N°44 • DEcembeR 2023

Interest in the Olympiad was extraordinary; it seemed as if

everything in Chennai had some kind of connection to the game. Walls and bus stops were chess themed, stores everywhere carried advertising and cartons of milk and other foods featured special chess packaging. Most spectacular of all, the Napier Bridge (built in 1869) that crosses the Cooum river was given a spectacular chess makeover, being painted in a black and white chequered pattern. The lavish opening ceremony took place in the presence of India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

Following the announcement that next year’s World Bridge Games (the bridge equivalent of the Chess Olympiad) will take place at
the Centro de Convenciones de Buenos Aires, Argentina, from
22 October to 5 November, wouldn’t it be something if it could somehow emulate the phenomenal interest that was shown in the chess Olympiad?

The WBF is in the happy position of having Executive Committee member Fernando Lema on site, so the 2024 World Championships may prove to be one of the most memorable events in the long history of the Federation.

Number 44 – Monthly – December 2023 – Director of publication Olivier Comte – Publisher Éditions de Presse Spécialisée Le Bridgeur – WOJO – 43 rue Camille Desmoulins, 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux – France – Executive Director Karine Meyer-Naudan – Editorial Committee Michel Bessis – Muriel Clément-Philippe Cronier – Mark Horton – Vincent Labbé – Norbert Lébely – Karine Meyer-Naudan–Assistant Editor-in Chief VincentLabbé – 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 december 2023, N°7.680 – Joint Committee – 1118 K 85690 – ISSN 0184-8127.