Thursday, August 30, 2018

Bridge Blog 1039: August countdown ... Houston, we have a problem ...


OK, I did the math. Three days to go, 3.95 points needed to meet that goal of 15 for the month. Some major thrust was called for, a couple seriously good games.
But the propellant started leaking in the very first round with June Feuerstein on Wednesday. We were a trick short of what we should have made in the first four hands and things just sputtered after that. We finished with 43.33%, well out of point range.
That put a payload of even heavier expectations on Thursday’s reunion with Denise Slattery. And those hopes crashed in a mighty series of trick shortfalls, missed bids and brilliant maneuvers by our opponents. Only a miracle – a top board from a 6 No Trump contract, bid and made – saved us from totally imploding and sinking below 30%. Worst game of the year – 32.14%.

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Bridge Blog 1038: August countdown … 7 … 6 …


Sure, June Feuerstein and I show some improvement on our Wednesday game when we reunite on Friday, but not much. It doesn’t help I rack up back-to-back bottom boards against Alan Greer and Bob Linn, first by bidding my way into a double and then by failing to drop a Queen doubleton and run a long suit, although top boards against them would only raise our 43.33% to around 50%.
On Saturday, Denise Slattery and I fare better. 53.24%. Third in the B strat. 1.04 points. August total now is 9.69. Five more chances to reach that goal of 15 this month.

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Bridge Blog 1037: August countdown … 9 … 8 …


The goal – 15 points per month to become a Gold Life Master by the end of the year. Standing as of Wednesday morning – nine more chances in August to earn seven more points.
The sinking feeling sets in on the very first hand I play Wednesday with June Feuerstein. Lois Tatelman bids 3 Hearts and makes an overtrick. Should have held her to three, I think. Sure enough, we didn’t get the ruff we should have gotten.
Then I proceed to fall short on the next two hands as declarer. Out of a possible 20 match points against Lois and Nancy Littenberg, we get only six. 30%. By the end of the game, we’re lucky to climb out of the 30s. 42.83%.
With Marietta Kalman still recovering from surgery, I recruit Dr. Brian Block, father of my sleep doctor, for Thursday’s game. Brian can be good, but he takes his time getting that way. We have two boards taken away from us for slow play.
Despite that, we manage to shine defensively. Five top boards, four of them on defense, one on offense – a ridiculously improbable 2 No Trump contract that Brian brings home. We’re East-West and, according to the hand record, only North-South can make a contract on this one. Here it is:

Board 8. Nobody vulnerable. Dealer is West.

West (Brian)
Spades: 6-5; Hearts: Q-J-10-7; Diamonds: K-J-9; Clubs: K-5-4-3.
North (Allen Beroza)
Spades: J-7; Hearts: A-K-8-3; Diamonds: A-10-8-6-3-2; Clubs: Q.
East (me)
Spades: K-Q-10-8-2; Hearts: 9-5; Diamonds: Q-5-4; Clubs: A-8-2.
South (Art Matthies)
Spades: A-9-4-3; Hearts: 6-4-2; Diamonds: 7; Clubs: J-10-9-7-6.

If I remember the bidding correctly, Brian passes, Allen bids 1 Diamond, I bid 1 Spade, Art passes and Brian bids 1 No Trump. Then Allen doubles, I pass, so does Art and Brian bids 2 Hearts. Allen doubles again. I bump Brian to 2 NT and there are passes all around.
Against a suit contract, Allen would lead his A-K of Hearts, but this being NT, he goes with his fourth-best Heart. Brian’s 7 wins it. He winds up taking two Hearts, two Diamonds, two Clubs and two Spades. Why didn’t the hand-record people pick up on that? (Against a 2 Spade contract, Art (South) would have the opening lead  his singleton Diamond  and, after North ditches his singleton Club, a flurry of ruffing would ensue.) 
We manage to scratch out a 52.59% game, fourth East-West, which earns us 0.62 of a point. Standings now? August total is 8.65. Seven more chances to earn 6.35 points.
With my Canadian partner unavailable Friday, I’m hooking up with June Feuerstein again at the Airport Bridge Club. Can we bounce back from that miserable Wednesday? Here’s hoping.  

