Bridge Blog 1116-B: Bits and pieces

Cold, cold, cold. Every day I remembered too late that the social hall at the Main-Transit Fire Hall in Amherst is frigid in January. Even when the temperature outdoors is above freezing, the way it was this weekend. Saturday I retrieved my parka in the middle of the morning game and wore it the rest of the day. Sunday we were in front of a door to the entry hall, thanks to Flo Boyd’s demand for a stationary table, but there were a big note telling players exiting for the restrooms to close the doors. It helped.   

Anemic attendance. What seemed a little light on Friday and Saturday was dramatically smaller on Sunday. Only 16 Swiss teams. No St. Catharines people at all.

Total master points were 477.96 earned by 122 players. How does that measure up to previous years?

2019 – 515.30 points by 127 players. 20 tables for Swiss.

2018 – 578.10 points by 146 players. 20 tables for Swiss.

2017 – 588.20 points by 135 players. 24 tables for Swiss.

2016 – 594.02 points by 137 players. 23 tables for Swiss.

Sad news. I got a text in the middle of the afternoon Sunday that one of my regular partners, Celine Murray, had just died. I’d seen her daughter, Kathy Fenn, in the supermarket a couple days ago. Celine is well remembered from the days when she taught introductory bridge in the Hengerer’s department store at Main Street and Eggert Road in Eggertsville, where she worked in human relations. That was back in the 1960s. Petite and always well turned-out, I treasured the moments when she sat underneath the Marilyn Monroe poster at the Airport Bridge Club, her blonde waves a living echo of Marilyn’s. I took a phone photo of her there. I’ll have to dig it up.

This Bud’s for Bud. Sunday’s game included a 90th birthday celebration for Bud Seidenberg, who is not only one of the city’s most enduring players, but also one of the most accomplished. There was a cake. And there was a victory for Bud’s team – Jay Costello, Fred Yellen and Saleh Fetouh, all top-notch players. They won 7.15 master points. It was a good weekend for Bud. He was the tournament’s leading master point winner – 22.14.

Bud Seidenberg receives the first piece of birthday cake from Donna Steffan.

Bridge Blog 1115: Goodbye, 2019

The year ended with a sweet taste – my best month in long time. My Ace of Clubs total, for points earned in club play only, jumped 16.20 points in December, giving me a final figure of 134.86. As for the Mini-McKenney, which includes all points earned everywhere, that went up 25.18, wrapping up the year with 156.09 points. How does this align in the ACBL master point races? Let’s take a look.

Unit 116 (Buffalo only). Ruby Life Masters (1,500 to 2,500 points). Ace of Clubs (club play only). I slipped ahead a notch to fourth place. The Top 10:

Linda Burroughsford, 196.24 (up from fourth to third among all players in Unit 116); Martin Pieterse, 182.62 (down to sixth from fifth overall); Fred Yellen, 160.85 (up to #12 from #13); moi, 134.86 (up to #18 from #19); and Ken Meier, 131.24 (down to #20 from #18).

Everybody else keeps their places among the Rubies – Davis Heussler, 124.77 (down to #24 from #23 overall); John Sinclair, 113.17 (up to #24 from #26); Dorothy May, 105.30 (down to #30 from #28); Gene Finton, 93.59 (down to #36 from #34); and Art Matthies, 84.60 (steady at #43).

Unit 116. Ace of Clubs. All Players. Alan Greer, Alan Greer, Alan Greer. Adding another 31.30 points in December, he finished the way he started – on top. 439.97 points. The rest of the Top 10:

Nancy Wolstoncroft, 251.26; Linda Burroughsford, 196.24; John Welte, 189.27; Barbara Libby, 186.53; Martin Pieterse, 182.62; Gay Simpson, 181.68; Mike Silverman, 174.10; Martha Welte, 170.61; and John Ziemer, 168.83. Just outside the magic circle – Allen Beroza, 166.76.

Unit 116. Mini-McKenney (all points earned everywhere). Ruby Life Masters.

I stay seventh among the Rubies with 156.09, but move up to #36 from #42 overall. The final standings are largely unchanged:

Linda Burroughsford crashes through the half-century mark with another 40-plus point month, finishing on top with 537.72. She’s first among all Unit 116 players, too.

Davis Heussler stays second with 470.06, but slips from fourth to fifth among all Buffalo players.

Then it’s Ken Meier, 268.86 (steady at #13 overall); Fred Yellen, 206.99 (still #23 overall); Martin Pieterse, 206.81 (still #24); and John Sinclair, 163.54 (up to #31 from #32).

