the third, a 4 hearts auction by Bulgaria was doubled and set up in the open by three tricks after the Swedes had won their own contract of 3 clubs in the closed.
The Swedish dominance continued through the 9th and 12th boards before they took the first segment quite easily. In the second again, there was absolutely no change in Swedish fortunes, but in the third, they were pushed back by the Bulgarians initially before rebounding well to end the round again up front.
Good day for ChinaChina also had a good day in office as it enjoyed a good first round against USA2, winning the segment by forty points (77-37). And with the carry over score of 16 too added in its favour, the lead simply surged to 93-37 and this incidentally was what helped the Asian behemoth to remain ahead at the end of the day even as the American team made a strong comeback by winning the remaining two rounds at 35-8 and 38-34.
In the senior section of the d’Orsi Trophy, USA1, Ireland, Poland and Australia were in the lead at the end of the day, holding advantage over Norway (158-87), USA2 (97-84), England (121.5-93) and Sweden (152-106) respectively.
In the Venice Cup, there was no stopping consistent Denmark as it got into the lead against France (118-112.3), while England, the Netherlands and China were the other teams that emerged in front of USA1 (103.87), Italy (121.7-111) and USA2 (121-94) after three rounds.
The results (quarterfinals, day one):Men: Sweden v Bulgaria (123-73.5), China v USA2 (135-110), England v USA1 (101-99), France v Poland (127-102).
Seniors: USA1 v Norway (158-87), Ireland v USA2 (97-84), Poland v England (121.5-93), Australia v Sweden (152-106).
Women: Denmark v France (118-112.3), England v USA1 (103-87), The Netherlands v Italy (121.7-111), China v USA2 (121-94).
