International Team Tourney Città di Milano – 2012 Winners

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Romain Zaleski’s team, called BRENO, won the 2012 Città di Milano International Bridge Teams Tourney. Zaleski played with Riccardo Intonti, Mario D’Avossa, Andrea Manno, Massimo Lanzarotti and Valerio Giubilo.

Second place to Giuseppe Failla’s team with Dario Attanasio, Arrigo Franchi, Matteo Montanaro and Aldo Paparo. Team ZKS from Poland reached the thid place: Jacek Romanski, Roman Grzelak, Jerzy Michalek and Zbigniev Macior.

The defending champions of Lavazza Team (Maria Teresa Lavazza, Norberto Bocchi, Agustin Madala, Antonio Sementa, Giorgio Duboin and Guido Ferraro) ended fourth.

The International Teams Tourney “Città di Milano” was held from the 7th to 9th of  December at the NH Centro Congressi MilanoFiori, in Milano (Italy).

The “Città di Milano” Teams Tourney is the most important open event in Italy and as a consequence in Europe.  It attracts a large number participanting teams.

It’s held every year to mark Saint Ambrose day, (7th December) the patron saint of Italy’s financial and business capital.  He was a former ArchBishop of the city in the fourth century.  Famed for his celibacy and his understanding of scriptures.  No doubt he might have struggled with the more byzantine elements of modern bidding theory.

The tournament in its first incarnation was a pairs event in 1970.  The following year it made the transition to a battle of teams.  The winners have always included a number of the best players in the game.  It also attracts the young pretenders who want to take a scalp from one of the games big beasts.  It is one of bridge’s bloodiest battlegrounds.

Great champions were in Milan also in the current edition of tourney in addition to those we have already mentioned. The number one and two of world ranking Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes played for Lanciano team with Roberto Lanciano, Franco Masoero, Bernando Biondo and Giuseppe Delle Cave:  They placed at seventh place.  In team Miroglio (fifth place) the 2009 Seniors European Open Champions: Giulio Bongiovanni, Andrea Buratti, Amedeo Comella and Apolinary Kowalsky. There was also a strong team from UK, CARLISE, with Richard Bowdery, Brian Senior, Jason Hackett and Mike Bell. In team De Michelis there were Dutch players Bob Drijver and Marten Schollaardt. The usual domestic and eager foreign teams with many internationals were in attendance.

Before the last card of the event was played I had a few words with the General Manager of the event, Mr Ghigo Ferrari.”I am very pleased with the success of this year’s tournament.  It is never easy to organise an event like this in such tough economic times.  We were hoping to attract something in the region of 70 teams, we were highly delighted, as you can imagine, to end up with 86.  We had 14 foreign teams, players from 7 different European countries other than Italy and also a player from the USA.  It was a real success. I thank the  President and all the members of the Italian  Federal Council who have worked so hard for the preparation and the overall organisation that we consider the pride of Italian bridge. I wish to extend my thanks to the directors and staff who worked so tirelessly for the continued success of the tournament”.

Federigo “Ghigo” Ferrari Castellani is 61 and lives in Milan, where he manages his family’s business. He is known both in national and international bridge: He held important roles both in the FIGB and EBL (European Bridge League), his achievements as sport manager have been acknowledged by CONI (Italian Olimpic Committee), which in 2008 gave him the Bronze Star for sport merit.

The player from US mentioned by Ghigo Ferrari si Jessica Hyman Piafsky from New York, here in Milano with  her pard Jacek Kalita. She has been playing since she was 15 yo. In the exciting phases of the tournament there was time only for a few short questions. Who is your US favourite player? Jessica aswered Ralph Katz. Who will win next Bermuda Bowl 2013 in Bali? Jessica hesitated before replying, and then she smiled and said: I do not know!

***

December 9, 2012

Laura Camponeschi

(Thanks to Paolo Enrico Garrisi, John Wilmott and Michele Leone)

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