Blue team (bridge)
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The Blue Team (Italian: "Squadra azzurra") was the team that represented Italy in international bridge tournaments, winning sixteen world titles from 1957 through 1975[1] [2]. For the most part, the core of the team was made of pairs Giorgio Belladonna – Walter Avarelli, Benito Garozzo – Pietro Forquet and Camillo Pabis-Ticci – Massimo D'Alelio, with Eugenio Chiaradia and Guglielmo Siniscalco playing in early years, and Dano De Falco, Arturo Franco, Vito Pittalà in late years. The spiritual father and long-time coach (non-playing captain) of the team was Carl'Alberto Perroux.
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[edit] History
The name of the team was apparently derived from Italian team trials in 1956, when the team provisionally named "Blue Team" beat the "Red Team". Before that time, Perroux has already started preparations with the aim of winning European championships and ultimately the Bermuda Bowl, dominated by United States teams at the time.
The team coached by Perroux managed to win European championships 1951, 1956 and 1957, but fell short to the US in the 1951 Bermuda Bowl at home ground in Naples. Nonetheless, Perroux did not lose confidence, but continued preparations for what would become the most successful team in bridge history.
The breakthrough ultimately came in 1957, when Italian team returned USA the insult by beating them in the Bermuda Bowl final in New York. The team featured Massimo d'Alelio, Walter Avarelli, Giorgio Belladonna, Eugenio Chiaradia, Pietro Forquet, and Guglielmo Siniscalco. That was only a start though – the reign of the Blue Team was to continue for 12 of the following 13 years, broken only by an indifferent result in the 1960 Olympiad.
A large part of the Blue Team's success lay in new and inventive bidding systems, which were unseen before, and often deemed quite strange, especially by conservative US circles. US losing teams sometimes even complained that the Italians had an unfair advantage of bidding which was partly incomprehensible to Americans (however, that can be classified as a typical losers' excuse). Belladonna of Rome and his partners played Roman club, a "short club" system, while Neapolitans Forquet and Chiaradia played Neapolitan club, a strong club system. Both systems featured canapé-style openings, and often light opening bids and interventions. When young, inventive and cocky Garozzo arrived to the team in 1960, he further developed the Neapolitan system into Blue Club, which gained worldwide popularity in later years.
The string of Blue Team wins lasted until 1969, when they announced their retirement. The American Dallas Aces team finally regained world titles for the USA in the 1970 and 1971 Bermuda Bowls, when the Blue Team did not appear. However, Americans weren't overly satisfied by defeating Taiwan in the finals, seeking real revenge. Vengeance was denied to them again in the 1972 Olympiad when the Blue Team re-formed, and yet again in 1973 and 1974. The original Aces disbanded in 1974, and the Italians again beat the USA team in 1975. In 1976, the Bermuda Bowl was won by the USA and the Olympiad by Brazil, marking the end of the Blue Team's dominance.
Toward the end of their string of victories the Italians changed their lineup: Forquet, Pabis-Ticci and D'Alelio withdrew, while Garozzo and Belladonna paired each other, playing a version of C. C. Wei's Precision Club modified by Garozzo and called "Super Precision". The team was no longer officially called "Blue Team", but they still managed to win. The victory of 1975 was clouded by allegations of cheating by Facchini-Zucchelli, known as the "foot-tapping scandal".
[edit] Controversies
The string of Blue Team victories was also followed by some cheating allegations (but mostly against "lesser" team members, and none against Belladonna, Garozzo and Forquet). One of those was related to a 1968 Bermuda Bowl hand when Camillo Pabis-Ticci led the ace of clubs from the hand[3]: ♠J84 ♥9 ♦A10763 ♣A986 after the auction 1♠ by RHO – 2♥ by LHO; 2♠ – 3♠; 4♠. He accidentally found a singleton club in his partner's hand and was allowed to give him another club ruff.
However, the best-known controversy occurred in 1975, when the Bermuda Bowl was held at its home site of Bermuda; it was described in detail in Bob Hamman's autobiography At the Table. Journalist Bruce Keidan reported Facchini and Zucchelli were found touching each other's shoes under the table in an apparent attempt to relay information about their hands. Cheating is of course illegal and normally grounds for expulsion from any bridge organization. Keidan's discovery, which was confirmed by several witnesses, was eventually presented to the presiding authorities of the event, who "severely reprimanded" Facchini and Zucchelli for their activity but allowed the players to continue competing in the event. Ironically, although the Italians were allowed to stay, the Bermuda Bowl authorities placed blocks underneath the tables to prevent any further foot contact. [4][5]
A little-known incident occurred in 1962. at the Bermuda Bowl held in St. Vincent [6]. An anonymous letter written in Italian was delivered to American coach John Gerber. He secured a translator, but after the first paragraph was read to him, he asked the translator to stop; to deliver the letter to Italy’s captain, Carl’Alberto Perroux and to explain that Gerber had listened only to the first paragraph. The writer had accused the Blue Team of cheating. Perroux, after reading the letter to his team, suggested that the match be played with screens running across the tables (this was 12 years before present-day screens were employed) – but Gerber would have none of it. The goodwill engendered by this exchange inspired Perroux and his team to present their championship trophies to Gerber and the American team in what was described as the greatest act of sportsmanship in bridge history.
[edit] World Titles
[edit] Bermuda Bowls
- 1957, New York (Massimo D'Alelio, Walter Avarelli, Giorgio Belladonna, Eugenio Chiaradia, Pietro Forquet, Guglielmo Siniscalco, Carl'Alberto Perroux (npc)) beat the USA by 10,150 points.
- 1958, Como, Italy
- 1959, New York City, USA
- 1961, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
- 1962, New York City, USA
- 1963, St. Vincent, Italy
- 1965, Buenos Aires
- 1966, St. Vincent, Italy
- 1967, Miami Beach, USA
- 1969, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 1973, Guaruja, Brazil
- 1974, Venice, Italy
- 1975, Southampton, Bermuda
[edit] World Team Olympiads
- 1964, New York, USA
- 1968, Deauville, France
- 1972, Miami Beach, USA
[edit] References
- ^ History of Bermuda Bowls, Mind Sports Organization
- ^ World Bridge Federation list of World Championships
- ^ Ron Garber, South California Bridge News (replicated on John Swanson's home page)
- ^ Bermuda Incident, Bridgebum.com
- ^ John Swanson, The Italian Foot Soldiers
- ^ ACBL Hall of Fame: John Gerber
