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D’Orsi Senior Bowl. In this Tourney Neapolitan Club said that the favourite were Poland; they was defeated by France, instead, and the latter is now winning against Usa2. “Favourite” is the team that is believed to win an event; in a play where not always the luck stays out, the forecast is acceptable even if that team doesn’t win but is only defeated by winners. If France wins, our forecast on Poland wasn’t exact but reasonable at least.
The Italians, in D’Orsi Bowl, placed twelfth in round robin. We didn’t say anything about them, and very little has been to said, in facts: they made a pacifist tourney, never menacing to invade the qualification territories. The
Italian Senior Team comes from something as trials, and our strongest pair, Mosca-Sbarigia, didn’t qualified. In 1965’s Bermuda Bowl, two of the three Italian pairs came from trials: Belladonna-Avarelli and D’Alelio-Pabis Ticci. The pair Forquet-Garozzo, one of the strongest of all times, placed only fifth; they only entered the squad because Captain Perroux knew that misfortune too plays bridge, and reserved to himself the prerogative to name a pair. Captain Bernasconi, in 2011’s D’Orsi Cup, reserved the place to Carlo Mosca alone, pairing him with Antonio Vivaldi and leaving at home Silvio Sbarigia, our strongest player and Mosca’s natural partner.
In Venice Cup there were many strong teams; was difficult to say who could win, so we didn’t say it. Just we noted that in French team plays the strongest in the world, Catherine Saul D’Ovidio; the final in Venice Cup is France-Indonesia. The Indonesian players are: Lusie Olha Bojoh, Fera Damayanti, Suci Amita Dewi, Kristina Wahyu Murniati, Riantini, Julita Grace Tueje.
England and Netherlands, now playing for the third place, made a great tourney. The negative surprise comes from Germany, who failed to qualify. Italy placed twelfth, nevertheless they made a fine tourney, fighting as lionesses and being next to reach the quarter final until the last day.
Bermuda Bowl. In the Romantic Challenge, Italy was the favourite, a little more than Usa1 and Usa2: we said 40% to Italy, 25% to each Usa team, and 10% to all together the remaining nineteen teams. Right we said about Usa2; wrong was the underestimation of The Netherlands – they are now playing the final against the Americans of Bathurst – and wrong was the overrating of Italy. It’s grievous to admit that Italy wasn’t unlucky: they were less strong than expected. Let’s watch these two rankings:
In the left side there’s the overall score after all the twenty one rounds; at right, instead, there’s the score of the direct 16 board matches in which the eight qualified teams played each other during the same round robin. Left side the Italians are the strongest in the World; right side, instead, both Usa2 and The Netherlands precede them.
It must be noted that very little changes for the other teams; the main difference is in Italian place: at left, Italy is first playing against all, strong plus weak teams; at right, they’re only third against the best seven. The truth is at right, and the facts are witnessing it: Italy still remains a great squad, but in this moment they come no more than third in the World.
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Paolo Enrico Garrisi
10/27/2011