10th WORLD BRIDGE TEAM OLYMPIAD

Rhodes, Greece / 19 October - 2 November 1996


Qualifier | Quarter Finals | Semi Finals | Finals / Play Offs

Teams | Days & Matches | Daily Bulletins


Medal winners

OPEN LADIES
1. FRANCE 1. U.S.A.
2. Indonesia 2. China
3. Denmark 3. Canada

The 10th World Bridge Team Olympiad was held on the picturesque island of Rhodes, Greece, October 19 - November 2, 1996. With 72 countries taking part, this was by far the best attended Bridge Olympiad ever held since the competition was launched in 1960.

The tournament was played in two series for national teams: Open and Ladies. There were 71 teams taking part in the Open, while 43 competed in the Ladies series. Each series was divided into two sections: A and B.


Play in the Olympiad started with the qualifying stage: a complete round-robin within each section aimed to decide the quarter finalists. Four 16-board matches were played each day in the Open series; the Ladies played three 20-board matches daily. The first four teams from each section advanced to the next stage:

OPEN LADIES
Section A Section B Section A Section B
1. France 1. Italy 1. China 1. U.S.A.
2. Indonesia 2. Ch. Taipei 2. Germany 2. Austria
3. Poland 3. Iceland 3. Netherlands 3. Canada
4. Denmark 4. Russia 4. Gt. Britain 4. Israel

For the complete classification click: Open A | Open B | Ladies A | Ladies B


The quarter-finals (and all subsequent stages) were played as knockout matches. In each series, the winner of a section was entitled to choose their quarter-final opponent among the second, third or fourth team of the other section. The other matches were between teams from different sections (the highest ranking available team of one section playing against the lowest ranking available team of the other).

Accordingly, in the Open series, France picked up Russia and Italy chose Denmark. This forced Indonesia to face Iceland, and Chinese Taipei to play Poland.

In the Ladies series, China chose Israel and USA picked up The Netherlands. The other matches were Germany vs Canada and Austria vs Great Britain.

Each match was played over four segments of 16 boards, i.e. a total of 64 boards, in one day. The results were:

OPEN LADIES
France Russia 203 128 Israel China 86 151
Denmark Italy 161 134 Netherlands U.S.A. 107 151
Iceland Indonesia 115 180 Canada Germany 140 112.5
Poland Ch. Taipei 122 132 Gt. Britain Austria 108 134

For the detailed quarter-final results click: Open | Ladies

Since three of the winning teams (France, Indonesia, Denmark) had originated from the same qualifying section in the Open series, France, the round-robin's first ranked team, could choose their semi-final opponent; they picked up Chinese Taipei. The other match was between Indonesia and Denmark.

In the Ladies, the two round-robin winners could not play against each other in the semni-finals. China played Canada and the United States faced Austria.

The matches were played in 6 segments of 16 boards, i.e. a total of 96 boards, and the finalists emerged as follows:

OPEN LADIES
Indonesia Denmark 230 226 Austria U.S.A. 223 264
Ch. Taipei France 190 209 China Canada 306 106

For the detailed semi-final results click: Open | Ladies

The winners of the Open series semi-finals, France and Indonesia, played a 128-board final in 8 segments of 16 boards each, while the semi-final losers Denmark and Chinese Taipei faced each other in a 32-board play-off (down from 48 boards) for the bronze medal.

In the Ladies, the final was played in 6 segments of 16 boards, i.e. a total of 96 boards, between China and the United States. In the play-off for third place, Austria faced Canada in a 48-board match.

OPEN LADIES
Final France Indonesia 358 269 China U.S.A. 198 268
Play-Off Ch. Taipei Denmark 71 84 Canada Austria 133 67

For the detailed results of the finals and play offs click: Open Final | Ladies Final | Open Play Off | Ladies Play Off


Days and Rounds
OPEN LADIES
Sunday 20 October A1, B1, A2, B2, A3, B3, A4, B4 A1, B1, A2, B2
Monday 21 October A5, B5, A6, B6, A7, B7, A8, B8 A3, B3, A4, B4, A5, B5
Tuesday 22 October A9, B9, A10, B10, A11, B11, A12, B12 A6, B6, A7, B7, A8, B8
Wednesday 23 October A13, B13, A14, B14, A15, B15, A16, B16 A9, B9, A10, B10
Thursday 24 October A17, B17, A18, B18, A19, B19, A20, B20 A11, B11, A12, B12, A13, B13
Friday 25 October A21, B21, A22, B22, A23, B23, A24, B24 A14, B14, A15, B15, A16, B16
Saturday 26 October A25, B25, A26, B26, A27, B27, A28, B28 A17, B17, A18, B18
Sunday 27 October A29, B29, A30, B30, A31, B31, A32, B32 A19, B19, A20, B20, A21, B21
Monday 28 October A33, B33, A34, B34, A35, B35
Tuesday 29 October QF1, QF2, QF3, QF4 QF1, QF2, QF3, QF4
Wednesday 30 Octrober SF1, SF2, SF3, SF4 SF1, SF2, SF3, SF4
Thursday 31 October SF5, SF6 / Play-off1, Play-off2 / Final1, Final2 SF5, SF6 / Play-off1, Play-off2 / Final1, Final2
Friday 1 November Final3, Final4, Final5, Final6 Play-off3 / Final3, Final4, Final5, Final6
Saturday 2 November Final7, Final8