Under the sun…in Antibes!

From the 12th to 21st May, more than three hundred people gathered at the Fort Carré (star-shaped fort) of Antibes Juan-les-Pins to take part in the 73rd version of this mythical festival of the sun. An intense and heated week of bridge.

Situated on the French Riviera, the Antibes Juan-les-Pins town hall welcomes competitors from all walks of life every year. Norwegians, Greeks, Australians and lots of other foreign visitors (more than twenty total nationalities) come to enjoy the nice weather, the Juanita beach and the numerous events planned for them during their stay.

Roger still at the helm

At 90 years old, Roger Damelé remains at the head of organising the event. An automotive electrician in a past life, he has been supervising its running since 1980. Born in Antibes, Roger does not lose the north when it comes to looking after his town, which he calls the “Mecca of bridge players”. Cleverly, he decided to impose some waiting time before announcing the results, aiming to incentivise the participants to visit the businesses in the area. The results are generally welcomed in a party-like atmosphere, presented as they are in the evening and over a cool cocktail.

The leading pairs

At the opening of the festival, Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s tournaments were on offer. Marianne Linden and Ine Snepvangers, of the Netherlands, made their mark in the Ladies’, whereas Bernard Cabanes and Erick Mauberquez dominated their category. Bernard knows the festival well; he has participated there several times and wanted to take his revenge on the previous year, where he did not manage to make it onto the podium. This seasoned resident of Montpellier, who represented France in the 2020 European Championships in Madeira, has played bridge since he was 18 years old and won three French Cups in his long career. His partner, Erick Mauberquez, lights up bridge lessons in Paris and also plays at the top level in France.

In the Mixed Pairs, the surprise came from Catherine Benoit and Christophe Cobetto, both members of the Sainte-Maxime Bridge Club. Ranked as Series 1 Diamonds in the French ranking system, they were only seeded 34th. The shock duo lodged themselves into first place after an enormous second session (70%) and did not stop there. A third, equally insatiable (69%), allowed them to pull a long way ahead. Despite a lacklustre final session (only 50%), they were ahead of Renée Verdegaal-Mark Thiele, who came hurtling back like racing cars (almost a 70% average over the last two sessions!), and Wafa Haddad-Jerry Stamatov.

From the 15th May, it was time for the IMP Pairs. The “big guns” are becoming more and more numerous. For the mere mortals, it is therefore a question of not getting crushed by these highly seeded players. Élisabeth Hugon, Philippe Cronier and Pierre Schmidt do not tend to give their opponents presents. In the end, it was Gert Jan Paulissen and Sam Bahbout who won the bet. This Dutch pair came ahead of Cédric Lorenzini-Robert Reiplinger and Michael Andersen-Bo Jensen.

Serious business

The main course, the Open Pairs, closed the festival. 140 pairs took their positions on the starting line. The indisputable favourites, Thomas Bessis and Philippe Chottin, the previous year’s winners, did not disappoint the bookmakers as they did the double – and with style! An enormous 74% – and some dust – in the third session put them into orbit. An almost equally stratospheric final session (67%) propelled them onto the top step of the podium, well ahead of Cabanes-Poizat and the ladies Mus-Zuccarelli. Never satisfied, Thomas gave commentary on the played deals during a debrief at the end of the afternoon: no small bonus for the participants.

Once again, the Antibes Juan-les-Pins festival was a real success, boosted by the mild weather. Jean Leonetti, the mayor of Antibes Juan-les-Pins, did not hide his pleasure. Nor did he fail to celebrate the tireless Roger Damelé again and again. Our nonagenarian is, nevertheless, considering retiring next year. This would leave him with more time to dedicate to his motorbike, another of his passions…

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