The challenge for the national team title featured four categories. The players of the Under 26 and Under 21 categories played in team events, while the players of the Under 26 Women and Under 16 categories competed in IMP pairs events. 

The tournament began with a round-robin format for the team events, followed by a series of knockout rounds. In the end, two teams from each category were selected to represent the USA at the 2025 World Youth Bridge Team Championships. Congratulations to teams Kolesnik (USA1) and Wan (USA2) in the U26 category and to teams Silverstein (USA1) and Ge (USA2) in the U21 category for qualifying! 

In the Pairs tournaments, the top 3-3 pairs after 8 rounds have been selected as fix pairs for the 2025 WYBTC. Congratulations to the U26W winners Cecilia Ehrlichman & Katie Hwang, 2nd place Nicole Qiang & Helen Chow and 3rd place Sharon Chu & Ella Su and the U16 Pairs winners Andrew Chen & Jeff Xiao, 2nd place Adam Hemmer & Kate Lee and 3rd place Kevin Wei & Arjun Chaunal. In both categories three additional players will be selected for the WYBTC and the 6 pairs will be assigned to teams by a selection committee. 

A standout feature of the 2024 SAJUSBC was the incorporation of a training camp before the competition. Every participant was guaranteed two days of intensive training, followed by at least 1.5 to 2 days of competitive play. This format not only enhanced the players’ skills but also provided a crucial opportunity for them to learn from experienced mentors and peers. 

U26W 

U26 – USA2 – Wan

With 12 teams in the Open and 10 teams in the Women’s category, the 22nd European Champions’ Cup and the 2nd European Women Champions’ Cup took place in the Congress Centre of the picturesque town of Boario Terme in the North Italian lakeland. 

Again, the LoveBridge Bid+Score system was used during the whole championship where after a 2-day round robin a third day of knock-out playoffs decided on the final rankings. 

On top of showing all bids and results from every table, 2 matches of every round had live broadcasts exclusively on the LoveBridge vugraph, that was brought forward with our new operator application and the vugraph operators sitting by each of the four streamed tables. The broadcasts were presented for the local audience with live commentary by the Italian top player, Giorgio Duboin. 

Video commentary was also available at two matches, thanks to some enthusiastic players from Hungary who were doing commentary in Hungarian on both vugraph matches of their women’s team.  

The results, as well as the broadcasts that can be watched back, are available on the competition’s site at vugraph.lovebridge.com and on the competition’s EBL microsite. 

The 16th World Bridge Games took place in the vibrant city of Buenos Aires from 22 October to 3 November. 41 countries’ top bridge players showcased their skills in Open, Women, Senior and Mixed categories for the ultimate title.   

After the first six days of round-robin qualifications, the play-offs with 16 participants in each series began on LoveBridge Bid+Score. The seven-day play-off, starting with 64 teams and 256 players, was supported by our colleague Dániel Bakó on the spot. The live results showing all the auctions could be followed both on LoveBridge vugraph and the championships’ microsite. 

On the Lovebridge vugraph, it was also possible to follow a match live in each session. This was thanks to the use of the LoveBridge Vugraph Operator (see more HERE) app, and not least to the operators working on site, who recorded the cards played during the game on the dedicated interface. There were also matches where live text commentary was available for the spectators. The matches to be broadcast on the day were selected by the organisers from among the most exciting matches on the day based on the results. In the two-day final, we were able to follow the gold medal match in the Senior category, where the USA and India teams competed against each other, with Zia Mahmood among the players.  

The event was once again a great success, thanks in part to the smooth running of the LoveBridge system. Congratulations to the winning teams, and we look forward to preparing for next year’s WBF competitions!  

The 54th edition of the annual Miners Cup bridge tournament in Tatabánya, Hungary was once again a great success for both the organizers and the LoveBridge team. This marked the fifth consecutive year that the event has relied on the cutting-edge LoveBridge One system to enhance the tournament experience.  

In the team event, 16 teams competed for the top prize. It came down to a close battle, with the ‘Janó’ team emerging victorious against the ‘Director Please!’ team. 

Many players only arrived on the second day for the pairs tournaments, which attracted a total of 41 entries. After some intense competition, the Gulyás-Hodosi pair took the first prize. 

In July 2024, the historic city of Wroclaw, Poland, played host to two prestigious international bridge tournaments – the 29th European Youth Team Championship and the 8th World Transnational Youth Championship. The events, which ran concurrently from July 7 to July 18 using the LoveBridge Bid+Score system, brought together over 500 of the best young bridge players from across Europe and around the world.  

The tournaments were a resounding success, with a fantastic atmosphere throughout the 12-day event. Players ranging in age from 11 to 31 competed at the highest level, showcasing the talent and potential of the next generation of bridge stars.  

It is interesting to note that the last time the European Youth Team Championships were held in Wroclaw was in 2013. This means that the youngest participants in this year’s event were not even born the last time the city hosted this prestigious competition. There were also players who took part in both the 2013 and this year’s championships, giving them a unique insight into how the playing field has changed over the years. 

From a logistical point of view, the tournaments also set new records for LoveBridge. A total of 480 bridge tablets were used simultaneously during the tournaments – never before had so many tablets been in play at the same time. It is also exciting that there was a point at the World Championships when 7 segments were running at the same time – 5 group finals plus 2 consolation tournaments. 

Overall, the 2024 European and Transnational Youth Bridge Championships in Wroclaw were great events, with the smooth running of the tournaments and the electric atmosphere are sure to have left a lasting impression on all who attended. 

After eleven days of intense bridge, the 56th European Team Championships in Herning has come to an end.  Three events took place during these few days: the 56th European Team Championships, the 12th Women’s and 10th Senior National Pairs Championships.   

The two pairs championships finished first, with Polish pairs taking the gold medals in both. In parallel, the Team Championship in the Open category was already underway, as it had the largest number of teams, 30 in total. Four days later, the Women’s, Senior and Mixed categories started, with 22, 20 and 23 teams respectively. Full round robin matches were played in each category, after which Norway came first in both the Open and Women’s, while the Netherlands won at the Seniors and Israel in the Mixed. 

Thanks to a recent development it was the first Bid+Score tournament (the gameplay is still with cards) where the live results were published on the LoveBridge vugraph site, in addition to the EBL site.   

We also introduced in Herning our match broadcasting system called LoveBridge Operator (LBO), that – with the assistance of an operator – makes possible to stream the playing phase of the game on our vugraph. Live broadcasts of selected matches were available for spectators and their full bidding and playing history can be reviewed any time on LoveBridge Vugraph. 

Congratulations to all the medallists and everyone who qualified for the World Championships! We look forward to being part of the most prestigious bridge championship with LoveBridge next year!