Budapest hosted the 45th International Bridge Festival

Hungary is one of the smallest bridge federations in the EBL but, with their International Festivals in Budapest, they can compete with large federations not only in terms of the size of the field but also the quality.

The 2022 edition took place at the ELTE University, which is situated next to the Danube river. Walking over one of the nearby bridges, you could enjoy the view of the spectacular architecture of Budapest, including the Parliament buildings, Central Market Hall, Budapest castle district and many more beautiful landmarks.

Free time during the five-day bridge programme could be filled in with cultural, golfing, or culinary activities. The three-day main teams tournament was played in the evenings, starting at 16:30 but finishing after 23:30 on the first two days. 

The qualification phase was played in 11 rounds in a Swiss/Danish format, where you play against the team closest to you in the ranking. The top four teams qualified for the finals and the rest of the field played two more matches. Each match consisted of 8 boards, which would also be comfortable for less experienced players.

Thursday and Friday morning were devoted to fundraising through two side tournaments – a Ukraine Pairs and a BAM Teams. The entry fees collected were donated to support Ukrainian refugees.

The main pairs event was played over the weekend in two stages. On Saturday, pairs competed in 26 rounds of 2 boards. The top 16 pairs qualified for Final A, those ranked 17-32 for Final B and the rest of the field played in the consolation event; each consisted of 30 boards.

LoveBridge system: is it really the future of bridge?

I have played on this software several times before and I love it more and more every time. Apart from missing real cards, it only has advantages.

Each player has a profile on his own tablet that travels with him during the tournament. You can set up the delays, colors, and skins, so there is very little room for errors or misclicks.