Friday, March 17
Nickell, Fleisher cruise to date in Vandy final
The squads captained by Nick Nickell and Marty Fleisher – the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds – meet today to decide who will be the winner of the 2018 Vanderbilt KO Teams.
Playing with Nickell are Ralph Katz, Jeff Meckstroth, Eric Rodwell, Robert Levin and Steve Weinstein. They are the defending champions.
Fleisher’s lineup includes Chip Martel, Joe Grue, Brad Moss, Eric Greco and Geoff Hampson.
In the semifinal round, Nickell stayed in firm control in their match against Mary Ann Berg’s squad (Jason Feldman, Krzysztof Buras, Grzegorz Narkiewicz, Michal Kwiecien and Marcin Lesniewski). Nickell led the contest all four quarters, winning the match 132-87.
In the other semifinal bracket, Fleisher also led their opponents – John Diamond’s team – throughout the match, advancing 114-71.
Playing for Diamond were Brian Platnick, Boye Brogeland and Espen Lindqvist.
Bracket sheet here.
Levine tops crowded Jacoby leader board
The squad captained by Mike Levine topped the qualifying round in the Jacoby Open Swiss Teams, but many other squads are close behind.
Levine scored 112.54 victory points in Saturday’s opener and will take a carryover of 24.74 VPs into today’s final. His teammates are Eddie Wold, Mike Passell, Chris Compton, Greg Hinze and David Grainger.
In second with a carryover of 23.88 is Stan Tulin’s team, while Rose Meltzer and company are third with 23.14 VPs.
Qualifiers here.
LaSota-Theurer lead Fast quals
The Maryland-based duo of Leo LaSota and Brad Theurer had the best score in yesterday’s opening round of the NABC Fast Pairs. LaSota and Theurer scored 67.38% in the first qualifying session and 60.97% in the second to lead the event by more than half a board. Their carryover or today’s final is 112.44 matchpoints.
In second with 88.98 are the defending champions, Mark Dahl of Richmond VA and Richard Oshlag of Memphis TN.
Currently in third place with 84.75 are are Mel Colchamiro of Merrick NY and James Griffin of Sausalito CA.
Qualifiers here.
Friday, March 16
Vanderbilt semifinals today
In today’s semifinal round of the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams, Nick Nickell’s squad will play Mary Ann Berg’s team, while Marty Fleisher and company will meet John Diamond’s squad in the other bracket.
Nickell’s lineup is Ralph Katz, Jeff Meckstroth, Eric Rodwell, Robert Levin and Steve Weinstein. Berg’s roster is Jason Feldman and Poles Krzysztof Buras, Grzegorz Narkiewicz, Michal Kwiecien and Marcin Lesniewski.
Playing with Fleisher are Joe Grue, Chip Martel, Brad Moss, Geoff Hampson and Eric Greco. Diamond’s team is Brian Platnick, and Norwegians Boye Brogeland and Espen Lindqvist.
In a victory for the seeding committee, three of the top four seeds remain in the event.
In the quarterfinal round, Nickell survived in a swingy match against Vinita Gupta’s team. Down 5 IMPs after the first quarter, Nickell jumped out to a 41-IMP lead by half time. Their advantage almost completely disappeared in the third quarter, however, as Gupta whittled away at the difference to trail by just 5 IMPs going into the last quarter, but Nickell remained in control in the last set to advance 150-125.
Fleisher manhandled Chen Zhao’s team, outscoring their opponents 142-49 after three quarters, prompting Zhao’s surrender.
Diamond leapt to a large 47-1 lead in the quarter against Jim Mahaffey’s squad, but Mahaffey recovered a bit in the second set to trail 58-40 at the half. In the second half, however, Diamond kept Mahaffey at arm’s length to win 122-97.
Team Lavazza led Berg’s squad through the first three quarters of their match, but a big fourth quarter rally by Berg saw them advance to the semifinals, 131-119.
Bracket sheet here.
Thursday, March 15
Gupta stuns ‘Pepsi’ in Vandy Rd. of 16
The most remarkable result in yesterday’s Vanderbilt action was the match between the No, 8 seed, led by Jacek “Pepsi” Pszczola, and the No. 9 seed captained by Vinita Gupta. The Gupta squad was trailing by 53 IMPs after three quarters, but rallied in the final set – which they won 84-27 – to win the match by 4 IMPs.
Top-seeded Nick Nickell trailed slightly at the half against Gary Cohler (No. 17), but was in complete control in the second half, winning the contest 142-98.
