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76.19% Bill Heyer + David Juberien, Mankato, 12/15 73.64% John Koch + Terry Beckman, Holiday Sectional, 12/13 72.69% Kathy Maegerlein + Greg Caucutt, Rochester DBC, 12/17 72.62% Scott Richardson and Jake Olson, St Cloud DBC, 12/8 72.50% Gregory Dorr + Bill Anderson, Woodbury, 12/17 72.30% Robert Boudreau and Joe Koester, Edina, 12/8 71.76% William Voedsich + Joseph Browan, Woodbury, 12/15 70.83% Barb Zipoy + Teri Blu, Plymouth, 12/19 70.51% Gary Knippenberg + Joesph Koester, BCSP, 12/23 HONORABLE MENTION: 69.80% Charlie Maternus + John Seldon, St Cloud DBC, 12/4 LIMITED MASTERPOINT GAMES: 70.58% Lars + Maclore Christensen, BCSP, 12/29 70.00% Diane Alshouse + Tom Owens, BCSP, 12/22 |
 |  TOURNAMENT ATTENDANCE STRONG: The two major tournaments in Minnesota this year, the Gopher Regional and Med City Regional, each beat the ACBL's national average for table counts in 2025. Overall, ACBL regionals that were also held in 2024 shed -4.1% of their tables. Here, the Gopher was off slightly (-2.3%) and the Med City up nicely (+8.0%) but each of them performed well. Statewide tournament tables also did well, coming in at 2,366 compared to 2,436 last year (or off -2.9%). NEW GRAND LIFE MASTER: Paul Meerschaert [Long Lake] became Minnesota's newest Grand Life Master this year, playing with David Collins [Fridley] and winning the Lebhar IMP Pairs at the Spring NABC in 2025. They had a really terrific 4th round, coming from way, WAY back in the field to take 1st by 4 IMPs. STATE FACE-TO-FACE TABLES HITS A RECORD: Between tournament tables and our local bridge clubs, Minnesota's 52-week rolling average for table counts topped 250 tables per week for the first time in the post-COVID era. On December 1st, the 52-week rolling average was 250.78 tables - a good sign for bridge in this state. TOURNAMENT CHAMPION CROWNED: Someone, with too much time on their hands, kept track of every player at every Minnesota tournament this year, to compile the total masterpoints players won at the ten big tournaments. In 2025, Bob Balderson [Eden Prairie] came away with the first-ever "Minnesota Tournament Champion" title, edging out Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] and Carole Miner [Rochester]. It came down to the final day of the final tournament, at the Holiday Sectional in December. A GOOD YEAR FOR I/N PLAYERS: More opportunities for I/N players in Minnesota this year, with half a dozen one-day NLM sectional events and the kickoff of Minnetonka's Friday morning game. That's an open game, but started with limited-masterpoint players (and they featured the first Unit 178 NLM tournament in more than 11 years!). PLUS, the 3-day open sectional in October had 13 entries of under-25 masterpoint players. Minnesota's advancing players are getting out there - and that's another good sign for bridge here. CLUB TABLES UP BIG: In a bridge world where table counts are generally on the decline, 2025 proved Minnesota is once again bucking the trend. Our F2F club tables (no tournaments, nothing online) were up 511 tables or +5.0% from 2024. Our year-over-year annual tables won't go up forever - but it's good news heading into 2026. UNIT CONSOLIDATION AGREEMENT REACHED: For several years now, Unit 178 has wanted to have "one big happy" Unit of bridge across Minnesota. This year, through the work of a sub-committee of members from Unit 103 and 178's board, that agreement was reached. We're waiting now for Unit 178 to formally approve the move to go forward, and should be one unit across Minnesota well before the summer NABC.
