Bridge Blog 1030: UnSTaCked

     This had to be my most pathetic STaC Week ever. Played nine times, scratched just once for 1.07 silver points, which left me tied for 619th place. The week after STaC Week has been another story.

     With an ailing June Feuerstein on a Wednesday, June 20, when we spent most of the session on defense (declarers on just eight of 24 boards), we nevertheless pulled off a 57.08% game, which looked like first East-West under Ed Morgan and John Bava found an error in their favor. I was happy for the 1.17 points.

     Thursday with Marietta Kalman seemed more dismal that it turned out to be. 54.02% Second North-South, first in the B strat. 1.44 points.

     That’s more than double what I got in the STaC. Did it get me to 2,400 career master points?

     Actually, I didn’t need the STaC to get there. I hit the magic odometer number on the Saturday before STaC Week  started.   

   

Bridge Blog 1029: Big

     Two big games – the World Wide Bridge Contest on June 2 and the District 5 Spring STaC (Sectional Tournament at the Clubs) on June 15. Two big hands.

     For me and my partners, Dotty May and Joe Rooney, respectively, they lifted our spirits. Sadly, they didn’t lift our fortunes.

     I had high hopes that this top board at the Airport Bridge Club would give us a World Wide top and significant international standing.

     Board 20, everybody vulnerable. West is dealer. Sitting East, I’m declarer at 4 Hearts.

North (Eva Schmidt)

Spades: J-8-6-2; Hearts: A-8; Diamonds: K-10-5-3; Clubs: 9-5-2.

East (me)

Spades: A-K-10-3; Hearts: J-10-7-5-4; Diamonds: 7; Clubs: K-4-3.

South (Denise Slattery)

Spades: Q-9; Hearts: 9-3; Diamonds: J-8-6-4-2; Clubs: A-J-8-6.

West (Dotty May)

Spades: 7-5-4; Heart: K-Q-6-2; Diamonds: A-Q-9; Clubs: Q-10-7.

     The commentary booklet analysis is short and sweet: 

     “If West starts with a 13-15 1 NT, East will look for a major suit fit using whatever methods are to hand and 4 Hearts will be reached.

     “If West opens 1 Club/1 Diamond, (which Dotty did) East responds with 1 Heart with the same outcome.

     “It’s easy to see how declarer can arrive at 10 tricks, but if South happens to lead the Queen of Spades, declarer has a shot at an overtrick, although after winning the opening lead and playing a Heart for the King and Ace, North’s Spade return will give declarer pause for thought.”

     Denise leads the 8 of Diamonds, which I take with the Ace, then knock out the Ace of Hearts. Eva may have conveniently led the King of Diamonds. I believe I wound up getting a second Club trick by finessing South, collecting four Hearts, two Diamonds, two Clubs and two Spades and one more trick somewhere. A ruff? A Spade?

     At any rate, very few were likely to make the overtrick and I had big hopes for this one. But we weren’t the world wide top. Top score was plus 1,100 match points. Then plus 680 and plus 660. We were among 86 pairs tied for fourth with 650, winning 2,253.9 match points out of a possible 2,346. A great mass of them – 626 – were plus 620, good for 1,523.2.

     We came in second East-West at the club, fifth overall, with 53.87%, not bad considering it was my first game after nearly two weeks on vacation. On a global scale, though, we weren’t as brilliant. Among 2,237 pairs, we were 1,124th with 51.21%, barely over the median.

     In the afternoon game June 15 at the Airport Bridge Club, there was no questioning the supremacy of the plus 1,600 that pickup partner Joe Rooney and I scored against the formidable Martha and John Welte on Board 23. Joe played it at 5 Spades vulnerable, redoubled. Here’s the hand:

South is dealer. All are vulnerable.

South (Joe)

Spades: K-Q-10-8-5-3-2; Hearts: none; Diamonds: K-9-5-4-3; Clubs: 9.

West (Martha)

Spades A-7-6-4; Hearts: A-6-2; Diamonds: 10-2; Clubs: A-J-4-3.

