DISTRICT 24 NEWSLETTER
Al Levy
2000.1
published after every NABC
District 24 Players triumphant in Cincinnati NABC+ events
With the start of a new year…a new decade…and, arguably, a new Millennium…District 24 players continued their outstanding performance in NABC+ events. The premier event at the Cincinnati spring 2000 NABC, the Vanderbilt KO Teams, was held in NYC until 1958 when if became part of the spring NABCs. It's only fitting then that there were so many District 24 players on the final 16 teams…with two NYers captaining the final two teams…Nick Nickell vs. Richard Schwartz. In one of the most exciting finishes ever…in front of a packed viewgraph room, and with many watching live on the Internet, the match was decided on the last board with the play of the last card led by a defender. Check the ACBL web site for all the details.
Nick Nickell won the Vanderbilt KO Teams
other NABC+ winners were…
Linda Gordon won the Mixed Pairs
Valerie Westheimer won the Women's Swiss
other high finishers in NABC+ events were…
Open Pairs I: Brad Moss, 4th
Silver Ribbon Pairs: Al Levy & Gerald Levine, 22nd well, we were the highest District finishers
Mixed Pairs: John Solodar, 9th
Women's Pairs: Sylvia Moss - Judi Radian, 3rd; Valerie Westheimer, 4th
Open Pairs II: John Rengstroff, 3rd; Jill Levin, 4th
Women's Swiss: Jill Levin, 2nd; Judi Radin - Sylvia Moss, 5th; Margie Gwozdzinsky, 7th; Gail Greenberg - Laurie Vogel - Jacqui Mitchell - Lynne Tarnopol - Amalya Kearse, 8th; Dorothy Truscott, 9th; Nancy Kalow, 10th
Open Swiss: Alan Sontag, 2nd; Brad Moss, 5th
Vanderbilt KO Teams: Richard Schwartz - Zia Mahmood, 2nd; Jimmy Cayne, 3rd/4th; Adam Wildavsky, 3rd/4th; Sam Lev- Jaggy Shivdasani - Ravindra Murthy, 5th/8th; Michael Moss - Bjorn Fallenius, 5th/8th; Alan Sontag, 9th/16th; Brad Moss - Larry Cohen - David Berkowitz, 9th/16th; Mark Feldman, 9th/16th
Some highlight regarding past NYers…Al Roth, at 85, was playing with Terry Michaels. Larry Cohen continued his tradition of playing with a lucky Patron Member in the opening Charity Open Pairs.
Cincinnati spring NABC
The summer NABCs drew 10,830 tables, 170 short of expectations. For wife Bev and I, visiting our grandson, son, and daughter-in-law was the highlight of our trip. For everyone else, there were fine restaurants…as long as you made reservations; ample playing space…if you didn't get lost in the cumbersome Convention Center; and ample coffee…but not near most playing areas. In spite of these small difficulties, the tournament had a lot to offer…with nightly tournament hospitality, including fun entertainment and plenty of good food. As an experiment the final match of the Vanderbilt was broadcast live on the Internet. On one screen you could watch the live action with viewgraph commentary, and on another screen you could see the hands played. While there were many glitches I could see live the exciting finish. It will only get better.
Board Actions and News
A new shortened sanctioned club game was approved. Regular open games (not to include special games awarding extra masterpoints), with a minimum number of 12 boards, may be played. Sanction fees will be the same as for regular open club games, but masterpoint awards will be at 80%.
State (or any well-defined geographic boundary) Championships may be run. Conditions of Contest for such events were approved.
Regulations regarding slow play at tournaments shall be published, monitored, and enforced with appropriate warnings and penalties. But will it be enforced?
A motion to move all NAOPs and GNTs NABC finals to the final Thursday of the NABCs was defeated. Currently all flights of the GNTs NABC finals start just before the summer NABC, and continue through the first Saturday. The finals of the NAOPs are held at the spring NABC, with Flight A taking place for two days, ending the day before the NABCs start, and with Flights B&C taking place on the last Saturday and Sunday.
A motion to require that the bidding cards remain on the table until the opening lead is made was deferred until the fall Board meeting.
A motion to accept the new WBF dues scale of $1 per member was deferred until the summer Board meeting. This is a hot issue and may determine whether we remain a member of the WBF. Presently, the WBF is funded by small member contributions because it has been very successful in getting large contributions from sponsors. While the WBF has always promoted bridge around the world, it is currently campaigning aggressively to have bridge included in the Olympics. This is part of the reason that an increase in member dues is being sought. Many of the other NCBOs (National Contract Bridge Organizations) have already agreed to the dues increase. I am for accepting the WBF's dues scale. However, the outcome of the summer vote is uncertain.
Jeffrey Polisner, League council, has resigned. He will be taking on the job of League Council for the World Bridge Federation. League Council attends all Board meetings and councils the Board and the ACBL on all legal matters, including, but not limited to, contracts, lawsuits, and disciplinary hearings. Jeffrey will be a hard act to follow. The ACBL is searching for a new League Council. Anyone interested, please contact the ACBL.
A review of the ACBL budget shows a deficit of $425,000 in 1999, and a projected 2000 deficit of approximately $200,000. The ACBL has more assets than ever before, but the yearly budget is running a deficit. The Board and management are looking for cuts…but maybe not seriously enough. One less Board meeting a year would help!
2000 Bridge Olympiad
The 2000 World Bridge Federation's Bridge Olympiad will be held in Maastricht, the Netherlands, August 26 - September 9. The two major championships held will be the World Open Team Olympiad and the World Women's Team Olympiad. Each member country can enter one team in each of these events. In addition to these major events, the WBF will hold a Senior Team event, a World transnational Mixed teams, and the University Cup Team event.
USA representation (for the Open, Women's, and Senior event) will be decided by team trials. For further information, contact the ACBL.
Hall of Fame
Seven bridge greats will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The five who were elected include: in the living category, our own Ira Rubin, along with Sidney Lazard. In the deceased category: one of NY's old guard, Harry Fishbein, along with Lou Bluhm, and Charles Solomon. Also entering the Hall, through committee selection, are George Rosenkranz, recipient of the Blackwood Award for service to bridge outside bridge play, and Meyer Schleifer, posthumously awarded the von Zedtwitz award for service to bridge through bridge exploits. The Hall of Fame reception will be held at the start of the summer NABC in Anaheim.
USA shines in Bermuda 2000
The 1999 World Championships, held in January 2000, was a showplace for USA teams. USA I took home the silver medal in the Orbis Venice Cup, losing to the Netherlands in one of the closest finals in History. In the Orbis Bermuda Bowl, USA I, captained by Nick Nickell, took home the gold, setting a record for total IMPs in a final, 506, as they beat Brazil. USA II took home the Bronze medal.
The final two teams in the Orbis World Transnational Teams had District 24 members. The winners included Alan Sontag, and the second place team included Brad Moss.
In the Orbis World Computer Bridge Championship, GIB (USA) beat WBridge5 (France) to take home the $2,000 first prize. I am the organizer and coordinator of this event.
For the latest tournament news...check out the NSBA's new web site, as well as the long established GNYBA site.
Al Levy
allevy@aol.com