I’m seventh with 156.09 (up to #36 from #42); Dorothy May is eighth with 119.95 (down to #47 from #45); Art Matthies, 118.60 (up to #48 from #52); and Gene Finton, 116.26 (down to #50 from #44).

Unit 116. Mini-McKenney. All Players.

Linda Burroughsford’s final burst increased her margin over challenger Saleh Fetouh. A month ago, she was less than six points ahead of him. She finished with a 24-point lead. Here’s the Top 10:

Linda Burroughsford, 537.72; Saleh Fetouh, 513.55; Alan Greer jumping to third from fifth with 475.79, bumping John Welte, 474.10; and Davis Heussler, 470.06.

Then it’s Martha Welte, 448.38; Mike Ryan, 392.65; Glenn Milgrim, 363.77; John Ziemer, 319.60; and Chris Urbanek, 318.77. Dian Petrov, eighth a month ago, finishes #11 with 315.45.

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

Unit 116 holds three of the top four positions and five of the Top 10. Here they are:

Linda Burroughsford, 196.24 (up to eighth from tenth overall in the district); Martin Pieterse, 182.62 (down to #13 from #11 overall); and Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, jumping from fifth to third with a 26.40-point month to 164.46 (up to #26 overall from #34).

Then it’s Fred Yellen, 160.85 (up to #27 overall from #28); Kenneth Eichler of Murrysville, Pa., 152.75 (down to #32 from #31); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, jumping onto the list in sixth place 137.80 (#42 overall); moi, up to seventh from ninth a month ago with 134.86 (up to #48 from #57); William Tordella of Bemus Point, 133.43 (#49); James Wheeler of Edinburg, Pa., down from sixth to ninth with 133.20 (down to #50 overall from #44); and Ken Meier, down to tenth from eighth with 131.24 (and down to #53 from #48 overall).  

District 5. Ace of Clubs. All Players. Alan Greer, still first with 439.97. Nancy Wolstoncroft, still second with 251.26. But then Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh had a 33.78-point month to regain third place with 241.69.

Displaced to fourth was Stephanie Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, with 224.75. Then Robert Alexander, also from Mentor, 222.93; Arlene Port of Pittsburgh, 215.91; Bruce Cahoon of Akron, Ohio, 205.17; Linda Burroughsford, 196.24; Kenneth Bergman of Wexford, Pa., 192.03; and John Welte, 189.27.

More Unit 116 players show up in the Second 10. Barbara Libby is #11 with 186.53. Martin Pieterse is #13 with 182.62. Gay Simpson is #14 with 181.68. Mike Silverman is #18 with 174.10. And Martha Welte is #20 with 170.61.

District 5. Mini-McKenney. Ruby Life Masters.

Once again, Unit 116 players hold three of the top four spots, five of the Top 10. Here they are:

Linda Burroughsford, 537.72 (up to #11 from #13 among all District 5 players); Davis Heussler, 470.06 (down to #17 from #18 overall); Doug Snyder of Shaker Heights, Ohio, 291.42 (steady at #37 overall); Ken Meier, 268.86 (down to #47 from #42); and Robert Zimmerman of Pittsburgh, 259.50 (down to #51 from #49).

Then it’s James Fox of Canonsburg, Pa., 252.27 (up to #57 from #61); Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 235.71 (up to #64 from #72); Fred Yellen, 206.99 (up to #82 from #84); tied with Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 206.99 (up to #82 from #94); and Martin Pieterse, 206.81 (up to #84 from #86).

Unit 116’s John Sinclair is still #16 with 163.54 (up to #126 from #129 overall) and I’m up to #19 from #27 with 156.09 (up to #139 overall from #171).

District 5. Mini-McKenney. All Players. Once again eight Ohio players in the Top 10, two from Pennsylvania, none from Unit 116, though Linda Burroughsford was only two points away from tenth place. Here they are:

Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, 977.23; Phillip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, 677.54; Stephanie and Robert Alexander of Mentor Ohio, 645.97 and 644.15; Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 632.29; Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, 629.31; Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 623.03; Kathleen and Don Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, 600.17 and 562.12; and Fleur Howard of Gates Mills, Ohio, 539.68.

Saleh Fetouh is #13 with 513.55. Alan Greer is #15 with 475.79. John Welte is #17 with 474.10. Davis Heussler is #18 with 470.06. And Martha Welte is #20 with 448.38.