North (me)

Spades: 9; Hearts: K-10-9-7; Diamonds: A-Q-J-7; Clubs: Q-10-6-2.

East (John)

Spades: J; Hearts: Q-J-8-5-4-3; Diamonds: 8-6; Clubs: K-8-7-5.

     Martha had bid Hearts aggressively – that’s why we were at the 5 level – and she held 3 Aces and four cards in our trump suit, so her double was entirely legit. I redoubled simply because we were having such a bad round. As Bob Dylan observed, when you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose.

     Martha’s lead, naturally, was the Ace of Hearts. Joe ruffed that Ace, discarded his singleton Club on dummy’s King of Hearts, conceded the Ace of Spades, drew trump and ran the Diamonds.

     The hand record says it should make 5 Spades or 5 Diamonds for us, 3 Hearts for our opponents.

     A week later, I’m still smiling about that one. It didn’t do much for us, though. We had many more bottom boards than tops. 40.49%, next to last overall.

Bridge Blog 1028: The Bygone Month of May

     Gone following a 10-day vacation in Arizona, but not entirely forgotten. Let’s belatedly crack into the ACBL race results and see where we stand.

   Unit 116 (Buffalo only), Ace of Clubs (club play only), Ruby Life Masters (players with 1,500 to 2,500 points). 

     In January, I was first. In February, I slipped to fifth. In March, I narrowly climbed back to the top. April sent me back to fourth place. Now I’ve returned to fifth. Here's the top 10:

      Continuing on top is David Millward, 93.53, who’s returned from Florida, where he got most of those points. He remains in third place among all players in the unit. Allen Beroza had a good month and reclaimed second place with 71.87. Martin Pieterse, 61.77, retreated from second to third.

     Ken Meier moves up to fourth with 55.06. I’m next with 53.56, getting just 8.92 club points for the month. I remain 12th overall in the unit.

     Mike Silverman, at 53.46, is poised to overtake me. He may already have done it, since I’m writing this on June 22. Dorothy May bounces up from ninth to seventh with 40.57.
     Rounding out the Top 10 are Gene Finton, also back from Florida, with 35.90; Fred Yellen, 35.76; and Elaine Kurasiewicz, 26.58.      

   Unit 116, Ace of Clubs overall. 

     Alan Greer should be the leader here. He had 120.77 points a month ago, but he’s missing from the list. On top instead is last month’s runner-up, Nancy Wolstoncroft, with 114.77.

     John Ziemer is next with 97.32, followed by Ruby Life Master leader David Millward with his 93.53. Allen Beroza, eighth overall last month, now is fourth/fifth with 71.87.

     After that it’s Liz Clark, 62.16; Martin Pieterse, 61.77; Barbara Libby, 61.20; Jay Levy, 58.85; Bob Linn, 57.88; Ron Henrikson, 55.68; Ken Meier, 55.06; and Gay Simpson tied with me at 53.56.

     Rounding out the plus-50s are Mike Silverman, 53.46; Denise Slattery, 52.12; John and Martha Welte, 51.63; and Bud Seidenberg, 18th with 50.56.

     Last month’s leader John Ziemer, now fourth with 74.28, still has a commanding lead over the next bunch of players. Bud Seidenberg, third last month, is fifth with 50.56. Barbara Libby, previously second, is sixth with 50.43.

   Moving on to the Mini-McKenney races, which count all points earned everywhere, I have 72.49, up 9.39 from April and now below my goal of 15 points per month. Nevertheless, I’m firmly fifth again among Ruby Life Masters in Unit 116.

     Continuing way out in front is Davis Heussler, almost to the double century mark with 199.39. He's also tops among all Unit 116 players. 

     Second once more is David Millward with 119.87 (eighth overall). Then it's Ken Meier, third again with 112.92 (up from 14th to 11th overall); rampaging Allen Beroza, 75.07, up from sixth place last month (up from 38th overall to 24th); and me with 72.49. I'm 26th overall, down from 24th. 

