Crews were folding up the bridge tables at the Marriott

Crews were folding up the bridge tables at the Marriott in Center City and putting away the chairs, after more than two weeks of play ended Saturday at the biggest bridge championship of them all, the World Bridge Series.

About 4,000 people played over the course of the series, which occurs every four years and began here Oct. 1 after local officials and bridge players pushed to have the games in Philadelphia. The event, run by the World Bridge Federation, attracted the world's best bridge players from 40 countries - and for no prize money. At most, championship winners got a cup or trophy and priceless personal satisfaction.

The series included eight major competitions, for both pairs and teams, which could consist of up to six players. The competition was transnational - in some of the championships, members of a pair could be from different countries, and a team could include players from several countries.

In one of the eight championships - the Open Teams Competition - the winning team was led by Eric Greco, 35, a Center City resident who is a trader on the Philadelphia Options Exchange. He and his partner, Geoff Hampson, combined with fellow Americans John Diamond, Brian Platnick, Broad Moss, and Fred Gitelman to win by 43 international match points. They took what's known as the Rosenblum Cup.

The Senior Pairs Competition winners are two veteran New England players - Rich DeMartino and Pat McDevitt. DeMartino is president of the 165,000-member American Contract Bridge League. The championship awards the Hiron Cup.

The Women's Knockout Teams competition is nation-based, and its McConnell Cup was won by the China team, which had been down to its Dutch opponents at the halfway break. Team members are Ling Gu, Yan Lu, Ming Sun, Hongli Wang, Xuefeng Feng, and Yanhui Sun. Chuancheng Ju was the team's nonplaying captain.

Paul Hackett was the captain of an Anglo-American team that captured the Rand Cup in the World Senior Knockout Teams championship. Hackett and team members John Holland and Gunnar Hallberg - all from Britain - enjoyed their second consecutive senior world title. Garey Hayden and Reese Milner were the Americans on the team, which defeated its opponents, 155-83.

The World Mixed Pairs championship went to Donna Compton (United States) and Fulvio Fantoni (Italy), who were close to disqualification in the final sessions but came back at the end to win. Fantoni is an internationally known player.

In one of the last championships to finish play Saturday, Greg Hinze's team won the World Mixed Swiss games with two local players, JoAnn Sprung of Philadelphia and Connie Goldberg of Merion, on the team. The other teammates were Shane Blanchard and Lynn and Dale Johannesen.

Americans Bobby Levin and Steve Weinstein won the World Open Pairs championship, and Americans Lynn Deas and Beth Palmer won the World Women Pairs championship.