Bridge Blog 1065: Wait'll Next Year

At midweek, I had four shots at getting the 4.84 points I needed to become a Gold Life Master before the end of 2018.

Would I haul in some of those points Wednesday with June Feuerstein? Winning that five-table Howell game at the Airport Bridge Club would have gotten 2.19 of them. Instead, we have a 39.81% game. We’re dead last.

Hopes rekindle Thursday with Marietta Kalman, especially after we get off to a good start in the first couple rounds. After all, we earned a point a week ago. Winning this nine-table game would be worth more than 3 points. But no luck. We’re 48.47%, three percentage points short of winning anything.

They don’t have extra points Friday at the Bridge Centre of Niagara in St. Catharines, Ont., but any winnings would keep hope alive. Selina Volpatti and I improve upon our sub-40% showing of the previous week, but alas, we don’t improve enough. Our 45.24% is very far below what we need.

No matter what I do on Saturday with Denise Slattery, the quest to reach Gold in 2018 is over. With the pressure off, we end the year on a high note in the five-table game at the Airport Club. 56.94%. Second overall. 1.64 points. Now, Denise declares, you only need 3.2 points.

Bridge Blog 1065-A: Blessing in Disguise?

Ken Meier stayed away from the tables for two months so he wouldn’t stray over 2,500-point mark and become a Gold Life Master too soon. The reason? He wanted to avoid having to compete in the A/X stratification in the Cleveland Rock ‘N Roll regional tournament in January.

I’ve kept playing and I’m still a little short. But once I turn Gold, which is certain to happen in the next week or so, no more cheap points in the lower strats, at least not in tournaments. In the meantime, I’ll still be a Ruby Life Master for the Buffalo Winter Sectional at the end of January.

Bridge Blog 1064: Bumpy ride

All buckled up. 7.22 points still needed to become a Gold Life Master. As of Thursday, Dec. 20, seven games left to play this year. Can 2018 turn golden before the year’s last calendar page falls?

Didn’t look so good Friday in St. Catharines, Ont. Best part was Canadian partner Selina Volpatti’s Christmas gift – a silvery box with a dove on top. And inside, half a dozen butter tarts she made that very morning. It was all I could do to resist gobbling up a couple right there on the spot.

I should have devoted my energies to winning instead. I bid too aggressively, sacrifice too heavily and lose my first six contracts. We finish 10th out of 11 pairs North-South. Not even 40%. Consolation: Even if we matched last week’s 54.46% achievement, we wouldn’t have gotten points.

So was there any hope for Saturday with Denise Slattery? Would the bridge gods smile on us?

No smiles in the first two rounds of the five-table Howell movement at the Airport Bridge Club. No cards, either. But then we start getting something to bid with. And we get some breaks – a couple doubled contracts that we shouldn’t make, but do. We aren’t winners, but our 59.26% is first in the B strat. 2.38 points! Now it’s five games left, 4.84 points to go.

Bridge Blog 1063: Later? Or sooner?

Since STaC week two weeks ago, I’ve become resigned to the likelihood I won’t become a Gold Life Master before the end of the year. When the month began, I needed 18.53 points. I’d hoped to pick up half of them during the STaC, got only 2.52.

What I wasn’t counting on were the non-tournament games at the Airport Bridge Club. As it turns out, they’ve been better than the STaC.

My total the month at the club as of Tuesday, Dec. 18, was 8.06 (including the STaC results). Then June Feuerstein and I had a 54.46% game on Wednesday and came in first in the B strat. 1.70 points.

And on Thursday, in a bizarre turn of events that I still don’t understand, director Bill Finkelstein stopped the eight-table game after four three-board rounds because of a problem, had us all shuffle the cards and then play another four three-board rounds against the rest of our opponents. It amounted to not one, but two abbreviated 12-hand games, both involving 24 boards.

In the first session, when partner Marietta Kalman and I were having good cards and what seemed like good luck, I was startled at the real outcome – a mere 47.93%. The second session promised an even lower score, so I was even more shocked to discover that we were running a 68% game when the first partial results were posted. Naturally, that didn’t hold up, but we didn’t descend too far, only to 56.94%. Third overall. 0.89 of a point.

So where do things stand? Let’s do the numbers. 10.65 points at the Airport Club. Another 0.67 last Friday with Canadian partner Selina Volpatti at the Bridge Centre of Niagara in St. Catharines, Ont.  Total so far: An unofficial 11.32.

How many points did I need at the start of the month? 18.53. How many do I need now? 7.21. How many games left in 2018? Seven. Hmmm.

Bridge Blog 1062: Somebody else, not me

STaC Week stacked against me. I played 12 of 13 possible Sectional Tournament at the Clubs matches at the Airport Bridge Club between Dec. 3 and Dec. 9, and emerged with just 2.52 points. Out of 1,051 players who earned points during the week, I was 329th.

Stephanie and Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, were STaC point leaders, tied for first with 41.73. Third was a Buffalo area player, Linda Burroughsford, who showed up a lot at the Airport Club, where there were two games a day. She earned 28.25 points.

Other notables: Alan Greer, 21.81 (eighth); Allen Beroza, 17.33 (14th); John Ziemer, 16.40 (16th); Davis Heussler, 15.78 (17th); Jay Levy, 15.73 (18th); Martha and John Welte, 10.90 (tied for 35th); Mike Ryan, 10.01 (46th); Bob Linn, 9.69 (50th); Liz Clark, 9.39 (56th); and Linda Vassallo and Wilson McClaren, 9.37 (tied for 58th).

Bridge Blog 1061: November to remember?

No thanks. I’d rather forget.

I hoped November would put me on the threshold of Gold Life Masterdom, but it fell short. Very short. If I reach Gold by the end of the year, it will be a miracle. Especially after my hopes for a big bump in the Sectional Tournament at the Clubs (STaC) didn't materialize.

But that wouldn't have been so crucial if I had gotten more than a mere 8.56 points in November. They were all club points and they brought my lifetime total to 2,481.47. Anyway, let’s see where everyone stands with one month to go in 2018 .

