21 June 2015.indd - Western Conference Contract Bridge Forum

June 2015
District 21 Unitscope
B-E-R
The Beer Dude
B
y the time this hits your mailbox,
Eric & I hope to be collecting on
the 1st of our 2 bets on the Warriors (to win NBA West @ 7.5-1 odds; we
have them @ 25-1 to win the NBA). We’ve
given the Monday club game a reprieve
thru the end of the year, but we can go on
subsidizing it for only so long with rent &
ACBL fee increases pending. Who knows
what’s next?
BBQ Swiss results in July – here are the
last 2 pairs games: Wednesday, April 15
(9 tables): Lamar Marutani & I nailed it,
ahead of Max & Eric, with Joyces Burks &
Demercurio 3A/1B, Shiffer & Shimizu and
Marty & Donna tied 4/5 A; Kerstin Barnett
& Carrie Stoltzfus 2B/1C; Smiths 3B; Posts
4B/2C. Friday, May 1 (6.5 tables, 1-winner movement): “H-J, then Eric & Susie,
Barb Tylor & Bobbie Stricklin (aka “the 2
Bs”) 3A/1B, Max & Shiffer 4A, Dexter &
Gordon 5A/2B, & John Love Bob Post 3B.
June game is Friday 5th; Wednesday 10th
is the 1st of our club-level NAP qualifiers
(table fees $6). NAP club-level qualifiers
run June-August; we’ll have our usual
“Last Chance” on Friday, August 28. The
In-Out reports the past few months have
been devoid of anyone notable (a lot of the
movement was about players who never
should have been in 497 to start with; the
ACBL software for assigning new players
to proper units has been in need of serious
revision for at least 10 years!)
At da club: “H” was the April MP champ
(by a hair); she & Carol Scott had the best
% game @ 68.75. Best Wednesday % was
Eric & Dick’s 66.42; Dexter & Gordon
topped Friday @ 65.42. Club champ game
is Friday June 19 (my mom’s 89th b’day;
it’s likely someone else will be running
that game). STAC games return August
19 & 21. Best wishes to long-time denizen Jack Syme for a speedy recovery from
head surgery he had May 5; Vi’s gonna
need partners & rides for awhile; she lives
btwn a few of you & the club. And thanx to
“H-J” for providing pizza to an early April
Monday game to try to boost attendance.
Don’t forget to pay those ACBL dues (a
lot of you showed up on the edge of being
declared inactive this month), & thanks for
adapting so well to the jumbo index cards
I’ve introduced to aid our visually impaired regulars.
Finally, “Please” wash/wipe the sticky
stuff off your hands before you grab a hand
to bid & play; cards last much longer when
kept clean! Help dispel the long-standing
canard that most bridge players are consummate slobs; the neatniks will love you!
Tweak beerman1949@gmail.com to brag/
gripe/suggest; unit info & game results
available 24/7 @ www.berunit497.org
Carson/Tahoe
By Carole Sill
I
t is with great sadness that I announce
the death of Bill Strand on April 25. As
a retired Air Force Brigadier General,
he had an impressive military funeral at the
cemetery in Fallon.
The top five point winners from our club
at the sectional in Reno on April 8 were
Paul Kushner (who came in first overall
with a total of 33.31 points), Bob Garret
19.61, Mike & Pam Moreland 15.60, Ed
Straver 6.86, and Don Peterson 6.48.
Our April unit game and spaghetti feed
was a big success and a lot of fun. The
top points at our unit game were earned
by Gary Nitzberg & Brenda Pugsley 2.92,
Paul Jorgensen & Doug Smith 2.19, Bob
Anderson & Theresa Pinney 1.64, Paul
Lockwood & Mary Phillips 1.23, and Paul
Kushner & Geoff Stokes 1.02.
Diablo Valley
By Lisa Assoni
T
he heat is on, and June is here, so
summer’s near. Water, water where
did you go? I want to keep my gar-
July 17, 18 & 19, 2015
Transfiguration Church Hall
4000 E. Castro Valley Blvd, Castro Valley
Spacious Hall with lots of Onsite Parking
Friday, 10:30 a.m.
Saturday, 10:30 a.m.
Stratified 299ers
Stratified 299ers
Stratified Open Pairs
Strati-Flighted Pairs
Friday, 3:30 p.m.
Stratified 299ers
Stratified Open Pairs
Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Stratified 299ers
Strati-Flighted Pairs
299ers strata:
Mid-chart allowed in Flight A/X
and top bracket of Swiss Teams
0-20/50/100/200/<300
(final strata determined at game time)
Open pairs strata:
A: 1750+, B: 750-1750, C: 0-750
Strati-Flighted Pairs
A/X plays separately - Mid chart allowed
A/X = 0-3000/3000+
B/C/D = 0-750/750-1250/1250-2000
(Any player over 2000 must play A/X)
Sunday, 10:30 a.m. & TBA
“The Jay Magid Memorial”
Bracketed Swiss Teams
Teams must play both sessions
Sunday, 10:30 (one session)
Stratified 499er Pairs
0-20/50/100/300/<500
(final strata determined at game time)
Continental breakfast each morning!
