84th North American Bridge Championships (Source: 84th NABC Bulletins)
Philadelphia, 12 – 22 July 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012: Big fourth quarter propels Monaco to Spingold title: Trailing by 10 IMPs with a quarter to go, team Monaco (Pierre Zimmermann) dominated the final 16 boards to win their second Spingold Knockout Teams in a row with a 143-101 victory over the Nick Nickell squad. Zimmermann was joined by Franck Multon, Geir Helgemo, Tor Helness, Claudio Nunes and Fulvio Fantoni. Last year’s Spingold final was a Nickell- Zimmermann affair, but Nickell is playing with two new teammates: Bobby Levin and Steve Weinstein. The rest of the squad is Ralph Katz, Jeff Meckstroth and Eric Rodwell. Although 11 of the final 16 boards were pushes, Monaco managed swings of 13, 13, 11, 9 and 6 to win the set 52-0.
Diamond takes Open Swiss: John Diamond’s team captured the crown in the Roth Open Swiss Teams,winning the contest by 2.5 victory points ahead of the runners-up led by Carolyn Lynch. Diamond, playing with Geoff Hampson, Eric Greco, Fred Gitelman and Brad Moss, finished the four-session contest with 134.98 VPs. The Lynch team — Mike Passell, Andrew Gromov, Aleksander Dubinin, Cezary Balicki and Adam Zmudzinski — was second with 132.51 VPs. Diamond was trailing the Lynch squad by 1 victory point going into the final round. Lynch won their last-round match against Rose Meltzer’s team by a 15-5 VP margin. Diamond, however, outperformed the leaders by beating Michael Schreiber’s squad 18-2, to win the contest by 2.47.
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Sontag wins Fishbein Trophy
Alan Sontag earned the most masterpoints at the Summer NABC in Philadelphia to win the Fishbein Trophy, awarded to the player who accomplishes that feat. Sontag earned 315 masterpoints, 190 of which came from his win in the von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs with Alan Osofsky. The remaining 125 came from making it to the semifinal round of the Spingold Knockout Teams on Mark Gordon’s squad.
MP leaders in Philadelphia:
1. 315.00 Alan Sontag
2. 292.81 Martin Fleisher
3. 292.81 Zia Mahmood
4. 280.00 Jeff Meckstroth
5. 280.00 Eric Rodwell
6. 250.00 Fulvio Fantoni
7. 250.00 Tor Helness
8. 250.00 Geir Helgemo
9. 250.00 Claudio Nunes
10. 250.00 Franck Multon
11. 250.00 Pierre Zimmermann
12. 242.06 Eric Greco
13. 242.06 Geoff Hampson
14. 237.00 Steve Weinstein
15. 225.00 David Berkowitz
16. 223.15 Aleksander Dubinin
17. 223.15 Cezary Balicki
18. 223.15 Andrew Gromov
19. 223.15 Adam Zmudzinski
20. 221.31 Carolyn Lynch
21. 221.31 Mike Passell
Sunday, July 22 2012: Monaco, Nickell battle for Spingold Trophy: The top two seeds will meet in today’s final of the Spingold Knockout Teams. Pierre Zimmerman’s “Team onaco,” the No. 1 seed, will take on the No. 2 seed led by Nick Nickell. The clash of these two powerful squads is a reprise of the 2011 Spingold final, in which Zimmerman prevailed. Team Monaco — Zimmerman, Franck Multon, Geir Helgemo, Tor Helness, Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes — easily defeated James Cayne’s team in their semifinal match, 174-71. Cayne played with Michael Seamon, Alfredo Versace, Lorenzo Lauria, Giorgio Duboin and Antonio Sementa. Nickell’s semifinal match against Mark Gordon’s team, however, was a nail-biter, featuring multiple lead changes. Nickell, playing with Ralph Katz, Jeff Meckstroth, Eric Rodwell, Steve Weinstein and Robert Levin, prevailed in the contest, 81-73. Gordon’s lineup was Pratap Rajadhyaksha, David Berkowitz, Alan Sontag, Jacek Pszczola and Michal Kwiecien. The Nickell squad (with Levin-Weinstein playing instead of Zia Mahmood and Bob Hamman) will seek to avenge their loss to Team Monaco from last year’s final.
Zagorin leads Roth Open Swiss quals: The team led by Daniel Zagorin topped the field of qualifiers in yesterday’s Roth Open Swiss Teams. Zagorin, who is playing with Kevin Bathurst, Bas Drijver and Sjoert Brink, scored 126 victory points out of a possible 180. In second with 118 VPs is Bart Bramley’s team. Bramley’s lineup is Lew Stansby, Greg Hinze, David Yang, Roger Lee and Joshua Donn. Of the 188 teams who entered the contest, 96 qualified for today’s two-session final.