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 | This chart to your left shows the six-week average of total Minnesota F2F tables (club play and tournaments) since clubs reopened in 2021. |
Friday, 1/2/26 6:30 PM Bridge Center of St Paul 1751 County Rd B West, Ste 220, Roseville, MN 55113 $8/person Partner guaranteed |
 | PREVIOUSLY: For the most part, there's just no escaping winter weather here in Minnesota, and your turn for the big white dump is coming over the next 24 hours. The good news is that this isn't happening during a tournament weekend, or even 24 hours later, when Monday games across the state would be canceled (the majority of Minnesota's bridge games happen each Monday). But there will still be a good mess leftover for your Monday games, as the snow is (allegedly) supposed to end overnight tonight - and the plows should have several hours before your game starts at your local club. The forecast for the Bridge Center of St Paul: Click here The forecast for the Edina Monday game: Click here The forecast for the St Cloud Monday game: Click here The forecast for the Rochester Monday game: Click here The forecast for the Mankato Monday game: Click here The forecast for the Duluth Monday game: Click here The forecast for the Woodbury Monday game: Click here |
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Unit 103's Bridge Center of St Paul in Roseville, 2,711 tables,  0.6%. Once again, the premier club of table counts, the BCSP maintained 1st place in Minnesota with 15 more tables than last year. They're buoyed by lots of limited-masterpoint games, along with a super successful Chat Bridge and Pro-Am game on Thursdays. The move 12 miles west two years ago appears to have been a smart move on their part, as it has also been easier to draw players from Unit 178. (In fact, Unit 178 schedules most of the their tournaments here at this Unit 103 club, so it's a win-win-win for all involved.)Unit 178's Plymouth Bridge Club in Edina, at 1,621 tables, was  1.2%. Games at the Edina Senior Center continue to do just fine, and the addition of a Saturday game over at Unit 103's Roseville club helped their table counts in 2025 to the tune of 226 tables. A steady, dedicated group of some really tough bridge players make playing with the Edina crowd a challenge that's fun, and considering they are off from last year only by about 3 tables a month isn't statistically significant.Unit 103's St Cloud DBC up in St Cloud, 1,539 tables or 26.8% from 2024. St Cloud's winning management team and approach, their new location, and exceptionally strong outreach program continue to drive their table numbers up - and big. Their growth was the strongest among state clubs in 2024, and was once again in 2025. This year they passed the Rochester DBC to become the #3 club in Minnesota, and have closed the gap with the Plymouth BC from 434 tables one year ago to only 82 tables now. At this rate, they will likely pass Edina to become the 2nd largest Minnesota bridge club in 2026. The fact that they moved into their own clubhouse in August of this year hasn't hurt how things are going for St Cloud's players, and holding their tournaments in their new clubhouse isn't hurting either. (If you haven't already, we encourage you to check out their new location.)Unit 103's Rochester Duplicate Bridge Club, with 1,365 tables in 2025, showed little change from 2024 ( 0.3%). An expanded pro/am game program, really supportive crowd, and management that provides a nice party atmosphere all of the time, has helped to overcome some high profile player losses this past year. Tournament tables aren't included in these table counts listed here, but it's worth pointing out that all four Rochester tournaments in 2025 saw increases in tables, too (an absolutely stellar combined +15.5% increase over 2024). A friendly, welcoming atmosphere goes a long, long way in bridge, and the emphasis they put on that down south has helped their club considerably. Unit 103's Woodbury Bridge Club, with 1,003 tables this year, is still picking up steam. With a table count that's 12.9% from 2024, they've done remarkably well considering they had to move this fall to a new location (while their regular playing area is remodeled). It's more than just charging only $2 a game to play - this club doesn't run any special masterpoint games during the year and has yet to host a tournament of any kind. Yet their tables are way, way up this year. Their success is through lessons, chat bridge, and for most of the players simply a love of the game. Their twice-a-week Woodbury games (along with their game in North St Paul) picked up 166 tables on Maple Grove's Metro DBC to move into the #5 spot of Minnesota clubs this year (and #3 in the Twin Cities Metro area).Unit 178's Metro DBC in Maple Grove shed 42 tables this year or 4.4% of their 2024 tables. Their 897 tables in play during 2025 dropped them into the #6 spot, and follows a decrease in year-over-year tables of 7.0% one year ago. Two encouraging signs from the Maple Grove club: they host the single largest game during the week held in Minnesota bridge (the Wednesday game averaged 13.61 tables in 2025), and the competition is some of the toughest in the metro area. That's at least two reasons why even with slightly fewer tables in 2025, there's not too much to worry about heading into 2026.Unit 103's Mankato DBC, Duluth DBC, and the Detroit Lakes DBC, maintained their spots of #7, #8, and #9 respectively in 2025. Mankato's games on Monday and Wednesday are really two separate clubs, but run by Rajiv Kapadia [Mankato] and saw a small decrease in tables this year (from 540 last year to 512 in 2025, or 5.3%). Duluth meanwhile saw an extra table per month in 2025, or 361 vs 348 in 2024 (that's 3.7% year-over-year). Detroit Lakes also saw a small increase in tables this past summer; they are only open from May to September, but their 247 tables were an improvement on 2024's 243 tables (or 1.6%).
