Bridge Blog 694: Midpoint

Sure, I got the 27 points I wanted in June, but then I watched my compadres in Western New York Unit 116 rack up major quantities of red and gold at the regional tournament on Grand Island. So now that the ACBL has compiled the figures for the master point races, I’m figuring that I’m holding steady in the Ace of Clubs, which is just club points, and sinking fast in the Mini-McKenney, where all those tournament winnings will be reflected. Let’s check them out.

          Sure enough, I’m holding steady in fifth place in the Unit 116 Ace of Clubs standings with 81.35 points. Way out in front is John Ziemer with 128.11. He’s even surpassed Jerry Geiger (who’s in the 2,500 to 5,000 point division) for the most club points among all players in the unit.

          Runner-up just short of the century mark is Mike Silverman with 96.48, followed by Liz Clark, 91.25; and David Millward, 87.97. After me, there’s Ken Meier with 70.65; Fred Yellen, 60.71; Vince Pesce, 55.52; Judy Padgug, 52.71; and Elaine Kurasiewicz, 50.79.

          Now let’s look at the Mini-McKenney, where I was eighth last month. My goodness, I’ve crept into seventh. By a hair. 102.75 points. A fraction more than David Millward, who has 102.25.

          John Ziemer has really taken off in the Mini-McKenney. His 223.13 points put him miles ahead of second-place David Hemmer, who has 138.01. Then come Judy Padgug, 120.95; Ken Meier, 118.92 (he had a really good tournament); Liz Clark, 116.11; Mike Silverman, 109.65; then me and David Millward. Rounding out the top 10 are Fred Yellen with 88.82 and Paul Libby with 71.80.

          On the District 5 level, which takes in Pittsburgh, Cleveland and stray parts of Maryland and West Virginia, our Unit 116 players hold down the first six places on the Ace of Clubs Top 25 and 10 of the top 17. Paul Libby is our 11 th representative in 25 th place with 47.72.

          Over on the District Mini-McKenney, the Cleveland area players shine through. They hold three of the top four positions, beginning with Michael Creager of Brecksville, Ohio., with 330.51. John Ziemer has moved up to second place on this list, followed by Peter Merker of Mentor, Ohio., with 191.60 and Fleur Howard of Gates Mills, Ohio., with 180.11. Fleur was at the Grand Island regional, taking home 12.29 points. Her team won that Wednesday Swiss teams game.

          David Hemmer is sixth on this list. Judy Padgug is ninth. Then come Ken Meier (10th), Liz Clark (12th), Mike Silverman (13th), then me and David Millward (19th and 20th). The list cuts off at 92.99 points. I’d fallen off this list last month.

          Nationwide, the Ace of Clubs leader in the 1,000 to 2,500 division once again is Judy Zhu of Naperville, Ill., who now has 185.24, having picked up another 44 points in June. Robert Ramos of Davie, Fla., is second with 152.53, having earned 32 more; and Michael Vermilion of Albuquerque slips to third with 151.48. Good old Charlie Christmas of Tallahassee, Fla., who led all the time when we were in the 500-1,000 bracket, is sixth with 140.06.

          Of the Unit 116 players, John Ziemer is 12th, Mike Silverman is 62nd, Liz Clark is 80th and David Millward is 96th. The list cuts off at 87.61 points. Looks like making this select circle of 100 should be my next goal.

          In the national Mini-McKenney, top dog again is John Johnsen of San Diego, Calif., with 703.31, followed once more by Shan Huang of Toronto with 569.72 (picking up 42.77 of them on Grand Island). In third place is Gabrielle Sherman of West Long Branch, N.J., who has crept ahead of Sylvia Shi of Baltimore. She has 443.25 to Sylvia’s 432.34.

          District 5 leader Michael Creager is 13th on this list. Last month, nobody from Unit 116 made the cut, but now John Ziemer is carrying the flag in 52nd place. This list ends at 187.63.