ROTH OPEN SWISS TEAMS QUALIFYING, first positions:
96 Tables / Based on 188 Tables Carryover
1 Daniel Zagorin, Chicago IL; Bas Drijver, Capelle Aan Den Netherlands; Sjoert Brink, Rotterdam 3 Netherlands; Kevin Bathurst, Palm Beach Gdns FL 30.00
2 Bart Bramley, Dallas TX; Lew Stansby, Dublin CA; Greg Hinze, San Antonio TX; David Yang, Darien IL; Roger Lee, Pasadena CA; Joshua Donn, Las Vegas NV 24.89
3 John Diamond, Boca Raton FL; Eric Greco, Wynnewood PA; Brad Moss, San Anselmo CA; Fred Gitelman – Geoff Hampson, Las Vegas NV 22.98
4/5 David Hoffner, Galloway NJ; William Pettis, Silver Spring MD; Mark Dahl, RichmondVA; Lloyd Arvedon, Natick MA 22.34
4/5 Larry Mori, Clearwater FL; Samantha Nystrom, Burnaby BC; Kyoko Shimamura, Tokyo 136 Japan; David Grainger, Bend OR; Russell Samuel, Coram NY; Yasuko Shrenzel, Honolulu HI 22.34
6/7 Stan Tulin, Highland Beach FL; Gary Cohler, Miami FL; Billy Cohen, Sherman Oaks CA; Ron Smith, San Francisco CA; Alon Birman, Tel Aviv Israel; Dror Padon, Tel Aviv Israel 21.06
6/7 Rose Meltzer, Los Gatos CA; John Mohan, Huixquilucan Mexico; Miguel Villas-Boas, Sao Paulo Brazil; Joao Paulo Campos, Sao Paulo Brazil; Carlos Pellegrini, Buenos Aires Argentina; Diego Brenner, L’Eixample Barc Spain 21.06
8 Ernesto d’Orsi, Sao Paulo Sp Brazil; Mauricio Figueiredo, Sau Paulo Brazil; Marcos Thoma, San Paula, Sp Brazil; Joaquin Pacareu, Santiago Chile Chile; Alejandro Bianchedi – Ernesto Muzzio, Buenos Aires Argentina 20.43
Score correction moves Hanna to top spot in Mixed BAM: A late-night score correction from the final of the Freeman Mixed Board-a-Match Teams promoted Nader Hanna’s squad to first place by a margin of .09. The official winners are Hanna, Joan Eaton, Michael Roche and Karen Cumpstone. As esterday’s Daily Bulletin was going to press, Debbie Rosenberg — a member of the team originally declared as the winner of the contest — reported a score correction that cost her team (Richard Zeckhauser, Joel Wooldridge and Gabrielle Sherman) a half board,dropping them to second place. Hanna and Eaton are now three-time NABC champions, but this is the first NABC win for teammates Roche and umpstone. All members of the squad have many previous titles from Canadian national championships. Players should be aware that the Laws forbid competitors from accepting a score to which they are not entitled. Players who notice an incorrect score after a session should contact a tournament director as soon as possible. Rosenberg’s actions serve as an excellent model.
Saturday, July 21 2012:
Zeckhauser scores narrow win in Mixed BAM: Editor’s note: A late-night score correction reported by the Zeckhauser squad — declared the winners of the Freeman Mixed BAM last night — may result in a different winner. See tomorrow’s Daily Bulletin for details.
The team captained by Richard Zeckhauser won the Freeman Mixed Board-a-Match Teams by the thin margin of 0.41 in the four-session contest when they outscored the leaders in the event by a half board on the last round. Zeckhauser, playing with Debbie Rosenberg, Joel Wooldridge and Gabrielle Sherman, were trailing Nader Hanna’s team by .09 with one round to play. The Zeckhauser team scored 1.5 wins in the last round, however, while the Hanna team scored just 1 win, allowing Zeckhauser to claim the title by 0.41. This was the first NABC title for Gabrielle Sherman of Syosset NY. Her teammates Zeckhauser of Cambridge MA, Rosenberg of Cupertino CA and Wooldridge of Astoria NY have each won multiple NABC titles. Playing for the runners-up were Hanna and Joan Eaton of Toronto ON, Michael Roche of Victoria BC and Karen Cumpstone of Nanaimo BC.
