Thursday, December 5
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Thursday, December 5, 2019 Volume 92, Number 7 Daily Bulletin 92nd Fall North American Bridge Championships [email protected] | Editors: Paul Linxwiler and Chip Dombrowski Fu, Li win Women’s Pairs Blass meets Nickell in Fu Bo and Li Hanxiao of Shanghai, China, are the new Whitehead Women’s Pairs champions. The today’s Soloway final The final of the inaugural Soloway KO Teams duo, who won Tuesday’s qualifying round, scored will feature a battle between two superstar squads: 61.08% in the first final session and 59.15% in the Josef Blass npc and Nick Nickell. second final to convincingly win the contest by In yesterday’s semifinal round, Blass (Jacek more than three boards. Their four-session total with Pszczola, Jacek Kalita, Michal Nowosadzki, Sjoert carryover was 859.12 (25 top). Brink and Sebastiaan Drijver) defeated Warren In second with 771.62 were Liping Wang and Spector’s team (Gavin Wolpert, Vincent Demuy, Yang Jinghui of Beijing, China. The pair made a John Kranyak, John Hurd and Joel Wooldridge) 135- strong move in the final: After they qualified 49th in 113. Blass jumped out to an early lead in the match the opening round, the pair posted a 66% game in the which they never relinquished. first final session. In the other bracket, Nickel (Ralph Katz, Jeff For the winners, this was the first NABC title for Meckstroth, Eric Rodwell, Robert Levin and Steve Li – indeed, it was her first appearance at an NABC Weinstein) had an exceptionally close match against – but the second for Fu, who was a member of the Winners of the Whitehead Women’s Pairs: Fu Bo Andrew Rosenthal and company (Aaron Silverstein, continued on page 5 and Li Hanxiao Chris Willenken, Jan Jansma, Boye Brogeland and Christian Bakke), but pulled away in the last quarter World Bridge-Bot Championship to advance 93-75. The 23rd annual World Computer-Bridge Championship started on Monday, with seven Hampson, Greco bridge bots competing for the title. The ACBL and World Bridge Federation sponsor the event, run take lead in by organizer Al Levy. Follow the action on https:// Blue Ribbon Pairs bridgebotchampionship.com/ where you will also see Boosted by a 63% game in the first semifinal all past championship results, as well as interesting session, Geoff Hampson and Eric Greco moved to the articles on bot play. top of the leader list in the Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs The entries are truly international, including as today’s final round begins. Hampson and Greco, defending champion Wbridge5 (France), last year’s who qualified fifth after Tuesday’s opening round, runner-up Synrey Bridge (China), Micro Bridge paired their nice first session on Wednesday with a (Japan), Q-Plus Bridge (Germany), RoboBridge (The 54.45% game in the evening session to take the lead. Netherlands), Meadowlark Bridge (USA) and TCS In second are Ron Gerard and Adam Wildavsky BridgeBot (India). of New York, while Australian Peter Gill and partner Each entry plays as a team of four identical Iain Sime of Scotland are in third place. continued on page 5 Clayton, Cohn lead Celebrities wanted for charitable videos Bridge celebrities are sought for a new project “I thought, Mini-Blue quals that will raise money for organizations that support what if we created With a pair of 60% games in Wednesday’s bridge. Hall of Famers, world champions, national a page where we let semifinal round, Phil Clayton of Frisco TX and champions and celebrities are asked to participate people here what Jonathan Cohn of Gillette WY took the lead in the in the effort, which will contribute to the ACBL the experts have to 0-6000 Mini-Blue Ribbon Pairs. The pair moved to Educational Foundation, the U.S. Bridge Federation say?” Tucker said. first from ninth after Tuesday’s opening round. and the Foundation for the Advancement and That page is vimeo. In second are Leila Sink of Los Gatos CA and Preservation of Bridge. com/ondemand/ John Hoffman of Mountain View CA. Renowned teacher Patty Tucker will have a film bridgechatsfrommasters. Third place is occupied by the Seattle-based pair crew in Columbus recording 5-minute videos of the More than 30 top players have already signed of Jeffrey Ford and Aaron Mohrman. participants for a series of “Bridge Chats From the up, and Tucker expects to film twice that many in Masters.” The videos will be sold in bundles of 20 for $10 on Vimeo, a streaming platform. continued on page 5 Pre-registration required for Reisinger Teams that wish to enter the Reisinger Board-a- C. Bruce Elliott 1922-2019 Match Teams must pre-register no later than 9 p.m. Bruce Elliott, best Canadian foursome of all time. Thursday, Dec. 5. See TD Matt Koltnow outside a four-time NABC Elliott won the Chicago