Buffalo Niagara duplicate bridge notes: March 21, 2026

 

News and notes for the Buffalo area duplicate bridge community appear weekly here at http://newsdupli.blogspot.com/, usually by midweek.

St. Patrick’s Day isn’t over yet. The Buffalo Bridge Center, 60 Dingens St. off Exit 1 of the I-190, has a St. Patrick’s theme for its party game on Sunday, March 22. Dressing in green is encouraged. Refreshments at noon, game at 12:30 p.m. $8 members, $12 non-members. Bring a snack to share. For partnerships, call Pat Haynes at 716-472-5189 or email phaynes508@roadrunner.com.

Congratulations to Jay Levy, who had the best showing among the Buffalo area players at the Niagara BCON Sectional Tournament on March 14 and 15 in St. Catharines, Ont. He won 5.38 points.

The Buffalo Bridge Center offers a regular schedule of in-person and online games Monday through Friday with party games once a month on weekends, usually on Sundays. The game next month will be on April 26. For more info, visit the club’s website at https://buffalobridgecenter.godaddysites.com/ or call 716-424-0014. Fee for games is $8 for members and $12 for non-members. Membership is $80 annually.

Online games hosted by the Bridge Center at 7 p.m. Monday and Wednesday are being transferred from Bridge Base Online to a new platform, RealBridge. For more info, including a player guide, visit realbridge.online.

In addition, the club hosts a supervised play session for players who want experience and advice to improve their games from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays, which has been a great success. Small games now have been added to the session. All are welcome. No pre-registration needed. Also popular is the club’s social bridge game just for fun at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays. Signup needed for this one. Call Ruth Nawotniak at 716-949-7574 or email at ruth2250@outlook.com. 

Other ACBL sanctioned clubs: Bridge Club of East Aurora games are at 10 a.m. Wednesdays in the Aurora Senior Citizens Center, 101 King St., East Aurora. Contact is Dave Larcom at dmocral@verizon.net.

The Bridge Centre of Niagara (BCON) in St. Catharines, Ont., offers face-to-face games five days a week at its club in Tremont Square opposite the Pen Centre shopping plaza off Glendale Avenue. Website is bridgewebs.com/Niagara.

The Niagara-on-the-Lake Bridge Club plays in the Community Centre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., on Anderson Lane off Mississauga Street on the western end of the village. Open games are at 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays. Website is bridgewebs.com/niagaraonthelake.

Non-sanctioned clubs: The midwinter break has ended at the Tonawanda Senior Center. Games have resumed at 12:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Play continues at the Amherst Senior Center at 12:30 p.m. Mondays and Fridays.

Upcoming tournaments

Rochester Non-Life Master Sectional – Two locations. Friday, March 27, and next Saturday, March 28. Swiss Teams on Friday at Temple B'Rith Kodesh, 2131 Elmwood Ave., Rochester. Pairs games on Saturday at Perinton Community Center, 1350 Turk Hill Road, Fairport. For more info, click this link.

Toronto Easter Regional – Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, 123 Queen St. West, Toronto, Ont. Tuesday, March 31, to Sunday, April 5. For more info, click this link.

Buffalo Spring Sectional – Buffalo Bridge Center, 60 Dingens St. Friday, April 10, to Sunday, April 12. For info, click this link.

Rochester Spring Sectional – Gates Community Center, 1605 Buffalo Road, Gates. Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19. For more info, click this link.

Finger Lakes Regional – Seasons on Keuka Lake, 110 Mace St., Penn Yan. Monday, June 8, to Friday, June 12. For more info, click this link. 

District 5 Sectional Tournament at the Clubs (StaC) – Participating local clubs. Monday, June 8, to Sunday, June 14. For more info, click this link.

Cleveland All American Regional – Embassy Suites Hotel, 5800 Rockside Woods Road, Independence, Ohio. Tuesday, June 23, to Sunday, June 28. For more info, click this link.

Buffalo Summer Sectional – Buffalo Bridge Center, 60 Dingens St. Friday, July 10, to Sunday, July 12.

Oakville Summer Regional – St. Volodymyr Cultural Centre, 1280 Dundas St. West, Oakville, Ont. Tuesday, July 21, to Sunday, July 26. For more info, click this link.

Rochester Summer Sectional – Gates Recreation Center, 1605 Buffalo Road, Rochester. Saturday, July 25, and Sunday, July 26.

