Bridge Blog 1108: Buffalo Regional Tournament -- Looking Back

One of the teams that beat us in the Friday/Saturday Knock-Outs. From left, Manju Ceylony, Ken Meier, Shakeel Ahmad and Ten-Pao Lee. 

       Considering that I spent only a day and a half at the tables, not the worst tournament for me, personally. Scraps of red points, to be sure, but at least it wasn’t a shutout, like that year in Niagara Falls. 1.75. Tied for 307th with Pat Kilbury and Jeff Oshlag.

       My teammates played more, did better. Partner Ruth Wurster connected for 3.60 points. Joe Rooney got 3.15. Dotty May had 3.40.     

       Tournament champions were a couple pros we’ve seen here before – Jonathan Steinberg of Toronto and young Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C. 91.28 points, the both of them. They got 38.17 of their points by winning the Friday-Saturday knock-outs and another 15.40 by winning the Sunday Swiss team game.

       Runners-up were perennial favorites from Ohio – Stephanie and Robert Alexander from Mentor, both with 66.54. Then an Ohio foursome tied for fifth with 64.01 points – Phillip Becker, Fleur Howard and Hope and Brian Ellis.

       Buffalo players started showing up just outside the Top 10. Saleh Fetouh was 11th with 55.85. Glenn Milgrim, whose name showed up in Frank Stewart’s syndicated bridge column in The News during the tournament, was 12th with 53.47. Jay Costello was 14th with 51.26 and Jay Levy was 15th with 48.17. Of people I play against regularly, best was Linda Burroughsford, 20th with 42.32.

       It seemed like attendance was light at this regional. Really light. In all, there were 597 tables – 34 of them in the Sunday Swiss team finale. 380 players got points.

       Let’s look back at previous years:

       2018 – 678 tables, 40 for Sunday Swiss, 475 players got points. I got 7.92.

       2017 – 628 tables, 41 for Sunday Swiss, 431 players got points. I got 16.68.

       2016 – 718 tables, 43 for Sunday Swiss. 522 players got points. I got 15.66.

       2015 – (first at the Adam’s Mark) 699 tables, 41 for Sunday Swiss. 487 players got points. I got 5.38.

       2014 – (at the Hamburg Fairgrounds). 671 tables, 45 for Sunday Swiss. 476 players got points. I got 9.77.

       2013 – (June tournament, the last at the Grand Island Holiday Inn). 886 tables, 48 for Sunday Swiss. 563 players got points. I got 4.59.

       2012 – (Grand Island). 1,092 tables, 67 for Sunday Swiss. 705 players got points. I got 12.12.

       2011 – (Grand Island). 918 tables, 56 for Sunday Swiss. 604 players got points. I got 6.97.

       2010 – (Grand Island). 1,021 tables, 62 for Sunday Swiss. 709 players got points. I got 7.59.

       2009 – (Grand Island). 1,047 tables. 62 for Sunday Swiss. 746 players got points. I got 4.15.

       Meanwhile, now that it's the Buffalo Grand, it seemed like the hotel formerly known as the Adam’s Mark is more run-down than ever. The millions in new investment haven’t kicked in yet. As they used to say in Brooklyn –wait’ll next year.

Bridge Blog 1107: Buffalo Regional Tournament

       Three weeks ago – I discover that it’s too late to ask for Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday nights off from work, as I had intended. New plan: Forget about Tuesday and Wednesday, play Thursday, Friday and Saturday, work as usual Sunday. See if I can come to the office late on Saturday afternoon.

       Two weeks ago – Canadian partner Selina Volpatti announces that she’ll play with me Thursday, Friday and Saturday and has booked a room in the tournament hotel – the Buffalo Grand Hotel, formerly the Adam’s Mark. Dimly recall that I may have made other plans for Friday and Saturday. Did I cancel them?

       Tuesday – Selina texts that she can’t play Thursday. Has a preliminary appointment for her medical procedure next week.

       Wednesday – Another text from Selina. She’s got a cold. Needs to be healthy for her procedure. No regional for her.