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Bridge Blog 1036: August countdown ... 11 ... 10 ...


        Fifteen points per month, that’s the goal that will get me to Gold Life Master before the end of the year. 6.36 points, that’s how many I had on Sunday, Aug. 19. Eleven more games left this month. Can I get to 15?
        No progress on Monday with Judie Bailey, despite winning the auction on 15 of the 27 boards we played. Missing two slams – one by going to No Trump instead of Hearts, the other by giving up a game level – didn’t help. 43.03%. Even a 50% game wouldn’t have earned us points.
        Dotty May, hampered by a shoulder injury from a fall while gardening, had trouble putting cards back into the boards, but she was sharp on defense Tuesday. Good thing, because our hands seemed weaker than usual. (And they were. A survey of the hand records shows that we held the majority of the high card points only seven times. Overall average point count: 17.89)
Playing 27 boards again, we won only six auctions, but our stinginess to our opponents earned us four tops en route to a 55.47% game. Third East-West, second in the B strat. 1.67 points, thanks to all these games at the Airport Bridge Club being North American Pairs qualifiers. August total now stands at 8.03. Nine more chances to earn seven more points.  

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Bridge Blog 1035: July in the rear-view mirror



Unit 116 (Buffalo only), Ace of Clubs (club play only), Ruby Life Masters (players with 1,500 to 2,500 points). 
     I picked up 16.76 club points in July, boosting my Ace of Clubs total to 83.72, enough to maintain fifth place among the Rubies and lift me from 17th to 15th among all players in the unit. Here's the top 10:
      Still on top is David Millward, with 113.21, but that 20-point lead over Allen Beroza has shrunk. After a 25-point month, Allen now has 107.72. Mike Silverman has topped the century mark, too, with 101.52. Martin Pieterse continues in fourth place with 92.12.
Then there’s my 82.72. Ken Meier stays sixth with 81.10. Rounding out the list are Fred Yellen with 67.65, enough to slip ahead of Dorothy May’s 62.76.  Gene Finton continues ninth with 58.13; and Davis Heussler displaces Elaine Kurasiewicz in 10th place with 49.63. Elaine has 44.81.      
Unit 116, Ace of Clubs overall. 
       Sure enough, it’s Alan Greer. A record 55.62-point month at the Airport Bridge Club puts him way, way, way ahead with 257.04.
His sometime partner Nancy Wolstoncroft is still second, a 34-point month bringing her to 171.16; John Ziemer, with a 36-point month, has 155.23; then come David Millward, 113.21; and Liz Clark, 109.02 after a near-30-point month; edging ahead of Allen Beroza’s 107.72.
Seventh is Barbara Libby, 105.50; followed by Mike Silverman, down from sixth to eighth with 101.52. Mike Ryan, 98.06; and Martin Pieterse, 92.12, round out the Top 10.
Second 10 goes like this: Bud Seidenberg, 88.21; Martha and John Welte, both 86.18; Ron Henrikson, 86.04; moi, 83.72; Bob Linn, 83.42; Ken Meier, 81.10; Denise Slattery, 77.77; Judy Graf, 75.41; and Gay Simpson, 73.90.
Taking the list a little further, we have Jay Levy, 73.58; Judi Marshall, 72.59; Jim Easton, 71.08; Ed Morgan, 68.19; and Fred Yellen, 67.65.
      Moving on to the Mini-McKenney races, which count all points earned everywhere, I have cracked the century mark with 103.72, increased entirely by those 16.76 club points, still in sixth place.
     Still far ahead is Davis Heussler at 236.83, who’s still second among all Unit 116 players. Slipping into second place is Ken Meier with 143.11, eleventh in the entire unit.  
David Millward drops to third with 139.55; down from 11th overall to 13th.  Allen Beroza, holds steady in fourth with 127.88, followed by Mike Silverman, 111.96 (up one notch to 23rd).
     I lead the next fivesome with my 103.72, 24th overall, up from 28th. Then Martin Pieterse, 101.84 (up from 34th to 26th); Fred Yellen, 100.69 (28th); then a big drop to Dorothy May, 66.03 (49th); and Elaine Kurasiewicz, 63.78 (51st).  