Spingold semis: Monaco vs. Cayne, Nickell vs. Gordon
The squads led by captains Pierre Zimmerman (Monaco), James Cayne, Nick Nickell and Mark Gordon handily won their respective quarterfinal matches to advance to today’s semifinal round. The multi-national “Team Monaco” jumped out to an early lead against Marty Fleisher’s squad in the first quarter, 65-12, and never relinquished their advantage, winning the contest 145-104. After a roughly even first set, Cayne’s squad outscored Carolyn Lynch and company 76-13 in the second quarter, effectively ending the match. Lynch gave up after the third set, and Cayne advanced 149-62. Gordon won the first segment of their quarterfinal match against Mike Levine’s team by 17 IMPs, and steadily increased their lead each quarter. Gordon triumphed, 151-77. Nickell faced the Dutch squad led by Sjoert Brink in yesterday’s action, and the match was tied after one quarter. Nickell led by just 3 IMPs at the half, but took complete control in the second half of the contest, crushing their opponents 200-82. In today’s semifinal round, Team Monaco (Zimmerman, Franck Multon, Geir Helgemo, Tor Helness, Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes) will face Cayne (Michael Seamon, Alfredo Versace, Lorenzo Lauria, Giorgio Duboin and Antonio Sementa), while Nickell (Ralph Katz, Robert Levin, Steve Weinstein, Eric Rodwell and Jeff Meckstroth) will square off against Gordon (Pratap Rajadhyaksha, David Berkowitz, Alan Sontag,Jacek Pszczola and Michal Kwiecien).
Schulte, Kniest are Fast Pairs champs: A strong second session in the final of the NABC+ Fast Pairs propelled longtime friends Ed Schulte and Tom Kniest into the winner’s circle of the two-day contest. The duo paired a 60.22% game in the first final session with a 65.77% in the second to win the contest by less than half a board. Schulte and Kniest scored 2180.32 (with carryover), ahead of runners-up Ishmael Del’Monte and Thomas Bessis, who finished with 2154.03 on a 64 top. Del’Monte and Bessis led the event after the qualifying sessions and maintained their lead throughout much of the final. A poor last round dropped the international pair to second, however, as Schulte and Kniest surged into the top spot. This is the second NABC title for Schulte of Tampa FL and the third for Kniest of St. Louis MO. Schulte also won the 2002 World Senior Teams in Montreal. Although they have played infrequently over the years, Kniest has recently begun to spend several months each year in Florida, allowing the pair to practice and play more often. Schulte and Kniest scored two successes earlier this year with wins in the American Bridge Association’s national spring championship in which they won the national knockout and pair contests.
Friday, July 20 2012:
Diamond exits Spingold in Round of 16
John Diamond’s team, the Spingold Knockout Teams champions in 2010 and the No. 3 seed in this year’s contest, did not survive their round-of-16 encounter with Mike Levine’s squad, as Levine advanced to the quarterfinal round 120 106. Levine is playing with Peter Weichsel, Russ Ekeblad, Dennis Clerkin, Jerry Clerkin and Dennis McGarry. Also on the sidelines are Lou Ann O’Rourke’s team (the No. 6 seed) and Jeff Wolfson’s squad (the No. 7 seed). O’Rourke was defeated by Mark Gordon’s squad 183-101, while Wolfson was sent home by the Dutch squad led by Sjoert Brink 129- 105.
Today’s matches are:
| 1 | Monaco |
| 8 | Fleisher |
| 2 | Nickell |
| 7 | Brink [10] |
| 3 | Levine [19] |
| 6 | Gordon [11] |
| 4 | Cayne |
| 5 | Lynch |
Westheimer wins Wagar in a walk
The team captained by Valerie Westheimer beat the squad led by Geeske Joel to win the Wagar Women’s Knockout Teams in impressive fashion, 159-92.
The Joel team held the lead for the first three boards of the match: plus 10 IMPS for making a nonvulnerable game that was set at the other table, plus 5 IMPs for staying out of a nonvulnerable game that didn’t make at the other table and plus 1 IMP for an overtrick. They would never see the lead again. In quick succession, the Westheimer crew gained 10 IMPs, 10 IMPS, 12 IMPs, 6 IMPs, 3 IMPs and then 12 IMPs, and never looked back. “Everyone played solid, mistake-free bridge,” captain Westheimer said.
Westheimer outgained Joel 53-35 in the first quarter, 47-33 in the second quarter, 28-17 in the third quarter and 31-7 in the fourth quarter. Westheimer, New York NY, played with Hjordis Eythorsdottir, Huntsville AL; Mildred Breed, Austin TX; Shawn Quinn, Sugar Land TX; Jill Levin, Henderson NV and Jenny Wolpert, Jupiter FL. Joel’s teammates were Tobi Sokolow, Austin TX; Janice Seamon-Molson, Hollywood FL; Jill Meyers, Santa Monica CA; Sylvie Willard and Benedicte Cronier, Paris, France.