Drop into the tournament at lunchtime to put in my name at the Partnership Desk for Thursday and Friday. Pairs games, team games, I’ll play anything. Run into Dorothy May, who says we’re teammates Friday. Must not have canceled that prior arrangement. Take back ticket asking for a Friday partner and confirm by e-mail that evening that I’ve had a Friday-Saturday date all the time – Ruth Wurster.

Thursday – Present myself at the Partnership Desk at 9:45 a.m. Here are two guys who want to play in the team game, Dian Petrov says. Can you round up a partner? I give a glance at Jim Gullo behind the desk, who has been a last-minute partner in the past. No, he says, he’s in the third round of a knock-out game. No other free agents show up. An unexpected day off. What to do? It’s raining. I gas up the car, go home and hit the computer.

Friday – Swiss team games. Split up into little bitty sections. Six teams in ours, all looking like they’ve had more experience. I make a big mistake in the first round of the day, allowing the opponents make a contract they should have lost, and it costs us 6 victory points. Nevertheless, we have two wins and two losses and a shred of hope when we come to the fifth and final round.  It’s against the Weltes, John and Martha. They slam dunk us, shut us out, and win the section – 17.12 points. We’re last on the list, but our two wins send us out the door with a little something – 1.04 red points.  

Saturday – Friday Swiss winners get to play knock-outs for a big championship. Friday losers get to play a compact knock-out game in the morning. We lose our first match, which knocks us into a consolation round – a three-way round robin. We manage to win one of those two games, lose the other badly to a team that includes two of Buffalo’s best players – Saleh Fetouh and Jay Costello. There’s consolation, though. 0.71 of a red point.

Ruth is game to play in the afternoon. I check with the office to see if it’s cool to come in late. It’s not. Two people have called in sick, the dayside city editor tells me. After 4 p.m., I’m the only staffer on the news-gathering side of things. For me, tournament over.  

      

Bridge Blog 1106: Obliterated in September (now complete)

I missed a bunch of September. A big wedding in New York City consumed the first week. Bronchitis and heaven knows what else had me down and out in the middle of the month. Back at play, I was still pretty sick and worthless. How bad was it? I have collected more points in two weeks of October than I did in all of September.

So let’s see. As of Sept. 30, my Ace of Clubs total for points earned in club play stood at 98.26, up only 0.89 from August. Wait a minute! That’s just my St. Catharines winnings. My paltry collection of points from the Airport Bridge Club, 5 or 6 of them, weren’t sent in. That’s going to diminish not just me, but everyone who plays at the Airport Club in this month’s standings.

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

Linda Burroughsford, 134.42 (fourth among all players in Unit 116); Martin Pieterse, 130.27 (fifth); Fred Yellen, 127.85 (seventh); moi, 98.26 (#18); Ken Meier, 90.31 (#21); David Heussler, 84.93 (#24); Gene Finton, 84.22 (#25); John Sinclair, 81.55 (#28); Dorothy May, 74.52 (#34); Art Matthies, 62.17 (#48).

Ace of Clubs. Unit 116. All players.

Yep, Alan Greer on top, unchanged at 307.92. Then it’s Nancy Wolstoncroft, 194.05; John Welte, 143.37; Linda Burroughsford, 134.42; Martin Pieterse, 130.27; Martha Welte, 129.61; Fred Yellen, 127.85; Gay Simpson, 123.68; Bud Seidenberg, 120.86; Barbara Libby, 118.58; and #11 – Mike Silverman 118.39. David Millward, who had 124.64 a month ago, has vanished.

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

Play elsewhere bumped up numbers in this division. A month ago, I had 104.58. Now I’ve transposed a few numbers – 108.54.

Linda Burroughsford, 380.26, still first among all Unit 116 players; Davis Heussler, 359.28, still second overall; Ken Meier, 190.53 (#14); Fred Yellen, 161.68 (#19); Martin Pieterse, 144.31 (#24); John Sinclair, 118.66 (#32); moi, 108.54 (#35); Gene Finton, 103.45 (#41); Art Matthies, 84.71 (#48); and Dorothy May, 83.70 (#50).

Mini-McKenney. Unit 116. All players.

Still on top is Linda Burroughsford with 380.26, up 25.06 for the month. Davis Heussler is back in second with 359.28, adding 26.22 for the month.