Unit 116 (Buffalo only), Ace of Clubs (club play only), Ruby Life Masters (players with 1,500 to 2,500 points). 

    Yes, I earned only 8.56 club points in November, bringing my Ace of Clubs total to 129.50, but incredibly, I moved up one notch to fourth place among the Unit 116 Rubies. I also move up from 14th to 13th among all players in the unit. Go figure.

Here's the top 10:

Mike Silverman keeps first place with 180.93. Good thing he had a 24-point month. Former leader David Millward, after earning no points at all in October, roars back from Florida, apparently, with a 49-point month to take second place with 171.41. He zips past Allen Beroza, up only 17 points to 161.59.

My anemic performance nevertheless was stronger than that of Martin Pieterese, who earned less than a point and now has 128.57.

Then it’s Fred Yellen, passing Ken Meier to land in sixth place with 108.78. Ken stands pat with 107.89 (I’ve heard he’s sitting out these days because he wants to stay below 2,500 career points so he can play in the B strats in the Cleveland Regional in January). Dorothy May passes the century mark with 102.01. Then it’s Davis Heussler with 99.24 and Gene Finton with 79.15.        

Unit 116, Ace of Clubs overall. 

Once again, it’s Alan Greer. 408.29 points, almost 30 club points. He’s now more than 150 ahead of his sometime partner Nancy Wolstoncroft, who’s still second with 255.82. 

Then it’s John Ziemer, with 223.16. Mike Silverman (180.93) keeps ahead of Barbara Libby (175.40 after a 24-point month). Then it’s David Millward with 171.41, dropping Liz Clark (169.86) from fifth to seventh place.

Then it’s Allen Beroza, eighth with 161.49, followed by the Weltes, Martha and John, tied for ninth with 158.17.

        Then it’s Mike Ryan with 149.10; Bob Linn with 144.26; me with 129.50; Martin Pieterse with 128.57; Gay Simpson, who like me wanted a 15-point month but only earned 7 points to reach 127.74; Denise Slattery, 124.86; Bud Seidenberg, 115.38; Judi Marshall, 121.26; ailing Ron Henrikson, standing pat at 116.41; and Judy Graf, 109.84.

 Moving on to the Mini-McKenney races, which count all points earned everywhere, I’m still sixth among the Rubies, as David Millward passes me and Martin Pieterse falls behind.

Still far ahead is Davis Heussler, who had a 22-point month to reach 390.06. Nevertheless, he’s still third among all Unit 116 players. Moving up to second place, and 14th overall, is Allen Beroza with 215.82. Slipping back to third is Ken Meier with that 215.43, also falling back two places at 15th in the entire unit.  

Mike Silverman continues fourth with 205.06, advancing from 19th to 17th overall. David Millward rebounds from eighth to fifth place (and 30th to 18th in among all unit players) with 201.41.

I’m a distant sixth with 160.15, still 27th overall, followed by Fred Yellen with 157.39 (still 29th).

Then it’s Martin Pieterse in eighth place with 155.29 (now 31st overall), followed by Gene Finton, 114.83 (still 48th); and Dorothy May, 107.11 (up one notch to 49th).

     Among all players in Unit 116, it’s Alan Greer, with 452.07. Saleh Fetouh continues second, with 400.06. Then comes Ruby leader Davis Heussler with his 390.06.  

Jay Levy maintains position in fourth with 334.54, followed by John Ziemer with 323.45.

Then it’s the Weltes, tied at 316.09; Nancy Wolstoncroft with 310.52; Linda Burroughsford, 308.91; and Dian Petrov with 302.36. In all, 19 players now have 200 points or more.

Now let’s widen our horizons.

       District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh) Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters. 

Here Unit 116 players hold five of the top 10 places, including the No. 1 spot.

Mike Silverman overtakes Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 180.93 to 171.86. David Millward is right on Goulding’s heels with 171.41. Fourth is Allen Beroza with 161.59.

James Wheeler of Edinburg, Pa., retains the fifth place he assumed a month ago with 137.60. Moving ahead of me are Garnet Depner of Jeannette, Pa., with 133.09, and Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, with 131.78. I slip from seventh to eighth with my 129.50. Then it’s Martin Pieterse with 128.57 and William Feeny of Latrobe, Pa., with 115 even.

Mike Silverman is eighth district-wide, while Philip Goulding continues 11th. I’m 36th, down from 34th.

Overall Ace of Clubbers in District 5 look like this:

Buffalonians hold the top three spots. It’s Alan Greer with 408.29 and Nancy Wolstoncroft with 255.82, with John Ziemer regaining third with 223.16, one point ahead of Arlene Port of Pittsburgh, who has 222.16.

Then it’s Barbara Belardi with 206.23, continuing her climb by passing Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., who has 198.97. Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh is seventh with 191.79.

       Two more Western New Yorkers slip into the lower reaches of the Top 10 – Mike Silverman, eighth with 180.93, and Barbara Libby, tenth with 175.40. Between them is Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, with 177.03. Ruby leader Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., maintains 11th place with 171.86, with only two points separating him from Western New Yorker Liz Clark, who’s 15th with 169.86.

    Now for the District 5 Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters. 

    Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., still is outdistancing everyone with 487.13. Unit 116’s Davis Heussler solidifies his claim on second with 390.06, well ahead of Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, with 346.77. They’re seventh, 17th and 21st overall in the district.

Then it’s a big step down to our Allen Beroza, 215.82 (57th overall); our Ken Meier, unchanged at 215.43 (but now down to 58th from 53rd).

Our Mike Silverman moves up a notch with his 180.33 (up to 61st from 70th); David Millward takes seventh with 201.41 (62nd overall). Then it’s Leroy Hackenberg of Pittsburgh, 192.85 (71st); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 184.02 (74th); and Wayne Heritage of North Olmsted, Ohio, 176.06 (83rd). I move back up to 15th from 16th among Rubies with my 160.15, and inch ahead to 111th from 112th overall. 

