New
s and notes for the Buffalo area duplicate bridge community appear weekly here at http://newsdupli.blogspot.com/, usually by midweek.
The annual meeting and party game
is today, Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Buffalo Bridge Center, 60 Dingens St. off
Exit 1 of the northbound I-190. Refreshments and meeting begin at 11:30 a.m.
Bring snacks to share. Game starts at 12:30 p.m. Free for club members, $12 for
non-members.
There’s a regular lineup of in-person games at the
Buffalo Bridge Center from Tuesday through Friday with party games once a month
on weekends, usually on Sundays, except during football season. 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.
Need a partner for the party games? The club has
started using a Google form to help players match up. To find it, go to BBC
website and click on Announcements. There you can see who’s looking for a
partner, fill out a form and add your name to the list. For more info, contact
Julie Mitchell by calling 845-978-9480 or emailing jkmitchell070121@gmail.com.
An online game for players with fewer than 900 master
points is hosted by the Bridge Center at 7 p.m. Monday on RealBridge. For more
info, including a player guide, visit realbridge.online.
A course on the two-over-one bidding system
taught by Linda Burroughsford began Monday, Nov. 2, at the Buffalo Bridge
Center. Topics she's covering include the forcing 1 No Trump bid, rebids and
Bergen raises. Classes are held on Mondays from 12:30 to 3 p.m. For info
and sign-up, call or text Linda at 289-241-4449 or email her at burroughsford@icloud.com.
In addition, the club hosts a supervised play session
for newer players who want to gain some experience and get some advice to improve
their game. It’s from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays and it’s 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 at 10
a.m. on Tuesdays, which is just for fun. 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.
The Bridge Centre of Niagara
(BCON) in St. Catharines, Ont., offers face-to-face games five days a week plus
Saturday nights at its club in Tremont Square opposite the Pen Centre shopping
plaza off Glendale Avenue. Fee for games is $10 Canadian for members, $13 for
non-members. Website is bridgewebs.com/Niagara.
Other ACBL sanctioned clubs: Bridge
Club of East Aurora holds an open game 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 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.
Congratulations to Jay Levy,
who earned the most master points among Buffalo area players in the Niagara
Open Sectional Tournament Nov. 6 to Nov. 8 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. He
collected 8.83 points and was 29th overall. Also doing well was Davis Heussler
with 4.96 points.
Upcoming
tournaments
District 5 Sectional Tournament at the
Clubs (STaC) – Participating bridge clubs. (No local
clubs yet.) Monday, Dec. 7, to Sunday, Dec. 13.
Cleveland Rock and Roll Regional –
Embassy Suites Hotel, 5800 Rockside Woods Road, Independence, Ohio. Wednesday,
Jan. 6, 2027, to Sunday, Jan. 10, 2017. For more info, click this link.
Toronto Non-Life Master Regional –
Sheraton Centre Toronto, 123 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ont. Friday, Jan. 8,
2027, to Sunday, Jan. 10, 2027. For more info, click this link.
Toronto New Year’s Sectional –
Sheraton Centre Toronto, 123 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ont. Friday, Jan. 8,
2027, to Sunday, Jan. 10, 2027. For more info, click this link.
Niagara Winter Sectional
– Holiday Inn and Suites, 327 Ontario St., St. Catharines, Ont. Friday, Feb.
19, 2027, to Sunday, Feb. 21, 2027.
Toronto Easter Regional –
Sheraton Centre Toronto, 123 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ont. Tuesday, March 23,
2027, to Sunday, March 28, 2027. For more info, click this link.
Scores
from ACBL Live for Clubs
Week
of Nov. 2 to Nov. 8
Buffalo Bridge Center Monday evening – 0-900
game online. Laura and John Houghtaling, 62.04%; Leslie Deich and Fran Holmes,
59.26%; (tie) David Schott and Frank Riordan, 58.33%.