Then it’s Saleh Fetouh, 349.26; John Welte, 348.28; Martha Welte, 334.52; Alan Greer, 334.39; Mike Ryan, 321.08; Glenn Milgrim, 240.25; Dian Pietrov, 240.24; and John Ziemer, 230.24.

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

Three Buffalo players lead the list, with six of us in the Top 11 and nine in the Top 20.

Linda Burroughsford, 134.42 (#11 among all players in District 5); Martin Pieterse, 130.27 (#13); Fred Yellen, 127.85 (#16); Kenneth Eichler of Murrysville, Pa., 110.98 (#35); Judith Shapiro, 105.01 (#43); Barbara Schidlowski of Kent, Ohio, 99.80 (#50); moi, 98.26 (#53); James Wheeler of Edinburg, Pa., 96.04 (#55); Ken Meier, 90.31 (#62) and Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 88.71 (#68).

Ace of Clubs. District 5. All players.

Even without the Airport Bridge Club reporting, Buffalonians hold the top two spots and seven of the Top 20.

It’s Alan Greer, 307.92; Nancy Wolstoncroft, 194.05; Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 188.73; Arlene Port of Pittsburgh, 155.82; Stephanie and Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, 155.11 and 154.53, respectively; Constance Hoechstetter of Moon Township, Pa., 147.37; Bruce Cahoon of Akron, Ohio., 145.80; and John Welte, 143.37.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. Ruby Life Masters.

Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler continue one-two – Linda with 380.26; Davis with 359.28. Among all District 5 players, Linda is #14 and Davis is #15.

After that, it’s James Fox of Canonsburg, Pa., 196,13 (#51); Ken Meier, 190.53 (#57); Robert Zimmerman of Pittsburgh, 190.24 (#58); Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 169.50 (#69); Fred Yellen, 161.68 (#80); Monica Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohiom, 155.38 (#83); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 149.87; and Elena Steingraf of North Canton, Ohio, 147.95.

Me? I’m #23 among the Rubies, #163 overall.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. All players.

Still on top is Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio. After an 83.25-point month, she has 758.06. New Number Two is Kathleen Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, with 525.38 after 162.27-point month. Here’s rest of the Top 10:

Bernie Greenspan, 521.12; Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 503.75; Don Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, 497.50; Phillip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, 464.01; Stephanie and Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, 459.96 and 459.38, respectively; Fred Schenker of Pittsburgh, 450.68; and Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 449.82.

Resuming the roundup on Oct. 17 ...

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

The May leader, Jim Loffree of Naples, Fla., has reclaimed the lead. All it took was a 34.46-point month. He now has 276.47. He supplants last month’s Ace king, Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., who stood pat at 270.42 (or maybe his club missed the reporting deadline, too). August leader Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., is third with 268.58 after a 17.30-point month.

Rest of the Top 10: Mason Barge of Atlanta, 262.17; Mark Crumrine of Ocala, Fla., 252.52; John Miller of Chicago, 236.44; Sidney Perutz of Dallas, 236.43; Christopher Smith of Vero Beach, Fla., 229.35; Christine Converse of Highland Beach, Fla., 228.86; and Bruce Ladin of Harwood Heights, Ill., 224.97. Not far behind are Louis Vanos of Ocean Springs, Miss., 224.71; Aivars Lapins of Cambria, Calif., 224.49; and Eileen Boal of Albany, Ore., 223.24.

Here’s where we find out what happened to the missing David Millward. He’s considered to be back in Vero Beach, Fla., tied for #195 with 126.04 points. Wonder if he’s shy a few points from Buffalo like I am. The list this month stops at 99.11 points. I should be on it, but I’m not.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

Still Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta with 546.15, thanks to a 78.17-point month in the clubs (!). He extends his margin over April leader Neil Silverman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who has 435.51 after a mere 53.75-point September.

After that, it’s En Xie of St. Louis with 405.19, advancing from fourth to third with a 53.03-point effort. David Hudson of The Villages, Fla., with 394.54, jumping from sixth to fourth with a 53.90-point month.

The rest? Francine Feldman of Boca Raton, Fla., 392.88; Jeff Edelstein of Tampa, Fla., 379.97; Harry Kaufmann of North Redington Beach, Fla., 373.35; Sheila Gabay of Newton, Mass., 368.32; Shiv Arora of Boca Raton, 364.40; and Robert Epstein of Atlanta, 351.52.

