N° 72 • April 2026

The 57th European Championships ‒ the qualifying contest for the 2027 World Team Championships) ‒ will take place in Riga at the end of June and there are indications that all four team events (Open, Women, Seniors and Mixed) will attract more entries than the 2024 championships in Herning.

This year the European Bridge League is also staging Pairs Championships in the Women, Seniors and Mixed categories. This initiative allows everyone to rub shoulders with Europe’s finest, at the same time enjoying the unrivalled atmosphere of a major championship. The registration page for the pairs events is now open.(57th European Team Championships – Registration and Participants).

These are encouraging signs, but as an indicator of what can be achieved, contrast these numbers with those of the recently concluded Grenke Chess Open in Karlsruhe, Germany, which attracted a world record 3658 players! The tournament also boasted a prize fund of EUR 285000! The secrets of its success are major sponsorship deals with Freestyle Chess and Grenke and the creation of an event where world-class players and amateurs meet on an equal footing.

Can anyone find the sponsorship deal that would give bridge a significant boost?

Number 72 – Monthly – April 2026 – Director of publication Olivier Comte – Publisher Éditions de Presse Spécialisée Le Bridgeur – 33 avenue Emile Zola, 92100 Boulogne Billancourt  – France – Executive Director Karine Meyer-Naudan – Editorial Committee Michel Bessis – Muriel Clément – Philippe Cronier – Mark Horton – Vincent Labbé – Karine Meyer-Naudan – Assistant Editor-in Chief Vincent Labbé – Editorial Secretary Muriel Clément – Adverts Bridgerama+ Muriel Clément 01 42 96 25 50  – Subscriptions 01 42 96 25 50 – Art Director Isabelle Le Squer-Fontaine/Maya – mayatom@me.com – Translation Monika Kummel – Legal Deposit april 2026, N°7.680 – Joint Committee – 1118 K 85690 – ISSN 0184-8127.