Bridge Blog 1119: St. Catharines Sectional

Come to think about it, the St. Catharines Sectional is designed for out-of-towners who stay in or around the host hotel with nothing to do in the evening. (What's to do in St. Catharines on a weekend? Go to Hamilton?) Why else would game times for pairs Friday and Saturday be 1 and 7 p.m., instead of 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., like they are at the Buffalo sectionals? Not conducive for good relations with significant others who aren’t there in St. Catharines, too.

So me and my Canadian partner, Selina Volpatti, partook only of the afternoon pairs game on Friday. And even that plan was in doubt until Friday morning because of the other thing about this tournament – the weather. It's almost always bad. Sure enough, winter storm warnings were up.

But how bad could it be? Given the Ontario highway maintenance system, I had complete faith in road conditions. The Queen Elizabeth Way would be clear all the way to Ontario Street in St. Catharines. To confirm it, I took a look at camera views online. Black pavement. 

What I hadn’t considered was that, with a steady light snow falling, those Ontario highway maintainers might be running snowplows side by side on the QEW for half the trip from the Peace Bridge to Niagara Falls. 25 mph (40 k/h) at their speediest. No passing.

At least conditions improved the further I went. The snowplows pulled aside. I outran the snow. Slushy slurry at Fort Erie became merely wetness on the Skyway over the Welland Canal. But did I arrive 15 to 30 minutes before game time, like I expected? Noooo. More like a nail-biting 12:55.

What felt like a successful game turned into dismay when we punched the Bridge Mate’s button for results after the final round. 45%. Fourteenth among 20 pairs, seventh in the B strat.

(But wait, here on Sunday afternoon I just found my email from ACBL Live. We had 48.27%, finished sixth, just good enough to scratch out 0.30 of a silver point.)

We’ll do better Sunday in the Swiss teams, we promised one another. Although we didn’t have the other half of our team (I’d been asking people all week), I put my name in with partnership chairman Marg Dykstra and waited for a call.

No call Saturday. Then Selina texts me to say she’s going to Toronto with her daughters instead on Sunday. I message Marg saying I’m available as a single. She emails back to say, essentially, don’t bother. I get an unexpected day and night off.

In the meantime, I consoled myself with a second-place finish at the Airport Bridge Club with my new Saturday date, Sharon Chang, who’s proving to be a most delightful partner. Our 58% effort rewarded us with 1.77 points.

Bridge Blog 1118: New month, new year, new decade.

New category, too. Now I’m a Gold Life Master and I’m competing with people who have 2,500 to 3,500 master points. It’s a rarified bunch here in Buffalo and environs. There’s not enough of us to fill up a minyan. Let’s do the first-month rundown.

Ace of Clubs (Club play only). Unit 116 (Buffalo only). Gold Life Masters.

I have 11.11 club points as we enter the new frontier and I’m second on this list, behind Allen Beroza. (If I were still a Ruby Life Master, I’d be seventh!) Here’s the great eight:

Allen Beroza, 14.15 (#11 overall in the unit); me, 11.11 (#17 overall); Fred Yellen, 10.04 (#23); Art Morth, 8.87 (#27); Ken Meier, 6.91 (#41); John Sinclair, 6.60 (#42); Mike Silverman, 6.51 (#45); and Bill Rushmore, 3.60 (#86). And that’s all.

Ace of Clubs. Unit 116. All players.

Who else but Alan Greer and Nancy Wolstoncroft? Here are the people in front of me. The six with asterisks are Ruby Life Masters:

Alan Greer, 30.65; *Nancy Wolstoncroft, 24.83; Sharon Benz, 18.14; Larry Abate, 16.73; *Linda Burroughsford, 16.40; *John and *Martha Welte, both with 16.36; Ed Morgan, 15.68; Mike Ryan, 14.71; Jay Levy, 14.16; Allen Beroza, 14.15; *Walt Olszewski, 14.14; Joanne LaFay, 13.20; *Martin Pieterse, 12.95; John Ziemer, 12.54; and Gay Simpson, 11.65.

Mini-McKenney (All points earned everywhere). Unit 116. Gold Life Masters.

