March 6-March 16, 2003 46th Spring North American Bridge Championships Daily Bulletin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Volume 46, Number 10 Sunday, March 16, 2003 Editors: Brent Manley and Henry Francis Mark Blumenthal is winning again Vanderbilt winners: Eric Rodwell, Jeff Meckstroth, Nick Nickell, Coach Eric Kokish, Bob Hamman, Richard Freeman and Paul Soloway. Mark Blumenthal had many years of stardom Nickell rolls to Vanderbilt win ahead of him in 1977. He was already an ACBL The Nick Nickell team broke open a close Pavlicek’s team, essentially a pickup squad Grand Life Master and World Life Master. He had match in the second quarter and went on to a 158- with two relatively unfamiliar partnerships, were already finished second in the Bermuda Bowl twice. 77 victory over the Richard Pavlicek squad in the impressive in making it to the final round. Pavlicek In 1977 he had won the Vanderbilt and also the Mott- Vanderbilt Knockout Teams. played with Lee Rautenberg, Mike Kamil, Barnet Smith Trophy. It was the second victory in the Vanderbilt for Shenkin, Bob Jones and Martin Fleisher. And then it happened. He had open heart surgery Nickell, Richard Freeman, Bob Hamman, Paul The underdogs led 31-28 after the first quarter, – three operations. Something went wrong and he Soloway, Eric Rodwell and Jeff Meckstroth. The but Nickell surged ahead with a 49-7 second set. A slipped into a coma for 30 days. His brain was par- team won for the first time in 2000, although individ- turning point in the match was a deal in which tially deprived of oxygen for a while, so when he ual team members have multiple wins in the Kamil and Fleisher reached a makable vulnerable regained consciousness he discovered he had lost the Vanderbilt. Continued on page 4 use of part of his brain. When he tried bridge, he dis- covered that he no longer had the superlative skill that he enjoyed before the operations. Westheimer leads He went 25 years without winning a pair event, Continued on page 4 Women’s Swiss The squad captained by Valerie Westheimer Chairman Marks: finished the qualifying in the Women’s Swiss Teams with a 15 Victory Point edge over the Lisa hard work paid off Berkowitz team. Most NABC organiz- Playing with Westheimer are Judi Radin, ing committees have sever- Mildred Breed and Shawn Quinn. Berkowitz’s al years to prepare for the teammates are Susan Wexler, Joann Glasson and big tournament. Not so for Sandra Trent. the group who put together Eighteen teams qualified for today’s eight- the 2003 Spring NABC in match final. Philadelphia. Pittsburgh, the original Michigan pair tops choice for the 2003 Spring tournament, had to pull out NAOP B qualifiers because the convention center in that town would not have been ready, so District 4 was called upon Frank Sensoli of St. Clair Shores MI and to decide whether to support a Philadelphia NABC. Michael Alioto of Bloomfield MI led 28 pairs into Van Geffen goes “We didn’t get the okay until June of 2000,” today’s two-session final of the the North American Open Pairs Flight B. In second place Continued on page 4 were Gregory Gran of Lake Bluff IL and Samuel over 10,000 points Miller of Glencoe IL. Joan Van Geffen of New Orleans earned her Whitman leading 10,000th masterpoint at the recent Wilmington Regional, but it wasn’t all that easy. First of all, she Bay state duo leads and her teammates had to convince Charlie Open Swiss Teams Stenger, former ACBL District 6 director, to come The team captained by Michael Whitman was in NAOP C qualifiers out of retirement and play. Then Dan and Natalie front by one Victory Point after two qualifying ses- A Massachusetts pair, Adam Harter of Hertz, their teammates, got stuck in the snow in sions of the Jacoby Open Swiss Teams. Whitman Cambridge and Jeffery Scott of Belmont, had a Maryland and couldn’t get out for two days and Grant Baze are playing with Norwegians Terje narrow lead in the North American Open Pairs So Van Geffen had to find new teammates, and Aa and Glenn Grotheim. Flight C going into today’s two final session. Right they came in second in the Senior Knockouts Only one VP behind is the squad