Rosenberg sets pace in Mixed BAM
Debbie Rosenberg’s squad topped the field of qualifiers in the opening round of the Freeman Mixed Board-a-Match Teams, scoring 37.83 wins, the odd amount the result of a slow-play penalty. Rosenberg is playing with Gabrielle Sherman, Richard Zeckhauser and Joel Wooldridge. In second with 35.5 wins is Rita Shugart’s team — Shugart, Ron Smith, Nikolay Demirev and Brenda Bryant. Phyllis Fireman’s squad holds third place with 35 wins. Fireman’s roster is Gavin Wolpert, John Kranyak, Migry Zur Campanile and Jo Anna Stansby. Forty teams qualified for today’s two-session final.
Del’Monte, Bessis lead Fast quals
Australia’s Ishmael Del’Monte and France’s Thomas Bessis turned in the best performance in the opening round of the NABC+ Fast Pairs to lead the field of today’s 130 qualifying pairs. Del’Monte and Bessis posted a 65.57% game in the first session and followed it with a 60.46% effort in the second. In second are David Grainger of Bend OR and Jeffrey Goldsmith of Tujunga CA with scores of 64.74% and 58.97% in the first and second sessions. The NABC Fast Pairs requires participants to play two-board rounds in 11 minutes instead of the traditional 15 minutes.
Mini-Spingold 1500 final: Lefevre vs Glick
Today’s final of the Mini-Spingold II, for players with fewer than 1500 masterpoints, will feature a battle between the squads captained by Claude Lefevre and Max Glick. In yesterday’s semifinal matchups, Lefevre’s team (Perry Poole, Stan Weiner and Ping Hu) defeated the squad led by Vincent King 125- 105. King, who played with Reid Barton, Lance Ribeiro and Michael Lieberman, narrowly led the match through the first half, but fell behind in the second. In the other semifinal bracket, Glick, playing with teammates Zach Scherr, Jin Hu, Zach Wasserman and Jonathan Fleischmann, won their match against Ryan Connors and company (Randi Adelman, Peter Clark and Jess Jurkovic) 119-107. Glick was behind 20 IMPs after three sets, but rallied for the win.
Semifinalists battle in Mini-Spin I
Four teams remain in the Mini-Spingold I Knockouts. George Krizel’s team will face Nicholas France’s squad in one bracket, while teams led by captains Marc Sylvester and Yan Wang will meet in the other. In the quarterfinal round, Krizel beat Harjinder Arjani’s team 148-90 in three quarters. France defeated David Certa’s squad 161-142. Sylvester won 116-46 in three sets against Ron Jauch and company, and Wang won their match versus Bob Bambrick’s team 126-104. The event is limited to players with fewer than 5000 masterpoints.
Thursday, July 19 2012; No major upsets in Spingold KO: The top seeds in the Spingold Knockout Teams moved ahead with relative ease on Wednesday. Not all the favored teams made it to today’s round of 16, however.
No. 12, captained by Les Amoils, fell to a team of four Danes, American Roy Welland and German star Sabine Auken, who lives in Denmark. Amoils, with all but one member of the 2012 Vanderbilt-winning squad, was on the short end of a 107-103 score.
The No. 13 seed, captained by Richard Schwartz, was ousted 140-125 by No. 20 John Onstott, and No. 14 (Lew Stansby) withdrew after three quarters trailing the Mike Levine team 141-47.
No. 15 Jim Mahaffey, with an all-star squad, went down to the original No. 47 seed (Michael Schreiber) 145-112. No. 1 Monaco (Pierre Zimmermann) had a close match with the original No. 33 (Pamela Granovetter), but No. 2 Nick Nickell went to dinner early when Robert Hollman and company withdrew trailing 162-47.
| Spingold line scores |
| 1. Monaco 26 70 98 151 |
| 2. GUS (33) 36 50 80 108 |
| 17. Wu (48) 18 56 74 92 |
| 16. Berg 40 94 131 167 |
| 9. Rosenthal (npc) 45 63 112 137 |
| 24. Larsen (npc) 11 33 59 119 |
| 25. Landen 22 50 84 84 |
| 2. Fleisher 48 100 122 166 |
| 28. Fireman 39 75 87 141 |
| 2. Lynch 44 90 122 158 |
| 12. Amoils 44 64 89 103 |
| 21. Denmark 41 72 82 107 |
| 20. Onstott 12 33 90 140 |
| 13. Schwartz 36 67 100 125 |
| 4. Cayne 71 95 130 |
| 29. Dunitz (36)0 16 42 W/D |
| 3. Diamond 72 127 149 192 |
| 30. Lebel 18 39 105 126 |
| 19. Levine 42 102 141 |
| 14. Stansby 12 30 47 W/D |
| 11. Gordon 57 93 112 145 |
| 22. Cushing 20 37 78 102 |
| 27. Ekeblad 31 41 65 87 |
| 6. O’Rourke 69 84 134 183 |
| 26. Glubok 40 79 82 100 |
| 7. Wolfson 30 49 118 145 |
Top two seeds meet in Wagar final: True to form, the final of the Wagar Women’s Knockout Teams features the top seeded squad captained by Geeske Joel and the No. 2 seed led by Valerie Westheimer.
