Tolani Nationals - Ladies Pairs Final
The ladies pairs finals, an event where 18 pairs played each other over 51 boards, was arguably the closest contested event in this Tolani Summer National Championships.
When the dust settled, the pair of Sheetal Bansal and Manjit Oberai finished victors, a short nose ahead of the veterans Hema Deora and Marianne Karmarkar. The Winter Nationals Champions, Devi Bhatnagar and Tara Laroia finished 3rd. While we don't normally mention the fourth place, we are compelled to this time around because Poonam Surana and Bindiya Kohli were actually leading the tournament into the final board.
Indeed, the last 5-6 boards saw an incredible tussle for the top spot between Poonam / Bindiya, Hema / Marianne, and Sheetal / Manjit.
I am sure all bridge lovers join us in the pleasure of seeing two new pairs finish so high up in the honors list!
We hope to see more of all four of them, not just in the ladies, but in the mixed and open events as well.
Biwi O Biwi?
Sunil Bajaj
My wife wants to play bridge with me,
To see if at least on the table we'll agree.
I treat her as if she's made of gold,
Even though she misplays a hand which is cold.
Well played partner, sorry partner, is the norm,
I follow these rules if I want her to be in form.
If she goes down on a contract she should make,
Sweet nothings I whisper to see if she is awake,
No coaching or advice to my gentle wife,
Guys, I do want to live a peaceful life!
Note from editors
I don't know if you have had this feeling, but a strong partnership is almost like a marriage. Further, in the light of the mixed pairs coming up, this is perhaps an apt time to present this penmanship
We welcome all such contributions from all of you
Tolani Nationals Mixed Pairs Championships
With over 75 pairs registered for the event, it is now confirmed that the event starts on Friday, July 2.
Participants should take note of the same.
For those who have yet to register may do so by clicking here.
We hope to see a lot of participants from the ladies pairs register for this event. In case you wish to, and are looking for a partner, do contact us. We will do our best to pair you with a suitable partner.
We will just share with you today a list of mixed pairs who have been playing together as partners even in open events fairly regularly. We hope to see the formation and development of more such partnerships.
- Kiran Nadar and Bachiraju Satyanarayana Arguably the most accomplished and the longest running partnership today. The pair have played together for around 30 years or longer and have won all sorts of accolades in not just mixed events, but open events as well. They have represented the country innumerable times and we can run out of adjectives trying to describe the partnership.
- Himani and Rajeev Khandelwal
This pair too, has been playing together for as long as I can remember. They rarely split their partnership except for extreme strategic or health reasons. While they play very hard at the bridge table, this is one of the most sporting pairs I know in terms of following the spirit of the law rather than the mere letter.
- Richa Shriram and Ranjan Bhattacharya
This pair has joined hands fairly recently. However, they have consistently been playing together in open events as well, both as a pair and in a team. - Marianne and Sandeep Karmarkar
While both players have performed excellently individually in open events, they have started playing as a regular partnership just recently, particularly during the lock down period.
Those who have watched the pair in action in live tournaments would vouch for the entertainment at any table they play. They seem to be constantly bickering, but they always produce phenomenal results.
- Bindiya Naidoo and Priya Ranjan Sinha
While this pair will not be competing in this event, no article on mixed pairs will be complete without mentioning them. They are always dangerous opponents while smiling at you.
They are known as one of the most dedicated pairs to coaching bridge and introducing newcomers to the game, they played one Summer Nationals with their students in order to encourage them, bypassing, we are sure, lucrative offers from a few sponsors.
Bindiya (or Mini, as she is better known) is always helpful to everybody especially with her alternative healing techniques.
- Rima Anand and Arvind Vaidya
This too, is a relatively recent partnership though they have won a National Mixed Pairs Championship playing together. Arvind Vaidya is known to believe in developing partnerships and even during the formative stages of the partnerships, always gave his partner right of first refusal before joining any stronger teams as an individual.
Gents would do well to bear this in mind and work towards building up partnerships with ladies and play with them in events other than mixed pairs as well.
Hoping to see 100 pairs in the event!!!!!