Unit 103's Northfield DBC ran 8 fewer tables in 2025 than 2024, or 179 tables this year, with Unit 178's West Metro club kicking off their first year in existence with 144 tables. Unit 103's Med City DBC held 53 tables in 2025 (vs 31 last year), and Unit 178's Minneapolis Grand Slam Club has had 9 tables this year (vs 45 in 2024). Overall, Minnesota's club tables are 5.0% from 2024. That is a terrific number, and most importantly it's a positive number. Not all states across the nation can make that claim. (Not all states across the Midwest can make that claim!)  |
   | One of the top tournmaments across the ACBL is the Palm Springs Regional, held earlier this month. In putting together the schedule for this year's tournament, it was decided to move team games from Bracketed Swiss teams into all Soloway KOs. Better and more experienced players tend to like Soloway KOs, which feature two sessions of Swiss Teams on the first day, then Knockout Teams for the top 4 teams in the bracket on Day 2. But was it a good idea? First off, the share of team tables at the Palm Springs Regional was under 50% this year - that's the first time that's happened in recent memory. Second, when these Soloway KOs were the only team game offered (Tuesday and Thursday), the overall number of team tables those days was way down from last year - and the pairs tables on Tuesday and Thursday sharply higher than 2024. So players were avoiding the team games those days - possibly because they didn't like or weren't familiar with the Soloway KO format - or they didn't want to commit to a two-day event - or some combination thereof. The tournament coordinator for Palm Springs, Lamya Agelidis [San Diego] has told us they'll go back to "soloway KOs for the top tier teams only" next year. The data would seem to back up her decision on that - and learning from the results at their tournament this year, it's pretty clear that you won't see Soloway KOs at either the Gopher or the Med City Regionals here in Minnesota anytime soon. The more we can learn by the successes and failures of other tournaments, the better your overall tournament experience here should be. That goes for club events, too, and you don't have to be a tournament coordinator to make or suggest changes for the better wherever it is that you play. |
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The current plan for the ACBL is to submit roughly 10,000 ACBL members a month to be run through their cheating detection software, so that they will make it through all online ACBL players by April 2026. The overall rate of "reds" (that would be those individuals who are flagged as cheating) is currently 4.71%, but the ACBL says that they expect that figure to come down. To date, these players are predominantly investigated as a result of "player memos", which are memos that other players file saying something to the effect that an individual made suspicious plays/bids/leads/etc. The ACBL says there is no further backlog of player memos to look at, so once all online players have been screened they expect the overall rate of cheaters online to be somewhere closer to 3.50%. |
But the current first-year membership conversion rate of $29 will change in about a week, as the ACBL will be charging $39 for each individual starting on January 1st. If you know of someone who is currently on a guest membership, and especially if they are close to 20 masterpoints, you can save them some money by encouraging them to convert to a paid membership this upcoming week. |
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Anyway, before that Keith Thompson, the tournament chairperson and I decided to play so we could avoid the sit out. Board 16 was first up, we were not vulnerable, but our opponents were. We sat N/S and after W passed as dealer I held: S- K Q 6 5 H- A J 2 D- A K 6 2 C- A J A nice 22 count, so I opened 2C. Jane Schmidt [St Paul], showing no fear, jumped to 4C. Partner now bid 4H, natural. I had visions of slam so I cue bid 5C, but Keith just rebid hearts. Now, Sharon Hoffman [Excelsior] sitting west doubled. Hey, aren't you I/N players supposed to be in awe of us hot shots? Sure enough, hearts went 5-0 and Keith could not handle that bad break and went down 1 for a [26]% board. We were happy we got that much. Sufficiently humbled, we were happy to relinquish our seats to the pair that came in. They were actually on time as we had started a bit early. It doesn't matter who you are playing, if you play good bridge you win, if you play bad bridge you lose. We are developing a great set of competitors in our games that will challenge the more experienced of us for a long time. Thanks to Norrie Thomas for her tireless work in setting this club up." -- Steve Gaynor |