The Joel team got off to an early 49-15 first quarter lead against JoAnn Sprung’s team in the semifinal, then continued to apply the pressure until the Sprung team withdrew at the start of the fourth quarter down 113-49.
Westheimer’s women started similarly – 49-12 over the team captained by Barbra Sonsini. Sonsini would draw closer, but could never erase the deficit completely. The semifinal match ended 123-100.
Joel, Palo Alto CA is playing with Tobi Sokolow, Austin TX; Janice Seamon-Molson, Hollywood FL; Jill Meyers, Santa Monica CA; and Sylvie Willard and Benedicte Cronier, Paris, France.
Westheimer, New York NY, led a team comprising Hjordis Eythorsdottir, Huntsville AL; Mildred Breed, Austin TX; Shawn Quinn, Sugar Land TX; Jill Levin, Henderson NV; and Jenny Wolpert, Jupiter FL.
Sprung, Las Vegas NV, played with Connie Goldberg, Merion Station PA, Sue Picus, Gail Greenberg, New York NY; Nancy Passell, Plano TX and Peggy Sutherlin, Dallas.
Sonsini, Woodside CA, played with Judi Radin, New York NY; Beth Palmer, Chevy Chase MD; Lynn Deas, Schnectady NY; Kerri Sanborn, Stony Point NY; and Irina Levitina, Hackensack NJ.
| Wagar Women’s Knockout line scores |
| 1. Joel 49 91 113 |
| 4. Sprung (5) 15 43 49 W/D |
| 3. Sonsini 12 43 62 100 |
| 4. Westheimer 49 78 109 123 |
Wednesday, July 18 2012; Form holds (mostly) in Spingold KO: All of the top seeds in the Spingold Knockout Teams prevailed – most of them easily – in the round of 64, but one big name is out of the event.
The team captained by Bob Hamman, seeded No. 18, went down to the 47 seed, captained by Michael Schreiber, 152-134. Schreiber (Jim Munday, Bob Etter, Alex Kolesnik) jumped out to a 42-IMP lead in the first quarter against Hamman (Justin Lall, Bob and Shane Blanchard, Joel Wooldridge, John Hurd) and advanced to the round of 32, where they will face the Jim Mahaffey squad.
Only one of the top seeds had any difficulty advancing to today’s play. That was the No. 10 seed, captained by Sjoert Brink, one of four members of the 2011 Bermuda Bowl champions from the Netherlands on the team with Americans Daniel Zagorin and Kevin Bathurst. Against the No. 55 seed, led by New Yorker Allen Kahn, Brink eked out a 128-125 win. Brink’s other teammates are Bas Drijver, Louk Verhees and Rico van Prooijen.
The top-seeded Monaco (Pierre Zimmermann) team blasted No. 64 Blair Seidler 223-76; No. 2 Nick Nickell cruised past Stephen Drodge 185-68 and No. 3 John Diamond beat Geoff Hopcraft 216-58.
In Mini-Spingold I (0-5000), the field of 24 teams was reduced to 16 with some three-way matches and is set to conclude on Saturday.
The Mini-Spingold II (0-1500) is now in the round of eight and will crown a champion on Friday.
Wagar – and now there are four: The top three seeds advanced to the semifinal round of the Wagar Women’s Knockouts. The No. 1 Geeske Joel squad lapped the No. 8 Jean Barry team 163-86. Two seed Valerie Westheimer overcame a 19-point deficit in the first quarter to beat the Lynne Schaeffer squad 129 to 114. After a tight first half, Barbara Sonsini’s team blew things open with a 45-2 third quarter, and held off a fourth-quarter charge by the Rozanne Pollack squad to take the match 122-107. The fifth seed JoAnn Sprung squad held off the Phyllis Fireman team 119-93. Semifinal action today pits Joel versus Sprung and Westheimer versus Sonsini.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012; Spingolds now in full swing: After a day of qualifying matches to reduce the field from 74 to 64 squads, the Spingold Knockout Teams gets underway with knockout play today, led by the top-seeded Pierre Zimmermann team, the defending champions. The top 34 teams had byes. Some of the teams with familiar captains will have new lineups. For example, the No. 2 seed, Nick Nickell, will be playing with Bobby Levin and Steve Weinstein instead of Bob Hamman and Zia Mahmood. Zia has joined the Martin Fleisher team, while Hamman is playing with Justin Lall on a team with Bob and Shane Blanchard plus Joel Wooldridge and John Hurd. In the Mini-Spingold I (0-5000), the field was reduced from 38 to 24 teams, with some of the competitors in three-way matches today. In the Mini-Spingold II (0-1500), the field of 30 was reduced on Monday to 16 teams.