     Among all players in Unit 116, it’s Alan Greer, with 300.82. Then comes Davis Heussler with his 236.83; John Ziemer crossing the double-century mark with 219.79; Nancy Wolstoncroft, up from eighth to fourth with 196.92; the Weltes, 184.77; Linda Burroughsford, 183.03; Saleh Fetouh, 165.93.
The Weltes, tied for third a month ago, now are tied for sixth with 162.88; followed by Jay Levy, 157.10; and Mike Ryan 147.58.
The second 10, all in three figures, include Ken Meier, 143.11; Sandi England, 140.50; David Millward, 139.55; Chris Urbanek, 134.60; Barbara Libby, 132.43; Allen Beroza, 127.88; Bud Seidenberg, 124.06; Christy Kellogg, 121.97; Dian Petrov, 121.34; and Liz Clark, 118.67.
       Now let’s widen our horizons.
District 5 (BuffaloClevelandPittsburgh) Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters. 
     Here Unit 116 players hold four of the top five places, and six of the top 10. Leader still is David Millward, with 113.21; though his lead over the man he displaced in April, Philip Goulding of WexfordPa., has almost disappeared. Goulding has 111.41. Millward has slipped from eighth to 10th among all District 5 players. Goulding is down from 11th to 12th.   
     Allen Beroza continues third with 107.72 (14th overall in the district, up from 16th). Then it’s Mike Silverman, 101.52 (17th); Martin Pieterse with 92.12 (23rd, up from 31st); Marvin Shapiro of AkronOhio, 86.37 (29th, up from 34th); Chantal Whitney of Bratenahl, Ohio, 84.19; me, 83.72 (36th, up from 40th); James Wheeler of EdinburgPa., 82.95 (down from seventh on this list, but still overall 39th); and Ken Meier, 81.10 (41st).
Overall Ace of Clubbers in District 5 look like this:
Now there are three Buffalonians on top – Alan Greer with 257.04, Nancy Wolstoncroft with 171.16 and John Ziemer, up from sixth with 155.23. John has just edged ahead of Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 155.02. Then it’s Arlene Port of Pittsburgh, 151.86; Richard Katz of North VersaillesPa., 145.21; Patricia Katz of Pittsburgh (separate households?), 121.85; Asim Ulke of MonroevillePa., 117 even; Barbara Belardi of Pittsburgh, 115.13; and David Millward, 113.21.
     Other Unit 116 players in the Top 25 are Liz Clark, 109.02, up from 19 th to 13 th; Allen Beroza, 14th with 107.72; Barbara Libby, 105.50, up from 20th to 16th;  Mike Silverman, 17th with 101.52; Mike Ryan, 98.06, up from 23rd to 18th; and Martin Pieterse, 23rd with 92.12.  
    Now for the District 5 Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters. 
    Philip Goulding of WexfordPa., has increased his lead over Unit 116’s David Heussler. Ahead by 17 points a month ago, now he leads 303.65 to 236.83.  They’re eighth and 11th overall in the district.
     The other leaders include: Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, 215.38 (15th overall); Ken Meier, 143.11 (47th); Leroy Hackenberg of Pittsburgh, 140.16  (50th); our David Millward, 139.55 (51st); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 135.87 (55th); our Allen Beroza, 127.88 (up from 11 th to eighth and up from 82nd to 67th overall); Barbara Greenpsan of Beachwood, Ohio, 117.83 (down from 64th to 83rd); Wayne Heritage of North Olmsted, Ohio, 116.69; (87th); and Mike Silverman, 111.96 (89th). I’m up two notches to 13th among Rubies with my 103.72, and up from 107th overall to 101st.
   Mini-McKenney leader among all District 5 players is, of course, Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, who added almost 60 points in July to reach 592.71. Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, with a 175-point month, leaps from 11th to second with 392.79.
     Dropping one place to third and fourth, respectively, are Kathleen Sulgrove and Don Sulgrove of TwinsburgOhio, with no points at all in July. They’re still at 356.12 and 323.69.
     Robert Alexander of MentorOhio, is next with 320.31, followed by Bernie Greenspan of BeachwoodOhio, with 304.44.
Then it’s Stephanie Alexander of Mentor, 304.03; Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., with 303.65; Buffalo’s Alan Greer with 300.82 and Asim Ulke of Monroeville, Pa., with 239.12. Our Davis Heussler is next with 236.83.
    Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.