Still not enough players to fill out a Top 10, but closer. I’m fourth with 15.36. Here we are:

John Sinclair, 45.21 (second overall in the unit); Fred Yellen, 25.44 (#13 overall); Allen Beroza, 17.67 (#21); moi, 15.36 (#29); Art Morth, 14.17 (#32); Mike Silverman, 11.67 (#44); Bill Rushmore, 9.44 (#51); Ken Meier, 6.91 (#72); and Chongmin Zhang, 0.78 (#182).

Mini-McKenney. Unit 116. All players.

David Colligan tops the list with 55.34. Then it’s John Sinclair with 45.21; John and Martha Welte, both with 43.54; Linda Burroughsford, 42.40; Davis Heussler, 39.47; Chris Urbanek, 36.43; Bud Seidenberg, 32.47; Alan Greer, 30.65; Jay Costello, 27.57; Saleh Fetouh, 25.92; Nancy Wolstoncroft, 25.47; Fred Yellen, 25.44; Sharon Benz, 25.37; John Ziemer, 24.97; and Larry Abate, 24.77.

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

Pennsylvania dominates. Two of us Buffalonians make the Top 10 and I’m one of them. Here it is:

Marcella Retetagos of Pittsburgh, 16.06 (#22 overall in the district); Kenneth Eichler of Murrysville, Pa., 16.01 (#23 overall); Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 15.55 (#28); Peggy Shivetts of Greensburg, Pa., 14.93 (#29); Ronald Sain of Indiana, Pa., 14.60 (#43); Allen Beroza, 14.15 (#35); Brenda Merkich of Cortland, Ohio (Ohio has a Cortland?), 14.09 (#37); Tom Martin of Hudson, Ohio, 12.91 (#44); Leroy Hackenberg of Pittsburgh, 12.20 (#47); and moi, 11.11 (#58).

Ace of Clubs. District 5. All players.

Two Buffalonians in the Top 10 and one more at #11.

Alan Greer, 30.65; W. (William) Tordella of Bemus Point, 28.41; D. Pierce of Parkersburg, W. Va., 25.16; Nancy Wolstoncroft, 24.83: Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 23.90; Barbara Belardi of Pittsburgh, 23.65; Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., 22.25; Arlene Port of Pittsburgh, 19.03; Judy Haffner of Pittsburgh, 18.54; Gladys Martin of Hudson, Ohio, 18.15; and Unit 116’s Sharon Benz, 18.14.

Linda Burroughsford is #18 with her 16.40 and the Weltes are tied for #19 with 16.36.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. Gold Life Masters.

A Buffalonian on top, John Sinclair with his 45.21. He’s only #13 overall, though. The rest down to me:

Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 42.19 (#20 overall); Gary Sikon of Cleveland, 40.70 (#23); Peter Merker of Mentor, Ohio, 35.63 (#30); Fred Yellen, 25.44 (#50); Leroy Hackenberg of Pittsburgh, 19.45 (#90); Barry Boyd of Wheeling, W. Va., 18.85 (#93); Eva Lefton of Beachwood, Ohio, 18.77 (#94); Allen Beroza, 17.67 (#104); Marcella Retetagos of Pittsburgh, 16.06 (#126); Kenneth Eichler of Murrysville, Pa., 16.01 (#127); and moi, 15.36 (#136).

Mini-McKenney. District 5. All players.

Ohio players dominate, thanks no doubt to the Rock ‘N Roll Regional in Cleveland, but there’s an unfamiliar name on top – Robert Flynn of McDonald, Pa., with 87.11. Tied for second with 83.87 are Don and Kathleen Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio.

After that, it’s Philip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, 82.87; Fleur Howard of Gates Mills, Ohio, 79.06; Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, 75.30; Kenneth Kranyak of Parma, Ohio, 63.49; Michael Creager of Bedford, Ohio; 57.59; David Colligan, 55.34; Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, 47.19; and Stephanie and Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, with 46.20 and 45.50, respectively. Then we have Unit 116’s John Sinclair at #13 with his 45.21.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Gold Life Masters.

Familiar names at the top – Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., with 46.38, and Mason Barge of Atlanta, with 41.51. Then it gets … different.

