Georgia Youth Open Pairs State Championship
Ten year old Mili Raina and eleven year old Zandy Rizzo won the Georgia State
Championship Youth Open Pairs at the Atlanta sectional on December 2 with a 65%
game edging out Sean Gannon and Hunter Smith in the final round. All four of the
top pairs had a 60+% game.
The State Championship was the first of its kind in the country. The Georgia
championship was open to all players under 19 who lived in the state. The
tournament was organized by Atlanta Junior Bridge
(AJB) with support from the Duplicate Bridge Association of Atlanta (DBAA) and
Unit 114 of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The event was sponsored
by Carol Mathews as a legacy for her late husband, Art Mathews, who was a keen
bridge player. Kroger Company graciously assisted AJB
with the food for the parent and player reception.
The championship attracted twelve tables with players as young as six years
old. Nearly all of the players were from the metro Atlanta area. The players had
either been taught bridge in their schools, by their parents or in classes run
by Atlanta Junior Bridge.
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| The winners |
Mili is a 5th grade student at Ocee Elementary School in Fulton County. She
started playing bridge over a year ago as part of the curriculum in the advanced
math program taught by Carolyn Eckert. Mili described “playing the hand as the
most enjoyable and bidding the least enjoyable”. She attributed the win to her
partner confidently doubling the opponents and then setting their contracts “at
least five times”. On the penultimate hand, she was in 4 spades doubled when her
partner brought out the blue redouble card and “was shaking until towards the
end when I could cross-ruff the rest of the tricks”. According to Mili, “I used
to think it was just a game, but it turned out to be more like math and more
fun. It has made me smarter – I can figure out if the king or queen is in
someone’s hand by counting out the points – there’s a lot of mental math”. Mili
is also the school chess champion.
Zandy is a 6th grade student at Notre Dame Academy in Duluth. He has been
playing for a year and a half and is also taught by Carolyn Eckert. Zandy and
Mili play once a week at Carolyn’s class but have never played together before
in a tournament. Mrs. Eckert paired them up when each of their regular partners
cancelled a few days before the tournament. Zandy said that he and Mili were
both very relaxed going in to the tournament and felt confident. Not only did he
actively double the opponents, even at the one level, but they also made
contracts that the opponents doubled.
Another of Carolyn’s students is ten year old Hunter Smith (also her
grandson) who finished in second place with Sean Gannon. Hunter is in sixth
grade at Taylor Road Middle School in Alpharetta. He has been playing for 18
months. Hunter said, “It was great, even though we finished second, I was very
happy today. We just made a couple of mistakes playing the cards.”
Sean is a ninth grader at Woodward Academy in Atlanta. His father Rick taught
him to play two years ago. Sean’s first tournament was the national in Atlanta
last year and he has won almost 50 masterpoints playing mostly with his father.
He liked the championship because it “was another chance to play bridge” and he
“got to play with people within 20 years of me!” Sean and Rick also played in
other events at the Atlanta sectional and Rick said “it’s a blessing for me to
play together.”
Third place winners Saachi Hingorami and Taylor Walker and fourth place
winners Chelsea Weirich and Tage Kelkar have all been playing less than six
months.
The youngest player was six year old Richard Jeng who played with his nine
year old brother Andrew. Both learned to play in June at an
AJB bridge camp. They finished a very respectable fifth, less than a
quarter board away from winning the fourth place trophy.
Most of the parents watched the game in a separate room through an Internet
video camera but some parents occasionally stopped in to watch. I saw one parent
quickly leave the room stating “I can’t stand it. She’s in six spades. I think
her partner gave the wrong response to the number of kings in Blackwood. At
least she’s not doubled!” Fortunately, it was the right response and her
daughter proudly made her first tournament slam ruffing away her losers.
Carol Mathews presented the awards. Patty Tucker, president of
AJB, noted: “We were excited that so many were able
to attend since there were many conflicts with school and extracurricular
events. This event will be bigger and stronger next year. I hope that other
states will start their own youth programs and we can eventually have a North
American Youth Championship! AJB will now focus on
getting the kids ready for the Georgia Youth Team State Championship in March.”
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Many of the kids that participated and Carol Mathews, the sponsor of the event
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Nancy Watkins directed the event and commented that it was great to see so
many smiles at the tables. As added pressure, the tournament was filmed by local
TV station, WPBA, for an upcoming episode of This is Atlanta.
