HCL International Bridge Championship to begin on Wednesday

The Championship will witness participation from over 600 players (comprising approximately 100 teams) and will be held from October 19 - 23 at the JW Marriott Hotel here, according to a release.

Twelve international teams from countries including the US, Israel, Poland, the UK, Russia and Jordan among others along with 90 teams from India will be participating in the tournament.

The championship is being held under the auspices of the Bridge Federation of India and comes on the heels of the Olympic Committee of Asia announcing the inclusion of Bridge in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.

Noted players of international repute participating in the tournament include Italians Giorgio Duboin (World No.4), Norberto Bocchi (No.9) and the US' Zia Mehmood (No. 7).

Speaking on the occasion, HCL Corporation Director Kiran Nadar said in the release, "The timing of the HCL International Bridge Championship could not be better as Bridge will make its debut at the Asian Games in 2018."

"Bridge is a cerebral sport - extremely challenging and exciting and based on skills, not luck. But a huge component of bridge is also very human, this melding is what sets Bridge apart, not only from other card games, but also from board games like Chess."