    Paul Hassett of The Villages, Fla., keeps ahead of Anna Maxcine Thacker of Palm CoastFla., 216.66 to 205.73. Joanne Matchette of Vero Beach, Fla., moves up from sixth to third with 204 even. Richard Seidman of Orlando, Fla., remains fourth with 190.86. 
Then it’s Brian Breckenridge of Corvallis, Ore., 175.88; Jonathan Williams of The Villages, Fla., 174.49; April's leader, Russ Pearly, also of The Villages, drops from third to seventh with 173.57; Barry Nish of Little Neck, L.I., 172.75; Mason Barge of Atlanta, 172.05; and Jim Loffree of Naples, Fla., 167.20.
     Unit 116 leader David Millward is down from 70th to 84th. Allen Beroza is up from 190th to 109th. Other local notables include Mike Silverman, up from 208th to 157th; Martin Pieterse, up from 343rd to 239th. I’m up to 356th from 448th. Last Buffalo player is Ken Meier, up to 408th from 469th. The list cuts off at 77.27.
Ace of Clubs, all players, nationwide. 
Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta is still on top with 452.77. New in second place is Irva Neyhart of Corvallis, Ore., with 339.90, up from sixth place with a 74.05-point month. She displaces Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort LauderdaleFla., who drops to third with 335.24. Then it’s Robert Epstein of Atlanta, who has 307.02.
     Then it’s Kay Schulle of Purchase, N.Y., 305.81; Sheila Gabay of Newton, Mass., 300.37; Neil Silverman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 291.31; Tania Reyes Hiller of Bedford Corners, N.Y., 290.83; and tied for ninth, Diane Hurt and Edgar Hurt Jr., both of Laguna Woods., Calif., both with 284.20.
         Alan Greer is up from 28th to 20th; Nancy Wolstoncroft is up from 218th to 170th. John Ziemer is up from 424th to 257th. The list stops at 133.35.
    Onward to Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.
Way, way, way out front is Robert L. McClendon of Ponte VedraFla., who enjoyed another triple-digit point month to reach 1,148.41. He continues to more than double Mary Ose of SacramentoCalif, a very distant second with 500.51. Alex Khrakovsky of ColumbusOhio, is still third with 497.17.
       Sabrina Miles of Mansfield, Mass., remains fourth with 463.91. Darryl Legassie of Milton, N.H., is still fifth with 453.80.
     Then it’s Mason Barge of Atlanta, 336.04; Junko Hemus of San ClementeCalif., 328.57; Kim Brinkman of Highland VillageTexas, 305.77; District 5’s Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., with 303.65; Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., 303.10; James Walter of Ann Arbor, Mich., 302.83; and Joanne Matchette of Vero Beach, Fla., with 302.76.
Unit 116’s Davis Heussler, is 44th with his 236.83. David Millward drops from 292nd to 334th. Ken Meier is 301st. Allen Beroza joins the list in 451st place. The list ends at 123.08.
     And now for the really heavy hitters, the Mini-McKenney leaders overall.
     A month ago there were 12 players in four figures. Now there are 15.
     Joe Grue of New York City sits on top for the sixth straight month with 1,998.73. Mark Itabashi of MurrietaCalif., continues second with 1,837.74. .
Kevin Dwyer of MelbourneFla., once again trades places with Brad Mass of Denver, moving from fourth to third with 1,667.12 to Mass’s 1,612.07.
     Hall of Famer Eric Rodwell of ClearwaterFla., slips from fifth to seventh with 1,245.90, while longtime collaborator Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater BeachFla., holds steady in sixth with 1,313.14. New resident of fifth place was seventh a month ago. That’s Shan Huang from MelbourneFla., with 1,407.11.
John Hurd of New York City continues eighth with 1,219.56; January leader Geoff Hampson of Las Vegas, maintains ninth with 1,173.91; and Ruby Life Master leader Robert L. McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., rounds out the Top 10 with 1,148.41.
     Familiar names: Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge advances from 24th to 16th with a 166-point month, reaching 986.56. District 5 leader Sue Lan Ma is 74th with 592.71 even.
Unit 116 now is represented on this list by Alan Greer, whose 300.82 points place him at No. 419. The list cuts off at 281.11.


