Bridge Blog 1083: Long Overdue

It happened. It finally happened. A 20-point month. First time in a long time. A very long time. Near as I can tell, the last one was January 2018.

Other months have promised 20, but none of them delivered. And since I became a Gold Life Master early in the new year, things have been especially dismal. Not once have I even reached my goal of 15 per month.

But hey, no faltering this time. I went into Memorial Day weekend last Saturday with probably my best game of the year so far – 65.48% with Canadian partner Selina Volpatti over here on the American side at the Airport Bridge Club. That added 2.04 to the total.

Just scraps of points playing just slightly above par with Eva Schmidt on Tuesday (50.46%, 0.55) and with June Feuerstein on Wednesday (50.93%, 0.84), but I had no complaints.

Then, on the last day of the month Friday, with Selina playing with her priest friend at the non-life master sectional in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., I hooked up with Nadine Stein, who professed she was in a terrible slump. I'll help get you out of it, I said. Thus encouraged, we emerged third overall in a five-table Howell game (despite a sacrifice that gave us a minus 1,400) and first in the B strat with 57.87%.

That added 1.61 points to the total, enough for 20-plus at the Airport Club alone. And then there’s St. Catharines, where we scratched on four straight Fridays, including that vary satisfying overall victory back on May 3. Thank you, bridge gods. It’s been a long time since my miserable game has felt this good.

Bridge Blog 1082: The Old Prospector Detects a Glint

You oughta know this convention, you’re a Gold Life Master. You shouldn’t have blown that contract, you’re a Gold Life Master. Why aren’t you winning, you’re a Gold Life Master.

All true since I turned Gold in January. Months of underperformance. Breaking 40% begins to feel like a major achievement. It’s been so long since a true major achievement, I’ve forgotten what it feels like.  

Or at least I did until a couple weeks ago. Like the ice flowing out of Lake Erie back then, my fortunes began flowing, too. Perhaps it was the chance to play back-to-back with Canadian partner Selina Volpatti – Friday in St. Catharines, Saturday at the Airport Bridge Club over here. (Bargain for me, since member fee is $6 Canadian over there, which translates to about $4.50. No bargain for her, since our game is $8 and the exchange rate makes it more than $11 Canadian.)

The flecks of pay direct began showing up April 26-27. In St. Catharines, we had a 54.82% game, one of our best this year, but only were fifth in the A strat, only won 0.28 of a point. Over here, we stepped up to 57.41%, first in the B strat, 1.87 points.

I expected nothing on Monday, the 28th, with Usha Khurana, but everything went right. We were winners in our direction with 56.89%, getting 1.80 points.

Bridge lightning struck again the following Friday, May 3, in St. Catharines. Again, Selina and I could hardly do no wrong. First overall against that tough field with 60.42%. 1.30 points.

Saturday, with Selina, wasn’t as sharp, but our 53% was more rewarding, thanks to extra points at the Airport Club. First in B. 1.73 points. Now I was tuning into that major achievement feeling. It felt gooooood.

Third lightning strike came Monday, May 6, with substitute partner Pawan Matta. Again, everything works. We’re 61.61%. First overall. 2.48 points.

Could it happen again? It couldn't be with Marietta Kalman, who’s cut her bridge playing down to Thursdays with me because of her ailments. But it is. Our 58.44% is another first overall, another 2.48 points.

Friday-Saturday with Selina is not as masterful. Our 50.41% in a 15-table game in St. Catharines manages to get us 0.47 points, though. Saturday at the Airport Club we collapse completely in a 3½ table Howell game. At 40.97%, we’re lucky not to be dead last.

Bridge Blog 1081: April Mop-Up

Time to check on how the planets revolve in the bridge universe. Time for that monthly review of the Master Point races on the ACBL website.

Yes, for me, April was treading rainwater – an improvement over miserable March, but just slightly. 12.35 points in club play, boosting my Ace of Clubs total to 42.05. Another 0.52 from the Buffalo Spring Sectional, bringing things up to 12.87 for the month and 43.35 overall.

In the Ace of Clubs race in Unit 116 (Buffalo only), I’ve regained the step I lost in March, back up to fourth among Ruby Life Masters (1,500 to 2,500 points) and up a notch to 19th from 20th among all players in the Unit. Modest, but moving in the right direction.

Amazingly, on the District 5 level, which includes Cleveland, Pittsburgh and points in between, I’ve improved my status among the second tier of leaders in the Rubies in Ace of Clubs, up from eighth to sixth. Also up in the overall standings from 52nd to 48th.

As for the Mini-McKenney, in Unit 116, my tournament deficiencies are hurting me. Down from sixth to eighth among the Rubies, down from 36th to 40th in the Unit.

On the District 5 level, it’s not so dire. Sure, I’m now 30th among the Rubies, down from 28th, but 180th overall for the second month in a row. (A far cry from February, however, when I was 21st among the Rubies and 158th overall.)

