Welsh Invitation Pairs 2008

THE FIELD

The 1^st World Mind Sports Games takes place next month in Beijing and most of our visiting players will be representing their country there. These include Meike Wortel, current European Under 25 gold medallist from the Netherlands who competes in the World Youth Team Finals. Wortel and Marion Michielsen (who partners Sabine Auken in the Buffett Cup this week) have some claim to be the world’s most successful junior female bridge players.

For the first time I will not be competing in the Welsh Invitation Pairs. In my absence Gary Jones will act as host. I am en route to the Buffett Cup in the USA as Editor of the Daily Bulletin there. In Kentucky two of last year’s contestants in the WIP, Tom Hanlon & Hugh McGann, are representing Europe, whilst the rest of the All-Ireland team for Beijing are with you in the WIP. In two years time the Buffett Cup is expected to be held near Cardiff. There is the possibility of holding the WIP the two days before in the hope that some of the Buffett Cup pairs will compete as a warm-up for the Europe v. USA contest.

The beautiful trophy donated by one of this year’s contestants is not to leave Wales. Photos will be taken at the prize-giving and arrangements will be made for the winners’ names to be engraved on it. Of the ten former winners seven are present this weekend. These include the holders Rex Anderson & David Greenwood who last year became the first pair to win the event for the second time.

Patrick Jourdain

We deeply regret the loss of John Armstrong, a great supporter of the Welsh Invitation Pairs. Last year here he partnered David Burn and the year before John Holland. Holland & Armstrong represented England in Pau and were ranked second only to the gold medallists from Norway in the Pairs rating.

The Visiting Pairs

Rex Anderson & David Greenwood (Northern Ireland) The holders

Rex Anderson with 93 appearances for Northern Ireland holds the record for most Camrose weekends, well clear of the second-placed player (from Wales). He began partnering his father, Alfie, in the 60’s, then a variety of partners before the one with David Greenwood began 16 years ago. They had a five-year “separation” before re-launching their partnership in December 2001. Since then they have not missed a match. Their tally together is 33. They have also represented All-Ireland on three occasions. Rex is a solicitor with a practice in Coleraine. He is in the Irish Senior Team for Beijing.

Greenwood’s first Camrose match (of 41) was in 1980 representing England in partnership with Phillip Alder. (Alder was born and bred in Wales but is now America’s leading bridge journalist as columnist of the New York Times.) Greenwood then moved to Northern Ireland and partnered his now-wife Diane Sloan. He has written a book on Matchpointed Pairs and is an independent financial adviser living near Belfast. The Greenwoods are captain & coach to the England Under 28 team in Beijing.

Nick Sandqvist & Artur Malinowski (England)

Sandqvist & Malinowski are former winners of the Welsh Invitation Pairs. Last month in Brighton, teaming up with the Hackett twins, they won the Trial to represent England in Beijing next month. Last year they won the silver medal in the European Open Pairs Championship in Antalya, as well as adding the England Open Teams Championship (Crockford’s) and the England Mixed Teams (Hubert Phillips) Trophies to their long list of credits.

Sandqvist represented Sweden at Junior level before moving to London 12 years ago. He also won the Gold Cup in 1997, has had seven Camrose appearances for England (three with Artur), and is now a fulltime bridge professional. His partnership with Artur Malinowski was formed four years ago. Malinowski was born in Poland, moved to Norway and then England where he is now a fulltime bridge professional. He had one Camrose match with Espen Erichsen before partnering Nick.

Janet de Botton & David Burn (England)

The de Botton team is now a familiar sight in British events capturing a string of trophies including Crockford’s, Hubert Phillips, and, twice, including this year, the England Swiss Teams (but we note they have yet to win the Welsh equivalent in Llangollen). De Botton has one of Britain’s best art collections and has been a Trustee of the Tate Gallery and the Wolfson Foundation. The writer and philosopher Alain de Botton is her stepson.

Burn is a popular commentator and writer about bridge and was the presenter on the television series about the 2004 Olympiad in Istanbul. He has had nine Camrose matches, partnering David Price (2), Joe Fawcett (1) and Brian Callaghan. He has often been coach to British and English teams including Pau and next month in Beijing. He is a computer systems analyst when not occupied by bridge.