April-May leader Barbara Sartorius of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., fifth in August and ninth last month, plummets to #15 with 325.62 after a 10.98-point September. Unit 116 and District 5 leader Alan Greer free falls even further, from #12 to #22, his 307.92 points unchanged from a month earlier, thanks to late reporting. Last person on the Top 500 list has 168.91.

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

Still only two players above 600 points. Harrison Luba of Lynnfield, Mass., who took the lead in August, had a 46.56-point month and stands at 694.73. Thomas Rush of Houston, the man he displaced, is still second with 650.54 after a 50.34-point effort.

Dolores Aquino of Houston sits third, overtaking Ruby leader Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark. She has 566.84 after earning 58 points even. Lucas has 543.26.

Then it’s Christopher Smith of Vero Beach, Fla., 476.41; Murali Nair of Phoenix, 437.90; Amy Casanova of Portland, Ore., 472.05; Samuel Amer of New York City, 445.55; Mason Barge of Atlanta, 415.55; and Ann Buchholz of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., 412.73. The list cuts off at 159.19.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

Apparently a low month on the high end of the tournament circuit, low meaning less than universal triple-figure winnings.

Leader Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., who has 1,880.06 points, only accumulated 91.87 more.

Moving up from fourth to second is Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., with 1,858 even. He found 218.38 points out there. Joe Grue of New York City advanced, too, from fifth to third with 1,775.75, thanks to an additional 189.14.

July leader Shan Huang, also from Melbourne, Fla., slipped from second to fourth with 1,775.58 (73.95-point month). And Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., descended from third to fifth with 1,750.74 (92.93-point month).

Then it’s Jacob Morgan of Madison, Wis., 1,680.72 (240.50 more points); Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., 1,499.04 (130.39 more); John Hurd of New York City, 1,477.24 (113.13); Geoff Hampson of Las Vegas, 1,431.07 (none at all); and Eric Rodwell of Clearwater, Fla., 1,417.67 (94.16).

Native Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge, has changed his home city from Astoria, Queens, to Jackson Heights, but stays in place at #14 with 1,333.31 after an 88.96-point month. District 5 leader Sue Lan Ma (who I just saw in the hallway at the Buffalo Regional) is up to #76 from #84 in August. The list cuts off at 378.47. No Unit 116 players are on it. 

Bridge Blog 1105: Long look back at August (now complete)

Here it is, the end of September and I barely remember August. Better check into the ACBL master point races before they put the new totals up in a few days.

As of Aug. 31, My Ace of Clubs total for points earned in club play stood at 97.35, up 14.52 from July. And the Mini-McKenney total, all points earned everywhere, has reached 104.54, also up 14.52. Yes, for the second month in a row, all my new points are club points. So how does that stack up against everyone else? 

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

A middling kind of month keeps me in fifth place among Buffalo players. Meanwhile, Martin Pieterse, who took first place in June, has been overtaken by Linda Burroughford, who jumped from third place in July. Here’s the list:

Linda Burroughsford, 131.52 (up to #4 from #5 among all players in Unit 116); Martin Pieterse, 130.27 (dropping to #5 overall from #3); David Millward, 124.64 (down from #4 to #7 overall); Fred Yellen, 105.70 (down to #15 overall from #11); moi, 97.35 (up to #16 overall from #18); Ken Meier holding steady in sixth with 87.06 (#22 overall); Davis Heussler still seventh with 78.42 (#29); John Sinclair, 77.83 (#30). swapping places with Gene Finton, 77.08 (#31); and Dorothy May, 73.10 (still #33).

Ace of Clubs. Unit 116. All players.

Alan Greer has a 58.03-point month. He now stands at 307.92. Then it’s Nancy Wolstoncroft with a 38.96-point month to reach 191.31. John Welte, with a 33.02-point month, sits third with 140.30; with Linda Burroughsford next with 131.52. After that, it’s Martin Pieterse, 130.27; Martha Welte, 126.54; David Millward, 124.64; Gay Simpson, 122.63; Barbara Libby, 118.68; and Mike Silverman, 118.39.

