News and notes for the Buffalo area duplicate bridge community appear weekly here at http://newsdupli.blogspot.com/, usually by midweek.
Now that the roof is fixed,
everything is set for the party game on Sunday, Aug. 16, at the Buffalo Bridge
Center, 60 Dingens St. off Exit 1 of the northbound I-190. As usual, bring
snacks to share at noon. Game starts at 12:30 p.m. It’s a Unit Championship
Game, which awards extra master points to winners. For more info and
partnerships, call Julie Mitchell at 845-978-9480 or email her at jkmitchell070121@gmail.com.
The annual ACBL Unit 116 picnic and bridge game is
coming up at the Bridge Center on Saturday, Aug. 29. Free picnic lunch at 11:30
a.m. Game at 12:30 p.m. It’s $10 for unit members, $15 for non-members. You’ll
need to register in advance with John Bava. Text or call him at 908-256-6466 or
email jbava@roadrunner.com.
The Niagara 0-750 Sectional Tournament, for
players with fewer than 750 master points, continues today, Saturday, Aug. 15, and
Sunday, Aug. 16, he Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Center, 14 Anderson
Lane, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. For more info, click this link.
The Buffalo Bridge Center
has a regular lineup of in-person games Tuesday through Friday with party games
once a month on weekends, usually on Sundays. 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.
Come fall, the Buffalo Bridge Center is planning to
offer a variety of lessons. A class on the most common bidding conventions will
be held on Wednesday afternoons, beginning in September. October will bring a
10-week class for new and beginning players on Thursday afternoons. And for
those wondering about the game and how to start playing, a one-time
introductory session will be offered from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 19.
For more info, call or text Ruth Nawotniak at 716-949-7574.
Online games hosted by the Bridge Center at 7 p.m.
Monday and Wednesday have been transferred from Bridge Base Online to a new
platform, RealBridge. For more info, including a player guide, visit realbridge.online.
The Wednesday game, Delaware Wednesday, has been inactive since mid-March.
In addition, the club hosts a supervised play session
for players who want experience and advice to improve their game from 11 a.m.
to 1 p.m. on Mondays, which has been a great success. Small games now have been
added to the session. All are welcome. No pre-registration is required, but
things work out better if those interested in supervised play get in touch with
Julie Mitchell by calling 845-978-9480 or emailing jkmitchell070121@gmail.com.
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.
The Bridge Center has started its mentoring program
again. Experienced players who want to share their knowledge with novices are
encouraged to sign up. So should new players who want to pick up tips from the
masters. Call Pat Haynes at 716-472-5189 or email phaynes508@roadrunner.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 and Saturday nights 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: Games
are held at 12:30 p.m. Mondays and Fridays in the Amherst Senior Center and at
12:30 p.m. Wednesdays in the Tonawanda Senior Center.
Upcoming
tournaments
Niagara 0-750 Sectional –
Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Center, 14 Anderson Lane, Niagara-on-the-Lake,
Ont. Today, Saturday, Aug. 15, and Sunday, Aug. 16. For more info, click this link.
Great Lakes Sectional – Erie
Bridge Club, 1221 Grant Ave., Erie, Pa. Saturday, Aug. 29, and Sunday, Aug. 30.
For more info, click this link.
Toronto Labor Day Sectional – St.
Volodymyr Cultural Centre, 1280 Dundas St. West, Oakville, Ont. Saturday, Sept.
5, to Monday, Sept. 7. For more info, click this link.
Pittsburgh Labor Day Regional –
Doubletree Meadowlands Racetrack and Casino, 340 Racetrack Road, Washington,
Pa. Monday, Sept. 14, to Sunday, Sept. 20. For more info, click this link.
Buffalo Fall Sectional – Buffalo
Bridge Center, 60 Dingens St. Friday, Sept. 25, to Sunday, Sept. 27. For
more info, click this link.
Rochester Fall Sectional – Gates
Community Center, 1605 Buffalo Road (Route 33), Rochester. Saturday, Oct. 10,
and Sunday, Oct. 11.
Niagara Open Sectional –
Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Center, 14 Anderson Lane, Niagara-on-the-Lake,
Ont. Friday, Nov. 6, to Sunday, Nov. 8. For more info, click this link.
Scores
from ACBL Live for Clubs
Week
of Aug. 3 to Aug. 9
Buffalo Bridge Center – Still
closed for roof repairs.
Bridge Club of East Aurora Wednesday morning – Open game. Linda and Paul Zittel, 66.67%; Tova and Andre Reinhorn, 59.38%; Judy Graf and Mike Ryan, 54.63%; Mary Smith and Gordon Crone, 52.60%.
