Bridge Blog 1114: Santa Claus rally

They both took an upswing between Thanksgiving and New Year’s – Wall Street and my fortunes at the bridge table.

The trend was the friend for the Dow and the NASDAQ. For me, though, the trend was bouncing along a bottom. This upward reversal was quite unexpected.

It began with the annual Unit 116 meeting and game back at the beginning of December, when Flo Boyd and I turned in a 60.64% game amid some of the toughest players in town and won 1.97 points for our efforts.

That came a day after a red-letter day in St. Catharines, when Selina Volpatti and I came in first North-South with 60.80% against another tough field and collected 1.50 points.

Then it was STaC Week, the Sectional Tournament at the Clubs. The hoped-for big game never materialized, but the rewards were slow and steady. I ended the week with 8.98 points. Big improvement over last December, when I won only 2.52 points in the Winter STaC.

Add to that a couple stellar Mondays at the Airport Bridge Club – first overall with Judie Bailey on Dec. 16 with 57.09% to collect 3.19 points and then, on Dec. 23, first in our direction in a last-minute pairing with a truly good player – Barbara Libby. That 61.58% earned us 3 points even.

A 20-point month, at least. Maybe 25. A great way to send out the year and the decade …

Bridge Blog 1113: November's leftovers (finally polished off)

As I recall, it was a turkey of a month for me. Just 7.63 more points won in club play, bringing my Ace of Clubs total for the year to 118.66. And just 7.85 points overall, thanks to that pittance of a point at the Niagara Falls Regional, pumping the overall count to 130.91. Not quite 12 points per month this year, a far cry from that goal of 15 that I’ve tried to maintain.

At any rate, let’s see how this stacks up against the world at large in the ACBL master point races.

Unit 116 (Buffalo only). Ace of Clubs (club points only). Ruby Life Masters (1,500 to 2,500 master points). I’m still fifth and might just stay there until the end of the year. Here are the Top 10:

Linda Burroughsford, 178.25 (continuing fourth among all players in Unit 116); Martin Pieterse, 171.96 (still fifth overall); Fred Yellen, 147.51 (#13  overall, down from #11); Ken Meier, 124.20 (#18, down from #17); moi, 118.66 (holding steady at #19); Davis Heussler, 110.23 (#23); John Sinclair, 102.73 (#26); Dorothy May, 101.22 (#28); Gene Finton, 92.49 (#34); and Art Matthies, 80.96 (#43).

Unit 116. Ace of Clubs. All players. Alan Greer adds 28.05 points, not much for him, to reach 408.67. Even so, he widened his lead over Nancy Wolstoncroft, who added only 12.21 points to stand at 236.52.

Holding fast to the next three  positions are John Welte, 183.30; Linda Burroughsford, 178.25; and Martin Pieterse, 171.96.

The shake-up starts in sixth place, now claimed by Gay Simpson with 167.19. She was ninth last month. Moving down a peg are Barbara Libby, 164.99; Martha Welte, 164.64; and Mike Silverman, 163.90. John Ziemer rounds out the Top 10 again with 160.08. Allen Beroza moves into #11 with 155.72. Mike Ryan is #12 with 152.80.

Unit 116. Mini-McKenney (points earned everywhere). Ruby Life Masters. Linda Burroughsford, still first among Rubies and first overall in the unit after a 40.37 point month, with 494.51. Davis Heussler, with a 24.49 point month, remains second and fourth in the unit with 447.25.

Ken Meier keeps third place among Rubies and #13 in the unit with an 18.13 point month that brings him to 259.72. Fred Yellen continues fourth here after a 7.82 point month that takes him to 190.06, but he falls from #20 to #23 overall.

Martin Pieterse, with a 13.45 point month, remains fifth and drops from #23 to #24 overall. John Sinclair continues sixth and #32 overall with 139.39 and I stay seventh among Rubies but slip from #39 to #42 overall with 130.91.

Gene Finton, who earned half a point in November, remains eighth and goes from #42 to #44 overall. Dorothy May moves up to ninth with 113.90, nudging Art Matthies back to tenth with 108.31. Dotty advances from #46 to #45, while Art drops from #43 to #52.

Unit 116. Mini-McKenney. All players.

Linda Burroughsford, with 494.51, has seen second-place Saleh Fetouh close the gap with a 62.35 point month. He now has 488.67.