captained by on their heels were Wlodzimierz Lopalewski of which gave her enough to top 10,000. another Norwegian – Boye Brogeland – playing with Des Plaines IL and Lech Brzozowski of Chicago. Rita Shugart, Andrew Robson and Tony Forrester. Twenty-eight pairs made the cut. Continued on page 4 Page 2 Daily Bulletin Stretch marks Another ‘real man’ It’s axiomatic that you stretch to bid vulnerable games at IMPs. This deal from the first round of the – 23-trick swing Jacoby Open Swiss Teams proves that the payoff is Canada’s Barry Harper (second the past two certainly worth the risk, particularly when the defense years and third in 2000 in the Richmond Trophy race) is not crystal clear. Barry Rigal was the declarer. wasn’t going to tell us about the first hand, but the Dlr: North ♠ J 9 8 Zeke Jabbour article, “Real men don‘t need real stop- Vul: N-S ♥ 7 5 pers”, was like the gauntlet being thrown down. ♦ A K 7 5 2 Earlier in the week in a knockout match, he held ♣ A 10 8 ♠ K 10 ♠ 10 5 ♠ AQ 6 ♥ K 10 9 ♥ K 2 ♥ J 10 9 8 6 ♦ Q ♦ 10 8 4 ♦ Q J 9 3 ♣ A K Q J 10 6 4. ♣ K Q 7 5 4 3 ♣ 2 The bidding started Pass-Pass-3♦, both vul at ♠ K 7 4 3 2 IMPs, so of course he bid 3NT, and everyone passed. ♥ AQ 4 3 LHO made the comment “I know this can’t be ♦ 6 Jade Barrett, who represents District 21 on the right” as he led the ♦K (Harper of course thought it ♣ J 9 6 ACBL Board of Directors, displays one of the looked very right for East-West). West North East South tee shirts the district is selling to help fund ♠ 8 7 6 5 Rigal hospitality at the 2004 Spring NABC in Reno. ♥ AJ 6 2 1♦ 1♥ 1♠ The shirts go for $15 each or two for $25. They ♦ 8 3 Dbl Redbl 2♥ 3♠ will be on sale today. ♣ 7 3 2 Pass 4♠ All Pass ♠ A J 9 3 2 ♠ Q 4 West started with the ♥K, not best for the Too many trumps ♥ Q 7 5 4 ♥ 8 3 defense. Rigal won the ♥A, cashed the ♥Q and went ♦ K 2 ♦ A J 10 9 7 6 5 4 “If they had led the ♦J, I would have had no to dummy with the ♦A. He cashed the ♦K and ruffed ♣ 8 5 ♣ 9 play,” said Howard Piltch. “But I took advantage of a diamond. Next came a heart ruff, the ♣A and a dia- ♠ K 10 my chances when West started with a club.” mond ruff with the ♠K. A second heart ruff followed, ♥ K 10 9 ♠ A7 6 leaving this position: ♦ Q ♥ AK 4 ♠ J ♣ A K Q J 10 6 4. ♦ A 8 5 4 2 ♥ —- RHO knew Harper and thought “that lucky so- ♣ 7 4 ♦ 7 and-so has bid 3NT with the queen-small of dia- ♠ K J 8 ♠ 10 9 5 3 2 ♣ 10 8 monds and might just make this stupid hand because ♥ Q 10 8 6 3 ♥ — ♠ 10 5 ♠ AQ 6 diamonds are 8-1”. ♦ J ♦ K 10 9 7 6 ♥ —- ♥ 10 We all know what it’s like when you get a fixed ♣ Q 10 6 3 ♣ 9 8 2 ♦ —- ♦ —- idea about a hand. Thinking that way, he discouraged ♠ Q 4 ♣ K Q ♣ —- diamonds with an upside down 9 (hoping it was also ♥ J 9 7 5 2 ♠ 7 4 3 a mild spade suit preference in case partner had the ♦ Q 3 ♥ —- ♠K-J-10-x and the ♣A). ♣ A K J 5 ♦ —- LHO saw his partner’s ♦9 and Harper’s queen West North East South ♣ J and thought partner had opened with A 9 7 6 5 4 in 1♥ Rigal led the 13th diamond from dummy, and third seat, and declarer had the queen-jack-10 of dia- Pass 2♦ Pass 2NT East was in a position to defeat the contract by ruff- monds. So he shifted to a low spade. North-South Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ ing with the ♠6. If Rigal overruffed, West would also took 12 tricks for + 690 instead of East-West collect- Dbl All Pass overruff and return a trump. The ♠A Q would collect ing the first 11 tricks! The opening club lead rode to Piltch’s jack. He the rest of declarer’s trumps and the ♥10 would be Harper also had a stopper encounter against led a trump to the ace and then came back to his good at trick 13. If Rigal discarded the ♣J instead, opponents he knew (and who knew him) at last fall’s hand to take his top clubs and ruff a club. After East could pick up dummy’s singleton ♠J and play Phoenix NABC. cashing the ♥K, the ♠A and the ♦A, He led a spade the ♥10, allowing West to ruff with the 10. East’s After his partner’s 1♣ opening and a 1♥ overcall, to West’s king. He ruffed the spade return and led other high trump would take the last trick. he bid 1NT on a normal hand, but with only the jack- his ♦Q.