Minnesota Bridge

Our Bridge Community

 

 

Eric Hendrickson, along with daughter Annabelle, wife Anja and a big assist from Steve Gaynor, did a great job of raising funds for a worthy cause with the "Play with a Pro" and GNT game, as reported. Eric shared this "thank you" letter below.  

Your webmaster would like to add in her appreciation to all those who donated their time, all those who donated funds to play with their pro(s) of choice - and to our very giving and wonderful bridge community!  AND - of course - to Eric, Annabelle and Anja!

 

Dear Bridge Friends,

 

Yowza!  Annabelle and I just wanted to send you a huge "Thank You" — the "Play with a Pro" portion of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraiser was a massive success.  The monies raised from this portion of the fundraiser, together with the Swiss event itself and some of the baked goods that Annabelle sold there generated a cool $1,000!

 

Altogether, Annabelle has been able to fundraise close to $7,000 using an amazing assortment of tactics: she rented out our spare bedroom to Paul Gutterman's uncle who was in town for the Superbowl, she has held bake sales at school, she solicited funds from local biotech companies, and she will be giving a number of people horseback riding lessons (we own 2 horses) once it warms up. 

 

At our own end, the family (attired in lederhosen and dirndls - you may need to Google that) climbed 105 floors of the downtown Capella Tower last week (53 floors to the top in one stairwell and 52 floors to the top in another stairwell) to generate more funds.  On every landing of every floor, there was a 8X11 picture of someone from the Twin Cities area who had died from either leukemia or lymphoma. 

 

These are really nasty cancers and the contribution of your precious time has helped generate significant amounts of $$$ to fight these diseases.  THANKS!

 

This is the head count as I currently have it:

 

Phil Schwarz   (Bob Huber)

Judy Schwarz  (Doug Ogren)

Mike Cassel  (Tom Utter)

Ron DeHarpporte   (Paul Nesvig)

Peg Waller  (Doug Ogren)

Cindy Balderson  (Bob Huber)

Bob Balderson  (John Schlundt & Carol Paulson)

Sue Jackson  (Tom Utter & Bev Meyer)

Keith Connolly  (Marguerite Cowles & Linda Brammer)

Kerry Holloway  (Ray Provine, John Schlundt & Paul Nesvig)

Peg Kaplan  (Richard Lawson, Nicky Bredeson & Bob Huber)

Mike Flader  (Barb Zipoy, Susanne Ballard & Valerie Broughton)

 

and the "winner" for Mr. Popularity is:

 

Paul Meerschaert  (Nicky Bredeson, Doug Ogren, John Schlundt & Carol Paulson)

 

Please note also that in my original e-mail I sought to entice y'all to participate in this fundraiser with the promise of baked goods should you get "purchased".  Ahem, ahem; I have to admit that never in my wildest expectations did I expect that ALL of you would get purchased!  Nonetheless, be completely reassured that the massive success of this endeavor will assuage the labor of any and all baking and that Annabelle and I stand very much at the ready to happily honor our pledge.  Over the next couple of months I'll try and make sure that I get some care packages to all of you!

 

Again, our sincerest thanks for doing this.  It is very much appreciated.

 

 

Warmest of regards,

 

Eric, Annabelle & Anja

 

 

Eric A. Hendrickson, Professor
Laurence O. Pilgeram Endowed Research Chair in the Molecular Biology of Aging

Co-Director, Genome Engineering Shared Resource
BMBB Department
University of Minnesota Medical School
6-155 Jackson Hall

Bring on the Bots!

Bob Bonine and David Newhall take on the BBO pair!

  

 

The Bridge Center of St. Paul has some new members:  the bot friends!  Bridge Base Online (BBO) has opened new frontiers, allowing players to participate at regional tournaments and now NABC's from home!

 

And, when we hear about bots eliminating sit-outs, especially for smaller games with 4 and 5 board rounds, we inquired about them. Apparently it is easy to set up and players are (for the most part!) welcoming our new friends. After a short learning curve, I'm betting we'll forget when we didn't have them.

