Duplicate Bridge: Oct. 30, 2021

 

Local ACBL members have until Nov. 20 to mail in their ballots for the Board of Directors for Western New York Unit 116. Ballots, which were emailed to members last week. They should be mailed to Gay Simpson, 119 Parkhurst Blvd., Tonawanda, NY 14223. Need a little longer? They also can be cast in person at the annual Unit 116 meeting Dec. 4 in the Main-Transit Fire Hall, 6777 Main St., Amherst.

Candidates for the four open seats are Sandi England, Joyce Greenspan, incumbent Barbara Libby and former board member Kathy Pollock. All of them will win places on the board, but what the balloting will decide is the length of their terms. Members can cast votes for up to three candidates. The two who get the most will serve for three years. The others will take two-year seats.

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The East Aurora Bridge Club has been holding face-to-face games for quite some time now, the only ACBL sanctioned club in the area to hold live competition. Play begins at 10 a.m. Wednesdays in the Aurora Senior Citizens Center, 101 King St., East Aurora. Players must wear masks. For more info, email director Dave Larcom at dmocral@verizon.net.

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In the meantime, players can earn ACBL master points in a variety of games sponsored by local clubs on Bridge Base Online. Info can be found at acbl.org or bridgebase.com.

The Rust Belt Bridge Group, which invites players from Buffalo, Cleveland and Pittsburgh to play on Bridge Base Online, has novice games at 9:45 a.m. Monday to Saturday, with open games at 9:50. To visit the group’s homepage, click this link. For other info, call Dian Petrov at 688-1226 or email dpetrov@roadrunner.com.

The Airport Bridge Club is linked on Bridge Base Online with the Alliance Bridge Club, the ACBL’s largest bridge club, which offers more than a dozen games every day. Anyone who has played at the Airport Club is automatically a member. For more info, visit alliancebridgeclub.com or call Airport Club manager Bill Finkelstein at 603-6943.

The Buffalo Bridge Center offers games at least three days a week – Monday, Tuesday and Thursday – on Bridge Base Online. Open games often are added to the games for beginning players on BBO at 7 p.m. Monday and noon on Tuesday and Thursday. Winners in the open games, which begin a few minutes after the novice games, receive larger point rewards since they are based on the total table count from both sections. For more info, visit the Buffalo Bridge Center website, call 691-6201 or email acting club manager Terry Fraas at tmfraas@gmail.com.

The Delaware Wednesday Club plays under auspices of the Buffalo Bridge Center on Bridge Base Online at 7 p.m. Wednesday. For info, call Ed Harman at 480-1666 or email eharmon@roadrunner.com.

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Tournament calendar

2021

CANCELED: Niagara Falls Regional – Crowne Plaza Hotel, 5685 Falls Ave., Niagara Falls, Ont. Tuesday, Nov. 9, to Sunday, Nov. 14. 

CANCELED: Unit 255 Sectional – Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Centre, 14 Anderson Path, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. Friday, Nov. 13, to Sunday, Nov. 15. 

District 5 Winter STaC – Local clubs, if face-to-face play has resumed. Monday, Dec. 6, to Sunday, Dec. 12. 

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Bridge club websites:

Click names for links.

Bridge Center of Buffalo.

Bridge Club Meridian.

Western New York Unit 116.

The Airport Bridge Club does not have a website. For info, call 716-603-6943.

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The Duplicate Bridge column is compiled weekly by News Staff Reporter Dale Anderson. The print version stopped appearing Saturdays in The Buffalo News in March 2020 when the pandemic forced local bridge clubs to halt face-to-face play.

These days you can find it in two places online. Google “Duplicate Bridge” plus the current Saturday date and that should bring up a link to it on buffalonews.com, the Buffalo News website. Another place to find it is on Dale Anderson’s bridge blog at http://newsdupli.blogspot.com/

Deadline for submission of scores and notices is Tuesday night. Email danderson@buffnews.com or dahotwings@aol.com. Office phone is 716-849-4420.

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Now a Gold Life Master, Dale Anderson is playing online these days and has a career total of more than 2,885 master points. Online play doesn’t provide as much drama for his bridge blog as face-to-face competition, but he still writes about his quest for the next measure of achievement, Sapphire Life Master (3,500 points), and other bridge adventures here.

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Duplicate scores from Bridge Base Online
Week of Oct. 18 to Oct. 24

Buffalo Bridge Center Monday evening – 0-750 game. Carol Licata and Stephane Ronget, 64.58%; Margaret Zhou and Joyce Frayer, 61.81%; (tie) Fran Schmidt and Richard McGowan, Jennifer and Howard Epstein, 54.86%.  

Buffalo Bridge Center Tuesday afternoon – 999er game. North-south, Amita Arora and Martha Townson, 70.23%; Audrey Ray and Sharon Wilcox, 59.09%; Linda Henschel and Jane Mitchell, 57.73%; Rose Ann Grimaldi and Betty DeFeo, 55.91%; Agi Maisel and Pat Haynes, 55%; east-west, Marilyn Wortzman and Jim Easton, 62.95%; Terry and Bram Hamovitch, 57.27%; (tie) Jim Lanzo and Bill Rich, David Schott and Larry Himelein, 56.82%.  

Buffalo Bridge Center Wednesday morning – 499er Swiss teams. Maryann Szafran, Pat Haynes, Betty DeFeo and Rose Ann Grimaldi, 83 victory points; Terry Camp, Jennifer Epstein, Jim Hassett and Fran Schmidt, 39 vps.

Buffalo Bridge Center Thursday afternoon – 299ers. Carol Roth and Audrey Ray, 64.58%; Maria Schory and Bill Noltee, 58.33%; Mary Holmes and Henri Lewin, 55.42%; Betsy and Jim Greno, 54.58%; Joanne Nover and Janet Desmon, 52.92%; Jennifer Epstein and Terry Camp, 52.50%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Thursday afternoon – Open Game. Andrei Reinhorn and John Marvin, 59.52%; Richard McGowan and Bill Rich, 57.74%; Denise Slattery and John Bava, 55.36%; Agi Maisel and Tova Reinhorn, 54.76%.

Bridge Club of East Aurora Wednesday morning – Howard Foster and Davis Heussler, 61.31%; Joe Miranda and Joe Rooney, 58.93%; Martha Townson and Jim Lanzo, 54.17%.

Delaware Wednesday evening – Marilyn Wortzman and Jim Easton, 55.56%; Mary Ball and Joyce Frayer, 54.17%; Jan O’Mara and Walt Olszewski, 51.39%; Ed Harman and Bob Ciszak, 50%.

Twentieth Century Club Invitational Friday morning – Anne Slater and Kathleen Voigt, 67.91%; Peggy Stock and Cherry Searle, 53.39%; Donna Starnes and Pam Jakubczak, 50.61%.

Other clubs

Amherst Senior Center Thursday – North-south, Raj Puri and Joshi Shrikant, 57%; Marian Morber and George Mayers, 55%; east-west, Shirley Cassety and Alicia Kolipinski, 60%; Edna and Ron Fill, 58%.

Amherst Senior Center Friday – North-south, Karen Synor and Jeff Peters, 63%; Ellen Lochead and Bill Westley, 57%; east-west, Rich Kayton and Ted Kotlarz, 61%; Joanne Zavarella and Fritz Schweiger, 57%.