   Mini-McKenney leader among all District 5 players is, of course, Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, who added 61.19 points to reach 888.63.

A big month – 115.77 points – moves Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, ahead of Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, who took in only 19.29 points and dropped to third with 634.18.

She’s followed by Kathleen Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, who followed a dormant no-point October with a 75-point November and now has 591.52. Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, is fifth with 538.37, followed now by (wife?) Stephanie Alexander of Mentor with 519.66.

Ruby Life Master leader Philip Goulding is seventh with his 487.13. Then it’s Phillip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, with 485.25, and Kenneth Kranyak of Parma, Ohio, with 469.89.

Slipping to tenth from seventh without gaining a point at all for the third month in a row is Don Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, still with 469.78.

Alan Greer continues as top Western New Yorker in 11th place with 452.07. Next Unit 116 players on the list are Saleh Fetouh, still 14th with 400.06; and Davis Heussler, 17th with 390.06. 

    Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

    Paul Hassett of The Villages, Fla., sees his lead shrink from 46 points to 32 points, but his 345.23 still keeps him safely ahead of second-place Joanne Matchette of Vero Beach, Fla., who has 312.02. She rebounded from ninth place with a 67-point month after standing pat in October.

Then it’s last month’s #3, Brian Breckenridge of Corvallis, Ore., with 303.44, and Mason Barge of Atlanta, barging ahead from seventh to fourth with 296.34. Last month’s second place-holder, Anna Maxcine Thacker of Palm Coast, Fla., who registered only 13.27 points, is now fifth with a total of 294.78.

Then it’s Aivars Lapins of Cambria, Calif., continuing sixth with 275.63; and Bruce Ladin of Harwood Heights, Ill., down from fifth to seventh with 271.17.

After that, it’s Richard Seidman of Orlando, Fla., demoted from sixth to eighth with 269.44; Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., with 266.44; and Barry Nish of Little Neck, N.Y., with 256.32.

Unit 116 leader Mike Silverman jumps ahead to 77th from 105th. David Millward makes a major comeback from 337th to 100th. Allen Beroza rebounds to 135th from 150th. Other local notables include Martin Pieterse, down to 386th from 279th; and me, ahead of Martin now, but down to 376th from 355th. The list of 500 cuts off at 120.93.

       Ace of Clubs, all players, nationwide. 

Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta is still on top, up 73.13 points in November to reach 780.32. Repeating in second place is Irva Neyhart of Corvallis, Ore., with a 60.81-point month at 560.96.

Still third is Harry Kaufmann of North Redington Beach, Fla., with 499.53; followed again by En Xie of St. Louis, with 489.50; and Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with 480.58.

The rest of the Top 10 contains the same names, but shakes up slightly, thanks to a 51.93-point month by Robert Epstein of Atlanta. He moves up from ninth place to sixth with 480.22 points.

The others maintain their order –  Sheila Gabay of Newton, Mass., 472.36; Diane Hurt and Edgar Hurt Jr. of Laguna Woods, Calif., both with 461.43; and Kay Schulle of Purchase, N.Y., 445.50.

Alan Greer keeps his hold on 14th; Nancy Wolstoncroft slips to 191st from 184th. John Ziemer advances to 375th from 400th. The list of 500 names stops at 207.30.

    Onward to Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

Robert L. McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., added another 224 points to reach 2,040.75. Moving up to second place, way behind him, is Sabrina Miles of Mansfield, Mass., with 696.88. Her 56-point month allows her to displace Alex Khrakovsky of Columbus, Ohio, who had a 6-point month and stands with 653.72.  

Then there’s Mary Ose of Sacramento, Calif, with 599.09, and Darryl Legassie of Milton, N.H., still fifth with 568.94.

 Mark Fitzmorris of St. Augustine, Fla., charges into the Top 10 with 547.67, along with Anam Tebha of Charlotte, N.C., with 497.45. Despite being passed by these guys, Mason Barge of Atlanta moves up a notch to eighth with 491.25, while District 5’s Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., falls from sixth to ninth with his 487.13. Ann Buchholz of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., who keeps her foot on the bottom rung of the Top 10 with 483.02.

Unit 116’s Davis Heussler is down to 42nd from 37th with his 390.06. With no new points, Ken Meier is down from 287th to 367th. Allen Beroza moves ahead of Ken while being down slightly overall, from 362nd to 365th. The list ends at 193.70. 

     And now for the really heavy hitters, the Mini-McKenney leaders overall.

A month ago there were five players above the 2,000 mark. Now there are 10. And two of them have gone even farther than that.

Joe Grue of New York City, first for the 10th straight month, went into overdrive with a 641.66-point month. He now has 3,515.18 points. Second-place Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., gained a mere 339.11 points, putting him at 3,138.93.

Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., who had a 439.70-point month, is next with 2,895.83 and could make it a 3,000-point triumvirate by the time the year is over.

That milestone is maybe out of reach for fourth-place Brad Moss of Denver, despite a 456.67-point month that took him to 2,588.86. Same for Shan Huang of Melbourne, Fla., still fifth with 2,565.81.

The legendary Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., continues sixth with 2,244.51, while his longtime partner Eric Rodwell is still seventh with 2,222.64.        January leader Geoff Hampson of Las Vegas continues eighth with 2,203.22. Ruby Life Master leader Robert L. McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., moves down a notch to tenth with 2,040.75, displaced by John Hurd of New York City, now ninth with 2,072.49.

Familiar names: Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge bumps up from 28th to 22nd with a 342.74-point month, which brought him to 1,535.21. District 5 leader Sue Lan Ma slips back to 102nd from 91st with her 888.63.

Unit 116’s lone representative on this list, Alan Greer, was 496th last month. Now he’s gone. The list cuts off at 469.55.

Bridge Blog 1060: Powerless

Third round from the end of the morning session Thursday at the Airport Bridge Club and the place suddenly goes dark. Since it’s windowless, it’s really, really dark. There’s only one emergency light in the ante room to give us our bearings.

After a while, cell phones provide little points of brightness around the tables. One foursome even attempts to continue playing. Others, like me, use to occasion to wend our way through the emergency-lit shadows to the washrooms.

