By the Beer Dude
Hear Ye, Hear Ye! www.berunit497.org
Games move to the Madera Clubhouse June 17; No games June 12 & 15
I almost escaped lamentation mode for a month, but I heard 5/4 that our “sunbird” Gordon Forbes, who split seasons between here & Tucson, passed away over the May 2-3 weekend (double whammy from heart attack & pancreatic cancer). Gordon was a helluva nice guy who enjoyed helping newbies acclimate themselves to duplicate; we extend our sympathies to his family & partners.
STAC week started well for Chris Barrere & Helen Studabaker, 69.59% game; how high did that hit the A overalls? The hands played (boards 1-28) were often hella weird, distributional freaks, & all over the yard part score hands dominated; nothing remotely resembling a flat board.
Unit stuff: Mucho May game results will be here in July; June 28 game is our first of two NAP qualifiers; we’ll have our usual “last chance” game on Aug. 30. So with this space, welcome new members Margaret Anstrand & Adrienne Ricker, & transfer-back Steve Kanzee (we feel better, right?). Sally Woolsey crossed the 7500 barrier to Emerald LM as well.
The rest of you keep your ACBL memberships current, please; the kickback we get from ACBL (about $3.50/member/year) helps us keep what you pay to play as cheap as it is in District 21 (which, to its credit, has most of the cheapest regional card fees in the US; they do it right!).
What’s new at the clubs? Not much; Helen & Carol are on a 3-month roll as Monday MP champs; John Begley repeated at LO. Top % games were Art & Joanne Cobeen’s 62.5% Mon., H-J’s 66.03% Wed., & Larry & Sue Zeni’s Friday 68.37%. June club championship are Wed., 17th for LO & Mon., 22nd (pushed back a week because of the move) for ECBC.
By Rich Tirissini
The “April Showers” Sectional in Reno was attended by many of our unit members. Bob Garret and Ken Grafton had the second and third highest masterpoint totals in the tournament with 19.96 and 19.20. Paul & Brenda Pugsely, Bob & Roberta Anderson, Martin Sklar, Donna McLeod, and Julie Cadinalli also placed well. Al Monroe & Donna Deroos finished first in the Wednesday 100/300/500 Pairs. On Saturday Paul & Brenda Pugsely were first in the 750/2000/+ Pairs while Bob Garret & Daniel Voorhies teamed with Ken Grafton & Martin Sklar to win the Bracket 1 Knockout Teams event. Bob Garret & Ken Grafton later participated in a first place finish in the Stratified Swiss Teams.
Gary Nitzberg had the highest masterpoint total at the Carson Valley Bridge Club for April with 4.17 MPs. Ken Grafton was second with 3.77 masterpoints, and Beverly Batdorf’s 3.11 was good for third.
We were very saddened to hear about passing of Ann Lynn. Ann and her husband Jerry played bridge regularly at the Carson Bridge Center since its inception more than eight years ago, and helped greatly in the functioning of the club.
Ann was also very active in her community and at the St. Theresa of Avila Catholic Church, where numerous friends were in attendance at her memorial mass.
John Guerry has informed us that Ethel Rosenfeld, his long time bridge partner, recently passed away in New York. Ethel had spent her summers at Lake Tahoe for many years, playing regularly at the Carson- Tahoe Unit clubs. We benefitted greatly from her prodigious bridge expertise and her warm personality.
Game Results: Carson Bridge Center, unit game April 5: N/S 1A, Roberta Anderson & Betty Clamp; 2A (1B), Joyce Barrett & Marie Coffey; 3A, Donna McLeod & Virginia Kellermeyer; 4A (1B), Edwin & Regina Straver; E/W 1A, Doug & Janet Braman; 2A, Ben McLeod & Paul Ringer; 3A, Marie Bresch & Thelma Nelson; 4, Brenda & Paul Pugsley. Carson Valley Bridge Club: April 6: 1A, Nancy Palmer & Donna McLeod; 2A, Beverly Batdorf & Ben McLeod; 3A, Gladys Turissini & Konrad Garret; 4A (1B), Roxanne Hart & Bruce Mitchener; April 13: 1A, Carole Voge & Jony Sellers; 2A, Imogene Meyer & Ken Grafton; 3A (2B), Marie Coffey & Nancy Palmer; April 20: 1A, Fran Coursey & Bob Allgeier; 2B, Roxanne Hart & Bruce Mitchener; 3A, Theresa Pinney & Geoffrey Stokes; April 27: 1A, Ruth Rouse & Rich Turissini; 2A, Ken Grafton & Bruce Mitchener; 3A, Konrad Garret & Gladys Turissini.
By Chris Pisarra
Wow! Does the Bridge Center look great? Amazing what a fresh coat of paint will do for a place. New furniture, tablecloths, a little new art on the wall, it’s like a whole new place.
Now if only I could find some new skills when I play there.
The Iron Horse Sectional was last month, and Bert Hall was the top local masterpoint winner. He won Bracket 2 of the Swiss and placed high in the Open Pairs. Bert holds the record for the number of times he has claimed to have “just made Life Master” in a shameless attempt to get into my column. Really, all he has to do is just come over on Saturday morning and polish my car.
Other big winners: Frank Concepcion & Andrew Fine topped C in the pairs game. Bill Pollacek & Carol Griffin took the B honors in the Elegant Pairs, while Iris Libby & Chris Stack won C. Bert didn’t win his Swiss bracket alone, of course. He was playing with Bill George and some ringers from Sunnyvale.
Judy Keilin has agreed to join the unit board. Thanks, Judy.
Bracket 3 honors went to an all-home- town team, Larry Miller, Andrew Fine, Frank Concepcion and Brad Komsthoeft. ElDonna Dayton & Joyce Goodman topped Bracket 6 with friends from Pleasanton. Susan Cogan, Barbara De Heus, J. Butler and Bill Sullivan walked off with Bracket 7 honors and Bracket 8 went to Martin & Dorothy Seaman and Oscar & Marilyn Krekorian.
All in all, the tournament ran to 255 tables, and almost 1000 masterpoints were given away in the three days. Vernita, Pat & Roz kept everyone happy and full with a great spread of goodies. Kim Yatin brought in special homemade goodies, and got her friends to bring more.
