Today's final is between Wanner and Bessis. The former survived a strong fight-back by their semi-final opponents Ivancic, who recovered almost their entire first half deficit of 37 IMPs in the first five boards of their semi-final.

The holders survived a titanic struggle with Serf, their victory only being sealed on the final board, one that even so could have cost them the chance to defend their title.

There was a dramatic finish in the qualification race. Bessis had an excellent day, but with just three boards to go they were still one victory point away from the all-important fifth place.

A timely overcall by Paul Chemla kept his opponents out of a game that had been made at the other table - it would have failed after his bid - and the swing was just enough for the number one seeds to creep into the semi-finals.

The hard luck story was that of team Maurin. They had been at the top of the table for almost the whole time, but they weakened towards the end and could only finish 13th.

The surprise package turned out to be team Ivancic from Croatia. They exceeded expectations by reaching the semi-finals. The remaining teams are headed by Bulgaria's, Bonev.