Kizilbashing win Aslam Memorial Bridge Tournament

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Kizilbashing emerged as the champions in the 23rd edition of the Aslam Memorial Bridge Tournament 2018 which concluded at the Aslam Bridge Hall, housed in the National Stadium, Karachi, on August 5. 

Comprising of Anwar Mumtaz Kizilbash, Tehsin Gheewala, Anis-ur-Rahman, Hasan Askari, Rashid-ul-Ghazi and Sheikh Abdul Muqeet, Kizilbashing won the two-day event by accumulating 96.03 points in seven rounds. 

The Karachi Bridge Associates (KBA), led by its President Dr Minhaj Qidwai, and also featuring Faraz Hyder, Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi and Abdul Kader Bhurgri, claimed the runners-up slot with an aggregate of 89.02 points. 

The Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP), captained by its chairman Khurshid Hadi, and also having seasoned campaigners like Kemal Shoaib, Abdul Rahman Allana, Major Akhtar Zaidi and Javed Ahmed Miran, finished third with its tally of 76.44 points. 

The fourth position was clinched by Shahab IV, containing Shahab Latif Khan, Abdul Qadir Sakaria, Farhat Abbas and Muhtashim Ashai, who aggregated 70.85 points. They were leading the table at the end of the second round. 

Another fancied team Bilal, having the presence of Shahin Iqbal, Parvez Mirza, Gulzar Ahmed Bilal, Farrukh Liaquat and Muhammad Ghufran Ashraf, had to settle with the fifth position as they secured 70.29 points. 

Only eight teams contested the annual event having offered handsome prize money of Rs 150,000, donated by Khurshid Hadi, Founder Chairman, MSAP and a former President of the PBF. 

The championship is being organized by the KBA to pay homage the late Muhammad Aslam Shaikh, a former Secretary of the Pakistan Bridge Federation (PBF), acclaimed to have devoted his life for the development of the game. 

The PBF and the KBA had jointly instituted the memorial event in 1996 whose declining attendance over the last couple of years has caused concerns. As compared to the average of 16 to 17 teams participating in the earlier years, the participation had gone down to 11 teams last year and it further dropped to only eight this year.

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Khurshid Hadi regrets thin attendance in Aslam Memorial Bridge Tournament

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The low turnout has marred the 23rd edition of the Aslam Memorial Bridge Tournament 2018 got underway at the Aslam Bridge Hall, housed in the National Stadium, Karachi, on August 4.

Only eight teams turned out for the annual event, organized by the Karachi Bridge Associates (KBA), to pay homage the late Muhammad Aslam Shaikh, a former Secretary of the Pakistan Bridge Federation (PBF), known to have devoted his life for the development of the game. 

The thin attendance looked all the more disappointing for the fact that the event offered handsome prize money of Rs 150,000, donated by Khurshid Hadi, Founder Chairman, Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP) and a former President of the PBF, with even the fifth placed team assured of a share in it. 

According to the information made available by the organizers, the tournament was participated by 11 teams last year which was the lowest in its 22-year history. Now the record has come down to eight teams in its 23rd year. 

The PBF and the KBA had jointly instituted the memorial event in 1996 in the memory of Aslam Shaikh, who was tragically murdered in August 1995. 

Khurshid Hadi, having headed the PBF with distinction for a couple of tenures until 2008, conceded that the declining attendance in the bridge tournaments of late was a cause of serious concern and appropriate damage control measures must be taken by the administrators of the game.

He pointed out that the ongoing development work at the National Stadium was also one of the contributing factors in not letting the interested players reach the Aslam Bridge Hall due to the hardships they faced. 

Meanwhile Shahab IV, comprising of Shahab Latif Khan, Abdul Qadir Sakaria, Farhat Abbas and Muhtashim Ashai, got themselves on top of the tree in the points table at the end of the second round with their score of 27.44 points. 

KBA, led by its President Dr Minhaj Qidwai, and also having Faraz Hyder, Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi and Abdul Kader Bhurgri, were a close second with 26.58 points while Kizilbashing, containing Anwer Mumtaz Kazilbash, Tehseen Gheewala, Anis-ur-Rahman, Hasan Askari and Rashid-ul-Ghazi, were placed third with 23.87 points. 

MSAP, captained by its chairman Khurshid Hadi, and also having the likes of Kemal Shoaib, Abdul Rahman Allana, Major Akhtar Zaidi and Javed Ahmed Miran, had moved to fourth position with 18.68 points after having endured a setback in the opening round.

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Khurshid Hadi adds value to Aslam Memorial Bridge Tournament

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Khurshid Hadi, Founder Chairman, Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP), and a former President of the Pakistan Bridge Federation (PBF), has come to the rescue once more by sponsoring the latest edition of the Aslam Memorial Bridge Tournament 2018 which will be getting underway at the Aslam Bridge Hall, housed in the National Stadium, Karachi, on August 4 

The tournament, an annual feature in the bridge calendar for the past couple of decades, is organized to pay homage the late Muhammad Aslam Shaikh, a former Secretary of the PBF, who was murdered in August 1995. 

He has been hailed as person who had devoted his life for the development of the game. 

The PBF and the KBA had jointly instituted the memorial event in 1996 and it has been held regularly since then.

The MSAP Chairman, Khurshid Hadi, has now added greater attraction of prize money and the KBA was approaching all duplicate bridge players to make it a grand and memorable one. 

Khurshid Hadi’s own team, comprising of some of the bridge stalwarts, will also be participating in the event alongwith other fancied outfits, expected to turn up in event being held in the memory of one of the most eminent bridge personalities of the country. 

The activities of duplicate bridge are in full swing at the Aslam Bridge Hall, despite difficult approach due to development work being carried on at the National Stadium. 

The Aslam Memorial Bridge Tournament 2018 will be spread over two successive days and the proceedings will commence at 2.30 pm on both days.

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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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