Today's the day! Bundle up, enjoy the winter wonderland - and play bridge with your favorite partner!
The Minnesota Winter Super Sectional begins at 10AM in New Brighton. The tournament flyer is below.
Have a great time with the pair/team game combos!
Continue reading "MN Winter Super Sectional - Jan 23 - 25" »
Minnesota Winter Super Silver Sectional
Jan 23-25
New Brighton Community Center
400 10th St. NW
New Brighton, MN 55112
The weather outside might be frightful but the bridge is so delightful especially in the Twin Cities.
So come to New Brighton the Winter Capital of Minnesota!
So, brrrrriiinng a friend and we'll see you there
Between Sessions:
See the attached flyers for all the details.
Tournament Chair:
Larry Huiras
phone: 715-410-8705
email: bridge.kibitzer@gmail.com
Partnerships:
Patti Huiras
phone: 651-343-2078
email: patti.huiras@gmail.com
Tournament Director:
Kim Hayward
Flyer Below the Line!
Continue reading "MN Winter Super Silver Sectional - Jan 23-25" »
The United States Bridge Federation competition for junior players started Friday - and continues on today and beyond. We are thrilled that a number of our Minnesota competitors are in Atlanta playing - and that four of them continue on today!
In the finals for U26, we will see the Kaplan team with one of our junior super stars, Ben Kristensen, compete against the Hallerman team. Sean McNally, at U of MN and another of our up and coming talented players, had quite the dramatic finish yesterday. Sean's team tied at the end of competition! Yet the fact that his team had finished ahead of their opponents in the initial round robin sent the Hallerman team to the final match today! Should be a thriller to watch Ben vs Sean!
In the quest for U26 #2 team, two more of our Minnesota students will be battling. Morgan Johnstone, from U of MN is on the Y Yu team. Thomas Scruggs of Carleton College is on the Xu team. We wish both Morgan and Thomas the best of luck today!
Finally, in the Roma event (women's teams), Alexandar ("Allie") Clark from Carleton College will compete with her teammates on Team Huang for Stage 3 of this event.
We are so very proud of our new generation of bridge players in Minnesota! Huge thanks to those at our schools who are training new students for our game - and applause for the students who are learning and loving bridge, as many of us did decades ago.
If you have some time available today, you can watch our competitors on BBO. We sure hope that you do!
And - as always - thanks to the many people throughout North America who devote so much time and energy to the USBF competitions. Big shout out to Jan Martel, who can (and does!) do anything and everything at USBF events - and Suzi Subeck for her marvelous bulletins. Today's is below; enjoy reading about our Juniors - and cheer on our Minnesota players!
Continue reading "Michael Seamon Junior U.S. Bridge Championships - MN Players Shine!" »
We all know what a blast it is to compete in a big tournament. And we also know how much fun it is to do well.
But perhaps one of the biggest thrills is when we compete against elite competition in the toughest field - and beat some of the stars!
Just this past week, one of our own Minnesota college stars, Sean McNally, experienced this excitement. Sean played with one of his regular junior partners, Raphael Hallerman, and they competed with teammates George Berger and Michael Kopera in Bracket #1 of the Thursday/Friday Knockouts at the Coral Gables Regional.
As is often the case in a well attended regional, a number of world class players were in the event. Yet, when the smoke cleared, Sean, Raphael, George and Michael had seized 2nd place! Only a mighty team of Italians could stop their juggernaut!
Big congratulations to (from left to right) Raphael, George, Michael and Sean. Take a gander at who was in the field - and see their impressive #2 spot appearing on the results! Way to go, guys!
Big thanks to another world class player who alerted us to Sean's triumph: Ron Smith. Ron has worked with and encouraged our junior players for decades, for which we are most grateful. And - though Ron is quiet and mild mannered at the table, don't let him fool you. He knows just what to do and when to do it - which is why Ron himself wins vastly more often than the average bear.
In fact, were you wondering who won the most masterpoints Coral Gables? Guess who! Ronnie along with teammates Adam Grossack and Josh Donn. Very well done, boys!
"Playing up" is a challenge. Yet when you do super well? A super high!
The Holiday Sectional in North St. Paul was well planned! Great bridge and avoidance of snowstorms with frigid weather!