Here are the leaderboards:

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

Out of nowhere (well, make that Florida) comes David Millward to claim the throne from last month’s leader, Linda Burroughsford. His 87.23 far eclipsed her.

Linda would have been eclipsed by David even if she had another 28.08-point month, like she had in March. Instead, she collected 10.78, giving her a total of 62.34.

Still, it was enough to keep her ahead of January’s leader, Martin Pieterse, who had a 20.71-point month in April to reach 60.68.  The two of them  continue fourth and sixth overall in the Unit. David Millward is second.

The rest of the Top 10: Me, 42.05 (19th); John Sinclair, 39.33 (21st); Dorothy May, 39.26 (22nd); Davis Heussler, down from fourth to seventh, 37.33 (25th overall); Gene Finton, another snowbird returned, 36.98 (26th); Ken Meier, 32.87 (32nd); and Fred Yellen, 32.38 (33rd).

Ace of Clubs. Unit 116. All players.

Continuing way ahead is Alan Greer, adding 38.40 points in April for a total of 131.51. David Millward slips into second with that 87.23, ahead of Nancy Wolstoncroft, who had a 25.07-point month to reach 80.14.

Linda Burroughford, with 62.34, passes Gay Simpson with 62.10. Now in sixth place is Martin Pieterse, 60.68; then John and Martha Welte, both 60.63; Mike Silverman, 54.53, and Chris Urbanek, 53.10. Barbara Libby is 11th, passing the half-century point with 51.22.

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

Gatlinburg. That’s the secret. Linda Burroughford and Davis Heussler went. Came back with 36 points. Now they’re way out in front. Linda’s up 79.02 at 167.23. Davis is up 69.75 at 153.96. They’re second and third overall among all Buffalo players.  

David Millward reappears from Florida in third place with 100.02 (11th overall). Ken Meier, another Gatlinburg go-getter, moves up from sixth to fourth with a 42.64-point month, reaching 73.98. He’s up from 34th to 15th overall in the unit.

Martin Pieterse drops from third to fifth with 63.80, but his good month is reflected by his move from 20th overall to 18th. Then it’s John Sinclair, 57.28 (still 24th overall); Fred Yellen, 53.02 (30th); moi, 43.35 (40th); Dorothy May, 40.71 (46th); and Gene Finton, 36.98 (49th).

Mini-McKenney. Unit 116. All players.

Glenn Milgrim’s big win in national competition in March gave him a big 72-point lead here, to which he added only 3.39 in April, reaching 174.56. Linda Burroughsford is suddenly on his heels with 167.23.

Davis Heussler passed a lot of others in the Top 10 with his 153.96. Then it’s Martha Welte, 151.61; Mike Ryan, 144.38; John Welte (who usually has the same total as Martha, or a little more since he plays the occasional club game without her), 134.86; and last month’s #3 guy, Alan Greer, 131.51, in eighth place. Rounding out the Top 10 are Chris Urbanek, 107.83, and Saleh Fetouh, 105.61. Only other player at the century mark is 11th place David Millward. Nancy Wolstoncroft is way back in 12th with 81.26.

Ace of Clubs. District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh). Ruby Life Masters. Buffalo players hold six of the Top 10 spots, headed by David Millward with 87.23. He’s third among all District 5 Rubies.

Then it’s Linda Burroughsford, 62.34 (seventh overall in the district); Martin Pieterse, 60.68 (ninth); and two outlyers – W. Tordella of Bemus Point, 52.62 (20th, down from seventh in March); and Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 43.18 (45th, down from 41st).

I’m sixth among District Rubies with 42.05 (48th overall), followed by James Wheeler of Edinburg, Pa., with 40.52 (54th); John Sinclair, 39.33 (58th); Dorothy May, 39.26 (61st); and Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 38.03 (68th).

Ace of Clubs. District 5. All players.

Buffalonians hold eight of the Top 11 places, with two of us, John and Martha Welte, tied for 10th.

 Alan Greer still reigns with 131.51, followed by perennial Pittsburgh champ Reanette Frobouck, who has an even 101 after a 34.04-point month.

David Millward holds third with 87.23, followed by Nancy Wolstoncroft, 80.14; D. Pierce of Parkersburg, W.Va., falling back to fifth with 79.98; Allen Selling of Erie, Pa., 74.31; Linda Burroughsford, 62.34; Gay Simpson, down from fifth to eighth with 62.10; Martin Pieterse, 60.68; and the Weltes, both 60.63.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. Ruby Life Masters.

Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler still are one-two – Linda with 167.23; Davis with 153.96. They’ve also moved up among all District 5 players. Linda’s up to 12th from 16th and Davis advances to 15th from 24th. David Millward is third (39th overall) and the only other Ruby over the century mark with his 100.02.

The rest of the Top 10: Doug Snyder of Shaker Heights, Ohio, 89.65 (46th overall); James Fox of Canonsburg, Pa., 81.56 (57th overall); Ken Meier, 73.98 (72nd); Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 71.45 (76th); Monica Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, 67.17 (84th); Martin Pieterese, 63.80 (95th); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 62.97 (97th).  Next Unit 116 player on the list is John Sinclair in 17th place with his 57.28.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. All players.

