Dear friends,
Our team has made it to the knock-out stage first in our group. The last match with the team of Zadar was an interesting one. In spite of the few mistakes that we made (mea culpa), we managed to turn the match around and, thanks also to the proper defense of Sandra and Marcello, beat these guys by a comfortable margin of score (53-34=19 IMPs).
First of all, let’s check our ranking. Please, bear in mind that the non-show of the team of Bakirkoy to their scheduled match and their decision not to communicate with us, or with the ICL management, has resulted in a win for our team by a margin of 13.97 IMPs.
The next stage is the knock-out one, meaning that each match (24 boards!) must be won. In case of tie, the winner will be the team which has won more boards (Board-A-Match criterion). In case of tie after the BAM, the winner will be the team best placed in its original group.
The KO stage starting date hasn’t been announced yet. Based on the last autumn edition, I would say that, since we finished first in our group, we should have at least one week off (probably two) and then start playing again. (The reason is that one week off is the standard for all the teams that have qualified to the KO stage, and on the second Wednesday, some teams may play in the so-called intermediate KO stage).
Rejoice, relax and take care of yourselves. We’ve done pretty well, so far. I will let you know as soon as I have info, on our next KO match.
Best.
The Kampala Team's School of Bridge 