That fine planning was followed with excellent competition and success from a number of our players. At the top of the masterpoint list, we find one of our areas elite players: Robert Schacter. With an impressive weekend score of 33.01, Robert outdid the rest of the field. Two other players did grab much success, too. Brian Crossley's 26.92 and Gary Knippenberg's 26.19 rewarded them with 2nd and 3rd overall for point tallies.
The full report for who did what is here. And to see the overall results of each event, check out these results.
We are most grateful for our hardworking tournament chair, Tom Owens. And big thanks also to the woman who does superb double duty: Kim Hayward, both director in charge and partnership chairman. Of course, there are all of our wonderful players, too; we appreciate every one of you!
The photo above is becoming a reality, everyone! So stay safe and warm over this week - and - go to your favorite bridge club to achieve this goal!
A big shoutout to Tom Owens, the tournament chair for the Holiday Sectional Tournament this weekend at the Bridge Center of St. Paul! Not only is there a dedicated Swiss Team section for the I/N players, Tom has extended the Pair/Team format to the 0 to 500 I/N players for all 5 sessions of pair play on Friday and Saturday!
What is a pair/team game? In a pair/team game, you play with your partner just as you would during a regular pairs game. But the table-mates with whom you start the game with are considered your teammates for a new section based on board-a-match scoring.
You don’t need to do anything different, but this format allows for two different ways for a pair to earn masterpoints. It is extra work for the director in charge to set up the additional sections, and it is extra work for the partnership chair to have fill-ins available to keep the tables full. Yet it is a great opportunity for I/N pairs to experience a team game setting, and another way to earn points.
If you score well as a pair, you would earn a certain number of masterpoints. If your teammates do well also, your team score may be higher than your pair score. You earn the highest of the two scores (you cannot earn separate points, though, for each format). You won’t lose your pair result - but you may better it!
Keith Thompson
And don't forget; the Holiday Sectional starts this Friday, December 6th! Have fun, play bridge and get into the holiday spirit! The flyer is below! Our thanks to Keith and everyone else who is working hard for a great tourney and for all our competitors!
Continue reading "Special I/N Focus! Holiday Sectional Tournament in St. Paul This Weekend!" »
Yes, the holidays are right around the corner! Thanksgiving is a week from today... And Hannukah and Christmas soon to follow.
To celebrate, St. Paul has a great sectional to offer. Starting on Friday December 6th, team/pair events will be offered at the St. Paul Bridge Center. And Sunday the 8th, Swiss Teams.
Enjoy the season, the holidays - and - fun bridge with friends! More details below the line with the flyer for December's event.
Continue reading "Holiday Sectional in St. Paul - December 6-8" »
Our Minnesota Autumn Sectional Tournament, which started on Thursday, Halloween, put a smile on a whole lot of people. And - a whole lot of smiling people attended this fine event! We had a big surge of competitors over last year; 276 tables of competitors, to be exact.
Our top masterpoint earner, Barry Purrington, amassed an impressive 44.40, to be exact. Quite impressive! Three players earned over 30 masterpoints: Tony Ames with 34.68, Paul Meerschaert with 30.87 and George Bleskachek, a hair behind Paul with 30.75. Kerry Holloway secured the 5th spot with 24.54**. The final list of masterpoint winners is here; overall placings are here.
Big thanks to Directors Kim Hayward and Bjorgvin Kristinsson, Maureen Weiman for partnerships, and of course, our fine co-chairs, John Schlundt and Kerry Holloway.
A special ** to Kerry, who went above and beyond the call of duty in many ways this tournament. In addition to his hard work in advance with John, Kerry first had to deal with a partner not being well enough to attend. And then Kerry himself had to cancel multiple games due to his wife's very unfortunate accident on Saturday. I'm sure we all wish Cara Holloway the best, who is now resting comfortably in the hospital after a fall that required hip surgery. Kerry, husband supreme, managed to handle details at the tournament but spent most of his time with Cara.
Here's to good health to all our Minnesota bridge players - applause for all our volunteers - and plans for our upcoming December sectional, too!
Thanks to all and thanks for attending!
The Minnesota State Sectional Tournament begins today at 10AM! If you want to TRICK your opponents and get TREATS from them, better head on over to the Oak Marsh Golf Club with your favorite pards!
No better way to spend Halloween than playing bridge today through Sunday!
Free coffee - free parking - no smoking!
The tournament flyer is below with more details. Come one, come all and compete!
Minnesota is graced with another autumn tournament in October!
