| Chess Man has New Game
Tom Brownscombe, until recently scholastic director for the U.S. Chess Federation, may have found a new game. Tonight he made his sixth Legends final table, moved into the all-around points lead and won event number 29, pot-limit hold em. It took luck. He started the final table with the fewest chips, was soon all in and survived by hitting a two-outer on the river.
Final table blinds started at $1,000-$2,000, allowing the first player in to raise anywhere from $4,000 to $7,000. There were three all-in confrontations and three survivals the first 25 hands. The first time, 78-year-old Gene Resnick, winner of the $1,000 no-limit event, had pocket 10s against Bob Kirkeby s pocket queens and flopped a set. Next, with $1,500-$3,000 blinds, Brownscombe had pocket fives and made a set on the river against Mel Judah s paired ace. The third time, Andy Miller was all in with A-K, which held up against Dr. Frank Rite's A-Q.
Left with 18k, Rite raised to 10k with K-10 on the next hand and was called by Card Player's Jeff Shulman. The 10-9-5 flop looked great for Rite and he bet all in. But Shulman had flopped a set of fives, and Rite finished ninth. On hand 31, Mel Judah bet all in when the flop came A-K-J. Bob Kirkeby called, also all in. I've got an ace, Judah said. Kirkeby had a straight. Judah was less upset over the beat than what he called Kirkeby's Academy Award acting when the flop came down. Left with $200, Judah lost it on the next hand with A-6 against Resnick's A-K.
Kirkeby then busted out on hand 52, Ac-4c against Shulman's A-K. One hand later, TV writer/producer Jay Moose Moriarty called all in for his last few chips with pocket nines after Miller raised with A-8. Moose looked like he was home free until a bullet ace on the river hit him between the antlers.That's three bad beats,he lamented, the ace, having to drive home during rush hour and my wife dragging me out to hear Lorna Luft sing tonight. With blinds at 2-4k, Andy Miller went out in fifth place. He raised all in with A-Q and ran into Brownscombe's pocket aces.
At about 8:30, Card Player publisher Barry Shulman walked in to sweat his son and sympathized when he spotted the hard-working tournament writer. They ought to pay you overtime,he said. Yeah, the writer replied. They pay me almost as bad as you do.
On hand 73, Resnick hauled in a $60,000 pot when his A-9 beat Brownscombe's Q-10. A hand later, Brownscombe had the same Q-10. Resnick had pocket aces and slow-played them on a flop of Q-9-6. A 10 turned to give Brownscombe top two, and when Resnick bet 20k, Tom moved him in and busted him. Brownscombe now had about 190k to deHollan's 65k while Shulman, a big chip leader early on, had kept running into bigger hands and had dwindled down to 25k. He now picked up a couple of pots, and after blinds went to 3-6k, took a big one from Brownscombe, A-K versus A-Q, to move into a slight lead. Brownscombe was nailed a second time when Aurel deHollan, with A-K, flopped an ace to outrun Brownscombe's pocket nines. Then, on the final hand, Shulman made it 21k to go with 7d-5d, deHollan moved in for 42k with Q-Q and won easily when Shulman called.
The chip count now was: Brownscombe, 107k; deHollan, 87k; Shulman 84k. They made a deal: 30k each for Shulman and deHollan, the rest for Brownscombe, and event 29 was over. Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY: Calling himself unemployed,Tom Brownscombe, whose prior job was encouraging youngsters to get involved with chess, is seriously considering a poker career after his awesome record at Legends 2003. His six final tables came in only 14 events. He had played some poker in the early 90s and finished third a couple of times at the Gold Coast Open, but from 1994-2000 had taken a hiatus to concentrate on his chess job. A resident of New York State, he has played occasionally at Foxwoods and taken a couple of vacations to play tournaments, mostly playing limit hold em.
He said he was very lucky tonight, tripling up early when he paired an ace and broke two players. Asked to describe his style of play, his wife broke in to answer: Patient.But he said it depends on who he's playing. Against a conservative player like deHollan, more aggressively. Jeff Shulman? Very difficult to read. I still don't know how he plays.
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