WHO’S WHO

MIGUEL TEIXEIRA

Co-founder of the tournament, and the man behind the seamless arrangements, the hotel packages, the entertainment and any other aspect of the tournament which requires negotiation and business acumen. Since his retirement from banking, Miguel has also taken on the responsibility for bookings.

CARLOS LUIZ

Co-founder of the tournament, the man with the plan.  Carlos is by some margin Madeira’s finest player (he played in the 2005 Bermuda Bowl), and the go-to consultant on any new ideas for the tournament, as well as a serial winner of the Open Pairs and Teams.  In a previous existence Carlos was a handball player of some skill.

BETTY GÓIS

The face of the Welcome Desk, Betty is a native of Madeira but lived in the UK for 23 years, hence her excellent English.  Unflappable and efficient, she is the first person most players see when they arrive at the venue (many players will recognise her name as the person who dealt with bookings in the past).

CAROLINA TEIXEIRA

Miguel’s daughter Carolina is an essential part of our Welcome Desk and bookings team, but is also our social media secretary, posting on Facebook and Instagram, creating artwork, and commissioning videos of excursions and social events.

DARA BARRADAS

Dara became part of the Welcome Desk team in 2022.  Another Madeiran, she helps with bookings for the social programme and excursions, issuing badges, and the countless other tasks which are part of the Welcome Desk’s role.

JOSÉ JÚLIO CURADO
Joint Chief TD

In October 1996 José Júlio decided that he wanted to know the Laws of Bridge. Two years later he was invited to direct the first edition of this tournament, with Rui Marques. He liked it so much that he kept coming back, and in 2005 moved from the Portuguese mainland to Madeira. By the end of this 12-day week, you will understand why.

MARC van BEIJSTERVELDT
Joint Chief TD

This will be Marc’s 10th year directing in Madeira, his favourite bridge festival. He has directed all over the world, and says that although all have their pluses and minuses, Madeira is exceptional. As well as directing in World and European championships, Marc works for the Dutch bridge magazine IMP, having previously worked at the Dutch Bridge Federation from 1991 to 2023 organising national competitions and the Ruitenboertoernooi simultaneous (which once had more than 17,000 pairs participating).

JEANNE VAN DEN MEIRACKER

Hailing originally from the Netherlands, Jeanne is a top international tournament director who has recently returned to Europe following over a decade directing in the United States. In a previous existence she was a medical analyst. This is her second appearance at the Madeira International Bridge Open, so our prediction (and hope) that Jeanne would come back has proved correct.

JAKUB (KUBA) KASPRZAK

Now in his third year at our tournament, Kuba is an international director, on the TD panels of both the EBL and WBF. From Gdansk, Poland, he is married with two small children.  His son Ignacy (now aged 7) played in the Polish League for the first time when he was 5 years old.  Kuba’s 6-year-old daughter Diana has already worked as a caddy, and wants to learn to play.

DIARMUID REDDAN

Diarmuid was promoted in 2022 to NBO International Director, and also directed at the Europeans in Dublin in 2012. He has represented the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland in the Camrose Home Internationals, and was NPC of the Ireland Mixed Team in Madeira in 2022 and Herning in 2024; Riga this year will be his NPC hat trick. His other interests are golf and rugby.

JACOB DUSCHEK

Jacob is a Danish tournament director living in Copenhagen. He was awarded the EBL Tournament Director title in 2013 and has been directing regularly at EBL Championships since then. He is the author of the textbook ‘A Guide to the Bridge Laws’. His best results as a player are a bronze medal in 2011 and a silver medal in 2012 at the Danish teams championship.

HANS VAN STAVEREN

Hans is a regular feature of our directing team. He is the IT manager for the European Bridge Leauge and World Bridge Federation.  In this tournament we use his hand-generator security program.

FREDERICO PALMA

Another former footballer, Frederico is from Lisbon, where he directs at the bridge centre and in major tournaments. A lover of the beach and of music, he is an avid concert-goer when not fully occupied with his two young daughters.

