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This event is contested for the Cavendish Trophy and is a six-session Pair Event with two qualifying sessions. The special conditions and qualifications for participating in the bridge event are included below.
Special Conditions of Contest
The General Conditions of Contest for pair events will apply to this event, subject to the following special conditions of contest.
These Conditions of Contest may not be changed at any level of play during the course of this event.
Lack of knowledge does not constitute cause for exemption.
1. The Blue Ribbon Pairs will consist of six sessions, two qualifying, two semi-final and two final. 2. The Blue Ribbon Pairs will be open to pairs, each of whom has a Blue Ribbon Qualification. Use of one qualification does not cancel others. See Appendix R for more complete information on how one obtains a qualification. 3. Players who have equivalent status in bridge organizations other than the ACBL may request, in writing, approval to enter from the Director in Charge. 4. For the qualifying and semi-final sessions the field will be divided into groups of three or more sections. The matchpoints on each board will be calculated across the entire group for the two qualifying sessions. Approximately 50% (but in no case less than 40%) of the field in each group will qualify from the qualifying to the semi-final and from the semi-final to the final. For the semi-final and final sessions the matchpoints on each board will be calculated across the entire field. Ties for the last qualifying position will be broken as per ACBL regulation. 5. There will be a carryover from the qualifying sessions to the semi-final. The carryover will be calculated as per ACBL regulations but the spread from top to bottom can be no greater than two and one half boards. There will be a carryover from the semi-final sessions to the final as well but the spread can be no greater than four boards. 6. For purposes of qualifying or for determining final overall ranking any fraction of a matchpoint difference will be sufficient separation. 7. Regarding any of the above or any of the general conditions of ACBL pair events, the decision of the Director in Charge shall be final.
The Blue Ribbon Pairs will be held annually at the Fall NABC. Players who fulfill any one of the following requirements will have earned Blue Ribbon qualification.
1. First through eighth in the Vanderbilt, Spingold or Women's KO Team events. 2. First through tenth and ties in all other events with national rating (but not including Non-Life Master events). (This will include the Red Ribbon Pairs.) 3. First and second (including ties) in all gold-point regionally-rated events, without an age limit, and with an upper masterpoint limit of more than 1500 MPs. 4. First and second place finishers of a Flight A Second Strata 2-session Regional event with an upper masterpoint limit of 2,000 or higher that issues 100% gold points. 5. First and second in a bracket of a bracketed KO which awards 100% gold points. First and second in any other bracket if a team member has more than 1500 masterpoints. 6. The 100 players having the greatest total master points as of the September 1st ACBL computer cycle. 7. Winners of the Flight A District championship in the Grand National Teams and the Zonal champions in the CNTC Flight A. 8. First and second (including ties) in single-site District Finals of the North American Pairs. First and ties for first in multiple-site District Finals. 9. First and second place finishers in the Open Flight of the Grand National Teams at the National Final. 10. All past world champions. Players representing the ACBL or member countries of the ACBL in World Bridge Federation competition will not automatically earn Blue Ribbon qualification. 11. Using one eligibility does not cancel other eligibilities. They continue until used individually.
The ACBL Board of Directors has voted to remember Mr. Edgar Kaplan by renaming the Blue Ribbon Pairs the Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs. The action came at board meetings before the start of the Summer NABC in San Antonio and is effective with the Fall NABC in Boston. Mr. Edgar Kaplan (1925-1997) was a giant in the bridge world and his legacy to the game is incalculable. His 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. Mr. Edgar Kaplan was born in New York City in 1925, "a terrible year for wine but a great year for bridge players," he said in a 1996 interview. He learned to play 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. "I didn't last there very long," he recalled. "I was mostly majoring in bridge."
He left Cornell to join the Army Air Force in 1943 and served until early 1946. When he returned from the service, Kaplan went into business with his father, a dress manufacturer. Several years later, the elder Kaplan announced plans to retire and the son realized that "when he retired, I either had to take over the business or get out." He chose to become a partner in the Card School of New York. "It wasn't the correct financial decision but it was better for my disposition." Mr. Edgar Kaplan also began establishing himself as a player, writer, analyst, commentator and administrator. He won his first Vanderbilt title in 1953. "I started to get up but my knees were weak. I realized then that I had been under pressure after all." His greatest thrill was the 1983 Reisinger victory with Oswald Jacoby -- plus regular teammates Norman Kay, Bill Root and Richard Pavlicek. Kaplan, Kay, Root and Pavlicek had played always as a foursome but they invited Jacoby, a man they admired for his past feats and for his strength and courage in battling cancer, to join their team. Kaplan and Jacoby, along with Root and Pavlicek, played the first final session and led the field with 23 wins out of a possible 33. Jacoby sat out the second final session and his teammates scored 18 wins, and claimed the victory. Jacoby died the following year.
In all, Mr. Edgar Kaplan won 26 North American Championships but even with those impeccable credentials, he considered bridge a great leveler. In 1979 Kaplan was named Bridge Personality of the Year by the International Bridge Press Association. He was selected as ACBL Honorary Member for 1993. In 1995 he was inducted into the ACBL Bridge Hall of Fame and the WBF Hall of Fame. Mr. Edgar Kaplan was the co-inventor of the Kaplan-Sheinwold system, Kaplan and Kay listed "Timid K-S" as their general approach on their convention cards. Their results belied the "timid" designation: they won six Vanderbilts, two Spingolds, eight Reisingers, the 1997 Open Swiss Teams, the 1973 Life Master Men's Pairs and the 1974 Blue Ribbon Pairs.