Buffalo Bridge Center Tuesday morning – 0-1,600
game. North-south, Larry Himelein and David Schott, 57.14%; Paula Rosen and
Maryann Szafran, 54.76%; Julie Mitchell and Mike Meachan, 54.17%; Ilene Rothman
and Carol Licata, 52.68%; Jim McClure and Richard McGowan, 51.79%; east-west, Agi
Maisel and Pat Haynes, 62.20%; Tony Girasole and Joyce Frayer, 53.87%; Betty
Metz and Ruth Nawotniak, 50.30%; Brian Universal and Bob Mampe, 49.11%.
Buffalo Bridge Center Wednesday morning –
Open game. Jay Levy and Sushil Amlani, 65.04%; Davis Heussler and David
Colligan, 58.69%; Chris Urbanek and Kamil Bishara, 53.71%; Mike Ryan and John
Ziemer, 48.61%; Ed Morgan and Andrei Reinhorn, 48.15%.
Buffalo Bridge Center Thursday morning –
0-2,000 game. Andrei Reinhorn and Joyce Greenspan, 61.94%; Brian Fleming and
Julie Mitchell, 59.89%; Marilyn Wortzman and Jim Easton, 58.36%; Audrey Ray and
Ed Morgan, 58%; Joanne Nover and Agi Maisel, 54.22%.
Buffalo Bridge Center Friday morning –
Open game. Kamil Bishara and Donna Steffan, 55%; Tova and Andrei Reinhorn, 54%;
John Ziemer and Vic Bergsten, 52%; Jay Costello and Bud Seidenberg, 51%.
Bridge Club of East Aurora Wednesday morning – Open game. Linda and Paul Zittel, 67%; Joyce Greenspan and Ruth Wurster, 62%.
Non-sanctioned
clubs
Amherst Senior Center Monday afternoon – North-south,
George Mayers and Shirley Cassety, 65%; Nels Larson and Joe Graner, 61%;
east-west, Bruce Brown and Dan Blatz, 66%; Dave Young and Tim Hartnett, 55%.
Amherst Senior Center Friday afternoon – North-south,
George Mayers and Shirley Cassety, 63%; Carol Neuhaus and Fritz Schweiger, 61%;
east-west, Dan Blatz and Will Brick, 67%; Mary and Jim Atwood, 62%.
Tonawanda Senior Center Wednesday afternoon – Bob and Mike Rupp, 59.7%; Susan and Harvey Lichtblau, 56.5%; Judy White and Fritz Schweiger, 51.4%.
Unit
116 Master Point Leaders for Club Play
Jan.
1, 2026, to Oct. 31, 2026
0 – 5 master points – Susan
Lichtblau, 2.58; Alex Ivanov, 1.87; Jane Arnold, 1.65; Kathy Pyjas, 1.04; Mike
Segal, 0.32; Barbara Burns, 0.20.
5 – 20 – Susan Mann Dolce,
6.81; Maureen Piasecki, 4.50; Amy Licata, 4.20; Amber Dixon, 2.45; Pat Wolcott,
1.91; Joan Warren, 1.68; John Brennan, 0.93.
20 – 50 –
Julie Mitchell, 38.26; Bill Kross, 7.90; Tony
Girasole, 6.85; Gini Sicignano, 5.99; Devon Marlette, 3.57.
50 – 100 –
Molly Morris, 9.81; Susan Burns, 6.30; Susan Cardamone, 6.05; Elaine Idzik,
1.71; Frank Riordan, 1.05; Anne Slater, 0.91; Kathleen Voigt, 0.56; Nancy
Deneen, 0.55; Pepe Justicia-Linde, 0.53; Jo Ann Smith, 0.35.
100 – 200 –
Brian Fleming, 23.11; Mike Meacham, 13.60; Ilene Rothman, 11.79; Carol Licata, 10.02;
Dennis Daly, 9.57; Maureen Cancilla, 7.01; Candace Graser, 6.90; Pam Righter, 5.97;
Amy Habib, 3.65; Donna Starnes, 2.51; Joan Ciszak, 1.62; Cynthia Tashjian,
0.26.
