The victory did not come easy against a determined team from China, but USA I were finally able to celebrate on Friday with a 229.3-210 victory in the Venice Cup final.

When it was over, Kathie Wei-Sender was able to congratulate the Chinese players for their good showing and breath a sigh of relief that her proteges didn’t play just a little bit better. Wei-Sender has done a lot to promote bridge to China, and she says she knows all of the players on China’s Venice Cup team. “They’re all my students,” she says.

Wei-Sender played with Betty Ann Kennedy, Jill Levin, Sue Picus, Janice Seamon-Molson and Tobi Sokolow.

Halfway through the last round, played before a packed VuGraph audience, China had edged to within 13.3 IMPs with a 6-IMP swing and seemed poised to overtake the Americans.

On the next board, USA I engineered an 11-IMP swing when China went four off in 3NT for minus 400 in the closed room while Levin took 10 tricks in 2NT in the open room. American partisans breathed easier after that, but China stayed within range almost until the end.

While the Americans and Chinese played their close match, there was a change in the leader board in the Bermuda Bowl as USA I had three strong sessions – including a 77-31third-set win – to enter play today with a 242-205 lead.
The two final rounds of the Bermuda Bowl will be played today.

The World Transnational Open Teams will also conclude today with the two final sets. In that match, Lavazza of Italy lead Zhuang of China 45-29.