Perennial leader Sue Lan Ma was fourth last month. Now she’s second, thanks to an 86.73-point month. Here’s the Top 10:

Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, with a 65.34-point month to reach 292.31. Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, 286.32. Watch out, Bernie! Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 246.15; Fleur Howard, up from 11th to fifth with 222.75; Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 222.29; Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, 207.65; Kenneth Kranyak of Parma, Ohio, 190.89; Fred Schenker of Pittsburgh, 186.80; and Kathleen Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio. 179.06.

No Unit 116 people in the Top 10, but five in the next 10 – Glenn Milgrim is 11th, Linda Burroughford is 12th, Davis Heussler is 15th, Martha Welte is 16th and Mike Ryan is 17th. 

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Top 500 Ruby Life Masters.

Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., reclaims first place from Jim Loffree of Naples, Fla., who debuted on the Top 10 in first place a month ago. Pearly had a 56.39-point month to hit 169.85. Loffree managed only 29.92 to wind up with 144.02.

Then it’s Mason Barge of Atlanta, up from sixth to third with 121.77 with a 44.54-point month, squeezing past Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., with 121.37.

Rounding out the Top 10 are Larry Anfinson of Waterloo, Iowa, 116.44, tenth a month ago; Mark Haberman of Boca Raton, Fla., 102.75; Christine Converse of Highland Beach, Fla., 102.47; Carole Maeder of Bonita Springs, Fla., 101.83; Bruce Ladin of Harwood Heights, Ill., 100.19; and Aivars Lapins of Cambria, Calif., 97.43.

Unit 116 returnee David Millward is 21st. Linda Burroughsford, after shooting up to 73rd last month, fell back to 115th. Martin Pieterse is up from 241st to 128th. And that’s all for us Buffalo Rubies. The list cuts off at 43.72.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

January leader Barbara Sartorius of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., has a 62.19-point month to reach 198.47 and displace the man who displaced her – Neil Silverman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who had just 32.55 in April and ended with 181.10.

After that, it’s Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., up from tenth to third with 169.85; Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta, right behind with 169.31; Francine Feldman of Boca Raton, Fla., 167.08; Irva Neyhart of Corvallis, Ore., 166.83; En Xie of St. Louis, 162.42; Martin Robins of Delray Beach, Fla., 157.51; Michael Dalton of Palm Coast, Fla., 155.52; and Shiv Arora of Boca Raton, 152.83.

Unit 116 and District 5 leader Alan Greer is 30th, up from 49th. David Millward is 263rd and Nancy Wolstoncroft returns in 364th place. The list cuts off at 73.92.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Top 500 Ruby Life Masters.

A month ago, two players had reached the double-century mark. Now it’s 15.

Thomas Rush of Houston had a 101.89-point month and continues on top with 309.24. Meanwhile, January leader Christopher Smith rebounds from ninth place with an 82.12-point month to reach 269.49.

Next are Arjun Dhir of Johns Creek, Ga., up from eighth to third with 258.87; Ruby Life Master leader Russ Pearly, 255.17; Silas Wasserstrom of Washington, D.C., 252.36; Amy Casanova of Portland, Ore., 248.66; Harrison Luba of Lynnfield, Mass., with 241.98; Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., 240.34; Dolores Aquino of Houston, 238.55; and Murali Nair of Phoenix, 227.48.

Unit 116’s Linda Burroughsford jumps 73rd to 29th with her 167.23. Davis Heussler ascends from 110th to 43rd with his 153.96. David Millward places 179th with 100.02.  The list stops at 72.34.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

Another 200-plus-point month – 230.47, to be exact, keeps Curtis Cheek of Las Vegas in the top spot he claimed a month ago. Now he has 819.17 points.

No slouch either is Mark Itabashi of Murieta, Calif., with 233.47 to jump from fifth to second place with 795.14.

Returning to the Top 10 and no stranger to it is third-place Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., with 768.34. Another familiar face is fourth – Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., with 759.65 after a 234.20-point month.

Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., is fifth with 747.54, followed by Shan Huang of Melbourne, Fla., 727.88; Kevin Bathurst of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 694.85; Jacob Morgan of Madison, Wis., 679.42; Joe Grue of New York City, 671.77; and Ron Smith of Chicago, down from second to tenth with 653.93.

District 5 leader Bernie Greenspan is 121st. Sue Lan Ma is 143rd. Unit 116 leader Glenn Milgrim isn’t here this month.

Buffalo native Joel Wooldridge, who now plays out of Astoria, Queens, is up from 40th place to 39th with 435.38, after an 88.49-point month. The list stops at 171.55.

Bridge Blog 1080: Still remembering the Buffalo Spring Sectional

Paul Zittel brought it all back today (Saturday, May 11) at the Airport Bridge Club. He told today’s partner, Selina Volpatti, about his bad habit of inadvertently showing the cards he is holding. And he recalled how he mentioned that on Saturday afternoon (April 6) at the Buffalo Spring Sectional, put his hand on my partner’s arm and got a sudden “Don’t touch me!”

