                Marlboro Bermuda and Venice Cup
                       Beijing, China
                  October 8th - 21st, 1995
              Issue 2, Monday October 9th, 1995
            Editor: Henry Francis and Brian Senior
**********************************************************
                      A Remarkable
     
     We have attended many opening ceremonies since we
began covering world championships in 1973, but never have
we seen anything that compares with last night at the Great
Hall of the People. Eighty tables, 900 people, a multi-
multi-course meal of all kinds of delicacies, great
sociability, a fine band -- everything was special.
     The highlight, of course, was the opening of the 32nd
Marlboro Bermuda Bowl and the 10th Marlboro Venice Cup by
Jose Damiani, president of the World Bridge Federation.
Damiani greeted the crowd with the Chinese word for  How
are you?  and he closed with the word for  Thank you.  The
contents of his speech appeared in Daily Bulletin #1. After
declaring the Games open, Damiani joined Rong Gaotang,
president of the Chinese Bridge Association, in displaying
the WBF flag.
     After Yi Hougao, chairman of the organizing committee,
introduced the head table, Rong Gaotang extended a warm
welcome to the competitors and visitors.  Bridge is
flourishing in China despite its short history here, said
Rong.  Hosting these Championships will promote and help
develop bridge in China.
     Yuan Weimin, vice minister of health and physical
training and vice president of the Chinese Olympic
Committee, pointed out that bridge in China is a sport,
just like all other sports.  It s a game of elegance,
intelligence and education,  he said.
     Zhang Baifa, vice executive mayor of Beijing,
delivered the greetings of the mayor of Beijing as well as
the six million citizens of the city. He pointed out that
the past month has been a major one for Beijing -- the city
has been host to the women of the world, the police of the
world, and now the bridge players of the world.
     Joseph Tcheng, area director for Philip Morris Asia,
said this tournament will achieve something that few events
can do --  Each of us will gain from knowledge, experience
and understanding.
     After Damiani opened the Games, Anna Maria Torlantano
took the podium to introduce all 32 of the teams that will
be competing in the two world championships that will get
under way this morning.
*********************************************************

             Appeals Committee Members On Duty

                Monday 9th October 1995
                     Richard Colker
                     Joan Gerard
                     Mazhar Jafri
                     Kathie Wei-Sender
                     Jean-Claude Beineix
                     Rebecca Rogers

                Tuesday 10th October 1995
                     Jens Auken
                     Jean-Louis Derivery
                     Barbara Nudelman
                     John Wignall
                     Ernesto d'Orsi
                     Kathie Wei-Sender
**********************************************************

                        Spectators
      Spectators are not allowed at any table. Those
interested in following a match must watch Vugraph.

                         Alerts
     A special procedure has been set up to handle Alerts.
A player who is Alerting his partner s bid must place the
Alert card on the bidding board in the area where his
opponent would make his next bid. The opponent then picks
up the Alert card and returns it to the alerter. If the
Alerting is done in any other fashion, it could make a
difference during an appeals hearing.

                         Home team
     The home team for the first round-robin is the team
listed first in the tournament program.

                     Second round-robin
     The teams in each group will be renumbered for the
second round-robin according to their finish in the first
round-robin. The matches will be played according to the
numbers in the program, but the matches in the second
round-robin will be played in reverse order from the first
round-robin.

                          Appeals
     Only captains may make appeals of a director's ruling
-- players are not allowed to do this. If a player thinks a
ruling should be appealed, he must consult with his
captain, and it will be up to the captain to make the
appeal.

                         Carry-over
     There will be no carry-over from the round-robin
matches to the knockout phase.
*********************************************************

             Vilamoura -  France v Sweden (Open)

     Some of the most interesting bridge of the European
Championships in Vilamoura came in the first round Open
Series match-up between two of the eventual qualifiers,
France and Sweden. The match resulted in a 17-13 win for
Sweden. These boards, showing Fallenius/Nilsland at their
best, had a major bearing on the outcome.
  Board 12. N/S Vul. Dealer West.

