1997 World Bridge Championships DAILY BULLETIN Editor: Henry Francis Assistants Editors: M. Horton - B. Senior Web Editor: Th. Matziaris No.: 1 Sunday, 19 October 1997 |
Contents |
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Kaplan honoured as games open |
![]() I am certain you will already have been impressed with the warmth of your welcome, with the beautiful surroundings and with the friendliness of the people. I would particularly like to thank Mr Slah Mâaoui, the Minister of Tourism and Artisanat for his unfailing help and support, as well as our friend Hosni Zouari, the President of the Fédération Tunisienne de Bridge and his excellent Organising Committee chaired by Fakhreddine Messai.José Damiani WBF President |
Edgar Kaplan (1925-1997) |
Edgar Kaplan, a true giant in the bridge world and a man
whose legacy to the game is surely incalculable, died Sept. 7 at Mount
Sinai Hospital in New York City after a 2½-year battle against
cancer.
He was 72. Kaplan's career spanned six decades and
covered every aspect of bridge. He was a teacher, author, editor,
administrator, champion player, theorist, expert vugraph commentator,
coach/captain and the authority on the laws of the game.
"He was an icon," said Bobby Wolff,
former ACBL and World Bridge Federation president and a longtime friend.
"Edgar did everything. He was really the guru." Said
ACBL President Howard Piltch: "Edgar's death is a
great loss to the entire bridge world. We all speak of our families, but
to Edgar, the bridge world was his family. He was both the firm
parent and the warm, friendly uncle. A sense of honor and decency
pervaded everything he did. His contributions as a player -and they are
quite considerable- are the smallest part of what he has given us. We
are all blessed for having known him."
Kaplan, born in New York City, learned bridge
before he was 10 by watching his parents play. He continued to play
during his school years, including a brief time at Cornell
University. After a stint with the U.S. Army Air Force in the Forties,
Kaplan returned home and went into the dress manufacturing
business with his father. When Kaplan's father announced his
retirement a few years later, Kaplan left the dress business to
become a partner in the Card School of New York.
It didn't take long for Kaplan to establish himself as a
player. He won the first of his 26 North American championships -the
Vanderbilt Knockout Teams- in 1953. He won major championships in every
decade from that point, including the Open Swiss Teams at the 1997
Spring NABC in Dallas. Although suffering from cancer and the effects of
chemotherapy, Kaplan played seven of eight matches in the final
of the event. He also competed in the International Team Trials in New
Orleans in June of this year and in the Spingold Knockout Teams during
the Summer NABC in Albuquerque.
"Edgar never lost his ability to play top-level
bridge," said Wolff, "and he did it without gimmicks."
Kaplan was an ACBL Grand Life Master with more than 13,500
masterpoints. Kaplan's one disappointment was that he never won
a world championship. In fact, many observers believe him to be the best
player never to win a world title. Kaplan's highest finish in
international competition was second, in the 1968 World Team Olympiad.
However, he earned a world championship in 1995 in Beijing, China
- he was the non-playing captain of the American team that won
the Bermuda Bowl. Expert play was but one aspect of Kaplan's
legendary bridge prowess.
