14th World Computer-Bridge Championship
Philadelphia, PA USA
October 10-15, 2010
15th World Computer-Bridge Championship
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
October 23-28, 2011
The 14th World Computer-Bridge Championship was held from October 10-15. The top robots from all over the world competed for the title. The 7 entries this year included: defending champion Jack, from The Netherlands; 2008 champion WBridge5, from France; top contenders, Micro Bridge from Japan, Shark Bridge from Denmark, Bridge Baron from the USA and Q-Plus Bridge from Germany; and newcomer Moose Bridge, from the USA.
The results of 32-board round robin, 64-board semifinal and 64-board final are posted at www.computerbridge.com. The history, articles and analyses for 14 years of play also appear at this website, along with complete records of recent past finals. Following the competition, I will write articles for the International Computer Games Association Journal as well as the Bridge Bulletin, and make interesting deals available to bridge journalist for publication. Current articles include explanations of how bridge robots “think” as well as how they have improved over time.
Our championships have greatly contributed to the advancement of robot play. Many of the robots are used as teaching tools and for amusement, as a player can play bridge with three robots. Robotic bridge is becoming more popular as the software has improved.
During the tournament running results were posted on our website. Approximately 500 hits a day suggest many were interested in the day to day activities. I wrote two bridge columns that appeared in the Daily Bulletin, along with a couple of spots introducing the championship and reporting on the winner.
20 different developers have entered their robots over the 14 years of competition.
Next year’s 15th World Computer-Bridge Championship will be held October 23-28, as part of the 40th World Team Championships in The Netherlands. At least 10 entries are expected to compete in Eindhoven. Special thanks to Nederlandse Bridge Bond (Dutch Bridge Federation) for their support of next year’s event.
Submitted by:
Alvin Levy
Coordinator