There is still a lot of time left for teams to make their run at qualifying spots in the Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup and Seniors Bowl, but for some hopefuls, there is no time like the present to get going.

As case in point is the Bermuda Bowl entry from the Netherlands – silver medal winners in Istanbul in last year’s Olympiad. After nine matches, the Dutch find themselves in 17 th place. They are not that far out of a spot in the top eight in terms of Victory Points. The difficulty is all the teams ahead of them.

It’s a different story in the Seniors Bowl, where the Dutch are in first place, just ahead of Indonesia.

In the Venice Cup, China has a lead even greater than Italy’s in the Bermuda Bowl. The Chinese, Venice Cup runners-up in Monte Carlo, have racked up 183.25 Victory Points to 158 for France, lying second, and USA1in third place. The Chinese pitched a rare shutout in match 8, knocking off Pakistan 33-0.

A fourth competition, matching opponents not made of flesh and blood, got underway on Tuesday as the World Computer Bridge Championship kicked off with six programs competing, including Jack, which has won the tournament the last three years.