The Russia Team (with Andrey Gromov, Evgeny Gladysh, Alexander Dubinin, Mikhail Krasnosselski, Sjoert Brink) defeated 153-53 Mixed Team in NEC Trophy final, in forty-eight hands; Mixed conceded with still sixteen boards to play. The winner team was sure “reinforced” by the Dutch world champion, but it’s unquestionable that the Russian bridge is breaking into the world fortress.
The runner up is an American, German, Polish team: Reese Milner, Heamont Lall, Sabine Auken, Roy Welland, Michael Kwiecien, Jacek Pszczola. Here the reinforcement came from Auken-Welland, the winners of Saint Louis NABC, another novelty of the World Bridge environment. The novelty of course isn’t in the players; both Roy and Sabine are well known champions; but it’s new their strength as pair.
Italy was present with Lavazza, but they didn’t qualified to the knock-out stage. The Italians supporters are now cheering them in the upcoming Yeh Bros Cup, starting tomorrow still at Pacifico Yokohama, which they gorgeously won two years ago in Wuxi (read here >>).
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Paolo Enrico Garrisi