The First Winter Transnational Championship - Alpe d'Huez 2024
Thanks to the generosity of Pierre Zimmermann, the EBL was able to launch a new ...
Ron Tacchi reports from the Fall 2023 NABC Atlanta.
Janice Seamon-Molson of Hollywood FL and Charles Miner of Orlando FL won the Senior Mixed Pairs. While it was a 20th NABC title for Janice, it was a first for Charles. The winners were only 45th after the qualifying rounds but a huge 67.36% took them to the top of the table. In the final session they duelled with the runners-up, Mark Itabashi of Newport Beach CA and Laura Brill of White Plains NY, the two pairs continually exchanging places. When the carousel stopped their totals were 1260.40 and 1259.05. It’s the second time Itabashi and Brill have finished second in a mixed event and Platinum Life Master Brill is still searching for that elusive national title.
Here’s a deal from the qualifying rounds that Dr. Watson might have recounted as The Case of the Disappearing Trump:
Board 13. Dealer North. None Vul.
When East led the ♥6 declarer won and played on Clubs, hoping to dispose of his Diamonds. When West ruffed the third round declarer overruffed and played a Heart. East was too mean to ruff with the ♠A so declarer was able to play another Club, overruff West’s ♠10 and then play a trump, crashing the missing honors for a 95% score.
Thirty-six teams lined up for the two qualifying sessions of arguably the toughest event of the ACBL year, the Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams. The 20 teams who have qualified for the semifinals are headed by Adam Grossack, Zachary Grossack, Laurence Lebowitz, Agustin Madala, Dennis Bilde, and Michael Rosenberg with a score of 34.00. They are followed by Brian Platnick, Kevin Rosenberg, Roger Lee and Finn Kolesnik with 33.80. Third place is occupied by Martin Andresen, Thor Erik Hoftaniska, Stian Evenstad, Nicolai Heiberg-Evenstad and Thomas Charlsen, with a score of 32.50. Only 10 teams will advance to the final.
Seventy-nine teams contested the qualifying sessions of the Keohane North American Swiss, playing eight matches. The squad captained by Phyllis Fireman (Joris van Lankveld, Berend Van Den Bos, David Grainger, Joel Wooldridge and Jenny Wolpert) led the 40 teams that advanced to the semifinal with a carryover of 88.89. They were followed by Patricia Cayne, Bob Drijver, David Bakhshi, Cornelis Van Prooijen, Tim Verbeek and Danny Molenaar with a carryover of 82.17.