John Welte continues to outpace Davis Heussler, 452.78 to 447.25. Alan Greer stays fifth with 435.14; Martha Welte is still sixth with 429.61; Mike Ryan remains seventh with 375.61 and Dian Petrov keeps eighth place with 304.55.

Chris Urbanek moves from #12 to ninth with a 45.93 point month. She has 302.14, enough to slip past Glenn Milgrin with 296.66. John Ziemer is down a notch to #11 with 291.47 and Jay Levy earned less than a point to reach 259.83.

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

Unit 116 holds to the top three places again. Linda Burroughsford, 178.25 (#10 in the district). Martin Pieterse, 171.96 (#11 overall). Fred Yellen, 147.51 (#28).

Then we have Kenneth Eichler of Murrysville, Pa., with 144.17 (#31); Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 138.06 (#34); James Wheeler of Edinburg, Pa., 125.15 (#44); and Barbara Schidlowski of Kent, Ohio, 124.35 (#46).

Then we reach Ken Meier, 124.20 (#48, down from #47); moi, 118.66, still ninth on this list but down from #54 to #57 overall; and Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 116.28 (#61). Davis Heussler’s 110.23 makes him #11 and #74 overall.

District 5. Ace of Clubs. All players. Alan Greer and Nancy Wolstoncroft, again one-two with 408.67 and 236.52. After that, Stephanie Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, squeezes past Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 207.91 to 207.47.

Then it’s Robert Alexander of Mentor, 206.09; Bruce Cahoon of Akron, Ohio, 187.77; Arlene Port, 184.94; Unit 116’s John Welte, 183.30; Kenneth Bergman of Wexford, Pa., 179.27; Linda Burroughsford, 178.25; and Martin Pieterse, 171.96.

District 5. Mini-McKenney. Ruby Life Masters.

Ahead by a country mile are Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler with 494.51 and 447.25. On a district level, Linda moves up to #13 from #14, while Davis stands pat at #17.

Then it’s Doug Snyder of Shaker Heights, Ohio, 273.76 (#37, down from #35); Ken Meier, up a notch with 259.72 (#42, up from #46); Robert Zimmermann of Pittsburgh, 249.17 (#49, down from #42); James Fox of Canonsburg, Pa., 222.82 (#61, down from #57); Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 203.45 (#72); Fred Yellen, 190.06 (#84, down from #79); Martin Pieterse, 188.22 (#86, down from #85); and Marvin Shapiro of Akron, 178.97 (#94). John Sinclair is still #16 with 150.29 (#129 overall, down from #128). My 130.91 puts me at #27, down from #26, and #171 overall, down from #161.

District 5. Mini-McKenney. All players. 
Eight players from Ohio in the Top 10, two from Pennsylvania, none from Unit 116.

Still on top is Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, with 919.20. Still second is Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., with 607.17. Still third is Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, 603.39. Phillip Becker of Beachwood jumps from seventh to fourth with 603.36. Stephanie and Robert Alexander hold fast to fifth and sixth with 598.57 and 596.75. Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh is still seventh with 588.24. Dropping from fourth to eighth after a 10.38 point month is Kathleen Sulgrove from Twinsburg, Ohio, with 585.43. Still ninth is Don Sulgrove of Twinsburg, 548.62. Fleur Howard of Gates Mills, Ohio, with 515.43, knocks Fred Schenker of Pittsburgh back to #11. He has 499.20.

Six Unit 116 players are in the second 10. Linda Burroughsford is #13. Saleh Fetouh is #14. John Welte is #16. Davis Heussler is #17. Alan Greer is #18. And Martha Welte is #19.

Nationwide. Ace of Clubs. Ruby Life Masters.

Just when I thought that everybody had settled into their seats for the end of the year, I discover an upheaval on this list. Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., had an amazing 100.43 point month in the clubs. With 371.39 points now, he vaulted from seventh place a month ago to the top of the Rubies nationally.

With a comfortable lead, too. Last month’s one-two – Jim Loffree of Naples, Fla., and Mark Crumrine of Ocala, Fla., – dropped down a notch with 345.58 and 320.19, respectively.

Mason Barge of Atlanta moved up one rung to fourth with 315.97. Sidney Perutz of Dallas fell two places to fifth with 304.24. Falling with him was Christopher Smith of Vero Beach, Fla., down from fourth to sixth with 295.12.