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

No August tournaments for Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler, whose totals increased only modestly here. Linda’s reign continues with 355.20. She also remains first in the entire unit. Davis, who has 333.50, has slipped one notch to third place overall in the unit.

The rest of the Top 10 remains pretty much in the places they occupied a month ago: Ken Meier, 181.92 (still #13 overall); Martin Pieterse, 144.31 (#20, down from #18); David Millward, 137.43 (#24, down from #21); Fred Yellen, 134.73 (#25, down from #22); John Sinclair, 114.94 (#30, down from #27); moi, 104.54 (#36, down from #33); Gene Finton, 92.04 (#42, up from #43); and Dorothy May, 81.31 (#46), swapping places with Art Matthies, 80.49 (#49).

Mini-McKenney. Unit 116. All players.

Same players in the Top 10, but a little jockeying for places. Still on top is Linda Burroughsford with 355.20. Alan Greer regains second place with 334.39. David Heussler is right behind with 333.50.

Holding steady is John Welte, 313.76. Mike Ryan, 302.39, swaps seats with Martha Welte, 300 even. Saleh Fetouh, 277.80, exchanges places with Glenn Milgrim, 240.25. Rounding out the Top 10 are John Ziemer, 214.86; and Nancy Wolstoncroft, 200.09.

Ace of Clubs. District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh). Ruby Life Masters. Four Buffalo players lead the list, with six of us in the Top 10 and 10 in the Top 20.

Top five are Linda Burroughsford, displacing Martin Pieterse on top, with 131.52. She holds steady at #10 among all players in the district.

Martin Pieterse slips to second with 130.27 (down to #11 from #5 in the district). David Millward descends to third with 124.65 (also down to #16 from #9).

Fred Yellen stays fourth with 105.70 (but slips to #32 from #23). I slide to seventh from fifth with my 97.35 (but hold steady at #42 overall).

Cutting ahead of me are Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 99.73 (up to #38 from #43); and Kenneth Eichler of Murrysville, Pa., thanks to a 33.89-point month, which gives him 97.61 (up to #41 from #48).

On my heels is James Wheeler of Edinburg, Pa., 96.04, (up to #44 from #57 overall), leaping ahead of Ken Meier, seventh a month ago, now ninth with 87.06 (#59 overall, down from #45). Rounding out the Top 10 is Barbara Schidlowski of Kent, Ohio, with 85.33 (#61). Buffalo’s Davis Heussler, tenth among Rubies last month, now is #12 (#79 overall, down from #68).

Ace of Clubs. District 5. All players.

Buffalonians hold the top two spots and 10 of the Top 20.

Alan Greer, with a 48.03-point month, leads with 307.92. Nancy Wolstoncroft, after a 38.96-point month, has 191.31, eclipsing perennial Pittsburgh champ Reanette Frobouck, who picked up only 6.03 to reach 177.44.

Then it’s Stephanie and Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, leaping to fourth and fifth place from #11 and #12 after 34.59-point months, reaching 143.67 and 143.09, respectively.

Constance Hoechstetter of Moon Township, Pa., maintains her grip on sixth place with 142.13. Arlene Port falls from fourth to seventh with 140.55. Buffalo’s John Welte climbs from #13 to eighth with 140.30. Then it’s Kenneth Bergman of Wexford, Pa., 138.93; and Ruby leader Linda Burroughsford, 131.52.

After that it’s Martin Pieterse, 130.27; Bruce Cahoon of Akron, Ohio., 130.10; Martha Welte, 126.54; Lynn Rafferty of Columbiana, Ohio., 126.19; Allen Selling of Erie, Pa., 124.98; David Millward, 124.64; Gay Simpson, 122.63; Barbara Libby, 118.68; Judy Haffner of Pittsburgh, 118.48; and Mike Silverman, 118.39.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. Ruby Life Masters.

Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler continue one-two – Linda with 355.20; Davis with 333.50. Among all District 5 players, Linda improved to #12 from #13. Davis went to #15 from #14.

Ken Meier has moved into third from fifth place with 181.92 (#46 overall, up from #52). Going to fourth from sixth is Doug Snyder of Shaker Heights, Ohio, with 179.21 (#49).

