NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
by Eric Kokish
1st World Mind Sports Games / October 3-18, 2008 - Beijing / China 

The Youth event has come and gone but one remarkable player of only 15 years came, played and went back without being noticed except by those who played against him. He is Mirza Asfandiyar Hussain from Pakistan who represented Pakistan in the U21 Category and first played the youth pairs in Bangkok at the age of 13. Born in a family of bridge players, both his parents have represented Pakistan in World Championships. This remarkable student could not stay on due to his studies, but let us tell you that he has all the makings of another Zia Mahmood style of player. So be warned, bridge world, of this new star. Asfandiyar is passionate about bridge and wants to specialize in Biogenetics. He works hard to balance his time between his studies and bridge. Asfandiyar plays in one Open Team from Lahore and holds his own in this competition against some of the top players from Pakistan. He has been selected for special grooming to become the emerging player from our region.

The youngest competitor in the bridge section of the 1st World Mind Sports Games is Kenya’s Kush Mediratta, at the ripe old age of ten. We wonder if any of the other sports can match that? Kush only learned to play bridge around six months ago and is partnering his brother, Mohit, an old man at the age of 13 years. While it is inevitable that most attention will fall on those involved in the hunt for the medals, the

participation of young players like the Medirattas is a big part of what these Games are all about and it is great to have them here. Likewise, it is wonderful to see countries at this tournament that we have never seen at a world championship before — here’s hoping that such as Albania, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and others will become regulars in world competition.