Before long, it’s determined that this is a widespread outage – 1,600 customers in the vicinity of the airport. Traffic signals are dark on South Cayuga Road down to just before the expressway entrance.

Club manager Bill Finkelstein calls someone in ACBL District 5 and determines that enough rounds were played to qualify as a real STaC (Sectional Tournament at the Clubs) game. He’ll tabulate the results Friday. He cancels the afternoon game, which is supposed to start at 1:15 p.m., and we go to lunch. Around the time our fajita orders arrive, he hears from the building managers that the electricity is working again. It’s a little after 2.

Not a happy development in my quest to reach Gold Life Master status before Christmas. Although I haven’t checked my career totals lately, I believe I’m 15 to 20 points short and have hoped for a big score during STaC Week to get me there.

It could happen. However, as I watch people turn in games in the 65 to 70% range this week and take away 10 to 15 points, I remember that I have reached this rarified status only once in STaC competition, nearly 10 years ago with former partner Celine Murray.

And then I’ve had some anemic performances so far this week. It starts with some promise on Monday, when I have 52.93% and 50.33% games with Judie Bailey, collecting little scraps of points.

Things collapse, though, on Tuesday with Dotty May (45.76% and 41%) and on Wednesday with June Feuerstein (40.18% and 45.24%). When Thursday partner Marietta Kalman calls last night to say she would only play the afternoon session because she doesn’t have the stamina to do both of them, I have to accept the prospect that my hard luck would continue with a substitute partner Thursday morning.

As it turns out, I have three partners – club manager Bill Finkelstein for the first hand, my Sunday unit meeting partner Florence Boyd for a couple rounds, then Ted May, husband of my Tuesday partner and pretty much a novice, though I’ve watched him improve. If we wind up with any points at all, I’ll consider it a miracle.

Bridge Blog 1059: Dark season

November started with high hopes of making Gold Life Master by Christmas. Now that the midpoint is here, the outlook ain’t so sure.

On the Day of the Dead, Nov. 1, partner Marietta Kalman was half-dead, hours away from a diagnosis of pneumonia. 38.69%.

No St. Catharines on Nov. 2. Canadian partner Selina Volpatti still recovering from her defeat in the municipal elections over there and the respiratory bug that followed. Played here with Alex Miller and did well enough to earn points – 51.67% – but didn’t get any.

Saturdays with Denise Slattery may be my salvation. Nov. 3 was 56%, but just second in B. Extra point games hadn’t kicked back in at the Airport Bridge Club, either. Just 0.28 of a point.

Still no extra points on Monday, Nov. 5. Nevertheless, one of the better efforts with Usha Khurana. 51.61%. Third overall, second in B, but just 0.40 of a point.

Then a downdraft.

Election Day Nov. 6 with Eva Schmidt, 40.42%.

Wednesday, Nov. 7, with June Feuerstein. 44.17%.

Thursday, Nov. 8, with a recovering Marietta Kalman. Our game didn’t recover, though. 32.92%.

Friday, Nov. 9. Miracle of stratification and extra points are back. 46.38% with Nadine Stein is second in B in our direction. 0.58 of a point.

Saturday, Nov. 10. Another miracle. Denise and I have a 48.61% game and are first in the C strat (!). Will I turn down 0.71 of a point? No.

Monday, Nov. 12. Veterans/Armistice Day (observed). Double session at the Airport Bridge Club with Usha Khurana. 53.22% in the morning, third in B overall, 0.80 of a point. Perhaps my worst game of the year in the afternoon – 31.38%.

Tuesday, Nov. 13. Look good but arrive late after a hair appointment. Eva Schmidt and I can’t break 40%. It’s 39.29%.

Wednesday, Nov. 14. Uptick with June Feuerstein. 50% even. Second in B. Just 0.60 of a point.

Thursday, Nov. 15. Marietta has a medical appointment and I play with Saturday partner Denise Slattery. She brings a sandwich for me, just like she does on Saturday, but neither of us bring our game. 45.98%.

Friday, Nov. 16. First visit to St. Catharines in six weeks. Good to see Selina and all those good Canadian folks again, but we don’t have a great game – tied for 10th North-South in a 14-table field – 47.34%.

Saturday, Nov. 17. Best point-winning effort of the month so far with partner Denise Slattery, despite a terrible final round against Alan Greer and Nancy Wolstoncroft. 59%. First in B. 1.43 points.

Total for the month: Just 4.80. And this coming week is Thanksgiving. Instead of six chances to improve my point total, there are only three. Save that wishbone for me. I’m going to need some luck.

Bridge Blog 1058: Rolling Rocktober

Bridge Blog 1058: Rolling Roctober

Other people certainly had better months than I did in October (after all, I was 176th among all players in the Buffalo Regional), but what counted was keeping on pace to reach Gold Life Master by Christmas.

I had 11.61 club points to add to those 7.92 from the tournament, which advanced my lifetime total to 2,472.91. Two more 15-point months and I’m there.  So let’s open up the ACBL races and see how everyone stands as the year approaches the end .

Unit 116 (Buffalo only), Ace of Clubs (club play only), Ruby Life Masters (players with 1,500 to 2,500 points). 

    Yes, I earned 11.61 club points in September, bringing my Ace of Clubs total to 120.94, enough to keep me in fifth place with hopes for advancement.  I also move up from 17th to 14th among all players in the unit. Here's the top 10:

Mike Silverman keeps first place with 156.20. Falling back a couple points further behind is runner-up Allen Beroza, who has 146.24. Martin Pieterese, with 127.79, overtakes previous leader David Millward, who stand pat for the month with 122.62.

In fifth place with 120.94, I seem poised to pass him, too, but if he starts hitting the tables again when he gets to Florida for the winter, he’ll leave me in the dust.

Then it’s Ken Meier with 107.89; Fred Yellen joining the century circle with 100.77; Dorothy May with 93.90; Davis Heussler with 80.69 and Gene Finton with 70.97.       