   | Last year we had a total of 2,436 tournament tables, between two open regionals, ten open sectionals, and four NLM sectional tournmaments. Those tournaments in 2025, plus the addition of two NLM events, brought this year's tournament tables to 2,366. There was something of a difference between the Metro and Outstate, however. Outstate tournament tables actually increased by +4.4% this year (775 vs 742) while the Metro area saw tournament tables tumble -7.3% (1,571 vs 1,694). Several factors were in play with the metro area decline, including a change in venue for the Aquatennial tournament back to Maple Grove this year, the decision not to have any games for Non-Life Masters at the Autumn Harvest tournament, bitterly cold weather just in time for the Holiday Sectional in December, etc. Next month we'll start anew with 2026 tournaments and turnout - and make every effort to turn things around. (Of course, you can help kick things off in 2026 by playing in the first Metro tournament of the year at the end of January.) |
Next up is a vote by the Unit 178 board to confirm the agreement that was reached by both parties - that was expected to take place at their unit meeting this week. Following their formal confirmation of the plan, the process will get underway as 2026 gets going - and we should be one big bridge Unit in Minnesota well before the NABC takes place in July. |
PREVIOUSLY: The first I/N tournament in almost 12 years in the West Metro took place yesterday at The Marsh in Minnetonka; the West Metro Social Duplicate club hosted a two-session I/N sectional for some silver points (and first-time tournament action for a few of the players). With 8 tables in the morning (along with 3 chat bridge tables) and another 8 tables in the afternoon, it was a huge success - and kudos to Keith Thompson [St Paul] and Norrie Thomas [Plymouth] for organizing the event along with D-I-C Steve Gaynor [Arden Hills], who directed the up-and-comers. The morning session saw Norrie Thomas [Plymouth] and Jenny Bourne [Minneapolis] take 1st place with a 63.49% game. Another eight tables in the afternoon saw Cass Weil [Minneapolis] and Dan McElroy [Burnsville] take top honors with a 61.93% game. All of the masterpoint winners from this one-day NLM Sectional can be found by clicking here. From Norrie Thomas:
Steve said "Fun and enthusiastic players eager to learn and play The energy was invigorating!!" Norrie said "The applause was loud and long for Keith and Steve- so appreciative for their support. Our planning committee: Patti-David-Denice-Kris greeted players and made sure everyone felt welcomed. One appreciative player - Marcia brought decorative shortbread - we were well fed!" |
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 | This happened to West players on Wednesday at the Rochester DBC, where the computer spit out a third-seat not-vulnerable once-in-a-lifetime hand. The odds of such a big hand showing up are (roughly) 149,253 to 1. That means if you played bridge three times a week, fifty weeks a year, and each game was 26 boards, you'd run across a hand this big once every 38 years (and three months, give or take a few days). For most bridge players, this would be a once-in-a-lifetime occurence. Of course the problem with this hand in particular is no transportation and no long suit. It seems a shame to only make 3NT (or 5 of a major), but it's still a great story to share. . .and for the rest of us, we'll likely be waiting a while. |
Your PR Chair for the Summer NABC we will be hosting is Warren Nelson [Cloquet], who passes along this message this month:
Another opportunity to help us defray costs is to donate directly to the tournament. Any amount would be appreciated. Gold level donors ($5000) and Silver level donors ($2500) will be listed every day in the Bulletin (and at the tournament?). One-day sponsorships ($1000) will appear on the day that is sponsored. The donation form [can be found by clicking here]. There is also still time to Name a Game at the tournament. The deadline to do so is January 15, 2026. This is an opportunity to honor a teacher, partner or friend. It doesn't have to be someone who plays bridge. The cost is $100 for a one-session event and $200 for a two-session event. This submission form is [found by clicking here]. Another way to honor or to say thank you to a partner or friend who plays bridge would be to gift them an entry. Perhaps you know someone who might be interested in attending but who could use a little "nudge" to convince them to come to play. An free entry might do the trick. We will have more information about how to do this in the near future. The tournament is now only 7 months away! In future correspondence we will have information about subjects such as hotels, parking, restaurants, shopping, and cultural events, to list a few. Until next time, Happy Holidays! --Warren Nelson, PR Chair |
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Sectional Fri December 19 Minnetonka  |