With Alfred Sheinwold, who died in March, Kaplan created the Kaplan-Sheinwold bidding system, still in use by many players. In 1967, he became editor and publisher of The Bridge World, which will continue to be published despite his death. Kaplan was recognized as the world's foremost authority on the laws of duplicate and rubber bridge. He became co-chairman of the ACBL Laws Commission in 1978 and was co-chairman of the WBF Laws Commission at the time of his death. His influence in appeals hearings was monumental. Said Wolff: "No one could come close to competing with him because of his knowledge of the English language, and he would have been an absolutely wonderful lawyer. He was soft when he needed to be, hard when he needed to be, and he could deal with four different people four different ways." Kaplan was honored at many levels and by many organizations. In 1979, he was selected as the Bridge Personality of the Year by the International Bridge Press Association. He was named ACBL Honorary Member in 1993. In 1995 he was inducted into the ACBL Bridge Hall of Fame and the WBF Hall of Fame. Early in his career, he taught the game at his card school and wrote several books on bridge. He also was a member of the ACBL Board of Directors for many years. Beyond all of Kaplan's other accomplishments, what made him the idol of the masses was his peerless work as a vugraph commentator. His dry wit and flawless timing kept vugraph audiences enthralled around the world. He was droll without being aloof and projected a deep knowledge of the game without being pedantic. "Edgar was the best ever on vugraph," said Wolff. Even after he learned that cancer had invaded his body, Kaplan maintained his sense of humor and an optimistic outlook. In an interview published in The Bridge Bulletin last year, Kaplan noted that the various honors being accorded him were being given "as if they'd better hurry. But I intend to fool them. I intend to stick around." For another year and a half, Kaplan fought valiantly. He amazed all observers by traveling to Rhodes, Greece, for the World Team Olympiad in the fall of 1996. He had also hoped to make it to Hammamet for the Bermuda Bowl. Kaplan enjoyed most of his success as a player with Norman Kay, a fast friend for 50 years. Said Kay: "It is difficult for my wife Judy and me to envision life without Edgar, but our cherished memories of his delightful humor, lightning wit, articulate deliverance and great reserve, yet underlying warmth, must sustain us all in the days ahead." |
43rd European Championships |
The 1997 European Championships were the biggest yet with 35 teams in the Open series, 24 in the Women, and 158 pairs in the Womens Pairs. Winners of the Womens Championship were Great Britain, for the first time since 1981, with France and Israel taking the silver and bronze medals respectively. Great Britain and France are joined by Germany, the Venice Cup holders, and the Netherlands, here in Hammamet. Also, Italy have replaced Israel who, unfortunately, couldnt make it to these championships. The Open series saw Italy retain the title they had won two years earlier in Vilamoura, leading almost throughout the event. The silver medal went to Poland and the bronze to Norway. Denmark and France complete the European representation in Hammamet. Midway through the championship, the Italian champions to be met second placed Spain on vugraph. Spain, who are a much improved team in recent years, were to hold down a qualifying place for most of the tournament, fading only in the last couple of days. The match featured some of the most interesting bridge of the championships, including:
Lanzarotti opened 1 Lanzarotti ducked the opening lead but won the second spade
and exited with a third round. Frances won and switched to
Lanteron did rather better in the other room, though it took
the vugraph audience a long time to see that he was going to succeed.
He won the third spade and exited with a low diamond, and Duboin
was allowed to win the nine. He cashed the last spade club,
heart and diamond discard. Now Duboin cashed
Both Norths declared 3NT but there was a crucial difference in the
auctions. Lorenzo Lauria had opened 1 Bocchi led a spade to the queen at trick three and Torres
ducked smoothly. Bocchi played three rounds of clubs and Torres
won and switched to Of course, Bocchi would probably have gone down even had
Torres taken the spade and led his last heart. He must discard
twice from hand on the hearts and has to commit himself to either the
diamond finesse or bringing in the clubs and is likely to plump for
the latter, losing option. Goded, who had seen Lauria
open the bidding remember, tried a different line. At trick three he
played a club to dummy then led a diamond. Lauria made life as
awkward as he could by covering, leaving the suit blocked. Now Goded
played a spade to the queen. In practice, Lauria took the
Suppose that Lauria ducks the spade. On the actual lie, it
is good enough to unblock the diamond and lead a low spade towards the
jack. West can take the king and the defense takes its heart tricks
but the
With three top losers and unfavourable breaks in both majors, 4
With declarer having shown a spade suit, there would have been no
temptation for Lauria to lead
When he again ruffed low, Versace could over-ruff and play
another trump and the contract was one light; -100 and 12 IMPs to Italy.
