LAHORE: The 16th edition of the Balijee International Bridge Championship will commence on Friday (today) and continue till March 25 here at the bridge playing arena of Lahore Gymkhana Club. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Ajaz Ahmed of Yummy Milk Products further highlighted that the international event was being held in memory of his late father Muhammad Iqbal, profoundly known to his fraternity as Balijee. Ajaz also stated that six international teams would be participating in this championship for lucrative cash prizes and honours. “As in the past, these teams are being provided full boarding and lodging facilities by Yummy Milk Products. These accomplished players of the international bridge scene are from Kuwait, India and Dubai. Other international teams were also invited but they continue to show reservations,” Ajaz said. Tournament director Ihsan Qadir stated that ten teams had confirmed participation from Karachi, eight from Lahore, four from Rawalpindi- Islamabad, one each from Multan, and Hyderabad. “And this makes the participation to the maximum capacity of the tournament. Nine players are from India and includes the pair of Sapan Desai and Subash Gupta who ended up as runners-up in 2017. Then there is the Team Maya Meera Sneha who are considered a team of strength and immense capabilities and likely to fare well in this championship,” he added. No doubt with the participation of reputed players the championship is becoming tougher and cohesive and tenacious efforts are required to win top positions. Based on evaluation of team expertise and proficiencies the strong contenders of this event will be Maya Meera Sneha, Hadi IV, Bilals, Data Steel, Aces, Gaints, Alvis, Holdem and Tariq Aces. What makes the championship a grand event is the presence of Team Hadis having services of bridge masters like Khurshid Hadi, Kamal Shoaib, AR Allana, Javed Miran, Rashid Ul Ghazi and Imran Jaka. Five of them have represented Pakistan on many occasions. Then there is the Team Bilals who were the runners-up of the Pakistan national trials that just concluded last month in Lahore. All other teams from Karachi have strong partnerships and are all expected to do well. Aces, who are currently the national champions, will be missing their main player Zia Naqvi who is out of country. Another adroit and hot team are Holdem comprising Uzair Kamal, Umar Aslam, Arslan and Major Hasnat, from Islamabad. Lahore Gymkhana’s own is Aces and comprising Ahsan Qureshi, Ghias Malik, Nauman Butt and Usaid Mubashar Puri and Junaid Said. Izo IV have Izzat Khalil as the key player. Silver Star comprising Taqi Imam, Tanveer Ahmed Imran, Mian Tariq and Sikander Butt and Saga have Ghalib Bandesha, Assad, Izzat Khalil once Pakistan’s national champions. The well known Bokharis have Muzzafar Bokhari, Sajjid Bokhari, Suleman Bokhari, Riaz Bokhari and Kamal Rana. There is a separate event for women but simultaneously they will also compete in the open event. There will be three session pairs contest and participating players will face 75 percent of the opponents who are registered as competitors. This will be held in on day one and also extend to the first half of day two. Top five pairs will receive handsome cash prizes and the top two will get trophies in addition. A running trophy will also be awarded to the winner. Thereafter it will be The Team’s Championship. The participating teams will play 10 rounds of 12 board matches to decide the champions team. Top five teams win cash prizes. Computerized scoring system will used in this championship. Each table will have a bridge mate (an electronic unit) which will transmit results to the server after each board and the comparison made at the server and result ready instantly. Screens will be used in the team event. So partners will not see each other at the table. Chief organizer of the championship is Ihsan Qadir who is also associated with World Bridge Federation and his team includes Azwer ul Haq and Sarfraz Butt. Published in Daily Times, March 23rd 2018.