Calendar comes to an end

This year’s bridge calendar, which started in October, has now come to an end. Both the main clubs, the Malta Union Club and the Malta Bridge Club held their competitions throughout the year starting off in October. These were the pairs and the teams’ competitions. The Malta Bridge Association also held its National Pairs Championship and National Teams Championships. As one can see it was a pretty busy calendar!

The year ended with the Hennessy National Teams Championship held over three days, 12, 13 and 15 May at the Union Club. The runaway winners were Albert Sacco and Marie Farrugia, Nathalie Marlin and Anna Vella.

This is the 4th time this team has won the nationals in the last 10 years. Well done to them. In second place were Kathy Williams and Graham Penney, David Olliver and Margaret Parnis England. Albert Sacco, vice president of the Malta Bridge Association, together with other members of the MBA, directed and organised the championships.

A memorial for Mario Dix was held on 20 May in London at the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception church in Farm Street. Besides his children and grandchildren, family and friends, were his bridge friends amongst whom was Sally Brock, world champion many times over, Rob Sheehan, bridge correspondent for the London Times, Mark Horton who is responsible for the daily bulletin at EBL bridge events and a past champion himself, Ron Tacchi past teammate of Mario’s and official photographer for EBL competitions.

Also present were his old business partners from Virginia. Charles Robinson his old team mate and business partner was one of the readers of an appreciation of Mario’s life. It was right and fitting for him to be remembered in this way as he was passionate about bridge and had contributed so much to bridge in Malta. A gathering was held at the Coach and Horses Pub after the memorial.

International bridge goes on throughout the year and the next EBL open competition will be played in Montecatini from 10 to 14 June. This is a great open competition which is held every other year in different venues.

There is great competition bridge for everyone. Pairs, mixed pairs, mixed teams, teams, and senior pairs, mixed teams and teams. It is a gathering of bridge players from all over the world.

I will be there with my bridge partner Ollie Clare. We will play in the mixed event. Bjarni Kristjansson an Icelandic local player and his partner Gudmundur Audunsson will be playing in the open pairs.The official calendar may be over but bridge will be played throughout the summer months at the Malta Bridge Club on Sundays and Tuesdays in the evenings. The Malta Union Club will resume in late September after its summer break.