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Table
of Contents |
Page |
Opening ceremony impressive,
Now it's time to do battle |
1 |
Round 1: Turkey v Bulgaria - Open Oroup
B |
2 |
Cover An Honour With An Honour? |
3 |
The Right Jack |
4 |
Round 1: France v Chinese Taipei
– Seniors |
5 |
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Mehmet
Ali Sahin, deputy Prime Minister, José Damiani and
Ata Aydin, president of the Turkish Bridge Federation |
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The pageantry
of the opening ceremonies of the 12th World Bridge Olympiad is over
and competitors have settled in for the marathon that is the round-robin.
A record 73
countries are represented in the three series now under way: the
Open and Women’s in the Olympiad and the Senior Bowl.
At Saturday
night’s opening ceremonies, WBF President Jose Damiani told
a huge crowd that “it is clearly symbolic to be here in Istanbul,
Turkey, where we are in the gateway between different civilizations,
astride two different continents. . .”
The WBF president
did not forget the sponsors of the record-setting Olympiad, namely
Mustafa Koc, chairman of the Koc Group, which includes the Koc Bank
and Aygaz. Other sponsors are Turkcell and Generali.
Damiani also
welcomed four countries participating in the World Bridge Olympiad
for the first time – Korea in the Women’s series and
Bosnia, Georgia and Costa Rica in the Open.
After local
volunteers had passed through the auditorium of the Grand Cevahir
Hotel bearing flags of each of the nations represented, various
dignitaries took turns welcoming the bridge players of the world
to Istanbul.
Among them
was Turkish Bridge Federation President Ata Aydin, who told the
crowd that “bridge unites us all.” He added: “I
consider the organization of this event in our country as a milestone
towards the worldwide popularity of bridge. And I believe that,
with the sport of bridge, we will successfully show to the world
the true meaning of getting united.”
Mehmet Ali
Sahin, Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister, expressed hope
that the bridge tournament “will lead to the establishment
of new bridges of peace and friendship.” At that, he officially
declared the 12th World Bridge Olympiad open.
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