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Good boards or bad? She chuckles. Partners of any sort? She happily plays with all.
Who is the woman who is the envy of many, and a sweetheart to boot?
Dorothy Hardon!
Dorothy is turning 90, and we invite you to join us for a milestone birthday celebration!
Please attend the Wednesday, March 11th, 11AM game at the Twin City Bridge Center to celebrate Dorothy!
Each of us plays bridge for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons, however, shines above them all: the beauty of the game.
Last Friday night, an intriguing hand was played at the Minneapolis Grand Slam Board-A-Match game. Mike Cassel (on the team that won the event) looked deep into this board, and found a marvelous analysis.
Take it away, Mike! Enjoy, everyone!
Three months to the Gopher Regional! Yet it's not too late to Name A Game at the tournament!
Honor your special someone by naming an event at Gopher 2015. Prices range from $100 to $150.
Contact Sue Jackson (sjackson@smumn.edu) for more information.
Masterpoints for 2014 are now tallied. The top 100 masterpoint holders in Minnesota at year end are known - and listed at the end of this post.
The top ten of the top 100 are as follows:
|
Top Ten Masterpoints 2014 |
||||||
|
1 |
Peggy |
Kaplan |
14,480.05 |
|||
|
2 |
Peder |
Langsetmo |
10,046.00 |
|||
|
3 |
Larry |
Oakey |
9,861.69 |
|||
|
4 |
Sharon |
Anderson |
9,730.13 |
|||
|
5 |
Terry |
Beckman |
9,569.64 |
|||
|
6 |
Jack |
Rhatigan |
9,541.97 |
|||
|
7 |
Bob |
Balderson Jr |
8,961.72 |
|||
|
8 |
John |
Koch |
8,740.74 |
|||
|
9 |
Cynthia |
Balderson |
8,615.24 |
|||
|
10 |
Paul |
Meerschaert |
8,115.10 |
|||
You'll note that two Minnesotans are over 10,000 masterpoints. The next four are within fewer than 500 masterpoints of going over the 10K point.
In 2014, it took at least 2331 masterpoints to make it into the top 100 in MN.
Last year, 14,054 and 2329 were the top and bottom necessary to be on the list. And in the first year we had the website and a list, which was year end 2005, Jim Hall was the leader of the pack at 12,118, with Jerry Lee following at 10,002. 1955 was the last spot that year.
Congratulations to all those whose efforts at the table earned them a spot on our list. And a reminder to all that bridge is a partnership game. No matter who you are, no matter how talented you are - no one wins masterpoints without the aid of great partners and teammates.
Good luck to all our Minnesota competitors in the coming year! We hope you have a marvelous time competing, be it at your local club, at a tournament or online. And don't forget to appreciate that partner and those teammates... Without them, none of us would be earning any points - nor enjoying this great game!
We may see snowflakes and cold in our backyards right now. Yet, spring really is not that far away!
Diane Henson helps us to remember that - along with a cavalcade of fine bridge events to keep us both happy and busy!
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March 2nd- ACBL wide Seniors game at local clubs: Bridge Center of St. Paul- special time 12 noon.
Mar 11- Dorothy Hardon 90th birthday party celebration at the 11 am game at the Twin City Bridge Center
April 2- ACBL wide Charity game: Twin City Bridge Center at 11 am
April 10-12 Hiawatha Valley Sectional- Rochester and District GNT final April 11-12 See Link Rochester sectional
Friday 1pm & 6:30pm- Pair/team and IN games
Saturday 9am Mini-swiss team and IN game, 1pm & 6:30 PM Pair/team & IN game plus GNT qualifiers
Sunday 10 am & TBD Regionally rated session Swiss teams plus GNT finals
GNT qualifying games - check with local clubs; some dates are listed below:
Edina Community Center (Tony Ames) : Feb 24 at 6:30pm, March 12 & 26 at 7pm, March 31 at 6:30pm
Bridge Center of St. Paul: Feb 22 and Mar 29 at 5:30 pm
Mpls Grand Slam Club at Edina Community Center : Feb 20 at 7:15pm- BAM team GNT qualifiers
Rochester Bridge Club March 2 & 5 at 6:30pm
GNT Finals April 11-12 in Rochester. Flight C 2 sessions on Saturday 1pm & 6:30 pm, Other flights: 2 session qualifying on Saturday (1pm & 6:30 pm) and 2 session semi-final and final on Sunday (10 am & TBD)
One of Minnesota's top masterpoint holders, top players - and nicest guy around - would be Jack Rhatigan. If you've ever had the pleasure of playing with or against Jack, many of us have, then you know the accuracy of this.
