Barbara and Mark Shaw
Win Mixed Pairs

A Maryland couple who met and married through bridge won the Mixed Pairs by a margin of almost three full boards. Barbara and Mark Shaw scored 2250.58 matchpoints (64 was top) to 2078.74 for runners-up Terry Michaels and Gary Roberts. JoAnna Stansby and Dale Beers were third with 2045.88.

The Shaws, who live in Laurel MD, met in 1995 at a local club. "It was Saturday, January 30, 1995. That' s when I met Mark," said Barbara. "There was a sectional coming up the next week and I asked him if he'd play on Thursday."

"I was her bridge pro and then we got married," agrees Mark, with a hint of a smile.

Barbara was the Life Master of the Year in the 1996 ACBL-wide Mini-McKenney race. Besides Mark, she began playing with area experts Steve Robinson and Ron Sukoneck. She also met the late Bobby Goldman at the Spring NABC in Philadelphia that year. "Bobby talked me into playing on a pro team. It was through him that I met Eric Rodwell who is not just a great player but a great teacher."

Mark agrees. "We follow a lot of his principles. We play a complicated, souped-up version of Washington Standard." "There's something to learn every day," adds Barbara. "Even the best players learn every day."

The two were married in August 1998. They played 5-6 times a week but now play only 2-3 times a week.

Reprinted from March 22 NABC Daily Bulletin