Bridge Blog 1141: The marginally merry month of May

 

Outside obligations got in the way of my bridge game all month. There were medical appointments. There was that Memorial Day holiday during Silver Linings Week. There was that trip to bring my mother-in-law from the nursing home on Long Island that was kicking her out to one up here in Buffalo that hopefully would do better. The upshot: A 5.54 point month, bringing me to a total of 31.34 as of May 31. At any rate, the ACBL’s master point race standings are up. Let’s check them out.

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

Not a stellar month for those first-place Weltes, John and Martha. They took in 50.48 points to reach 346.43. In April, they won 56.16. They’re also tied for first among all players in Unit 116.

Third-place Ken Meier cracked the century mark, but it was only a 17.59 point month for him. He now stands at 100.75 and is fifth overall in the unit, up one notch there. Fourth-place Allen Beroza collected 10.39 points, giving him 80.23. He’s eighth overall and is also up a notch.

Returned snowbird David Millward accumulated fewer points still, just 7.76, putting him at 68.87 in fifth place. He’s #13 overall, down from #10. Then there’s a big drop to the have-nots. I’m their leader in sixth place with 31.34, #33 overall, up from #35 a month ago. Guess nobody had a great month.

Still seventh is Bill Rushmore with 22.54, holding steady at #48 overall. Continuing eighth is Davis Heussler with 20.21 and #54 overall. Fred Yellen added no points, staying at 10.48, dropping to #97 in the unit from #83.

Also adding no points was Art Morth, who has 4.26. He fell behind Pat Rasmus, who passed him to take tenth place with a 1.43 point improvement in May. She’s #138 among all unit players. He’s #143.

Ace of Clubs. Unit 116. All players.

It’s not news to see that John and Martha Welte have three times as many points as anyone else in the unit. What’s remarkable, however, is the ascendancy of Jim Lanzo to third place, nipping past Barbara Libby as part of a shakeup in the Top Ten. Here are the leaders:

John and Martha Welte, 346.43; Jim Lanzo, 102,82, up 19 points; Barbara Libby, 101.68, up 14.57; Ken Meier, 100.75; Vic Bergsten, 96.65, dropping two rungs despite a 12.39 point month; Martha Townson, 94.84 with a 15.86 point month; Allen Beroza, 80.23; Sandi England, 78.68; and Larry Himelein, 77.60, nudging Gay Simpson down to #11 with her 77.49.

As for the rest of the teens, it’s Amita Arora, 70.21, up to #12 from #16 with a 21.11 point month; David Millward, 68.87; Sharon Benz, 68.66; Violet Makhija, 62.38; Judi Marshall, 61.80; Bram and Terry Hamovitch, tied for #17 with 59.79; Jasbeer Makhija, 54.65; and Jim Easton, 51.75. Jim got a boost for his venture outside his constant partnership with Marilyn Wortzman. They’re no longer tied. She’s #21 with 49.50, not far ahead of Linda Henschel with 49.36.

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

For many on this list, their totals are the same as the Ace of Clubs totals, but not the Weltes. They’re 28 points better with 374.77, tied for the lead here and still on top of all players in the unit.

The rest of the Top Ten looks like this: Ken Meier, 100.75, sixth overall, up from seventh; Allen Beroza, 80.23, steady at ninth in the unit; David Millward, 68.87 (#13, down from #11); Davis Heussler, 37.83 (#29, down from #27); moi, 31.34 (#35, up from #39); Bill Rushmore, 22.54 (#52, down from #51); Fred Yellon, 10.48 (#98, down from #85); Pat Rasmus, 4.49 (#139, up from #146); and Art Morth, 4.26 (#144, down from #134).

Mini-McKenney. Unit 116. All players.

After John and Martha Welte, leading the list with 374.77 each, it’s the amazing Jim Lanzo, 126.81; and the equally amazing Martha Townson, 111.03. Then comes Barbara Libby, 101.68; Ken Meier, 100.75; Vic Bergsten, 97.63; the up-and-coming Amita Arora, 88.39; Allen Beroza, 80.23; and Sandi England, 78.68; barely staying ahead of Larry Himelein, 77.60; and Gay Simpson, 77.49.

The rest of the teens – David Millward, 68.87; Sharon Benz, 68.66; Violet Makhija, 62.38; Judi Marshall, 61.80; Bram and Terry Hamovitch, 60.32; Jim Easton, 55.06; and Jasbeer Makhija, 54.65. Marilyn Wortzman is #21 with 52.81.