     The next fivesome includes Fred Yellen, 63.92 (34th); Martin Pieterse, 63.14 (35th); Mike Silverman, 53.46 (43rd); Elaine Kurasiewicz, 43.86 (47th); and Dorothy May, 42.92 (49th).  

     Among all players in Unit 116, after Davis Heussler with his 199.38 comes Linda Burroughsford, up from fourth place with 152.58. After her come the Weltes, tied for third with 141.59, up from a ninth-place tie a month ago.

     Last month’s runner-up, Saleh Fetouh, is fifth with 134.98. Then it’s John Ziemer, 132.78; Jay Levy, 129.66; David Millward, 119.87; Nancy Wolstoncroft, 119.66; and Sandi England, 118.35.

       Alan Greer also is missing here. There’s a good chance he’d be second.

      Now let’s widen our horizons.

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

     David Millward, with 93.53 points, maintains a slightly smaller advantage over the man he displaced in April, Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., who has 78.71. Millward has slipped from fourth to fifth among all District 5 players. Goulding has rebounded from 12th to ninth.

     Allen Beroza moves up from sixth to third with 71.81 (15th overall in the district, up from 28th). Then it’s Martin Pieterse with 61.77 (21st); Chantal Whitney of Bratenhahl, Ohio, with 61.73 (22nd); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 59.69 (27th); Susan Konig of Bridgeville, Pa., dropping from fourth to seventh with 27.24. She’s slipped from 21st to 34th overall in the district.

     Then it’s Ken Meier, 55.06 (41st); James Wheeler of Edinburg, Pa., 54.74 (42nd); and then, tied for tenth place with me is Joane D'Antonio of Sewickley, Pa., both 53.56 and both 44th overall. Mike Silverman, 53.46 is No. 12 and 47th overall.

   Overall Ace of Clubbers in District 5 look like this:

     Buffalo's Alan Greer would rule with last month’s total of 120.77, but he’s missing in action.

     So it’s Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 115.18; Nancy Wolstoncroft, 114.77; John Ziemer, 97.32; , Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., 97.31; and David Millward, 93.53.

     Sixth and eighth are Pittsburghers Arlene Port with 88.54 and Barbara Belardi with 81.61. Seventh is Patricia Katz of Pittsburgh, bouncing back from 10th place with 87.58. Rounding out the Top 10 are Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 78.71; and Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, 76.55.  

     Other Unit 116 players in the Top 20 are Allen Beroza, 15th with 71.87; and Liz Clark, in 20th place with 62.16. Three more – Barbara Libby, Martin Pieterse and Jay Levy – come in between 21st and 30th.   

   Now for the District 5 Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters. 

     Omigod! Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., has edged ahead of our own David Heussler, 199.84 to 199.38. They’re eighth and ninth overall in the district.

     The other leaders include: Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, lifted by a 66.10 month to 156.82 (up from 37th overall to 19th); David Millward, 119.87 (down from 23rd to 39th); Barbara Greenpsan of Beachwood, Ohio, 115.76 (45th); Leroy Hackenberg of Pittsburgh, 113.73 (47th); Ken Meier, 112.92 (49th); Wayne Heritage of North Olmsted, Ohio, 104.67 (58th); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 90.90 (76th); and Frank Scali of North Ridgeville, Ohio, 86.53 (81st). I’m 14th with my 72.49 and 107th overall.

   Mini-McKenney leader among all District 5 players continues to be Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, adding 111.49 points in May to reach 431.17.

     Then it’s Kathleen Sulgrove and Don Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, with 325.97 (130.95 points in May) and 293.54 (130.25 in May), reflecting their success at the Cleveland Regional. In fact, the top seven spots are all held by Ohioans.

     There’s Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood with 256.38; Robert Alexander of Mentor, 223.19; Kenneth Kranyak of Parma, 219.97; and Stephanie Alexander of Mentor, 209.45.

     Ruby Life Master leaders Philip Goulding and Davis Heussler are next with 199.84 and 199.39. In 10th place, down from second last month, is Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 194.74. Last month, 27 players were in triple digits. Now 62 players are.

   Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

     A 46-point month moved Paul Hassett of The Villages, Fla., ahead of Anna Maxcine Thacker of Palm Coast, Fla., 161.51 to 148.34. April's leader, Russ Pearly, also of The Villages, continues third with 143.67.

     Richard Seidman of Orlando, Fla., is next with 126.67, followed by Joanne Matchette of Vero Beach, Fla., 124.57; Mason Barge of Atlanta, 123.92; Michael Fishman of Great Neck, L.I., 119.17; Brian Breckenridge of Corvallis, Ore., 118.81; Bruce Ladin of Harwood Heights, Ill., 116.80; and Chester Neel Jr. of Tyler, Texas, 116.41.

     Unit 116 leader David Millward is 40th. Allen Beroza moved up from 335th to 158th.Other local notables include Martin Pieterse, up from 320th to 291st. Last Buffalo player is Ken Meier, 465th. I’ve dropped off the list. It cuts off at 52.85.

   Ace of Clubs, all players, nationwide. 

     Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta had a 67-point month and now enjoys a 90-point lead over Robert Epstein of Atlanta, 327.39 to 237.49. Epstein, with a 60-point month, edged ahead of Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who had a mere 52-point month to reach 235.84.  

     Then a trio of new entries in the Top 10 – Tania Reyes Hiller of Bedford Corners, N.Y., with 216.59; Harry Kaufmann of North Redington Beach, Fla., 215.18; and Kay Schulle of Purchase, N.Y., 207.78.       
      After them, it’s Roberta Trayman of Naples, Fla., 203.20; Jack Snyder of Naperville, Ill., 201.85; En Xie of St. Louis, 194.66; and Michael Dalton of Palm Coast, Fla., 193.42.

      Nancy Wolstoncroft has moved up from 314th to 221st. John Ziemer, who just missed the list last month, is back, sitting in 437th place. David Millward, who made it a month ago, missed it by less than a point this time. The list stops at 94.14.

    Onward to Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

         Out of sight out front is Robert L. McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., who had a 206-point month to reach 872.22. Mary Ose of Sacramento, Calif, remains a very distant second with 396.79. Alex Khrakovsky of Columbus, Ohio, stays third with 374.43.

      Still sitting fourth is someone we’ve played against, Joel Wooldridge’s sometimes partner Junko Hemus, of Windermere, Fla., last month and now of San Clemente, Calif., who has 302.32.

     Sabrina Miles of Mansfield, Mass., moves up from eighth to fifth with an 81-point month to 288.71.  

     Then it’s Mason Barge of Atlanta, 280.87; Darryl Legassie of Milton, N.H., 280.87; Kim Brinkman of Highland Village, Texas, 253.15; Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., 245.67; and Kevin Castner of Kentfield, Calif., 232.28. Unit 116’s Davis Heussler, is 31st with his 199.38. David Millward drops from  154th to 204th. Ken Meier rises from 318th to 265th. The list ends at 90.15.

     And now for the really heavy hitters, the Mini-McKenney leaders overall.

     A month ago there were four players in four figures. Now there are nine.

     Joe Grue of New York City sits on top for the fourth  straight month with 1,489.61. Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., continues second with 1,399.65.

Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., moves from fourth to third with 1,242.58, pushing past Brad Mass of Denver, 1,231.57.

     John Hurd of New York City jumps from seventh to fifth with 1,119.70, thanks to a 323-point month.

     Then it's Shan Huang, also from Melbourne, with 1,068.59; the legendary Eric Rodwell of Clearwater, Fla., 1,028.94; January leader Geoff Hampson of Las Vegas, dropping from sixth to eighth with 1,022.55; another legend, Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fal, 1,001.82; and Justin Lall of Charlotte, N.C., 926.94.

     Familiar names: Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge bounces back from 41st to 25th with a 235-point month, reaching 694.83. District 5 leader Sue Lan Ma is up from 109th to 91st with her 431.17. No Unit 116 people here. This list cuts off at 212.97

Bridge Blog 1027: Hitting my marks

     When people ask lately how I’m doing, I have a new answer. Not “hanging in there,” which were my winter watchwords. Instead, I’m “hitting my marks.”