Monday, July 16, 2012: And the winners are…
Sunday, July 15, 2012; GNT finalists set: For the third straight day in the Morehead Grand National Teams, Championship Flight, the defending champions had an early night of it as their opponents withdrew, this time after the third quarter. On the two previous days, their opponents threw in the towel at halftime. The defenders (District 9) are led by Warren Spector. They defeated the Bart Bramley squad (16) 107-38. In today’s final, Spector will face the Jared Lilienstein team. Lilienstein (24) defeated the Rose Meltzer squad (21) 128-123. Meltzer, with Kyle Larsen as npc, represented District 21. In the Gold GNT, Flight A, the finalists, by captain, are Barry Bragin (6) versus Edward Piken (23). Bragin defeated Richard Blumenthal (8) 115-42 when Blumenthal withdrew after three sets.
Piken defeated John Lewis (9) 165-126. In the Sheinwold GNT, Flight B, it will be Stephen Garreffa (3) versus Michael Creager (5).
Garreffa knocked off Steve Hirsch (22) 148-118. Creager ousted Paul Chan ((15) 92-79. In the Mac Nab GNT, Flight C, the finalists
are Alexander Prairie (6) and Daniel Jablonski (25). Prairie defeated Frederick Upton (23) 144-62 as Upton withdrew after three sets. Jablonski beat Bo Xiao (21) 149-109.
Zia, Fleisher lead Life Master Pairs: Zia Mahmood and Martin Fleisher, in 27th place after two qualifying sessions of the von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs, zoomed into first after Saturday’s games, just ahead of the first-day leaders, John Kranyak and Vincent Demuy.
Zia is bidding for his fourth LM Pairs victory. He and Fleisher posted 61% in the first session and 59% in the second to take over the lead with two final sessions to play today.
VON ZEDTWITZ LIFE MASTER PAIRS SEMIFINAL First 10 Positions….All Positions Click Here
1 Zia Mahmood – Martin Fleisher, New York NY 126.82
2 John Kranyak, Las Vegas NV; Vincent Demuy, Laval QC 120.15
3 Stan Tulin, Highland Beach FL; Louk Verhees, 2215 SH Voorhou Netherlands 115.70
4 Joe Grue, Las Vegas NV; Steve Weinstein, Andes NY 115.33
5 Cornelis Van Prooijen, Nieuw Vennep Netherlands; David Bakhshi, London England 112.55
6 Shane Blanchard – Robert Blanchard, New York NY 104.00
7 Sheila Gabay, Newton MA; Robert McCaw, Sudbury MA 103.83
8 Geoff Hampson, Las Vegas NV; Eric Greco, Wynnewood PA 99.48
9 Lloyd Arvedon, Natick MA; Mark Dahl, Richmond VA 94.29
10 Maija Romanovska – Karlis Rubins, Riga Region Latvia 92.58
In the Bruce 0-5000 LM Pairs, two Delaware players – Andrew Stayton and Jeff Ruben – take a slim lead into today’s two final sessions. They are just ahead of Minnesotans Eric Hendrickson and Paul Gutterman, who are less than a matchpoint in front of George Goewey, Chicago, and Steven Watson, Munster IN.
With two final sessions to go in the Young 0-1500 LM Pairs, two New Jersey players – Neil Jaffe and Gregory Gorshkov – are leading over Albert Lauber, Washington DC, and Jay Cherlow, Arlington VA. Right behind them are Shailesh Gupta, Alison Viejo CA, and R. Muggia, Andover MA.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Defenders still alive in top GNT flight
The team captained by Warren Spector, winners of the 2011 Morehead Grand National Teams, Championship Flight, had another easy day on Friday, playing only two sets before their opponents, down by 101 IMPs, withdrew at the half. Their opponents on Thursday did the same. Spector’s District 9 team will face District 16 opponents today led by Bart Bramley. In the other semifinal match, the District 21 Rose Meltzer squad (Kyle Larsen npc) will face Jared Lilienstein (District 24).
Three LM Pairs flights enter semifinals today
John Kranyak and Vicent Demuy lead the way as three different Life Master Pairs events enter semifinal rounds today. The three events conclude on Sunday. Kranyak, of Las Vegas, and Demuy, of Laval QC, posted a 69.04% game in the first qualifying session and had the lead among 182 qualifiers for the second two sessions today. Their carryover score of 1038.58 gave them a lead of about a third of a board over Dennis McGarry, of Stuart FL, and Richard Katz, of North Versailles PA, who were second with 2012.03. Two New Yorkers, Michael Radin and Mike Lipkin-were third were 1000.90.
