Gulzar-Masood win Ehsan Memorial Pairs title

KARACHI: The duo of Gulzar Bilal and Masood Mazhar emerged triumphant in the Ehsan Abbasi Memorial Pairs Bridge Tournament held here at the Aslam Bridge Hall, housed in the National Stadium, on Friday evening.
According to the results announced by the Karachi Bridge Associates (KBA) here on Saturday, Gulzar Bilal-Masood Mazhar won the keenly contested event by scoring 65 percent, while Ahsan Zahir Rizvi-Nasim Arzoo ended runners-up with a score 64.07 percent and Tariq Rasheed Khan-Rashid-ul-Ghazi stood third with 59.34 percent.
The tournament was organised by the KBA in memory of Ehsan Abbasi, a prolific bridge player and analyst, who had passed away after protracted illness last month at the age of 79.
Quite a few of the leading players of the country participated in the one-day event which was fiercely fought till the end. Competing from the North-South direction, Gulzar Bilal and Masood Mazhar turned out to be the overall winners. They displayed remarkable consistency over Match Point scoring and finished at the top with a fascinating score of 65 percent.
Fortunes kept fluctuating throughout 11 rounds and there was a tight finish in the East-West direction as well where the pair of Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi and Ali Hai took the top slot with a score of 61.45 percent, while Khalid Mohiuddin-Mubashir Puri came a close second with 60.84 percent and the third placed Anwer Gheewala-Noor Alam scoring 60.55 percent.
Natasha Abbasi, daughter of the late Ehsan Abbasi, was the chief guest in the prize distribution ceremony and she presented cash awards to the top performers.
The winning pairs from both the directions were awarded Rs30,000 each, while the runners-up received Rs10,000 each. Parvez Mirza and Fatima Raza were presented a special mixed pair award.
In her brief speech on the occasion, Natasha narrated the depth of love her eminent father possessed for bridge throughout his life. She assured the local bridge community that this will become an annual event, and will be organised with even more enthusiasm next year.