Unit 116, Ace of Clubs overall. 

Once again, Alan Greer. 378.80 points, thanks to a 31.38 point month. He’s now more than 140 ahead of his sometime partner Nancy Wolstoncroft, who’s still second with 236.04.  

Then it’s John Ziemer, with 201.01. Mike Silverman (156.20) trades places with Liz Clark (154.92) and Barbara Libby (151.49) trades places with Allen Beroza (146.32) in fourth with 142.55 and Mike Silverman with 140.32. The Weltes, Martha and John, tied for tenth a month ago, are tied for eighth with 137.83. They jump ahead of Mike Ryan, now tenth with 134.77. Rounding out the top ten is

        Then it’s Martin Pieterse with 127.79; Bob Linn, 126.52; David Millward, 122.62; me, 120.94;  Gay Simpson, 120.53; ailing Ron Henrikson, 116.41; Bud Seidenberg, 115.38; Denise Slattery, 112.94; Judi Marshall, 111.28; Ken Meier, 107.89; Judy Graf, 102.56; and Fred Yellen, 100.77.

      Moving on to the Mini-McKenney races, which count all points earned everywhere, I’m still sixth among the Rubies, moving past the inactive David Millward.

Still far ahead is Davis Heussler, who had a 60-point month to arrive at 368.10. Nevertheless, he’s still third among all Unit 116 players. Second place continues to belong to Ken Meier with 215.43, also holding steady at 13th in the entire unit.  

Third-place Allen Beroza reaches the double-century mark with 200.47 and remains 16th overall in the unit. Mike Silverman has a 30-point month to reach 180.33, advancing from 20th to 19th overall.  

Martin Pieterse vaults from eighth to fifth place with 154.51, and up from 29th to 25th overall. I’m next with 151.59, still 27th overall, followed by Fred Yellen with 149.38 (29th).

David Millward, 148.96, drops from 22nd to 30th. Then comes Gene Finton, 106.55 (48th); and Dorothy May, 99 even (50th).

     Among all players in Unit 116, it’s Alan Greer, with 422.58. Saleh Fetouh continues second, with 376.75, after a 54.33-point month. Then comes Ruby leader Davis Heussler with his 368.10.

Jay Levy, who had a 61-point month, squeezes into fourth with 305.32, displacing John Ziemer with 301.31.

Then it’s Dian Petrov, 298.97; the Weltes, 295.75; Linda Burroughsford, 295.23; and Nancy Wolstoncroft with 290.74. In all, 16 players now have 200 points or more.

Now let’s widen our horizons.

District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh) Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters. 

Here Unit 116 players six of the top 10 places, but we still haven’t reclaimed the No. 1 spot.

Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., adds a point to his margin over Unit 116’s Mike Silverman, 160.49 to 146.20. Continuing to follow Silverman is Allen Beroza with 146.24. Then it’s Martin Pieterse, 127.79.

James Wheeler of Edinburg, Pa., jumps from eighth to fifth with 126.03, thanks to a 23-point month. Then it’s David Millward, 122.62; moi, down from sixth to seventh with my 120.94; Garnet Depner of Jeannette, Pa., with 120.32; Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, with 117.41 and Unit 116’s Ken Meier with 107.89.

Also topping the century mark are Wayne Heritage of North Olmsted, Ohio, 107.07; Chantal Whitney of Bratenahl, Ohio, 103.63; William Feeny of Latrobe, Pa., 102.85; and Unit 116’s Fred Yellen, 100.77.

Philip Goulding slips from 10th to 11th district-wide. Buffalo’s top four are ranked 13, 17, 28 and 32. I’m 34th, up from 35th.

Overall Ace of Clubbers in District 5 look like this:

Buffalonians hold three of the top four spots. It’s Alan Greer with 378.80 and Nancy Wolstoncroft with 236.04, with Arlene Port of Pittsburgh, with 211.75, stepping ahead of our John Ziemer, who has 201.02.  

Then it’s Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., 185.64. Barbara Belardi of Pittsburgh continues to advance, this time taking sixth place away from Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 184.01.

Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, with 169.10, switches places with Asim Ulke of Monroeville, Pa., 164.35. Stephanie Alexander, also of Mentor, has 162.89, to move ahead of Ruby leader Philip Goulding’s 160.49.

    Now for the District 5 Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters. 

    Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., still is outdistancing everyone with 465.83. Unit 116’s Davis Heussler reclaims second with 368.10, stepping back ahead of  Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, with 339.50. They’re eighth, 16th and 19th overall in the district.

     Then it’s a big step down to our Ken Meier, 215.43 (53rd); our Allen Beroza, 200.47 (59th); Leroy Hackenberg of Pittsburgh, 181.27 (68th); our Mike Silverman, 180.33 (70th); Wayne Heritage of North Olmsted, Ohio, 176.06 (73rd); Martin Kumer of Monroeville, Pa., 170.41 (83rd); and Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 169.65 (84th). 148.96. I slip  from 15th to 16th among Rubies with my 151.59, and hold steady at 112th overall.  

   Mini-McKenney leader among all District 5 players is, of course, Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, who added 87.55 points to reach 823.44.

Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, who had a 98-point month, retains second place with 614.89. She’s followed by Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood Ohio, with 549.29; Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, with 530.44; and Kathleen Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, who got no points at all in October and remains at  516.42.

Slipping to seventh without gaining a point at all for the second month in a row is Don Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, still with 469.78.

Then it’s Ruby leader Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., with 465.83; Fred Schenker of Pittsburgh with 438.92; and Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., with 433.90.

Alan Greer with 422.58, slips out of the Top 10 to eleventh place. Next Unit 116 players on the list are Saleh Fetouh, 14th with 376.75; and Davis Heussler, 16th with 368.10.  

    Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

    Paul Hassett of The Villages, Fla., increases his lead by 10 more points over Anna Maxcine Thacker of Palm Coast, Fla., 327.12 to 281.51.