Marty Fleisher (No. 2) disposed of Stan Tulin (No. 15) 166-93, with Fleisher leading all four quarters.
John Diamond (No. 3) and Daniel Zagorin (No. 19) had the closest match of the entire round, with a handful of IMPs separating the squads until Diamond won the last quarter 34-19 to prevail 124-113.
No. 4 Team Lavazza survived against No. 20 Richard Schwartz, winning 132–123, but No. 5 James Cayne was sent to the sidelines when they lost to No. 21 Mary Ann Berg, 140-125.
The most lopsided final score of the round came from the matchup between No. 6 Andrew Rosenthal and No. 11 Jim Mahaffey in which the latter prevailed, 113-57.
No. 26 Chen Zhao continued their winning ways by defeating Hemant Lall and company, 113-73.
Bracket sheet here.
English duo lead Silodor
England’s Simon Cope and Peter Crouch topped the qualifying round in the Silodor Open Pairs. Cope and Crouch scored 66.23% in the first qualifying session and 60.80% in the second to grab the lead going into today’s two-session final. Their carryover is 329.86 matchpoints.
In second with a carryover of 319.70 are Texans Michael Heymann of Fort Worth and Ellen Hessel of San Antonio.
Third place is occupied by Norwegians Fredrik Helness and Odin Svendsen with 297.85.
One hundred eighty-two pairs qualified for the final.
Qualifying list here.
Cappelletti-Mason set pace in Women’s
Allison Cappelletti of Delray Beach FL and Gerrianne Mason of Crossville TN posted the best score in the opening round of the Smith Women’s Pairs. The pair posted a 54.74% game in the first final session and a nice 66.58% game in the second to start today’s final – featuring the top-scoring 52 pairs – with a carryover of 61.08.
In second with 49.01 are Tobi Sokolow of and Claudette Hartman of Austin TX.
The current third-place pair are Brits Sally Brock and Fiona Brown who have a carryover of 48.58.
Qualifying list here.
Wednesday, March 14
High Vanderbilt seeds remain in control
In yesterday’s Vanderbilt play, 10 of the top 11 seeds advanced to today’s round of 16. Most of the high seeds cruised to victory, with the exception of Hemant Lall’s No.10 seed who needed a furious fourth-quarter rally to overcome a challenge by Marty Seligman’s team (No. 23). Down 33 IMPs, Lall blasted into the lead with a 58-15 score in the last set.
Kevin Castner’s team acquired the No. 7 seed by upsetting Richie Coren’s squad in round two, but Castner and company were forced to relinquish it to Chen Zhao’s team, the 26 seed, 147-119.
George Mittelman (No. 12) was shown the exit when they fell to Mary Ann Berg’s team (No 21), 132-106.
Pierre Zimmermann (No. 13) is also out of the event when Richard Schwartz’s squad (No. 20) defeated them, 100-77.
Vanderbilt bracket sheet here.
Anikovich meets Shrive in 10K final
In a reprise of last year’s final in the 0-10,000 Knockout Teams, the squads captained by Viktor Anikovich and Albert Shrive will meet for the title.
In the semifinal round, Shrive defeated the squad led by Mac Busby, 128-97. Shrive led Busby through all four quarters of the match.
In the other bracket, however, Anikovich won by forfeit when Richard Gabriel’s team failed to appear for the match within time period specified by the conditions of contest. Because the semifinal matches were played behind screens, the start time for the event was noon instead of 1 p.m. as it had been in earlier rounds, but the Gabriel team missed the director’s announcements and postings in the Daily Bulletin. Anikovich advanced to the final.
10K Knockout bracket sheet here.
Tuesday, March 13
Top seeds steady in Vanderbilt action
With a few exceptions, the top seeds stayed true to form in yesterday’s Vanderbilt round of 64.
The highest seed to be eliminated was the No. 7 squad led by Richie Coren (Mike Becker, Aubrey Strul, Michael Kamil, Tarek Sadek and Walid Elahmady) who lost 146-108 to the original No. 71 seed captained by Kevin Castner of Kentfield CA. Castner’s all-English teammates are Thomas Paske, Artur Malinowski and Phillip King.
Also falling in round 2 was the 14-seed, captained by Barbara Sonsini (Daniel Korbel, Curtis Cheek, Huub Bertens, Bauke Muller and Simon De Wijs). They were defeated 112-93 by the 51-seed led by Eric Leong (Ulf Nilsson, Peter Gill and Adam Stokka).