This tournament is two single sessions on October 26th in Rochester. For non-Life Masters with 500 or fewer masterpoints.
An opportunity to earn silver points - enjoy snacks and coffee - and hear a lecture from professional Platinum Life Master Jade Barrett.
The tournament flyer is below. Please attend; have fun - do well and learn!
Minnesotans often shine in District 14's NAP qualifier for spring's NABC. This year's District Finals did not disappoint.
Congrats to all qualifiers! Best of luck this coming spring!
And a special shout out to Jackson Wahl and Sarah Emmons, students at Carleton College, for their qualification to go to Ohio. Bridge for young people is alive and well in Minnesota! May the successes of our college students spur more youth to also become bridge competitors!
NAP Flight A
John Koch - Terry Beckman
Leon Blackwell - Grant Broadwine
Bob Balderson - Cindy Balderson
Vern Swing - Bruce Boie
NAP Flight B
Debra Tyrdik - Lynda Peterson
Del Swanson - Gene Brandl
Gerald Burdeski - Mark Sinner
Diane Henson - Larry Henson
NAP Flight C
Peter Bock - Beverly Meyer
Katie Albers - Brad Albers
Jackson Wahl - Sarah Emmons
Another fine Minnesota tournament is drawing closer and closer!
If you want to take lots of TRICKS and have a tournament filled with lots of TREATS - then be sure to attend the sectional at Oak Marsh Golf Club in Oakdale, starting on October 31st (yes; that's Halloween!) and running four days through November 3rd.
The events are great, with something for everybody. Treats will be present - and a popular Swiss will be held on Sunday.
The flyer for the sectional is below. If you have questions, contact co-chairmen John Schlundt or Kerry Holloway. And if you are in need of a pard, Maureen Weiman can help you.
We hope to see all of you - and watch you have a BOOtiful time at the tourney!
After more than 3 decades without a regional tournament in the medical mecca of the nation, Rochester enjoyed a fine one this past week. Many people deserve applause for all the efforts put into organizing a regional in a location that has not scheduled a regional in many years. Above (left to right) are tournament chairs par excellence Layne Vinje, Sheri French and Barbara Wijdicks.
And speaking of "fabulous" - Wisconsonites Paolo Ranaldi and Lee Prellwitz put on quite the show! Their partnership tied for 1/2 overall, with an impressive 89.03 masterpoints each. In 3rd, 4th and 5th overall respectively were Darlene Anderson, 44.71 mps, Terry Beckman, 41.72 and Henry Thibault, 40.59 The entire list of masterpoint winners is here. Details of each event's overall competitors can be found here.
In addition to success in the tournament events, other big achievements occurred. Above is a photo of Carole Mataya of Rochester. Carole, along with Pam Baker and Bev Berg of St. Cloud achieved the goal at which all bridge players aim: Life Master status. Congrats to Carole, Pam and Bev (sorry only one photo!)
As always, we are so grateful for our directors, DNC Peter Wilke, along with Kim Hayward and Tony Ames, for their fine efforts from start to finish in Rochester.
We are extremely grateful to them, along with all the other volunteers and contributors to the Med City Regional that made is so much fun and successful.
We know that in addition to being great fun, an intellectual challenge and exciting - bridge can be exhausting, too! Above, Carol Mahoney takes a little snooze inbetween the excitement.
Your webmaster was quite sad she could not partake in all the competition and fun in Rochester. Yet my thanks go out to all who made the tournament so wonderful, our pinch hitter photographers, Sue Greenberg and Kathy Beckman - and - of course! - all of YOU - our great competitors! Big thanks to all!
More photos below the line!
September's Rochester Regional Tournament is in full swing - and in the news, too!
Grateful to Greg Caucutt for sending us this fine article about the regional. You can see Greg and partner Ginny Rice, competing away against a room full of players!
Exciting that the city has their first regional tournament in 30 years! And - if you have not yet been competing - plenty of time to do so! Games are held tomorrow, Thursday, through Sunday.
Here's the Post Bulletin's article about the September competition. Best of luck to everyone playing - and big thanks to all the organizers, volunteers, caddies and directors who are making the tournament great!
September's Rochester Med City Regional is less than one week away! Enjoy fine hospitality, guaranteed hospitality, a fine venue, a great schedule and much more!
