Bridge Blog 828: Hanging on in March

          Can my miniscule 2015 point production keep me among the unit and district leaders? Just barely, as it turns out. The newly-posted totals on the ACBL website put me in ninth place on the Ace of Clubs list in the 1,000 to 2,500 point division for Unit 116 (just Buffalo) with 18.01 points.

          Topping the list is Fred Yellen with 44.65, followed by last year’s champ, John Ziemer, with 39.11. After that come Martin Pieterse, 34.48; Mike Silverman, 34.27; Ken Meier, 26.65; Walt Olszewski, 24.77; Barbara Pieterse, 20.72; Elaine Kurasiewicz, an even 20; and, just below me, Dotty May with 17.73.

          In the Mini-McKenney race, which includes all points from club play and tournament play, I don’t even register among the Top 10. Leader there also is Fred Yellen, with 59.16; followed by David Hemmer, 57.77; Martin Pieterse, 48.38; John Ziemer, 41.70; Mike Silverman, 36.25; Barbara Pieterse, 34.62; Ken Meier, 28.68; Walt Olszewski, 28.24; Art Morth, 27.11; and Elaine Kurasiewicz, 20.88. I’m 12th with 19.38.

          The Ace of Clubs race for District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh) is dominated once again by Unit 116 players in the 1,000 to 2,500 division. We hold the top four places. The list of 25 cuts off with Barbara Pieterse. In the big, all-inclusive list, I’m 39th.

          Over on the District 5 Mini-McKenney, the Ohio players rule. Fleur Howard from Gates Mills has 173.58, followed by Sue Lan Ma from Kirtland Hills with 141.89 and Peter Merker from Mentor with 84.68. Fred Yellen is eighth. I’m 88th.

          No Unit 116 players show up among the Top 500 nationally in the Mini-McKenney’s 1,000 to 2,500 division, but we manage to infiltrate the Ace of Clubs list. Fred Yellen is tied for 173th. John Ziemer’s the only other Buffalo area player on it, in 315th place. The list cuts off at 34.97 points. Top club player in the nation is Sanford Robbins of Miami Lakes, Fla., with 105.99 points.  

Bridge Blog 827: Near no-show in Toronto

          If it wasn’t for Saleh Fetouh, Buffalo area players would have been almost totally under the radar at last week’s Toronto Easter Regional Tournament. Saleh won 31.54 points, good for 40th place. He earned 25.40 of them for coming in second in the A/X pairs on Saturday.

On top of the list with 70.14 points were a guy from Toronto, Jonathan Steinberg, and a guy from Ottawa, David Sabourin. Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge, who now hails from Astoria, Queens, tied for sixth place with 56.38.

          Then you have to hunt way down the list for Kathy Pollock, who’s tied for 140th with 12.40, and Sandi England, tied for 205th with 10.67. On the entire list of 1,028 players who earned points (or fractions thereof) only 10 more of us Buffalo folks are there, all in the single digits.

          Even my friends from the St. Catharines club didn’t make much of an impact. Best of them were Brian Macartney and George Morrissey, tied for 94th, with 19.81, followed by Maureen Clark tied for 116th with 17.15.

Bridge Blog 826: Incremental

I’m not sure if it’s much of an improvement, but this middle week of chemo in March has allowed a little more time at the tables than the middle week in February did. Then again, I probably shouldn’t have played in a daze on Monday, but I was beguiled by Barbara Sadkin’s promise that “we’ll have our usual shitty game.” How bad could it be? Turns out it was better than usual, 52.38%, third in the A strat in a four-table game, 0.40 of a point.

Then I was in no shape to return until spring was in the dank, chilly air on Saturday, the 21st, and then after I felt unaccountably good on Friday. Better than I did on Saturday, to tell the truth. But I wanted to catch the first lessons on bidding and playing slams and, by sticking around and playing with Paula Salamone, I helped complete a perfect five-table Howell game – being perfect in that you play three hands against all nine of the other pairs.

We were far from perfect. Not even half perfect with our 45.61%. but thanks to the miracle of stratification (anyone with fewer than 1,900 points was in the C strat), we finished second in C in an extra-point game, earning more than I did on Monday – 0.89 of a point.

