Following the meetings of the WBF Executive Council in Shanghai 2007, the World Bridge Federation has announced the new plan for the World Bridge Championships, to be put into effect in 2008. The World Bridge Championships will operate on a four-year cycle.
4-YEAR CYCLE
In the odd-numbered years, beginning in 2009, the World Bridge Team Championships will be held, comprising:
World Team Championships (Open series: Bermuda Bowl)*
World Team Championships (Women series: Venice Cup)*
World Team Championships (Senior series: Senior Bowl)
World Transnational Open Teams (WTNOT)
These events will be for national teams qualifying in the various WBF Zones, except for the WTNOT, which will be open to all teams, national or transnational.
In the non-leap even-numbered years beginning in 2010, the World Bridge Series Championships will be held, consisting of the following main events:
World Open Knockout Teams (Rosenblum Cup)
World Women Knockout Teams (McConnell Cup)
World Senior Knockout Teams (Rand Cup)
World Mixed Swiss Teams
World Mixed Pairs
World Open Pairs
World Women Pairs
World Senior Pairs (Hiron Trophy)
All these events will be transnational, without national quotas.
In the leap years (the same years as the Summer Olympics) the World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) will be held. These games will be held under the aegis of IMSA and will consist of Bridge, Chess, Go and Draughts. The bridge events included in the World Mind Sports Games will be:
National Open Teams
National Women Teams
National Youth Teams, Pairs & Individual
Each member of the WBF is entitled to one team in each series. The Youth Teams is a new event. All events will be for national representation except the World Transnational Mixed Teams.
Senior Teams (one national team per country)
World Transnational Mixed Teams (no quotas)