It might have been bigger, but some of us went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, instead. That was a slightly larger tournament; 9712 tables (larger than many nationals), 62,819 masterpoints. Gatlinburg isn’t exactly a glamour spot; the town seems to consist of souvenir stands and Old Tyme Photo Shoppes. All the food is fried, and restaurants seem to be rated by the quality of their salad bar. The boys team (Bandler, Katz, Munson, Tuttle and moi) must have been the third best there; we entered four separate KO events and placed 3rd in all four. Mike Bandler & I were even 3rd in the one side game we played. There just isn’t much glory in going around crowing, “We’re number 3!”
This year, though, there was a girl’s team, too. Marj Russell, Carroll Brooks, Trisha O’Connor & Lynne Humphrey made the journey, and won their KO. Then on Sunday, Lynn & Trisha won the under 300 Pairs game, while Marj & Carol were 4th overall. “We’re Number One!” sounds so much better, don’t you think?
Patty Perry was there, too, winning one KO and placing third (that word again) in another. If this keeps up, we’ll have to move the Iron Horse Sectional to Gatlinburg. I’m sure we can improve the quality of the food.
Now it’s time for me to go watch the grandkids play baseball.
Chris@Pisarra.com
By Sandi Davis
June is charity month for Unit 502! Our charity this year is the Alameda County Food Bank. Dick Hart has organized collection boxes for the clubs and, with the help of Otto Edor and Shirley Rodenborn, will gratefully schlep all of the goodies collected to the food bank at the end of the month. Several clubs will have special games during the month and monetary donations to the food bank are always welcome. Food barrels/boxes will be set up at the East Bay Summer Sectional June 5-7, so bring non-perishables and canned goods to help out folks who may be having a tougher struggle than we are right now. So take your cans down to the sectional at Holy Redeemer Center for some good bridge, good food, and a good time.
Also, the annual membership meeting will be held on Saturday, June 6 at the sectional. This year Roseanne Barr will be presiding. If you have any items for the agenda, please e-mail them to her.
Two of our unit members will be heading to Washington, D.C. for the Summer Nationals representing District 21 in the Grand National Teams event. Jack Scott will represent with his team members in the Flight A GNT while Greg Vance will be compete in the Flight B GNT with his teammates. Wish them good luck; although with these guys, I am sure skill is what mostly got them there.
At the unit game on April 19 Crispin Barrere & John Hadreas (E/W) came in 1st OA with Ching Chao & Ching Hui Hu winning 1st N/S. The May 3 Swiss Teams fielded 25 teams to enjoy delicious pizza and good bridge. Special thanks to Michael Sasso, Tom Pajak, and Mark Kornmann for being well organized with a field this size. Results: Bracket C was won by Robert Berger, Joel Teller, Frank Rooney and Paul Rasmussen. Bracket B was won by Marty Holtz, Les Friedman, Vince De Pasquale and Joe Parker; Bracket A was Victor Chubukov, Monica Guo, Li-Chung Chen and Steve Smolen.
Welcome to the unit to John Chinn!
In addition, we have some more rank advances. Jon Seidel is now a Junior Master. Al Larson has become a Club Master. Glenn Boyce has achieved Regional Master. Thomas McGuire Jr. is now a Life Master and both Kay Andersen and Cass Hawes have achieved the rank of Silver Life Masters.
Congratulations on your achievements!
The membership appreciation picnic will be held at the unit game on July 5 and once again Mary Payne will be organizing and preparing for this annual event. Watch for the flyers with information about cost and reservations or visit the website for the same. It will be a club qualifying game for the North American Pairs (NAP) event so come on down and kill two birds with one stone.
Please note that this year, reservations will be required!
That’s it for this month. Please e-mail me at sandstress@mail2sandra.com with your corrections, glories and debacles!
By Laura Da Costa
Since my last article, the much anticipated move to the new clubhouse has finally occurred.
The last few weeks in the Clinton clubhouse were certainly unique. Among the things we dealt with were the most distributional hands we have seen outside of a STAC game; a bird flying in on a Wednesday morning and staying for the first couple rounds of Maggie’s game; the gradual loss of wall decorations, then tables, and finally the kitchen appliances; and a surplus auction of the items.
By the way, Mike Molinari did a great job on the surplus auction that raised $378.
The new clubhouse, officially dubbed the Fresno Bridge Center, opened to great acclaim and large games. Of course, not everything ran smoothly right away, but Kay and others worked tireless to address any issues in a timely and effective manner.
The Open House/Silent Auction was a huge success. The auction raised over $3500, and we also had many guests that came and joined the festivities. Some guests were possible future players at the club, some were old friends whom we hadn’t seen for awhile, and some were family members that wanted to see where their loved ones disappeared to for hours at a time each week.
We have lots to thank for this wonderful event starting with our fund-raising chairwoman, Jill Wood. Next, we want to send our appreciation to all of the donors of items for the silent auction: Patricia Alviso, Karin Blanchard, Rose Boot, Wanda Cardella, Beverly Daniels, Gwen Davey, Doris Frazer, Marlene Frazier, Linda Garrett, Sophia Iwatsubo, Gerard Laquerriere, Karen Laws, Maggie Mahaffey, Kim Morris, Nadine Nemechek, Dolores Parada, Anita Penny, Bert & Sandra Rettner, Marlene Robinson, Dave & Judy Shuster, John Simpson, Barry & Carolyn Smith, Sheila Smith, Jim Stefanich, Estee Strombotne, Mun Takeda, Paul Wilday, Bill & Jill Wood, and David & Diane Zealear.
Also, thanks to Dee Beebe for the quilt that was raffled raising an additional $239 (the quilt was won by Roberta Beam).
Also our appreciation goes to the too- many-to-list individuals who contributed refreshments or their time making calls, working the tables, greeting individuals at the door, and/or playing hands in the back room to demonstrate the facilities.
Finally, we should give a big “Thank You” to everyone who has contributed money to not only this auction, but to all of the other fund-raising events over the past few months. The clubhouse has raised nearly $29,000!
Congratulations go to Andrew & Kathleen Graves who earned a 75% game on April 14 (last in the old clubhouse), and Lowell Gist & D Zody who earned a 71.9% game on April 29 (the first in the new clubhouse).
