USA Team Trials-2013

[mike777]

alan and peter a few years...lol? :)

 

 

Peter was my client(stocks) and to be honest a g-huge bridge hero for decades.

 

 

I was sorry to hear that the top, very top directors found him to be the worst in regards to behavior...when I was older he lived in the next town over.

 

As a young bridge player.....I find him at the top along with chip martel, who taught me bridge at 16.

 

kimmelJ...AlanA and cheri berjen are brilliant.

[mycroft]

It's a tough call, I would guess, from a business standpoint. Apart from all the issues with playing four-handed vs finding a "good enough" pair so that the benefits of rest would outweigh the loss in overall skill, there's the "if you're thought of as 'up and coming', but not getting top-class sponsorship, is it better to make the finals of USA1 and just miss USA2 than to pick up the sponsorship you can get and maybe run out 5-8." Money on one hand, reputation (= bigger money, but later, and you'd better win your gamble) on the other.

 

Nickell, for instance, would be happy to have either pair - but would prefer Levin-Weinstein. If this team *beats* Levin-Weinstein, what does that do for next year's cycle?

 

Welland, for instance, is having a really impressive run this year - but has put together a team that basically says "I'm not making a run for the BB." Maybe he'll change his mind next year? I'm sure there are several sponsors in similar situations.

 

Double everything I've said if they actually *become* USAx. But yes, it's an amazing gamble.

[chasetb]

From the indications I have Nick is pretty happy with Steve and Bobby; they have a history of winning, especially recently. This not to mention they have at least another year under contract, so no worries there. My surprise is that Zagorin isn't involved on team Kranyak, since Bathurst is on there. I'm also surprised that Justin's team is out. So far, it seems that they haven't made a deep run yet in any major tourney, and I wonder why. I have a few suspicions, but I'm not going to air them out, and I know if he has any, he won't either.

[aguahombre]

Don't be so sure Zagorin is not involved, just because he is not playing and his name isn't in there. Even if (when) they get a spot and add a pair, I bet he will be part of the infrastructure which we won't hear about.

[JLOGIC]

From the indications I have Nick is pretty happy with Steve and Bobby; they have a history of winning, especially recently. This not to mention they have at least another year under contract, so no worries there. My surprise is that Zagorin isn't involved on team Kranyak, since Bathurst is on there. I'm also surprised that Justin's team is out. So far, it seems that they haven't made a deep run yet in any major tourney, and I wonder why. I have a few suspicions, but I'm not going to air them out, and I know if he has any, he won't either.

 

We just didn't play well enough lol. Don't think there's that much more to it than that. It has been a very disappointing cycle but at least we had 3rd in the reisinger I guess. It is hard to make runs without playing really well. For instance, in this event we lost to the kranyak team and then we won a match then we lost to berk/sontag pepsi/seamon gordon/pratap. There are just lots of good bridge players and in general to win you have to be in great form and playing your best. We def were not.

[aguahombre]

Yeh, we are going to see fortunes fluctuate among all the pairs/teams in the big competitions. Not to fret; JL and BH and crew will be just fine.

[MrAce]

Still 4 sets to go but Bathurst team reminds me of previous "high school drops" who just won everyone and later almost won the BB.

 

I am cheering for the youngsters, i always do. Especially after seeing 6 men team players, whose names are among bridge gods, frequently making HUGE card play errors. Such as playing declarer for 4 card hearts when declarer opened 1NT and responded 2♠ over stayman and more...Years must be taking its tolls on older players. I am just happy USA has a lot of talented youngsters to represent the countr internationally. It is quite a success imo if we think the average age in ACBL.

 

They are playing better, bidding better than their probably once mentors.

 

I hope they win. I wish Justin was among them too, i really wanted to see him in BB again.

[chasetb]

I still maintain that Grue-Lall is the partnership you want, but barring that I will list the most desirable AVAILABLE partnerships, in order of what I think. I am assuming that Meck-well, Levin-stein, Greco-Hampson, and Sontag-Berkowitz are unavailable for the list.

 

1.) Fleisher - Kamil

2.) Diamond - Platnik

3.) Grue - Cheek

4.) Gitelman - Moss

5a.) Hurd- Woolridge

5b.) Hamman - Lall

7.) Josh Donn - Roger Lee

 

I wouldn't mind seeing any of these partnerships make the team, but the one I really want to see is Donn - Lee. I strongly believe that the team would be better off with a younger pair like this one. I bet the team dynamic would be greater, and I posted on the USBF 2013 trials under BBO News that I bet the 2011 Blue Ribbon Pairs winner would aid in kicking ass and taking names.

[1stpanda]

All you people speculating about team Kranyak auctioning off the 3rd pair slot for the BB if they get there ought to read the conditions of contest. Seriously, folks, the organizers of this event know more about bridge and bridge players than you do.

[chasetb]

All you people speculating about team Kranyak auctioning off the 3rd pair slot for the BB if they get there ought to read the conditions of contest. Seriously, folks, the organizers of this event know more about bridge and bridge players than you do.

