November 18-28, 2004 78th Fall North American Bridge Championships Daily Bulletin Orlando, Florida Volume 78, Number 10 Sunday, November 28, 2004 Editors: Brent Manley and Henry Francis Brachman still leads Reisinger The defending champs held a lead of nearly three boards heading into the final two sessions of the Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams. The squad, with Malcolm Brachman as non-playing captain, is Mike Passell, Eddie Wold, Geoff Hampson and Eric Greco. With Brachman playing last year, they won the event. Brachman is ill and did not attend the Fall NABC. Brachman, the leaders after the first day, ended the second day of qualifying with a score of 34.50. In second place at 31.66, were Roy Welland, Bjorn Fallenius, Zia Mahmood, Michael Rosenberg, Adam Zmudzinski and Cezary Balicki. Tied for third-fourth were teams captained by James Cayne and Sam Lev, each with 31.33. Right behind them, tied for the next two places, were the Marshall Miles Percy Sheardown Lou Ann O’Rourke and Nick Nickell squads. Miles, Sheardown In Hall of Fame EBL president promotes intercontinental challenge Marshall Miles of Redlands CA, author, Marshall Miles columnist, mentor and star player, has been named “I didn’t even know I was in the ring,” Miles to the ACBL Hall of Fame as the winner of the said when informed of his latest honor. “I’m very Blackwood Award. He is joined by the late Percy surprised, and I must say that it feels really good.” Sheardown of Toronto, a superb player, who was Miles was an attorney for 40 years, but that the winner of the von Zedtwitz Award. The didn’t keep him away from the bridge table or from Blackwood Award is given to a player who has his desk where he wrote so many fine books about made major contributions to bridge away from the the game. His books include How to Win at table. The von Zedtwitz Award is given to an Duplicate Bridge, All 52 Cards, Marshall Miles outstanding player who has been out of the public Teaches Logical Bridge, Bridge from the Top eye for many years. (volumes 1 and 2), Stronger Competitive Bidding, They will be inducted into the Hall in Atlanta and Competitive Bidding in the 21st Century. He at the Summer Championships. The Hall of Fame also was a regular columnist for the Bridge Bulletin banquet will take on the first Saturday evening for many years. He was a regular contributor to instead of on opening night. Continued on page 4 NABC co-chair credits Meckstroth ahead teamwork for success for Player of Year If Giannarigo Rona has his way, bridge players around the world will be entertained next year by a With one of the ACBL’s most successful With a day to go in the Fall NABC, Jeff event with the status and appeal of golf’s Ryder Cup, NABCs coming to a close, Co-Chair Carolyn Meckstroth leads in the contest to select the 2004 Player of the Year, the ACBL member who wins the the USA-Europe competition which dates to 1927. Raphaelson finds herself looking back on an Rona, president of the European Bridge League, experience most event organizers don’t have – most masterpoints in nationally rated events during the calendar year. was in Orlando to meet with ACBL officials to nearly complete agreement that the tournament discuss details for the first Intercontinental Bridge deserves rave Meckstroth’s closest competitor in the race is regular partner Eric Rodwell. The two will be Challenge, which Rona hopes will be staged in Rome reviews. next year. Of course, she Continued on page 4 The idea, he says, is for Europe and North gives major credit America to select teams to compete for a prestigious for the success of Fleisher leads Swiss title, with the playing venue alternating between the the NABC to Co- two continents. Chair Jayne The team captained by Martin Fleisher held a Rona said the EBL established a European Thomas. “She has narrow lead after two days of qualifying in the Champions Cup three years ago. The winner of that done the major Keohane North American Swiss Teams. event, he says, would be the European challenger in work,” said Fleisher, of New York City, is playing with the proposed new competition. He says it would be Raphaelson. “I Barnet Shenkin, Boca Raton FL; Larri Mori, up to the ACBL to decide how to select the North Clearwater FL; Venkatrao Koneru, San Antonio; Carolyn Raphaelson was there in case Continued on page 2 she needed backup.” Gavin Wolpert, Thornhill ON, and Vincent Demuy, She said that when