Bridge Blog 365: Out with the old

          Looks like all the Buffalo clubs I played at in December have shipped their results off to ACBL Central down South. Everything seems to be accounted for in my list of pending points – all 17.63 of them. That would bring my 2010 total to 287.02, with about 240 for the Ace of Clubs race, down from 309.90 (261.53 Ace of Clubs) in 2009.
          So I enter the brand new year with a career total of 1,035.52 masterpoints, which elevates me to a much tougher division in the national Ace of Clubs and Mini-McKenney races. My end of November totals, which got me fifth in Ace of Clubs and 76th in Mini-McKenney, would have put me in 39th place in Ace of Clubs in the 1,000-2,500 point division and off the list entirely in Mini-McKenney.

          I’d no longer be the top dog on the District 5 or Unit 116 levels, either. I’d be 10th in Mini-McKenney in the district, fourth in the unit. Ace of Clubs would be better – second to Mike Kisiel in the unit and the district.

          At least 2011 is off to a decent start. First game was Sunday. Arriving at the Airport Bridge Club without a partner, I was paired with Judie Bailey, with whom I came in first in the B stratification last Monday at the Whist Club. We made some great top boards and some grievous errors for bottoms and wound up with 54.17%, good for second North-South and .49 of a point.

Back on Monday with Usha Khurana in her last game before she goes home to India for month, we played in the Inter Club Championship game and registered 52.08%, good for second North-South and .42 of a point. Perhaps our score will perk up when it’s compiled nationally. We scored a couple tops that nobody else should touch – two overtricks that we didn’t deserve on a 4 Spade contract and a successful 4 Diamond doubled vulnerable contract (plus 710) that should have gone down one.