Sectional January 29-Feb 1 Roseville  | Sectional March 24-26 St Paul  | Sectional Sat April 11 Sauk Rapids  | Sectional April 16-18 Rochester  | Sectional May 20-24 Roseville  |
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 | Second place went to Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis], who earned 250.90 masterpoints in the same ten events - and Carole wound up in 3rd at 249.12 masterpoints. Give us another seven weeks and we'll start the competition all over again for 2026 with the Minnesota Winter Sectional at the end of January. |
 | Every session during this year's Roseville event saw fewer tables than last year; and it's not limited to just this tournament in 2025. Metro tournaments in 2025 overall lost tables compared to the same events in 2024. Still, none of them are big money losers, and they continue to provide area players with tournament play opportunities, so thankfully they'll continue to be on the schedule. Not all of them suffered from bitterly cold weather conditions outside - but that can't have helped. We'll have a good look at how 2026 starts for tournament play when the big Minnesota Winter Tournament takes place in about seven weeks. (Also held at the Bridge Center of St Paul, or "Tournament Central".) |
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Kim Lindberg [Duluth] Richard Robbins [Bemidji] |
   | With not quite enough NLM pairs showing up to have their own game Saturday morning, they were folded into the 20-table Open Pairs/Teams game. Several "C" players scored some silver points playing up, and more than they'd have gotten in a NLM game! Gary Knippenberg [Golden Valley], Dennis Cerkvenik [Minnetonka], and a pair from Omaha NE took the morning team scoring (and rather decisively), with the pairs scoring event being won by John Koch [St Cloud] and Terry Beckman [Minneapolis]. Updated masterpoint holdings going into today's Swiss teams are located to your left. |
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   | In the Non-Life Master crowd, Daniel Holte [Minneapolis] has eclipsed Lisa Ihrke [Rochester] and Kimberly Segar [Burnsville] to take the lead after four sessions. He's earned 3.75 silver points, and that's tops among the 499ers. The Open crowd has Terry Beckman [Brooklyn Park] still in the lead with 18.97 masterpoints, but Charles Carroll [St Paul] is right there at 17.64. Your masterpoint leaders through two days are to your left - and don't forget - the ACBL's website does not currently have the correct masterpoint awards. You don't get credit for both pairs and team games in the same session - just the higher award. One more race, and it's a big one, that's the Minnesota Tournament Champion of the Year. Carole Miner [Rochester] was leading the race for this title up until this tournament - but she's been a no-show at the Holiday Sectional so far. That's allowed Bob Balderson [Eden Prairie] to pass her down the stretch, as he leads her by 9.17 masterpoints. Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] is in 3rd place, but he's just 11.93 points off the lead. This was expected to be close, and so far it's living up to the hype. Two days to go in Roseville - and there's a LOT on the line! |
 | Betty Triliegi [Minneapolis] is out playing in Florida this week, playing team games and staying warm. Firoz Nilam [Lakeville] headed to the other side of the US to play out in Palm Springs this week; he's joined by Michael Strom [Minneapolis], Betsy Michel [Minneapolis], and Steve Scheel [Moorhead]. With the recent cold snap and wintery weather this week, you can't blame them for having fun in the sun - but if you talk to any of these Minnesota players this week, let them know we'll try to keep a little winter weather around for them when they get home. |
  | Among the 499ers, Lisa Ihrke [Rochester] and Kimberly Segar [Burnsville] lead the masterpoint leaderboard with 2.98 silver points each - the top 10 NLM players are also listed to your left - and more action is coming today. All of the results from the Holiday Sectional at the Bridge Center of St Paul can be found by clicking here. |
  | The four-day Holiday Sectional is the only remaining open tournament here in Minnesota, and after one day, Terry Beckman [Brooklyn Park] showed up to play - and did he - picking up 9.81 masterpoints Thursday. Meanwhile, the top three contenders for the title of "Minnesota Tournament Champion" for 2025 were not to be seen. Terry's got some points to make up, if he expects to come from behind and win this race Sunday afternoon - but the fact that he's in St Paul this week (and so far, the top contenders are not) is helping his cause. Overall, the tables for this tournament are down from last year, with day 1 off 10 tables from last year or -17.4%. Tournaments this time of year can be tricky (the weather always a big question mark), and with the cold snap coming up, will it help or hurt attendance at the toasty confines of the Bridge Center of St Paul? We'll know in a couple of days. One thing is for sure - any hope of making up this week for lower tables seen at the Aquatennial and Leap Year tournaments this year appear to be dashed. That should be another completely known quantity in about three days. |