Refreshments provided all three days
****Pre-Duplicated Boards****
Stratified by pair/team average – eligibility based on masterpoint total of top player
Table Fees: $11 per session (non-ACBL & unpaid $14)
Info/Partnership: Mary 510-427-7366
Website: http://unit500.org
Directions: Transfiguration is on the left (across from Safeway & Petco)
580 (from Oakland) take Grove Way/Crow Canyon Rd. exit 37, left at light
onto Grove Way then right onto E. Castro Valley Blvd. then left at 2nd light into
Transfiguration parking lot
580 (from Pleasanton) take Castro Valley exit 37, right at light onto E. Castro
Valley Blvd. then left at next light into Transfiguration parking lot.
880 take 238/580 toward Stockton, then follow “580 from Oakland” directions
den as it brightly shows. Wasting this precious resource is a shame, and some of us
are to blame, so take a short shower, you’ll
contribute a little more water power.
Water is a necessity, a lot like bridge is to
us players. We can’t live without it. Once
hooked, is hard to let it go.
I’m not telling you anything new, but we
hosted the Unit 499, Spring Sectional. The
weather was toasting, and the game was
hot. A big bundle of praise goes to Jackie
Zayac, the tournament chair. She took on
the task of getting everything to run like
a smoothie. No bumps or lumps, (except
Jackie and her hubby, in the gym both
slipped and took a hard fall). Prior to the
event, Jackie had already done all of the
tedious tasks.
Excellence is in the details. Jackie well
planned, well done. Anne Hollingsworth
then pitched in to chair the event. The Zayac’s, even with their injuries, managed to
assist with the return of rented tables and
chairs. Can you believe Jackie’s already
planning for the next Fall Sectional?
Did you know that Unit 499ers are really
worker bees in disguise? You betcha. We
count on all board members to pitch in and
help for the entire weekend. Some worked
their fannies off, at least we tried; and our
team efforts were flawless. Kudos, hugs,
thank you’s, etc. are just a few words to
describe the hard labor put forth by some,
caring and sharing members.
A big round of applause goes to the following folks: our hospitality chairperson
Mary Neff, was the top-notch. She ran the
race, and finished first. She had some help
from our unit. I assisted with purchasing,
and dishin’ up the grub. So many generous
folks made and brought goodies to share.
Many delicious foods, made from scratch,
were gobbled up by our attendees.
Bruce Johnsonbaugh is a gift to all of us.
He stores, shares, and pours the resources
necessary to put on the Ritz. Rich Ahlf,
Andy Fine, and Ted Gunn, all assisted with
food prep. Sheri, Bruce’s, wife, drizzled
our tables with silver cloths, and all the
trimmings. She doubled dipped, and even
made homemade zucchini breads, stuffed
eggs, and more. Yes, Bruce made his famous Tuna Salad. We all took the bait, and
ate every last bite.
Charles Rollins from Benicia crossed the
bridge, to aid and assist. Rising up to help
were Andy Fine, Bill LaMaire, Jon and
Shelley Bagg, Jim Raby, Duvall Holthaus,
Alan Jarvie and Bill King who got us ready
for the busy day. Tearing down is a tedious
back-driven task, and our Bruce, and Andy
Fine stayed to pack up.
Now for the winner’s: Stakes were high,
with over 500 people participating. The
top of the silver bar was reached by the following Unit 499 metal seekers: Saturday
a.m. Stratified Open Pairs: Irwin Lichtblau
& William Samuel; Jan & Bob Campbell,
placed; Saturday afternoon Stratified 299er
1st, Susan Schlict & Maureen Hentschel;
afternoon Stratified 99er Pairs 1st, Barry
Rauchle & Kerry Smith; Sunday a.m.
Bracket II Swiss Teams 1st, Michael & Julie Gosnell and Susan Ledford & Freddie
Straus. Bracketed Swiss Teams V 1st, Jon
& Sheila Bagg and Jan & Bob Campbell.
Swiss Teams VIII 1st, Joanne Yata, Audrey
Fujie, Joan Pierce and David Pierce.
New game, new winner. Jumping over the
tables for a win, went to Bob Munson. He
was a member of the team that took first
place in the D21 Grand National Teams,
open finals. We wish you all the best of
luck at the NABC in Chicago in August.
Games people play, and win.
Congratulations!
