Despite the magnificent view of the Mediterranean from the playing room, few of us could think of anything but Scrabble. Three gruelling days, 18 nerve-racking games, 40 exhausted players (actually, some were ready for game 19...) and countless dramas later, the 1st Israeli Open is finally over. Ami did a fantastic job running the event and managing the 40 players from four continents who attended. There was not a single hitch in the schedule, and often we started *ahead* of time, as players couldn't wait to get going after the generous breaks...
This was the first time for many things: the first open one-division event in Israel, the first sponsored event (cash prizes) in Israel, the first international event in Israel, the first internationally rated event in Israel and the list goes on and on. An international report was published on the event (see here).
Many pictures were taken during the event (Evan's here, Yair's here). Enjoy!
Final Standings:
Position |
First Name |
Last Name |
Wins |
Losses |
Cumulative Differential |
1 |
Evan |
Cohen |
16 |
2 |
1352 |
2 |
Barry |
Grossman |
14 |
4 |
1090 |
3 |
Raz |
Na'ot |
12 |
6 |
613 |
4 |
Abba |
Hydara |
11 |
7 |
796 |
5 |
Rael |
Hayman |
11 |
7 |
762 |
6 |
Paloma |
Raychbart |
11 |
7 |
738 |
7 |
Moshe |
Feingold |
11 |
7 |
190 |
8 |
Chaya |
Amir |
11 |
7 |
-104 |
9 |
Hilda |
Ben Nun |
10 |
8 |
684 |
10 |
Pamela |
Loval |
10 |
8 |
543 |
11 |
Naomi |
Landau |
10 |
8 |
261 |
12 |
Jake |
Berliner |
10 |
8 |
110 |
13 |
Miriam |
Erez |
10 |
8 |
-23 |
14 |
Gila |
Blits |
10 |
8 |
-102 |
15 |
Tova |
Serkin |
10 |
8 |
-284 |
16 |
Cara |
Goldberg |
9 |
9 |
118 |
17 |
Omri |
Rosenkrantz |
9 |
9 |
109 |
18 |
Hadassah |
Braun |
9 |
9 |
86 |
19 |
Anne |
Garber |
9 |
9 |
50 |
20 |
Maureen |
Hoch |
9 |
9 |
49 |
21 |
Mona |
Nobil |
9 |
9 |
-15 |
22 |
Avril |
Shaw |
9 |
9 |
-35 |
23 |
Nancy |
Alroy |
9 |
9 |
-59 |
24 |
Amos |
Fabian |
9 |
9 |
-96 |
25 |
Agi |
Brener |
8.5 |
9.5 |
277 |
26 |
Norman |
Marcus |
8 |
10 |
384 |
27 |
Liliane |
Servier |
8 |
10 |
-46 |
28 |
Gisele |
Yomtov |
8 |
10 |
-85 |
29 |
Joan |
Tsitsianov |
8 |
10 |
-233 |
30 |
Masha |
Katz |
8 |
10 |
-301 |
31 |
Ya'ir |
Yehuda |
8 |
10 |
-505 |
32 |
Linda |
Marguys |
8 |
10 |
-593 |
33 |
Ruth |
Ogdan |
8 |
10 |
-609 |
34 |
Juliet |
Collins |
7.5 |
10.5 |
-636 |
35 |
Charlotte |
Perlin |
7 |
11 |
-17 |
36 |
Kay |
Faust |
6 |
12 |
-437 |
37 |
Gusta |
Gross |
6 |
12 |
-440 |
38 |
Marion |
Loewenstein |
6 |
12 |
-634 |
39 |
Elisheva |
Auerbach |
4 |
14 |
-1592 |
40 |
Gail |
Morris |
3 |
15 |
-1366 |
Awards given:
Winner - Evan Cohen (ISR) - NIS5000 + rack + shirt
Runner-up - Barry Grossman (UK) - NIS2000 + rack + shirt
Third - Raz Na'ot (ISR) - NIS500 + shirt
Fourth - Abba Hydara - shirt
Fifth - Rael Hayman (UK) - shirt
High Score - Norman Marcus (ISR) with 556 - shirt
Best Bingo - Nancy Alroy (ISR) with SUICIDAL - special edition of Liliane Servier's "Poem of the Week"
Tough Luck Award - Gail Morris (ISR) - Maple syrup from Vermont (donated by Kay Faust) to sweeten the blow