 

To have the bots, we need only a little set up and two computers. In our case, i-Pads are what we are using. The bots sit at a table where there is no N/S pair. E/W pairs arrive, play their boards, enter the scores into the Bridgemates and - voila!  No sit outs!

 

The bots do get scores, but they are marked as ineligible. Today, the bots came in last!

 

 

 

 

Kim Hayward, Club Manager

Bridge Center of St Paul

651-490-5430 w

       651-271-3500 c

Sunday Swiss at the Twin City Bridge Center

 

As advertised, Sunday, February 18th, was the first of three GNT Swiss team events that features a yummy pizza lunch and a half hour lecture for our newer players. Following this was a 4 round Grand National Team qualifier. Organizer and lecturer Steve Gaynor had a delish pizza and salad spread.

 

 

 

As a bonus, Eric Hendrickson and his daughter, Annabelle, provided baked goods and the opportunity to hire a local expert, all to aid the cause of battling leukemia and lymphoma. Our thanks to Eric and Annabelle for their efforts, to our experts who donated their services and to others who contributed by selecting their favorite expert for an upcoming game!

 

 

After players enjoyed lunch and discussed convention cards, many were entertained and enlightened by Steve's lecture.  Then - the games began!

As your webmaster was delighted to play with her long time partner, Kerry Holloway, and up & coming junior players Morgan Johnstone and Sean McNally, we (alas) have no playing shots to show.

 

 

That being said, seeing more of our new generation competing in the Swiss, and sons playing with dads was yet another treat!

Congratulations to one of the Twin Cities most winning teams: Eric Hendrickson - Paul Gutterman - Richard Lawson - Andy Caranicas for grabbing 1st place. And congratulations to almost all our teams earning their GNT "Q" - and aiming at the District GNT Finals later this year!

More photos are below. And - more Sunday GNT's are upcoming! March 4th and April 15th are on the calendar.  If you like pizza, team bridge, a great crowd of players and FUN - be sure to attend both!

Pizza - Swiss Teams - FUN!

 

Don't forget!  This Sunday, at the Twin City Bridge Center, pizza begins at 12:30PM - along with Swiss teams for players of all levels - and a charitable event, too!

Here are the details. If you are free on Sunday - be sure to get a team and attend!  Don't miss all the FUN!

Bridge at Carleton

 

Some claim that the hey day for bridge has come and gone. With the average age of ACBL members creeping upward, not strange to think this is so.

Yet, if you travel to campuses like those at U of Minnesota, or Carleton College, you will get a very different perspective!

 

 

After a few months of meeting with students from Carleton in Northfield, your webmaster is thrilled to announce that I am now the official coach for the bridge club!  Bridge club president Alexander Frieden requested that I accept this role. With coaching from Alexander himself, now I am doing my best to aid and abet Carleton bridge players as they learn more and more about the greatest mind game.

 

 

My introduction to bridge at the University of Wisconsin did not include duplicate. Fortunately for me, however, after moving to Minneapolis, I made my way to local clubs - and ultimately from there, tournaments.  Forever grateful to the super talented and devoted mentors in my bridge life, I am thrilled to be working with a new generation of competitors!

 

 

Bridge remains one of the most fascinating, challenging, intriguing and fun activities around. Our students from Carleton, U of MN and elsewhere are proving that, as they attend not only club games and tournaments - but even compete in the USBF Junior trials.

Please join me in encouraging our next generation of players as they become as fascinated with this amazing game as we have!  Bridge is the game for all seasons and all reasons - and for young people in Minnesota for sure!

Name Names! Gopher 2018

 

 

The Twin Cities survived the excitement of the Super Bowl. So now it's time to focus on our bridge "Super Bowl" of the year:  the Gopher Regional!

Starting on May 21st, we promise beautiful weather along with an excellent new site! Near the Mall of America, convenient to MSP airport and loads of restaurants and shopping, the Gopher will be held at the lovely and spacious Crowne Plaza Aire. 

Get ready for great events, hospitality and bridge. And - take advantage of another superb opportunity at the Gopher:  honor a friend, relative, bridge buddy or whomever you like with the gift of a Named Event!  Sue Jackson ([email protected]) can give you all the details about how to put your special someone up in lights.

 

Before you know it, the Gopher will be here! More details here!

