The WBF President Gianarrigo Rona and the WBF Past President and Chairman Emeritus José Damiani represented the World Bridge Federation at the Funeral Ceremony in Sotogrande on Wednesday 9th January 2013.

WBF President Obituary

Dear Jimmy,

All of a sudden you passed away in silence leaving us confused and discouraged.
 
We wrote to each other in November, promising to try to fix a meeting during the holidays or right afterwards, on your way back from one of your usual long travels. Whereas we got this terrible, lifeless news that nobody could ever have expected.
 
With you, leaving an unforgettable mark worldwide, has also ended an incredible and amazing era for Bridge. Our discipline with you as leader, with your energy and your long lasting view, has grown up and developed. From being a game for a restricted elite it has become a universal sport spread all over the world.
 
You have been a teacher and a mentor to all of us as we succeeded you. We were and we still are inspired by you as we carry on your legacy.  Even if you were not anymore on the highest chair of the WBF you were always at our side giving us the advice we needed to make it through the hardest times.
 
I especially owe you so much – indeed probably everything as regards my position within the WBF: you believed in me, you endorsed me but the most beautiful present you gave me was your esteem, your confidence and your friendship toward me. I tried to pay back you with my commitment, my enthusiasm and my passion, the passion that you taught me.
I’ve so many, many memoires with you, first of all the meeting in Venice in 1985 as we laid the foundations for the Olympics of 1988 but also that unforgettable night in Istanbul when you offered me the pin as member of the WBF Honour Committee, such a great and unexpected honour. And how could I forget that marvelous lunch we has last January  in Milan at the most ancient Italian restaurant, where once again in talking to me you gave me another amazing lesson of life.

As a premonition of your departure, this summer in Lille you gave us your precious book about the WBF’s first fifty years. You had been working on that for a very long time and you had finally succeeded in publishing it. An amazing present that stands up for your way of being.
 
Dear Jimmy from your green and beloved Valderrama, where you established an everlasting legacy you flew back to the heaven where you will meet your beloved family and friends as Bob Howes, Edgar Kaplan & Pietro Bernasconi with whom, I’m sure, you are already playing the bridge of your life.
 
Goodbye Jimmy, you’ll always have a special place in our hearts.

Gianarrigo

WBF President Emeritus Obituary

This is not only very sad news, but above everything a great loss for the entire world bridge community.

He spent a great part of his bridge career as a player – a world life master- and even more as an administrator.

He used his business skill to build the World Bridge Federation into a strong organization. He had a clear approach to the game and he was really the one who strove to ensure that the ethical side of bridge was fully observed and thus prepared the way to enable me to promote with full conviction the statement that “Bridge is a Sport”.

He was himself a real sportsman, not only in bridge - he was an excellent tennis and golf player.

So, we understood each other from the first time we met in 1978 in New Orleans. He impressed me so much with his vision and his dedication that he inspired me to take my own place in this world of Bridge.

We were very close and our relationship became much more than friendship, a true brotherhood.

We shared not only the bridge life, year after year with the same view of the quality of the Championships, the development, the youth policy, but we also enjoyed many travels, many pleasures together.

And due to this mutual understanding we were able to overcome any problems or difficulties.

Jimmy, as I called you, if you were not such a great man you would not have been so responsible for the path my own life took - indeed may I say my own destiny.

I already miss you and I know that I will miss you more and more.

The only one hope remaining: to share another glass of excellent wine somewhere, sometime.

Jimmy I love you
José Damiani

Featuring the world's top athletes in the respective fields, the second edition of the SportAccord World Mind Games has taken place at the Beijing International Convention Center, in Beijing, China, 12-19 December 2012 - the same place where the inaugural SportAccord World Mind Games were held in 2011.

As usual, five mind sports participated in the SportAccord World Mind Games: Bridge, Chess, Draughts, Go and Xiang Qi (Chinese chess).

Some 150 top athletes competed in the event which was supported by IMSA and was accompanied by a cultural program. Winners, medallists and players received attractive prize money depending on their results.

IMSA is the International Mind Sports Association. SportAccord is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) inter­national sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international associations.

An online competition was held before the Games having at stake an all-expenses paid trip to Beijing to attend the 2012 World Mind Games! Winners also had the opportunity to play against some of the world's best players in their favorite sport.

Zeng Peiyan, former Vice-Premier of the State Council of the People Republic of China, according to art. 3.2 of the WBF By-Laws, in consideration of the outstanding and distinguished services rendered to the World Bridge Federation and to the development and affirmation of bridge, has been appointed President of the WBF Congress.  Zeng Peiyan replaces the late Ding Guangeng.  

The title was awarded to Mr. Zeng by the WBF President Gianarrigo Rona during a ceremony held in Beijing in the afternoon of Saturday 8th December at the presence of the Chinese Ministry of Sport and Chinese Olympic Committee President, Liu Peng, the President of the Chinese Contract Bridge Association, Xiang Huaincheng and other authorities representing the Chinese Government, the CCBA and the WBF. The ceremony was followed by a bridge match.

	The group of the authorities attending the ceremony: Chen Zelan (WBF EC Member & CCBA Vice President), Patrick Choy (WBF Vice President), Xiang Huaincheng, Gianarrigo Rona, Zeng Peiyan, Liu Peng, Xiao Min (Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee), Liu Siming (Director of Board and Card Games Administrative Center of the General Administration of Sport of China).