Coming of age
The Diamond team brings together a bunch of men of an age. They played juniors together and now they are grown and entering middle life, the prime bridge playing years. Together they represent the best in the American junior program and the best in American bridge. Some of them have been bridesmaids in the other big events and of course, they have won their share, but now the first time they are world champions.
For the most part they swept through the field like butter to reach a showdown with one of the great American teams of the modern era, the Nickel team. The Nickel team was weakened a bit perhaps by some recent changes in personnel. But their team included some of the greats of the game including perhaps the world’s best imp pair, Eric Rodwell and Jeff Meckstroth – Meckwell. And although Jeff and Eric played all four sets of the 64 board final and although all teams members of both teams played high quality bridge this year was a Diamond year.
Will winning this championship change their lives? Perhaps not very profoundly because they are professionals any way but it will get the monkey off their back. They will be the team to beat.
Because the bridge was so very professionally played the game was low scoring and slams and a bit of luck played a significant part in the result. The third quarter result over 16 boards was a remarkable 14 to Diamond and 13 to Nickell. This brought the total to Diamond 90 and Nickell 69.
The final quarter contained very few swings as well, perhaps fitting for such talented teams. There were two slam swings both in favor of the Diamond team and both involving finding the trump queen. Some days you not only play well but the bridge gods are smiling.
On a day when American technology and American know-how combined with Chilean courage to save 33 trapped minors two American teams faced off in a great bridge event, the Rosenblum. Both teams played very well. America should be proud of her sons.
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Bridge-related
Let’s not forget that Gitelman and Hampson played their Junior bridge in Canada, not the USA. When Linda and I returned to bridge in 1991, Fred and Geoff were a partnership, and we played against them often in the Toronto team league and in local tournaments. Even then, it was easy to see the potential they each had, though very different players one from the other, to become great. Geoff was great natural talent, to whom everything came easily — too often players like that don’t fulfill their promise because things are too easy for them, and they fail to put in the extra effort that it takes to get to the very top. Fred was more cerebral, a great technical student of the game, the perspiration to Geoff’s inspiration. We’ve followed both their careers over the last 20 years, and it’s wonderful to see them both break through into the very top echelons of the game. Long may they stay there.