Ireland had mixed fortunes at the Generali Bridge Championships yesterday. A satisfactory 1812 win over Luxembourg in round nine resulted in the Irish team moving to ninth place.
However, in round 10, they suffered their first setback, losing 822 to Spain. The Spaniards, who have emerged as one of the strong teams, won convincingly.
The Irish players, captained by Alan Mesbur, are not disheartened. Britain also lost heavily, 525 to Italy, as did Sweden to Germany, 10-20. Less than one third of the matches have been played. Ireland had a bye in round 11, and are now in 11th place.
The Irish team face their biggest challenge in the next round when they meet Poland. The last six meetings between the two countries have resulted in three wins each. Tom Hanlon, Hugh McGann, Niall Toibin and Pat Walshe will line out. Following that, Ireland will meet Greece and Malta.
The women's team championship got under way yesterday; after two rounds, favourites Germany share the lead with Norway. The British team are fourth. Ireland has no team in this event.
The senior teams championship for players over 55 starts today. The Irish team is Paul Hanratty, Seamus Dowling, (both Dublin) Cait Flavin (SLigo) John Godden (Galway) and Sean O Lubaigh (Carlow). They meet Sweden in the first round. Twenty-nine teams will play a complete round robin of 12-board matches.
Open teams championships (leaders): 1. Norway 217; 2. Italy 216; 3. Poland 214; 4. France 213; 5. Bulgaria 210; 6. Sweden 201; 7. Spain 200; 8. Belgium 198; 9. Croatia 190; 10. Netherlands 188; 11. Ireland 184. There are 37 teams competing.