The Peggy Ochs Memorial game was an enjoyable game and potluck luncheon that allowed all a chance to commemorate the six people we have lost this past year: Rod Bobo, Bill Frampton, Jackie Noblat, Betty Peckler, Frank Roberts, and Linda Sims.
Come join us on June 7 for our annual Am-Pro Pairs event. This fun event is used as a chance to honor our new Life Masters.
By Dian Wood Picone
What a lot of bridge activity this month in the unit! A reminder, the Earthquake Sectional presided over by our president Dick Tani, is scheduled for June 27 & 28, so mark your calendar if you haven’t already done so. Connie Coyne (ccclac@hollinet.com/ 831 438-2178) is the chair, contact her if you have any questions. Patty Stone (pastone1 @verizon.net/ 408 846-2952) is in charge of partnership. Contact Patty if you need a partner and you don’t have one. By the way, we were all very happy to learn that Patty Stone is the unit’s newest director.
Congratulations, Patty!
Mike Slattery is offering a “mini-lesson” before his Wednesday game in Hollister. Anyone who has taken one of Mike’s lessons, knows that you always learn something new.
Linda King has a Bridge Plus game the first Tuesday of each month 6:30 to 9:30 in Hollister at Dunne Park for 99ers and under. The game starts with a lesson and participants can ask questions during the game. A great way for beginners to learn and a way to earn masterpoints. Also, Linda will start lessons in “Competitive Bidding” on Tuesday mornings, June 30, 9:30 to 11:30. The lesson includes one hour of instruction plus one hour of supervised play. A good opportunity for new players to learn and a chance to “brush up” for more experienced players, Bring your lunch and stay for the regular Tuesday game after.
While the “swine flu” has every traveler a bit nervous, Linda is keeping an eye on the situation and all options open. Those of you who have signed up for the October Cruise, and those who are planning on doing so, give Linda a call 831 801-9257 (lrking@hyghes.net/ ) for updates.
Remember, no bridge at Dunne Park on June 23.
Gilroy/Morgan Hill: The May 3, Swiss Teams game in Morgan Hill was bigger than ever. It was good to see so many new faces. The winners were: 1st Diana & Ronald Dragt, Rosemary Erwin, Winston Stone; 2nd Bob Blaine, Dan Brown, Dick Tani, Mitsuye Tani; unit game: 4/26, N/S 1st, Carol & Mark Maggipinto; E/W 1st, Win Stone & Ron Dragt. Open Pairs Monday: 4/6, Burt Malech & Bob Frohman; 4/13, 1st, Jonna Robinson & Vincent McLoughlin; 4/20, 1st, Patty Stone & Mitsi Tani; 2nd, Ron Dragt & Win Stone; 3rd, Sheila Hill & Rashmi Beman; 4/27, 1st, Jonna Robinson & Vincent McLoughlin. Open Pairs Thursday: 4/2, 1st, Ron Dragt & Winston Stone; 2nd, Jerry Pelletier & Don McCown; 4/9, N/S 1st, Don Nemiro & Diane Shannon; 2nd, Don McCown & Mike Kakalec; E/W 1st, Marilyn Martin & Dick Tani; 4/16, 1st, Don Nemiro & Ron Dragt; 4/23, 1st, Don McCown & Mike Kakalec; 4/30, 1st, Bob Williams & Don Nemiro; 2nd, Win Stone & Ron Dragt
Hollister: Mike’s Wednesday Bridge Club: 4/1, 1st, Charles Costa & Betty McKenzie; 4/8,1st, Bob Frohman & Don Bugge; 4/15, 1st, Don Bugge & Ron Dragt; 4/22, 1st, Diana Dragt & Ron Dragt; 2nd, Rita Tingley & Sabina Siem; 3rd, Mary Calderone & Don Bugge; 4/29, 1st, Rosemary Erwin & Don Nemiro. Linda’s Tuesday Pairs: 4/7, N/S 1st, Win Stone & Burt Malech; E/W 1st, Connie Coyne & Patty Stone; 4/14, 1st, Doug Stauffer & Chiong Yuan Han; 2nd, Charles Costa & Lanetta Bishop; 3rd, Gertrude Edvenson & Luisa Velasco; 4/21,1st, Dixie Herren & Nancy Adrian; 4/28, N/S 1st, Gale & Katie Dimick; E/W 1st, Barbara Earley & Jackie Raymer.
News about our bridge players is always welcome. Contact me:
DianPicone@yahoo.com
By Paul Dubois
On June 19 we’ll be playing a Barometer Pairs game, where you will know your score as you go along. This event was a big hits the first time we tried it, and we hope you’ll come.
The Livermore game continues to stretch the capacity of the room. The Great Western STAC game on May 4 saw 13 full tables. The usual great snacks contributed by the players just add to the fun. If you come, don’t miss the deviled eggs.
Afterwards, you’re just steps from some great places to eat.
The big event in April was the Iron Horse Sectional in neighboring San Ramon. On Friday night, the pairs competition was won by Jean Barry & Jack Margid. Ching Chao & I also scored with a 53-.
My personal award for most elegant guy in the Elegant Pairs was Frank Lowenthal, who looked great in his suit. Frank said that he bought it 15 years ago for a family event. I will not name the most elegant lady in order to prevent injury to myself.
On Sunday Frank got the points he deserved for the suit when his team took first in the top section of the bracketed teams, and he ended up top masterpoint winner for the weekend with 24.45. Frank Conception & Andrew Fine also did well with 11.88, with a 521 finish in the Saturday Open Pairs, and a first in their team bracket.
Winning in the Side Game pairs on Saturday were Darrell Fung & Gilbert Reeser with an across the board 1-1-1 (hurrah for us Cs!), and Don & Neysa DeFremery scored a 2-2-.
Winning its bracket was an all-501 team of Paul Wegfart, Sukumar Mukherji, Amar Chunder, & Susama Chunder, and a team containing Kathi Nelson & James Ostrowski. Grabbing third place finishes in their brackets were the team of Verlan Gabrielson, Terri Kiyota, J. Dudley Alexander & Dennis Tretheway, and the team of Martha Eddleman, James Willis, Anne Lindl & Rosemarie Lafrancesca.
