Bridge league to enter semis stage

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As many as 58 pairs are ready to begin competing at the semifinals of the inaugural National Bridge League (LBN).

The semifinal matches will be held at the Bung Karno Bridge Center from June 27 to 29, followed by the grand finals on July 2.

The winners and runners-up will be given places to represent Indonesia in the Intercity Bridge Championship in Hong Kong, which is scheduled from July 30 to Aug. 4.

"Besides being provided with a large portion of the Rp 30 million (US$3,300), they also deserve a chance to test their skills at the international level," Bert Toar Polii, from the organizing committee, told The Jakarta Post here on Monday.

Ten pairs of the contenders will be those who finished in the top ten of the LBN rankings after having completed six rounds of qualifying matches in 17 cities and towns since January.

The ten are Richard Kodoati and John Tumewu (Bitung), Salman Elfarsi and Zainal Arifin (Sumbawa), Robby Lempoy and Jack Tirayoh (Manado), Ludfi Nuryono and Bintang Taufik Hidayat (Yogyakarta), Riza Hanafi Nasution and Hikmatutasry (Lampung), Bahagia Lubis and Baharudin Tampubolon (Medan), Herman Yakhin and Uke Samidjaya (Bogor), Abubakar H.M. and Alimin (Sumbawa), Adha Harahap and Ivan Zulfiqkar (Medan), Tonny Baggi and Ramli Hayoran (Samarinda).

The rest is made up of wildcards from the 17 LBN competition sites, whose number of representatives vary taking into account the number of Life Masters in each and their overall contribution to the development of national bridge.

As the home of Indonesia's national players, Jakarta will have the largest number of wildcard entries with nine pairs.

Only 14 pairs will be allowed to the grand finals, in which, according to Bert, participants will play 23 sessions each with eight boards, compared to 47 sessions with three boards in the semifinals.