The 42nd Bermuda Bowl has kicked off in Chennai, and after several weeks of cheat-busting Boye Brogeland (‘The Sheriff’) has kept his promise to give us a clean World Championship. Four European teams qualified with cheats — oh sorry, Mr Smirnov; ‘ethical violations’ on your part — and were replaced by squads from France, Denmark and Sweden, while Poland lost its most experienced pair, Balicki/Zmudzinski, and is playing a team of four.
The only Euro teams that survived with their reputations intact are England and Bulgaria. Geir Helgemo, probably the greatest player in the world, and his partner Tor Helness pulled out when their teammates were exposed as cheats. It is unimaginable to have a World Championship without them, but their team, Monaco, honourably withdrew as soon as the allegations were proved.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in