By Bob Sampson
In a previous column we inadvertently omitted a nice win at the Burlingame Regional in February for the team of Tracey Bauer, Bruce Nissim and Louis Thoelecke; first in Compact KO, Bracket 6. Now let’s talk about April showers of masterpoints. Loretta Bromberg placed many times in the 5-day Reno Sectional.
Placing at the Diablo Valley Sectional were: Molly Anderson & Marla Kravatz; Bob Roman; the team of Carol Morse, Jean Marchant, Jane Bauer and Susan Angel. In April club games, Arti Bhargava & Kevin Livingstone had 75% at Crossley’s Monday game and Jerry Mednick & Mel Rosen had 71% at Tiburon.
Our Marin Sectional overall was a great success. Chairman Richard Mani innovated by providing $5 box lunches, speeding up the game. Ingrid Purcell and the refreshments helpers did a marvelous job. Unfortunately the cleanup crew did not materialize Sunday evening so the “chair” toted a lot of chairs (and tables). Roy Hoppe garnered the most masterpoints for a Marin Life Master and Margaret Callinan did the same for Non-Life Masters.
Placing in the three Saturday morning Stratified Pairs events were: Loretta Bromberg; Marsha & Bob Sampson; Joan Ehmann & Adrienne Feuer; Carol Painter & Sylvia Ross; Gayle & Jim Tunnell; Roberta Lyons & Jim Washburn; Bram Dresden & Bill Kazee; David Blohm & Sonia Feder; Suzie & Larry Quenzer; Arti Bhargava & Joan Livingstone; Susan Bowser; Lillian Oliver & Jean Radtke; Jean Marchant & Elizabeth Sather; Marla Kravatz & Mollie Anderson; Jane Bauer & Lynne Redding; Harriet & Harold Silen; Thomas Orr & Gene Pudberry; Terry Hope & Gertrude Waldmann. Saturday afternoon had two Stratified Pairs events. Placing were: Roy Hoppe & Diane Williams; Tracey & Keith Bauer; Martha Marriott & Margaret Callinan; Bob Roman; George Duncan; Susan Kolb; Ed Talmus & Frank Aftowicz; Beverly Bloss & Suzy Doyle; George Beard. Sunday in 299er Swiss Teams, first in B was the team of Beverly Bloss, Suzy Doyle, Terry Hope and Gertrude Waldmann. The rest of the Swiss Teams (eight brackets) finishers were: Roy Hoppe, Bruce Blakely; Christopher Earl, Joanne Greene and Bob Crossley; Lucian Wernick, Larry Katz, Hilde Meislin and Warren Wertheimer; Joan Ehmann & Nancy Zakim; Adrienne Feuer, Cassandra Mani, Michael Nistler and Ken Tishgart; Carol Liss & Ray Sachs; Louis Thoelecke & Mom Leona; Jim Washburn, Roberta Lyon, Anita Stone and Barbara Poole; Norma Conner, Carla Hudner and Alice Wright; Julie Coffin & Nancy Girtler; Spencer Sun; Margaret Callinan, Ingrid Purcell and Vicki Quinn; Lynn Blankfort, Debbie and Dr. Gerald Levine and Stephen Pardys; Phyllis & Don Kreider, Wallace McOuat and Claire Young; Frank Aftowicz, Ed Talmus and George Duncan; Russell Dodge, Esther Mamet, Robert Toso and Herb Heberling; Susan & Jerry Angel and Rich & Terry Gordon; Sheilah Wasserman; Tom Wright.
Send e-mails to:
mbsampson247@comcast.net
By Lee Striplin
Ralph Jungwirth & Latrelle were first overall in A, followed by Jackie & Roland Wilson in last month’s unit game. N/S A leaders were Chris Brown & Barbara Price, followed by Berna & Ken Levy (A & B), Frank Frohman & Joan Miller (A & B), and Faye Salmon & Dick Urhammer. Linda Kenyon & Frances Redington were third in B. Jinsoon Chan & Juanita Kaufman were first in C, followed by Roger Quillen & Robert Rodenhizer. In E/W, Doris Ashcroft & Roy Carnahan were first in B and third in A, and Jan & Pieter Mastenbroek were 4th. Jean Chitwood & Lyn Rabinovitz were second in B and first in C. Terry Nagode & Grace Torbohn were third, and Elena Franzia & Pat Martin were second in C.
Dee Alexander reports that she and Candice Garvey, Kathy High, & Terry McMillan won a Knockout event at the San Diego Regional, winning three gold, nine points in all. Some Sonora players made a showing in Burlingame. The team of Chris Bell, Sharon Fauss, Daave Jenkins, & Bonnie Landis placed in the overalls in B in a two-session Swiss Teams event. Bonnie & Sharon earned 7.64 points, and Chris & Dave won 6.60.
Sonora had a potluck honoring Robert Serrett, who is moving to Oregon. Raymond Johnson & Mike Weisberg were first in A & B overalls, and Lee Bishop & Darryl Rosenheim were first in C.
Roland Wilson led the masterpoint race in A for April, followed by Jim Kenyon. First in B was Stewart Tunick, and Frank Frohman was second. Jeanne Russo led C, followed by Sharon Cole. Roger Hanlon is a new Sectional Master.
Jean Chitwood has undergone heart surgery, and we wish her well in her recovery. We hope to see her back playing bridge soon.
The June unit game will be a Swiss event in Sonora on June 14. If you played in the California Capital Regional in Sacramento, May 25-31, please let me know if you won any events.
By Maja
Victoria update: 46 players from the Monterey Peninsula returned from a wonderful six days in Victoria for the regional tournament. Many were over-laden with masterpoints, especially Lauren Upson (the grand winner) who won nine gold points and a total of 14 for his heroic efforts. Our days were a mixture of bridge, pub visit, bridge, restaurants, bridge, Butchart Gardens, and more pubs! It was especially entertaining to watch the ladies whose husbands were left at home, trying to decide what to do with all their free time; the pubs won out, but don’t tell the husbands!
It’s not too early to plan on saving July 25-26 for the 299ers Sectional Tournament at the Bridge Center. Jill and Lyde will host this event. Tune in next month for more details. For more immediate competition or even instant gratification, plan to play in our local sectional which takes place May 15-18. We anticipate a great turnout and much fun.
A few medical updates that give us reason to celebrate: Edward Von Adelung had a bit of a scare but was given a clean bill of health; Wally Thorpe recently underwent surgery and after some initial complications is truly on the mend.