                           S AK52
                           H JT4
                           D A3
                           C QT96
                 S T93              S Q64
                 H K987             H A63
                 D QT5              D 9872
                 C 752              C AJ3
                           S J87
                           H Q52
                           D KJ64
                           C K84

     In the open room, Mari played a quiet 1NT, just making
for +90 to France. In the Closed Room, Nilsland opened 1NT
(14-16) with the North hand and Fallenius raised to game.
Perron had no particularly attractive lead a diamond looks
safe, of course, but the auction suggests that a major suit
lead might be more effective. Perron chose the H6.
     Nilsland started very well with the excellent
psychological play of the queen from dummy, making it
almost impossible for Chemla to duck. He won the king and
returned a heart and Perron won and cleared the suit but
defensive communications had been broken. The defensive
carding suggested that Perron had led from a three card
suit so Nilsland decided to play him for the club length.
Accordingly, he made his second good play by running the
C10 then playing a second club.
     Perron correctly won the second club and exited
passively with a third round so Nilsland was left to find
his ninth trick from either spades or diamonds. He played a
spade to hand, Chemla contributing the nine, and cashed the
last club. Perron and dummy each pitched diamonds and
Chemla the S3. Nilsland cashed the SA, after all, the queen
might fall, and paused to take stock.
     He hadn't come this far to get the ending wrong. If
Chemla really had the SQ it meant Perron had five diamonds,
which seemed improbable after the opening lead, so Nilsland
played a third spade and chalked up +600 and 11 IMPs for
his team.   Board 16. E/W Vul. Dealer West.

                           S Q73
                           H J86
                           D 543
                           C AJ85
              S J6542                S T8
              H T                    H K9754
              D KQJ                  D 762
              C Q732                 C T94
                           S AK9
                           H AQ32
                           D AT98
                           C K6

    At both tables the auction was a straightforward 2NT -
3NT. Chemla led the DQ and in the fullness of time
Bjerregard came to nine tricks; +400. Mari was given a much
tougher ride in the other room.
   Fallenius led his fourth best spade to the ten and king
and Mari tried a low heart to the ten, jack and king.
Nilsland returned a spade and Mari won in dummy and led a
diamond to his nine.  Fallenius won with the queen and
cleared the spades, Nilsland pitching a heart. Mari cashed
both top hearts and Fallenius threw two clubs. Now he
cashed the CK and exited with his last heart, pitching a
club from dummy while Fallenius threw a spade. Nilsland
switched to a diamond and
    Fallenius dropped the king under the ace. Mari had nine
tricks of course but he didn't know it. He exited with the
DT, hoping to endplay Nilsland who he was convinced had the
CQ. But thanks to Fallenius excellent defense this resulted
in one down as it was he who had the remaining diamond
honor and a spade to cash; 10 IMPs to Sweden.
  Board 22. E/W Vul. Dealer East.

                          S KQT84
                          H T65
                          D JT7
                          C Q3
                S J763             S A52
                H J943             H K87
                D 986              D Q43
                C A5               C J864
                          S 9
                          H AQ2
                          D AK52
                          C KT972

    Both North/South auctions began 1D, 1S and Bjerregard
now rebid 1NT and played there, making ten tricks on a not
particularly taxing defense.
     Mari, who could not rebid 1NT as that would have been
weak, tried 2C and went on with 2NT over Lebel s simple
diamond preference.  Lebel raised to game and Fallenius led
a spade.
     There were too many chances in the minor suits for
Mari to risk running the spade so he played dummy's King
and Nilsland won to switch to a heart.  That went to the
Jack and back came a second heart for the King and Ace.
     Mari played a club to the Queen and ran the DJ. When
that held he tried a club to the ten and Ace and Fallenius
cleared the hearts. Mari cashed the CK, Fallenius pitching
a spade, then the DA. Nilsland dropped the Queen under that
and Mari could see an awkward blockage if diamonds were
really 4-2.
     He led low to the DT and played Queen and another
spade, going down when Fallenius had a winner to cash after
taking the Jack. Good defense from Nilsland, but the rest
of the defensive carding seemed to point to the actual
layout and I suspect that Mari will have marked this one
down as a clear misplay on his personal crime sheet.
     Anyway, it was a big swing with Sweden gaining 6 IMPs
instead of it being 6 IMPs the other way. Play of this
caliber explains why at least the European half of your
editorial team expects to see Sweden qualify for the K.O.
stages here in Beijing, despite the toughness of their
round robin group.
**********************************************************
              Bob Hamman tops world rankings;
                Lynn Deas now #1 among women

