wildbill@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU (William J. Laubenheimer) (03/27/86)
The Spring North American Championships of the American Contract Bridge League
were held in Portland, Oregon from 14-23 March. Eight major championships
were decided, and 9222 tables were in play over the duration of the
tournament. Winners of the major events were:
Grand National Pairs: Drew Cannell - G. Sekhar, Winnipeg MB
Cannell is well-known, having represented Canada many times in
international competition (including last year's Bermuda Bowl).
Sekhar has also played for Canada internationally.
Men's Pairs: Bob Hamman, Dallas TX - Paul Swanson, Morgantown WV
Swanson comes out of semi-retirement with a bang. Hamman, although
a multiple world champ with several National team titles, wins his
first 4-session pair event.
Women's Pairs: Edith Freilich, Miami Beach FL - Nancy Gruver, Ellicott City MD
A pair which has been a major force in international women's play
for the US adds another title to their already impressive list.
Open Pairs: Lew Stansby, Castro Valley CA - Ralph Katz, Chicago IL
Yet another participant from Sao Paulo (Stansby) winning a national
title. Katz was to play with Milton Rosenberg, but Rosenberg fell
ill. Stansby stepped in and they won by over a board (and two boards
over third).
Mixed Pairs: David Berkowitz - Lisa Berkowitz, Harmon Cove NJ
Although Dave has many fine results at the national level, including
three national titles, this is the first for his wife of four years --
but they have quite a list of regional titles to their credit.
Men's Swiss Teams: Steve Robinson, Arlington VA - Peter Boyd, Falls Church VA
- Kit Woolsey, Kensington CA - Mark Cohen, Passaic NJ
All of these players have passed through the Washington area at one
time or another, and all have fine records in major events. Boyd
and Robinson, in particular, have frequently appeared in Grand
Nationals and may be only pair to win both Pairs and Teams.
Women's Swiss Teams: Lynne Pollenz, Mountain View CA - Roberta Epstein,
South Orange NJ - Rozanne Pollack, Englewood NJ -
Sue Picus, Summit NJ - Lynne Feldman, Santa Barbara CA -
Jan Martel, Davis CA
The only bunch of semi-unknowns in this Spring's list. All are
excellent players. Pollack won Master Mixed Teams in Las Vegas.
Martel is wife of 2-time world champ, UCBerkeley PhD, and UCDavis
professor Chip Martel.
Vanderbilt Knockout Teams: Edgar Kaplan, New York NY - Norman Kay, Narberth PA
- Bill Root, New York NY - Richard Pavlicek, Ft. Lauderdale FL
Yet another title for one of the two best teams in bridge these days
(they beat the other one, Martel/Stansby/Ross/Pender, in the semis).
I think this is the fourth year in a row that they have won at least
one of the four major US team championships.
Usenetters at the NACs: I only ran across one other in addition to myself,
Terry (terry@rand-unix) West, who was 13th in a regional Flight A
Swiss. I came in 7/8 in the NA Men's Swiss, and made the round of 16
in the Vanderbilt, beating Hamman/Wolff/Levin/Russell/Lillie/
Berkowitz (yes, the same Berkowitz who won the Mixed) before losing
by 3 IMPs to the losing finalist team in a match decided on the
62nd of 64 boards. I thought I had it tough until I saw what
Rosenkranz/Wold/Meckstroth/Rodwell/Bergen/Cohen went through. After
playing to a tie in the round of 16, and winning the playoff on the
next-to-last board, they lost by a whopping 1 IMP in the quarterfinals,
139-138. It's not the same game at that level -- much more physical
than you'd guess.
Until Toronto, this is:
Bill Laubenheimer
----------------------------------------UC-Berkeley Computer Science
...Killjoy went that-a-way---> ucbvax!wildbill
Remember: you can always tell a bridge player, but you can't tell him much!