We’re happy that we can anticipate more camaraderie and competition from both these favorite players.
Some recent results: EZ Bridge Tuesday, Brenda Stevenson & Peter Herrick; Oaks NLM Wednesday, Bill & Betty Prunty; Friday morning pairs, Gail Salmonsen & Anthony Brown; Tuesday afternoon pairs, a tie between John Akers & Brad Dow and Janet Dowd & Clare Riggs; Monterey BC Wednesday evening, Van Gilles & Tony Brown; Cypress, Sue Finley & Van Gilles; St. Paul’s Bridge Club, Bill Putnam & Dottie Lyon.
By Keith Vincent
We held our first unit game April 5 with nine tables in play. The N/S winners were Don Powell & Gerry Fox; E/W leaders were Tom Jacobson & Joan Garcia. Our second game in April had seven tables in action.
The N/S leaders were Al Evans & Judee Browning; E/W winners were Sheila Malinowski & Keith Vincent.
There were 19 tables in play for the Friday night dinner Swiss tournament in Sonoma on April 3. The Strat A leaders were Dan Harp, Barbara Lemme, Joe Freeman and John Rothschild; Strat B leaders were Marie Eadle, Laura Camm,Frank Thompson and Ann Begin; Strat C leaders were Tracey & Keith Bauer, Evan Price, and Andrew Van Wye.
I don’t usually write about regional winners, but I want to congratulate a local team who were first in the Strat B Swiss at the recent Presidents Day Regional.
Les Girls and The Man are loyal supporters of the unit and include Thelia Smith, Dawne Dickenson, Britt & Marie Eldred and Al Iapicca.
I asked Wayne Gordon to give me a little background of his bridge history, since he has been a very important part of our “lives” for many years. While many of us grew up in families where bridge was almost a standard part of our lives, his was a bit different. He started as an apprentice at the Paint Shop in Mare Island in 1965. Each group or shop had its own game, and their shop played whist. His bridge education early on consisted mainly of reading bridge columns, like me for several years, until finally settling down. He played in the local games, and talked his brother George, into playing Precision, mainly because it had a very structured range which helped them to understand how to bid. He doesn’t quite remember the beginning of the director phase, although he took the test 25 years ago. He actually began directing in Sonoma in 1993 when the club needed a fill-in. Part of his motivation for teaching was to take bridge to his whist-playing friends at the Base. Both directing and teaching have been enjoyable and satisfying for him, and I say thank you to Wayne and all of the other directors and teachers who have become such an integral and necessary part of the players’ lives.
By Eric Mayefsky
Palo Alto has covered new ground once again this month with the successful completion of our unit- sponsored Club Director’s Course; 25 would-be directors from all over the bay area signed up to take the four-session endeavor in search of their director's credentials. Cheers to Jeanette McNeill for her hard work in making this endeavor so successful.
Our new monthly Monday night unit Swiss has also been a great success thus far, drawing 22 tables this past month. Players from all over are welcome to join us for this game, the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m.
Many of you remember our recent flood and subsequent closure; we have since had repair work done and repeated tests and have been assured the Bridge Center is currently safe for use. Additional repairs will need to be done in the near future, but the center will remain open until a time for those repairs is decided.
It’s also not too early to make plans for this year’s Firecracker Sectional! See the ad in this copy of the Forum. You can also get more information on the unit web site:
paloaltobridge.com
Happy Summer and we’ll see you at the tables!
By Bud Brewer
Gil Ramirez announced that the April Showers Spring Sectional was another great success for the Reno Unit. While the total table count was down about 25 tables, the event was well run and everyone had a good time. We had 195 players who received at least a fraction of a masterpoint out of 225 players participating. Reno unit members scored well with the top point winner being Charlotte Falk who won 22.83 masterpoints placing first in three of the Open Pairs events playing with two different partners, and placed fourth in the Swiss Teams game. Other double digit winners were Paul Blumberg, Robert Garret, Lin Goldstein, Kathy Lane, Neil Moore, Jim Pachal, Gilbert Ramirez, Richard Scoggin, Bob and Cathy Weise, and Rick Weiss. Tournament director Dianne Barton-Paine showed her versatility as she had to sit in on the Friday Open Pairs event partnered with Rich Scoggin, partnership chairman, in order to even out the number of tables, all the while doing director calls, scoring and keeping the event moving.
Reno’s Summer Sectional is scheduled to start August 5 and go through Sunday, August 9.
Kathy Lane, president of the Reno Youth Bridge, Inc., announced that the organization was planning to hold their first Youth Tournament for the Washoe County students that are learning the game in after school activity programs. The event will be held at the Reno Bridge Club concurrently with the regular Saturday game. Winners of the event will have their names placed on the “RYB Bowl,” a silver plated trophy that will be maintained at the club. Students are anxious to compete against those of the other schools in the district and there is a lot of excitement about this event.
Since this is their first tournament, RYB teachers will be sitting at each table to keep the game moving and deal with any problems that come up. Kibitzers are welcome.
Rich Scoggins won back to back unit games at the club these last two months, first in March partnered with Delma Roecker, long time player in Reno and second with Sharon Bahry, one of the unit’s fine players and Silver Life Master. The back to back wins by Rich are the first time accomplished in recent memory.
By Bob Olsen
Please try to attend the next unit game on Sunday, June 7, 12:00 noon, at the Sacramento Bridge Center on Fair Oaks Blvd. Lunch will be provided and the game starts at 1:00 p.m. A separate 199er game will be provided in order to increase the number of players with fewer points.
Also, please reserve a date on your calendar for Saturday, July 11, for a Swiss Teams game and the unit annual meeting and awards. Location will be the Lincoln Hills Club. More details in the July Forum.
North American Pairs (NAP): The time has arrived to start planning for the 2009-2010 NAP club qualifying games. During the months of June, July and August local clubs may hold two NAP qualifying games per sanctioned session per month. The sanction fee is $1 per person and the masterpoint awards are half-red at 100% sanctioned rating. The NAP event is a great way of promoting the game while offering the opportunity to compete at all levels. The competition award ($700) culminates at the 2010 Reno Spring National.