     In this pre-vacation week, there have been a lot of marks to hit. Going to the bank. Stopping the mail. Mowing the lawn. Wrapping up advance work at the office.

     Then there’s the mark I want to hit at the bridge table. Missing one-third of May means I need to step up my game enough to hit my 15-point-per-month goal. Failing that, I’d settle for 66 percent of 15.

     At the start of pre-vacation week, however, the count for May stood just short of 6 points.

     And instead of hitting marks, I was missing them. Sometimes it was a near miss, like that 48.51% on Monday with Judie Bailey and the 48.61% on Wednesday with June Feuerstein. Sometimes it missed by a mile, like Thursday’s 43.29% with Marietta Kalman.

     For the marks I actually did hit, I have to thank Michael Kozower. He was the last-minute replacement Tuesday after my pre-arranged partner, Usha Khurana, called in sick. We managed 51.89%, third in the B strat in our direction, 0.57 of a point.

     Then, since my Canadian partner, Selina Volpatti, was away in Florida, I made another date with him for Friday. This time was better yet – 55.09%, second east-west, first in B overall, 1.84 points. Closing in on double digits now. I have two more chances to hit that mark.

     The biggest mark I hit in Friday’s game involved John and Martha Welte, a formidable pair.

     John doubles me at 3 Diamonds vulnerable. Hand record says it’s supposed to make 3 Diamonds, but it still looks scary when Michael lays down the dummy. It looks even scarier when I discover how the trump suit breaks.

Board 26.

Dealer is east, me. Everybody’s vulnerable. John leads the six of Hearts.

East (me)

Spades: A-8-7; Hearts: 9-5-4; Diamonds: Q-10-9-5-2; Clubs: Q-J.

South (John Welte)

Spades: K-10-9-6; Hearts: 6; Diamonds: K-J-7-4-3; Clubs: 5-3-2.

West (Michael Kozower)

Spades: 5-3-2; Hearts: A-J-10; Diamonds: A-8-6; Clubs: A-K-9-8.

North (Martha Welte)

Spades: Q-J-4; Hearts: K-Q-8-7-3-2; Diamonds: none; Clubs: 10-7-6-5.

     Michael opens the bidding with a Club. Martha passed. I bid a Diamond. Michael bid a Spade. Martha bid 2 Hearts. I pass, but Michael goes 3 Diamonds, whereupon John doubles. I would, too.

     The hand also is good for 3 No Trump, which a few east-wests bid and make. But that’s only a 600 score. Three Diamonds doubled vulnerable is 670. Top board!

Bridge Blog 1026: April takes a shower

The latest monthly ACBL master race tallies have been up for more than a week and I didn't even have to look at them to know that I’d lost my place atop the Ruby Life Masters in the Unit 116 Ace of Clubs derby.

All through April, I had my eye on Allen Beroza, who was fractionally behind me a month ago, and he pulled ahead in the final week. What I didn’t realize is that he wasn’t the only horse on the track.

Unit 116 (Buffalo only), Ace of Clubs (club play only), Ruby Life Masters (players with 1,500 to 2,500 points). In January, I was first. In February, I slipped to fifth. In March, I narrowly climbed back to the top. Now I’m not second, not third, but fourth. Here are the top 10:

         First is David Millward, 79.13, still down in Florida apparently, but making himself felt up North. He’s third among all players in the unit. Martin Pieterse, the dark horse here, is up from fourth place with an 18-point month, 48.03. Allen Beroza retreats to third with 47.41. Then there’s me with 44.64. I’ve also slipped from sixth overall in the unit down to 12th.

         Ken Meier moves up one notch to fifth place with 43.42. Mike Silverman, tied for second with Allen Beroza a month ago, spent a few weeks in Florida and now is sixth with 39.66.

Gene Finton, also still down South, is seventh with 35.90, while Fred Yellen slips from fifth to eighth with 35.76. Rounding out the Top 10 are Dorothy May, 30.76; and Elaine Kurasiewicz, 24.01.      