200 – 300 –
Betty DeFeo, 5.69.
300 – 500 –
David Schott, 39.89; Joanne Nover, 35.16; Ruth Nawotniak, 18.58; Agi Maisel, 15.80;
Audrey Ray, 14.36; Maryann Szafran, 11.43; Carl Hasselback, 11.17; Linda Milch,
8.99; David Whitt, 6.03; Maria Amlani, 5.07; Judy Zeckhauser, 2.96; Eugene
Giorgini, 0.84.
500 – 1,000 –
Larry Himelein, 53.04; Jo Nasoff-Finton, 50.14; Linda Zittel, 29.95; Joyce
Frayer, 27.83; Pat Haynes, 24.52; Mary Terrana, 24.04; Gordon Crone, 23.02;
Andrei Reinhorn, 22.68; Bonnie Clement, 16.53; Paula Rosen, 13.88; Jim McClure,
13.49; Sushil Amlani, 13.41; Ruth Wurster, 12.46; Jan Hasselback, 11.17; Donna
Pottle, 10.31; Richard McGowan, 10.08; Sharon Wilcox, 9.80; Wilson McClaren,
9.03; Dave Larcom, 7.68; Brian Universal, 6.96; Barbara Landree, 5.16; Dan
Clark, 4.76; Ed Harman, 2.61; Diana Smith, 2.24; Florence Boyd, 2.20; Ed
Drozen, 1.70.
1,000 – 1,500 –
Paul Zittel, 38.51; Bert Feasley, 32.05; Mary Ball, 24.10; (tie) Jim Easton,
Marilyn Wortzman, 21.92; Joanne LaFay, 19.85; Betty Metz, 17.07; Ed Morgan,
16.46; Larry Abate, 14.80; Vic Bergsten, 11.01; Terry Fraas, 8.70; Judie
Bailey, 7.84; Cathy Majewski, 1.66.
1,500 – 2,500 – Kamil
Bishara, 44.85; Paula Kotowski, 44.22; Howard Foster, 33.28; Pinky Regan,
30.69; Tova Reinhorn, 25.34; Joyce Greenspan, 19.54; Walt Olszewski, 18.21; Nancy
Kessler, 17.51; Sandi England, 15.19; David Colligan, 14.06; Jim Lanzo, 10.19; Bill
Finkelstein, 7.47; Rajat Basu, 7.30; Judy Kaprove, 5.44; (tie) Barbara
Pieterse, Martin Pieterse, 4.19; Sue Bergman, 1.69; John Bava, 0.43.
2,500 – 3,500 –
Dale Anderson, 28.29; Fred Yellen, 9.05; Elaine Kurasiewicz, 1.38.
3,500 – 5,000 – John
Ziemer, 45.18; Judy Graf, 39.41; Martha Welte, 37.29; Donna Steffan, 34.72;
Linda Burroughsford, 31.72; Chongmin Zhang, 3.94; Allen Beroza, 2.70; Barbara
Libby, 1.03; Mike Silverman, 0.44.
Over 5,000 –
Mike Ryan, 62 even; Bud Seidenberg, 49.98; Chris Urbanek, 48 even; Jay
Costello, 46.98; Davis Heussler, 43.25; Saleh Fetouh, 14.17; Jay Levy, 9.93;
Kathy Pollock, 8.99; Dan Gerstman, 4.64; Glenn Milgrim, 1.80.
A Gold Life Master with more than 3,000
master points, Dale Anderson has compiled
notes on duplicate bridge activities locally since he began playing in
competition more than 20 years ago. He also comments on his bridge adventures
on his pages here at blogger.com. You can call or (better yet) text him at
716-860-2305. Email is dahotwings@aol.com.