she was approached by Laval QC. Thomas to be the co-chair of the Orlando NABC, Their score was 123.96, to 120.13 for the Reisinger vugraph Continued on page 4 second-place team, the Swedish foursome of Per- There will be a vugraph show of both final Erik Malmstrom, Daniel Salomonsson, Cecilia sessions of the Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams Almost 14,000 tables Rimstedt and Sara Sivelind. Close behind them, today beginning at noon in Crystal Ballroom H. with 119.66, were Victor Markowicz, Boca Raton; Chris Compton will lead a panel that includes Going into the last day of Orlando 2005, the Julian Klukowski, Warsaw; Victor Melman, George Jacobs, Bart Bramley, Barry Rigal and Chip table count is 13,996.5. Scarsdale NY, and Shalom Zeligman, Israel. Martel. Page 2 Daily Bulletin They were second in the Marsha May Sternberg Women’s Board- a-Match Teams: seated, Renee Mancuso, Karen Allison and Peggy Sutherlin; standing, Pam Wittes, Kathy Sulgrove and JoAnn Sprung. Diana Marquardt poses with GS Jade Barrett a couple of days after the two finished 38th in the Blue Ribbon Pairs. Marquardt, a physician who lives in Del Mar CA, was the only North American non-Life Master in the Blue Ribbon final. As of the last ACBL masterpoint cycle, she still needed a few black points to earn her Rona gold card. She has made it since, however. Overcoming bad split Continued from page 1 By Barry Rigal American representative. David McLellan liked his chances when he saw The bottom line, Rona says, is to attract more Playing detective dummy on this deal from the second session of the attention from the press for bridge and to convince By Barry Rigal Blue Ribbon Pairs. However, he had heard the the news media that “bridge is not a minor sport but This deal from the Blue Ribbon Pairs shows double, and he knew that he might run into some a big one that is played by millions of people around how important it is to count and to pay attention to problems, especially in the trump suit. the world. the information provided. The hero of the piece is Board 3 ♠ A 8 6 2 Rona says he is optimistic that the ACBL and the Bill Pollack, playing with Mark Cohen. Dlr: South ♥ A 7 6 5 EBL can work together to promote bridge. “We have Dlr North: ♠ K 10 7 6 Vul: E-W ♦ AQ the same objectives,” he says. Vul: N-S ♥ A9 ♣ A7 5 The current holders of the European Champions ♦ J 9 3 2 ♠ K 10 9 7 5 ♠ — Cup are the team sponsored by the prestigious tennis ♣ K 6 5 ♥ Q 9 8 ♥ J 10 4 3 Club from Rome – Parioli. Rona was also in Orlando ♠ 4 3 2 ♠ AQ ♦ K 10 7 5 2 ♦ 9 8 6 3 to help promote the 2nd European Open Bridge ♥ K 2 ♥ J 6 5 ♣ — ♣ K J 9 8 6 Championship, scheduled for June 18 to July 2 in ♦ A8 6 ♦ Q 7 5 ♠ Q J 4 3 Tenerife, Canary Islands. ♣ A Q 10 8 2 ♣ J 9 7 4 3 ♥ K 2 The first European championship open to all ♠ J 9 8 5 ♦ J 4 comers – Americans won two major events – was in ♥ Q 10 8 7 4 3 ♣ Q 10 4 3 2 Menton on the French Riviera in the summer of 2003. ♦ K 10 4 West North East South Rona is careful to note that all playing facilities ♣ — Pass on Tenerife are completely air conditioned, so no West North East South Pass 1♣ Pass 1♠ matter what the weather, players will compete in Cohen Pollack Pass 3♠ Pass 4♠ comfort. In Menton in 2003, the playing facility did Pass Pass 2♥ Dbl All Pass not have air conditioning, and there was an unusual Dbl Pass 3♣ All Pass West led the ♥8 to David McLellan’s king, and heat wave in Europe during that time that made Pollack’s 3♣ bid showed some values, but McLellan crossed to the ♥A and ruffed a heart. The playing conditions difficult. Cohen couldn’t get too excited opposite a passed finesse to the ♦Q was successful, and Treble Tenerife, Rona says, is a “fantastic venue, and the hand. cashed the ♦A before ruffing dummy’s last heart weather is always like spring.” South started with a low heart to North’s ace, with the queen. But West overruffed with the king. Hotels and restaurants are inexpensive, Rona and there would be no story if North had played a The overruff was fatal. West exited with a says. “We had the European championships there two diamond – the defenders would have taken all the diamond for the ruff and discard. Declarer ruffed years ago and the players loved it.” tricks due them. North could not see all the cards, low in dummy and advanced the ♠J to find the All events are transnational – players may be however, so he made the reasonable return of a low expected bad news.