Unit 116, Ace of Clubs overall. Airport Bridge Club manager Bill Finkelstein arranged for veteran expert players Alan Greer and Nancy Wolstoncroft to renew their long-dormant memberships in the ACBL, predicting that they would lead the pack among club players. He’s right, though it’s still a jolt to see them on top of the list.

Alan Greer has 120.77 points, Nancy Wolstoncroft has 83.47. Then comes Ruby Life Master leader David Millward with his 79.13.

Last month’s leader John Ziemer, now fourth with 74.28, still has a commanding lead over the next bunch of players. Bud Seidenberg, third last month, is fifth with 50.56. Barbara Libby, previously second, is sixth with 50.43.

The next group has shuffled since last month. Seventh is Martin Pieterse, 48.03; then it’s Allen Beroza, 47.41; Gay Simpson, 46.60; Liz Clark, 45.50; Jim Easton, 44.66; me, 44.64; John and Martha Welte, 43.55; Ken Meier, 43.42; Jay Levy, 43.28; Mike Ryan, 42.34; Judi Marshall, 40.97; Mike Silverman, 39.66; and Marilyn Wortzman, 39.10. 

Moving on to the Mini-McKenney races, which count all points earned everywhere, I have 63.10, up 16.82 from March. But I’m no longer second among Ruby Life Masters in Unit 116. I’m fifth.

Continuing way out in front is Davis Heussler, adding another 63+ points to register 164.05. He's also tops among all Unit 116 players. I'm 24th overall, down from 19th. 

Second is the newly-materialized David Millward with 105.47 (seventh overall). Then it's Ken Meier, third with 83.74 (up from 20th to 14th overall, thanks to that trip to the Gatlinburg Regional); Fred Yellen, 63.92 (up from 35th to 23rd); and me with 63.10.

The next fivesome includes Allen Beroza, 50.62 (38th); Martin Pieterse, 49.40 (40th); Elaine Kurasiewicz, 41.29 (43rd); Mike Silverman, 39.66 (44th); and Gene Finton, 35.90 (49th).  

Among all players in Unit 116, the Mini-McKenney leader once again is Davis Heussler with 164.05, far surpassing the man who temporarily displaced him a month ago, Saleh Fetouh, who is second with 131.89.

Alan Greer, who has only club points, is third with 120.77, followed by Linda Burroughsford, 115.11; Jay Levy, 114.10; John Ziemer, 109.74; David Millward, 105.47; and Sandi England, 104.77. The Weltes round out the top 10 with 97.12.

Now let’s widen our horizons.

District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh) Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters. I'm a yo-yo on this list. Third in January, ninth in February, third in March, eighth in April.

David Millward, still down in Florida with 79.13 points, has knocked off the February-March leader, Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., who has 57.75. Millward is fourth among all District 5 players. Goulding has fallen from eighth to 12th.

Chantal Whitney of Bratenhahl, Ohio, (interesting municipality, look it up), leaps to third with 53.19 (is she another snowbird accumulating big points in Florida?), bumping Susan Konig of Bridgeville, Pa., to fourth with 50.45. They're 17th and 21st overall in the district.

Then the Unit 116 players start popping in. It's Martin Pieterse, 48.03 (27th overall); Allen Beroza, 47.41 (28th); Joane D'Antonio of Sewickley, Pa., 46.67 (31st); moi, 44.64 (down from 28th to 39th); Ken Meier, 43.42 (43rd) and Garnet Depner of Jeannette, Pa., 41.71 (48th).

Overall Ace of Clubbers in District 5 look like this: Buffalo's Alan Greer rules with 120.77. Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh has a good month (35 points) and holds onto second place with 99.60. Then it's two more new arrivals from Buffalo – Nancy Wolstoncroft, third with 83.47, and David Millward fourth with his 79.13. Last month's leader, Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., falls to fifth with 76.43.

Those three new additions drop Unit 116’s John Ziemer from third to sixth with 74.28. Then it's Pittsburghers Arlene Port with 71.21 and Barbara Belardi with 68.38. Patricia Katz of Pittsburgh, fourth last month, now is tenth with 64.80, edged out of ninth by D. Pierce of Parkersburg, W. Va., with 64.88.

