Frome man tastes national success at bridge championship

Dave Latchem from Frome, together with Sheila Coda, Bill Rowe and Rodney Marks all from Somerset, were first equal in a National Bridge Tournament in Birmingham recently.

The competition consists of 14 matches and each match is based on a ladder competition like in Badminton where the better you do the stronger opposition you play.

They got off to a terrible start and lost their first three matches 11/9, 12/8, 12/8 and thought they were out of the competition and only there for the beer!

There were 11 matches left and this was when things turned out for the better with some thumping wins and only one loss in the next five games. On Saturday this took them up to 6th overnight. On Sunday they won four of their five games to come equal first, their best ever result in a national competition.

They anxiously awaited the result and found that they were equal first but someone had to be crowned National Champions and the rules state it is the number of wins over the 13 matches. They had won eight matches and the opposition had won nine so they took the silver ware and all the glory.

“It was a wonderful achievement by this team,” said David. “This is the biggest achievement I have had in my bridge career, to come equal first in a national competition. It was somewhat unexpected as there were past national champions and even previous world champions at the event.

“After the poor start you think you won’t do so well but to come back the way we did was great. Hopefully we can take this form into future events and enjoy more success.”

Dave runs a bridge club in Semington Village Hall on Tuesday and Friday mornings, for details tel: 01373 467628.