Not the first time that day my partner rankled our opponents and it left me wondering what to do. I don’t want to upbraid this partner, since we’ve always had good relations, but I also don’t condone creating hard feelings.

The bridge? Far less memorable. I had high hopes for my all-Scandinavian partnership with Ron Henrikson on Friday in the single session side game, but we fell short in the morning (44.64%) and even shorter in the afternoon (43.75%).

Saturday morning's side game started with higher hopes, but still no success (49.50%). But our afternoon (44% even) was sunk from the moment we sat down. I blame myself for what happened – getting shunted into the main game, the double session pairs, with all the top-level players.

I bet that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t returned last-minute from lunch (wanted the Restaurant Week special at the Irishman in downtown Williamsville and, despite their promises, the food came way late). Because a double-session pair had scratched after the morning game (Dan Gerstman’s partner disappeared), we were the ones pressed into the breach.

Complaint! With no food truck for this tournament, organizers moved the morning start ahead 15 minutes (to 10:15 a.m.) and left the afternoon start at 2:30 p.m. Once upon a time, starts were at 10:30 and 3 p.m. 90 minutes is time enough to go out for lunch. 75 minutes? Too tight.

Reunited with Ron Henrikson on Sunday, I figured our Swiss team with Gay Simpson and Denise Slattery would be a force in the B strat. Even after losing the first two rounds, we had great potential. We hadn’t lost by much. In the home stretch, with two big wins and three small losses, we still were contenders.

But then in the last two rounds we hit two A-strat teams that apparently were down on their luck. They trounced us. With 90 victory points, we were far from last – other teams with fewer vps won three rounds. Had we won three rounds, we’d be fourth or fifth in the B strat, collecting a couple silver points. As it was, our two wins returned only 0.52 – my take for the entire three days.

Bridge Blog 1079: Catching Up with March's March of Time

Lest we let the third month of the year slip away entirely, let’s review the Master Point races on the ACBL website.

For me, worst month of the year so far (though April is looking even more dismal). Just 9 points even, all earned in club play, raising my totals to 29.70 in the Ace of Clubs race (club play only) and 30.48 Mini-McKenney (all points earned everywhere.)

In the Ace of Clubs race, I’ve fallen from third to fifth among Ruby Life Masters (1,500 to 2,500 points) in Unit 116 (Buffalo only) and dropped from 17th to 20th among all players in the Unit.

Amazingly, on the District 5 level, which includes Cleveland, Pittsburgh and points in between, I’m still eighth among Rubies in the Ace of Clubs, but fell from 46th to 52nd overall.

As for the Mini-McKenney, in Unit 116, I’m down to seventh from sixth among the Rubies and down to 36th from 33rd in the Unit.

On the District 5 level, I’m now 28th among the Rubies and 180th overall. February saw me sitting 21st among the Rubies and 158th overall.

Here are the leaderboards:

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

Last month’s leader, Linda Burroughsford, more than doubled her total. A 28.08-point month gave her a total of 51.56. January’s leader, Martin Pieterse, is still second, gaining 18.40 points to reach 39.97.  They’re fourth and sixth overall in the Unit. Last month they were 12th and 15th overall.

The rest of the Top 10: Davis Heussler, 32.58 (15th overall); John Sinclair, 31.35 (16th); me, 29.70 (20th); Gene Finton in Florida, 29.22 (23rd); Dorothy May, 28.59 (24th); Fred Yellen, 23.28 (34th); Ken Meier, 22.23 (36th); and snowbird Pinky Regan, 21.16 (40th).

Ace of Clubs. Unit 116. All players.

Continuing way ahead is Alan Greer, adding 34.55 points in March for a total of 93.11. Nancy Wolstoncroft is still second, thanks to a 17.72-point month that brought her to 55.07.

Holding third again with a 17.73-point month is Gay Simpson, who has 52.48. Linda Burroughsford leaps to fourth with 51.56; followed by Chris Urbanek, 45.33; Martin Pieterse, 39.97; John and Martha Welte, both 39.83; Sharon Benz, 38.28; and Jay Levy, 38.23.

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

Linda Burroughsford is on top here, too, adding 46.43 points to reach 98.21. Her frequent partner Davis Heussler stays second, adding 37.26 for a total of 84.43. They’re second and seventh overall among all Buffalo players. 

Martin Pieterse repossesses third place with 42.31 and is 20th overall. Then it’s John Sinclair, 40.42 (24th overall); Fred Yellen, 31.53 (33rd); Ken Meier, 31.34 (34th); moi, 30.48 (36th); Gene Finton, 29.22 (38th); Dorothy May, 28.59 (42nd); and Pinky Regan, 22.31 (55th).

Mini-McKenney. Unit 116. All players.

