From 1 to 6 November, 2014, the 7th edition of the FISU World University Bridge Championship was hosted in Opatija, Croatia. It was the first time Croatia staged a FISU World University Championship. 86 participants (76 players from 16 teams and 10 officials) from 11 countries competed for the coveted gold.
The final day of the competition gave way to two battles for the medals. If the gold was to be disputed between Poland 1 and Czech Republic 2, France 1 still had a very small hope to grab the bronze medal. The suspense was very high at the beginning of the day. While France 1 played Slovenia (20-0), ranking last in the tournament, Poland 2 had to face the Czech leaders. After an intense match, the Czechs won 14-6, giving more hope to France while increasing its lead on Poland 1 which won against Germany 1 with a close score of 11-9.
The suspense was even more intense in the second round since France 1 and Poland 2, direct opponents for the bronze with respectively 201.96 and 200.8 were to meet in what appeared to be a sudden death match. If everybody expected a close match, the French players managed to take the lead very early in the game and they concluded the match on a severe 17-3 gaining a 14 points lead on their opponent and guaranteeing them the bronze medal since they were to have a bye in the afternoon – equal to 12 points. Both Poland 1 and Czech Republic 2 won their matches easily against China 2 and Germany 1 and the Czechs could now count on a 3 points lead before the last round of the tournament.
The afternoon session had all eyes turned to the competition between the two leading teams to grab the gold medal. On one table, Czech Republic 2 facing China 1, on the other table, Poland 1 facing France 2. For the Czechs, the deal was easy, do not lose more than 3 points on Poland, for the Polish players it was a matter of taking all risks to bring the title home and defend it in two years’ time in Lodz. Obviously, the teams were focused on their own game with no way to know what was happening on the other tables but in the end the Czechs managed to keep a 1.5 point lead to win the gold against their Polish opponents, respectively 248.6 vs. 247.16.
The next edition will be hosted in Lodz (POL) in 2016.