These photos of Duluth's Ben Kristensen and his partner from Denver, Burke Snowden, were taken during the 2012 Summer NABC in Philadelphia.
Ben and Burke did not head back to their respective homes when the tournament ended, however, like the rest of us. Instead, they and a number of other youngsters who qualified to compete in the 2012 World Junior Championships awakened in the wee hours to travel to Tai Cang City, China (near Shanghai).
Ben and Burke are on USA2 for the Damiani Cup, which is a team competition for the under 21 group.
Ben's dad and the team's coach, Curt Kristensen, reports that the boys' team is in 10th place after 3 matches. Tonight at 9:30PM central, the boys will play USA1 on vugraph at Bridgebase. Ben and Burke will face Adam Kaplan and Zach Brescoll, a strong pair - so it should be a very exciting match! If you're able to watch these 16 boards, it should be well worth your time.
Currently, USA2 has 41 vp's; USA1 has 40.
Please join me in sending good wishes to Ben and Burke - along with the rest of the Americans at the tournament! How thrilling for us to have another young bridge star on the other side of the world representing us in international competition!
Good Luck to Ben and the rest of the American Juniors in China!
Another competitor with a Minnesota connection ... Zizhuo Wang is competing on the USA 2 squad for the Patino Cup (Under 26). His bio says he is coming to the U of Minnesota as an Assistant Professor when he returns from China.
Posted by: Bill Cummings | July 27, 2012 at 09:57 PM
Bill - thanks for the added info! I didn't know this about Zizhuo Wang. Hope to meet him once he is settled in MN!
Posted by: Peg | July 28, 2012 at 08:19 AM