Bridge Blog 521: Floating upstream

April could be the happiest month of 2012 so far. Midpoint finds me with something like 5.25 points in just nine days of club play. Does this mean double digits by month’s end? Why not? Especially with the clubs all offering double points.

What won’t count toward Ace of Clubs, though, is next weekend’s Buffalo Spring Sectional Tournament. Not that I don’t need tournaments points if I want to see my name on the Mini McKenney lists, although regional tournaments seem to be better places to get them. At the Winter Sectional in January, of the 145 players who earned points, only a dozen earned 10 or better (I had a pathetic 0.93), and the top players, Saleh Fetouh and Jim Mathis, won about 20.

But I have higher hopes this time around. Judie Bailey, the Unit 116 secretary and keeper of the newsletter, the Bridge Buff, has asked to play with me for both pairs sessions Friday and Saturday. She’s a Life Master, a sophisticated player, and we’ve done well together in the past – notably at last October’s Buffalo regional. Earning five to 10 points at the sectional with her as my partner is not out of the question.

So I’ve looked forward to my club dates with Judie. The first one, a week ago, found us missing signals on a couple conventions and ending up with 48.12%. That set this week’s game with her up as fine-tuning, but it was more like off-tune, 47.32%, thanks in part to some unfortunate sacrifice bids that gave us three bottom boards. We’ll do better in the sectional, I assured her. I think I was assuring myself, as well.

The unreassuring thing was that it was my worst round of the week. I did better on Monday with Marie Suprinick (50.83%, third in B, 0.69 point), on Wednesday with Bill Boardman (56.02%, tied for third in A, 0.86 point – after Celine Murray shed me to play with Joyce Greenspan and Usha Khurana begged off due to a family matter), and finally with Usha on Friday (56.92%, 0.72 point, second in B North-South).