The nervous and faint of heart would not have fared well as observers of three matches on Monday that were settled as the figurative time was running out on them.

The most dramatic occurred in the McConnell, where the Steiner team trailed China Global Times by 7 IMPs with one board to go. Steiner scored a game swing to win a match in which they had trailed by 27 IMPs in the fourth quarter.

The winning Senior Team, led by American Victor Markowicz, was tied with their finals opponent, captained by Lew Finkel, with two boards to go. The American-Israeli-Polish team scored 6 IMPs on the next-to-last board and survived when the final deal was a push, winning 59-53.

In the Meltzer-Nickell match, Meltzer trailed by 10 IMPs going into the final quarter, took the lead but then fell behind again late only to rally with 23 IMPs to 2 for Nickell over the final four boards.

The McConnell final today will be an all-American affair as teams captained by Hansa Narasimhan and Carlyn Steiner play 60 boards for the championship.