Formidables win Tolani Grand Prix in a thriller

Mumbai, Nov 9 (UNI) In a cliff-hanger finish, Formidables (Kiran Nadar, Satyanarayanan, Subash Gupta, R Tiwari, Venkataraman and Suneet Chokshi) from Delhi edged out India Blues (Ashok Ruia, SK Iyengar, JM Shah, S Karmarkar, Kirubakaran and R Gokhale) by a 3-IMP margin to win the Rs 5.5 lakh Tolani Grand Prix Bridge Championship held here recently.

The outcome of the final hung in the balance till the last board.

On their way to the final, Formidables put sides Tolani Shipping and Dhampur Sugar Mills in keenly-fought ties.

The win earned for Formidables, the Commonwealth Games champs, a berth in the National Selection Trials for the India team for the next world championships. The winners got Rs 1.5 lakh and the runners-up received Rs one lakh.

In the pairs event Rana Roy and Manas Mukherjee led the field of 45 from the start and won by a handsome margin. Sumeet Mukherjee/B Das were runners-up with Sreedharan/NG Gadgil coming third.

Tournament directors Dipak Poddar and Anand Samant used international standard pre-dealt boards for simultaneous play and the use of computer results and use of screens and bidding boxes familiarised our bridge players with the format at international events besides raising their comfort level.

UNI GS MJ SAM HT1810