Third is David Woods of Sarnia, Ont., 40.08; then it's David Schapira of Delray Beach, Fla., 38.13; Lee Maddocks of Modesto, Calif., 37.34; Paul Hassett of The Villages, Fla., 36.46; George Wieland of Seabrook, Texas, 36.29; Steve Vaughn of Kingwood, Texas, 35.73; Mary Bray of Atlanta, 35.18; Jay Shahani of Columbia, S.C.,  34.18; Aivars Lapins of Cambria, Calif., 34.17; and Steven Mehta of Mississauga, Ont., 34 even.

District 5 leader Marcella Retetagos of Pittsbugh clocks in at #213 with her 16.06. District 5 runner-up Kenneth Eichler of Murrysville, Pa., is #215 with 16.01. Unit 116 frontrunner Allen Beroza is in a three-way tie for #317 with 14.15. And he’s our only representative. My 11.11 doesn’t make it. The Top 500 cuts off at 11.86.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. All players.

Off to a roaring start is Neil Silverman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with 72.13 points. Next is Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta with 61.59.

Then come Ann McClelland of The Villages, Fla., 59.92; John Urciuoli of Fountain Hills, Ariz., 59.05; David Hudson of The Villages, Fla., 58.84; Vincent Grande Jr. of Jupiter, Fla., 57.64; Robert Epstein of Atlanta, 57.02; Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, 55.56; Roberta Trayman of Naples, Fla., 53.81; and Baskaran Sankaran of Alpharetta, Fla., 53.28.

Gold Life Master leader Russ Pearly checks in at #27 with 46.38. District 5 and Unit 116 pacesetter Alan Greer is #167 with 30.65. Our runner-up, Nancy Wolstoncroft, is #367 with 24.83. The list stops at 22.92.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Gold Life Masters.

It’s Ann Buchholz of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on top. She has 96.18. Next are Murali Nair of Phoenix, 89.42; Lynn Leisy of Amelia Island, Fla., 81.54; Bruce Ruskin of Modesto, Calif., 72.35; Shailesh Gupta of Aliso Viejo, Calif., 71.20; Robert Griffiths of Elora, Ont., 69.28; Janice Madsen of Jacksonville, Fla., 68.75; Gerard Hallee of Portland, Ore., 66.21; William Brackett of Longmont, Colo., 65.73; and another Portland, Ore., guy, Ronald Resnick with 65.24.

Unit 116 and District 5 leader John Sinclair is #51 with his 45.21. Our other representative here is Fred Yellen, #268 with his 25.44. The list stops at 18.29.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. All players.

Amazing what some people can accomplish in a month. Take Robert McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla. He’s amassed more points in January than any other player (and more than I’m likely to get all year). He leads the pack with 345.87.

Other unfamiliar names dominate the Top 10 – Jacob Morgan of Madison, Wis., 277.22; Bjorgvin Kristinsson of Columbia Heights, Minn., 262.43; David Grainger of Etobicoke, Ont., 261.80; Huub Bertens and Daniel Korbel, both of Las Vegas, with 257.46 and 257.17, respectively; Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., 255.23; Mitch Dunitz of Sherman Oaks, Calif., 254.94; last year’s winner Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., 245.88; and Vladimir Isporski of Sofia, Bulgaria, 242.55.

Heavy hitters in the second 10 – Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., at #11 with 242.10; and Joe Grue of New York City, #14 with 228.29.

Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge, now of Jackson Heights, Queens, is #40 with 160.91. Topmost nationwide Gold Life Master Ann Buchholz is #126 with her 96.18. District 5 overall leader Robert Flynn is #156 with his 87.11. Only player from Unit 116 on this list of 500 is David Colligan, tied for #434 with his 55.34 points. Cut-off is at 52.10.  

Bridge Blog 1117: Fast start?

Did my 20-point December get followed by a 20-point January? I had moments of hope, but things really stumbled as they came down to the wire. Let’s do some rough addition from the figures in my datebook – darn, looks more like 15. At least I stand a chance of hitting my hypothetical monthly target. We’ll see later this week when the ACBL posts its first master point results for 2020.