(front) Levi Katriel and Johnathan Trader; (rear) Dick Coulter and Ed Becker.
Part of such a good showing is having your photograph taken to commemorate the event. Becker and Coulter were willing, but they had a special request: They wanted a couple of young players they encountered in the stratified event to be in the photo with them.
The two retirees made the request, they said, because of how impressed they were with Levi Katriel and Johnathan Trader when the two pairs faced each other during the event.
“We thought it would be a kick to get a photo with them,” said Becker, of Saratoga CA. Coulter, who lives in San Luis Obispo CA, added, “They are not only good players, but their bridge etiquette was impeccable.”
“They were very nice to play with, and they whipped our (butts),” said Becker.
The two young players did not return for the afternoon session, so they were not available for interview. They won the 0-5 Pairs with a 59.58% game. Katriel lives in Del Mar CA. Trader lives in Chula Vista CA.
Becker is retired from an aerospace company. Coulter is a retired software engineer. Both said their wives are the really serious bridge players in their respective families and have “all the points.”
Becker, who plays at a bridge club in Palo Alto, said he is a strong supporter of the campaign to recruit more young people to bridge, in part because he is a witness to such efforts by Debbie Rosenberg at the Palo Alto club. Rosenberg is well known for her support of and interest in youth bridge.
Coulter said that although he enjoyed playing against the two young men, “I don’t want to play them when they’re 15 and 16.”
Judy Cotterman, who runs the I/N games with Priscilla Smith, said she was pleased to accommodate Becker and Coulter about the photo. “It was great,” she said. Cotterman noted that after the shot was taken, one of two men offered: “This is better than any picture you could give me.”