     Lynn Deas of the United States, three-time world
women's champion, has moved into the #1 ranking among the
World Bridge Federation's women players.
     Bob Hamman, also of the United States, maintained his
#1 ranking among open players --- a position he has held
since 1985. Hamman is here in Beijing seeking still another
Bermuda Bowl gold medal -- he is a member of the United
States II team.  Figures released by the WBF show that
Deas, who won the Venice Cup in 1987, 1989 and 1991, has
2356 points to 2223 for Sandra Landy of Great Britain, who
ranked second.  Hamman is one of the few players in the
world to have won all three of the major world championship
events --- the Bermuda Bowl, the Olympiad and the Open
Pairs.
     The new rankings represent the present strength of
players and is accomplished by subtracting 15% of a
player's masterpoints each year --- excluding points won in
that year, which remain at 100%.
     As a result, players who do not play often will
continually lose points. Placement points for overall
placings are retained for life.
     The three WBF ranks, in descending order, are World
Grand Master, World Life Master and World Master.
     The rank of World Grand Master is achieved by
accumulating 10 or more WBF placing points (awarded to
winners and very high finishers in WBF tournaments and
zonal team championships) and winning at least one world
title.
     The rank of World Life Master is achieved by winning 5
or more placing points. These titles are lifetime.
     A player who wins 150 WBF masterpoints becomes a World
Master but loses this rank if his total falls below 150 as
a result of the annual percentage cut of 15%. Here are the
leaders and their totals:

                 Women World Grand Masters

1.  Lynn Deas          USA            2356
2.  Sandra Landy       Great Britain  2223
3.  Kerri Sanborn      USA            2092
4.  Bep Vriend         Netherlands    1951
5.  Beth Palmer        USA            1915
6.  Nicola Smith       Great Britain  1865
7.  Pat Davies         Great Britain  1865
8.  Judi Radin         USA            1834
9.  Kathie Wei-Sender  USA            1719
10. Karen McCallum     USA            1615
11. Sue Picus          USA            1585
12. Carol Sanders      USA            1530
13. Betty Ann Kennedy  USA            1515
14. Sally Horton       Great Britain  1466
15. Jacqui Mitchell    USA            1333
16. Gail Greenberg     USA             920
17. Marisa d'Andrea    Italy           691
18. Luciana Capodanno  Italy           547
19. Dorothy Truscott   USA             441
20. Marisa Bianchi     Italy           246

                    Open World Grand Masters

1.  Bob Hamman         USA            5318
2.  Eric Rodwell       USA            4540
3.  Bobby Wolff        USA            4293
4.  Jeff Meckstroth    USA            4010
5.  Chip Martel        USA            3897
6.  Lew Stansby        USA            3887
7.  Gabriel Chagas     Brazil         3480
8.  Piotr Gawrys       Poland         3121
9.  Herv Mouiel       France         2736
10. Marcelo Branco     Brazil         2571
11. Michel Perron      France         2387
12. Hugh Ross          USA            2309
13. Krzysztof Martens  Poland         2258
14. Paul Chemla        France         2192
15. Michael Rosenberg  USA            2099
16. Peter Weichsel     USA            2069
17. Roberto Mello      Brazil         1886
18. Mike Lawrence      USA            1831
19. Henri Szwarc       France         1484
20. Pedro P. Branco    Brazil         1463
*********************************************************
       Which teams will make it to the quarterfinals?