Non-sanctioned
clubs
Amherst Senior Center Monday afternoon – North-south,
Shirley Cassety and George Mayers, 57%; Violet and Jasbeer Makhija, 54%;
east-west, Mary and Jim Atwood, 58%; InSook Shin and Laurie Jones, 57%.
Amherst Senior Center Friday afternoon – North-south,
Shirley Cassety and George Mayers, 58%; Violet and Jasbeer Makhija, 53%;
east-west, Mary and Jim Atwood, 63%; Elaine Wegrzyn and Gus Alfano, 54%.
Tonawanda Senior Center Wednesday
afternoon – Mike and Bob Rupp, 60%; Joanne Biondo and
Ron Fill, 53.7%; Rose Bochiechio and Edna Fill, 51.2%.
Unit
116 Master Point Leaders for Club Play
Jan.
1, 2026, to July 31, 2026
0-5 Points – Jane
Arnold, 1.25; Art Ziller, 0.74; Barbara Burns, 0.20; Mike Segal, 0.10.
5-20 Points – Susan
Mann Dolce, 5.10; Maureen Piasecki, 4.50; Linda Marsh, 3.60; Amy Licata, 3.27;
Joan Warren, 1.68; Ann Bonte, 1.49; Amber Dixon, 0.72; John Brennan, 0.65.
20-50 Points – Julie
Mitchell, 21.56; Bill Kross, 7.25; Gini Sicignano, 4.83; Devon Marlette, 3.40;
Anthony Girasole, 1.85.
50-100 Points – Molly
Morris, 9.81; Mary Berlow, 4.60; Susan Cardamone, 4.56; Susan Burns, 4.15;
Elaine Idzik, 1.71; Anne Slater, 0.91; Kathleen Voigt, 0.56; (tie) Cherry
Searle, Nancy Deneen, 0.55; Fran Riordan, 0.53.
100-200 Points – Brian
Fleming, 15.66; (tie) Ilene Rothman, Carol Licata, 8.58; Dennis Daly, 6.05; Mike
Meacham, 5.74; Candace Graser, 4.45; Pam Righter, 2.98; Donna Starnes, 2.51;
Maureen Cancilla, 2.26; Joan Ciszak, 1.62.
200-300 Points – Betty
DeFeo, 3.68.
300-500 Points – David
Schott, 27.57; Joanne Nover, 22.10; Ruth Nowatniak, 11.54; Agi Maisel, 7.54; Maryann
Szafran, 7.14; Carl Hasselback, 6.30; David Whitt, 6.03; Linda Milch, 5.31;
Audrey Ray, 5.12; Judy Zeckhauser, 2.48.
500-1,000 Points – Larry
Himelein, 41.09; Jo Nasoff-Finton, 39.35; Joyce Frayer, 20.23; Linda Zittel, 19.31;
Pat Haynes, 16.99; Mary Terrana, 14.34; Gordon Crone, 13.57; Jim McClure,
11.69; Andrei Reinhorn, 10.90; Paula Rosen, 10.82.
1,000-1,500 Points – Paul
Zittel, 28.01; Bert Feasley, 26.39; (tie) Jim Easton, Marilyn Wortzman, 19.75; Mary
Ball, 17.43; Joanne LaFay, 16.39; Ed Morgan, 10.05; Betty Metz, 7.26; Terry
Fraas, 7.10; Judie Bailey, 6.34.
1,500-2,500 Points – Paula
Kotowski, 37.62; Kamil Bishara, 27.75; Pinky Regan, 26.89; Howard Foster, 17.18;
Walt Olszewski, 15.67; Nancy Kessler, 15,13; Tova Reinhorn, 14.82; Sandi
England, 12.12; Joyce Greenspan, 10.20; David Colligan, 9.76.
2,500-3,500 Points – Dale
Anderson, 15.27; Fred Yellen, 2.99; Elaine Kurasiewicz, 1.38.
3,500-5,000 Points – Judy
Graf, 30.08; John Ziemer, 26.22; Linda Burroughsford, 25.25; Donna Steffan, 24.80;
Martha Welte, 16.17; Chongmin Zhang, 3.94; Allen Beroza, 2.70.
More than 5,000 Points – Mike
Ryan, 34.58; Bud Seidenberg, 32.29; Jay Costello, 31.13; Davis Heussler, 29.26;
Chris Urbanek, 27.88; Saleh Fetouh, 12.90; Jay Levy, 9.89; Kathy Pollock, 6.33;
Dian Petrov, 5.40; Glenn Milgrim, 1.80.
A Gold Life Master, Dale Anderson has
compiled notes on duplicate bridge activities locally since he began playing in
competition more than 20 years ago. 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. Email is dahotwings@aol.com.