Brian Breckenridge of Corvallis, Ore., with a 37-point month, leapfrogs from fifth to third with 275.65.  Also leapfrogging is Aivars Lapins of Cambria, Calif., who goes from sixth to fourth with 261.79. Bruce Ladin of Harwood Heights, Ill., fourth two months ago and eighth last month, rebounds to fifth with 256.72.

Then it’s Richard Seidman of Orlando, Fla., demoted from fourth to sixth with 256.47; Mason Barge of Atlanta with 255 even; Jonathan Williams of The Villages, Fla., with 248.99; and Joanne Matchette of Vero Beach, Fla., dropping from third to ninth as she stands pat point-wise with 248.92. Jim Loffree of Naples, Fla., rounds out the Top 10 with 238.03.  

Then Brian Breckenridge of Corvallis, Ore., with 237.86; Aivars Lapins of Cambria, Calif., with 229.80; and Mason Barge of Atlanta with 228.94. Bruce Ladin of Harwood Heights, Ill., who appeared out of nowhere last month to take fourth place, slips to eighth with 224.67. 

Unit 116 leader Mike Silverman slips 100th to 105th. Allen Beroza slips from 116th to 150th. But now he’s ahead of David Millward, who’s down from 139th to 212th. Other local notables include Martin Pieterse, down from 242nd to 279th; David Millward, down from 212th to 337th, and me, down from 328th to 355th. The list cuts off at 111.06.

Ace of Clubs, all players, nationwide. 

Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta is still on top, up exactly 94 points in October to reach 707.19. Repeating in second place is Irva Neyhart of Corvallis, Ore., with an almost 67-point month at 500.15.

Still third is Harry Kaufmann of North Redington Beach, Fla., with 458.90, followed again by En Xie of St. Louis, with 450.86, and Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with 441.21.

The rest of the Top 10 also maintain their places –  Sheila Gabay of Newton, Mass., 432.85; Diane Hurt and Edgar Hurt Jr. of Laguna Woods, Calif., both with 429.68; Robert Epstein of Atlanta, 428.29; and Kay Schulle of Purchase, N.Y., 421.02.

Alan Greer keeps his hold on 14th; Nancy Wolstoncroft slips from 156th to 184th. John Ziemer drops from 274th to 400th. The list stops at 191.19.

    Onward to Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

Robert L. McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., added another 269 points to reach 1,816.33. Soon he will triple the totals for Alex Khrakovsky of Columbus, Ohio, still second despite just a 23-point month with 647.19.

Sabrina Miles of Mansfield, Mass., with a 68-point month and a total of 640.86, tightens her hold on third place. Then there’s Mary Ose of Sacramento, Calif, who earned just 9 points and has 568.28. Darryl Legassie of Milton, N.H., remains fifth with 506 even.

 Then it’s District 5’s Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., staying in sixth with 465.83; Murali Nair of Phoenix, debuting in the Top 10 with 461.27; Mark Henderson of Wilmington, Del., with 452.13; Mason Barge of Atlanta, with 449.91; and Ann Buchholz of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., who keeps her foot on the bottom rung of the Top 10 with 446.06.

Still off the list is the only Top Tenner we know, Junko Hemus of San Clemente, Calif., who had just 3 points for the month and has fallen from 15th to 35th with 368.77.

Unit 116’s Davis Heussler is up to 37th from 63rd with his 368.10. Ken Meier is down to 287th to 263rd. Allen Beroza moves up to 362nd from 415th. The list ends at 178.30. 

     And now for the really heavy hitters, the Mini-McKenney leaders overall.

A month ago there were three players who surpassed the 2,000 mark. Now there are five. And there’s still sort of a horse race at the top.

Joe Grue of New York City, first for the ninth straight month with 2,873.52, has added 50 points to his lead over Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., who has 2,799.82.

Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., is next with 2,456.13, comfortably ahead of Brad Moss of Denver, with 2,132.21. Shan Huang of Melbourne, Fla., is fifth, rounding out the double-century club with 2,089.53.

The legendary Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., has 1,975.88. His longtime partner Eric Rodwell is next with 1,951.92.

January leader Geoff Hampson of Las Vegas continues eighth with 1,888.71. Ruby Life Master leader Robert L. McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., moves up a notch to ninth with 1,816.33. John Hurd of New York City is tenth with 1,807.22.

     Familiar names: Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge slips from 27th to 28th, despite a 161 point month which brought him to 1,292.47. District 5 leader Sue Lan Ma steps ahead from 92nd to 91st with her 823.44.

Unit 116’s representative on this list, Alan Greer, slips to 496th from last month’s 444th with 391.20. The list cuts off at 421.01.

Bridge Blog 1057: Tricks and treats

      It’s a double session at the Airport Bridge Club on Halloween – a pairs game in the morning, the ACBL-wide Instant Match Point Game in the afternoon.

      It’s also my first reunion with Wednesday partner June Feuerstein since that day a month ago when she took a fall in the hallway en route to the ladies room and broke her jaw. She just returned to the game on Monday.

      We find little traction in the morning. 44.50%. Not last, but not very good.

      Since I have to work the city desk at The Buffalo News Wednesday night and shouldn’t come in late, my plan is to leave after that morning game, but club manager Bill Finkelstein twists my arm ever so slightly and I agree to stay, but just until 3 or so.

      I’d forgotten how much I enjoy seeing how we score on each hand as it’s played, thanks to the Instant Matchpoint table on each score sheet. I enjoy it even more because, as those Instant Matchpoints accumulate, we seem to be doing pretty well.

     Then 3 o’clock comes up. We’ve played three rounds, 15 boards, and it’s time to go. Florence Boyd, who’s in Bill’s office running the dealing machine, preparing hands for future games, is going to take time out to finish this game for me.

     I get a call from June after I’m in the office. We won! We each collected a gold point. Plus some red and black points, or fractions thereof. It all adds up to a total of 2.44.

     Turns out that Bill played Round 4 with her, which probably boosted our fortunes (she notes that he didn’t yell at her for mistakes), then Flo came in to finish up. Bill notes later that opponents in Round 4 were Linda Burroughsford and her husband, Peter Patterson, who were the winners East-West.