Then it’s James Fox of Canonburg, Pa., 173.08 (#57); Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 159.27 (#65); Martin Pieterse, 140.02 (#85) and David Millward, 137.43 (#89).

Where am I with my 104.54? #18 among the Rubies, up from #20, and #138 among all players in the district, up from #149.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. All players.

No stopping perennial leader Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio. Thanks to a 143.22-point month, she now has a better than 200-point lead over another Ohioan, Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood. Here’s the Top 10:

Sue Lan Ma, 674.81; Bernie Greenspan, 461.15;  Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 455.97; Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, up to fourth from eighth with a 99.60-point month, reaching 434.30. Phillip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, 403.30, swaps places with Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, 380.51.

Then it’s Kenneth Kranyak of Parma, Ohio, 374.38; Stephanie and Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio; 372.74 and 372.16; and Kathleen Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, 363.11. Seven Buffalonians occupy places between #12 and #21. 

And finally, here on Oct. 3, August’s national leaders:  

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

Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., with 270.42, supplants Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., on top. He has 251.28, improved by only 5.90 in August.

Jim Loffree of Naples, Fla., leader in May, second in June, moves from fourth to third with 242.01. Sidney Perutz of Dallas advances from fifth to fourth with 236.03. They displace Mason Barge of Atlanta, reaching 229.24 after only a 14.45-point month.

The rest of the Top 10: Mark Crumrine, a Top 10 newcomer, 222.79; ditto with John Miller of Chicago, 209.13. They drop Bruce Ladin of Harwood Heights, Ill., to eighth from sixth, with 208.35. Then come Christine Converse of Highland Beach, Fla., 207.28; and Christopher Smith of Vero Beach, Fla., 203.84.

Unit 116 leader Linda Burroughsford moves up to #88 from #116 in July with 131.52. Martin Pieterse is now #90, down from #73, with 130.27. David Millward is #109, down from #100, with 124.64. Fred Yellen, with 105.70, is #257, down from #219. I’m #371, up from #392, with 97.35. Ken Meier has dropped from the Top 500. The list stops at 88.93.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta has a 61.31-point month to reach a total of 467.98, extending his lead over April leader Neil Silverman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who had only 27.68 in August and has 381.76 now.

April-May leader Barbara Sartorius of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., third in July and fifth in August, drops to ninth with 314.64, after a mere 17.27-point month. Ahead of her now are Francine Feldman of Boca Raton, Fla., with 352.40 (a 44.64-point month), who squeezed past En Xie of St. Louis with 352.16 (a 43.01-point month).

After that, David Hudson of The Villages, Fla., 340.64 (56.92-point month) moves from seventh to fifth. Shiv Arora of Boca Raton, Fla., keeps sixth with 335.85 (45.37-point month). Harry Kaufmann of North Redington Beach, Fla., slips from fifth to seventh with 333.96 (40.30-point month). Jeff Edelstein of Tampa debuts eighth with 323.07. Barbara Sartorius debuts ninth with 314.64. And Jack Borenstein of Dallas, after a 26.41-point month, has 308.49, dropping from eighth to tenth. 

Unit 116 and District 5 leader Alan Greer is #12 with 307.92, up from #17. Nancy Wolstoncroft takes another leap, to #190 from #287, with 191.31. And that’s it for Buffalonians. The list cuts off at 150.79.

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

Now four players have reached the half-century mark and two of them have surpassed 600.

New leader is Harrison Luba of Lynnfield, Mass., with 648.17. Third a month ago, he had another big month, 149.12 points.

He bumped Thomas Rush of Houston to second place. Rush collected only 87.58 points to reach 600.20.

Dropping to third is Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., with 542.22 after a 27.74-point month. Dolores Aquino of Houston continues fourth with 508.84 (an 87.59-point month).

Then it’s Amy Casanova of Portland, Ore., 450.26; Murali Nair of Phoenix, 431.25; Christopher Smith of Vero Beach, Fla., 427.03; Samuel Amer of New York City, 412.71; Shailesh Gupta of Aliso Viejo, Calif., 385.84; and Bill Cook of Louisville, Ky., 383.95.