Due to the reach of Facebook, I found out last night that Jack has been quite ill. Apparently he developed a cough, then pneumonia - then required sedation and a ventilator. Yesterday, most fortunately, he was able to breathe again on his own.
Best case scenario is Jack will be in the hospital for several more days, then move to another facility for transitional care.
Jack's daughter, Shannon, posted about her dad on Facebook. He is supposed to be walking her down the aisle at her wedding in ten days!
Although Jack doesn't want visitors from his bridge friends right now, I am certain he would be delighted to have our best wishes and prayers.
Please join me in offering both to our long time partner, teammate and wonderful friend. And warm wishes to his daughter Shannon on her upcoming nuptials!
Another fine St. Paul Winter Carnival has concluded. 237 people earned almost 958 masterpoints over the course of the weekend.
At the the top of the list, we see perennial champs John Koch and Paolo Ranaldi, tied with almost 35 masterpoints! Just a hair behind at almost 32 points is Kerry Holloway, who seems to have that rare ability to do well with almost any partner. The full masterpoint list and results can be found here.
Our thanks to tournament Gus Doty and all his volunteers for their generous hospitality. In addition, a "well done" to directing staff Tony Ames, Kim Hayward and Tony Ames II.
It may be cold during Minnesota winters. Yet, we sure know how to have a hot time at the bridge table, irrespective of season! Thanks to all who attended and competed!
Yesterday afternoon, your blogmaster had the pleasure of competing at the annual Winter Carnival Sectional at the Bridge Center of St. Paul. Turnout was superb, as was my partner. What's not to like?!
With two more days of competition available, we hope that many of you avail yourself of the opportunity win masterpoints and enjoy Unit 103 hospitality.
At another tournament this autumn, far away from where we mere mortals play, we find a hand from the world championships in China. Geir Helgemo demonstrates how one of the all time greats thinks outside the box with brilliancy.
As we anticipate the start of 2015's Winter Carnival Sectional in St. Paul, we can pause for a moment to admire bridge artistry.
The CSB Bridge News site has a marvelous hand from many years ago. As the author states, even with all 52 cards on view, judging how to take 12 tricks to succeed in slam is not at all obvious. Yet, the great Al Roth managed to do it only viewing 26 cards.
Very few of us will ever reach the brilliance of an Al Roth. Yet, here's to all of us enjoying the tourney and achieving our own victories this weekend!
While other parts of the nation are digging out from blizzards, Minnesota has escaped with almost nary a flake. Still, we know that winter is still with us - and - with the beginning of February, St. Paul's Winter Carnival!
Only 3 days from now, the Bridge Center of St. Paul will hold this year's Winter Carnival Silver Point Sectional. As always, a fine selection of events and wonderful hospitality from this coming Friday through Sunday.
Enjoy winter and win masterpoints at the upcoming tourney! All the details can be found here.
Most of us have had the experience of being KO'd early from a knock-out event, or losing a Swiss Team match. Though no one ever likes losing, often we console ourselves: "At least now we'll get an easier draw."
Well, yeah - sometimes. But if you think always, you'd be in error.
A cute story of disappointment from Bridgewinners about this phenomenon.
If you are unfamiliar with Bridgewinners, you should check it out. The site has a wealth of articles, discussions, polls and hands that can aid your bridge knowledge. A number of our players participate there; you could, too!
Also, Bridgewinners is not just for experts. They recently added an intermediate forum!