Brian Short & David Walker (Scotland)

David Walker, partnering Malcolm Cuthbertson, won this event in 2005, the only Scottish pair to do so. David has had 26 Camrose matches for Scotland and represented Scotland in Pau. David is a maths teacher and a 4-handicap golfer. Brian Short, partnering Sandy Duncan, represented Britain on three occasions including bronze medal at the 1977 Common Market Championships and the 1983 Europeans. They had 19 Camrose matches from 1973-85, Scotland’s golden era. After eight years out of the game Short returned to Camrose bridge in the year 2000 and has had 11 more appearances. Short & Paterson represented Scotland in both Camrose weekends and Pau this year. Short is married to Kate, with three adult children and dog “Purdie” and is retired from a job with Scottish Widows Life Assurance. For penance he occasionally acts as captain and coach to the Scottish Womens team.

Tommy Garvey & John Carroll (Republic of Ireland)

Garvey & Carroll were in the All-Ireland team that won the silver medal at the European Championships in Warsaw and the same six players have won the Camrose Trophy three years in a row for the Republic of Ireland (Garvey-Carroll having 16 Camrose appearances since 1999). The team surprised in Pau by not making the qualifying spot for the Bermuda Bowl.

Garvey lives in London and works as an actuary for a finance company and is recently engaged to be married to Kit. John Carroll lives in Dublin, is a software engineer, married to Anne-Marie who has also represented Ireland at bridge, and they are expecting their second child.

Micheal & Padraig O’Briain

The O’Briain brothers have competed before in the WIP, but with different partners. They took part in both Camrose weekends this year in the Republic’s “B” team. Micheal has had 11 Camroses for the Republic’s main team and Padraig six, but only two in partnership. Family illhealth caused the withdrawal of Mesbur & Fitzgibbon from the Republic’s team for Beijing and the brothers are filling the gap. They both live in Dublin. Padraig is a software engineer, married with a daughter and one grandchild. Micheal has retired as an actuary but now does lucrative consultancy work. He is married with four children.

David Mossop & Gojko Zivkovic (Switzerland)

Mossop was the first winner of the Welsh Invitation Pairs, when he partnered Tony Forrester. He won the Gold Cup in 2000 and 2001 partnering Wales’s Tim Rees, who lived nearby in Berkshire. David was Chief Executive of the Perpetual Investment Group. Following the billion pound takeover by Amvescap David moved to Switzerland where he formed the partnership with Gojko Zivkovic. They represented Switzerland in this year’s European Championships in Pau and will be also in Beijing.

Meike Wortel & Maarten Schollaardt (Netherlands)

After the success of including Bob Drijver & Merijn Groenenboom last year we now welcome a team-mate from the gold medal team at the last European Youth Championships in Lido di Jesolo. Meike Wortel began her international career in the Dutch Girls team in Prague in 2004, collecting gold the next year in Riccione. She soon made Dutch Womens Teams, collecting silver in Warsaw and gold in Antalya last year. In Jesolo the gold medal was in the Under 25 Open team and the same team plays in Beijing in the World Youth Teams Championship. Maarten’s international career began in Vienna in 1998 in the Under 25 team and his team took silver in Antalya in 2000. By winning the Dutch championships he qualified for the 2003 European Champions Cup in Rome where the team was third. In Lido di Jesolo he was coach of both the Dutch girls and schools team. The latter qualified for Beijing where he will again be their coach.

The Home Pairs

Filip Kurbalija & Tim Rees (Wales)

Filip Kurbalija & Tim Rees have had 20 Camrose matches for Wales. With Ian Pagan & Chris Jagger they won Britain’s toughest Congress event, the Spring Foursomes, earlier this year. The pair has been exempted from the Welsh Trials and will compete in the Lederer Trophy. This year the pair represented Wales in both Camrose weekends and in Pau at the Europeans. Tim lives in Berkshire where he works in Transport Research and is a hockey referee. Tim was recently deposed from heading the England Goldpoint Rankings (measuring current performance in nationally-rated tournaments) but Filip still leads the Welsh one. Filip is an accountant for the Welsh European Funding Office as part of the Welsh Assembly. He keeps fit at the same club as his wife Diane and then goes home to watch Nottingham Forest lose and Diane working in the garden.

