New Bridge Event

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31380, 27 May 1967, Page 14

New Bridge Event

Canterbury will be represented by four skilled players at the inaugural inter-district contract bridge tournament in Wellington on June 3 and 4. The contest, the Dunhill Masters teams-of-four championship, sponsored by Rothmans, is likely to become an annual event

The Canterbury team will be H. Pickering, J. R. Wignail, F. P. S. Lu and J. D. Thomson, with G. W. A. Green as non-playing captain. As partners, Pickering and Thomson have played regularly during the last 12 years in national and regional pairs tournaments. They won the New Zealand title in 1961 and last year were runners-up in the national event and won the South Island title. Wignail and Lu won the New Zealand pairs championship in 1964 and 1965 and have been successful three times in the South Island event In 1964 they represented the Dominion in the Far East Bridge Federation championships at Tokyo, gaining sixth place in the open pairs event in a large international field. The tournament will be conducted on a round-robin basis. Canterbury’s opponents are Auckland, Wellington, Otago, Central Districts and Northern Districts.

Auckland will be a formidable opponent for it is headed by the renowned player, B. C. Bell, who has been a member of the winning side in the national teems’ championship 17 times. His partner in the 1963 world pair Olympiad, R. Evans, will be in the side and the other two players are H. K. Braineby and Mrs E. Taylor, who have been members of many of Bell's winning teams.