Note: on Saturday, June 20 at noon a NAP game is scheduled at Ann’s Fun Bridge Club at the Sacramento Bridge Center.
The American Bridge Association Western Spring Sectional in Sacramento is scheduled June 4-8 at the Red Lion Inn, 1401 Arden Way. For details or partnership contact Gertrude Wright at 916 395-3267.
Ann Hill reports that three of the Sunday evening party bridge players now have started playing duplicate. Two have become ACBL members. Our future depends upon getting more duplicate players from the world of party bridge and encourage new players through Easybridge! or the equivalent.
The Folsom Bridge Center is presenting one day of Intermediate bridge lessons by Bob Crossley on Sunday, June 21, 9:30 a.m., $50 per person, including two sessions and lunch. More information at 916 353-1139.
By Kim Fanady
The rain has stopped, the fog hasn’t rolled in yet, and it’s summer in the city. Which means only one thing to a San Francisco bridge player: it’s time for the San Francisco Summer Sectional! The best tournament around will be held June 13 & 14 at the Janet Pomeroy Center out by the zoo, for lots of bridge, snacks and fun. Look for our ad elsewhere in this issue. Hope to see you there. Volunteers to help out with setting up and putting away are always needed and welcome; contact a unit board member at www.unit506.org or just show up and pitch in.
Summer also brings us another round of the North American Pairs. Club qualifying games begin this month; check the club web sites for details or ask at your next club game. Qualifiers move on to the unit and district level qualifying rounds, culminating in the chance to represent Unit 506 and District 21 in the national finals at the 2010 Spring NABC. It all starts at your local club; so check it out. San Francisco’s own Argenta Price finished second in the Flight C NAP for 2009; Congrats Argenta! You could be our next big winner in 2010.
Kudos to this month’s masterpoint ladder climbers: new Junior Masters Gabi Schneider, Neil Vaz, Frank Woods; NABC Master Argenta Price; Life Masters John Peternell, Louis Lipset; and Silver Life Master Sally Foster. Very special congratulations to new Bronze Life Master Elisabeth Belatini, who is still loves to play and especially loves to win at 95-years-young. Elisabeth is proof that bridge keeps your mind sharp. Well played, all!
Welcome as always to our new members; 14 of them this month: Brenda Brown, Ted Easley, Jane Grimm, Linda Hannawalt, Louise Harris, Jackie Johnson, Laura Lambert, Kevin Liberg, Alan Malouf, Sophie Middlebrook, Loren Nordlund, Murphy Robins, Adrienne Rogers, Betsy Twaddell, and Tom Twaddell.
It’s great to have so many new faces. Be sure to welcome these new players when you meet them at the table.
Your intrepid columnist is off on a bridge junket this month, to Canada’s largest regional in Penticton, British Columbia. Penticton is a beautiful resort area on a lake, with orchards, vineyards, wineries, and, oh yeah, a swarm of bridge fiends. I’ll report back on my adventures, and hopefully triumphs, in next month’s column.
Finally, we say yet another goodbye this month, to longtime San Francisco player Millie Kempton. She’ll be missed at the Sunset Club, where she was a regular for many years. Our condolences to her family and friends.
By Joel Steinberg
By the time this column sees print Unit 498 will have held its annual awards dinner and unit game on May 17. New board of director members will be inducted. They are: Raad Bunni, Nancy Finney, Gretchen Schmeeckle, Hugh Huff, Christine Hevener, and Carl Sutherland. Thanks to all of them for volunteering. It involves a commitment of time and energy, without which the unit would cease to function. The unit games, holiday parties, sectional tournaments, and regional and nationals staffing simply would not happen. Special thanks to our outgoing unit president, Loretta Baines. She's been a voice of calm, reason and sanity over this past year.
Congratulations to new Junior Masters, Victoria Hazelrig, John Moore, and Marcia Wadell; new Club Master James Lundy; New Regional Masters Lolly Donovan and Beverly Nuding; new NABC Master Peter Klebofski; new Silver Life Master Alex Stagner; and, finally, Greg House, new Diamond Life Master.
The Bayshore Bridge Club holds open Stratified Pairs games Monday through Friday at 12:15; Monday and Thursday evenings at 7:00; and 99er Fun Bridge Thursdays at 9:00 a.m., with post-game analysis. Call 650 344-4919 for directions, times of unit games, partners, etc.
As I leave the unit board, I will be handing over this column to someone new. This has been fun; maybe I’ll do it again sometime!
By Ray Yuenger
Our next unit game, Monday evening, June 8, will be a bracketed team game, with the turnout dictating how many brackets there will be. Brackets will be based on the average masterpoints per team member, not just the highest teammate. Sign up at the San Jose Bridge Center ahead of time to guarantee yourselves a table.
Our unit members have been winning so much, I ran out of space in my last column to mention that it’s time for another unit board election. Voting will be taking place at the Bridge Center.
This column ordinarily focuses on the results of local sectionals and regionals, since that’s where our unit members usually play. But I happen to know the results of the Gatlinburg, Tennessee Regional, since I was finally able to attend it after hearing about it for years. Now I can confirm it really is that big a regional. For example, there were 25 brackets in the Thursday-Friday Knockout at 16 teams a bracket. Harriel Shea, Panette Talia, Gigi Spinazze, Lynn Yokel and I won in the 7th bracket. We saw a few familiar faces from our area.
I encourage you to make the trip sometime. The regional is well-organized and the town is designed for tourists. I learned the hard way to leave about 90 minutes of layover for connecting flights in case of mechanical or weather delay, unless you look forward to spending the night in Minneapolis without your luggage.
Some people skipped the trip to Gatlinburg to play in the Diablo Valley Sectional. Winning the two-session pairs event were Yul Inn & Peter Friedland. Frank Lowenthal had a section top in that event. In the limited pairs games, prevailing in their stratifications were Lynn Bartz & Jane Slenkovich and Karen Rice & Sona Bhambra. On winning teams in their respective brackets were Ed Barlow, Frank Lowenthal & Mike Cailean; Mindy Foos & Michael Fleisher; Michael Bodell & Belinda Gu; and Amar & Susama Chunder. In other words, our unit members won in four of the eight brackets in this event.
Other members were also on three of the second-place teams.