Bridge Blog 1034: Half past August

I can’t believe how hard it’s been lately to find some clear time and a clear head for blogging. It’s occurred to me that the only way to open up an opportunity is to … not play bridge. Oh, no. Out of the question.
However, if it wasn’t for the air-conditioning, I might as well have skipped the first week of the month. A series of minor shortfalls and a couple major setbacks – 45.50%, 46.43%, 48.49%, an even 50%, 36.01% and 38.19% – all adding up to zero points.
Meanwhile, as of Aug. 1, I’m 75 points short of hitting a major goal in my bridge existence – Gold Life Master. To attain that exalted status before New Year’s Eve, it’s going to take 15 points per month. That bad week may have derailed me.
The second week brought blessed relief.
June Feuerstein and I tied for second in our direction on Wednesday, Aug. 8, with 51.49%. 1.04 points.
More success Thursday with Brian Block, with a game that ordinarily would have been unproductive – 47.92%. Nevertheless, second in the B strat in our direction for 0.74 of a point.
In St. Catharines, Ont., on Friday, Selina Volpatti and I tied for third North-South with 54.76%. Not an extra-point game there like there is at the Airport Bridge Club, where I play all the rest of the time, but good for 0.68 of a point.
Even the Unit 116 picnic on Sunday (see Blog 1033) had its slight reward. A 50.39% with Florence Boyd in the morning session was good for 0.19 of a point.
The big score, however, came Monday with Judie Bailey. We were in tournament form – 58.76% – first North-South, second overall, 2.67 points.
Then another dry patch until Saturday with Denise Slattery, slipping into third place in the B strat with a 50.46% game and earning 1.04 points. Total so far this month – 6.36. Eleven more chances to pick up nine more points.

Bridge Blog 1033: Picnic



Winning youth tournament kids with one of their teachers, Jim Gullo.
Another teacher, Fred Yellen, is seated left in dark shirt. 
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The picnic is my favorite Unit 116 event. What's not to like? Two bridge games and a terrific summer feast with Weidner’s barbecued chicken. And plenty of Paul and Linda Zittel’s magnificent fresh corn salsa.
Not at the unit’s usual venue this time. The Erie County Fairgrounds in Hamburg, the site in recent years, was unavailable Sunday, Aug. 12. It's Fair Week.
Instead, Rescue Fire Hall in North Tonawanda, often a second choice for these affairs. Believing it had a 10:30 a.m. start, I arrived a few minutes before that to find only half a dozen cars in the parking lot. Was this a bust?
Then I looked at my ticket. 11 o’clock. The hall filled up and emcee Betty Metz announced that it was a record turnout – 104 players.
Well, 103 when she made the announcement. My partner, Florence Boyd, thought it started at 11:30. Gay Simpson, who was working the event, but not playing, filled in until Flo arrived in the middle of the first hand.
We had a reasonable morning game – 50.39%, just enough for a fraction of a point, 0.19, for seventh place in the B strat. We faded after lunch in the afternoon – 42.36%.
One of the day’s high points was the was introduction of the kids from the bridge class over at the Bridge Center of Buffalo, who made a good showing at a youth tournament in Atlanta a week earlier. Flo and I did not play against any of them, but one of the kid pairs – Daren Liu and Tyler Mu – earned more points than we did, 0.44 for coming in fourth in the C strat in the afternoon game.