November 18-28, 2004 78th Fall North American Bridge Championships Daily Bulletin Orlando, Florida Volume 78, Number 8 Friday, November 26, 2004 Editors: Brent Manley and Henry Francis Diane Beyer enters bids and plays on a computer for the live broadcast of the Senior Knockout Teams. Blue Ribbon champs: Tarek Sadek and Walid Elahmady. You can watch Bennett vs. Ames Sadek, Elahmady Reisinger at home in Senior KO final Just imagine – you don’t even have to be here The teams captained by Hamish Bennett of capture Blue Ribbon to watch the key match in the Reisinger Board-a- Menlo Park CA and Tony Ames of Minnetonka MN Egyptian friends and business partners Tarek Match or the Senior Knockouts. Just turn on your survived extremely tight semifinal matches to Sadek and Walid El Admady fought off a hard computer at home (or your room), go to Bridge qualify for today’s final in the Senior Knockout charge by Robert Levin and Steve Weinstein to win Base Online, and settle back and watch. Teams. the Blue Ribbon Pairs by about a quarter of a board. Like just about anything else in the computer The Ames squad is the surprise of the event – Sadek and Elahmady, who live in Cairo, posted world, the present fine-tuned system came about they started out as the #23 seed. Ames looked solid a 61.61% game, just enough to finish ahead of little by little. Back in the old days, there were at the half, up by 27, but Rosenkranz completely Levin and Weinstein, who had a huge game at wires everywhere when a match was vugraphed. A wiped that out to go into the final 16 boards in a 69.46%. Drew Casen and Jim Krekorian were third. special phone line had to be set up, and all kinds of dead tie. Ames pulled ahead again in the final Top on a board was 51. electrical equipment were necessary. Someone had quarter, leading going into the last two boards by The Egyptians, who have finished second in the to sit at table-side and call in every bid and every 17. But a major swing on a notrump deal cost Ames Cavendish Invitational Pairs two times – once to play to someone in the vugraph theater. Only one 14 IMPs. The last board was a part-score deal, and Levin and Weinstein – won their first North table could be covered. The result at the Closed Rosenkranz was able to gain only a single IMP, so American championship together. Elahmady and Continued on page 7 Ames took the match by 2 IMPs, 152-150. Zia Mahmood won the six-session Von Zedtwitz Playing with Ames are John Koch of St. Cloud Life Master Pairs last summer in New York. MN and Rod Beery and Mary Egan NE. George Sadek and Elahmady own a software company 11,982 tables so far Rosenkranz’s teammates were Miguel Reygadas, together and have been partners for 20 years. As expected, attendance took a major drop Roger Bates, Bruce Ferguson, Neil Chambers and With a session to go, the winners were in yesterday because of Thanksgiving Day. The total John Schermer. second place. now is 11,982 tables. Unless attendance rebounds The team captained by Mel Colchamiro of The fact that they are bridge partners and this weekend (unlikely), we are not likely to reach Merrick NY staged a colossal comeback over the business partners does not cause friction, said 15,000 tables for the tournament. Continued on page 7 Sadek: “We are friends.” Istanbul adventures It was a reunion when Donna Compton, upper left, got great for ‘den mother’ together with several members of the U.S. If it’s true that the best way to learn is by doing, entry in the World Donna Compton got a great big chunk of education University Teams competition in recently in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul. Compton It was in that exotic city that Compton took her and her husband, first turn as non-playing captain of a bridge team – Chris, are shown with in this case the American entry in the World four of the six team University Team Championships. members. Seated, “It was a lot more difficult than I expected,” Charlie Garrod and says Compton, who has had a reunion of sorts with Noble Shore; several members of the team during the Fall NABC standing, Marc in Orlando. Glickman and Ari The squad was Ari Greenberg, Marc Glickman Greenberg. Not pictured are Joon Charlie Garrod, Noble Shore – all in Orlando – and Pahk and John Continued on page 9 Kranyak. Page 2 Daily Bulletin SPECIAL EVENTS Good – not good Bridge Talks enough Friday, Nov. 26 Barry Rigal played his first ever session with Marty Fleisher in the one-day Swiss on Wednesday. 