Congratulations to our newest Masters: Louise Leprohon (Junior); Sona Bhambra, Janet Dekker, Karen Hunt, Allwyn (can’t lose with that name) Sequiera (Club); Corinne Carter, David Fotland, Karen Rice, Rajeeva Sharma (Sectional); Jane Slenkovich (Regional); Amar Chunder, Norman Marks (NABC); Jennifer Gu, Elenalani Lam (Life).
I remain rayyuenger@comcast.net and at 408 379-7717.
By Susan Benich
How about a little trivia question to get you thinking? Who was the program manager for the Payload Ground Handling System for the space shuttle?
Congratulations to our April Bridge Camp winners: N/S: Alice Ford & Muriel Prolo 62.15%; Teri Handzel & Bev Moore 55.94%; E/W: Judy Nielsen & Mary Canepa 64.15%; Marilyn Johnson & Nancy D’Angelo 55.86%; Ellen Fisher & Rachel Spencer 52.48%. The next Bridge Camp will be held on June 4 at 10:00 a.m.
First trivia hint: He worked for FMC (Food Machinery Corporation).
Club champions for April are the following: 1st overall A/B: Ken Llacera & Mick Friedberg, Dick Wasserstrom & Ken Llacera, Marilyn Nadler & Alice del Core, Debby & Jerry Goodell; 1st overall C: Lois Henry & Barbara Shepherdson, Dolly Bass & Phyllis Cramblet, Jerry Goodell & Jack Simon, Mary Canepa & Judy Nielsen. 1st overall in Swiss A/B: Hal Rodgers, Jeff Pruett, Liesel Sabloff, & Kel Pierce. 1st overall in Swiss C: Marty Jones, Jan Winham, Larry Palmer & Patty Palmer.
Second trivia hint: He is a Silver Life Master who faithfully plays bridge at our club in most of the day games.
A mystery Mulligan game will be held Tuesday, June 2 at 6:30 for all of you NLMs. A NLM Swiss Teams game will be held Tuesday, June 16 at 6:30.
You Pros, Ams and NLM regular partners are invited to play in the Pro-Am game on Tuesday evening, June 23 following a potluck dinner.
Have you seen those new players scurrying into the kitchen on Tuesday evenings? Give them your biggest smile and warm welcome. They are students from the winter beginner classes. They are honing their skills to give all of you a tough new challenge.
Jane Jennings (co-chair of our Rising Stars Tournament and newest director) shares her life story as follows:
“I’m your token Snowbird Canadian; born/raised in southern Ontario, not far from Niagara Falls/US border. Studied math & economics; first job was in actuarial consulting. Left Canada and moved to Silicon Valley when the personal computer industry was starting. Worked with my husband’s start-up software company and eventually started the personnel department. Visicorp was a rapid early success, but finally was overtaken by competition; we left California and moved to Europe. Lived briefly in England, France, Mallorca and Switzerland, and traveled extensively before settling in Andorra. Enjoyed a few summers living on a catamaran in the Mediterranean. I now divide my time between southern Ontario and California, although we still like to travel and haven’t given up our connections to Europe. While in Canada I play very little bridge, preferring an outdoor lifestyle swimming, kayaking, enjoying nature (and entertaining friends and family). As many of us did, I played kitchen bridge in University days, then let it lapse. Discovered duplicate and our SC club by accident while looking for a social game. Got hooked!”
Aren’t we all glad that she did!
Our deepest sympathy to Howard Feldstein in the loss of his wife, his beloved Kathleen Flowers.
Answer to trivia question: Bill Messenger
Santa Rosa
By Randee Dimond
Are you learning to love bridge? Monday nights are your ticket. It’s a friendly, gentle game designed for newish players working on their game but open to all comers who want to be a part of this weekly event. If you need a partner, call Evelyn Holtz at 573-1200 and she’ll find you one.
You will play 20 boards, so you’ll get your beauty sleep for work the next day. This game, like Thursdays, can get you in shape for open games and tournaments.
Thursday night lessons go on and on. Kathy Venton will teach from Audrey Grant’s third book beginning June 18 with a lesson on Stayman followed by June 25 Jacoby Transfers, July 2 Strong Forcing Openings, and July 9 Slam Bidding. You can take the full course or attend individual sessions. Either way, your game will become more sophisticated and your quiver will have a few more arrows.
Give Kathy a call if you have questions or need additional details.
Our unit enjoyed success at the Marin Sectional in April. Patty Harberson, Carol Zocchi, Tom Gee, Michael Nistler won their respective brackets with their teammates in the Swiss. Special shout-outs go to Leona Greene & Steve Bearg, Jim Oswald and a number of others who competed successfully and came home with points. You can always see results on line @ www.ACBL.org; give it a try.
And don’t forget, our own fabulous sectional is coming in October.
May is winners circle month, whether it’s Churchill Downs or the Bridge Gallery. Our circle was full this month starting with the peripatetic Mark Hersko who became the unit’s newest Bronze LM. Nice going, Mark. Others in the circle (in no particular order except led by our 70%+ winners Marilyn & John Farnsworth and Barbara & Lou Meola) were Lynn Blumenthal, Linn Erickson, John Kozero, John Vion, John McNulty, Jon Merry, Larry Wyner, Larry Hansen, Larry Borsian, Jane Wahler, Asher Nathan, Peg Devine, Rose Marie Johnson, Holly Gustafson, Jerry Murphy, Helen Fladseth, Barry Samuel, Howard Jacobs, Pat Frenaye, Patricia Gittings, Patty Hertz (broken wing and all), Lucille Sink, Arnold Adams, Tom Gee, Danielle Hejmanowski, Marilyn Karbousky, Gladys Sawyer, Oak Sawyer, Sue Snow, Jan Hess, Eleanor Wales, Jean O’Donnell, Sally Jamison, Mimi Armstrong, Kate Hill, Nancy Lowe, Erwin Linzer, El Shaw, Peggy Leiser, Gary Robinson, Evelyn Holtz, Jackie Ortiz, Bob Klein, Jennifer Jones, Richard Zalenski, Kathy Juarez, Elise Henderson (recovering nicely!), Mike Livensparger, Gloria Hersch, Paul Scheinberg, Paul Gardner, Chris Flindt, Dave Pankratz, Debbie Tesler, Joanne Pransky, Loy Mott, and Fred Blatt.
