The title of this blog is drawn from the 'Good-Bad' no trump rather than any encomiums or criticisms of the event. Any event of this scale is bound to have some shortcomings which cannot detract from the massive efforts of the organizers in making the event run smoothly and without any major glitches of any sort whatsoever. Ergo, kudos to the organizers
I am just scribbling a few of my own observations, some happy, some funny, none really critical and, as the writer 'Busybee' would say... all my own work.
Like for me personally, ending up runners up in the silver teams was mixed feelings which is the curse of every silver medalist. The loss in the finals tends to overshadow the achievement of having reached there.
Like playing in the match point pairs final made me realize how much of a palooka I am and how many palooka like mistakes I am capable of. Having said that, we did qualify for the finals from the third elimination, so perhaps I am not that much of a palooka after all.
Like the only serious crib I had in the nationals was the uneven floor in the dining area which could have caused many a person to lose balance. While this is not a crib against the organizers, this highlights one of the reasons for the low participation in the nationals. The probability of injury for an increasing aging population is only getting higher and this would be one reason some prefer to stay away.
Like one highlight of this Nationals was Gopika Tandan shining in the limelight. Great job by her!
Like I heard that Swarnendu Banerjee has won his case against the BFI and wants to return to active bridge as soon as possible.
Like the most heartening part of the press coverage was the article on the deal making team. Their efforts are never given the recognition they are due.
Like I heard a very interesting conversation about the way players treat sponsors and why sponsors are gradually waning in the field of bridge.
And some really funny stuff too...
Like somebody at my table, during the mixed bridge eliminations (which I was just visiting) remarked "I haven't seen Sukrit in these nationals"!
And this gem from a top rated player. "You could have made the contract had you discarded a spade". Spades was the trump suit in the contract and a defender held the master trump at that stage.
nicely articulated article touching all aspects of the tournament . kudos Sukrit .
Please give us those interesting conversations and comments you have hinted but skipped the details. Pleazzeee
I agree Sukrit, the uneven floors are certainly a distractor for the ageing players.. and kudos are due to many . V nice event, well organised… could do with more participation.
Nice writeup
I enjoyed the food – could not have asked for anything better. The tea and coffee guys were always there giving hot chai and coffee.