Glenn Milgrim’s big win in national competition shot him to the top with 171.17. Far behind is Linda Burroughford, 98.31; Alan Greer, 93.11; John and Martha Welte, both 88.06; Saleh Fetouh, 85.83; Davis Heussler, 84.43; Chris Urbanek, 82.67; Mike Ryan, 67.73; and Dian Petrov, 62.20.

Ace of Clubs. District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh). Ruby Life Masters. Buffalo’s Linda Burroughsford leaps from third place to the top here with 51.56, surpassing January/February leader W. Tordella of Bemus Point, who had a 17.91-point month to reach 48.13. They’re sixth and seventh among all District 5 players.

Martin Pieterse rebounds from fifth to third with 39.97 (ninth overall). Another Buffalonian, Davis Heussler, is fourth with 32.58 (39th overall). Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, returns to fifth place after spending a month in second, with 32.47 (41st overall).

Buffalo’s John Sinclair is sixth with 31.35 (43rd overall), followed by Chantal Whitney of Bratenahl, Ohio, 30.49 (47th); moi, 29.70 (continuing eighth, but falling from 46th to 52nd overall); last month’s #4, Garnet Depner of Jeannette, Pa., is ninth with 29.64 (53rd); and Buffalo snowbird Gene Finton is tenth with 29.22 (59th).

Ace of Clubs. District 5. All players.

Buffalonians hold seven of the Top 10 places. Alan Greer still reigns with 93.11, followed by perennial Pittsburgh champ Reanette Frobouck with 66.96 after a 19.10-point month.

Last month’s fifth place holder, D. Pierce of Parkersburg, W.Va., knocks Buffalo’s Nancy Wolstoncroft out of third place with 31.04-point month, which lifts D. to 63.43, while Nancy has 55.07. Another Buffalonian, Gay Simpson, slides from fourth to fifth with 52.48.

The rest of the Top Ten: Linda Burroughsford, 51.56; W. Tordella of Bemus Point, 48.13; then four more Buffalonians – Chris Urbanek, 45.33; Martin Pieterse, 39.97; and John and Martha Welte, tied for tenth with 39.83.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. Ruby Life Masters.

Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler still are one-two. Linda now has 98.21, Davis has 84.43. They’ve also moved up among all District 5 players. Linda’s risen to 16th from 28th and Davis advances to 24th from 33rd.

Annemarie Gordon of Sewickley, Pa., remains way back in third with 57.83 (she’s 46th overall). 

The rest of the Top 10: James Fox of Canonsburg, Pa., 50.67 (63rd overall); W. Tordella of Bemus Point, 48.85 (70th); Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio., 46.64 (75th); Philip MacFarlane of Cleveland, 44.30 (86th); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 43.16 (89th); Buffalo’s Martin Pieterse, 42.31 (97th); and Ami Elis of Pittsburgh, 41.68 (98th).

Next Unit 116 player on the list is John Sinclair in 11th place with his 40.42 points, which makes him 112th overall. I’m 28th, down from 21st, and 180th overall, down from 158th.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. All players.

Perennial leader Sue Lan Ma wasn’t on top in January. She was seventh. In February, she reclaimed her throne, thanks to 112.16-point month. This month she’s slipped to fourth place. Here’s the Top 10:

Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, 226.97; Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, 205.29; Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 202.60; Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, 198.59; Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 187.71; Buffalo’s Glenn Milgrim, 171.17; January’s leader Kenneth Kranyak of Parma, Ohio, 150 even; Fred Schenker of Pittsburgh, 131.78; Phillip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, 131.09; Frank Cymerman of Pittsburgh, 118.44; and just missing the Top 10, Fleur Howard of Gates Mills, Ohio, 115.34.

Next Unit 116 player to appear on this list is Linda Burroughsford, who’s 16th with her 98.21. Alan Greer is up to 18th from 23rd with 94.11, followed by John and Martha Welte, tied for 21st with 88.06; Saleh Fetouh, 86.83 (23rd); Davis Heussler, 84.43 (24th); and Chris Urbanek, 82.67 (26th).  

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Top 500 Ruby Life Masters.

Leaping onto the Top 10 list and landing first place is Jim Loffree of Naples, Fla., with 114.10. He displaces Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., who despite a 36.49-point month, fell back to second with 113.46.

Then it’s Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., 92.30; Michael Rosen of Freehold, N.J., 80.89; Christine Converse of Highland Beach, Fla., 80.18; Mason Barge of Atlanta, 77.23; Louis Vanos of Ocean Springs, Miss., 76.57; Mark Haberman of Boca Raton, Fla., 75.66; Carole Maeder of Bonita Springs, Fla., 73.48; and Larry Anfinson of Waterloo, Iowa, 72.92.

Unit 116’s Linda Burroughsford shot up to 73rd from last month's tie for 409th. Martin Pieterse is 241st. Davis Heussler is 475th. The list cuts off at 32.30.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

Neil Silverman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., stays on top with a 38.40-point month, bringing him to 148.55. 

