The inaugural Bridge International Championship (BIC) will be held on the BBO and Funbridge platforms, in partnership with the World Bridge Federation, over the period 26 October to 1 November. This represents an exciting opportunity for Irish bridge players to challenge themselves against the world’s best, and to compete for global honour and glory as well as virtual prizes.
More than 10,000 players are expected to participate, and more than $12,000 worth of virtual prizes (virtual currency for BBO or Funbridge, and subscriptions to the BeBridge e-magazine) will be on offer. In addition, titles will be awarded to the top performers on both BBO and Funbridge, and also to national champions, provided there are at least ten participants from the relevant country.
The format of the competition is an initial qualifying phase and a subsequent championship finals phase:
Qualification Phase (26-29 October):
- 100 tournaments available over four days
- “Daylong” tournament basis, so tournaments can be played at any time that is convenient during the day
- Format is individual with a robot partner playing against robots
- All tournaments 12 boards in length
- Qualification for finals phase based on player’s best 10 tournament results; players must achieve an average score of 55% or higher to qualify
- All tournaments cost BB$3
Finals Phase (30 October & 1 November):
- 6 tournaments available over two days
- “Daylong” tournament basis, so tournaments can be played at any time that is convenient during the day
- Format is individual with a robot partner playing against robots
- All tournaments 12 boards in length
- Final ranking based on player’s best 4 tournament results
- All tournaments cost BB$3
These events will qualify for CBAI Masterpoints, and the Association will benefit from a small proportion of the entry fees of Irish participants, so we would encourage everyone to give it a go. You’ll find a short video with instructions on how to participate here. Best of luck and do us proud!