Scores from ACBL Live for Clubs

Week of March 9 to March 15

Buffalo Bridge Center Monday evening – 0-900 game online. Jim Hassett and partner, 66.67%; Cynthia Tashjian and Candace Graser, 55.56%; Fran Schmidt and Richard McGowan, 52.78%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Tuesday morning – 0-1,600 game. Linda Milch and Linda Zittel, 58.33%; Ruth Nawotniak and Pat Haynes, 54.17%; Joyce Frayer and Anthony Girasole, 53.57%; Paula Rosen and Jim McClure, 52.38%; Dennis Daly and Brian Fleming, 51.79%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Wednesday morning – Open game. Jay Costello and Bud Seidenberg, 63.54%; Tova and Andrei Reinhorn, 56.25%; (tie) Terry Fraas and Ed Morgan, Judy Graf and Jim Gullo, 55.21%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Thursday morning – 0-2,000 game. Home Style Pairs. (3-way tie) Julie Mitchell and Walt Olszewski, Pat Haynes and David Schott, Marilyn Wortzman and Jim Easton, 2 wins..

Buffalo Bridge Center Friday morning – Open game. Mike Ryan and John Ziemer, 60%; Chris Urbanek and Kamil Bishara, 58%; Cathy Majewski and Terry Fraas, 50%.

Bridge Club of East Aurora Wednesday morning – Open game. Maureen Piasecki and Wilson McClaren, 65.63%; Bert Feasley and Paul Zittel, 60.42%; Joyce Greenspan and Ruth Wurster, 53.13%.

Delaware Wednesday evening – 0-2,000 game online. Henry Chudy and Jeff Bender, 62.50%; Jim Hassett and Terry Camp, 55.56%; Ed Harman and Bill Rich, 50%.

Non-sanctioned clubs

Amherst Senior Center Monday afternoon – North-south, Shirley Cassety and George Mayers, 65%; Nancy Wolstoncroft and Paul Orosz, 56%; east-west, Angela Curtis and Dan Blatz, 60%; Violet and Jasbeer Makhija, 51%.

Amherst Senior Center Friday afternoon – Mary and Jim Atwood, 61%; Shirley Cassety and George Mayers, 56%; Edna and Ron Fill, 53%.

Tonawanda Senior Center Wednesday afternoon – Rose Bochiechio and Edna Fill, 68.75%; Judy White and Fritz Schweiger, 56.25%.

Unit 116 Master Point Leaders for Virtual Club Play

Jan. 1, 2026, to Feb. 28, 2026

5-20 Points – Mike Rupp, 1.92; Joan Warren, 1.86; Susan Mann Dolce, 1.49; Bob Rupp, 1.41; Fran Holmes, 0.48; David Taylor, 0.22.

20-50 Points – Bill Kross, 7.60; Maxine Johnson, 0.42; Devon Marlette, 0.40.

50-100 Points – Mike Metzger, 3.71; Anne Slater, 3.23; Kathleen Voigt, 2.60; Jo Ann Smith, 1.84; (tie) Susan Burns, Elaine Idzik, 0.85.

100-200 Points – Cynthia Tashjian, 5.76; Maria Schory, 4.27; Candace Graser, 4.03; Jim Hassett, 3.72; Fran Schmidt, 2.81; Amy Habib, 2.64; John Houghtaling, 2.14; Brian Fleming, 0.38; (tie) Jim and Betsy Greno, 0.16.

200-300 Points – Laura Houghtaling, 2.14.

300-500 Points – Maria Amlani, 6.75; Eugene Giorgini, 0.98.

500-1,000 Points – Martha Townson, 6.09; Richard McGowan, 4.38; Sushil Amlani, 3.36; Ed Harman, 0.88; (3-way tie) Jeff Bender, Henry Chudy, Joyce Frayer, 0.75; Pat Haynes, 0.28.

1,000-1,500 Points – Vic Bergsten, 9.77; Bill Rich, 2.05; Bert Feasley, 0.80; Mary Ball, 0.75.

1,500-2,500 Points – Jim Lanzo, 27.66.

More than 5,000 Points – Saleh Fetouh, 11.49; Dian Petrov, 1.63.

Dale Anderson has compiled notes on duplicate bridge activities locally since he began playing in competition more than 20 years ago. A Gold Life Master, he reached a career milestone, 3,000 master points, at the Buffalo Fall Sectional Tournament last September. You can call or text him at 716-860-2305 or send an email to  dahotwings@aol.com.