Bridge Blog 1136: Old year, finally gone ...

 

Bridge players pretty much ignore everything in the outside world when they’re in the heat of the game – I certainly do. They’re kind of like golfers that way.

But the events of 2020 just had to be taken into account. Covid-19 brought face-to-face games to a sudden halt. Tournament after tournament was canceled. Everybody retreated to their computers. Competition moved online.

Alas, online it seems like there aren’t as many points to win. And although some players found ways to rake them in, totals in the ACBL master point races reflected the restrictions. It certainly stunted my winnings. An average year would find me adding 150 points to my career totals. In 2020, I collected 81.52 in club play and in all games ????.

At any rate, let’s open up the record book and see what’s up. Or rather, who’s up.

 Ace of Clubs (club play only). Gold Life Masters (2,500 to 3,500 points). Unit 116 (just Buffalo).

 Look at that Ken Meier. He put on a stretch drive and nosed out Allen Beroza, who’d been the leader all year. Ken wound up with 163.36 points, adding 29.22 in December. Allen finished with 163.27, just 14.40 better than a month earlier. They’re ranked third and fourth among all Unit 116 players.

My 81.52 points, a 10.89 improvement, puts me in a room of my own in third place, way behind the leaders, way ahead of the next guys – Fred Yellen with 51.08 and Mike Silverman with 50.61. I’m #26 among all Unit 116 players, up from #27. Fred is #43 and Mike is #44.

The rest are stragglers. Art Morth stays sixth with 28.48 and is #73 overall. Bill Rushmore has 20.93 and is #92 overall. John Sinclair, who has a gazillion points from online play, has just 18.62 that count. He’s #114 overall.

Last but never least is Pat Rasmus with 6.98, having picked up a few after face-to-face play resumed at the Bridge Club of East Aurora. She’s #210 among all Unit 116 players.

Ace of Clubs. Unit 116. All players.

John and Martha Welte blew past the half century mark in December, adding another 64.30 points to finish the year with 555.60.

Third and fourth are the Gold Life Master leaders, Ken Meier and Allen Beroza, way back with 163.36 and 163.27, respectively.

Ensconced in fifth place is NABC Master Jim Lanzo, who added another 10.73 points to his stellar performance and finished with 150.86.

After that, it’s Vic Bergsten, 142.35; Bud Seidenberg, 140 even; Barbara Libby, 136.77; Sandi England, 130.86, and Saleh Fetouh, 128.22.

 Mini-McKenney (Club points plus tournament points). Unit 116. Gold Life Masters.

Ken Meier pulled ahead here, too. He has 184.08, 43.06 more than he had a month ago. Allen Beroza drops to second with 175.30, having added just 14.40. They’re fifth and seventh, respectively, among all Unit 116 players.

I’m third again here, with 86.07, thanks to those 10.91 club points. That puts me at #29 overall, up from #30.

After that, it’s Fred Yellen, 66.48 (#36 overall, up from #37); John Sinclair, unchanged at 58.89 (#45 overall, down from #38); Mike Silverman, standing pat at 55.77 (#49 overall, down from #43); Art Morth, 35.97 (#67 overall, down from #66); Bill Rushmore, 26.77 (#88, down from #87); and finally, Pat Rasmus, 6.98 (#215, up from #223).

Mini-McKenney. Unit 116. All players.

Those Weltes! John and Martha tie for first with 632.59, having gathered 71.13 points despite the holidays. Third-place Saleh Fetouh, on the other hand, accumulated only 12.41, finishing with 218.33.

Fourth is held by NABC Master Jim Lanzo. Having reached fourth place last month, he piled up another 24.67 points to reach 186.68.

After that, it’s Gold Life Master champ Ken Meier with 184.08, Davis Heussler with 179.31, Allen Beroza with 175.30, Bud Seidenberg with 162.14, Vic Bergsten with 159.90 and Sandi England with 140.65. Just missing the Top 10 are Linda Burroughsford, 138.98, and Barbara Libby, 137.93.

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

Buffalonians Ken Meier and Allen Beroza are 1-2 here, too – Ken with 163.36, Allen with 163.27. Ken is #19 among all District 5 players. Allen is #20.

Then it’s Barry Boyd of Wheeling, W.Va., 136.52, #35 overall; Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 115.77, #48; Peter Merker of Mentor, Ohio, 106.51, #60; Kenneth Eichler of Murrysville, Pa., 99.76, #74; Carolyn Sullivan of Richfield, Ohio, 98.68, #76; Jayne Stahr of Stow, Ohio, 91.38, #89; and Gary Sikon of Cleveland, 84.13, #104. And look who’s tenth – moi, up from #11 in November. I’m #112 overall, up from #114.

 Ace of Clubs. District 5. All players.

John and Martha Welte reign here, too. Tied for first with 555.60. Then a bunch of familiar names following up:

Paul Holmes of Wadsworth, Ohio, 523.75; Erin Gonzalez of Mars, Pa., 310.04; Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 272.45; Richard and Monica Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, 272.01 and 254.69; Stewart and Sandra Metosky of Pittsburgh, 221.19 and 212.04, together in a ninth-place tie a month ago, now separated by Bruce Cahoon of Akron, Ohio, who occupies the spot between eighth and tenth with 220.61.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. Gold Life Masters.

