Yet again, we are extremely grateful to Connie Nelson and her superlative reporting on bridge happenings in St. Cloud! In this post, Connie focuses primarily on the 2019 results for Mini-McKenney winners in her area.
Connie is such a smart cookie, she's going to vacate the frozen tundra for warmer climes. So wish Connie a fun (and warmer!) vacation - and we will look forward to her return when it's safe to come back to Minnesota! Thank you, Connie and congratulations to all the players who achieved so much in 2019! (Which you will note does indeed include our Connie!)
Starting out 2020 as Mini-McKenney Winners
On January 7, 2020, when ACBL updated the results of the 2019 Mini-McKenney Masterpoint Races for Unit 103, three St. Cloud Bridge Club members were happy to learn that they had won First Place in their respective categories.
I expect you will continue to hear their names. Through this blog post, I hope to introduce these players to the larger bridge community.
The 0-5 Masterpoint Race: “Rookie of the Year” Nancy Schnepf
I pronounce that our Club’s newest member deserves “Rookie of the Year!” Nancy Schnepf learned how to play bridge from her in-laws when she and her husband George would visit them in Iowa. Then, late in 2018, she decided she’d like to play more often, and she “wanted to advance my game.” She looked up the Club online and called Director Kory Solarz. She remembers he was very welcoming and encouraged her to come to the Club and play.
Nancy recalls: “I went for the social aspect of bridge; I wanted to play for fun. However, after only six weeks at the Club, I started to really appreciate the “challenge” offered by the game.”
Nancy was very eager to learn. She attended the free lessons given on Tuesdays by Roger Melaas; she asked for and welcomed feedback on her bidding and regular club play; and she continually adjusted her game. She says, “Fairly soon, everyone started telling me that I should join ACBL and ‘earn points.’ I didn’t even know what that meant exactly, but I signed up for an ACBL number in January 2019.”
Nancy muses, “I never set out to win the Mini-McKenney race and never really thought I would win.” However, by mid-year, she had started winning a game or two. She recounts: “In early July I went out to ACBL for the first time, and saw that I was in the top 5 of the Masterpoint Race. I decided to “kick it up a notch.” Both Nancy’s enjoyment of the game and her constant learning paid off. Nancy earned 71.4 Masterpoints in 2019. She placed first in Unit 103, and leapfrogged the next two categories in the Mini-McKenney Races. Congrats Nancy!
Nancy gives a lot of credit to our Club. She said, “I want people to know that I never would have achieved this award without this Club. There are wonderful players and mentors here…. many mentors who are willing to play with me, teach me, send me home with articles, and even call me up outside of Club times to mention a suggestion or two.”
The 50-100 Masterpoint Race: International Player Robert Nairn
Earning 112.3 Masterpoints in 2019, Robert Nairn achieved First Place in Unit 103, as well as across all of District 14.
Robert is one of St. Cloud’s international bridge players. While a lad growing up in Scotland, he learned to play bridge sitting at the card table’s corner watching his parents and their friends play. In his youth, he became the only non-Jewish member of a Jewish bridge club in Glasgow. He often played in tournaments on weekends, as well as in Club vs. Club Team Matches (events that he wishes we offered here). As a young man, he moved to New Zealand, and played there. Then, he met his future wife and married. She was not a bridge player, nor a card player of any kind. He said, “I didn’t attempt to teach her to play, and if I had, I would not have celebrated my 50-year anniversary last year.” For many years, he set bridge aside.
He and his wife moved to St. Cloud fairly recently to be closer to their grandchildren. In early 2018, Robert started to play bridge again at our Club. He said he found the Club filled with a number of good and helpful players. He quickly picked up the game again. He earned over 50 points his first year back playing, winning the 2018 0-5 Masterpoint Race in Unit 103.
Robert describes bridge as “the best card game that ever was.” Robert says he’s played many a card game and loves poker. “But, bridge beats poker hands down!” (pun intended, I’m sure.) He explained: “While there is an element of luck involved regarding which pair you happen to meet for a hand, I love that duplicate bridge at its essence makes everybody equal.”
By the way, Robert is also a Shakespearean actor and Actors Equity member. We have no Actors Equity theater companies in St. Cloud, so if you happen know of one in the midst of casting, remember Robert!
The 300-500 Masterpoint Race: “Genghis” Connie Nelson
It’s tougher to write about myself. I learned bridge from my husband, Jim Schnepf. I remember keeping a “cheat sheet” by my side about the points I needed for different levels of games. One of my first hands I ever bid, I opened 6 No Trump. Jim blanched before saying, “We’ll have to work on communicating a bit more with your bids.” At the time, I thought I had communicated very well, as it was the one and only time I have ever been dealt a square 31-point hand. (I figured 31 points was “close enough,” which started me on my long history of believing bids are “close enough.”) Jim and I played years of party bridge, but our game really improved after starting at the Club about six years ago, where – as mentioned - the competition includes many, many fine players and coaches.
I guess I should also explain my nickname shown above. It was given to me by my goddaughter who once said to me, “You are so nice until you start playing games. Then your competitive twin “Genghis Connie” shows up.”
Earning 202.69 Masterpoints this year, I came in first in both the Unit and across District 14. Jim and I had a very good year – representing District 14 as both Flight C National Pairs and as one pair of our Flight C National Team. By midyear, I was “counting my chickens,” believing I had a lock on first place. But, Paski Paskaradevan from the St. Paul club also had a fantastic year, especially in the last half. He came within 10 points of me for the Mini-McKenney, and he won the Unit 103 Ace of Clubs race. Congratulations to Paski! (Actually, Unit 103 was very competitive inside this category. The top five places in District 14 were all from Minnesota and Unit 103!)
Other St. Cloud Top Ten Mini-McKenney Finishers
Several other St. Cloud players placed among Unit 103’s top ten Mini-McKenney finishers.
- 20-50 Masterpoints Race: Elizabeth Hammer came in second, with St. Cloud players David G. Hanson and Shari Pretzer placing in the top ten.
- 200-300 Masterpoints Race: Married partners Sue and Roger Knauss finished second and third respectively, in their category. Also in the top ten was Mark Doucette.
- 300-500 Masterpoints Race: Jim Schnepf finished second, with St. Cloud players Tom Buttweiller and Greg Nastrom also finishing in the top ten.
- 500-1000 Masterpoints Race: Scott Krupke finished in the top ten. Scott still works full-time. Just wait until he retires. You’ll be hearing more of him.
- Roger Melaas and Maurice Evans finished fifth and sixth in the 1500-2000 Masterpoints Race.
- Last, four St. Cloud players finished in the top ten in these uppermost categories: Charlene Thul (2500-3000 Masterpoints); Dennis Dufner (3500-5000 Masterpoints); Kory Solarz (5000-7500 Masterpoints); and John Koch (Over 10,000 Masterpoints).
The Awards Banquet for Unit 103 will be held May 2nd in St. Paul. I hope many of you can attend, and if you run across these “winners” there or at a tournament, please extend to them a hearty congratulations for a good showing in The Greatest Game!
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