The curtains drew on the 66th WinterNational Bridge Championships last evening and these are a few thoughts I have had on the event as it has unfolded.
These are all 10,000 foot level thoughts and have very little, if anything to do with the results of the events. That the events were well organized need not be reiterated. Everything went like clockwork with next to zero glitches.
These thoughts are more general observations about the goings on. Needless to say, a la Busybee, this is all my own work
What went well
The first thing to note about the event was the level of participation. With 44 teams in Silver and 32 in Gold, this is the largest level of participation I can recall post the Covid era.
The organizers providing transport from various places across Pune as well as the nearest hotel was a thoughtful gesture which went a long way. Everybody was grateful for the service. So, organizers, take a bow.
The food, I am told, was quite good over the event (I was carrying food from home, so I cannot comment personally) though I heard murmurs about it starting off on a low. Nevertheless, the thoughtfulness of the organizers in offering special food for those fasting on the last day of the event struck a chord in the hearts of a number of people.
The biggest positive during the event was the introduction of yellow cards for unruly behavior. You could almost hear a pin drop during the mixed pairs event (where abusing partner was almost the norm). Once a top player was issued a warning for getting a bit agitated with his partner and her eyes lit up in sheer gratitude at the stemming of the tide. A few players (including a few big names) were issued yellow cards for shouting at the table and using abusive language and this added to the decorum.
The women's facilities (once again, I am told) were excellent which is often not the case at most venues which are not hotels or convention centres
What could have gone better
The gentlemen's facilities were a little below par, unfortunately. While this is beyond the control of the organizers, it was definitely a sore point with the participants.
There was an unsavory incident in the aftermath of Gukesh Dommaraju having won the world championship. The brouhaha that occurred post the event was truly uncalled for. Arguably the people in authority could have handled the situation better. But overall, the incident left a bad taste in everybody's mouth.
Broken Partnerships
Before the start of the nationals a lot of us were stunned to see Ajay Khare and Raju Tolani sign up with different partners. This has been one of the longest partnerships in recent times and it was surely sad to see them break up, no matter what the reasons for this may be.
The nationals revealed the end of another partnership, that between Sandeep Thakral and Jaggy Shivdasani. Once again, reasons therefor are not known. And, given that they were more or less the anchor pair of the Mavericks team, one is not clear what the shape of that team is going to be.
In Conclusion
All in all, a beautifully organized event which left almost all participants satisfied (though a lot more would have loved to have won prizes 😜)
Disclaimer : All opinions are entirely those of the author and are no reflection of the views of the BridgeFromHome Team.
partnership evolution is central to the advancement of the game. I would like to see jaggy and Guruji in the seniors trials. Raju and Ajay will pass on a lot of experience to their new partners.
the organizing committee has gone allout and the budget will surely go for a toss, the wisdom of this is a matter that bothered me, we need to find ways to conduct a tournament in a lower budget . but let me not sound ungrateful. the food was really the best balance between cost n quality, wholesome and fresh.
the Gukesh incident has opened a door for me personally and I assure you that we will see the difference in the next few tournaments itself. I have no doubt that every TD is a humble servant of the game and we have total faith in our ability to provide best of class TD ship .
Dear Prasad,
Thank you for writing in.
With all due respect, I have to say we need to find ways to raise the resources to provide this level of facilities.
As regards the Gukesh incident, it left absolutely nobody in a good light.
Ashok Ruia Winter National Tournament, this year, was held at Balewadi Sports Complex during 8th to 18th December 2024. The response to all the events was Excellant..
Food I.e. Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks and tea coffee was very well arranged. Mainly Transport arrangement for the Pune particioants from the City to Venue and Back was well marranged by PRBA.
SINCE I. participated in theTournament I thought I must write about Washrooms. Many places the water taps were either not working or Broken/damaged. in Toilets the doors were not closing properly, flush was not working. All in all the Gentleman's Washrooms were very dirty.
Some of the Directors were very Harsh. Even if we normally take out our Cell Phone and place it on Table, The Directors were punishing the participants with 3 VPs reduction from their total Victory Points.. That was not Fair I think.
Otherwise I enjoyed playing.
once again Thanks to PRBA And BFI FOR such a Wonderful Arrangement..
Thank you for writing in sir. You were one of the few 90+ players playing in the event.
The penalty was 3 imps, not 3 victory points.
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partnership evolution is central to the advancement of the game. I would like to see jaggy and Guruji in the seniors trials. Raju and Ajay will pass on a lot of experience to their new partners.
the organizing committee has gone allout and the budget will surely go for a toss, the wisdom of this is a matter that bothered me, we need to find ways to conduct a tournament in a lower budget . but let me not sound ungrateful. the food was really the best balance between cost n quality, wholesome and fresh.
the Gukesh incident has opened a door for me personally and I assure you that we will see the difference in the next few tournaments itself. I have no doubt that every TD is a humble servant of the game and we have total faith in our ability to provide best of class TD ship .
Dear Prasad,
Thank you for writing in.
With all due respect, I have to say we need to find ways to raise the resources to provide this level of facilities.
As regards the Gukesh incident, it left absolutely nobody in a good light.
Ashok Ruia Winter National Tournament, this year, was held at Balewadi Sports Complex during 8th to 18th December 2024. The response to all the events was Excellant..
Food I.e. Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks and tea coffee was very well arranged. Mainly Transport arrangement for the Pune particioants from the City to Venue and Back was well marranged by PRBA.
SINCE I. participated in theTournament I thought I must write about Washrooms. Many places the water taps were either not working or Broken/damaged. in Toilets the doors were not closing properly, flush was not working. All in all the Gentleman's Washrooms were very dirty.
Some of the Directors were very Harsh. Even if we normally take out our Cell Phone and place it on Table, The Directors were punishing the participants with 3 VPs reduction from their total Victory Points.. That was not Fair I think.
Otherwise I enjoyed playing.
once again Thanks to PRBA And BFI FOR such a Wonderful Arrangement..
Thank you for writing in sir. You were one of the few 90+ players playing in the event.
The penalty was 3 imps, not 3 victory points.
OK. THAKS FOR CLARIFICATION Sukrutji.
that was a typographical .mistake on my part.