Trophy (now the Yerba Buena 9 on the lower level. champion and Reisinger) in 1948, playing with Agnes Gordon, member of the the first of his four major North American titles. He Canadian Hall of won the Chicago Trophy again in 1951, playing with Fame, died Oct. 3. Percy Sheardown. With Sheardown, Kehela and Goodwill Message Elliott, 97, was Life Murray, he won the 1964 Spingold Master Knockout Master No. 228. Teams, and the foursome successfully defended the Accept the decisions of the tournament director A lifelong title in 1965, becoming the only foursome to date to politely and with respect. resident of the achieve such a feat. Sandy DeMartino, Chair Toronto area, Elliott Elliott represented Canada twice in the World Aileen Osofsky Goodwill Committee became a Life Team Olympiad, winning a bronze medal in Master in 1950. His Deauville, France, in 1968. partnership with Elliott is survived by wife Maggie (the couple ATTENDANCE Percy Sheardown was married for 66 years) and their three sons: Ian was one of the best (Calgary AB), Scott (Fredericton NB) and Craig through Wednesday in North America in the 1950s and ’60s, and their (Nobleton ON). team with Eric Murray and Sami Kehela ranks as the 6718.5 tables Page 2 Thursday, December 5, 2019 Daily Bulletin SPECIAL EVENTS MEETINGS / SEMINARS / RECEPTIONS Thursday, December 5 Saturday, December 7 10 am–6 pm World Computer Bridge Championship. (Sierra H, level 5) 10 am–6 pm World Computer Bridge Championship. (Sierra H, level 5) Friday, December 6 Sunday, December 8 10 am–6 pm World Computer Bridge Championship. (Sierra H, level 5) TBA Peter Pender Memorial Vugraph. (Room TBA) CELEBRITY SPEAKER PROGRAM Don’t miss these free lectures by some of the best-known players in the game! Friday, Dec. 6 Talks will be held in the SoMa Room, level 2. Speakers and topics are subject to 9:15 am Jennifer Jones Tips for Success at Bridge change. 6:45 pm Adam Parrish When to Bid Notrump Thursday, Dec. 5 Saturday, Dec. 7 9:15 am Bruce Greenspan Top 10 Tips 9:15 am Ellen Kent How to Bid a Minor-Suit Slam 6:45 pm Jennifer Kuhn Finesses HOSPITALITY AND ENTERTAINMENT Food will be served after the evening session through Saturday, Dec. 7. Friday, Dec. 6 Thursday, Dec. 5 Beard Papa fresh cream puffs. Cheese and crackers. Saturday, Dec. 7 Fresh fruit. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: A highly debilitating disease that affects many more people than you realize By Art Mirin and Bev Weiss In the late ’70s, if your son, daughter or is overwhelming. Art’s daughter, ill for 15 years, is has lacked urgency. Open Medicine Foundation, grandchild had been chronically ill since age 7, fortunate to be in graduate school, but has a live-in an NGO based in California, funds research at suffering inexplicable pain, fatigue, and a myriad caretaker because she lacks sufficient energy to take institutions such as Stanford and Harvard. We hope of physiological symptoms despite seeking the care of her daily needs and adhere to the rigorous that privately funded research, as well as advocacy best medical care available in the Southeast, you’d demands of graduate studies. efforts by organizations, such as The ME Action probably understand why he/she might have chosen ME/CFS is characterized by profound fatigue, Network, will encourage the National Institutes of to move to San Francisco in hopes of finding cognitive dysfunction, sleep abnormalities, pain, and Health to increase its ME/CFS research funding, desperately-needed medical treatment on the other symptoms that are made worse by exertion of which is currently less than 10% that of similarly “cutting-edge” West Coast. Cindy Siegel (Shepler) any sort. Something as simple as brushing your teeth burdensome diseases. lived and loved her new life in the City by the Bay can cause a crash. Twenty-five percent of people To the bridge community – we need your and relentlessly pursued medical answers while with ME/CFS are bed-bound or homebound, and understanding and help. Please be aware of this there. By 1993, in her mid-30s, the lack of adequate 35-69% are unable to work. ME/CFS onset often devastating disease and show compassion when you treatment forced her to leave a successful life and follows a viral infection or some other bodily stress. encounter people who have it – they are most likely career in the healthcare industry and return to her People with ME/CFS have a lower quality of life and much more ill than you realize. And when you have hometown of Knoxville. higher rate of disability than those with HIV/AIDS, the opportunity, please let your healthcare providers In 1997, Cindy took up duplicate bridge and multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis. and government officials know that people with ME/ loved the competition.