      Our winning percentage is 57.08%, almost certainly not high enough to register nationwide. I wonder, however, how well we were doing before I left. I wrote down the Instant Matchpoints for each hand on my scorecard. Let’s see. Hmm, when I left we were at … 57.066%. Guess it was like handing over controls of the Starship Enterprise. Steady as she goes.

     This last-minute point bonanza suddenly makes October a bit more above average than I expected. Not only did I hit my 15-point monthly target, I also made up for that deficient month back in August. Those hopes of mine to get to Gold Life Master before Christmas are looking brighter. 

Bridge Blog 1056: Buffalo Regional Tournament, Day 6

Final minutes of Sunday's Swiss team event at the Buffalo Spooktacular Regional Tournament

      Our Swiss team just never gets it together – me and Joe Miranda, Usha Khurana and John Marvin. We routinely fail to take the tricks we should take. We let the opponents off the hook again and again. We break one of the cardinal rules of Swiss team strategy – we double and allow the other side to make their contract when they shouldn’t. Not once, but twice.

      We start out against a team of Toronto experts, who slam-dunk our asses en route to overall victory and 17.50 master points. Then we allow a poor team to take us further down, thanks to an unsuccessful double that should have been a sacrifice on our part. Without that, we beat them.

       We win two rounds out of seven and one is totally undeserved. Well-seasoned player Cleveland Fleming, of all people, fails to run the dummy’s long Diamond suit (he plays a low card and lets me win a trick with should have been a losing 9 of Diamonds, then can’t return to the dummy). Down five, vulnerable.

     Our reward for this sorry exercise – 0.72 of a red point. Our Victory Point total of 65 is third worst in the field. Yet there are people who get more VPs and fewer points because they won only one round, among them District 5 overall master point leader Sue Lan Ma.

     Out-of-town players dominate the leaderboard. The first all-Buffalo team – Chongmin Zhang, young whiz Ethan Xie, Penny and Peter Shui – is seventh, second in the B strat. They win 6.44 gold points.

     There’s a four-way tie for the top among overall point winners for the tournament – Kevin Dwyer and Shan Huang, both of Melbourne, Fla.; Joan Millens of Kingston, N.Y.; and Kevin Bathurst of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. They all had 92.50 points, 7.38 of them for finishing fourth in the Swiss teams.

      Top Buffalonian on the list is ninth. It’s Jay Levy with 59.43 points. Saleh Fetouh shows up next in 15th place with 54.32 points.

      Then there’s Jay Costello, tied for 23rd with 34.45; Chris Urbanek, 25th with 33.90; Donna Steffan, tied for 26th with 33.07; and Shakeel Ahmad and Manju Ceylony, tied for 28th with 32.46.

      I’m 176th with 7.92 points. In all, 476 players got points.

      How does this compare with my outcomes in other Buffalo Regionals? Middle of the pack. Here’s the history.  

      2017 – 16.68, 70th.

      2016 – 15.66, 97th.

      2015 – 5.38, 220th.

      2014 – 9.77, tied for 138th.

      2013 – 4.59, 330th.

      2012 – 12.12, 153rd.

      2011 – 6.97, 247th.

      2010 – 7.59, tied for 243rd.

      2009 – 4.15, 420th.

      2008 – 12.70, 118th.

      2007 – 5.44, 337th.

      2006 – 1.94, five-way tie for 332nd.

      2005 – 2.73, three-way tie for 432nd.

Bridge Blog 1055: Buffalo Regional Tournament Day 5

      The upcoming multi-million-dollar transformation of the Adam’s Mark Hotel into the Buffalo Grand Hotel can’t happen soon enough.

      Let’s not even consider the patched carpeting and the general worn-out aspect of the place. Other evidence of deterioration is beginning to reach an alarming level.

      For instance, during the last two days of the Buffalo Spooktacular Regional Tournament, all four urinals have been inoperable in the men’s room opposite the Erie Ballroom, where most of the play is taking place. Nevertheless, this feels like some sort of an improvement. Before that, as they were breaking down, the floor was flooded.

      The heating and air conditioning in the Erie Ballroom has temperature-sensitive players either bundling up or shedding clothing. Complaints were met with the explanation that the hotel had been notified, but nothing could be done.

     The pizza provided by the hotel to the tournament for lunchtime snacking ranks among the worst in town. Opt for the dining room and, unless you’re lucky, like me and Thursday partner David Colligan, you’ll wait so long for attention that you’ll give up and leave, like Barbara Sadkin and her party did while we were there Thursday.

     Today there was table talk about the reason fire trucks showed up at the hotel a couple days ago. Some kids got stuck in the elevator on the sixth floor.

     And then, just as we’re preparing to bid the final hand in Saturday’s afternoon session, the fire alarm sounds, interspersed with a message advising everyone in the building to head outside. It’s drizzling. The fire trucks come back. Like many others, I give up and leave.

     Not that it’s worth hanging around for our scores. Those will show up on the Internet. Bob Forster and I bottomed out in the morning as we got used to one another – a 39.17% game, lowest overall in the two-session pairs. We improve in the afternoon, but not enough. Our 47.96% places us 12th out of 17 North-South partnerships. To earn points, we need at least 55%.

     All that’s left now is Swiss teams on Sunday. Hope the hotel hangs together long enough for us to finish the game.

Bridge Blog 1054: Buffalo Regional Tournament, Day 4

     Eva Schmidt is my Friday partner and we’re playing in the two-session pairs, a group which occupies the bulk of the big ballroom in the Adam’s Mark Hotel.

     I play gingerly in the morning session, not pushing hard in the bidding, and as a result we’re on defense on 11 of our first 15 hands. At lunch break, I see that’s one of the reasons why we finish last in our 11-table section with a 39.57% score. I tell Eva that we have to be more aggressive in the afternoon.

     We are and we're rewarded. 55.45%. We’re tied for fourth overall and we’re first in the B strat. 2.52 points. And they’re GOLD! Eva needs gold for her next life master level. I wonder if this is enough to get her there.