East Bay
By Sandi Davis
W
elcome to new members Diane
Silver, Stephen Silver, Ellen
Sirbu, Barbara Vaughn and Dan
Wick. In addition, Barak Engel and Sarla
Purohit have transferred to our unit. Michael Moyer is our newest Sectional Master and Jeff Fountain became our newest
Regional Master. Congrats, Gents!
At the unit game on April 19, N/S Otto
Edor & Gunnar Niemi won 1st OA with
E/W Katherine Love & Donald Smith 2nd
OA. On May 3, E/W Franklin Lowenthal &
Jim O’Neil won with N/S Pat & Jim Leary
winning their direction. Good job.
It is North American Pairs time! The unit
will hold three NAP games for you to qualify for the event. The first will be held on
Sunday, June 7, followed by games July
19 and August 16. All qualifiers will be at
1:00 p.m. at the EBCBC. All qualifiers are
welcome to play in the unit final on September 13.
A pre-sectional Swiss Teams game will
be held at the Center on Friday, June 19,
preceded by a strategy talk by Tom Pajak.
It will be a good opportunity to fine tune
your game prior to the summer sectional,
a two day event, on June 20 & 21 at the
Masonic Center at 3903 Broadway in Oakland. Games start at 10:30 on Saturday and
11:00 on Sunday with a light lunch being
offered for a voluntary donation between
sessions on both days.
Grab a partner and come on down!
Another upcoming event is the July 5
membership appreciation picnic. Watch
the website for details as this event always
sells out and reservations are required. It
is always organized and executed by Mary
Payne and her band of merry helpers so
mark your calendar. The picnic will begin
at noon, followed by the unit game at 1:00
p.m. Contact Mary to reserve your spot at
maryTPN@aol.com or 510 339-1778.
On the recent tournament trail, Stephen &
Amy Bess came in 1st in their section at
the Reno Sectional. At the Diablo Valley
Sectional, many of our members did well.
Andy & Marcia Wasserman, John Santibanes & Tom McKelvey, Jessica Lai &
Grant Vance, David Snyder & Carol Warren, James Bond & Marcia Mattoon, Ed
Seputis, and Tom McGuire Jr. all did well
on Saturday. In the Sunday Swiss Teams
David, Carol, Marcia, & Andy won their
bracket. At the Marin Sectional our members again rocked! Jessica Lai & Grant
Vance won their event with Nick Wiebe,
Bipin Patel, Keith Evans-Orville, Mark
Moss, John Santibanes & Tom McKelvey,
Libby Silver & Steven Drucker all finishing in the money. The BCD Swiss Teams
was won by Ed Seputis, John Eidinger,
Glenn Boyce & Prakash KIaramchandi.
In the 299er Swiss Teams, Amy Hensel,
Karen Aldridge, Lisa Euphrat & Marcia
Mattoon finished well.
Everyone was stunned and saddened by
the sudden death of Debbie Chapman in
April. She was a lovely person and friendly
player who will be missed by all who knew
her. Her distinctive purple hair and infectious smile will be missed.
If you have any news & you’d like to
see your name in print, inform me (email)
at sandi.davisd21@gmail.com & let me
know what’s on your mind.
Fresno
By Laura Da Costa
W
e marked our 6th Anniversary
with a hot dog and ice cream
sundae party on Sunday, April
12. Our thanks go to Jackie Finn, Barbara
Davenport, and the board members for
supplying lunch and dessert. Eight and a
half tables participated in a charity game
benefitting the March of Dimes “March for
Babies” fundraiser. Congratulations go to
the winners: (N/S) Skip Miller & Byron
Steinert (overall) and (E/W) Laura Da Costa & Ray April.
There are three major events coming up
in June: a mentoring game (Sunday, 14th),
The Longest Day (Monday, 22nd), and the
Annual Graduation Party (Sunday, 28th).
The mentoring game will again be conducted as a Barometer game (each table
plays the same hands each round). As we
did last time, North will be a mentor at
each table. The mentor’s role will be to
stop play to check to see if all players are
aware of the meaning of bids, remembered
what was played, etc.
If you have questions or suggestions contact our mentoring chair, Dick Powell.
I mentioned last month that The Longest
Day event was coming June 21. However,
just days after I wrote that, the board members decided that date being both a Sunday
and Father’s Day would not work well, so
instead. we are having a smaller marathon
on Monday (an option that the ACBL supports). The schedule had not been finalized
when I wrote this month’s article, but it
should be in the June Aces, Places, & Faces, and posted in the clubhouse. Please join
us in supporting this fundraising drive for
the Alzheimer’s Association.
The unit’s graduation party is another fun
annual tradition; our day to honor those
who attained new rankings during the year.
The day will especially honor our two new