Mike Tedd & John Salisbury (Wales)

Mike Tedd & John Salisbury have had seven Camrose matches for Wales, with one weekend this year. They were in the Welsh team for Pau. Both had previous Camrose careers before their jobs and the demands of growing families took them away. John’s previous partner 13 years earlier was Robert Upton, and Mike 24 years earlier partnered Patrick Jourdain (they were also in the same ‘Varsity match when students together at Cambridge and then the first Senior Home International this year). Mike Tedd has retired as Vice-Principal of Aberystwyth University. John has retired from local government in Social Services statistics.

Gary & Dafydd Jones (Wales)

Gary & Dafydd Jones are a father and son pairing that has had eight Camrose matches for Wales. Gary, who lives in London, has retired as Director of a public company. Dafydd works as a financial analyst for a major investment bank in London’s Canary wharf. Gary has played in the Welsh Senior Team in Istanbul, Warsaw and in the Open team at the Commonwealth Nations in Manchester (collecting silver with Dafydd) and in Melbourne. Dafydd frequently represented Wales as a Junior.

Paul Denning & Pat Shields (Wales)

Three years ago Paul Denning & Pat Shields renewed a Camrose career together after a 27-year gap! They have now had ten appearances including one weekend this year. Paul also had 13 matches partnering Adrian Thomas. Paul is married to Dutch wife, Barbara, and lives in Tewkesbury, working in computers with British Energy. He enjoys tennis. Patrick lives in Cheltenham, married with two children, working in a hush-hush job (guess where!) and keeps fit cycling.

Mark Roderick & Mike Best (Wales)

Mark Roderick & Mike Best have had one Camrose appearance for Wales, last year in Oxford. Mark has represented Wales at Junior level at both bridge (for eight years) and chess. Mark has been a wheel-chair user since his teens. Mike Best has retired from his jobs as a systems analyst and a debt counsellor with the Citizens Advice Bureau, and is now a part-time bridge teacher. His interests outside bridge are painting, sculpture, and the garden.

Liam Sheridan & Paul Gagné (Wales)

Sheridan & Gagné have represented Wales this year in the First Senior Home Internationals, in the Seniors in Pau and are in the Senior Team for Beijing. Sheridan has had five Camrose matches in the period 1982-1990. He is a retired accountant working freelance and enjoys taking money off the bookies. Paul is a computer consultant whose wife Diane also made the WBU Senior Team for Pau and Beijing. They enjoy fine wine and make frequent trips to France to stock up for personal use only.

Peter Goodman & Gay Keaveney (Wales & Ireland)

Peter Goodman has had 45 Camrose matches for Wales. He now works for the Welsh Assembly as computer consultant. Goodman & Thomas represented Wales in both Camrose weekends and Pau this year. Adrian withdrew from both the WIP and the Trials, whereupon Peter, with Mike Pownall as replacement, won the Pre-Trial in comfort. But Pownall has qualified for a major British golf final this weekend. The Invitations Committee have allowed Gay Keaveney to be temporarily adopted as a “Home” player. Gay is a former winner of the WIP, partnering Rory Timlin. Gay was in the All-Ireland squad for two decades, occasionally as captain. He is a doctor of chemistry, lives in Galway, and heads the Ireland all-time masterpoint ranking. He runs the Irish Schools Bridge Championships.

Paddy Murphy & Barry Jones (Wales)

Paddy Murphy & Barry Jones are the Selector’s choice. In the Pre-Trial two weeks ago they finished third and have qualified for the main Trial later this month. They have won Wales’s regional trophy, the Perry Shield. Barry works for Cheshire County Council at the Computer Helpdesk. He is married to Anne with two adult children. Paddy is a lecturer at the School of Chemistry in Bangor.

Reserve Pair: Sheila Shea and Liz Commins (Wales)

Sheila Shea and Liz Commins are the reserve pair who played last year in the WIP as the Selectors’ choice. They represented Wales in the Lady Milne Home Internationals this year and in the WBU Womens team in Pau. They both live in North Wales.

Tournament Director: Ken Richardson Ken this year was elected National Tournament Organiser for the Welsh Bridge Union. He has been its Chief Tournament Director for some years and has directed all seven of the past Welsh Invitation Pairs. He was an electrician in the RAF and lives in Cardiff.