While it was likely that West had the
Both East-West pairs had a free run to 3NT by East and both Duboin
and Lanteron led Frances ran the club to dummy's jack and played a third
round to his king. Now his sights were clearly set on a squeeze as he
exited with his last spade. Duboin won and in turn exited with
a diamond to dummy's ace. Frances cashed the other top diamond
and would have been home had either defender held four hearts along
with the Versace won the club return in hand. The winning play now is
to pass the A nicely played and defended hand but what if Versace, instead of cashing the hearts, had cashed dummys }J? South would have been squeezed in the red suits to see the contract home. The match ended in a 15-15 draw, satisfactory for both sides in the circumstances. |
Interview with Zia |
I'm proud to play for America, but I'm still a Pakistani - Zia |
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Zia has represented his native Pakistan with great dignity and unsurpassed ability on many occasions. Twice he led Pakistan to incredible heights - second place in the Bermuda Bowl in Westchester, New York, in 1981 and second place in the Rosenblum Teams in Miami Beach in 1986. This time it's different - Zia is representing the United States in the Bermuda Bowl. "But I am still a Pakistani, not an American," he said as he relaxed by the pool here in Hammamet. "I am proud and happy to be representing America, but my Pakistani identity is in no way submerged. I feel like a Pakistani who is living in America and playing for America." To prove his point, Zia asked that we be sure to see how his American team comes to the table for the opening match. "Our whole team will be dressed in Pakistani outfits. I consider this to be a noble and warm gesture on the part of my American teammates. I feel that my whole team is Pakistani at heart." Of course Zia will be ecstatic if his team wins the Bermuda Bowl - but he's not at all sure it will be the biggest bridge thrill of his life. "It's one thing if you win a world championship surrounded by some of the best players in the world. It's something else again to place second in the Bermuda Bowl and the Rosenblum Teams with a motley group of pirates - my courageous countrymen -- who made up for their lack of experience and ability with their intense desire to play like champions against the best the world had to offer." For his part, Zia is happy to be in a country like the United States - a country that "opens its arms to the whole world. It's a major part of the American heritage that this country acts as a cauldron for persons from all nations of the world. Because of this heritage, Pakistan can benefit greatly from my appearance on an American team - a win with me on the team will be a huge boost for Pakistan. " Does all this mean that Zia will never again play for Pakistan? No way! "The time may come when I return home and lead Pakistan into the world championships again." As for the Bermuda Bowl competition, Zia believes this is the strongest field ever to compete in this event. "This field is so strong that it is premature to think about winning. Our focus is on qualifying - I don't want to go home a week early." It goes without saying that Zia believes the two American teams are strong contenders here. "Then there's Italy - they've been winning everything in sight. And France, winner of the Olympiad last year, is strong again. The other European teams also figure to be formidable. And don't ever count Brazil out of the picture. My gut feeling is that Brazil has returned to the heights it achieved a few years ago. I haven't played against the Far East teams recently, but they must be very good. It has to mean something when Indonesia, a finalist in last year's Olympiad, couldn't finish in the top two in their own Far East zone. I always have had respect for Patrick Huang and his Chinese Taipei team, and it certainly appears that China is making its mark in the bridge world. Only eight teams will qualify for knockout play. It's going to be a real dogfight."There's one thing Zia would change if he were in charge of the world championships. "I would reduce the number of systems and conventions everybody could play. Maybe just Stayman and Blackwood would be enough. Then I could be looking at all the beautiful girls in the pool instead of studying defense here with Michael (Michael Rosenberg, his partner)." Zia realizes that bridge has not done all that well in promoting the game as a spectator sport. "But I think computers can make the difference. We have already reached the point where players all over the world can follow a major tournament by bringing the game up on the Internet. We have just started in this area, and it should get better and better as we learn more about how to do things. Watching bridge on the computer may be the answer to increasing the popularity of our game." |
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