PEDRO ÁLVARES RIBEIRO

Pedro hails from Oporto. He has been directing regularly in National tournaments since 2014. This is his third appearance as a Director at the Madeira International Bridge Open. He also likes to play and was the NPC of Portugal’s team at the Chairman’s Cup in Helsinki in 2022 and of the Portuguese Open Team at the European Championships in Herning in 2024.

ZENNICA HAMMAR

An experienced National Director in Sweden (she lives all the way up north), Zennica is eager to get training for international tournaments and is very happy to join the team here in Madeira for the second year running. A true people person, she will help with the big Scandinavian crowd.

AURÉLIEN LECOQ

Aurélien joins us as our first ever dedicated scorer.  Originally from Granville in Normandy, he works full time for the French Bridge Federation. Aurélien is a National director and also on the EBL register of tournament directors, making his first international appearance at the Winter Transnationals in Prague this year.  We hope that he, in common with everyone else who comes to our tournament, will want to come back.

MONIKA KÜMMEL

Monika is originally from Austria but lives in Paris. She joins the Bulletin team for the second time.  Mónika is a former industrial chemist who now freelances as a translator, proofreader, layout editor and website developer. Unflappable at the computer, she also entered into the spirit of the tournament last year, even venturing into the playing room with Miguel Teixeira for the Cool-Down Pairs  (they didn’t trouble the scorers).

CERI PIERCE

This is Ceri’s 8th year as the Bulletin Room’s proofreader, interviewer, tea-maker and printer slave (she also does the occasional stint as Vugraph  operator and stand-in player, as well as keeping Laura [more or less] sane).  Ceri has played international bridge for Wales both before and since having her three children, following in the footsteps of her distinguished father. Her name is pronounced Kerry, because it’s Welsh.

MARK HORTON

Mark Horton is an English international and bridge journalist, who edits the bulletins at various international tournaments.  His popular ‘Replay yesterday’s hands with me’ sessions are held on Tuesday to Friday mornings during the tournament.  In between his enjoyment of the local food and drink and keeping the staff entertained with his vast fund of anecdotes, he manages to write a lot of articles for the Bulletin. 

EDUARDO FERNANDES

Eduardo is a former professional footballer and docker who took up bridge by accident.  He has lived in Madeira all his life, apart from a season playing for Braga on the Portuguese mainland.  A man with an astonishing talent for languages, he speaks Spanish, English, French, German and some Italian, all of which he picked up by ear while working on the Funchal docks (as well as Portuguese, of course).  Eduardo is our removals man:  he shifts the equipment from place to place, sets up the tables, organises the caddies, and ferries visitors about.

PEDRO NUNES

Pedro is another native of Madeira, who manages the IT equipment and networks at the tournament in between working full time.  Successful players will know him as the man with the money:  he hands out the prizes at the end of the tournament, meticulously recording the amounts and the identities of those who receive them, so that there will be no error and no cause for complaint.  He also directs, and is an enthusiastic Precision player.

LAURA WOODRUFF

Born in Cardiff, Laura came here on holiday and fell in love with the island.  She now lives here (almost) all year round. Laura manages the tournament website, does translations, liaises with the overseas staff, and keeps an eye out for any bridge celebrities who might warrant a bulletin article.  She has recently joined the Portuguese women’s squad with her fellow emigrée (in the opposite direction), Eva Turner.  Laura still plays in the Madeira tournament but is usually too tired to follow suit.

DÂLIA MARQUES

Dâlia is our logistics person: she has been working with us since 2019 organising airport transfers and various other unseen tasks to keep the tournament running smoothly. In real life she works for the regional government.

PEDRO CABRITA

Pedro, originally from the Algarve, has worked for the Portuguese Bridge Federation since 2001 providing logistics and administrative support.  He travels from the mainland every year to deal nearly 6000 boards for the tournament.  We try to make sure he enjoys himself in between the hard slog.

MARCO TEIXEIRA

Marco, our photographer, is a Madeiran native.  A sculptor and graduate of the Escola Superior de Artes e Design at Caldas da Rainha, Marco is also a judo referee and pool player.