Kia ora from Palmerston North

NZ National Congress, Day 1: the New Zealand Open Teams begins

I'm writing from Palmerston North, in the Manawatū in the lower North Island, where the 40th New Zealand National Congress starts today. It runs for more than a week and is the biggest event on the New Zealand bridge calendar: national championships for teams and pairs, separate grades for Open, Seniors, Restricted, Intermediate and Junior players, and plenty of side events.

The first Congress was held in 1986 at the Quality Inn in Rotorua. The scoring was done by hand, including the final of the New Zealand Pairs, and the nine-day registration cost $100. Forty years on, this anniversary Congress has its largest-ever entry: 909 players, about 400 of them in the Open grade. There are so many players that the organisers have added a second venue. The Open events are at the Distinction Hotel, while the Restricted, Intermediate and Junior grades play at the Palmy Conference and Function Centre.

Our team

The week starts with the New Zealand Open Teams, about 70 teams. I'm playing with George Kozakos in team Coutts, seeded 7th:

We have six players, so each pair sits out some matches. George and I sit out the first match, against Rankin (seeded 14th: Pele Rankin, Paul Hooykaas, Stephen and Annette Henry), so our teammates start without us.

One of our teammates has a second job this week. Jessica Brake from Sydney is the Congress's expert analyst and is writing up interesting hands for the daily bulletin. She is the first non-Kiwi to be given that job.

The field

It's a strong field with plenty of Australian talent. The top seeds include:

  1. Reid: Martin Reid, Peter Newell, Michael Cornell, Ashley Bach, Tony Nunn, Paul Dalley
  2. Joel: Geeske Joel, Liam Milne, James Coutts, Shane Harrison, Andy Hung
  3. Ware: Michael Ware, Jamie Thompson, Hugh McGann, Matthew Thomson
  4. Braithwaite: Andrew Braithwaite, Arjuna Delivera, Pauline Gumby, Warren Lazer, Pamela Livingston, Zachary Yan

TBA members in the Restricted Teams

I'm not the only TBA member here. Team Edler, Simon Edler, Jane Edler, Pam Murphy and Barbara Giizel, are playing in the New Zealand Restricted Teams, a field of about 40 teams. They start against Askew in match 1. I'll keep an eye on their results and report on how they're going, so if you see them at the club when they're back, ask them how it went!

What to expect from these posts

I'll try to post every day of the Congress with how both teams are going, and a hand of the day. I'll keep the main hand understandable for everyone and add a note for the more experienced players where it's worth it.

Wish us luck!

Hugh