The MARTY HARRIS team is a new entrant to the USBF this year. These young players are only seeded 27th, but over the past three years their partnerships have earned 5 national wins, 2 national runner-up awards, and a dozen other top-10 finishes (in national events, but ones that don't count toward seeding points). This dark horse team could be a good bet to outperform its seed by pulling off some upsets.
SYSTEM INFORMATION
HARRIS-MORGAN System Summary
YANG-SHI System Summary
SHI-GU System Summary
DEMIREV-GU System Summary
ABOUT THE PLAYERS
Marty Harris
Age: 42
Lives in: Chicago, IL
Grew up in: Beachwood, Ohio (suburb of Cleveland)
Occupation: Attorney. Marty is a partner in a law firm: Connelly Sheehan Harris. He and his boutique firm handle employment-related lawsuits everywhere in the U.S., defending employers when they are sued for discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, or the like. Marty wishes his record at the bridge table matched his record in the courtroom: he is undefeated on the legal battlefield (career record is 60 - 0).
Bridge highlights: After taking a 15 year hiatus from tournament bridge, Marty returned to the game -- and began playing seriously -- in 2002. In the past couple of years, he and his regular partner, Jacob Morgan, have swept through the 0 to 5000 ranks, winning three NABC titles:
● Won the 0 - 5000 Mini-Spingold (2006, Chicago)
● Won the 0 - 5000 Mini-Blue Ribbon Pairs (2005, Denver)
● Won the Red Ribbon Pairs (2004, Reno).
Marty has not yet won an NABC+ event, but he has come close several times in the past two years:
● 2nd place: Open Swiss Teams (2005, Atlanta)
● 4th place: IMP Pairs (2005, Pittsburgh)
● 8th place: Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (2006, Dallas)
Other hobbies: Avid golfer. Also plays tennis, volleyball, and racquetball. Enjoys other card games, too, particularly hearts and spades.
Jacob Morgan
Age: 29
Lives in: Madison, WI
Grew up in: Madison, WI
Occupation: Fulltime bridge player and teacher.
Also sells bridge books at ACBL tournaments.
Previously was a tax preparer.
Bridge highlights: Gold Life Master of the Year in 2005 (won the Mini-McKenney race)
8th place overall in 2005 Barry Crane race (1,767 masterpoints)
Won the 0 - 5000 Mini-Spingold (2006, Chicago)
Won the 0 - 5000 Mini-Blue Ribbon Pairs (2005, Denver)
Won the Red Ribbon Pairs (2004, Reno)
2nd place: Open Swiss Teams (2005, Atlanta)
4th place: IMP Pairs (2005, Pittsburgh)
8th place: Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (2006, Dallas)
Other hobbies: Golden Tee and Poker
David Yang
David started playing bridge when he was attending college in Taiwan in late 70s. He won Inter-college Champion 1979, National Golden Dragon Cup Champion 1981, International City Open Pairs Champion 1982, and finished 3rd in China Cup, Taiwan, 1982.
He is now a Gold Life Master of ACBL with 3938 master points
National Win: North American Open Pairs Spring 2005
Other top 10 Finish in National Events:
3rd in IMP Pairs, Las Vegas, Summer National 1991.
6th in Life Master Pairs, San Antonio, Summer National 1999.
7th in Life Master Pairs, Anaheim, Summer National 2000.
5th in IMPs Pairs, Toronto, Summer National 2001
5th in Vanderbilt KO team, Reno, Spring National 2004
7th in IMP Pairs, New York, Summer National 2004
6th in National Swiss Team, Orlando, Fall National 2004
5th in Open Swiss Team, Pittsburg Spring National 2005
7th in Open Swiss Team, Atlanta, GA, Summer National 2005
3rd in North American Open Pairs, Dallas, Spring National 2006
3/4 in Grand National Championship, Chicago, Summer National 2006
9th in Swiss Team, Chicago, Summer National 2006
He has over 20 regional wins.
Xiaodong Shi
Background: Born and raised in Shanghai, China. Learned bridge in 1980s when bridge was promoted in China by Deng Xiaoping and Kathie Wei. Moved to US in 1995, got MS degree in math in WVW, and have worked in IT since then. Married with a lovely 2-year old daughter.
Occupation: Management of Data Operations for an online media company.
Bridge Highlights: 1998 ACBL Instant MP winner. Many top ten finishes in NABC events, including:
Fast Open Pairs: 2nd, 3rd
Open Pairs: 4th, 6th, 10th
LM Pairs: 6th, 7th, 12th (was leading after day 2)
Open Swiss Teams: 5th, 7th, 9th
BAM Teams: 12th, 19th
NA Swiss: 14th
Represented District 13 in GNT twice
Represented District 13 in NAP twice
Nikolay Demirev
Born on May 5, 1972 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Started tournament bridge January 1991 at age of 18. October 2000 moved to USA. Education: MD but don’t work in this capacity – too much bridge. Married to Darina Demirev – avid bridge player as well, specializing in environmental engineering.
Top Bridge Achievements:
2004 1st at the Lebhar IMP Pairs – Summer NABC, New York
2005 1st at the North American Pairs flight A – Spring NABC, Pittsburg
2004 6th at NABC Open Swiss – Fall NABC, Orlando
2005 5th NABC Open Swiss – Spring NABC, Pittsburg
2005 5th NABC Open Swiss – Summer NABC, Atlanta
2006 3rd North American Pairs flight A – Spring NABC, Dallas
2006 3/4 Grand National Teams, Championship Flight – Summer NABC, Chicago
2006 9th NABC Open Swiss – Summer NABC, Chicago
Jiang Gu
Background: Jiang grew up in his native Shanghai, where he took up bridge when he was 17. He moved to the United States in 1995.
Occupation: Analyst for a major pharmaceutical firm.
Bridge Highlights: One NABC+ victory, and many other top ten finishes in NABC events, including:
IMP Pairs 1st place (2004, N.Y.)
Fast Pairs 2nd place (2005, Atlanta)
Fast Pairs 3rd place (2004, N.Y.)
Open Swiss 5th place (2005, Pittsburgh)
Open Swiss 7th place (2005, Atlanta)
Open Swiss 9th place (2006, Chicago)
Open Pairs 4th place (2006, Chicago)
Open Pairs 6th place (2005, Atlanta)
Open Pairs 7th place (2005, Pittsburgh)
LM Pairs 12th place (2002, Wash.)(was leading after Day 2)
Mixed Pairs 10th place (2005, Pittsburgh)