Final standings:
- Zandy Rizzo – Mili Raina - 65.63%
- Sean Gannon – Hunter Smith - 64.10%
- Taylor Walker – Saachi Hingorami – 63.97%
- Tage Kelkar – Chelsea Weirich – 61.48%
Session recap
EVENT>Junior Brdg State Chmpshp|SESSION> |SECTION> D N-S
------------------------,------ ------------,-------- --------,-----------------
DATE>December 2, 2006 |SANCTION>S0612043 | 12/02/2006 08:01|EVENT CODE>02L1
---------------------,-- ------------------- -------------,--- -----------------
CITY>Atlanta, Ga. |RATING>Sectional |MOVEMENT>MITCHELL
------------,-------- ,-------------------------,--------- ---------------------
AVE> 56.0 |TOP> 7 |MP LIMITS>None |TOURN>Atlanta Supersectional
------------ --------- ------------------------- -------------------------------
PAIRS> 12 ,------,------------,------,---------,
-----------------------------------------------------------------| O'all| Section | |Final |
No Name Name | Rank| Rank|Score | Pct |Awards |
----------------------------------------------------------------- ------ ----- ------ ------ ---------
1 4316967 Andrew Jeng 4316959 Richard Jeng 5 3 66.50 59.38 0.93(O)
2 4325486 Tage Kelkar 2166178 Chelsea Weirich 4 2 68.86 61.48 1.24(O)
3 NM JaQuan Beachem NM Zack Carter 49.64 44.32
4 NM Robby Gipson 2124920 Catherine Tsai 43.42 38.77
5 4134516 Sean Gannon 2053322 Hunter Smith 2 1 71.79 64.10 2.20(O)
6 NM Bennett Kane NM Daniel Khalek 4 61.79 55.17 0.51(S)
7 NM Scott Yates NM Joshua Bailey 40.64 36.29
8 NM Ansley Vicknair NM Brittany Marino 48.76 43.54
9 NM Anastasiya Patrusheva NM Jenny Zou 53.21 47.51
10 NM Maurissa Ward NM Charles Cannon 51.73 46.19
11 2160161 Priscilla Kim NM Sunidhi Ramesh 5 58.43 52.17 0.29(S)
12 2053942 Liza Johnson 2160145 Surabhi Ghai 56.50 50.45
Totals 671.27
**PAIRS**
BOARD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
\/
1> 4- 6 2- 4- 0 1 7 2-
-50 ---- ---- ---- ---- 90 -150 -50 -200 -170 420 -150
2> 2 1 0 3- 3- 6- 5 6-
-450 ---- ---- ---- ---- -460 -880 -170 -170 50 -120 50
3> 0 7 3 5 5 5 2 1
-100 460 ---- ---- ---- ---- 130 150 150 150 120 -50
4> 3- 6 5 3- 1- 7 1- 0
100 300 ---- ---- ---- ---- 110 100 -90 400 -90 -110
5> 4 3 7 1 0 2 6 5
-130 -180 110 ---- ---- ---- ---- -240 -400 -200 -110 -120
6> 7 4- 2 0 4- 1 4- 4-
200 100 -50 ---- ---- ---- ---- -500 100 -90 100 100
7> 7 1 3- 3- 6 1 1 5
200 -200 -100 -100 ---- ---- ---- ---- 140 -200 -200 110
8> 4 7 2- 1 2- 5- 5- 0
50 400 -50 -100 ---- ---- ---- ---- -50 90 90 -150
9> 5 2 5 0 7 3 1 5
100 -90 100 -110 300 ---- ---- ---- ---- -50 -100 100
10> 7 3 5 2 6 4 0 1
260 100 150 -90 170 ---- ---- ---- ---- 140 -300 -150
11> 2 2 6 5 2 2 7 2
-50 -50 80 PASS -50 -50 ---- ---- ---- ---- 90 -50
12> 7 2 0 1 5 3 6 4
150 -210 -440 -430 -150 -200 ---- ---- ---- ---- -90 -170
13> 3 7 0 1- 5- 1- 4 5-
170 1310 110 150 640 150 190 ---- ---- ---- ---- 640
14> 4 6 - 2 5 - 3 7
480 520 150 180 490 150 420 ---- ---- ---- ---- 980
15> 1- 5 0 5 3 7 5 1-
-110 100 -140 100 -100 120 100 -110 ---- ---- ---- ----
16> 5 7 0 2 6 4 1 3
400 890 -150 110 420 170 -100 150 ---- ---- ---- ----
17> 0 1- 4 3 5 6- 1- 6-
---- -150 -130 50 -50 110 130 -130 130 ---- ---- ----
18> 6.36 4.64 1.21 6.36 2.36 0.07 3-
---- 150 140 -150 150 50 -200 NP 90 ---- ---- ----
19> 7 6 0 4 1 2 5 3
---- ---- 180 150 -150 110 -100 90 130 100 ---- ----
20> 5 5 3 5 1 7 0 2
---- ---- -200 -200 -650 -200 -790 -170 -1800 -660 ---- ----
21> 3 6 4- 0 1 7 4- 2
---- ---- ---- 50 200 140 -400 -130 620 140 PASS ----
22> 1.21 6.93 2.93 0.07 5.21 5.21 2.93
---- ---- ---- -110 300 -50 -150 200 200 NP -50 ----
23> 0 7 5 2 1 3 6 4
---- ---- ---- ---- -300 1270 110 -150 -200 90 400 100