     Today 16 teams begin play in the Marlboro Bermuda Bowl
and 16 teams go into battle for the Marlboro Venice Cup. By
early Friday evening half these teams will be on the
sidelines, with the other half qualifying to play in the
quarterfinals. Which teams are most likely to make the cut?
     First let's look at Group W in the Bermuda Bowl.  The
Netherlands of course will be a major factor -- four of the
six players who were on the winning team in Santiago,
Chile, two years ago are back again. United States I also
is a powerhouse with three former world champions. The
other three have been among the leading players in the
United States for many years.
     France will field a team with five former world
champions, most of whom were on the victorious Olympiad
team in Salsomaggiore in 1992. Indonesia has reached the
world championships on many occasions, and their
performance in the special tournament in Bali earlier this
year indicates they re ready for Beijing.
     The above four teams are the choices for qualification
by both editors -- Henry Francis and Brian Senior..
     In Group E of the Bermuda Bowl, almost every team has
a chance to advance. United States II has piled up an
enviable record in American Contract Bridge League play,
winning three Spingolds in a row and going for three
straight in the Reisinger Teams in the fall. Brazil s squad
boasts several former world champions.
     Italy was a surprise victor in the Europeans earlier
this year. Sweden has a solid team of seasoned players.
Canada features the strongest team it has fielded in years.
Host China improves measurably year to year.
     Here are our choices. Francis: Sweden, United States
II, Brazil, Canada. Senior: Sweden, Brazil, United States
II, Italy.
     Both 1993 Venice Cup finalists are in Group W, and
both defending champion United States I and Germany should
make it to the quarterfinals. China definitely must be
considered -- like the open team, the women s squad shows
regular improvement year by year.  Canada has several
players with wide international experience, as does Brazil.
Israel performed well in the Europeans.
     Our choices: Francis: United States I, Germany, China,
Brazil. Senior: United States I, Germany, China, Canada.
     In Group E of the Venice Cup, France seems like close
to a sure thing for qualification -- the French have a team
loaded with international experience. The America team,
United States II, also has a strong international flavor
with three former world champions. These are the standout
teams in this group.
     Great Britain did well in the Europeans, but their
most experienced player has a new partner and the other
players have limited international experience. Australia
has a veteran squad that has come close to qualifying on
several occasions over the years.  Japan's stock in women s
bridge has been rising over the years. Venezuela has
several players who have Venice Cup and Women s Olympiad
experience.
     Our choices: Francis: France, United States II,
Australia, Japan. Senior: France, United States II,
Australia, Great Britain.
**********************************************************
                           Team Rosters
                           31st Bermuda Bowl
                           Group W  Z=Zone

Argentina     Z3, Pablo Lambardi (pc), Martin Monsegur,
                  Carlos Lucena, Guillermo Mooney, Ernesto
                  Muzzio, Marcelo Villegas

Australia     Z7, Peter Smith (npc), Hugh Grosvenor, Phil
                  Gue, John Roberts, Matthew Thomson,
                  George Kozakos, Paul Marston

France        Z1, Jean-Paul Meyer (npc), Paul Chemla,
                  Michel Perron, Robert Reiplinger,
                  Philippe Soulet, Michel Lebel,
                  Philippe Cronier

Indonesia     Z6, Yasin Widjadja (npc), Henky Lasut, Eddy
                  Manoppo, Denny Sakul, Franky Karwur,
                  S. Panelewen, G. Watulingas

Netherlands   Z1, Jaap Trouwborst (npc), Enri Leufkens,
                  Berry Westra, Jan Westerhof, Piet Jansen,
                  Anton Maas, Erik Kirchhoff

South Africa  Z4, Maurice Joffe (npc), Tim Cope, Henry
                  Mansell, Chris Convery, Craig Gower, Leon
                  Boolkin, Bernard Donde

USA I         Z2, Jimmy Cayne (pc), Chuck Burger, Mark
                  Lair, Mike Passell, Paul Soloway,
                  Bobby Goldman

Venezuela     Z5, Christian Blohm (npc), Steve Hamaoui,
                  Claudio Caponi, Paolo Pasquini, Alejandro
                  Bianchedi, Mario Onorati, Franco Gusso

---------------------------------------------------------
                            Group E

Brazil        Z3, Paulo Brum de Barros (npc), Christiano
                  Fonseca, Gabriel Chagas, Roberto de
                  Mello, Marcelo Branco

Canada        Z2, Irving Litvack (npc), Fed Gitelman,
                  George Mittelman, Eric Kokish, Joey
                  Silver, Mark Molson, Boris Baran

China         Z6, Kaijian Pan (npc), Zhong Fu, Xiaojing
                  Wang, Rongchang Chen, Zijian Shao, Ji
                  Hong Hu, Hongjun Xu

Colombia      Z5, Giorgio Helmsdorff (npc), Jaime Carrera,
                  Jorge Andres Barrera, Jorge Barrera,
                  Anton Cahn-Speyer, J.M. Nunez,
                  A. Robledo

