Yesterday witnessed two semi-finals that were competitive for a while but then turned into conclusive victories for the two most experienced teams, USA I and Israel.

The North Americans won easily, 284-94.7 IMPs mainly thanks to two huge sessions in the second half of the match where they overwhelmed their opponents 94-11 IMPs and 93-20 IMPs. Israel and Denmark was close for a while but then Israel gradually pulled away, eventually winning 217-108 IMPs to set up what promises to be an exciting final over the next two days. As is often the case in a sporting semi-final where so much is at stake the bridge was sometimes not of the highest level, but with both teams being full of experienced and talented players everyone is looking forward to what might prove to be a classic final.

Denmark and Thailand will play off today for the bronze medal.