Bridge news

The team of Simon Gillis, Boye Brogeland, Fredrik Helness, Tor Helness, Espen Lindqvist and Erik Saelensminde has won the Schapiro Spring Foursomes, writes Julian Pottage, Bridge Correspondent, defeating the team of Dave Robinson, Gunnar Hallberg, Simon Hult, Rob Lawy, Stefan Lindors and Tony Sowter by 45-24 IMPS in a low scoring final.

On one board in the penultimate set of the final, the Robinson team bid a slam that in essence needed one of two finesses to work. When both finesses failed, the Gillis team gained 11 IMPS. Had either finesse succeeded, the 11 IMP swing would have gone the other way, thereby changing the winners of the match if subsequent results remained the same.

In the semi-finals, the Gillis team had defeated the team of Tim Leslie, Mike Bell, Ollie Burgess, Michael Byrne, Kieran Dyke, Ben Norton and Graham Osborne, while the Robinson team had beaten the team of Janet de Botton, David Bakhshi, Thomas Charlsen, Thor Erik Hoftaniska, Artur Malinowski, Dror Padon and Tom Townsend.

In the primary consolation event, the Punchbowl, the team of Richard Fedrick, Andrew Southwell, Paul Fegarty, Catherine Curtis and Mike Scoltock defeated the team of Tim Cope, Michael Alexander, Kathryn Herz, Eckhard Bohlke, Neville Eber and Chris Bosenberg in the final by 63-18 IMPS.

In the Swiss Teams for the Hamilton Cup, the winners were the Scottish team of Stephen Peterkin, Sam Punch, Paul Gipson, Alex Gipson, Mike Ash and Bob Ferrari, while the runners-up were Nick Sandqvist, Nathalie Shashou, Simon Cope and Natalie Cope.