Egypt         Z4, Abdel Aziz El-Shafie (npc), Walid
                  El-Ahmady, Ashraf Sadek, Samih Khalil,
                  Hassan Adel Aly, Samir Salib Beshara,
                  Michel Doche

Italy         Z1, Carlo Mosca (npc), Andrea Buratti,
                  Massimo Lanzarotti, Lorenzo Lauria,
                  Maurizio Pataccini, Antonio Sementa,
                  Alfredo Versace

Sweden        Z1, Tommy Gullberg (N), Anders Morath, Sven
                  Ake Bjerregard, Johan Bennet, Anders
                  Wirgren, Mats Nilsland, Bjorn Fallenius

USA II        Z2, Edgar Kaplan (npc), Nick Nickell, Richard
                  Freeman, Bob Hamman, Bobby Wolff, Jeff
                  Meckstroth, Eric Rodwell

*******************************************************

                          10th Venice Cup
                             Group W

Brazil        Z3, Ernesto d'Orsi (npc), Agota Mandelot,
                  Elisabeth Murtinho, Lia Cintra, Lucia
                  Gil, Heloisa Nogueira, Sylvia de Mello

Canada        Z2, Michael Roche (npc), Gloria Silverman,
                  Roisin O'Hara, Joan Eaton, Barbara
                  Clinton, Mary Paul, Katie Thorpe

China         Z6, Houzou Tang (npc), Ming Sun, Yi Lan
                  Zhang, Yi Quian Liu, Hong Li Wang,
                  Ling Gu, Li Ping Wang

Colombia      Z5, G. Helmsdorff (npc), Flor Macias, Clara
                  Benedetti, Ana de Soto, B. Angel, S.
                  Barrera, V. Cahn-Speyer

Germany       Z1, Klaus Reps (npc), Sabine Zenkel Auken,
                  Marianne Moegel, Karin Caesar, Beate
                  Nehmert, Andrea Rauschield, Daniela
                  von Arnim

Israel        Z1, Zvi Ben Tovim (npc), Migri Tzur Albu,
                  Ruth Porat Levy, Hanita Melech, Nurit
                  Naveh, Neta Saxon, Ora Dan

South Africa  Z4, Di Adrain (npc), Merle Modlin, Petra
                  Mansell, Ruth Kaplan, Ghita Livingstone,
                  Bella Axelrod, Ursula Hammerschlag

USA I         Z2, Steve Sandborn (npc), Karen McCallum,
                  Kitty Munson, Rozanne Pollack, Carol
                  Simon, Sue Picus, Kerri Sandborn

-------------------------------------------------------

                             Group E

Australia     Z7, Julia Hoffman (npc), Lydia Beech,
                  Margaret Bourke, Alida Clark, Sue Lusk,
                  Felicity Beale, Diana Smart

Argentina     Z3, Marta Tiscornia (pc), Marta Matienzo,
                  Matilde Espiasse, Ana Castro, Engelica
                  Hernandez, Ana Blum

France        Z1, Max Coppolani (npc), Veronique Bessis,
                  Catherine Saul, Sylvie Willard, Benedicte
                  Cronier, Claude Blouquit, Colette Lise

Great Britain Z1, Tony Priday (npc), Sandra Landy, Sandra
                  Penfold, E. McGowan, Heather Dhondy,
                  Walker Abbey

India         Z4, Vinay Desai (npc), Rita Choksi, Kamala
                  Sattanathan, Jeroo Mango, Marianne
                  Karmakan, Yvette Singapuri

Japan         Z6, Akio Kurokawa (npc), Etsuko Miyaishi,
                  Kyoko Shimamura, Kazuko Banno, Mizuko
                  Tan, Shoko Fukuda, Zenko Shimada

USA II        Z2  Phillip Alder (npc), Mildred Breed,
                  Amalya Kearse, Jacqui Mitchell, Jo Morse,
                  Joyce Lilie, Tobi Deutsch

Venezuela     Z5, Fida Hirshaut (pc), Ivy Smith, Alexandra
                  Pointkowski, M. Pacheco, A. Myakuni,
                  E. Solar
********************************************************
                      Beijing Schedule
October  8th, Opening Ceremony 8pm
October  9th - 12th Round Robin 2 x 7 x 20 boards
                    10am, 2pm, 5:30pm
October 13th   10am  2pm
October 14th - 15th  Quarter-finals
October 16th - 17th  Semi-finals
October 18th - 20th  Finals

Venice  Cup ends October 19th
Bermuda Cup ends October 20th
October 20th, Victory Banquet 8:30pm

Each group will take part in a double round robin,
with the top four in each advancing to the KO phase.

