Itabashi, Gelfand wrap Silver Ribbon

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Californians Mark Itabashi and Peter Gelfand pulled together a 66% evening session to win the Leventritt Silver Ribbon Pairs with a score of 2113.26 (64 top).
The pair was in sixth place following the qualifying day.
“We were dealt a very good game both sessions,” Itabashi says. “We threw it away this afternoon.” An almost dead average game dropped them to 20th on the leaderboard.
“If it was a regional event, we’d have withdrawn, and enjoyed a nice dinner and drinks,” Itabashi says. “Peter and I have that agreement when we play regionals. But it’s a national event. We had a carryover. We had to come back and play.”
The win is Gelfand’s first open NABC title. It is the fifth for Itabashi, who sits seventh on the ACBL’s all-time masterpoint list with more than 58,000 points.
Finishing second were Craig Biddle from Pittsburgh PA and Bernie Greenspan from Beachwood OH, who led the pack going into the second final. Their score was 2071.25.
“Craig is a very easy-going partner,” says Greenspan, “very easy to play with.”
Biddle says the pair plays a Polish Club. “It’s a good system for our temperament – somewhat aggressive, but not swinging from the vines. We also did a lot of good things on defense.”
Here are the complete results.