Bridge Blog 872-B: 11 Down, 1 to Go

Also lost in the STaC shuffle was the monthly review of the Unit 116 and District 5 master point races and my quest  to maintain a respectable position in them despite losing a couple months to medical leave.

Let’s start with the Ace of Clubs, points earned in club play only, for Unit 116 in the 1,000 to 2,500 point division, which is where I’ve been living since 2011. As of Nov. 30, I had 95.10 club points, keeping my position in sixth place on the list.

Leader is John Ziemer again, with 164.79, but nipping at his heels is Mike Silverman with 164.43. If Mike didn’t disappear on vacations, like the one he’s on now (Dec. 26), he’d be in the lead.

The rest of the list looks like this: Ken Meier, 152.71; Fred Yellen, 142.50; Martin Pieterse, 127.95; then me, followed by Allen Beroza, 94.39; Walt Olszewski, 79.38; Dorothy May, 78.85; and Bill Finkelstein, 75.76. Eleventh is Gene Finton, with 71.03 and an address of Delray Beach, Fla. Didn’t realize he was a snowbird.

In all divisions among Unit 116 players, Jerry Geiger (5,000 to 7,500) is on top with 229.18 and Meg Klamp (7,500 to 10,000) is next with 181.70. Then it’s the top three from 1,000 to 2,500, followed by Bill Boardman (500 to 1,000) with 148.22. Me, I’m 16th in the unit overall.

Moving right along to the Mini McKenney, which counts all points earned in all places, I have an end-of-November total of 128.74, which makes me a solid seventh.

John Ziemer is on top here too, with 258.27. Next are Fred Yellen, 229.24; Ken Meier, 201.68; David Hemmer, 199.49; Mike Silverman, 179.79; Martin Pieterse, 173.02; then that big step down to me, followed by Dorothy May, 109.62; Allen Beroza, 103.45; and Barbara Pieterse, 101.06.

Overall point champs in Unit 116 are the big-time players – Saleh Fetouh with 488.06, Jerry Geiger with 310.67, then Bud Seidenberg, 269.92; and Chris Urbanek, 264.47. John Ziemer is fifth. I’m 30th.

OK, time to look at District 5, which includes Cleveland and Pittsburgh as well as Buffalo. Here Unit 116 dominates the Ace of Clubs again. We hold the top four spots, then Gary Montain of Westlake, Ohio, checks in with 132.58. Martin Pieterse is sixth. I’m 13th. Allen Beroza is 16th. Walt Olszewski is 28th. Dorothy May is 30th.

Overall, it’s Jerry Geiger and Meg Klamp on top. John Ziemer is seventh. Mike Silverman is eighth.

Mini-McKenney, however, is where the Ohio people shine. They occupy the top four places – Su Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, 567.14; Fleur Howard of Gates Mills, 528.64 (47.87 of them here in Buffalo in October); Peter Merker of Mentor with 300.89 and Charles Ladiha of Vermilion with 263.11. John Ziemer is fifth. Fred Yellen is sixth. I’m 38th.

Champion of all District 5 players is Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh. She has 804.27. Then come the Ohio people Fleur Howard played with in Buffalo – Phillip Becker of Beachwood, 642.66; and Robert and Stephanie Alexander of Mentor, with 605.37 and 568.73. Su Lan Ma is fifth. Saleh Fetouh is eighth. John Ziemer is 38th. I’m 154th.

Best of all Ace of Clubs players in the 1,000 to 2,500 point bracket is Sanford Robbins of Pompano Beach, Fla. He’s got 432.94, an amazing number of club points, when you really think about it. Second is another Florida player, Edward Rauch of Fort Lauderdale, with 384.94. John Ziemer’s 173rd. You need at least 132.89 to make the Top 500. Best overall Ace of Clubs guy is Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta – 695.73! Sanford Robbins is tenth. Jerry Geiger is 255 th. The list cuts off at 192.92.

Best Mini-McKenney guy in the 1,000 to 2,500 category is Peter Gelfand of Corallitos, Calif., with 1,393.52. He won’t be in this division much longer. Sue Lan Ma is 15th. John Ziemer is 303rd. Fred Yellen is 458th.

Even more awesome is the overall Mini-McKenney list. Here we find Chris Compton of Dallas with 3,016.34, more points than I will probably earn in a lifetime. The fabled Jeff Meckstroh is 13th with 1,702.64. Buffalo native Joel Wooldridge is 29th with 1,356.56. Our own Saleh Fetouh is 404th.