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

Four players in triple digits, three of them from Buffalo’s Unit 116. Tied at the top, of course, are John and Martha Welte with 346.43. They’re also first among all players in the district.

Holding third is Monica Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, with 121.71. She’s seventh overall in the district. The other centenarian is Buffalo’s Ken Meier with 100.75. He’s #16 overall.

A couple more Ohioans – Doug Snyder of Shaker Heights, 96.04 (#22 overall) and Peter Merker, 84.77 (#30) – and then we encounter Buffalo’s Allen Beroza with 80.23. He’s #33 overall.

Then it’s David Norris of Rocky River, Ohio, with 70.07 (#52) and our snowbird, David Millward, with 68.87. He’s #53 overall. Rounding out the Top 10 is a Pennsylvanian, Jack Hawthorne of Valencia with 62.15. He’s #63 overall.

The next Buffalonian to show up is yours truly, down at #16 with my 31.34. I’m #198 among all players in the district.

Ace of Clubs. District 5. All Players.

John and Martha Welte tied for the lead with 346.43, then it’s all Ohioans, with one exception. The rest of the leaderboard looks like this:

Davis Bonner of Mentor, 140.12; Gary Cole of Norwalk, 137.70; Richard Early of Cuyahoga Falls, 128.85; the only Pennsylvanian, Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 125.60; Monica Early of Cuyahoga Falls, 121.71; Bruce Cahoon of Silver Lake, 118.71; Barbara Kolton of Beachwood, 113.88; and Sue Becker of Canton, 111.66.

Four Buffalonians reside side-by-side in the teens – Jim Lanzo at #14 with 102.82, Barbara Libby at #15 with 101.68 and Ken Meier at #16 with 100.75. Vic Bergsten sits at #20 with 96.65 and Martha Townson, with 94.84, is #23.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. Gold Life Masters.

A couple of faces from Pittsburgh in this list who weren’t on the Ace of Clubs lineup – Craig Biddle in sixth place and Robert Zimmerman in tenth.

Of course, the Weltes are far, far, far in the lead. 374.77, which is 51.56 more than they had a month ago. Monica Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, is next with only 121.71 after an 18.74 point month. She’s continuing at #12 among all players in District 5. Then it’s Ken Meier with 100.75. He’s still #24 overall.

After that, Doug Snyder of Shaker Heights, Ohio, 97.84 (#26); Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, 92.10 (#33); Peter Merker of Mentor, Ohio, 84.77 (#40); David Norris of Rocky River, Ohio (#42); our Allen Beroza, 80.23 (#47) and Robert Zimmerman, 75.81 (#57).

Unit 116’s David Millward with 68.87 is #11 among the Goldies and #69 overall. Our Davis Heussler is #17 with 37.83 and #177 overall. I’m #19, down from #17 a month ago, with 31.34. In the district, I’m #222, down from #214.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. All Players.

The Weltes, 374.77. Gary Cole of Norwalk, Ohio, appears out of nowhere to take third place with 145.71. He bumps Davis Bonner of Mentor, Ohio, who has 140.12 after at 27.96 point month. Bruce Cahoon of Silver Lake, Ohio, slips into fifth with 137.12, having added 26.31.

Amy Goddard of Hartville, Ohio, moves up to sixth from ninth a month ago with 129.61, which is 24.14 better. Richard Early from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, drops to seventh from fifth with 128.85, just 18.98 more. Unit 116’s Jim Lanzo is eighth, down from seventh, with 126.81, an even 19 points better. Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh takes a big plunge, to ninth from fourth, holding 125.59, just 13.45 more than April. Tenth is Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa. He’s got 124.99.

Next Buffalo player on the list is Martha Townson, holding steady at #15 with 111.03, an improvement of 16.86. Then we find Barbara Libby and Ken Meier side-by-side at #23 and #24 with 101.68 and 100.75, respectively. A month ago they were #18 and #24. Vic Bergsten is #28 with 97.63, down from #23 after a 12.53 point month.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Gold Life Masters.

A slow month for the Unit 116 and District 5 leaders – John and Martha Welte – and it sent them sliding from a tie for fourth place down to a tie for sixth with their 346.43. There’s a good chance that they won’t slide further, though. Next player is 60 points behind them. Overall, among all players in the nation, they’re tied for #36, down from a tie for #30.

At any rate, here’s the Top 10: Hal Jones Jr. of Lorton, Va., moving up from second to first with 463.93 after a 83.89 point month. He’s #12 among all players. Moving up right behind him to second is Stephen Donohue of Riverwoods, Ill., with 460.37 after a 109.36 point month. He’s #13 overall. He edged past last month’s leader – Piotr Olszewski of Hackettstown, N.J., who has 458.29 after a 38.31 point month. He’s #14 overall.