      As for me, this brings my total for the tournament to 7.20. (Last year, I earned 16.68. In 2016, it was 15.66. In 2015, it was just 5.38. And in 2014, in the Regional at the Hamburg Fairgrounds, it was 9.77.)

     Two days to go. Saturday I’m doing pairs with a fellow from the St. Catharines game, Bob Forster, who’s always said he’s available over there if I need a partner. Let’s see if we can make it work over here.

Bridge Blog 1053: Buffalo Regional Tournament, Days 2 and 3

Thursday teammates Hinda Silber, left, and Anita Greenberg. The guy in the blue T-shirt in the background is my partner David Colligan.

Nonchalant doesn’t work for me Wednesday. I show up at the hotel mostly still known as Adam’s Mark a few moments before the morning game starts at 10 a.m. and partnership chairman Dian Petrov is in an uproar. I need to show up much earlier.

Blame it on the parking enforcement officer who waved me away from an illegal spot in front of Tipico, I protest. Took me five minutes to find a place to put the car. Have to have my coffee.

At any rate, I have a partner for the pairs games Wednesday. She’s Marie Melnichuk, she’s Canadian, from Collingwood, on Georgian Bay. She doesn’t have a lot of points, but she's an agreeable player and we have a solid morning game, so solid that we’re shocked to see that our score is a mere 44.72%.

In the afternoon, we promise each other we’ll do better, but we falter.

Our biggest mistake is a bid over the opponent’s 1 No Trump bid, when I give her the 2 Club signal for a long suit and she figures Clubs are the long suit. I think she likes Clubs, so when the opponents double, I pass. She redoubles, hoping I’ll bid something else. I think she’s reaffirming Clubs. We have four Clubs between us. I’m lucky to make five tricks. Nevertheless, it’s minus 1,600, a bottom board.

Despite things like this, we’re not much worse than morning – 42.78% – but we’re last in our section. For all our good intentions, we get no points whatsoever.

The day isn’t a total loss, however. One of our opposing pairs in the morning wants teammates for Thursday Swiss teams. Anita Greenberg and Hinda Silber are an established partnership from Toronto and they seem lively, attractive and agreeable.

I text my Thursday partner, David Colligan, the good news and he advises me to arrive half an hour early so we can go over our convention card.

I try, but arrive only 15 minutes early, to the approbations of my teammates and partnership chairman Dian Petrov. Besides, how could it possibly take 15 minutes to fill out a convention card? Doing it with David shows me how. 15 minutes isn’t enough.

Plus we come up against one of the toughest teams in the room in our first round – Paul Janicki and Lew Richardson from Toronto. We don’t make serious mistakes, but they prevail nevertheless, conquering us by 19 to 10 International Match Points.

What stings is our loss in the second round, 25-1, to an Erie, Pa., pair. It all comes down to two unfortunate hands. I get too excited about a 20-high-card-point 2 No Trump opening hand opposite David’s 3 Club opener and push it to slam, which it doesn’t make. The other table wisely stops at 3 NT, making two overtricks. On another hand, our partners go down doubled on a hand where we make a 4 Heart game. That’s all it takes – two bad hands.

The upshot is that we finally get easy opponents – our old friends Mary Terrana and Ruth Wurster, the only team to get no points whatsoever in the Swiss teams game. We win 25-7 IMPs and go to lunch full of hope for the afternoon.

        We return to wind up on the short end of a free-swinging 31-21 game. Hinda is discouraged and figures the day is over, but David reminds us we still have a chance.

        Sure enough, we prevail over some Waterloo, Ont., ladies, 31-18, then narrowly win the sixth and final round, 17-16.  

        It doesn’t feel like victory – we have only 83 victory points out of a possible 180 (a measly 46% if we were playing match points), but David says that since we’re in the C stratification, we might have scratched.  

       And we do. We tie for fourth in the C strat. Instead of earning 1.50 red points for winning three rounds, we capture 2.06 gold points. We’re jubilant. We talk about hooking up again next spring to play the Easter Regional in Toronto. 

       

Bridge Blog 1052: Buffalo Regional Tournament Day 1

For a guy who’s counting on this tournament for a big boost toward Gold Life Master, I’ve totally failed at planning. Until I get a call from David Colligan looking for a partner for Thursday, I’ve lined up nobody to play with except for the Swiss teams on Sunday.

Clutching a fresh mug of iced coffee and only too aware of my pathetic position, I get to the hotel formerly (and still mostly) known as Adam’s Mark just about half an hour before the morning game starts at 10 a.m. Tuesday, a major effort for a night owl like me, having worked the previous evening.

Partnership chairman Dian Petrov says a guy from Rochester is looking for a partner and was supposed to arrive at 9:30. He never shows up. By default, I’m paired with the assistant partnership chairman, Jim Gullo. Jim’s savvy and he’s good natured but, alas, his vision is bad and he is in great pain from throwing his back out this morning.

Yet despite a couple times when Jim misreads my bidding card or mistakes one suit for another, he plays very well – he even manages to make a 6 No Trump slam that I stuck him with – and we have a respectable morning in the pairs game. 57.81%, fourth out of 17 North-Souths in our section, 1.43 red points.

But can we do it again in the afternoon? Jim’s hurting worse, no one has Tylenol to lend him, and I’m making wretched mistakes, sometimes back to back. On one hand, not only do I miss Jim’s signal to shift to a new suit, but I also fail to take a winning trump trick, allowing our opponents to make game with an overtrick instead of perhaps going down one.

The cards add to our miseries. In the morning, we’re all offense. Now we’re all defense. In the first 20 boards, we take the bid only six times. I don’t know how we manage to finish with 51.44%, but we do. Our combined morning and afternoon scores place us eighth in the A stratification (Jim has more points than me, hence we’re A). We get 2.62 gold points.

Just to keep things in perspective, my regular Saturday partner Denise Slattery, playing with Bob Linn, an old hand at this game, comes in eleventh overall in the pairs, but they are in the B strat. There they’re fourth. They get 3.04 gold points.