Table of Contents Page Grinding It Out 1 Brazilian Swing 2 Rhapsody on a Theme of Duboin 2b Appeal No. 1: Brazil v. South Africa 3 Turkey Shoot USA 4

Anyone who doubts that bridge qualifies as a sport should consider what it takes to win a championship such as the World Bridge Olympiad. Just getting through the round-robin phase – now in full swing – is an endurance contest by itself.

Competitors in the Open series – divided into four groups – are in the midst of playing 17 20-board matches with very little room for error. In each group of 18, only the top four teams will get through to the knockout phase, and players must deal with an ever-changing array of bidding systems played by their opponents.
The women will see even more, playing 21 rounds in their two groups, with the top eight from each group advancing to the quarterfinal, knockout stage of the event.

In the Senior Bowl, there are 29 12-board matches, but there is no advancement after the round-robin is completed – the team at the top when round-robin play is completed will be the gold medal winners.

So far, most of the favored teams are performing as expected, and in the Open series, the team from host country have acquitted themselves well in two vugraph sessions and were within shouting distance of a qualifying spot.