{"id":72266,"date":"2023-08-25T14:09:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T12:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funbridge.com\/blog\/?p=72266"},"modified":"2023-08-25T15:03:08","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T13:03:08","slug":"nabc-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funbridge.com\/blog\/en\/nabc-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer NABC in Chicago: Highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The prestigious North American championships (NABC)<\/strong>, which were held in Chicago<\/strong> from the 13th<\/sup> to 23rd<\/sup> July 2023, were marked by fierce competition and some moments of grace. Amongst the many memorable moments, Marty Harris\u2019 team<\/strong> (Bob Marheine, Mark Kinzer, Miriam Harris-Botzum), the \u201clocals\u201d, won the Mini-Spingold Knockout Teams brilliantly, by defeating Marc Sylvester\u2019s team with a final score of 126 to 67.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marty Harris’ team \u00a9️ ACBL<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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From the start of the match, Marty Harris\u2019 team took the reins, carving out a comfortable lead of 67 to 22 at half-time. Despite Marc Sylvester\u2019s efforts, which reduced the gap to 8 IMPs by the end of the third quarter, he was left behind completely in the last set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This crushing victory marked Marty Harris\u2019 fifth title in a \u201crestricted\u201d national event<\/strong>, a remarkable achievement for this talented player who had already won this competition twice<\/strong>, as well as the Mini-Blue Ribbon Pairs and the Bean Red Ribbon Pairs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kinzer and Marheine\u2019s partnership dates from 1977, while the brother and sister Harrises have played together regularly since 2018, even though their first collaboration at a bridge table goes back to 1972 when they were\u2026 six years old!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The father-son duo<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Brandon and Xin Ge \u00a9️ ACBL<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The championships were also the stage for other remarkable performances; notably, in the Bean Red Ribbon Pairs event. Brandon Ge, age 16<\/strong>, originally from Cupertino in California, and his father Xin Ge<\/strong> shone in the second session of the final to take first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They successfully qualified in 12th place during the opening round on the Friday; then, they displayed some excellent percentages that put them out of reach (57.12% then 63.96%), finishing way ahead of Steve Overholt and Sudhir Patwardhan of Toronto, previous winners of the Red Ribbon Pairs in 2017. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Brandon Ge, who had been selected to represent the USA in the 2020 Junior World Championships as a member of the USA2 team, unfortunately saw the event cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. All the same, he had already made an impression by winning the \u201c0-1500 Online Pairs\u201d championship in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The French get gold!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Summer Nationals is also the major event that includes the highly coveted Spingold<\/strong>. And two Frenchmen in particular distinguished themselves in that: Thomas Bessis and C\u00e9dric Lorenzini<\/strong>, as they pulled off the achievement of winning the event! They beat Zimmerman\u2019s line-up of multiple world champions on the way; then, in the final, that of Leif Bermak. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Spingold winners \u00a9️ ACBL<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The teammates of those under our tricolour were none other than the illustrious American champions Marty Fleisher and Chip Martel<\/strong> (this was already the latter\u2019s fourth title!) and the Italian campionissimos<\/em> Antonio Sementa and Alfredo Versace<\/strong>. The cup was presented to them by the energetic Bronia Jenkins, executive director of the ACBL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chicago NABC of 2023 will remain in memory like an excellent vintage<\/strong>. Enthusiasts are impatiently awaiting the next big dates where new pages of the bridge history books will be written. Safe journey back to all the participants and see you again for more adventures!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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