Eight countries managed to qualify teams in both contests: USA, Austria, Norway, England, France, Poland, Sweden and to the delight of the home supporters, our hosts, The Netherlands.

If you were looking for excitement as the Round Robin phase of the Championships ended, then you had to concentrate on Group A of the Open Series. The last round saw Denmark facing Brazil, and with seven boards to go, Denmark were in the box seat, and holding a possible ticket to the quarter-finals. However, a Brazilian counter-attack saw the South Americans rattle up enough IMPs to leave them ahead of the Danes. Meanwhile Belgium faced Ireland in another vital head to head encounter. An 18-12 VP win for Ireland would have seen both teams qualify, but the Belgians prevailed 19-11 VP, leaving them in, and Ireland out.

At the prize-giving ceremony for the Senior International Cup Betty Ann Kennedy, Bobby Wolff, Dan Morse, John Mohan and Senior Committee Chairman Nissan Rand.

The Austrian University team (left to right: Bernd Saurer, Arno Lindermann, npc Hamelone Thomasberger, Andreas Glover and Martin Schifko)

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