24> 7 6 3- 5 2 0 1 3-
---- ---- ---- ---- 110 100 -50 50 -90 -140 -130 -50
EVENT>Junior Brdg State Chmpshp|SESSION> |SECTION> D E-W
------------------------,------ ------------,-------- --------,-----------------
DATE>December 2, 2006 |SANCTION>S0612043 | 12/02/2006 08:01|EVENT CODE>02L1
---------------------,-- ------------------- -------------,--- -----------------
CITY>Atlanta, Ga. |RATING>Sectional |MOVEMENT>MITCHELL
------------,-------- ,-------------------------,--------- ---------------------
AVE> 56.0 |TOP> 7 |MP LIMITS>None |TOURN>Atlanta Supersectional
------------ --------- ------------------------- -------------------------------
PAIRS> 12 ,------,------------,------,---------,
-----------------------------------------------------------------| O'all| Section | |Final |
No Name Name | Rank| Rank|Score | Pct |Awards |
----------------------------------------------------------------- ------ ----- ------ ------ ---------
1 NM Ashish Shah NM Aarati Shah 50.71 45.28
2 2166151 Maya Kelkar 2125188 Lauren Tsai 49.00 43.75
3 NM Marissa Wall NM Olivia Gartzman 55.57 49.62
4 NM Murphy Green NM Angie Green 5 60.50 54.02 0.29(S)
5 NM Jason Sheres NM Marisa Sheres 6 3 65.22 58.23 0.74(S)
6 2146304 Kevin Cooney 2146312 Austin Agerton 57.14 51.02
7 NM Mary Rose Best NM Lila Claire Best 38.71 34.56
8 2106914 Taylor Walker NM Soachi Hingorani 3 2 71.65 63.97 1.65(O)
9 NM Nolan Gartzman NM Tyler Gartzman 27.73 24.76
10 2160153 Arjun Dhir 2071010 Chandler Roth 4 64.07 57.21 0.51(S)
11 NM Claire Harville 6053505 Alexander Hammond 55.36 49.43
12 2053330 Zandy Rizzo 2061716 Mili Raina 1 1 73.50 65.63 2.93(O)
Totals 669.16
**PAIRS**
BOARD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
\/
1> 2- 2- 7 6 0 1 4- 4-
50 ---- 50 ---- 200 ---- 170 ---- -420 -90 150 150
2> 5 3- 3- - 2 6 - 7
450 ---- 170 ---- 170 ---- -50 ---- 120 460 -50 880
3> 2 0 2 2 5 6 4 7
-150 -460 ---- -150 ---- -150 ---- -120 ---- 50 -130 100
4> 3- 1 5- 0 5- 7 2 3-
-100 -300 ---- 90 ---- -400 ---- 90 ---- 110 -110 -100
5> 4 7 0 5 1 2 3 6
180 400 -110 ---- 200 ---- 110 ---- 120 ---- 130 240
6> 2- 2- 5 6 2- 2- 0 7
-100 -100 50 ---- 90 ---- -100 ---- -100 ---- -200 500
7> 1 3- 6 3- 6 2 0 6
-140 100 200 100 ---- 200 ---- -110 ---- -200 ---- 200
8> 4- 4- 1- 6 1- 7 3 0
50 50 -90 100 ---- -90 ---- 150 ---- -50 ---- -400
9> 2 4 7 6 0 2 2 5
-100 50 110 100 -300 ---- -100 ---- -100 ---- 90 ----
10> 2 3 5 7 1 6 0 4
-150 -140 90 300 -170 ---- 150 ---- -260 ---- -100 ----
11> 2 0 5 5 5 5 5 1
---- PASS -90 50 50 50 ---- 50 ---- 50 ---- -80
12> 6 1 2 3 4 0 5 7
---- 430 90 150 170 200 ---- -150 ---- 210 ---- 440
13> 5- 1- 1- 5- 4 3 0 7
-150 ---- -640 -640 -150 -170 -190 -----1310 ---- -110 ----
14> 5 2 0 6- 3 4 1 6-
-180 ---- -490 -980 -150 -480 -420 ---- -520 ---- -150 ----
15> 4 0 5- 2 2 5- 7 2
---- 100 ---- -120 110 -100 -100 110 ---- 140 ---- -100
16> 1 3 2 6 0 4 7 5
---- -420 ---- -170 -400 100 -890 -150 ---- 150 ---- -110
17> 4 2 - 7 5- 5- - 3
50 ---- -110 ---- -130 150 130 130 -130 ---- -50 ----
18> 0.64 4.64 6.93 0.64 2.36 3- 5.79
-150 ---- -50 ---- 200 -150 NP -140 -90 ---- 150 ----
19> 3 6 5 0 2 1 4 7
---- -110 ---- 100 ---- -90 -180 -130 -150 -100 ---- 150
20> 2 6 0 2 7 2 5 4
---- 200 ---- 790 ---- 170 200 1800 200 660 ---- 650
21> 2- 7 6 0 4 2- 1 5
-140 ---- 400 ---- 130 ---- -620 -50 -140 -200 PASS ----
22> 4.07 6.93 1.79 1.79 5.79 0.07 4.07
50 ---- 150 ---- -200 ---- -200 110 NP -300 50 ----
23> 2 5 6 4 7 1 0 3
---- -110 ---- 150 ---- 200 ---- -90 300 -400 -1270 -100
24> 3- 2 5 7 0 6 1 3-
---- 50 ---- -50 ---- 90 ---- 140 -110 130 -100 50
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