********************************************************
               Malboro  Bermuda Bowl

         Group W                  Group E

Round 1
Indonesia    V  France       |  Sweden    V  Colombia South
Africa V  Venezuela    |  Canada    V  Egypt Netherlands  V
USA I         |  Brazil    V  USA II Australia    V
Argentina     |  China     V  Italy
----------------------------------------------------------
Round 2
South Africa V  Indonesia    |  Canada    V  Sweden
Venezuela    V  France       |  Egypt     V  Colombia
Netherlands  V  Australia    |  China     V  Brazil
Argentina    V  USA I        |  Italy     V  USA II
----------------------------------------------------------
Round 3
Indonesia    V  Venezuela    |  Sweden    V  Egypt
South Africa V  France       |  Canada    V  Colombia
Netherlands  V  Indonesia    |  Brazil    V  Italy
Australia    V  USA I        |  USA II    V  China
----------------------------------------------------------
Round 4
Netherlands  V  Indonesia    |  Sweden    V  Brazil
USA I        V  France       |  USA II    V  Colombia South
Africa V  Argentina    |  Italy     V  Canada Australia
V  Venezuela    |  China     V  Egypt
----------------------------------------------------------
Round 5
Indonesia    V  USA I        |  Sweden    V  USA II
Netherlands  V  France       |  Brazil    V  Colombia South
Africa V  Australia    |  China     V  Canada Venezuela
V  Argentina    |  Egypt     V  Italy
----------------------------------------------------------
Round 6
Australia    V  Indonesia    |  China     V  Sweden
Argentina    V  France       |  Italy     V  Colombia
Netherlands  V  South Africa |  Brazil    V  Canada
Venezuela    V  USA I        |  USA II    V  Egypt
----------------------------------------------------------
Round 7
Indonesia    V  Argentina    |  Sweden    V  Italy
France       V  Australia    |  China     V  Colombia South
Africa V  USA I        |  Canada    V  USA II Netherlands
V  Venezuela    |  Egypt     V  Brazil
**********************************************************

                       Malboro Venice Cup
          Group W                     Group E
Round 1
Germany      V  Colombia     |  Japan     V  Great Britain
Israel       V  USA I        |  USA II    V  Australia
Canada       V  China        |  France    V  Venezuela
South Africa V  Brazil       |  India     V  Argentina
----------------------------------------------------------
Round 2
Israel       V  Germany      |  USA II    V  Great Britain
USA I        V  Colombia     |  Japan     V  Australia
Brazil       V  Canada       |  India     V  Venezuela
South Africa V  China        |  France    V  Argentina
----------------------------------------------------------
Round 3
Germany      V  USA I        |  Australia V  Great Britain
Colombia     V  Israel       |  Japan     V  USA II
South Africa V  Canada       |  Venezuela V  Argentina
China        V  Brazil       |  France    V  India
----------------------------------------------------------
Round 4
Canada       V  Germany      |  Venezuela V  Great Britain
China        V  Colombia     |  France    V  Japan
South Africa V  Israel       |  Argentina V  USA II
Brazil       V  USA I        |  India     V  Australia
----------------------------------------------------------
Round 5
Germany      V  China        |  France    V  Great Britain
Colombia     V  Canada       |  Japan     V  Venezuela
Israel       V  Brazil       |  USA II    V  India
South Africa V  USA II       |  Australia V  Argentina
----------------------------------------------------------
Round 6
Brazil       V  Germany      |  India     V  Great Britain
South Africa V  Colombia     |  Argentina V  Japan
Canada       V  Israel       |  USA II    V  Venezuela
China        V  USA I        |  France    V  Australia
----------------------------------------------------------
Round 7
South Africa V  Germany      |  Argentina V  Great Britain
Brazil       V  Colombia     |  Japan     V  India
Israel       V  China        |  USA II    V  France
USA I        V  Canada       |  Australia V  Venezuela
**********************************************************
