Europe dominates world bridge team championships

The 45th world bridge team championships have just been concluded in Salsomaggiore, Italy.

The championships, which should have taken place last year but were postponed to 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic, comprise the Bermuda Bowl, the Venice cup, the d`Orsi trophy and the Wuhan cup.

The Bermuda Bowl is a biennial contract bridge world championship for national teams. It is contested every odd-numbered year under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), alongside the Venice Cup (women), the d’Orsi Senior Bowl and the Wuhan Cup (mixed).

Entries formally represent World Bridge Federation zones as well as nations, so it is also known as the World Zonal Open Team Championship. It is the oldest event that confers the title of world champion in bridge, and was first contested in 1950.

The Bermuda Bowl trophy is awarded to the winning team, and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament, the Atlantic archipelago of Bermuda.

Over 15 days of action, 24 teams from all over the world took part in each category, making a total of 96 teams.

Switzerland won the Bermuda Bowl, by a very small margin, Sweden the Venice cup, Poland the d`Orsi trophy and France the Wuhan cup – a clean sweep by European countries.