NABC Highlights
Reno NABC - Spring 2010
Amazing Grace
by Peggy Kaplan
Elite partnerships. Star players. Grueling competition. Yes, the first-ever Platinum Pairs had all this and more.
Yet, make no mistake. Although the field was chock full of experts, reaching the final cut depended not on your celebrity ranking, but on your score. One player in that field was not a national champ, did not have tens of thousands of masterpoints, and her name is not known throughout the bridge world. Still, her matchpoint score was better than that of many others, and she earned the right to play the final day. Meet Grace Jeklin. Read more...
Excitement Lingers for Vanderbilt Winners
by Peggy Kaplan
Even a day later at Reno's airport, enormous grins graced the faces of Vanderbilt winners Thomas and Michael Bessis. Fils and pere were in constant motion from excitement; my camera couldn't focus!
Despite the blur, their joy is most evident.
Oh, Baby!
by Peggy Kaplan
The bridge world has some famous bridge families. We see multiple generations producing champions of the highest order.
Perhaps a new dynasty is in the making: the Ryman and Wolpert clans. Multiple champion husband and wife Gavin Wolpert and Jenny Ryman Wolpert, both from well known bridge families, now are training the next generation with their adorable new baby: Danielle Wolpert. Read more...
A Grand Accomplishment for a Petite Lady
by Peggy Kaplan
A title very few bridge players ever earn is Grand Life Master. To earn the highest rank possible in the ACBL, a player must have acquired 10,000 masterpoints. In addition, GLM's have to win either an unrestricted NABC championship, an Open or Women's Team Trials or one of various international titles. At the Spring NABC in Reno, Lou Ann O'Rourke moved into this elite circle. Read more...
ACBL’s Newest Members
by Peggy Kaplan
Twenty-four seventh- and eighth-graders from the Reno Youth Bridge organization came to the Spring NABC being held in Reno NV. They are from six area middle schools. ACBL has 24 new members as all of them joined. Some youngsters won their first masterpoints. Read more...
Historic Platinum
by Peggy Kaplan
Halfway through the first session of the first-ever Platinum Pairs, my partner and I played but one more partnership of star players. After finishing the two boards, one opponent looked at the other and commented, “Do we have any good results?”
I knew the feeling. Read more/View photos...
Reno’s “Breakfast with the Stars”
by Peggy Kaplan
Thousands of stars twinkle above Reno’s mountains. None shine as brightly, though, as the bridge stars that grace Rose Meltzer’s “Breakfast with the Stars.” Read more/View photos...
Welcome to the Biggest Little City in the World!
by Peggy Kaplan
Reaching the “Biggest Little City in the World” isn’t an easy proposition. Between weather and flight schedules, some of us spent 11 hours plus to reach the Spring NABC. Yet, is it worth the toil and trouble to arrive in Reno? You bet it is! Read more...