January leader Barbara Sartorius of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., keeps pace in second with 137.28 following a 38.11-point month.

After that, it’s Martin Robins of Delray Beach, Fla., 132.60; Jack Borenstein of Dallas, 130.05; Francine Feldman of Boca Raton, Fla., 120.75; Michael Dalton of Palm Coast, Fla., 115.95; Irva Neyhart of Corvallis, Ore., 114.94; Marion Gebhardt of Richardson, Texas, 114.44; and Ruby Life Master leaders Jim Loffree, 114.10; and Russ Pearly, 113.46.

Unit 116 and District 5 leader Alan Greer is 49th, up from 82nd, and he’s the only Buffalo representative. The list cuts off at 55.28.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Top 500 Ruby Life Masters.

A month ago, there were 22 players here in triple digits. Now there are 67, with two reaching the double-century mark.

Thomas Rush of Houston is leader with 207.35, followed by Harrison Luba of Lynnfield, Mass., with 201.73; Murali Nair of Phoenix, 199.87; Ruby Life Master leader Russ Pearly, 198.78; and Matthew Weingarten of Safety Harbor, Fla., 194.65. 

February leader Newton Brightwell of Osprey, Fla., drops to seventh with 188.52, behind Arjun Dhir of Johns Creek, Ga., who has 192.99. 

January leader Christopher Smith of Vero Beach, Fla., drops from second to ninth with 187.37, just behind Kevin Castner of Mercer Island, Wash., with 187.44 and just ahead of Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., with 186.14.

Unit 116’s Linda Burroughsford jumps from 202nd to 73rd with her 98.21. Davis Heussler ascends from 267th to 110th with his 84.43.  The list stops at 52.21.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

The ten leaders have all reached the half millennium mark. Last month’s seventh-place guy, Curtis Cheek of Las Vegas, is now on top with 588.73, thanks to a 201.13-point month. Last month’s leader, Ron Smith of Chicago, returns to second after a mere 27.32-point month, reaching 579.12.

Then it’s January’s leader, Jacob Morgan of Madison, Wis., 567.88; Oren Kriegel of Chicago, 565.15; Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., 561.67; Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., 552.04; Joe Grue of New York City, 526.32; Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., 525.45 (he was 37th a month ago); John Kranyak of Las Vegas, 510.25; and Kevin Bathurst of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 502.98.

District 5 leader Bernie Greenspan is 126th. Unit 116 leader Glenn Milgrim is tied for 281st.

After a 233.16-point month, Buffalo native Joel Wooldridge, who now plays out of Astoria, Queens, is up to 40th place from 260th with 346.89. The list stops at 131.13.

Bridge Blog 1078: The Long and Short of February (finally)

I’m way overdue to review my place in the world as seen in the Master Point races on the ACBL website. Maybe that’s because, personally, it was not a big month. Only 10.89 points, all of them club points. Total for the year is 20.70 Ace of Clubs (club play only) and 21.48 Mini-McKenney (all points earned everywhere.)

As it turns out, it was not a big month for anyone locally. Despite my mediocre month, I’ve moved up.

In the Ace of Clubs race, I’ve advanced from fifth to third place among Ruby Life Masters (1,500 to 2,500 points) in Unit 116 (Buffalo only) and inched from 18th to 17th among all players in the Unit.

On the District 5 level, which includes Cleveland, Pittsburgh and points in between, I’m eighth among Rubies in the Ace of Clubs, 46th overall. A month ago, I was 12th among Rubies and 47th overall.

As for the Mini-McKenney, in Unit 116, I’m sixth among the Rubies in Unit 116 with 21.48 and 33rd in the Unit. In January, I was eighth and 46th.

On the District 5 level, at the end of January, I was 43rd among the Rubies and 208th overall. February made me 21st among the Rubies and 158th overall.

Here are the leaderboards:

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

In a month when not a lot of points were to be had, Linda Burroughsford accumulated 16.10 of them and leaped from seventh to first with 23.48 points. She bumped January’s leader, Martin Pieterse, to second with 21.57. They’re 12th and 15th overall in the Unit.

I’m third with 20.70 and 17th overall, having overtaken Dorothy May, 20.45 (18th); Florida snowbird Gene Finton, 17.98 (22nd) and Fred Yellen, 17.65 (23rd).   

In seventh place, it’s another snowbird, Pinky Regan, who’s gotten 16.10 points from Vero Beach, Fla. (27th overall); then Davis Heussler, making a Top 10 debut with 13.67 (39th); John Sinclair, 13.13 (43rd); and Art Matthies, 11.62 (50th). Also in double digits, Ken Meier, in 11th place with 10.13 points (60th overall).  

Ace of Clubs. Unit 116. All players.

Continuing on top is Alan Greer, adding 23.56 points in February for a total of 58.56. Nancy Wolstoncroft advances from fourth to second, thanks to a 17.38-point month that brought her to 37.36.

