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Despite more snowflakes than daffodils last weekend, our Hiawatha Valley Sectional in Rochester still enjoyed a robust turnout. The accomplished father and son duo of Terry and John Lijewski managed to earn more masterpoints than the rest of the field.
Congratulations to Terry and John, and to the rest of the field who conquered April snow showers and did well in Rochester! Results from the weekend are here.
With the exception of every couple of decades when the Twin Cities are graced with an NABC, the Gopher Regional at the end of May is our "Big One" when it comes to tournaments. The only Regional Minnesota holds throughout the year, it's an opportunity for folks from all over to come to our state and compete on a high level. Be you urban, suburban or rural, rookie or seasoned veteran, from our great state or a neighbor - or even far, far away - we want you to come and compete!
Patti Stuhlman, chairperson of Gopher 2009, has a wonderful schedule planned for everyone. Be sure to check it out here; we hope that you can play every day from May 19th through the 25th!
If you need partners, Sue Jackson will be delighted to help you. You can reach Sue at: 651.636.4446 or by email at [email protected].
This year, our regional will be at the Ramada Mall of America (Thunderbird). It's most convenient to the airport, Mall of America and loads of nice places to grab a bite to eat and discuss your triumphs and tribulations. We look forward to seeing you at the end of May!
Kurt Schaeffer is often featured at Minnesota Bridge. Not the least of reasons why is his amazing talent as a declarer. Few in our state (or elsewhere, for that matter) are able to combine those key abilities of vision, creativity, odds and execution.
Friday night at the Minneapolis Grand Slam Club, Kurt and Your Editor enjoyed one of those rare games where all the stars seemed to align. We experienced quite an array of capitivatingly interesting hands. Here is but one hand of a kismet evening that Kurt kindly highlights for all of us. Go, Kurt!
Now that we're ensconced in April, Minnesota Bridge has switched from our 2008 Ace of Clubs and Mini McKenney races to the 2009 version. Check out the links on the left under "Masterpoint Races" to see how you and your fellow compatriots are faring this year.
Please note that most of District 14's tournaments don't get scheduled until our weather moves from grotesque to tolerable. So, another month or two, and we should see more Minnesotans adding to their Mini McKenney totals.
Of course, our great clubs throughout the state are open winter, spring, summer and fall. So - feel free to drop in and pump up your Ace of Clubs totals frequently!
UPDATE: Sorry, folks. Apparently the links to our Unit races are not functioning from ACBL.org's site at present. When they are up and running again, we will reload the links so you can check them out.
It's Wednesday. Thus, time for John Koch and Koch's Korner. Though today is April Fool's Day, John is assuredly no one's fool.
Here's a hand from twenty years ago. John thought he'd danced with the devil and won. But, as we all know, such a task is not easily accomplished.
You can read all about John's attempt to send his opponent's game to Hades. I might add that John's suggestion about not making eye contact at the table is wise. Last fall, I photographed some of the top players in the world during the Buffett Cup. One player, through hundreds of photos, remained expressionless, photo after photo: Bob Hamman.
Speak of the devil; Bob is one guy who can afford to give away a bit more than almost all of us - yet never does.
Don't be a fool. Listen to John and Be Like Bob! No foolin'.