In addition to the superb tournament itself, autumn is glorious in Minnesota in late September. When you're not battling away at the table, you can appreciate the excellent opportunities for fine dining and the gorgeous colors outdoors. If you need a quickie check-up, renowned Mayo Clinic is a few minutes away (ONLY kidding - despite this temple of health care being one of the finest in the world!)
So many reasons to attend, you must make it to Rochester next week! Whether you are close by or in another state - please attend the Rochester Med City Regional and treat yourself to a fine tournament and fun bridge!
Tournament flyer and all details below.
Continue reading "Rochester Med City Regional - Sept 24-29" »
Amidst the advent of autumn, players throughout Minnesota attended, along with Canadians and some players from far flung locals. Excellent events - and excellent results.
The top masterpoint holder for the tourney was the Twin Cities' Steve Gaynor. Steve came close to 20 masterpoints with his 19.44 - and Thunder Bay's Ross Cody was close behind, earning 18.76. Jill and Mike Flader tied for 3/4 with 17.60, another Thunder Bay player, Cliff Campbell, had 16.49, and Kathy and Terry Beckman scored a tie with their 15.61. The full masterpoint list is here. Overalls in each event can be found here.
Big thanks to Dianne Carr and Warren Nelson, our tournament chairpersons, to Tony Ames, our tournament director, and to Tess Schirmer and Elise Pechek who oversaw partnerships.
A special thanks to all those who came and competed! We hope you had a great time playing Up North - and we look forward to seeing you (and more!) next year!
Labor Day signals the start of school and the final days of summer. And Nicky Bredeson's big, beautiful smile highlights how much FUN we have at our Minnesota tournaments!
Some of the people having quite the good time were these masterpoint leaders: Joe Koester** headed the list with an impressive 29.17 masterpoints. Frequent partner Sharon Christenson earned the 2nd spot with 25.87. Rounding out those who secured over 20 masterpoints were Brian Crossley with 22.75 and Harry Sapienza with 21.99. The entire list of masterpoint winners is here; results from each event can be found at this link.
As always, a big shout out to Tony Ames, Director extraordinaire - and to Teri Blu, marvelous teacher and TCBC co-owner (among other marvelous qualities!)
More photos of our competitors below! And a ** apology to Joe Koester from me. He played great - but the photo I took of him did not cooperate. Sorry Joe; next time I'll grab a good one!
Continue reading "Labor Day Silver Point Sectional Results" »
Today's the day! The Paul Bunyan Sectional Tourney in the Duluth area begins at 2:15PM today, Thursday September 5th. Enjoy three days of excellent events at the Black Bear Casino in Carleton, fine hospitality and beautiful leaves that herald the start of autumn.
The schedule of events is here; hope everyone has a glorious time!
Last chance to play at the Twin Cities Bridge Center before the leaves start to turn color and temps turn cooler. The long weekend gives us four days to play bridge and do our best to beat the other guys!
The schedule for the Labor Day Silver Point Sectional is below. Grab your favorite partner (or two or three) - then have fun and do well!
Tournament schedule and flyer below!
Continue reading "Labor Day Silver Point Tournament - August 30-Sept 2" »
As mentioned the other day, Minnesota's own, Ben Kristensen, has been battling away in Opatija, Croatia in the Sixty World Youth Open Bridge Championship, with partner Kevin Rosenberg and teammates Cornelias Duffie and Sarah Youngquist.
The team had been doing superbly, often winning by such a large margin that opposing teams waved the white flag before the final set. Ultimately, the team faced the Netherlands team in their matches for first place overall.
Your webmaster was watching this morning; Ben & Company was continuing to do well when suddenly they hit a rough patch. In error, I thought that the set I was watching was the last - and thus was relieved to see them move into the plus column on their last hand.
As it turned out, however, they had one more set to go. That set turned into a "crush them" set. Team Sivy + B racked up double digits wins throughout - until near the end of the final match. The Netherlands scored some comebacks. Yet, as the USA team had mounted such a fierce fight earlier, even on the last board they could not lose. In fact, Ben declared a tough hand, and as he almost always does, Ben brought in his contract, gaining a small pick up.
We here in Minnesota and throughout the world are proud of Ben, of his world class partnership with Kevin and of their fine teammates, Cornelias and Sarah. Big congratulations to the team for your fine skills and non-stop pressure on the opponents.
You are worthy victors - and we look forward to many more titles in the coming years!