9:15 a.m.Intermediate/Newcomer Speakers Program: Sterling Odom, Reverses, the Problem Child. They got to play five matches and averaged 27 Crystal G. Odom is a professional bridge player and teacher. She is the IN Victory Points on a 30 possible. But all that made Chairman of the Orlando NABC. no impression on the runaway leaders – the 6:45 p.m.Intermediate/Newcomer Speakers Program: Zeke Jabbour, Winsome and Loathsome. Baldersen team – who finished with an impressive Crystal G. Jabbour, a professional player, is a world medalist and a Grand Life 202 VPs out of a possible 240. Master. He and his wife, Sharon, are popular bridge cruise hosts. Fleisher and Rigal offered this deal where they Saturday, Nov. 27 had a chance to do better. 9:15 a.m.Intermediate/Newcomer Speakers Program: Haig Tchamitch, Balancing & Reopening North Doubles. Crystal G. Tchamitch, an ACBL Accredited Teacher, travels and teaches bridge in the U.S. ♠ K Q J 3 and overseas. ♥ Q 10 2 6:45 p.m.Intermediate/Newcomer Speakers Program: G S Jade Barrett, It’s All in your Head. ♦ 8 7 6 5 Crystal G. Barrett, Vancouver WA, is a full-time bridge professional and bridge columnist. ♣ Q 4 South Late Night/Entertainment ♠ 8 6 2 All entertainment and food events are scheduled for the Canary Room. ♥ AJ 5 Friday, Nov. 26 ♦ A Q J 4 2 Bingo at 10:30 p.m. Jimmy Spoto presents great dance music at 11 p.m. Mini Sliders served about ♣ 9 3 11 p.m. (after the evening session). Saturday, Nov. 27 You bid 1♦ as South, get a 1♠ response and your 1NT rebid ends the auction. Bad news – they Jimmy Spoto entertains at 2 p.m. Bingo is planned for 10:30 p.m. Ice Cream Sundaes served about lead a club and the queen does not hold the trick. 11 p.m. (after the evening session). The good news is that the clubs are temporarily blocked. You only have to find two discards from both hand and dummy for the time being. What will ‘Never’ rules are Happy players your discards be? At the table declarer pitched a spade and a heart never quite never The Daily Bulletin has received several from hand and a spade and a diamond from dummy messages from players about positive experiences – the latter being the fatal mistake. This was the full A cardinal rule of bridge – never ruff your they have had. Here are some of them. deal: partner’s ace. But “never” rules are never quite • Players have marveled at the service ♠ K Q J 3 never. provided by the staff at the Orlando World Center ♥ Q 10 2 Board 26 ♠ K J 9 3 Marriott. One player left her convention card on a ♦ 8 7 6 5 Dlr: East ♥ K Q 7 table in the lobby. Gone forever, right? A staff ♣ Q 4 Vul: Both ♦ J 9 8 4 member noted her name on the card, put the card in ♠ A5 4 ♠ 10 9 7 ♣ K 7 an envelope and left it with a registration clerk, who ♥ 8 6 4 ♥ K 9 7 3 ♠ 8 7 4 2 ♠ 5 promptly called the player’s room with the news ♦ K 10 9 ♦ 3 ♥ 10 8 6 4 ♥ J 9 6 3 2 that the card awaited her. ♣ K J 10 2 ♣ A 8 7 6 5 ♦ A 7 3 2 ♦ K Q ♠ 8 6 2 ♣ 6 ♣ A Q 9 5 2 • Larry Dunham of Tucson AZ left this note: “I ♥ AJ 5 ♠ A Q 10 6 have attended (Orlando tournaments) nine of the ♦ A Q J 4 2 ♥ A last 10 years. I would attend here with the same ♣ 9 3 ♦ 10 6 5 hospitality, etc., if you had one every year!” ♣ J 10 8 4 3 At trick five West found a nice play – he • This one came from Virginia Giza of Halifax underled his ♠A. Then when declarer finessed in West North East South NS: “Thank you to all the organizers of this diamonds, West won, cashed his ♠A and got out 1♥ Dbl fabulous tournament. A record number of 56 with the ♦10, locking declarer in his hand. 3♥ 4♥ Pass 4♠ players flew down from Nova Scotia and New Although declarer could have succeeded in a All Pass Brunswick. We are all having a marvelous time, number of ways, the easiest is to keep all four Mike Shuman, West, broke the rule – the only winning masterpoints, our share of section tops and diamonds in dummy so he will have a re-entry to way to set the contract at the point where he ruffed. sightseeing.” North for the good spade. Alan Truscott, the declarer, came by to tell us about it. • Ellie Hanlon and Mary Savko wrote: “Bridge Shuman led a heart to Truscott’s ace, and players can be kind and patient! On Tuesday night, Truscott crossed to dummy with a trump to cash the on the scheduled tour to the Lobster Feast, 57 two hearts and discard two diamonds from his passengers waited for a chartered bus that was Tough game hand.