The Cavendish Invitational

Steve Weinstein and Bobby Levin Win 35th Cavendish Invitational Pairs

Steve Weinstein and Bobby Levin have claimed the 2009 Cavendish Invitational Pairs. Here are the other top ten finishers: 2. Geoff Hampson - Eric Rodwell 3. Roy Welland - Chris Willenken 4. Sam Lev - Jacek Pszczola 5. Josef Piekarek - Alex Smirnov 6. Curtis Cheek - Joe Grue 7. Fred Gitelman - Brad Moss 8. Geir Helgemo - Tor Helness 9. Michel Bessis - Thomas Bessis 10. Gunnar Hallberg - Michael Moss. Congratulations to all of you.

Leo Bell and John Jones win 2009 WBP Pairs

Leo Bell and John Jones win the 2009 WBP Pairs. The remaining money winners are Wafik Abdou - Gaylor Kasle in second and Fred Hamilton - Leonard Ernst in third. Wafik and Gaylor won the session and collected the $1,000 session award as well.

Cavendish Invitational Auction Hits $958,500

At the cocktail party Thursday night, a fun time was had by everyone. The food was excellent, the wine ran freely, and George Jacobs did his usual tip-top job in running the auction for the Cavendish Invitational Pairs. The total money raised was $958,500. We did not break the million-dollar barrier, but the prize money for the top ten finishers will still be great.

Based on the auction, the favorites are Bobby Levin and Steve Weinstein, who went for $61,000. They were just ahead of defending champions Geoff Hampson and Eric Rodwell, who were bought for $55,000. The third-highest price of $50,000 went for Geir Helgemo and Tor Helness. Interestingly, they were all bought by Jim Mahaffey, fresh from his success in the John Roberts Teams.

Please see Auctions/Awards page for a complete listing of pairs, owners and prices.

Mahaffey Team Earns Blitz to Win by 1 Victory Point

The team of Lou Ann O’Rourke (non-playing captain), Marc Jacobus, Geoff Hampson, Eric Rodwell, Bobby Levin and Steve Weinstein seemed to have the John Roberts Teams firmly in their grasp with one round to be played. Even if the only team capable of catching them, Jim Mahaffey, Mike Passell, Sam Lev, Jacek Pszczola, Zhong Fu and Jie Zhao, won a blitz, O’Rourke’s team could afford to lose by 13 international match points and still claim the title. And a loss by 14 or 15 imps would result in a 6-board playoff. But the "unbelievable" happened. Mahaffey did blitz, and O’Rourke lost by 17 imps.

Third was the team that beat O’Rourke, Seymon Deutsch, John Kranyak, Billy Cohen, Ron Smith, Curtis Cheek and Joe Grue. The final payoff spot was taken by the team of Romain Zaleski, Paul Chemla, Chris Compton and Brian Glubok. The full story is in this bulletin.

2009 JOHN ROBERTS TEAMS FINAL STANDINGS & AWARDS	Rank	Prizes	Total
Jim Mahaffey – Mike Passell – Sam Lev – Jacek Pszczola – Jie Zhao – Zhong Fu	1	43,450	181
Lou Ann O’Rourke – Marc Jacobus – Geoff Hampson – Eric Rodwell – Bobby Levin – Steve Weinstein	2	31,350	180
Seymon Deutsch – John Kranyak – Billy Cohen – Ron Smith – Curtis Cheek – Joe Grue	3	21,450	166
Romain Zaleski – Paul Chemla – Chris Compton - Brian Glubok	4	13,750	163
Gaylor Kasle – Drew Casen – Jim Krekorian – Neil Chambers – John Schermer			153
Martin De Knijff – Frederic Wrang – Bjorn Fallenius – Peter Fredin – Peter Bertheau – Fredrik Nystrom			143
Roy Welland – Michael Rosenberg – Georgio Duboin – Guido Ferraro			139
Barry Goren – John Hurd – Jeff Meckstroth – Joel Wooldridge			139
Albert Faigenbaum – Dominique Pilon – Marc Bompis – Jean-Christophe Quantin			137
Bob Hamman - Hemant Lall - Gary Cohler - Michael Seamon	Best 3rd	10,000	129
Kevin Bathurst – Justin Lall – Jason Feldman – Dan Zagorin			126
Bruce Rogoff – Louk Verhees – Josef Piekarek – Alex Smirnov			113
Connie Goldberg – Billy Eisenberg – Ton Bakkeren – Huub Bertens			110
Pierre Zimmermann – Frank Multon – Michel Bessis – Thomas Bessis – Geir Helgemo – Tor Helness			103
Mike Moss – Gunnar Hallberg – David Berkowitz – Bill Pollack			99
Charles Wigoder – Zia Mahmood – Bob Blanchard – Shane Blanchard			79