Federica Mixed World Champion!

My first World Championship

I was called for the first time to play in the Italian national mixed team at the 2025 World Championships.
My partner Federico Porta and I replaced the previous pair (Baroni–Gandoglia), while the rest of the team stayed the same: Dario Attanasio with his wife Gabriella Manara, and Leonardo Cima with his wife Barbara Dessi.

Even though I already had experience from the Under-26 championships, representing Italy in Herning was on a whole different level. Fede and I went in with more hopes than expectations: not because we didn’t feel good enough, but because we knew that reaching the top on our very first appearance is not something one can take for granted.

The qualifying days were long and intense: full of tension, ups and downs, joy and frustration. Luckily, the team atmosphere was amazing: whether we won or lost, our reaction was always the same : looking forward. That was our motto: “In a long championship, you can only think about the next match.” And it was so true!

Be brave when over a preempt!

We were playing against Bermuda’s team, who use a weak 2NT opening showing the minors.

With a bit of courage, I bid 3♣ to show a 6–4 in the majors. Federico asked for the sixth, I passed over 4♣ to show the minimum, and after the double I bid 4♠. We made 10 tricks, even after the A♥ and a heart ruff.

In the other table, Gabriella and Dario, who play the strong club system, didn’t open with the South hand. West opened 2♠ weak, so Dario bid 4♥; East bid 4♠; then Gabriella bid 4NT, showing a minors hand, and Dario bid 5♥. Nobody doubled, also because it wasn’t clear who was defending.

Another one

This is another nice board because we were all vulnerable and I had 21 points, when the bidding came to me I saw 3♦-3♥-3♠, and I had more points than all of them together.

I was a bit surprised but I trusted my partner and after two forcing bids I concluded with the slam. West could have beaten it by leading the A♣, and he probably should have done that because he only had one heart and his partner had bid 4♠. But luckily he led a diamond and we made 12 tricks.

The best contract is 6♣ because it is not difficult to guess the clubs but really difficult to play, I think impossible.

An emotional roller coaster

Anyway, after six days of round robin play, we’ve gone from tenth place all the way to second place. We were only behind USA1 who seemed untouchable. Unfortunately, we lost the last match and dropped to fourth place, which meant we had no choice of opponent for the quarter-finals. But as we say in Italy, “choosing brings bad luck”, so we trusted destiny. The draw gave us USA2.

It was a tough match. After a balanced first day, the second day started terribly: within a few boards we were 40 IMPs down. A disaster. We were all disappointed because even if we didn’t play badly we’ve lost by 63, everything seemed close to the end.

These are two boards from the fifth round that show how unlucky we were:

The first one: Federico opened 2NT (20–21), and we ended up in 6NT. After a heart lead, the contract would have had no chance.

But with a spade lead, Federico played five rounds of spades. East discarded two hearts, and now when Fede played a club and saw the nine, he had to guess: did East have a stiff king of hearts and five clubs, with clubs 4–2? He chose to play for the clubs being 4–2, which I think is normal, and put the Ace of clubs over the King. Unfortunately, he went one down.

The second one: another good but unlucky slam, because we found diamonds 5–0.

In these two boards we lost 50 IMPs, because in the other room they played only 3NT on both hands.

Back on track!

We needed an immediate turnaround—and we found it. Fired up and determined, we pushed back. I’ll never forget the tension of one crucial hand, when I had to pick the right card. It felt as if the cards themselves weighed a ton.

On the first hand, Federico put the blue card over 5♥ and I had to play. Obviously, the defense started with the Q♠ and a diamond. So already at trick two, I had to guess how to handle the diamonds. I didn’t want to decide, but after two minutes I finally played the Ace—since I would only lose if West held the King and five cards.

Thankfully, the gamble worked, and from that moment we hit our rhythm. That session ended 70–20 for us, completely erasing the damage of the one before. I walked away literally shaking from the adrenaline. In the following sessions, Fede and I rested while our teammates kept up the momentum and sealed the win. It felt unreal: just a few days earlier I had been afraid we wouldn’t even qualify, and now we were in the semifinals!

Heading for the top spot!

The semi-final against USA1, who had dominated the round robin, was nerve-wracking. I personally felt the pressure even more, but our team spirit carried us through: no arguments, just constant support for one another and the encouragement of everyone cheering back home in Italy. After two extremely close days, we’ve won. At the time it felt like we’d already achieved something huge, but our coach Valerio Giubilo reminded us right away: “It’s great to celebrate, but tomorrow brings a new battle—against China.”

China was incredibly solid, both technically and mentally. But in the final, I actually felt less nervous—maybe from satisfaction, maybe from exhaustion. Fede and I played better than in the previous days, and the whole team gave everything. After the first day we were slightly behind, but the second day was unforgettable. After the first two sessions, I wasn’t anxious anymore—just tired but full of energy at the same time. We had done our best, and whatever happened, I knew it would be fine.

And it was more than fine. We won. It’s an indescribable emotion that I’ll carry with me forever: an amazing team and the perfect partnerS. I couldn’t have wished for anything more.