Buffalo Niagara duplicate bridge notes: June 20, 2026

 

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

The Cleveland All American Regional, one of the premier tournaments every year in ACBL District 5, gets under way Tuesday, June 23, in its usual venue, Embassy Suites Hotel, 5800 Rockside Woods Road, Independence, Ohio, and continues through Sunday, June 28. For more info, click this link.

Congratulations to Davis Heussler, who earned the most master points of Buffalo area players at the Finger Lakes Regional Tournament Monday, June 8, to Friday, June 12, at Seasons on Keuka Lake in Penn Yan. He won 44.55 points and was 13th overall among 411 players scoring points. Also doing well in Penn Yan were Dian Petrov with 40.39 points, Linda Burroughsford with 29.58, John Ziemer and Mike Ryan, both with 29.09, Saleh Fetouh and Glenn Milgrim, both with 25.24, and David Colligan with 14.97. Players report that the tournament was very well organized and the setting was ideal. The Finger Lakes Regional is already scheduled to return to Penn Yan in September 2027.

The Buffalo Bridge Center, 60 Dingens St. off Exit 1 of the I-190, 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. 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. 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 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

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. For more info, click this link.

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 Community Center, 1605 Buffalo Road (Route 33), Rochester. Saturday, July 25, and Sunday, July 26.

Niagara 0-750 Sectional – Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Center, 14 Anderson Lane, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. Friday, Aug. 14, to 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, 340 Racetrack Road, Washington, Pa. Monday, Sept. 14, to Sunday, Sept. 20.

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 June 8 to June 14

Buffalo Bridge Center Monday evening – 0-900 game online. David Schott and Fran Riordan, 55%; Candace Graser and Cynthia Tashjian, 52.50%; Laura and John Houghtaling, 51.25%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Tuesday morning – 0-1,600 game. North-South, Gini Sicignano and Pat Wolcott, 64.50%; (tie) Joanne Nover and Larry Himelein, Paula Rosen and Maryann Szafran, 57%; Marilyn Wortzman and Jim Easton, 52%; east-west, Ruth Nawotniak and Julie Mitchell, 57.50%; John Brennan and Brian Fleming, 54.58%; Jini and John Rubinstein, 54.17%; Linda Milch and Susan Cardamone, 52.08%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Wednesday morning – Open game. Jay Costello and Bud Seidenberg, 60%; Terry Fraas and Ed Morgan, 52%; Tova and Andrei Reinhorn, 51%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Thursday morning – 0-2,000 game. Paula Rosen and Jim McClure, 74.08%; Tova and Andrei Reinhorn, 61.43%; Mary Ball and Joyce Frayer, 55.89%; Marilyn Wortzman and Jim Easton, 51.54%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Friday morning – Open game. Tova and Andrei Reinhorn, 57.50%; Jay Costello and Andrei Reinhorn, 52.50%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Sunday morning – The Longest Day. Open game. Chris Urbanek and Jay Levy, 62.50%; Judy Graf and Mike Ryan, 60.42%; Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler, 58.33%; Pat Haynes and David Schott, 53.13%; Judie Bailey and Dale Anderson, 50.93%; Terry Fraas and Ed Morgan, 50.52%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Sunday afternoon – The Longest Day. Open game. North-south, Judy Graf and Mike Ryan, 64.58%; Terry Fraase and Ed Morgan, 58.33%; (tie) David Schott and Fran Riordan, Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler, 47.92%; east-west, Chris Urbanek and Kamil Bishara, 65.42%; Art Morth and Jim Lanzo, 54.17%; Julie Mitchell and Sushil Amlani, 50.83%.

Bridge Club of East Aurora Wednesday morning – Open game. Jan and Carl Hasselback, 63%; (tie) Mary Terrana and Gordon Crone, Nancy Kessler and Paula Kotowski, 56%; Joanne LaFay and Sandi England, 54%.

Non-sanctioned clubs

Amherst Senior Center Monday afternoon – North-south, Joe Huber and Fritz Schweiger, 62%; Judie Bailey and Paul Orosz, 51%; east-west, Cynthia and Ron Helfman, 66%; Jill and Bruce Brown, 60%.

Amherst Senior Center Friday afternoon – North-south, Shirley Cassety and George Mayers, 69%; Angela Curtis and Judy McDermid, 52%; east-west, Mary and Jim Atwood, 73%; Shrikant Joshi and Ron Helfman, 60%.

Unit 116 Master Point Leaders for Virtual Club Play (online only)

Jan. 1, 2026, to May 31, 2026

0-5 Points – None.

5-20 Points – Susan Mann Dolce, 4.85; Mike Rupp, 4.08; Bob Rupp, 3.27; Joan Warren, 1.86; Amy Licata, 1.62; David Taylor, 0.54; Fran Holmes, 0.48.

20-50 Points – Bill Kross, 7.60; Devon Marlette, 2.39.

50-100 Points – Anne Slater, 6.51; Mike Metzger, 5.73; Kathleen Voigt, 5.24; Susan Burns, 4.33; Jo Ann Smith, 2.44; Fran Riordan, 1.98; Elaine Idzik, 1.68; (tie) Cherry Searle, Nancy Deneen, 0.17.

100-200 Points – Cynthia Tashjian, 9.97; Fran Schmidt, 9.30; Jim Hassett, 8.35; Candace Graser, 8.24; Maria Schory, 6.89; Brian Fleming, 6.24; Amy Habib, 4.09; John Houghtaling, 2.87; Betsy Heuer, 2.13; Jim Greno, 1.51; Betsy Greno, `1.29.

200-300 Points – Judy McDermid, 14.66; Laura Houghtaling, 2.87.

300-500 Points – Maria Amlani, 17.95; David Schott, 1.98; Eugene Giorgini, 1.26.

500-1,000 Points – (Tie) Bram Hamovitch, Terry Hamovitch, 16.17; Martha Townson, 15.41; Sushil Amlani, 13.34; Richard McGowan, 10.19; Pat Haynes, 1.89; (tie) Jeff Bender, Henry Chudy, 1.77; Joyce Frayer, 1.17; Ed Harman, 1.16.

1,000-1,500 Points – Vic Bergsten, 20.90; Mary Ball, 6.04; Bill Rich, 2.05; Bert Feasley, 0.80.

1,500-2,500 Points – Jim Lanzo, 56.19; Walt Olszewski, 1.73; Rajat Basu, 0.76; Martin Pieterse, 0.27.

2,500-3,500 Points – Art Morth, 8.08.

3,500-5,000 Points – Martha Welte, 0.40.

More than 5,000 Points – Saleh Fetouh, 93.34; Dian Petrov, 7.07; Jay Levy, 5.38.

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.