     Only other Unit 116 player in the Top 20 is Bud Seidenberg, in 20th place with 50.56. Three more – Barbara Libby, Martin Pieterse and Allen Beroza – come in between 21st and 30th.   

     Now for the District 5 Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters. Here the leader continues to be our own David Heussler with 164.05. He's also bounced back from tenth to fifth among all players in the district.

     The other leaders include: Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 140.71 (up from 13th to ninth overall); David Millward, 105.47 (23rd); Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, 90.72 (37th); Ken Meier, 83.74 (44th); Wayne Heritage of North Olmsted, Ohio, 80.96 (50th); Leroy Hackenberg II of Pittsburgh, 78.05 (55th); Buffalo's Fred Yellen, 63.92 (84th); moi, 63.10 (85th); and Jack Hawthorne of Valencia, Pa., 62.08 (88th).

Mini-McKenney leader among all District 5 players continues to be Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, adding 85 points in April to reach 319.68.

Then it’s Kathleen Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, with 195.02; Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 179.15; Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, 166.17; and Unit 116's Davis Heussler, 164.05.

After that, it's Don Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, 163.29; Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, 142.98; William Lindgren of Slippery Rock, Pa., 142.49; Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 140.71; and Buffalo's Saleh Fetouh, 131.89. In all, 27 players are in triple digits.

Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

Big month for Anna Maxcine Thacker of Palm Coast, Fla. She collected 50 and a fraction points to jump from sixth to first place with 126.18. Paul Hassett of The Villages, Fla., moves up from third to second with 115.27, while last month's leader, Russ Pearly, also The Villages, sits third with 112.44.

         Brian Breckenridge of Corvallis, Ore., tenth a month ago, is fourth with 105.53. Rounding out the top five and the last of the centarians is Michael Rosen of Freehold, N.J., down three places with 100.54.

After that, it's Richard Seidman of Orlando, Fla., a new entry to the top ten with 98.79; Mason Barge of Atlanta, 97.64; Michael Fishman of Great Neck, N.Y., 97.03; Bruce Ladin of Harwood Heights, Ill., with 96.83; and Michael Boreson of Kalispell, Mont., with 95.49.

Unit 116 leader David Millward is 32nd. Other local notables include Martin Pieterse, 320th; Allen Beroza, 335th; myself, moving up from a tie for 444th to 411th. Last Buffalo player is Ken Meier, 455th. The list cuts off at 42.39.

Ace of Clubs, all players, nationwide. Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta has a 60-point month to remain far ahead of the field with 260.43. Also enjoying a 60-point month is Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., now second with 183.32. A month ago she was seventh. She bumped Robert Epstein of Atlanta back to third with 177.45.

         Then come Irva Neyhart of Corvallis, Ore., 166.51; Roberta Trayman of Naples, Fla., 163.78; En Xie of St. Louis, 162.77; Diane Hurt and Edgar Hurt Jr., both of Laguna Woods, Calif., both with 158.97; James Rhoden of St. Augustine, Fla., 155.91; and Michael Dalton of Palm Coast, Fla., 153.47.

         Unit 116’s Alan Greer is 44th (and here in mid-May, he has 20+ more points this month). Nancy Wolstoncroft is 314th. David Millward is 403rd. And our lone representative a month ago, John Ziemer, who was in 336th place, now is a fraction below the cutoff point of 74.58 for this list of 500 names.

         Onward to Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

         Still way out in front is Robert L. McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., adding 96 more points to reach 666.17. Mary Ose of Sacramento, Calif, who had an 81-point month, is a little more secure in second place this time.

Alex Khrakovsky of Columbus, Ohio, has an 85-point month and leapfrogs to third place with 297.65. Still sitting fourth is someone we’ve played against, Joel Wooldridge’s sometimes partner Junko Hemus of Windermere, Fla., who added only 35 points in reaching 258.33.

