Alvi to represent Pakistan in BFAME 2019

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Alvi qualified for participation in the upcoming BFAME Zonal Championship 2019 after emerging triumphant in the national bridge trials for open team conducted at the Aslam Bridge Hall, housed in the National Stadium, Karachi. 

According to the details shared by the Karachi Bridge Associates (KBA) on April 10, Alvi, comprising of Farooq Alvi, Jahangir Ahmed, Arslan Mansoor, Hamed Mohiuddin, Muhammad Mubashir Puri and Khaled Mohiuddin, outsmarted all their six rivals in the four-day event. They will now represent Pakistan in the BFAME Championship due to be held in June at Jordan. 

Kizilbashing, featuring Anwar Mumtaz Kizilbash, Ali Hai, Zia Hai, Anis-ur-Rehman and Farhat Abbas, crashed in the final while Bilal, having the services of Gulzar Ahmed Bilal, Sheikh Abdul Muqeet, Javed Ahmed Miran, Shahin Iqbal and Masood Mazhar, and Spel, containing Muhammad Salman Qasim, Yasser Rahim, Mirza Shauq Hussain, Imran Abedi, Ahsan Javed Qureshi and Zia Hyder Naqi, were outwitted in the semifinals. 

The trials for selection of the open team had commenced on April 6 and concluded on April 9. Seven teams participated in the trials from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, the three major centres of the country, who were engaged in the brainy warfare. 

Bilal, Alvi, Kizilbashing and Spel had entered the semifinals after the preliminary round matches. Kizilbashing outpaced Spel and Alvi outplayed Bilal in the semifinals and Alvi was up against Kizilbashing in the final. 

Alvi, having the representation from Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore, started the final with a bang, winning the opening segment 70-38. They capitalized on the grand start and went on to win the following two segments as well with the final scores being Alvi 156-141 Imps. 

Tehseen, having Hasan Askari, Tehsin Gheewala, Parvez Mirza, Farrukh Liaquat, Mohsin Chandna and Rashid-ul-Ghazi, Chandna, possessing Shakeel Ahmed Chandna, Major Akhter Zaidi, Syed Abdul Hameed, Col Nasir, Syed Asghar Abbas Zaidi and Ghulam Mohammad, and Romex, fielding Shahid Rafique, Shafiq Janjua, Rashid Nabi and Sajid Nabi, were the other three participating team in the national trials.

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Ahsan clinch Aslam bridge title

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Ahsan, comprising of Ahsan Zahir Rizvi, Anwer Kizilbash, Shaikh Abdul Muqeet, Ziaullah Baig and Wajahat Suri, who are due to represent Pakistan in the upcoming Commonwealth Bridge Championship in Glasgow, proved its supremacy by winning the 19th edition of the Aslam Memorial Bridge Tournament, held under the auspices of the Karachi Bridge Associates (KBA), at the Aslam Bridge Hall, housed in the National Stadium, Karachi, over the weekend. 

According to the details made available by the KBA, Ahsan claimed the trophy by having a total score of 96.07 Victory Points (VPs). Puri Real Estate ended as the runners-up with 89.60 VPs while Data Steel came third with 81.55 VPs and defending champions Bilal finished fourth with 78.71 VPs, just edging out Rainbow (76.87 VPs) to the fifth position. Kamran (56.40 VPs), Foxy (41.75 VPs) and Bridge Aces (38.05 VPs) shared the last three positions. 

The event was spread over two days, based on six rounds of Swiss movement. It was contested by eight of the top outfits of the country, five of whom were classified as the live contenders while the other three were described as the dark horses. 

The tournament, an annual feature in the bridge calendar for nearly a couple of decades now,was organized in the memory of the late Mohammad Aslam Shaikh, a former Secretary of the Pakistan Bridge Federation (PBF), who was murdered in August 1995. The PBF and the KBA jointly instituted the event in 1996 and it has been held every year since then. 

Ahsan, the eventual champions, were in the driving seat even at the halfway stage of the proceedings with Bilal, the defending champions, marginally behind. Puri Real Estate were placed third while Rainbow, Data Steel, Kamran and Bridge Aces were fighting it out for the middle places and Foxy looking down the barrel. 

On the second day, Ahsan consolidated their position by taming Foxy in the fourth round before whipping Kamran in the next round. They were surprised by Rainbow in the penultimate round but recovered to overcome title hopeful Bilal, led by the indomitable Gulzar Bilal, in the seventh and final round to secure the trophy. 

Puri Real Estate, featuring Rashid Jaffer, Junaid Said, Khaled Mohiuddin, Tehsin Gheewala and Mubashir Puri, the youngest of them all, lost to Rainbow in the fourth round, but added 15.79 against Data Steel, added a maximum 20.00 outpointing Bridge Aces and finally outscored Kamran, 14.56 to finish runners-up with a total score of 89.60 VPs. 

Data Steel, having the services of Javed Ahmed Miran, Tahir Masood, Rashid-ul-Ghazi, Shakeel Ahmed Chandna and Tariq Rasheed Khan, made a forceful comeback on the second day of the competition. They gained near maximum points in their last couple of matches, against Foxy and Rainbow, to finish third in the points table. 

While the organizers deserved the credit for continuing to hold the tournament in the memory of one of the most eminent bridge personalities of the country, they could mobilize their resources in attracting greater number of teams to participate in its future editions.

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