Passing the Weltes are June Patton of Brevard, N.C., with 356.76, which 74.51 points better than April. She’s #33 overall. And there’s also Yacob (Jacob) Rubinstien of Holland, Pa., with 355.19, 75.38 more than April. He’s #34 overall.

Mark Crumrine of Ocala, Fla., returns to the Top 10 with 284.87, earning 52.66 in May. He’s eighth among the Goldies, #78 overall. He squeezes past the guy who knocked him off the leaderboard last month – Krzysztof Jarosz of Grantham, N.H. – who has 283.31, up 48.81 from April. He’s #82 overall. Rounding out the list is last month’s eighth-place player, Judy Hansen of Eagan, Minn., with 278.49. She’s #90 overall.

Further down the list of 500 we find a few other Unit 116 colleagues – Ken Meier is #165 with his 100.75, Allen Beroza is #287 with 80.23 and David Millward is #393 with 68.87. The list ends at 58.89.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. All Players.

We didn’t see the incredible Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., in the Top 10 a month ago, but here he is on top of everything with 576.68 points. Holding steady in second is Irva Neyhart of Portland, Ore., with 551.07, having added 101.09 to her total.

Third is last month’s leader, Judy Rothstein of Livingston, N.J., with 514.42, improved by just 42.39. Right behind her is Mel Norton of Burlington, Ont., who has 513.12, which is 119.26 better. And then in fifth place, up from #11 a month ago, it’s the familiar face of Vera Carpenter of York, Ont., who now has 504.44. She collected 136.92 points.

The advance of the Canadians sent Stephen Gladyszak of Chelsea, Mass., to sixth place from fourth a month ago. He has 502.10, having grabbed 95.47 points in May. Seventh is Sundaresan Ram of Tucson with 494.45. Eighth is Milton Neher of Richardson, Texas, with 493.87. Rounding out the leaderboard are David Rosenblatt of Palmetto Bay, Fla., with 485.51 and Lawrence Sherman of San Diego with 484.84. Nearby in #11 is John Brady of Jacksonville, Fla., with 482.25. As mentioned previously, the Weltes are tied for #36 with 346.43.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Gold Life Masters.

Stephen Donohue of Riverwoods, Ill., is second on the Ace of Clubs list nationwide, but he’s first here with 493.73. He displaces last month’s leader, Piotr Olszewski, who has 463.93. Then we have Hal Jones with 463.93, and the Weltes, tied for fourth with 374.77.

Sixth place belongs to June Patton of Brevard, N.C., with 359.14. Then it’s Yacob (Jacob) Rubinstien of Holland, Pa., 356.18; Mark Crumrine of Ocala, Fla., 326.45; Krysztof Jarosz of Grantham, N.H., 283.31; and Judy Hansen of Eagen, Minn., 278.49.

Unit 116er Ken Meier is #184 with 100.75. Allen Beroza is #310 with 80.23. And there’s David Millward at #420 with 68.87. The list ends at 62.03.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. All Players.

Mark Itabashi has a commanding lead here, as well. 727.69. That’s 245.95 better than a month ago. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone with a 200-point month so far this year. I’m astounded.

Irva Neyhart of Portland, Ore., moves up to second from third place with 571.62, adding 101.09. Up to third from fourth is Stephen Gladyszak of Chelsea, Mass., with 552.04. He’s 95.47 better. And then, holy cow, in fourth place it’s Vera Carpenter of York, Ont., with 519.36. A month ago she was #11 with 382.44.

Then we have Milton Neher of Richardson, Texas, 516.89; April leader Judy Rothstein falling to sixth from second with 516.32; Sundaresan Ram of Tucson, 514.50; Mel Norton of Burlington, Ont., 493.73; Stephen Donahue of Riverwoods, Ill., 493.73; and Craig Allen of Glen Ellyn, Ill., 489.92.

Close behind at the top of the teens are Lawrence Sherman of San Diego, 485.75; David Rosenblatt of Palmetto Bay, Fla., 485.51; and John Brady of Jacksonville, Fla., 482.68.

Vera Carpenter’s husband, Rashid Khan, is #19, up from #25, with 432.75, which is 102.97 better than a month ago. I find the Weltes at #32 with their 374.77. Last month they were tied at #28. No other Buffalonians on this list. It ends at 158 even.