A group of 20 members contested the Manx Bridge Union Individual Championship which was held at the Douglas Bridge Club on Sunday.
Bridge is a game of partnerships and an individual championship provides an interesting variant on the normal format, with each contestant partnering each of the others in a rolling programme of short partnerships which means that each competitor, in turn, plays with everyone else.
Each has an individual score and the highest individual score wins. The 2014 Island Championship was as keenly contested as ever and produced a particularly close and tense finish.
A total of 40 boards were played over the course of five gruelling hours and, at the halfway stage, Angie Kissack led with a quality 67.65 per cent. Flora Simons was in second place with 64.06, while John Large - who won the competition in 2011 - and Pam Townsend shared third with 62.50.
But others were also in close contention. The field gradually eroded Kissack’s lead during the second half and Large drew ahead of the pack to become the main challenger.
There was a nail-biting finish with the issue being in doubt right up to the last score on the last hand of the night. In the end there was a tie between Kissack and Large who both scored 60.20 per cent - a good result, as it would have been a shame if either had eventually lost.
So Kissack and Large share the Caymanx Cup and the honour of being Individual Island Champion for 2014.
Third place went to Pam Townsend with 56.58 who just held off the challenge of Gloria Smith on 56.25. Good to see the women so prominent – the men have been dominant for too long.