Bridge Blog 665: Goodbye, March

Now that the ACBL has done its monthly update of the master point races, I can see how badly my major slump has hurt me. Not a lot, as it turns out. My Ace of Clubs total, for just club play, is 41.35. The Mini-McKenney figure is 43.85, but that’s not right. The five district-level bonus points that I won in the special game back on March 12 are not included there.

Anyway, let us begin with Unit 116, which is just Buffalo. I’ve slipped from second to third place in the Ace of Clubs Top 10. John Ziemer continues first with 66.99 and Mike Silverman now is second with 49.23. Following me are Liz Clark, 37.32; Ken Meier, 34.72; Fred Yellen, 25.82; Vince Pesce, 24.73; Gene Finton, 23.46; Carolyn Siracuse, 22.76; and Paul Libby, 22.70.

Actually, only a few other people unit-wide have more club points than me. Jerry Geiger has 67.37. Meg Klamp, who’s down in Florida, has 55.29. And Jim Mathis has 43.35.

It’s a different story over on the Mini-McKenney list, where the tournament points are added in. Leader here is still David Hemmer with 79.18, followed by John Ziemer with 71.32. Judy Padgug and Mike Silverman are tied for third with 50.45. And I’m fifth with 43.85. Add those missing five points and I’m still fifth. After that come Ken Meier, 42.14; Liz Clark, 40.70; Fred Yellen, 36.92; Paul Libby, 28 even; and Vince Pesce, with the same 24.73 he has in Ace of Clubs.

Going to the District 5 level, covering Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and parts of West Virginia and Maryland, Unit 116 players occupy the top five spots on the Ace of Clubs list at the 1,000 to 2,500-point level and eight of the top 25 overall.

District 5 also has top players in the 100-200 list (Dave Donaldson, 32.38); the 200-300 list (Larry Soong, 17.44), the 300-500 list (Shakeel Ahmad, 31.92), the 2,500-5,000 list (Jerry Geiger) and the 7,500-10,000 (Meg Klamp).

On the Mini-McKenney, our top two guys, David Hemmer and John Ziemer, are fourth and fifth. On top once again is Michael Creager of Brecksville, Ohio, with 147.99, followed by James Gray of Murrysville, Pa., with 81.75, and Fleur Howard of Gates Mills, Ohio, with 81.08. I’m 20th, but give me those missing five points and I’d be 13th. In all, seven of us Unit 116 players are among the Top 25.

Do we show up at all on the national level? Yes. On the nationwide Ace of Clubs, John Ziemer is seventh. Leader is Paul Harris of Phoenix, Ariz., with 82.85, followed by Michael Vermilion of Albuquerque, N.M., with 78.95, good old Charlie Christmas of Tallahassee, Fla., with 75.32, and Judy Zhu of Napierville, Ill., with 74.95. Mike Silverman is 72nd and I don’t make the list. It cuts off at 45.84.

Over on the national Mini-McKenney, it’s Jim Johnson of San Diego, Calif., with 467.05, leading Shan Huang of Toronto with 354.93 and Sylvia Shi of Baltimore with 269.90. Michael Creager is 17th and nobody from Unit 116 is on the list. It stops at 95.02.