Reno NABC

Saturday, March 20

Weichsel elected to Hall of Fame

Peter Weichsel has been elected to the ACBL Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility for the honor. Weichsel, 60, will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Summer NABC in New York.

A WBF Grand Master, Weichsel has four world titles: the 1983 and 2001 Bermuda Bowls, the World Mixed Pairs in 1990 and the World Transnational Teams in 2000. He is also an ACBL Grand Life Master with more than 27,000 master-points and 25 national victories: Vanderbilt Knockouts (four wins), Spingold Knockouts (six), Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams (one), Open Board-a-Match Teams (four), Mixed Teams (three), Grand National Teams (one), Life Master Pairs (two), Life

 
Master Open Pairs (one), Open Pairs I (one) and Open Pairs II (two).


Weichsel enjoyed meteoric success in his early career of part of the Precision Team that dominated nationally rated knockout contests in the early Seventies.

Weichsel is a professional player who lives in Encinitas CA.
 

East Coast duo leads Open Pairs I

Linda Maloney of Rockville MD and Robert Gookin of Falls Church VA posted a huge total in Friday’s two-session qualifier of the Silodor Open Pairs I to lead the field of 416 pairs. With a 66.77% game in the afternoon and a 67.85% in the evening, the pair finished with 875 matchpoints on a 650 average — nine boards above par.

In second with 836 were Brad Moss of New York and Fred Gitelman of Las Vegas, followed closely by defending champions Michael Rosenberg of New York and Ralph Katz of Chicago with 833.5. Two hundred eight pairs made the cut to play in today’s two-session final.

Hamilton collects his 30,000th point

Last year Fred Hamilton was inducted into the Bridge Hall of Fame. This year he became only the 10th person in history to go over the 30,000 mark in masterpoints. Among living players, he now ranks eighth.

Hamilton has had many successes at the world level. He won the World Senior Pairs in 1994 plus seconds in the 1977 Bermuda Bowl and the 1980 Olympiad. He had several other high finishes.

At the NABC level, he has won 13 championships and has finished second 13 times.

ACBL honors club
managers, teachers

Club owners, managers and bridge instructors from across ACBL attended a reception held in their honor Friday evening. ACBL President Bruce Reeve, CEO Jay Baum and Director of Club and Member Services Carol Robertson welcomed the attendees.

“Club managers are ACBL,” said Reeve, who praised the club officials and teachers for their dedication.

“ACBL is doing well, and it’s all due to your efforts,” he said.

A reception is held at each NABC to recognize the work of ACBL’s largely volunteer network of club officers and teachers. Many attendees use the meeting as an opportunity to meet ACBL officers and staff as well as other club managers and teachers.


Kennedy tops 15,000

Five-time world champion Betty Ann Kennedy has crossed the 15,000-masterpoint plateau.

Fewer than 120 players have attained 15,000 points. Kennedy, of Shreveport LA, is a WBF Grand Master. She won the Venice Cup championship in 1974, 1976 and 2003, the World Women’s Pairs title in 1982 (with Carol Sanders), and the 1984 Women’s Olympiad Teams.

Kennedy has 12 NABC titles as well.