(pause till Ground Hog Day)

Now for the really, really big hitters.

Ace of Clubs. Ruby Life Masters. Nationwide.

Tight race here. Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., aced out Jim Loffree of Naples, Fla., by just five points – 376.52 to 371.21.

Familiar names after that. Mason Barge of Atlanta, 340.33; Mark Crumrine of Ocala, Fla., 333.43; Sid Perutz of Dallas, 318.22; Christopher Smith of Vero Beach, Fla., 308.70; Christine Converse of Highland Beach, Fla., 303.48; John Miller of Chicago, 296.78; Eileen Boal of Albany, Ore., 298.09; and Aivars Lapins of Cambria, Calif., 292.48.

Any Unit 116 folks here? Sure, there are. Our leader, Linda Burroughsford, is #78 with 196.24. Martin Pieterse is tied for #131 with 182.62. Sometimes Western New Yorker David Millward, now listed at Vero Beach, Fla., is #134 with 182.08. Fred Yellen is #226 with 160.85. And there I am at #464 with my 134.86, nestled between Judy Alvord of Laguna Niguel, Calif., with 134.92, and J. Sanders of Tulsa with 134.79. The list cuts off at 132.43.

Ace of Clubs. All players. Nationwide.

I must look into how these guys get so many points in club play. Are they really huge games that award 10+ points to winners? Or do these people play three times a day? At any rate, here are the champs:

Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta, a runaway winner with 712.85. Next are Neil Silverman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 602.15; Francine Feldman of Boca Raton, Fla., 528.97; David Hudson of The Villages, Fla., 526.35; En Xie of St. Louis, 526.23; Sheila Gabay of Newton, Mass., 522.30; Robert Epstein of Atlanta, 521.61; Harry Kaufman of North Redington Beach, Fla., 495.26; Jeff Edelstein of Tampa, 488.62; and Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, 478.77. Buffalo’s Alan Greer is #15 with 439.97. Nancy Wolstoncroft is #337 with 251.26. The list cuts off at 226.05.

Mini-McKenney. Ruby Life Masters. Nationwide. Nobody in four figures here. Still, a relatively tight race for the top.

Winner is Harrison Luba of Lynnfield, Mass., 871.09; followed by Thomas Rush of Houston, 856.44; Samuel Amer of New York City, 668.39; Dolores Aquino of Houston, 657.54; Amy Casanova of Portland, Ore., 649.70; Christopher Smith of Vero Beach, Fla., 633.06; Bill Cook of Louisville, Ky., 618.93; Shailesh Gupta of Aliso Viejo, Calif., 591.70; Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., 574.73; and Ann Buchholz of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., 573.44.

Then people from the Ace of Clubs list start showing up. Mark Crumrine, third on the Ace of Clubs lineup, is #12 with 556.55; the Ace of Clubs champ, Russ Pearly, is #13 with 546.67; and our very own Linda Burroughsford is #14 with 537.72. Yea, Linda!

Linda’s tournament partner, Davis Heussler is #23 with 470.06. Ken Meier is #224 with 268.86. Fred Yellen, with his 206.99, and Martin Pieterse, with 206.81, fall just short of the magic Top 500. It cuts off at 208.33.

Mini-McKenney. All players. Nationwide.

The winner is a guy I played against in the Niagara Falls, Ont., regional two years ago – Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif. His total for the year was 2,607.46. How steep an achievement is that? Well, it took me 14 years of playing competitively to get that many points. On the other hand, in 2018, when Itabashi finished second to Joe Grue of New York City, he had 3,218.39 points.

Anyway, back to the future past. Second in 2019 was the legendary Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., with 2,413.37. Joe Grue was third with 2,337.76.

After that, it’s Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., 2,329.50; Jacob Morgan of Madison, Wis., 2,205.75; Shan Haung of Melbourne, 2,103.20; Meckstroth’s collaborator Eric Rodwell of Clearwater, Fla., 1,951.33; another guy I’ve played against, Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., 1,947.50; John Hurd of New York City, 1,927.45; and Adam Grossack of Newton, Mass., 1,894.25.

Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge, now of Jackson Heights, Queens, is #14 with 1,726.58. District 5 champ Sue Lan Ma is #76 with 977.23, while her frequent tournament partner Peter Petruzzellis of Scarborough, Ont., is #89 with 947.44.

Unit 116 players? Linda Burroughsford is #406 with 537.72. And there’s Saleh Fetouh at #462 with his 513.55. But nobody else. The Top 500 list stops at 500.55. 

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%.