Unit 116’s Ken Meier managed to snag second place with his 184.08 (#26 among all district players), but there was no catching Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa. His 350.30 made him a solid leader and fifth overall in the district.

Third was Barry Boyd of Wheeling, W.Va., with 180.67 (#27 overall). Another Buffalonian, Allen Beroza, took fourth with 175.30 (#30 overall).

Then it’s Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, 142.74 (#49); Peter Merker of Mentor, Ohio, 138.16 (#53); Gary Sikon of Cleveland, 132.06 (#59); Robert Zimmermann of Pittsburgh, 129.63 (#60); Kenneth Eichler of Murrysville, Pa., 111.66 (#89); and Carolyn Sullivan of Richfield, Ohio, 107.38 (#96).

Then we find Jayne Stahr of Stow, Ohio, with 98.74 sitting #11 (#109 district-wide), and moi. My 86.07 is good for #12 among the Goldies and #139 in the district. I’ll take it.

A trio of us Unit 116ers occupy the mid-teens – Fred Yellen at #15 with 66.48 (#207 in the district); John Sinclair at #16 with 58.89 (#254); and Mike Silverman, #17 with 55.77 (#269).

Mini-McKenney. District 5. All players.

Those Weltes, tied for the top with 632.59. Not far behind, surprisingly, is Paul Holmes of Wadsworth, Ohio, 608.65.

Then things drop off precipitously. Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 401.53; Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 350.30; Erin Gonzalez of Mars, Pa., 348.97; Richard and Monica Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, 309.79 and 281.01, respectively; Ricahrd Katz of North Versailles, Pa., 266.36; and Jeffrey Weiss of Novelty, Ohio (Novelty, really???), 245.54. Buffalo’s Saleh Fetouh is #15 with 218.33. 

Ace of Clubs. Gold Life Masters. Nationwide.

Never any doubt about Dolores Aquino of Houston. She’s tops with 714.93. The rest: Lynn Leisy of Amelia Island, Fla., 631.16; David Morse of New Minas, Nova Scotia, 505.93; Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., 604.18; Yacob (Jacob) Rubinstien of Holland, Pa., 575.86; Ann Buchholz of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., 458.49; Peter Martin of Kennesaw, Ga., 449.61; Steve Vaughn of Kingwood, Texas, 445.67; Wendy Lee of East Hanover, N.J., 427.49; and Mason Barge of Atlanta, 425.89.

Buffalo’s Ken Meier and Allen Beroza are #202 and #203 with 163.36 and 163.27. The list cuts off at 104.55.

Ace of Clubs. All players. Nationwide.

OMG, despite the pandemic, Stephen Garreffa of Randolph, N.J., managed to accumulate 967.37 points in 2020. Following at a respectful distance are Milton Neher of Richardson, Texas, 898.64; Robert McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., 855.32; Piotr Olszewski of Hackettstown, N.J., 853.83; Judy Rothstein of Livingston, N.J., 815.10; Mel Norton of Burlington, Ont., 794.82; Jack Jones of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 729.04; Goldie leader Dolores Aquino, 714.93; Stephen Cooper of Belle Mead, N.J., 708.87; and David Rosenblatt of Palmetto Bay, Fla., 708.87.

Familiar names in the next three places – Gillian Miniter of New York City, 702.42; Ann McClelland of The Villages, Fla., 597.44; and Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, 589.40.

Unit 116 leaders John and Martha Welte show up in a tie for #37 with their 555.60. No other Buffalonians on the list. It stops at 257.75.

Mini-McKenney. Gold Life Masters. Nationwide.

Looks like the Ace of Clubs list all over again, starting with Dolores Aquino on top with 854.94. Then it’s Lynn Leisy close behind with 842.26; Ann Buchholz, 655.80; then a cluster of Russ Pearly, 627.41; David Morse, 627.36; and Yacob (Jacob) Rubinstien, 625.17. The rest are Peter Martin, 536.70; Mason Barge, 534.33; an outlyer – Barbara Murphy of Newton, Mass., 476.08 – and then Steve Vaughn, 468.90.

Do our Unit 116 guys show up here on the big board? Yes, they do. There’s Ken Meier at #218 with 184.08. And Allen Beroza checks in at #245 with 175.30. The list stops at 123.37.

Mini-McKenney. All players. Nationwide.

Usually, winners here are approaching 3,000 points. Not in 2020. Top dog is Robert McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., and he has 1,619.11. Only three other players got into four figures – Gillian Miniter of New York City, 1,181.77; Piotr Olszewski of Hackettstown, N.J., 1,054.39; and Mel Norton of Burlington, Ont., 1,011.29.

Only in the bottom half of the Top Ten do the perennial winners pop in – Joe Grue of New York City is eighth, Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., is tenth.

Fifth place holder Stephen Garreffa of Randolph, N.J., almost made the millennial mark. He had 998.58. Then it’s Peter Boyd-Bowman of Greensboro, N.C., 985.65; Milton Neher of Richardson, Texas, 966.72; Joe Grue, 958.50; Michael Dalton of Palm Coast, Fla., 925.39; and Mark Itabashi, 907.39.

The legendary Jeff Meckstroth finished #15 with 882.95, one rung ahead of Gold Life Master leader Dolores Aquino. Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge, now of Jackston Heights in Queens, was #89 with 562.38. That’s not as good as the Weltes. They’re tied for #49 with 632.59. No other Buffalonians here. To reach #500, you needed 319.12.