In the club’s March master point race, this elevated me from 19th place to 17th, with 4.77. On top of the race is John Ziemer, with 8.11, followed by Bill Boardman with 7.80, Ron Henrikson with 7.02, Martin Pieterese with 6.76, Jerry Geiger with 6.38 (he’s been playing the other clubs, though), Mike Ryan (ditto) with 6.33 and Mike Silverman with 5.72.

 To my total we can add that 0.98 from St. Catharines a few weeks ago. With extra-point games all next week and with any luck at all, this might turn into a 10-point month.

Bridge Blog 825: Unstuck

Having reduced my expectations to almost nothing, even my expectations of playing at all, I’m here to report a surprisingly satisfactory week at the tables.

Not for a week ago Saturday, when Wednesday partner Celine Murray and I posted a miserable rock-bottom 35%, but for Monday, Thursday and this Saturday. (Little needs to be said about Tuesday’s 43.21% with Barb Sadkin and Friday’s 46.52% with Dotty May.)

Monday, however, found me partnerless and paired up with Bob Forster, a veterinarian from Fort Erie, Ont., whom I’ve seen in St. Catharines, but never played with. After going through an endless series of convention checks before we even played a card, we settled into a game that required few fancy conventions and a lot of solid play. The results: 59.72%, second overall for 1.64 master points. Without a couple glaring misplays on both sides for us, we would have been first.

Wednesday was chemotherapy, the double treatment, and Thursday looked doubtful, despite being pumped up on steroid pills. Unattached again, I got to play with Florence Boyd, Thursday’s substitute player and a delightful partner, though we don’t often score well. This proved to be an exception to the rule, even though we were on defense for 16 of the 24 boards. Our 56.85% was first North-South, fourth overall, and good for 1.24 master points.

Saturday found me playing with director Bill Finkelstein, whose constant criticisms often prove to be inhibiting. This time I may have been a little too foggy-brained to faze. In a three-table game, we finished far ahead with a 65%, which I believe is my highest score of the year so far, and earned another 0.60 of a master point. Point total for the week: 3.48, more in a week than all of February. 

Bridge Blog 824: Stuck

Ever since I got back to the bridge tables last week, I’ve been mired in the low to mid 40s, percentage-wise. Last Friday with Celine Murray, it was dead last with 42.28%, but hey, I hadn’t played in more than weeks. Monday with Usha Khurana, just back from vacation in Florida, it was an almost respectable 47.11%, eighth among 11 pairs.

        High hopes weren’t enough for deliverance with Barbara Sadkin on Tuesday. Our 45.24% was seventh out of nine North-Souths. Wednesday saw Celine Murray and me improving, but 46.79% was not enough to scratch. Thursday, arriving without a partner, my hopes rose again as I was paired with Bill Boardman, with whom I sometimes excel. Not this time. 43.98%, eighth out of 10 pairs.

I needed to leave the country and go to St. Catharines, Ont., on Friday to break out of the 40s. Selina Volpatti and I, together for the first time in a month, played our usual aggressive game and finished with a 56.89%, second East-West for 0.98 of a master point, my first point earnings of the month. O, Canada! Thank you.

Bridge Blog 823: The long and short of February

Sixth of the month and the ACBL computer elves have worked their magic. The master point totals are updated. My total for the year so far – 10.07 – doesn’t look like it will register in any of the bigger pictures, the Unit 116 Top 10s or the District 5 Top 25s.  

However, it appears that the Airport Bridge Club once again did not report its point counts on time. I didn’t win much in February club play – just 1.5 points – but they’re not included. So any look at the point totals for February will be inconclusive. Not just for me, but for everybody who plays at the club. 

Bridge Blog 822: February fadeout

Nothing to say about February. It seems like I hardly played, just eight times in 28 days.

Between the record cold weather and the snow, which canceled games left and right, and my chemo treatments, which flattened me completely from the 13th to the 24th, my opportunities were limited.

Seven of those games were in the first 12 days of the month, including a two sessions at the sectional in St. Catharines. Best of those efforts was a 60% with Dotty May on the 12th. My only other game the rest of the month was on the 27th with Celine Murray, a dismal 42% last-place finish. Master point total for February, something like 1.84, lowest since I started playing competitively in February 2005.