LAHORE: The 15th Balijee International Bridge Championship went off to a thinking start on Thursday here at Lahore Gymkhana with 96 of the finest of Pakistan’s bridge stars occupying the bridge tables. The first day was reserved for the pairs’ event, which in bridge is like a Twenty20 game in cricket. And at the end of the first session and 24 boards, after some living and breathing moves, the women pair of Fatima Raza (Karachi) and Rubina Agha (Lahore) popped up in front and thereby managed to dominate this championship, which has participation of 43 male pairs. At the time of filing this report the second session was in progress and results would be available latte in the evening. As for the third session, it will be contested on Friday (today) and the pairs event will conclude by midday. The Balijee Championship is a prestigious event held to honour the memory of Sheikh Muhammad Iqbal, affectionately known as Balijee to his friends and bridge mates. From the moment his daughter Mrs Tahira Nasir declared the Balijee Bridge open on the Pakistan Day, the champions took on the reigns and galloped at a pace which the lesser skilled ones failed to match. And mind you, on the tables were international players of significance like Khurshid Hadi, Kemal Shoaib, Hasan Askari, Parvez Mirza, Gulzar Ahmed, Tehsin Gheewala and also there was Sapan Desai from India and Imran Abedi from Kuwait. Out of the 48 pairs contesting for honours and cash prizes, those who made ripples of excellence were Fatima and Rubina and they had an aggregate of 67.75 points at the end of the first session of 24 boards. Just a little behind was the pair of Ghalib Bandesha and Major Asad Maqbool (Lahore) with a tally of 63.74 points. A few marginal points behind them was the pair of Javed Khalid and Saeed of Islamabad at a score of 63.31 points. Other pairs in the race were Tahir Abbas and Oosman Bashir at 61.47 points, Sheikh Abdul Muqeet and Wajahat Ali Suri at 61.36 points, Qamar S Kiani and Niaz Husssain at 59.09 points. Still more pairs who were down the leaders ladders but had the ability to recover were Abida Ali and Najam Abid. They were placed at 57.90 points. Mazhar Jaffery and partner Maqbool Ahmed were at 55.52 points, and closely following was the pair of Izzat Khalil and Safdar M.Khan at 55.30 points. And with two more sessions to go there is every likelihood of a change in the leader board. For Ajaz Ahmad of Yummy Milk Products, the sponsor of this event, the joy of holding such a championship was intense and the participation of champions enhanced his glee and delight.