No. 22 Mike Levine and company (Eddie Wold, Mike Passell, Chris Compton, Greg Hinze and David Grainger) had an early exit when they fell 191-148 to Paul Gipson’s original 60-seed (Alex Gipson, Aran Warszawski and Dan Israeli).
Steve Robinson’s 27-seed (Peter Boyd, JoAnna Stansby and Lew Stansby) got the boot from Sylvia Moss’s 38-seed (Allan Graves, Oren Kriegel, Ron Smith, Maarten Schollaardt and Ton Van Overbeeke), losing 119-98.
The No. 23 seed captained by Marty Seligman had a close call in their match against the No, 42 seed led by Dan Jacob. Seligman prevailed by a single IMP.
Pierre Zimmermann (No. 13) also had a close match against Richard Pavlicek (No. 52), winning by 10 after trailing in the first half.
Editor’s note: Yesterday’s Vanderbilt report mistakenly reported that the teams capatined by Tim Verbeek (No. 28), Gaylor Kasle (No. 32) and Nikolay Demirev (No. 35) had been eliminated in the first round.
The Vanderbilt bracket sheet may be found here.
Jones-Bhargava in front in Mixed Pairs
Aaron Jones of Oceanside CA and Arti Bhargava of Mill Valley CA are the frontrunners in the Rockwell Mixed Pairs. Jones and Bhargava scored 67.82% in the first qualifying session and 61.18% in the second to start today’s two-session final with a carryover of 335.60.
In second with a carryover of 255.91 are Sheila Gabay of Newton MA and Pat McDevitt of Brookline MA. Gabay and McDevitt won the contest in 2012.
Third place is occupied by Sondra Schubiner of Franklin MI and Alan Watson of Lexington MA with 250.38.
Qualifiers are here.
10K KO reaches a familiar semifinal round
Today’s semifinal round of the NABC 0–10,000 Knockout looks a lot like the one that took place a year ago. Three of the four teams that made this stage of the event in Kansas City are there again, and one of the two matches is a rematch of last year’s semifinal.
Teams captained by Viktor Anikovich, Mac Busby and Albert Shrive are once again in the semifinals, and Busby and Shrive will again face each other. Anikovich will face the squad led by Richard Gabriel.
The only thing more common than previous advancers in the quarterfinal matches – only one of which was at all close – was a score of 117 IMPs. Busby defeated Andrew Jeng’s team 129–117. Shrive dispatched Don Rumelhart’s squad 162–117, and Gabriel beat Teresa Boyd’s team 117–73. Anikovich broke the pattern by adding a hundred to it, routing the Michael Hughes squad 217–84.
Monday, March 12
Vanderbilt, Rd. 1
Seventy-seven teams entered the 2018 Vanderbilt, and Monday’s opening round reduced the field to 64 squads. The top 25 seeds received byes in the first round, while the remaining 52 teams played four-way matches, each of which produced three winners, or 39 teams.
Among the higher-ranked teams that did not survive the opening round were those of Tim Verbeek (No. 28), Gaylor Kasle (No. 32), Tatiana Dikhnova (No. 34), Nikolay Demirev (No. 35) and No. 39 (Barry Rigal).
Sunday, March 11
Rogers-Grantham lead Silver Ribbon quals
The sister-brother duo of Rebecca Rogers and John Grantham set the pace in the opening round of the Levetritt Silver Ribbon Pairs. Rogers and Grantham scored 64.08% and 57.15% in the qualifying sessions to start today’s final with a carryover of 197.29 matchpoints.
In second with a carryover of 190.33 are Claudia and Jack Feagin of Atlanta.
In third are Californians Edward Nagy and Gene Simpson with 188.55.
The list of qualifiers is here.
District 16 pair leads Flight B NAP
Jeff Dater and Scott Nason of Dallas topped the qualifying round of the Golder North American Pairs, Flight B. Dater and Nason of District 16 have a carryover of 92.47 matchpoints for today’s two-session final.
In second with 82.37 are Californians Shailesh Gupta and Dustin Stout (District 22), while third place is occupied by Michael Shaw and Terry Visentin of Winnipeg (District 2).
Fifty-two pairs qualified for the final.
Qualifiers are here.
Flight C NAP leaders from District 25
A District 25 pair is leading the North American Pairs Flight C after Sunday’s qualifying sessions. Susan Lincoln of Boxford MA and two-time Mini-McKenney bracket winner Keith Kimball of Nashua NH start today’s final sessions with a four-board carryover on a 25 top. In second are New Yorkers Yoko Sobel and Harry Faivus from District 24, whose carryover is 97.90.