Then it’s Mason Barge of Atlanta, 244.42; Kevin Castner of Kentfield, Calif., 231.18; Sherry Spalding Fardie of Port Orange, Fla., 229.55; Sabrina Miles of Mansfield, Mass., 217.68; Ken Brinkman of Highland Village, Texas, 215.35; and Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., 214.44.

Unit 116’s Davis Heussler, who was 51st last month, bounces back to 30th with his 164.05. David Millward is 154th. Ken Meier is 318th. The list ends at 70.39. My 63.10 doesn't cut it.

     And now for the really heavy hitters, the Mini-McKenney leaders overall.

     This time there are four players in four figures. Joe Grue of New York City sits on top for the third straight month with 1,270.90. Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., continues second with 1,104.19.

Brad Moss of Denver pushes up from fifth to third with 1,019.81 and Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., continues fourth with 1,005.08.

Then it's Shan Huang, also from Melbourne, with 901.13; January leader Geoff Hampson of Las Vegas, dropping from third to sixth with 894.62; John Hurd of New York City, 796.05; Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., 709.12; Justin Lall of Charlotte, N.C., 671.15; and Robert L. McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., 666.17.

     Familiar names: Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge slips from 30th to 41st with 459.34; District 5 leader Sue Lan Ma is up from 131st to 109th with her 319.68. No Unit 116 people here. This list cuts off at 170.62.

Bridge Blog 1025: Crawling from the wreckage

     Allen Beroza poured it on in the last week in April, while I crashed and burned. We'd been neck and neck all month. The upshot – he finished with 15.06 points at the Airport Bridge Club, well ahead of my 11.90. 

     The larger upshot – he'll displace me on top of the Unit 116 Ruby Life Masters Ace of Clubs list when the ACBL updates the master point races in a few days.

     Too bad I couldn't come up with a few sessions like I had with Nadine Stein on the first day of the new month – a satisfying 55.09%, first in the B strat North-South, good for 0.97. 

     A good start, but I'll need plenty more of these to make up for the days I'll miss on vacation later in May.

Bridge Blog 1025-A: Mayday! Mayday!

     Some hands are just plain ridiculous. They should work, but they don't. Or they shouldn't work, but they come through. Board 20 at the Airport Bridge Club on Tuesday, May 1, was one of the latter.

     West is dealer. All are vulnerable.

West (Linda Zittel)

Spades: 10-8; Hearts: A-9-7-6-3; Diamonds: K-Q-J-7; Clubs: J-10.

North (me)

Spades: A-K-9-6-4; Hearts: 5-4; Diamonds: 10-9-8-6-4; Clubs: 5.

East (Jan Hasselback)

Spades: Q-7; Hearts: K-Q-2; Diamonds: A-5-3-2; Clubs: K-Q-4-2.

South (Nadine Stein)

Spades: J-5-3-2; Hearts: J-10-8; Diamonds: None; Clubs: A-9-8-7-6-3.

     As I dimly recall the bidding, Jan opens 1 No Trump, Linda bids 2 Diamonds to transfer to Hearts. Having passed originally, I jump in at 2 Spades. Jan, undeterred, bids 3 Hearts. Nadine goes to 3 Spades. When Linda plops down the 4 Hearts card, I figure they'll make it and just maybe we can take eight tricks in Spades. 4 Spades! Linda makes what feels like a perfectly reasonable double. I brace myself for a noble sacrifice.

    Jan leads the King of Hearts and they take two Heart tricks. I ruff the third Heart in the dummy. Then the great cross-ruff begins. Linda overruffs me on the third Club lead, but that's their last trick. Plus 790.

     According to the hand record, we should make only 3 Spades, while they're good for 3 Diamonds or 1 No Trump. For some reason, it doesn't display a result for East-West in Hearts, although five of the six East-Wests who win the auction wind up at 4 Hearts. They have 27 High Card Points between them, but they don't make it. Two are down one, two are down two, one is down three. The most successful East-West plays it at 3 No Trump and makes an overtrick.

     Then there are those three North-Souths who are allowed to play it in Spades. One stops at 2 Spades and somehow makes three overtricks. Then there's the two of us at 4 Spades, both doubled, both taking 10 tricks. Go figure!