65th International Baltic Congress

I. General information

1. The organiser of the BUDIMEX Grand Prix Polski Teamów 2026 tournament in Sopot is the Pomeranian Regional Sports Bridge Association.
2. The tournament is played on 27-29.07.2026 at Hala Stulecia in Sopot, ul. Goyki 7.
3. Entries are accepted together with payment through the registration system.
4. The tournament is governed by PZBS regulations and the PZBS Grand Prix Polski Teamów Regulations.
5. The schedule, entry fee amounts and registration link are available on the Congress website.
6. Teams may consist of 4-6 players.
7. In special cases, the Chief Tournament Director may decide to change the format of play to the extent necessary for the efficient running of the event.

II. System of play

1. The tournament is scored in IMPs converted to VPs.
2. GPPT will be played in two phases:
   • qualifying stage,
   • knockout stage.
3. The qualifying stage will be played as a Swiss movement without repeats.
4. The exact number of rounds and boards per round will be announced after entries close, taking into account the number of teams and the requirements of the central GPPT regulations.
5. For the first round, teams will be seeded based on the PZBS Ranking according to the sum of ranking points of the 4 highest-ranked players.
6. Teams from 1 to n/2 will be home teams, and teams from n/2+1 to n will be away teams. If the number of teams is odd, the middle team or another team indicated for organisational reasons receives a bye in the first round.
7. A team with a bye receives 12 VP in that round.
8. 8 teams qualify for the knockout stage.

III. Ranking after the qualifying stage

In the event of an equal number of VPs, the higher place is decided in order by:

1. higher place before the last round, and then before the penultimate round,
2. Buchholz score, i.e. the sum of opponents' results,
3. greater IMP difference,
4. draw.

IV. Knockout stage

1. Knockout matches are 32-board matches, 4 x 8 boards.
2. Teams receive numbers 1-8 according to their ranking after the qualifying stage.
3. Opponent selection takes place immediately after the protest period for the completed stage expires. If a team representative is absent during selection, the team is automatically paired with the team holding the highest unselected number.
4. In the quarter-final, teams 1-3 choose opponents in order from teams 4-8.
5. In the semi-final, team 1 chooses its opponent from the remaining teams, with the reservation that match winners take over the opponent's number if the opponent had a lower number.
6. Quarter-final losers finish the event in places 5-8 according to the ranking after the qualifying stage.
7. Semi-final winners advance to the final, and losers play the match for 3rd place.
8. The home team is the team with the lower number.
9. The home team sits second in segments 2 and 4.
10. In the knockout stage, the home team receives a carry-over equal to 10% of the number of boards scheduled for the match, plus an additional 3, 2, 1 IMP for the first three teams after the qualifying stage.
11. If a team takes over another team's number, it is entitled only to a carry-over equal to 10% of the number of boards scheduled for the match, without the additional bonus.
12. If the number of boards in a play-off match is reduced with the consent of the Chief Tournament Director, the carry-over does not change.

V. Protest period and score corrections

1. The protest period under Law 79C1 of the Laws of Duplicate Bridge expires:
   • in the qualifying stage - 15 minutes after the start of the next match, and for the last match 15 minutes after the last score is received,
   • in knockout matches - 15 minutes after the last score is received.
2. A scoring error may be corrected after the protest period under Law 79C2 with the consent of the Chief Tournament Director.
3. Such a score change may not affect prizes already awarded or matches already started in the knockout or qualifying stage.
4. The Chief Tournament Director decides each time whether such a change may affect prizes not yet paid, the Congress long-term ranking or victory in a knockout match.

VI. Prizes and points

1. The tournament prize fund is at least 50% of entry fees.
2. Financial prizes are paid to the team captain.
3. GPPT long-term points are awarded according to the central PZBS regulations.
4. A player receives GPPT points provided they play the minimum number of boards required by the central regulations.