Bridge Blog 903: All About August

Hottest August on record in Buffalo, the National Weather Service says. Not my hottest August at the bridge tables, but at least the 14.91 points I earned, all of them at the Airport Bridge Club, marked an improvement over July.

Totals for the year now stand at 99.03 in club play through Aug. 31 and 116.55 in all venues. In the Unit 116 (Buffalo) and District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh) master point races, I suspect that I’m treading water.

Sure enough, among Ruby Life Masters (1,500 to 2,500 points), I’m still fourth in Unit 116, and clearly in the upper echelon. Heading the list is Mike Silverman with 119.68 (fourth overall in the unit), followed by David Millward, 105.85 (eighth in the unit); and Ken Meier, 105.60 (ninth in the unit). I’m tenth among all players in the unit.

Far behind in fifth place is Gene Finton, 80.79; then Fred Yellen, 71.75; Vince Pesce, 65.43; Allen Beroza, 62.59; Bill Finkelstein, 52.18; and Carolyn Siracuse, 36.24.

Overall unit leader is Jerry Geiger with 170.55, followed by Judi Marshall, 126.75; and Ron Henrikson, 121.76. After Mike Silverman, there’s Liz Clark, 115.48; Tom Koralewski, 107.64; and John Ziemer, 105.87. After me, there’s Mike Ryan in 11th place with 98 points even; Martin Pieterse, 95.81; John Welte, 94.42; Martha Welte, 93.47; and Meg Klamp, 83.27.

In the Mini-McKenney race, which measures all points, I’m still fifth among Ruby Life Masters. Ken Meier, with 169.02 points, has overtaken David Hemmer, 149.70, for the lead. Mike Silverman remains third with 126.71 and David Millward continues in fourth place with 121.11.

After my 116.55, there’s Fred Yellen with 110.19, then a big step down to Gene Finton, 83.75; Allen Beroza, 75.31; Vince Pesce, 69.09; and Bill Finkelstein, 53.23.

Overall in Unit 116, Ken Meier is 11th, David Hemmer is 13th, Mike Silverman is 20th, David Millward is 22nd and I’m 23rd. Here are the Top Ten:

Saleh Fetouh (of course), 393.47; John Welte, 259.41; Martha Welte, 258.46 (both buoyed by their big win at the Summer North American Bridge Championships (NABCs) July 20 to July 30 in Washington, D.C., where they brought home a total of 65.93 gold points and 23.64 red points); Dian Petrov, 240.15; Jerry Geiger, 238.72; Tom Koralewski, 210.52; Mike Ryan, 210.02; John Ziemer, 187.45; Davis Heussler, 178.68; and Jay Levy, 171.91.

Moving right along to the District 5 level, we Unit 116 players hold the top four spots among the Ruby Life Masters in the Ace of Clubs race. James Quigley of Pittsburgh slips into fifth place ahead of Gene Finton with 86.23. Overall in the district, Mike Silverman is 11th, David Millward is 19th, Ken Meier is 20th and I’m 27th.

Overall District 5 Ace of Clubs leader is Unit 116’s Jerry Geiger with 170.55, followed by Arlene Port and Patricia Katz, both of Pittsburgh, with 159.18 and 144.23, respectively. Next is Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, with 138.18, and Judy Haffner of Pittsburgh with 128.75. Our Judi Marshall’s 126.75 puts her sixth. Ron Henrikson’s 121.76 makes him tenth.

As for the Mini-McKenney, the Ruby Life Masters again are topped by Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, who’s way ahead with 325.78. Next is Peter Merker of Mentor, Ohio, with 191.49; Charles Ladiha of Vermilion, Ohio, with 182.42; our Ken Meier with 169.02; and a pair of Pittsburghers, Christopher Wang and Jean Picone, with 154.12 and 153.26 respectively. David Hemmer is seventh, Mike Silverman is 12th, down from ninth; David Millward is 14th, down from 12th; and I’m 16th, down from 15th.  

Overall in the district, Sue Lan Ma is tenth. Ken Meier is 55th, David Hemmer is 73rd, Mike Silverman is 104th, David Millward is 110th and I’m 117th.

Among all District 5 players, the leader is Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh with 674.06; followed by Philip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, with 502.15; Kathleen Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, with 421.20; Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, with 402.25; and Unit 116 leader Saleh Fetouh with 393.47. Unit 116’s John and Martha Welte hold down the 19th and 20th spots. Dian Petrov is 23rd. Jerry Geiger is 24th.

Nationwide, Unit 116 Ruby Life Masters hardly make a ripple in the upper reaches of the Ace of Clubs race. Top dogs are Edward Rauch of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with 227.57; Robert Shearer of Diberville, Miss., with 220.57; and Richard Fronapfel of Danbury, Conn., with 219.98. Our leader, Mike Silverman, is 139th. I’m tied for 311th with Stacy Jacobs of Hinsdale, Ill.

Nationwide Ace of Clubs leaders in all divisions are Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta, Ga., with 498.85; Kay Schulle of Purchase, N.Y., with 401.60; and Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with 401.46. Ed Rauch is 64th. Jerry Geiger is 258th and he’s the only Unit 116 player on it. The list of 500 cuts off at 143.52.

Nationwide Mini-McKenney Ruby Life Masters? Leader is Oren Kriegel of Chicago with 732.47. Tied for second are Mary Jane and Michael Gladfelter of Columbus, Ohio, with 615.64; followed by Cookie Potter of Sunset Beach, Calif., with 535.96. District 5’s Sue Lan Ma is 29th. Unit 116’s Ken Meier is 332nd. Our David Hemmer also makes the list at 453rd. It cuts off at 144.34 points.

And the overall national Mini-McKenney champs? They would be Chris Compton of Dallas, Texas, with 2,282.59; Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., with 2,116.25; Shan Huang of Toronto with 1,833.27; Mike Passell of Plano, Texas, with 1,802.23; Joe Grue of New York City with 1,724.40; the legendary Jeff Meckstroh of Clearwater Beach, Fla., with 1,703.78; and Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., with 1,702.18.

District 5’s Reanette Frobouck is 92nd. Unit 116’s Saleh Fetouh is 372nd. Buffalo native Joel Wooldridge, who now calls Astoria, Queens, home, is 28th with 1,097.22. I imagine we’ll see him at the Buffalo Regional in October.