Unit 116’s Linda Burroughsford drops to #20 from #15 with 355.20. Davis Heussler falls to #25 from #18 with 333.50. Ken Meier up again, #242 from #249, with 181.92. David Millward, last man on the list a month ago, is missing. The list cuts off at 142.09.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

Twenty-seven players now have gone into four figures and it’s a bit of a dogfight on top.

Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., leads with 1,788.19 after a 288.50-point month. He supplanted Shan Huang, also of Melbourne, Fla., with 1,701.63 after a 193.77-point effort in August.

Then it’s Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., collecting another 343.10 in August to take third with 1,657.81. Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., moves from sixth to fourth with a 389.76-point month, for a total of 1,639.68.

They bump Joe Grue of New York City, from third to fifth. His 265.77-point month left him with 1,586.61.

Then it’s Jacob Morgan of Madison, Wis., 1,440.22; Geoff Hampson of Las Vegas, 1,431.07; Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., 1,368.65; John Hurd of New York City, 1,364.11; and Eric Rodwell of Clearwater, Fla., 1,323.51.

Native Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge, now based in Astoria, Queens, was #10 in July, but after a 66.39-point month, he’s dropped to #14 with 1,244.35.

As for others we know and love, District 5 leader Sue Lan Ma rebounds to #84 from #116. Unit 116 leader Linda Burroughsford slips to #471 from #413. Davis Heussler doesn’t make the list. It cuts off at 345.99.

Bridge Blog 1104: Buffalo Fall Sectional Day III

In his considerable wisdom, teammate Jim Gullo summed up our Sunday Swiss team experience this way – there’s always one hand that makes the difference between winning and losing.

In the first match, against the estimable Christy Kellogg and Bert Hargeshimer, that was a 6 No Trump slam, bid and made at the other table. Partner Denise Slattery and I signed off at 3 NT and to make matters worse, I opted to avoid the winning Heart finesse and won only 10 tricks. That cost us 11 International Match Points. Take that away and we wouldn’t have lost the match, 25-19.

But Christy and Bert are A-list players (as are Jim Gullo and myself). Match 2 pitted us against Sue Neubecker and Jo Nasoff-Finton, B players with no shortage of experience, but B players nevertheless. Instead of having our way with them, however, we suffered our worst defeat of the day, 38-11. It wasn’t just one hand that made the difference. There were three. Jim and his partner, Elaine Kurasiewicz, spent the interval between matches disputing each others’ bidding methods.

Match 3 found us sitting opposite another good team down on its luck – an even better B-rated bunch that included Allen Beroza and Bob Sommerstein. Unclear in retrospect whether we should have defeated their 3 NT contract on Board 3 or whether our teammates should have made it, but that was the big one. To succeed completely, though, Denise and I needed to stop bidding on Board 6, where we went down 3 vulnerable at a mere 2 Spades. Those two boards cost us 11 and 5 IMPs, respectively. We lost 20-8.

Winless going into Match 4, we met the Bradford, Pa., ladies – Maxine Davis and Bonnie Smith – who had driven 2 hours Sunday morning to play with us. Here we gave away a 13 IMP board – Elaine and Jim let their opponents make a slam – but won all the others. The margin was 27-13, our first victory of the day, just in time for the lunch break.

We should have won Match 5 against a C-rated team that, at our table, included Mary Ball and Joyce Frayer, but these adorable ladies nailed us, thanks to Board 17. Mary opened 1 NT, Denise overcalled 2 Hearts. Cappelletti, I concluded. Hearts and a minor suit. I had the minors and only a singleton Heart. I bid 2 NT to ask Denise which one. She left me there. Down 4. An 11 IMP setback. We lost the match, 17-15.

For Match 6, we met another down-in-the-depths team in the persons of Judy and Bob Kaprove. We might have given them their first victory of the day had Denise not bid us up to an inspired 6 Spade slam, which I brought home. At the other table, they didn’t bid the slam and they didn’t take 12 tricks. We really needed those 12 IMPs. Our margin of victory was only 15-7.