 

Sunday Swiss * GNT Teams * Pizza * FUN!

 

For three Sundays, starting February 18th, the Twin City Bridge Center is serving all sorts of goodies that bridge players love! Enjoy a pizza lunch, included with your team entry, GNT qualifying opportunities, black AND red points - and the opportunity to help fine charitable causes, too.

All the dates and wonderful details for these Sunday Swiss events are below. 

If you have additional questions, please contact either Steve Gaynor at: [email protected] or Eric Hendrickson at: [email protected].

We look forward to seeing you for these special Sunday events!

Minnesota Masterpoint Races

 

Masterpoint races for 2018 are now posted at ACBL. So - we can share them at MN Bridge, too! 

Look on the left sidebar under "Masterpoint Races" to see the current stats for both Units 103 and 178 - and for both the Ace of Clubs and Min-McKenney.

As 2018 is just getting started, we will leave 2017's statistics up for a bit longer.

Good luck to everyone in earning points in 2018 - and don't forget; it's the fun of bridge and competing that really matters!

 

Upcoming Events!

Our thanks to Diane Henson for her fine efforts to update us on bridge in Minnesota!

 

Newsletter for Minnesota Bridge Players

MN Sectional, D14 Regional and NABC tournaments with links:

 

•  March 8-18 NABC in Philidelphia, PA
• April 6-8 Rochester Spring Sectional in Rochester, MN Rochester spring sectional
• April 28 Rochester NLM Sectional in Rochester, MN Rochester NLM Sectional
• May 4-6 GNT District finals and Special Weekend Sectional in Edina, MN GNT Final/Special Sectional
• May 21-27 Gopher Regional, at the Crowne Plaza in Bloomington, MN-Note new location near Mall of America and new schedule.  New KO format guarantees at least 2 sessions of play and additional brackets. See link for more information: Gopher Regional
• June 21-23 Granite City Secional in St. Cloud, MN Granite City Sectional

   

  GNT (Grand National Teams) 

• Qualifying sessions, (extra point games), at local clubs started in September and run throuh the first part of May. The GNT District Final will be May 5-6 at the Edina Senior Center.GNT District Final

  Scheduled Club GNT Qualifying games.  Please check with local clubs for additional GNT games

  Twin City Bridge Center:  February 18, March 4, and April 15 at 1:30 (Pizza lunch at 12:30, lesson at 1pm and game at 1:30)  You do not need teamates.  Separate C section if enough players.  See flyer at the bottom of the page.

  Bridge Center of St. Paul- Feb 9 at 10am, Feb 11 at 5:30pm

  MGSC- Friday at 7:15pm, Feb 9 & 16 BAM teams GNT qualifier at Edina Senior Center

  Plymouth Bridge at Edina Senior Center- Feb. 27, Mar. 27 at 6:30pm

   

  Other Events

  Feb 18- Unit 178 Charity game at TCBC.  Funds will be raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's cure cancer campaignFeb 21- ACBL wide Charity game: 

    

  • Sunday afternoon, Pizza lunch at 12:30, lesson at 1pm and team game at 1:30pm.  Baked goods will be sold as well as play with an expert opportunities.  See the flyer at bottom for more information.

  Feb 21- ACBL wide Charity game: 

  • Wednesday aftertoon 12:30pm at Rochester Bridge Club

International Fund Game

 

If you were not in the mood to battle cold, drifting snow and slick roads, then spending the afternoon at the Twin City Bridge Center and enjoying an International Fund Game was the place to be! Your webmaster isn't able to attend many games at the club as she was in days of yore - so - a treat for me to play with my very long time partner and dear buddy, Kerry Holloway, see friends and meet new ones. Very special to see my friend Peder Langsetmo, appearing above with son Arne.  Yes; of course they played!

One of the special aspects of an International Fund Game is hand analysis by fine writer and expert Frank Stewart. Even if you did not play this afternoon, we hope you will enjoy Frank's wise advise (PDF below the break).

Congratulations to Eric Hendrickson and Paul Gutterman, leading pair for the event, and to Mark Krusemeyer and Harry Sapienza, who led the N/S contingent. All results are here.