Seriously? SERIOUSLY??? Read Page 8 and Page 9 of the USBF CoC where it says that the team is allowed to recommend one or more players to fill up to 6 people on a team. While money could potentially be an issue, Fleisher-Kamil and Diamond-Platnik both have the ability and the history to be approved hands down. Why can't they have a little bidding war to see who team Kranyak nominates, when they qualify? Money isn't always a bad thing, and in this case having the money to get someone like Chip Martel as a coach and Curtis Cheek as NPC is a great idea. I would be slightly worried that the committee wouldn't 100% pass a pair like that, but the reason that it might fail could come down to pettiness/anger/jealosy.

[MrAce]

6 of 8 segment is about to be over and i see Kranyak playing 6♦ which makes after ♥A lead when Zia went down in 3NT.

 

Should Fleisher withdraw 2 sets to go if the gap is way too much, to save energy for USA2 match ?

[GreenMan]

Should Fleisher withdraw 2 sets to go if the gap is way too much, to save energy for USA2 match ?

 

I certainly would. They need 3.6 IMPs/board over the last 31 boards as I type this. EDIT: 3.2 and change in 30. Still more than I'd care to try, though there's an argument for playing one more set now just to see.

[aguahombre]

Withdrawing would be a competent decision. They are not playing for the amusement of the spectators; they need the rest.

[MrAce]

I certainly would. They need 3.6 IMPs/board over the last 31 boards as I type this. EDIT: 3.2 and change in 30. Still more than I'd care to try, though there's an argument for playing one more set now just to see.

 

Yes, last 2 boards thet gained chunk of imps, i am sure they wull play at least 1 more set.

[JLOGIC]

You realize tehy could pick up 100 in 32 boards. Lol at the BBF and vugraph commentators who always expect a WD.

[jogs]

6 of 8 segment is about to be over and i see Kranyak playing 6♦ which makes after ♥A lead when Zia went down in 3NT.

 

Should Fleisher withdraw 2 sets to go if the gap is way too much, to save energy for USA2 match ?

 

They should stop playing total score. Treat each of the 8 segments as a separate game. First team to win 4 1/2 games wins the match.

[GreenMan]

You realize tehy could pick up 100 in 32 boards. Lol at the BBF and vugraph commentators who always expect a WD.

 

Sure they could; it's a matter of weighing the chance of winning vs. the chance of winning the USA2 playoff with an extra half-day of rest. IOW, how likely are you to score ~4 IMPs per board against a team that's been playing like world-beaters all week? Anything is possible, but few things are probable.

[aguahombre]

They should stop playing total score. Treat each of the 8 segments as a separate game. First team to win 4 1/2 games wins the match.

Why fix what aint broken?

[jogs]

Why fix what aint broken?

 

It's broken. Teams are forced to play 'bad(gambling)' bridge when way behind.

 

They don't play total score in the MLB, NBA or NHL.

[GreenMan]

It's broken. Teams are forced to play 'bad(gambling)' bridge when way behind.

 

They don't play total score in the MLB, NBA or NHL.

 

Sure they do. They don't play by "innings" or "quarters" or "periods". Highest total point score at the end is the winner.

[JLOGIC]

Sure they could; it's a matter of weighing the chance of winning vs. the chance of winning the USA2 playoff with an extra half-day of rest. IOW, how likely are you to score ~4 IMPs per board against a team that's been playing like world-beaters all week? Anything is possible, but few things are probable.

 

It's not half a day. They can resign with 15 boards to go if it goes badly (most likely). I would say their chances are 1 in 200. I don't think the extra 15 board rest will make them 1 in 200 more likely to win the next match personally. In general I think the public underestimates the chance of coming back 100 in 30 boards or w/e, and overestimates how much effect getting 15 boards of rest will gain.

[GreenMan]

It's not half a day. They can resign with 15 boards to go if it goes badly (most likely). I would say their chances are 1 in 200. I don't think the extra 15 board rest will make them 1 in 200 more likely to win the next match personally. In general I think the public underestimates the chance of coming back 100 in 30 boards or w/e, and overestimates how much effect getting 15 boards of rest will gain.

 

Point taken. But don't forget, everyone on Fleisher is twice your age, so rest may make a bigger difference for them. :P

[aguahombre]

You realize tehy could pick up 100 in 32 boards. Lol at the BBF and vugraph commentators who always expect a WD.

Mr. Ace acknowledged that the last couple of boards in the segment made his "if" moot. We were responding to "if" the gap did not narrow or expanded by the end of the segment. Of course, they should have continued at that state of the match.

 

I am on record against WD's for the most part, but as long as they are legal, a team should consider the advantages when there is repechage directly to a second BB spot.

[JLOGIC]

I'm sure they did

[dustinst22]

They should stop playing total score. Treat each of the 8 segments as a separate game. First team to win 4 1/2 games wins the match.

 

 

Terrible idea imo.

 

Total points should produce the better team in the long run. Consider scenarios where one team destroys the other one in segments, then loses by a slim margin in others.

 

I think watching a team swing a bit to come back from a deficit adds rather than detracts from the game. Situational state of the match decisions makes the game more complex I think.