On the day the Open and Women's Pairs got under way, there were several team matches that went down to the wire, including a near-miracle comeback in a McConnell match.

The Lynn Baker squad had a bad third set against the Swedish Katt-Bridge team and found themselves trailing 139-79 with 14 boards to go. Baker amassed numerous double-digit swings and nearly pulled it out but lost 156-155 The Levy-Westheimer McConnell match was still going at press time as the final 14 boards had to be replayed because players sat the wrong directions.

In the Rosenblum, the Lavazza team withdrew against the Danish Hecht-Johansen squad after three sets, trailing 146-31, and the strong Ekeblad team (USA) was ousted by the Nadar team from India.

In another close one the Jim Mahaffey squad from the USA defeated the Orange Team (Netherlands) 115-113 with a big rally in the fourth set.

Play resumes today in both knockouts – the round of eight for the McConnell and the round of 32 for the Rosenblum.