Up one spot to seventh was John Miller of Chicago with 278.31. Jay Lucus of Little Rock, Ark., re-entered the Top 10 in eighth place with 276.95. Also back, in ninth, was Aivars Lapins of Cambria, Calif., with 275.40. Christine Converse of Highland Beach, Fla., ninth a month ago, rounds out the list at 275.08. Falling off and sitting at #11 is Bruce Ladin of Harwood Heights, Ill., with 269.47.

Unit 116 leader Linda Burroughsford is down six places at #101 with 178.25. Martin Pieterse is #128, down from #123, with 171.96. Fred Yellen is #252, down from #208, with 147.51. Ken Meier is #490, down from #487, with 124.20. The list cuts off at 123.77.

Nationwide. Ace of Clubs. All players. 

No surprises here. Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta, after a 60.80 point November, fattened his lead by four more points over Neil Silverman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 688.90 to 550.61.

Wait, there’s David Hudson of The Villages, Fla., tenth a month ago and now sitting third with 524.50 after a 120.96 point month. Wow!

One step lower now are Francine Feldman of Boca Raton, Fla., 502.45; and En Xie of St. Louis, 495.55. Robert Epstein of Atlanta holds fast in sixth with 482.91, while Sheila Gabay of Newton, Mass, drops two places with 478 even. Harry Kaufmann of North Redington Beach, Fla., climbed from ninth to eighth with 467.32. Jeff Edelstein of Tampa, Fla., seventh last month, now is listed twice in ninth place with 465.21. Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale is next with 441.86.

Unit 116’s Alan Greer is #17, down from #15, with 408.67. Nancy Wolstoncroft is #326, down from #271, with 236.52. Nobody else from around here. The list cuts off at 210.48.

Nationwide. Mini-McKenney. Ruby Life Masters.

Unchanged in the top three. Harrison Luba of Lynnfield, Mass., has 767.63, followed by two from Houston – Thomas Rush and Dolores Aquino – with 751.27 and 649.77, respectively.

Ruby standout Christopher Smith moves from sixth to fourth with 585.65, passing Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., who has 573.23. Then it’s Amy Casanova of Portland, Ore., with 564.91; Ann Buchholz of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., with 555.71; Mark Crumrine of Ocala, Fla., with 537.61; Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., with 533.81; and Shailesh Gupta of Aliso Viejo, Calif., with 532.65.

Unit 116 players in the Top 500 include Linda Burroughsford, holding steady at #13 with 494.51; Davis Heussler up one notch to #20 with 447.25; Ken Meier at #194, up from #207 in October, with 259.72. Fred Yellen, #473 a month ago, has fallen off the list. It cuts off at 193.36.

National. Mini-McKenney. All players.  

Still on top is Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., with 2,279.69. Not far behind is Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., with 2,238.17. Also topping the double millennia mark are Joe Grue of New York City, 2090.30; Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., 2,085.14; and Jacob Morgan of Madison, Wis., 2,028.51.

Then it’s Shan Huang of Melbourne, Fla., 1,934.37; Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., 1,723.33; Brad Moss of Denver, 1,713.34; John Hurd of New York City, 1,676.72; and Eric Rodwell of Clearwater, Fla., 1,666.57.

Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge, now of Jackson Heights, dropped to #14 from #12 with 1,540.56 after a 45.99 point month.

District 5 point leader Sue Lan Ma is #70, up from #71, with 919.20 after a 41.74 point month. Unit 116’s Linda Burroughsford is #399, up from #415, with her 494.51. John Welte joins the Barry Crane Top 500 at #492 with 452.78, but, alas, Davis Heussler again just misses the list. It cuts off at 449.62. He has 447.25. 

Bridge Blog 1112-A: UnSTaCked

Underpopulated parking lot Saturday. Underpopulated inside the Airport Bridge Club when I arrive a few minutes before 10 a.m.

Gay Simpson’s partner doesn’t show. Director Bill Finkelstein says another pair that is supposed to come isn’t coming. Even with him playing and a couple substitutes coming in, he says there won’t be enough players to meet the minimum three tables. He cancels the afternoon game, too.

Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler will go to the game at the Bridge Center of Buffalo, which starts at noon. As for my partner, Art Matthies, he doesn’t suggest that we follow suit. Neither do I. Actually, after 10 STaC games so far this week, I need a rest. I’m working tonight and then there’s more STaC Sunday – Swiss teams.

Bridge Blog 1112-B: Short STaC

I always hope for that big game in the upper 60% range to bring home a ton of silver points in the STaC (Sectional Tournament at the Clubs), but it didn’t happen this week. However, there were fractional points to collect after some of the 10 games I played. Here’s how it went:

Monday morning with Dotty May: 52.50%. Third North-South, first in the B strat. 0.98 of a point.

Monday afternoon with Dotty May: 54% even. Second North-South, first in the B strat. 0.99 of a point.

Tuesday morning with Joyce Greenspan. 48.33%. Fifth of seven North-Souths. Needed 51.67% to scratch.

Tuesday afternoon with Joyce Greenspan. 48% even. Second East-West in the B strat. 0.74 of a point. Incredibly, it bumps up to 1.28 points on a District level.

Wednesday morning with June Feuerstein. 46.58%. Fourth of five North-Souths. Needed 55.46% to scratch.

Wednesday afternoon with June Feuerstein. 47.38%. Fourth of five North-Souths again. Needed only 48.90% to scratch.

Thursday morning with Barbara Libby. 55.13%. Second East-West. 0.99 of a point.

Thursday afternoon with Marietta Kalman. 55.50%. Tied for first North-South with Judi Marshall and John Ziemer. 1.20 points.

Friday morning with Selina Volpatti. 36.71%. Last in a 9-pair Howell movement. Needed 53.69% to scratch.

Friday afternoon with Selina Volpatti. 55.15%. Second North-South. 0.99 of a point.

So far 6.43 points. Were there more on the district level? Rats! Can’t tell. ACBL website is down right now (noon hour Saturday, Dec. 14) for maintenance.

Bridge Blog 1111: Redouble Your Pleasure

       “Five Clubs redoubled? 800?” Mike Ryan remarks Tuesday, Dec. 3, as we study the preliminary results on the bulletin board at the Airport Bridge Club.

       That was Board 11 against Ron Henrikson and Sharon Chang. Sharon, sitting West, opens 1 Spade. I want to bid 1 No Trump, then think better of it. But wait, let’s have a look at this thing:

       

       Nobody vulnerable. South is dealer.

       West (Sharon):

       Spades: A-K-Q-J-9-3; Hearts: Q-J; Diamonds: A-10-8-4; Clubs: 7.

       North (me):

       Spades: 10-8-4-2; Hearts: A-8; Diamonds: K-Q-2; Clubs: A-K-9-6.

       East (Ron):

       Spades: 7-6; Hearts: 10-6-3-2; Diamonds: J-9-7-6-3; Clubs: 8-4.

       South (Usha Khurana):

       Spades: 5; Hearts: K-9-7-5-4; Diamonds: 5; Clubs: Q-J-10-5-3-2.

       I pass. So does Ron, sitting East with that awful hand. Usha bids 2 NT, the Unusual No Trump, telling me she’s got five Clubs and five Diamonds, even though she doesn’t. She should cue-bid 2 Spades – a Michaels – telling me she has five Hearts and five of a minor suit.

       No question what my bid is – 3 Clubs. Pass, pass to Sharon, who is undeterred. 3 Spades.

Since Usha should have just three cards in the major suits and I hold the Ace of Hearts, we have only two losers there. Our Diamonds and Clubs, they should be solid. I jump to 5 Clubs. Sharon doubles. I redouble. Sharon leads the Ace of Spades. The dummy is a surprise. But not a bad one.

Sharon shifts to the Ace of Diamonds and it’s all over. That’s our last loser. We win the rest.

It’s an outrageous top board. Some North-South pairs stop at 3 Clubs and make two overtricks. Some Wests persist to 4 Spades and get doubled, down three. Lucky Wests, the ones who get to play at 3 Spades, aren’t doubled. The North-South who bid No Trump? They lost seven tricks.

Usha and I have a few other bright spots Tuesday. (Another top board comes against the formidable Alan Greer and Nancy Wolstoncroft, when I eke out 11 tricks in a doubled 5 Diamond contract.) Unfortunately, we make more than enough mistakes to offset good hands like that. At the end of the day, we’re not last, but we’re well short of the winners’ circle. 45.24%.