Buffalo Niagara duplicate bridge notes: April 11, 2026

 

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

The Buffalo Spring Sectional Tournament continues today, Saturday, April 11, and Sunday, April 12, in Buffalo Bridge Center, 60 Dingens St. off Exit 1 of the I-190. Saturday features pairs games at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Swiss teams competition begins at 10 a.m. Sunday. For more info, click this link.

Coming up next Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, is the Rochester Spring Sectional in the Gates Community Center, 1605 Buffalo Road (Route 33), Gates. For more info, click this link.

Congratulations to Saleh Fetouh, who earned the most master points among Buffalo players in the Toronto Easter Regional Tournament March 31 to April 5. He collected 27.37 points and was 66th among 714 players who won points. Also doing well in Toronto were Davis Heussler and David Colligan, both with 8.30.

The Buffalo Bridge Center has started two new sets of classes this month for beginners who want to step up their skills. A 10-week course, Competitive Bidding, was scheduled to begin Thursday, April 9. Classes run from 1 to 3 p.m. Fee is $175. For info and registration, call or text Ruth Nawotniak at 716-949-7574 or email ruth2250@outlook.com. Another 10-week course, Bridge Basics Part I, starts Wednesday, April 15, and will be held from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Fee is also $175. For info and registration, call or text Joyce Frayer at 716-984-3570 or email joycefrayer@gmail.com. 

The Bridge Center also 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 next party game will be on Sunday, 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 have been 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 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 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: 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

Buffalo Spring Sectional – Buffalo Bridge Center, 60 Dingens St. Today, Saturday, April 11, and Sunday, April 12. For info, click this link.

Rochester Spring Sectional – Gates Community Center, 1605 Buffalo Road (Route 33), Gates. Next 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 (Route 33), Rochester. Saturday, July 25, and Sunday, July 26.

Scores from ACBL Live for Clubs

Week of March 30 to April 5

Buffalo Bridge Center Monday evening – 0-900 game online. Jim Hassett and Terry Camp, 58.33%; Fran Schmidt and Richard McGowan, 52.78%; Francis Riordan and David Schott, 47.22%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Tuesday morning – 0-1,600 game. North-South, Bonnie Clement and David Schott, 53.33%; Pat Haynes and David Whitt, 52.08%; Joanne Nover and Tom Kenneth, 50.42%; east-west, Carol Licata and Ilene Rothman, 54.58%; (tie) Marilyn Wortzman and Jim Easton, Maria and Sushil Amlani, 54.17%; Linda Milch and Susan Cardamone, 50.42%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Wednesday morning – Open game. Donna Steffan and Judy Graf, 62.50%; Jay Costello and Bud Seidenberg, 56.25%; Julie Mietchell and Ed Morgan, 50%; Martha Welte and Howard Foster, 48.96%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Thursday morning – 0-2,000 game. Paul Zittel and Bert Feasley, 61.11%; Walt Olszewski and Sushil Amlani, 59.52%; (tie) Pat Haynes and David Schott, Marilyn Wortzman and Jim Easton, 55.56%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Friday morning – Open game. Kamil Bishara and Fred Yellen, 58%; John Ziemer and Vic Bergsten, 54%; Jay Costello and Bud Seidenberg, 53%; Judy Graf and Mike Ryan, 52%.

Bridge Club of East Aurora Wednesday morning – Open game. Joanne LaFay and Bert Feasley, 63%; (3-way tie) Sandi England and Dave Larcom, Joan Ciszak and Kathy Donnelly, Mary Terrana and Gordon Crone, 52%.

Non-sanctioned clubs

Amherst Senior Center Monday afternoon – Violet and Jasbeer Makhija, 62%; (tie) Edna and Ron Fill, Connie Wilson and Miriam Regnet, 60%.

Tonawanda Senior Center Wednesday afternoon – Mike and Bob Rupp, 57.5%; JoAnne Biondo and Ron Fill, 53.7%; Ann Dunlop and Kay Brinkman, 52.5%.

Unit 116 Master Point Leaders for Club Play

Jan. 1, 2026, to March 31, 2026

0-5 Points – Karl Bauer, 2 even; Art Ziller, 0.74; Jane Arnold, 0.69.

5-20 Points – Frank Dluhy, 6.01; Maureen Piasecki, 4.18; Susan Mann Dolce, 3.71; Linda Marsh, 2.46; Amy Licata, 2.11; Ann Bonte, 0.83; John Brennan, 0.65.

20-50 Points – Julie Mitchell, 9.75; Devon Marlette, 2.24; Anthony Girasole, 1.85; Gini Sicignano, 1.81; Bill Kross, 1.23.

50-100 Points – Molly Morris, 7.43; Mary Berlow, 2.93; Susan Burns, 2.14; Susan Cardamone, 2.11.

100-200 Points – Brian Fleming, 8.12; (tie) Ilene Rothman, Carol Licata, 4.07; Dennis Daly, 2.30; Mike Meacham, 2.04; Candace Graser, 2.02; Pam Righter, 1.38; Maureen Cancilla, 0.74; Joan Ciszak, 0.36; Cynthia Tashjian, 0.26.

200-300 Points – Betty DeFeo, 0.39.

300-500 Points – David Schott, 10.61; Joanne Nover, 9.93; David Whitt, 4.02; Ruth Nowatniak, 3.42; Carl Hasselback, 3.30; Linda Milch, 1.74; Agi Maisel, 1.42; Maria Amlani, 0.39; Maryann Szafran, 0.37.

500-1,000 Points – Jo Nasoff-Finton, 23.56; Wilson McClaren, 7.98; Joyce Frayer, 7.89; Sharon Wilcox, 6.85; Gordon Crone, 6.33; Mary Terrana, 5.88; (tie) Bram and Terry Hamovitch, 5.31; Linda Zittel, 4.99; Andrei Reinhorn, 4.88.

1,000-1,500 Points – Bert Feasley, 14.30; (tie) Jim Easton, Marilyn Wortzman, 10.65; Mary Ball, 7.29; Paul Zittel, 6.44; Joanne LaFay, 5.58; Judie Bailey, 4.96; Betty Metz, 4.24; Terry Fraas, 3.54; Ed Morgan, 1.94; Larry Abate, 1.79.

1,500-2,500 Points – Pinky Regan, 13.81; Paula Kotowski, 10.03; Howard Foster, 8.09; Rajat Basu, 6.86; David Colligan, 6.69; Tova Reinhorn, 6.39; Joyce Greenspan, 6.26; Walt Olszewski, 5.77; Nancy Kessler, 3.79; Sandi England, 3.78.

2,500-3,500 Points – Dale Anderson, 4.04.

3,500-5,000 Points – Judy Graf, 11.70; Linda Burroughsford, 11.59; Donna Steffan, 9.85; John Ziemer, 9.03; Martha Welte, 7.94; Allen Beroza, 2.02.

More than 5,000 Points – Davis Heussler, 16.45; Mike Ryan, 14.01; Bud Seidenberg, 11.87; Jay Costello, 11.55; Saleh Fetouh, 7.08; Kathy Pollock, 5.93; Chris Urbanek, 4.19; Jay Levy, 3.36; Dian Petrov, 1.80.

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.