In the Bruce 0-5000 Life Master Pairs, Jack Forstadt, Evanston IL, and Kenneth Tatz, Highland Park IL, had a slim lead entering play today. Their carryover score of 556.03 put them just ahead of Virginians Jay Kelkar, Oak Hill, and William Young, Herndon. In third with 545.61 are Jennie and Winston Legge of Pensacola FL. There are 96 qualifiers in this event.
In the Young 0-1500 Life Master Pairs, Texans Brett Elliott, Houston, and Chris Anderson, Dallas, were in the lead with a carryover of 280.58, about 12 matchpoints clear of Yves Decelles and Denise Leclerc, Baie-Comeau QC. Right behind them were a pair from Columbus OH: Michael and Mary Jane Gladfelter. Forty-four pairs qualified for the semifinal in this event.
VON ZEDTWITZ LIFE MASTER PAIRS QUALIFYING First 10 Positions….All Positions Click Here
91.0 Tables Carryover
1 John Kranyak, Las Vegas NV; Vincent Demuy, Laval QC 1038.58
2 Dennis McGarry, Stuart FL; Richard Katz, N Versailles PA 1012.03
3 Michael Radin, New York NY; Michael Lipkin, Brooklyn NY 1000.90
4 Fu Zhong, People’s Republic of China; Ishmael Delmonte, Australia 996.57
5 Howard Weinstein, San Diego CA; Walid Elahmady, Cairo Egypt 986.88
6 Sheila Gabay, Newton MA; Robert McCaw, Sudbury MA 979.14
7 Michael Schreiber, Memphis TN; Jim Munday, Southaven MS 972.58
8 Joe Grue, Las Vegas NV; Steve Weinstein, Andes NY 972.24
9 Stan Tulin, Highland Beach FL; Louk Verhees, Netherlands 961.24
10 Andy Kaufman, Fort Washington PA; Michael Cassel II, Roseville MN 960.28
Friday, July 13, 2012
GNTs hit quarterfinal stage: Four flights of the Grand National Teams enter the quarterfinal stages today as the events proceed to their respective Sunday-night conclusions. The events are the Morehead GNT, Championship Flight; Goldman GNT, Flight A; Sheinwold GNT, Flight B, and the MacNab GNT, Flight C. In the top flight, last year’s champions, captained by Warren Spector, are still in the hunt for the title. Spector is playing with Mike Becker, Jeff Meckstroth, Eric Rodwell, David Berkowitz and Gary Cohler. They had an easy time with the Ken Cohen squad, who withdrew at the half, down by 81 IMPs. Spector, representing District 9, will face the District 7 team captained by Ron Smith in today’s play. There are no defending champions in the lower three flights of the GNT.
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION SWISS TEAMS 45 Tables. Was played yesterday and was won by Justine Cushing – Melih Ozdil, New York NY; Jan Jansma, Spijkenisse Netherlands; Eldad Ginossar, Moshav Zofit Israel; Ron Pachtmann, Kfar Saba Israel.
Monitoring: At this and future North American Championships, ACBL will be monitoring NABC+ events with visible, real-time cameras. The images will be recorded and will be available for later official inspection and review. By general monitoring of the session and participants’ behavior, ACBL has another source of information that may be useful in determining facts and settling issues arising from some types of ethical and behavioral complaints or actions. Please summon a director if a problem occurs at the table. This procedure is intended to assure everyone that the playing field is level and that misbehavior will not be tolerated.
App ready for Summer NABC : The application specific to the Summer NABC in Philadelphia is now available for downloading for your iPhone or Android smartphone. Simply visit your phone’s app store and search for NABC. Look for the ACBL logo. Using this app, you can view the daily mobile results feed and check out the restaurant guide, which will allow you to click on the address to get directions or the phone number to instantly dial from your phone. You can also visit a restaurant’s website with a simple click. The full NABC schedule is also available with the app, which allows you to create your own schedule.
Party time at the NABC: Join the Bridge Base Online team for free beer and wine, delicious hors d’oeuvres and canapés, plus interesting conversation. Meet the people who make BBO run and shake hands with friends you have made online but have never met. Meet Fred, Sheri, Uday, Rain, Jacki, Barmar, Gerardo – plus ACBL TDs 05Sam, 09 Lolopuffin, Trish and Ken. If you are new to BBO, come see what all the excitement is about and get to know the online bridge club. The party is compliments of BBO and it takes place on Saturday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Marriott in Rooms 401-403.