Year Winners and Runners-Up 1963 1. B. Jay Becker, Dorothy Hayden 2. Harold Harkavy, Cliff Russell 1964 1. Robert D. Hamman, Lewis L. Mathe 2. Gunther Henke, John H. Moran 1965 1. Chuck Henke, John H. Moran 2. Michael S. Lawrence, Ron Von der Porten 1966 1. Charles Coon, Richard Zeckhauser 2. Leland Ferer, Gratian Goldstein 1967 1. Sami Ro. Kehela, Baron Wolf Lebovic 2. Phil Feldesman, Lewis L. Mathe 1968 1. Larry Cohen, Richard H. Katz 2. Bobby Goldman, Michael S. Lawrence 1969 1. Erik Paulsen, Alex Tschekaloff 2-4. Sami R. Kehela, Eric R. Murray 2-4. Tom Hodapp, Robert F. Morris 2-4. Larry Cohen, Richard H. Katz 1970 1. Chuck F. Burger, Ira S. Rubin 2. Richard Freeman, Cliff Russell 1971 1. Roger Bates, John M. Grantham 2. Hermine Baron, Michael S. Lawrence 1972 1. Richard Khautin, Warren Kornfeld 2. Garey Hayden, Mark Lair 1973 1. Steve Robinson, Kit Woolsey 2. Kathie Cappelletti, Mike Cappelletti 1974 1. Edgar Kaplan, Norman Kay 2. Roger Bates, George Rosenkranz 1975 1. Steve Robinson, Kit Woolsey 2. Ron E. Andersen, Hugh C. MacLean 1976 1. Jay Apfelbaum, Bill Edelstein 2. James Jacoby, David Berkowitz 1977 1. Lou Bluhm, Thomas K. Sanders 2. Kathie Cappelletti, Mike Cappelletti 1978 1. Ron E. Andersen, David Berkowitz 2. Ted Horning, Peter Nagy 1979 1. Robert Levin, Ron Smith 2. Ted Horning, Peter Nagy 1980 1. Warren Rosner, Allan Stauber 2. Dan Morse, G. Robert Nail 1981 1. Larry N. Cohen, Ron Gerard 2. Chip Martel, Lew Stansby 1982 1. Eric Rodwell, Jeff Meckstroth 2-3. Robert Blanchard, Drew Casen 2-3. Peter Boyd, Steve Robinson 1983 1. Marty Bergen, Larry N. Cohen 2. Peter Weichsel, Michael S. Lawrence 1984 1-2. Jack Kennedy, Bobby Wolff 1-2. David Funk, Mark Lair 1985 1. Eric Rodwell, Walter Johnson 2. Kit Woolsey, Ed Manfield 1986 1. Bob Hamman, Ron Von der Porten 2. Kit Woolsey, Ed Manfield 1987 1. Fred Stewart, Steve Weinstein 2. Kerri Shuman, Robert levin 1988 1. Marty Bergen, Larry N. Cohen 2. Robert Levin, Ron Smith 1989 1. Mark Molson, Rebert Lebi 2. Gaylor Kasle, Roger Bates 1990 1. Kit Woolsey, Ed Manfield 2. Brian Glubok, Samuel Lev 1991 1. Bob Hamman, Nick Nickell 2. Mark Tolliver, Marc Zwerling 1992 1. Haig Tchamitch, Adam Wildavsky 2. Brad Moss, Ravindra Murthy 1993 1. Bob Hamman, Michael Rosenberg 2. Martin De Bruin, Steve Price 1994 1. Mark Lair, Alexander Weiland 2. Fred Stewart, Steve Weinstein List of Participating Teams 1995 1. David Berkowitz, Larry Cohen 2. Paul Kiefer, Jerry Helms 1996 1. Jim Krekorian, Bob Blanchard 2. Larry Cohen, David Berkowitz 1997 1. Adam Wildavsky, Allan Falk 2. Geir Helgemo, Tony forrester 1998 1. Zia Mahmood, Howard Weinstein 2. Eric Rodwell, Marty Seligman 1999 1. Jill Meyers, John Mohan 2. John Sutherlin, Russ Ekeblad The venue was changed in 1999 to
Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs2000 1. Richard Coren, Marc Jacobus 2. Robert Levin, Steve Weinstein 2001 1. Salvador Assael, Nafiz Zorlu 2. Steve Landen, Pratap Rajadhyaksha 2002 1. Sidnay Lazard, Bart Bramley 2. Kit Woolsey, Fred Stewart 2003 1. Michael Seamon, Geir Helgemo 2. Eric Greco, Geoff Hampson 2004 1. Tarek Sadek, Walid Elahmady 2. Robert Levin, Steve Weinstein 2005 1. Gavin Wolpert, Jenny Ryman 2. Sabine Auken, Daniela von Arnim 2006 1. Fulvio Fantoni, Claudio Nunes 2. Jim Krekorian, Drew Casen 2007 1. Steve Landen, Pratap Rajadhyaksha 2. Ernesto Muzzio, Alejandro Bianchedi 2008 1. Eric Rodwell, Jeff Meckstroth 2. Martin de Knijff, Frederic Wrang
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