Bridge Blog 876: Out With 2015, At Last

The website genies at ACBL central seem to have sorted out whatever was gumming up the final standings in the 2015 master point races. Now they run to their full, exhaustive length, not just for one or three or five places.

And so it comes to be registered that my totals for the year just gone by are these – 112.70 for Ace of Clubs, which are points earned in club play, and 154.11 for Mini-McKenney, which are all points earned everywhere.

Where does that leave me in the local, Western New York Unit 116 picture? Right where I was a month ago. On  the list for those with 1,000 to 2,500 points, I’m sixth in Ace of Clubs, seventh in Mini-McKenney. In 2014, my figures were 110.26, still sixth in Ace of Clubs, and 148.39, good for fifth in Mini-McKenney. Damn! 2015, despite all the time I missed because of health difficulties, was better than 2014. Here are the Top 10 in each race.

Ace of Clubs: John Ziemer, 173.96 (218.51 in 2014); Mike Silverman, 170.48 (should have been first, but between directing and his travels, he missed a lot of opportunities) (183.14 in 2014); Ken Meier, 165.31 (155.85 in 2014); Fred Yellen, 148.55 (121.70 in 2014); Martin Pieterse, 139.70; moi, 112.70; Allen Beroza, 104.66 (end of the century club); Dorothy May, 89.15; Walt Olszewski, 86.12; Bill Finkelstein, 82.55.

Mini-McKenney: John Ziemer, 305.05 (in 2014, 304.43); Fred Yellen, 238.04 (185.40 in 2014, up from fourth); Ken Meier, 214.28 (191.88 in 2014, third then, too); David Hemmer, 208.72 (146.33 in 2014, up from sixth); Mike Silverman, 188.49 (205.46, second in 2014); Martin Pieterse, 185.26; then a big step down to me, 154.11; and another big step down to Dorothy May, 123.17; Allen Beroza, 116.72; and Barbara Pieterse, 112.17.

Among all Ace of Clubs players at all levels in Unit 116, Jerry Geiger is the champ with 246.31. Meg Klamp is second with 186.94. Then come John Ziemer, Mike Silverman and Ken Meier. Bill Boardman, tops in the 500-1,000 division, is sixth with 162.76; followed by Barbara Libby, 156.09; Ron Henrikson, 151.87; Judi Marshall, 150.67; and Fred Yellen. I’m 16th.

Overall Mini-McKenney master for Unit 116 is, of course, Saleh Fetouh, with 517.03. Then come Jerry Geiger with 360.25; John Ziemer, 305.05; Bud Seidenberg, 288.22; Chris Urbanek, 276.50; Dan Gerstman, 274.63; Meg Klamp, 268.21; Davis Heussler, 258.91; Mike Ryan, 257.44; Fred Yellen, 238.04; Ron Henrikson, 235.33; and Ken Meier, 214.28. I’m 29th.

Now let’s move up to the District 5 level, which includes Cleveland and Pittsburgh, as well as Buffalo. Unit 116 players hold the top five spots in the Ace of Clubs list for 1,000 to 2,500 points. I’m ninth (62nd among all District 5 players). Allen Beroza’s 12th. Dotty May is 27th.

Jerry Geiger is top District 5 Ace of Clubs guy, too.

Over on the District 5 Mini-McKenney list, those Ohio folks rule the roost. Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills is first with 594.59, followed by Fleur Howard of Gates Mills with 530.75 and Peter Merker of Mentor with 324.61. John Ziemer is a very respectable fourth. Fred Yellen is sixth. Ken Meier is seventh. David Hemmer is ninth. Martin Pieterse is 14th. I’m 24th, 129th among everyone in District 5.

Overall District 5 Mini-McKenney leader is good old Reanette Froboeck from Pittsburgh. 837.76. Saleh Fetouh is eighth. Jerry Geiger is 18th. Turns out I am tied for 129th with James Fox of Canonsburg, Pa.

Nationwide, District 5 doesn’t much register in the 1,000 to 2,500 point range. In Ace of Clubs, John Ziemer is 183rd. Top three dogs are Floridians – Sanford Robbins of Pompano Beach, Fla., with 488.69, Edward Rauch of Fort Lauderdale with 417.10 and David Schapira of Delray Beach with 356.47, who is fractionally ahead of Jeffrey Kroll of Conroy, Texas, with 355.96. The list, 500 names long, ends at 144.41.

On the national Mini-McKenney (1,000 to 2,500), it’s Peter Gelfand of Corralitos, Calif., with 1,567.95, which must be putting him in a higher division immediately. Also above 1,000 points are Edmund Wu of San Francisco, 1,149.22; Oren Kriegel of Chicago, 1,049.56; and Jonathan Fleischmann of Bloomfield, Mich., 1,044.27. Of the District 5ers, Sue Lan Ma is 18th and Fleur Howard is 23rd. John Ziemer is 224th.

And the biggest point winner in the entire ACBL? It’s Chris Compton of Dallas. 3,223.18! Only guy above 3,000 points in 2015. Thirteen players earned more than 2,000. None of them were named Jeff Meckstroth. The longtime superstar was 14th with 1,953.48 (jeez, that's only a few points less than I've earned in my entire 11-year career as a competitive player). Buffalo native Joel Wooldridge (now listed as living in Astoria, Queens) was not far behind – 22nd with 1,778.11. The only Unit 116 player among the top 500 players in the nation is Saleh Fetouh. He’s tied for 462nd.