2013 Spingold: Quarterfinals results

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Spingold CupSpingold 2013 – Quarterfinals results. The fourth semifinalists are Gromov, who defeated Hamman 200-103; Grue, 164-118 against Schermer; Schwartz, 129-77 against Lynch; Bridge24, 89-61 against Nickell. The focus is now on Gromov: Andrew Gromov, Aleksander Dubinin, Norberto Bocchi, Agustin Madala, Krzysztof Buras, Grzegorz Narkiewicz. They deserves it not only because have got the last Italian pair remaining in this Spingold, Bocchi-Madala, but mainly because they have the lower original seeding place, sixth, then are the strongest until contrary evidence, and yesterday was Bob Homman who failed to supply such evidence.

The semifinals are Grue-Schwartz and Bridge24-Gromov.

The Knock-Out format drawback. Two rounds ago we saw the fall of Monaco, European Champion and 2011 and 2012’s Spingold winner. Their executioners were strong (Mitch Dunitz, Ed Davis, Jill Levin, Jenny Wolpert, Howard Weinstein, Ross Grabel), but the result was unexpected, at least. In the Round of 64 another great team, the number three Diamond, escaped to fall by one imp against Zhao, the 67th

The stronger team could lose against the weaker because one or more of this three reasons: bad luck; a moment of weakness – not all the days are equal – or a great performance by opponents. In the first and third case, and in a lesser extent in the second case as well, I think that they would deserve another chance, as it could be done by a better format: the double elimination. It works as follows: after the first knock-out round, both winners and losers go on normally, everyone in its own group. After the second round, the twice defeated teams drop definitively; the once defeated and the undefeated ones still run in different groups. In the ending phase, the loser of the final between undefeated teams – let’s call it Final A – will face the winner of the final of once defeated teams, that is the Final B. The true final will be between the winners of Final A and Final B.

This format was adopted in the American Trials and in other important events, as the Shapiro Spring Foursomes. Furthermore, it would be by no means new in Spingold: this was its way until the sixties. The double elimination format seems to protects the strong teams, but its main purpose is, on the contrary, to care of the weakers, saving them from the humiliation of a costy journey lasted barely one day, as happened to Zhao for only one imp.

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Paolo Enrico Garrisi

 

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