Congratulations to all these winners and to those who placed and showed, too!
Love those unit games; the next one is Sunday, June 14. Come and enjoy great food (you get a free play if you’re among the first four to sign up to bring some), a terrific game (all the usual suspects show up) and the cost remains at $7.00. It’s a ZT game (ask a board member what that means) and we guarantee you will have wonderful time. As in all games, be sure you make that opening lead face down; not you, the card! And write the contract after you make the lead.
Now, we don’t allow dogs, cats or iguanas at the club, but we made an exception to meet the delightful Harvey (not an invisible rabbit, but a golden retriever pup) who greeted everyone in turn, chewing on the occasional shoelace. (He’s Meryl’s new friend.) We are so pleased to have Shirley Blum back in action and extend our condolences on her loss.
By Jim Solomon
The Tri-City Bridge Club of Fremont has new owners: veteran player Bill Hodges (who’s now also the director of the Ashland BC in San Leandro) and your faithful correspondent. Bill will direct the Monday morning games in Fremont, and I’ll continue doing that on Saturday afternoons, as well as continuing to serve as manager of the club. Stay tuned for announcements of other TCBC news, including new special games and a possible change of location.
Notable Recent Tournament Performances: Reno Sectional: Thurs. Open Pairs: 1 OA, Terry Terzian; Fri. Open Pairs: 2 OA, Terry; Sat. Open Pairs: 3 OA, Terry; Bracketed KO Teams, Bracket 2: 2nd, Jim Solomon.
Diablo Valley Sectional: Fri. Elegant Pairs: 6A, Chuck Wong; Sat. Open Pairs (two sessions): 6A/3B, Marty Holtz & Charlie Conrad; Sat. Side Pairs: 1 OA/1B/1C, Darrell Fung; 3/4 OA, Darlene Mayhew & Norma Bozzini; Sat. morn 199er Pairs: 1 OA. Bob Hamilton & Valerie Byrne; 2 OA/1E, Stephanie Singer; Sat. 199er Pairs: 1 OA, Stephanie; Sun. Bracketed Swiss Teams, Bracket 1: 2nd, Mark Dean; Bracket 4: 3rd, Darrell. Marin Sectional: Sat. 199er Pairs: 1 OA, Henry Hornstein; Sun. Bracketed Swiss Teams, Bracket 7: 2nd, Henry.
Special Club Games in the Next 30 Days: Mon., June 1: Tri-City BC (TCBC): North American Pairs (NAP) qualifying game; Mon., June 15: TCBC: unit championship game (U.C.); Sat., June 20: TCBC: NAP qualifying game; Thurs., June 25: Hayward Weekes Park Easybridge! Club: ACBL Inter-club Championship Game. Sat., June 27: TCBC: U.C.
Winners at Recent Special Club Games: Ashland BC unit championship (U.C.), Apr. 2: 1 OA, Jerry & Jane Cupps; 1 E/W, Ed Jimison & Terry Duewer. Fremont Easybridge! Club (FEC) ACBL Inter-club Championship Game, Apr. 7: National (across-the-field) results: 2 OA/2B/1C, LaVonne Addison & Jo Callahan; 6 OA/5B/2C, Bev Chance & Barbara Watts; 6C, Michael Rose & Henry Chan.
Tri-City BC (TCBC) Charity Club Championship (CCC) Apr. 11: 1 OA, Gary Peck & Darrell Fung; 1B/1C: Peter Ho & Manford Ferris. FEC CCC., Apr. 14: 1 OA/1B: LaVonne & Les Addison. Marina BC U.C., Apr. 14: 1 OA, Joe Parker & Donna Rolle; 1 E/W, Sherard Wood & Allan Harris. TCBC CCC. Apr. 20: 1 OA/1B/1C, Andy Sass & Steve Brosamer. TCBC CCC.
Spring Swiss Teams Festival, Apr. 25: 1 OA, Dave & Joyce Denyven, Sherard Wood, & Indira Somayajula; 1B, Judy Keilin, Jack Meng, Sharon Tarpinian, & Carole Burgess. Redwood BC U.C., Apr. 27: Open: 1 OA, Jan Hollowell & Mary Ramos; 1 E/W, Bob Hamilton & Kevin Schoenfeld. NLM: 1 OA, Ferne Freitas & Donna Russell; 1 E/W C, Pat Edgar & Celia Bjerkan; 1 N/S C, Doreen Flores & Dolores Richey; 1 N/S B, Dolores Trubey & Carl Rayborn. FEC CCC., Apr. 28: 1 OA: Michael Rose & Ruth Davis; 1B, Nuno Rebelo & Vicky Santos.
Welcome to Our Fold to Dr. Ilya Chuzhov of Newark and Stan Green of Hayward.
Moving up the Masterpoint Ladder: Congratulations to Bin Liang, who’s become a Bronze Life Master; to Jo Callahan, now a Regional Master; to Carolyn Taylor, a new Club Master; and to Sandy Rollin, now a Junior Master.
Turlock/Merced
By Jim Barnett
The player of the month here in the Almond Valley was Margaret Quinn. She earned 13.64 masterpoints. She was also the top A player and the player of the Wednesday evening game. She and her husband, John, also turned in the highest game, a 69% showing on April 29. The top B player was Larrie Sweet and the top C player was Sally Canelo. N/S winners at Friday’s game were Kaytie Canelo, Audrey Mackell, Pay Kaufman & Audrey Mackell and Barbara Lindsay & Louise Thiner. E/W winners were Ray Adams & Toots Wade, twice, Faye Salmon & Dick Uhrhammer and Ed & Louise Thiner.
Toots Wade & Ray Adams finished as players of the month for Friday. Player of the month for Monday was Roland Wilson.
Those partnerships finishing first N/S were Pat Kaufman & Dick Urhammer, Jack and Lenore Ellery, Joyce Coughran & Dennis Northern and Art Konecny & Kay Weston. E/W winners were Kaytie Peterson Sally Canelo, Jackie & Roland Wilson, Jean Astorino & George Loscalzo and Gary Capwell & Roland Wilson.
Wednesday’s winner were George Loscalzo & Dave Terry, Margaret & John Quinn, twice, Dennis Northern & Larrie Sweet and Margaret Quinn & Larrie Sweet.