She’s slipped ahead of Gay Simpson, who has 35.75. She’s followed by Sharon Benz, 27.51; Barbara Libby, 27.38; Bill Boardman, 25.49; Bud Seidenberg, 25.04; John Ziemer, 25.02; Chris Urbanek, 24.07; and John and Martha Welte, tied for tenth with 23.97.

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

Linda Burroughsford is on top here, too, adding 17.43 points to reach 51.78. She skips ahead of January’s leader, her frequent partner Davis Heussler, who added 10.96 for a total of 47.17. They’re fifth and sixth overall among all Buffalo players.  

It also continues to be a big step down, point-wise, to third place, which now is occupied by Fred Yellen with 25.90 after a 7.01-point month. He’s slipped from 17th overall in the Unit to 22nd. He displaced Martin Peterese, who has 23.91 and is 25th overall.

Then it’s John Sinclair, 22.20 (30th); moi, 21.48 (33rd); Dorothy May, 20.45 (36th); Ken Meier, 19.24 (40th); and the two snowbirds, Gene Finton, 17.98 (43rd); and Pinky Regan, 17.25 (48th).  

Mini-McKenney. Unit 116. All players.

Continuing on top with a 17.15-point month is Chris Urbanek with 61.41. Alan Greer jumps from seventh to second with 58.56. Then it’s John and Martha Welte, tied for third with 54.57; Linda Burroughsford, up from eighth to fifth with 51.78; Davis Heussler, down from fifth to sixth with 47.17; Sharon Benz, 44.70; Mike Ryan, 44.16; Saleh Fetouh, 43.25; and Jay Levy, 42.70.

Ace of Clubs. District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh). Ruby Life Masters. Usually Buffalo dominates here. Not this month. Here are the leaders:

Still first is W. Tordella of Bemus Point, 30.22, (and still sixth among all District 5 players). Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, advances from fifth to second (and 25th to 23rd overall) with 24.39.

Linda Burroughsford, who wasn’t among the Top 10 a month ago, is third with 23.48 and 27th overall. Fourth now and tenth a month ago is Garnet Depner of Jeannette, Pa., with 21.70, though he slipped a notch, from 36th to 37th, overall.

Last month’s runner-up, Buffalo’s Martin Pieterse, now is fifth with 21.57. He’s dropped from ninth to 39th overall. Up from seventh to sixth is William Feeney of Latrobe, Pa., with 21.11 (down from 29th to 40th overall).

I’m up from 12th to eighth with 20.70 (and up from 47th to 46th overall). Then it’s the fourth Buffalo player in the Top 10 – Dorothy May with 20.25, down from sixth to ninth in the Rubies and down from 21st to 49th overall. Rounding out the list is Susan Dillon of Pittsburgh with 20.19 (51st overall).

Ace of Clubs. District 5. All players.

Alan Greer on top again with 58.56, but then the list has a big shakeup. Last month’s runner-up, Patricia Katz of Pittsburgh, has dropped to 19th place. In her stead is perennial Pittsburgh champ Reanette Frobouck with 47.86.

Buffalo’s Nancy Wolstoncroft moves from eighth to third place with 37.36 (while last month’s third place holder, Daniel Putnam of Berkeley Springs, W.Va. drops to eighth). Another Buffalonian, Gay Simpson, maintains fourth with 35.75.

The rest of the Top Ten: D. Pierce of Parkersburg, W.Va., 32.49; W. Tordella of Bemus Point, 30.22; Lynn Rafferty of Columbiana, Ohio, 30.12; the aforementioned Daniel Putnam, 28.63; and a pair of Pittsburghers, James Gump with 28.16 and Barbara Belardi with 27.96. Buffalonians Sharon Benz and Barbara Libby are 11th and 12th with 27.51 and 27.38, respectively.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. Ruby Life Masters.

Davis Heussler and Linda Burroughsford swap places for the lead on this list. Linda now has 51.78, while Davis has 47.17. They’ve slipped among all District 5 players, though. Linda’s down from 25th to 28th and Davis falls from 21st to 33rd.

Debuting in the Top 10 in third place is Annemarie Gordon of Sewickley, Pa., with 43.82 (she’s 40th overall).  

The rest of the Top 10: Philip MacFarlane of Cleveland, 39.11 (35th to 51st); Judith and Martin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 38.56 and 35 even (53rd and 66th); another Top 10 debut from Monica Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio with 32.30 (75th); that W. Tordella guy from Bemus Point, 30.94 (80th); Elena Steingraf of North Canton, Ohio, slipping from sixth to ninth with 27.78 (99th); and Buffalo’s Fred Yellen in tenth place with 25.90 (115th overall).

Next Unit 116 player on the list is Martin Pieterse in 15th place with his 23.91 points, which makes him 129th overall. I’m 21st, up from 43rd, and 158th overall, up from 208th.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. All players.