Life Master Pairs begins today: Per-Olla Cullin and Peter Bertheau, both members of last year’s Swedish Bermuda Bowl team, posted a 60% game to win the 2011 von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs by less than a board. The von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs is a six session event with two qualifying, two semi-final and two final sessions. It is restricted to Life Masters. At stake is the von Zedtwitz Gold Cup. In 1930, Waldemar von Zedtwitz donated the Gold Cup, which was presented to the winners of the Life Master Pairs. The first winners: von Zedtwitz and P. Hal Sims
Last five years winners and runner up’s:
2007 1. Chip Martel, Zia Mahmood; 2. Howard Weinstein, Renee Mancuso
2008 1. Jan Jansma, Rico Van Prooijen; 2. Geoff Hampson, Eric Greco
2009 1. Michal Kwiecien, Roald Ramer; 2. Nikolay Demirev, Hemant Lall
2010 1. Boye Brogeland, Erik Saelensminde; 2. Norberto Bocchi, Guido Ferraro
2011 1. Per-Olla Cullin, Peter Bertheau; 2. Zia Mahmood, Tarek Sadek
Mini-LM Pairs Begins Today: The David Bruce LM-5000 Pairs is open to players who have earned LM status and have won up to 5000 masterpoints.
The Sally Young LM-1500 Pairs Begins Today: is open to players who have earned LM status and have won up to 1500 masterpoints.
The events are named in honor of two of ACBL’s all-time great players, both members of the ACBL Hall of Fame.
David Bruce (1900-1965) was #1. A tremendously successful player in the early Thirties, he was known as a soothing partner but an unsettling opponent. Bruce played with Oswald Jacoby and Howard Schenken on the first of the outstanding teams, the Four Horsemen, captained by P. Hal Sims. In 1933 with Schenken, Jacoby and Dick Frey (joined shortly afterward by Michael Gottlieb), he organized the Four Aces. This team took the leadership in competition and held it for the next decade.
Sally Young (1906-1970) was Life Master #17 and the first woman to earn the rank. Young earned success in open and women’s events. She is the only woman to “three-peat” in the Reisinger. Young and teammates John Crawford, Charles Goren and Charles Solomon won in 1937 and 1938. They added B. Jay Becker to the squad in 1939 and won again. Young also won the Reisinger in 1947 with teammates Jane Jaeger, Paula Ribner and Kay Rhodes. They remain the only all-women’s team to win a major open team event.
This summer 2012 NABC main events and its defending champions are:
GRAND NATIONAL TEAMS, CHAMPIONSHIP, Flight A: 2011 Champion Spector Team: Warren Spector, Gary Cohler, Mike Becker, Berkowitz, Rodwell y Meckstroth.
VON ZEDTWITZ LIFE MASTER PAIRS: 2 Qualifying, 2 Semi-Final, & 2 Final Sessions; 2011 Champion Per-Olla Cullin y Peter Bertheau
SPINGOLD KNOCKOUT TEAMS: 2011 Champion Monaco Team: Pierre Zimmermann; Fulvio Fantoni, Claudio Nunes, Zimmermann, Johnston, Tor Helness y Geir Helgemo (not pictured Multon)
WAGAR WOMEN’S KNOCKOUT TEAMS: 2011 Champion Joyce Hampton; Jenny Wolpert, Sabine Auken, Daniela von Arnim, Benedicte Cronier and Sylvie Willard.
ROTH OPEN SWISS TEAMS 2: Qualifying and 2 Final Sessions: 2011 Champions: Pratap Rajadhyasksha, Capitan Mark Gordon, Alan Sontag, Terje Aa, coach Allan Cokin, David Berkowitz and John Molberg
Monaco, Nickell battle for
Spingold Trophy
The top two seeds will meet in today’s
final of the Spingold Knockout Teams. Pierre
Zimmerman’s “Team Monaco,” the No. 1 seed,
will take on the No. 2 seed led by Nick Nickell.
The clash of these two powerful squads is a reprise
of the 2011 Spingold final, in which Zimmerman
prevailed.
Team Monaco — Zimmerman, Franck
Multon, Geir Helgemo, Tor Helness, Fulvio
Fantoni and Claudio Nunes — easily defeated
James Cayne’s team in their semifinal match, 174-
71. Cayne played with Michael Seamon, Alfredo
Versace, Lorenzo Lauria, Giorgio Duboin and
Antonio Sementa.
Nickell’s semifinal match against Mark
Gordon’s team, however, was a nail-biter,
featuring multiple lead changes. Nickell, playing
with Ralph Katz, Jeff Meckstroth, Eric Rodwell,
Steve Weinstein and Robert Levin, prevailed in
the contest, 81-73. Gordon’s lineup was Pratap
Rajadhyaksha, David Berkowitz, Alan Sontag,
Jacek Pszczola and Michal Kwiecien.
The Nickell squad (with Levin-Weinstein
playing instead of Zia Mahmood and Bob
Hamman) will seek to avenge their loss to Team
Monaco from last year’s final.