Qualifiers may be found here.
Saturday, March 10
Kay Platinum Pairs
After the semifinal round of the Kay Platinum Pairs, Justin Lall of Charlotte NC and Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne FL have a slim 2-matchpoint lead over Jim Munday of Southaven MS and Richard Pavlicek Fort Lauderdale. And in third place, just one-tenth of a matchpoint behind, are Dror Padon of Israel and Vincent Demuy of Palm Beach Gardens FL.
The 56 pairs who qualified for Saturday’s semifinal sessions were cut to 28 for today’s two-session final.
Standings are here.
Friday, March 9
Hampson-Greco set pace in Platinum Pairs
Geoff Hampson and Eric Greco topped the qualifying round of the Kay Platinum Pairs, boosted by a strong first session. The duo scored 68.51% in the first set and paired it with a 52.67% in the second to take the pole position with a carryover of 395.78.
In second with 392.75 are Leslie Amoils and Tom Hanlon, and in third with 390.14 are Joe Grue and Brad Moss.
The three-day contest attracted 112 pairs, and 56 pairs qualified for today’s semifinal round.
Results from the qualifying round are here.
Local squad leads 10K Swiss
The team captained by Deepak Khanna scored 113.19 Victory Points in the qualifying round of the 0-10,000 Swiss Teams to take the lead going into today’s two-session final. Playing with Khanna are Thomas Kriz, John Botzum and Miriam Harris-Botzum. Their carryover is 24.85 VPs.
In second place with a carryover of 24.43 is the New Jersey-based team led by Peter Stein. His teammates are Leonard Helfgott, Stephen Arshan and Richard Ross.
The field of 66 teams was cut to 34 finalists for today’s final.
Qualifying results may be found here.
Masilamani-Rai lead IMP Pair quals
A large field of 338 pairs entered the Kay Platinum Pairs, and Kansans James Masilamani and Atul Rai posted the top score in the qualifying round to lead the event for today’s two-session final. Masilamani and Rai scored 32.30 IMPs in the first qualifier and added 53.89 IMPs in the second session to finish with 86.19 IMPs. Their carryover for the final is 28.20 IMPs.
In second place with a carryover of 27.74 are Nikolaos Delimpaltadakis and Vasileios Vroustis of Greece.
One hundred eight-two pairs qualified for the final.
Qualifying results are here.
Thursday, March 8
Czerwonko wins Online Individual
Boosted by a strong final session, Michal Czerwonko of Montreal is the winner of the Spring NABC Online Individual. Fueled by a 71.10% game on Wednesday, Czerwonko’s three-day average was 68.02%. Czerwonko was first in Flight A and Flight B.
In second place with an average of 67.64% was Jiang Gu of Mountain Lakes NJ. Gu was the leader after two sessions, but was overtaken by Czerwonko in the last set.
The Flight C winner was Frank Lin of Irvine CA with a three-day average of 66.09%, placing him seventh overall.
The top scorer in Wednesday’s session was Mark Moss of Piedmont CA with 76.13%.
For Session 3 score, click here.
For overall scores, click here.
Wednesday, March 7
NABC Online Individual – Day 2
Jiang Gu has grabbed the lead in Flight A of the Spring NABC Online Individual after the second session on Tuesday. Gu, who was in second place after the opening round with 71.99%, scored 68.13% on Tuesday to give him a two-day average of 70.06%. Gu of Mountain Lakes NJ is one of the ACBL’s newest Grand Life Masters.
In second with a two-day average of 68.44% is Meyer Kotkin of Cherry Hill NJ.
First in Flight B after two sessions is Hong Liu of Frontenac MO. Liu topped the field in Monday’s opener with a 73.58% game, but scored 60.12% in Tuesday’s game to drop to 10th overall with an average of 66.85%.
The top player in Flight C after two sets is Frank Lin of Irvine CA with 65.33%, placing him currently in 19th place overall.
The final session will be played today. For Tuesday’s results, click here. For current overall results, click here
Tuesday, March 6
NABC Online Individual – Day 1
After the opening round of the Spring NABC Online Individual, Hong Liu of the St. Louis area is leading the three-day event with a score of 73.58%. In second with 71.99% is Jiang Gu of Mountain Lakes NJ.
The contest, which is being played on BridgeBase Online, attracted about 2100 entries. The game is stratified with Flight A as unlimited, Flight B for players with less than 2000 masterpoints, and Flight C with players with less than 500 masterpoints.
Play continues today.
The complete leader list may be found here.