Perennial leader Sue Lan Ma wasn’t on top in January. She was seventh. In February, however, she reclaimed her throne, thanks to a 112.16-point month. Here’s the Top 10:

Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, 171.93; Reanette Frobouck and Craig Biddle, both of Pittsburgh, 154.92 and 119.11, respectively; Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 108.75; January’s leader Kenneth Kranyak of Parma, Ohio, 105.79; Phillip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, 97.17; Fred Schenker of Pittsburgh, 89.26; Fleur Howard of Gates Mills, Ohio, 87.20; Kathleen Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, 81.51; and Frank Cymerman of Pittsburgh, 79.91. First Unit 116 player to appear on this list is Chris Urbanek, who’s 21st with her 61.41. Alan Greer is 23rd with 58.56, followed by John and Martha Welte, tied for 24th with 54.57.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Top 500 Ruby Life Masters.

Russ Pearly of the Villages, Fla., continues on top with 76.97. Then, up from fifth to second is Aivars Lapins from Cambria, Calif., with 66.61; Larry Anfinson of Waterloo, Iowa, 64.47; Sydelle Shamah of Miami, 59.80; Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., 57.46; last month’s No. 2, Carole Maeder of Bonita Springs, Fla., 56.83; Michael Rosen of Freehold, N.J., 56.24; Louis Vanos of Ocean Springs, Miss., 53.13; Janet Matthews of The Villages, Fla., 51.53; and Bob Levine of Dana Point, Calif., 51.51.

Among Unit 116 players, Linda Burroughsford is the only representative. She’s tied for 409th. The list cuts off at 22.23.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

Barbara Sartorius of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., led the pack in January with 75.96. In February, she only added 23.21, reaching 99.17, and fell to second place. Last month’s eighth-place player, Neil Silverman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., now is on top with 110.05.

After that, it’s Sheila Gabay of Newton, Mass., 97.97; Martin Robins of Delray Beach, Fla., 94.61; Barbara Saltsman of Montreal, 90.50; Jack Borenstein of Dallas, 90.37; Robert Epstein of Atlanta, 84.90; Marion Gebhardt of Richardson, Texas, 83.89; Sandy McCay of Naples, Fla, 80 even; and Joe Degaetano of Delray Beach, Fla., 79.59. Ruby Life Master leader Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., is 13th.        Unit 116 and District 5 leader Alan Greer is 82nd, up from 85th, and he’s the only Buffalo representative. The list cuts off at 38.22.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Top 500 Ruby Life Masters.

A month ago, there was only one player here in triple digits. Now there are 22.

Newton Brightwell of Osprey, Fla., catapults to the top with 162.06, outpacing last month’s leader, Christopher Smith of Vero Beach, Fla., who added only 38.83 to reach 158.56.

Then it’s Marilyn Brightwell of Osprey, ninth a month ago, with 155.27, up 89.57 points. She’s followed by Dolores Aquino of Houston, 147.24; Silas Wasserman of Washington, D.C., 147.09; Jerry Barrett of Austin, Texas, 143.11; Thomas Rush of Houston, 139.72; Francesca Stedman of Santa Fe, N.M., 138.52; Amy Casanova of Portland, Ore., 134.47; and Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., 123.23.

Unit 116’s Linda Burroughsford slips from 131st to 202nd with her 51.78. Davis Heussler plummets from 113th to 267th with his 47.17.  The list stops at 37.66.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

Ron Smith of Chicago moves from second to first with a 208.50-point month, reaching 551.80. Then it’s Kevin Bathurst of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 433.66; Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., 419.72; and January’s leader, Jacob Morgan of Madison, Wis., 410.81.

Then it’s Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., 403.32; Billy Miller and Curtis Cheek, both of Las Vegas, with 397.38 and 387.60, respectively; Shan Huang of Melbourne, Fla., 385.12; Joe Grue of New York City, 380.63; and Daniel Korbel of Las Vegas, 368.25.

Last year’s No. 2 player, Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., has climbed from 30th to 15th, reaching 315.27 with a 166.98-point month.

The legendary Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., advances 63rd to 37th with a 127.78-point month, reaching 243.77.  

District 5 leader Sue Lan Ma is 97th. After a 17-point month, Buffalo native Joel Wooldridge, who now plays out of Astoria, Queens, is down from 107th to 260th with 113.73. The list stops at 86.95.

Bridge Blog 1077: Promises, promises

I was so very resolute when 2018 began. No games under 40%. That warranty lasted for about as long as a Takata airbag. By the time the year was over, I visited the 30s some three dozen times.

For 2019, I made no such guarantee. Good thing I didn’t say under 30%, either. First game of the year came in at 29.58%, my first sub-30 result since 2016. It was quickly followed by a 31.60%.

That ended the visits to the lower extremities in January. February, however, was a basement blow-out. Four in the space of seven games mid-month, plus a lowball 30.36% last Tuesday. Sprinkled in between were a few spikes of success – notably the 60.42% last Monday with Bill Boardman in the ACBL Interclub game and a year-to-date peak of 65.58% a week earlier with June Feuerstein.

None of those translate into great gobs of master points, though, since this was not a month of constant extra-point joy at the Airport Bridge Club. Looks like the total for February is going to be just short of 10.