We could have won Match 7, too, had Denise not abandoned what had been a day of consistency and self-control on Board 27, a severely distributional hand. Denise challenged opponents Florence Boyd and Ruth Wurster with a high-level Diamond overbid, then upped the ante even further with a 5 Heart bid, which was promptly doubled. I had three low Hearts, three Diamonds with the Ace, maybe 7 high-card points total. Do I bid 6 Diamonds, which also will be doubled? The axiom stipulates: Don’t save your partner. But in this case, partner needed saving. 5 Hearts went down 8 for a minus 2,000 score, a number you never want to see in Swiss teams. Six Diamonds doubled? Down three perhaps. We gave away 18 IMPs and lost 30-17.

Our reward for the day – two wins worth 0.26 silver points apiece. Add that what Art Matthies and I accumulated Friday afternoon and I came away with 3.09 points for the tournament.

Meanwhile, Swiss teams weren’t as rewarding this time as they have been at other sectionals. There were only 18 teams, continuing the blight on attendance that began on Friday (the Canadians who usually come to our sectionals stayed away). The winning foursome – local expert Jay Levy, his protégé Ethan Xie and two out-of-towners – collected just 7.70 silver points.  

Bridge Blog 1103: Buffalo Fall Sectional, Days I and II

         “How’d we do this morning?” I ask partner Art Matthies as he returns to the event room at the Main-Transit Fire Hall in Amherst during the lunch break Friday. “We were within hailing distance,” he declares.

         Hailing distance turns out to be half a match point, a mere 0.30% behind Dotty May and Joe Rooney, who are third in the A stratification in the morning side game. One more trick somewhere – or maybe less of a bumpy start to the day – and we’d be the ones winning 1.07 silver master points.

         Nevertheless, our 54.46% is more than respectable. We have high hopes for the afternoon.

         It’s a drastically smaller side game after lunch – 3½ tables instead of the eight in the morning session – and Art and I get the final sit-out. So although it feels like a good game, we don’t stick around to see how we did. It isn’t until late in the evening that I get to check my e-mail and discover we’re head and shoulders above the rest – 58.75%. 2.57 silver points.

         I hope to repeat Friday’s good fortune Saturday with Judie Bailey, but we fail in our first strategy. We don’t get into the side game. Judie’s late. Director Brian Meyer is ready to start things rolling when she arrives. Adding us to the side game would create half a table. And the big double-session open game is half a table short. We could create two problems, he says, or no problems.

         It’s Judie’s birthday and I try mightily to stifle negativity, but we’re having a bad day, a really bad day – both of us. We don’t take all the tricks we should. We forget how many trumps we’ve drawn. We fail to find our maximum contracts. 

Plus we are playing extraordinarily slowly. We get admonitions from Brian Meyer. We test the patience of Bud Seidenberg and Jay Levy, who are following us East-West. They wait at the change of every round. (Their reward comes later – they’re first overall for the day.)

         We finish the game so late that we get only a half hour for lunch. Judie wants a birthday lunch at Anderson’s, the frozen custard and roast beef place a couple minutes down Main Street. When we return, seconds after the afternoon session begins, I catch a quick look at the morning scores. 37.18%. Miraculously, we’re not last. Just within hailing distance.

         Vowing to do better in the afternoon, we actually do, but we don’t raise any ripples. 43.11%, 10th out of 13 pairs.

         At least Sunday should provide some sort of salvation. It’s rare to get shut out entirely at Swiss teams, although it can happen. Plus I get reunited with partner Denise Slattery, who’s moved away to the countryside south of Rochester. “I don’t come back to Buffalo for just anybody,” she says Saturday morning.

Bridge Blog 1102-A: Blondes Have More Fun

I didn’t see her. I scanned the whole room Friday, Sept. 6, at the Bridge Centre of Niagara in St. Catharines, Ont., and nobody sitting in her customary seat – South – looked like Selina Volpatti.

Yes, she’s here, director Diane Kunselman said. Table 3. I looked. I looked again. Omigod. She’s a blonde!

Her son-in-law, a hair stylist, wanted to do it and she agreed, sitting under bleach for six hours. I quickly adjusted to the new Selina, liking her more and more as the game progressed. And what a good game it was. 58.01%. Second North-South. 0.91 of a point. Blondes really do have more fun.

The next day, she inspired similar surprises at the Airport Bridge Club in Cheektowaga. Pawan Matta, who is letting her hair go gray, was particularly delighted. But we couldn’t recreate the fun. 43.65%.