| Patti was at the Fall NABC, and reported that things went well - learning more about how to set up registration, the prize desk, etc., and the Registration Chair (Peg Waller [Edina]) was along so that she was able to check out how things were done at the San Francisco Registration Desk. The PR Committee talked about making decisions based on outreach topics - and how and when to get these out. Currently, they're working through this bridge blog, the Minnesota website, local community and senior centers, the monthly Minnesota update that's sent out via Pianola, and targeted emails. Decisions were also made on what will be sent out next month, including an update on hotel reservations (spoiler alert: they open January 21st) - and it was noted that everyone in D14 (that includes all Minnesota players) gets $10 off each tournament entry by using Entry Express. Entry Express opens up closer to summer of next year, and you'll be hearing a lot more about that in the future. The Committee is feeling pretty good about how everything is going so far; the next convening of the group is mid-January. Remember, you can help with this NABC by volunteering - and more options for that can be found by clicking here. |
| Click on it to open it in a new window for better viewing and for printing. And get it on that 2026 calendar! |
  | Barry accomplished this feat by playing 12 times in November - and averaging 59.06% across the four weeks in question. He also picked up some of his club points in a GNT qualifying game, so there's that. Barry may occasionally come off as wanting to be more of a court jester, but this month he is the King of Clubs when it comes to monthly in-person club game masterpoint earners. Your Top 10 masterpoint winners for the month of November are listed to your left. |
 | Greg Caucutt [Rochester], Keith Connolly [St Paul], Kerry Holloway [Bloomington], and Susan Jackson [Roseville] all have a decent chance to celebrate this huge milestone soon. . .we want to encourage them to get to that next milestone - and be sure to invite us in on the celebratory cake and party! |
| This year's tournament charity is our own Minnesota Bridge Education Fund, where any donations you make are tax-deductible (to the fullest extent of the law). . .and go right back to help Minnesota bridge through grants provided to local educators and under-20 masterpoint tournament players, among other great causes. |
  | The final masterpoint awards came out last night, and your local Minnesota players (and their rewards) are listed to your left. One last note about table counts and the health of these NABCs - when you compare the tables at this year's Fall NABC in San Francisco CA to the previous post-COVID Fall NABCs, this one did quite well. Last year it was held in Las Vegas NV (a real card town) and tables were down from that, but tables this year were well ahead of the other three prior Fall NABCs. Another good sign for what's coming here in July. More on the table counts from the past 11 days can be found here. |
| Where are we heading into the final opportunity of the year for players? Check out your "top 20" list of Minnesota players to your left - and click on it to open it in a new window. There's still the chance for some juggling of these players, and all questions will be answered a week from today - then everyone begins once again at the starting gate for next month when 2026's tournament season kicks off with the Minnesota's Winter Sectional Tournament at the end of January. |
 | This week should help this number some, what with the holiday parties that are taking place at local bridge clubs - and then watch for a little reality to set in once we get to 2026. For now, though, it's all making finesses and cold contracts. |
  | Deb Weiss [Minneapolis] flew out to the Bay Area this weekend, and just in time as she and Vern Swing [Minneapolis] entered the NABC 0-6K Pairs on Saturday. They had a terrific 58.43% game in the first session, good for 4th place overall of the 55 pairs playing. After lunch they scored a 57.73% game and this bumped them up a spot to 3rd overall for the day - and qualified them to go on to the finals of the event later this afternoon. Also playing in this event is Randy Okubo [St Paul], whose 54.88% game in the morning was good for 9th place overall of the same 55 pairs. He and his partner from New Jersey came back with a 48.40% afternoon game to also qualified to go on to the finals. Thomas Racciatti [Minneapolis] along with Rebecca Anspach [St Paul] each played on separate teams in the Bracketed Round Robin Teams 1 yesterday, with Thomas and team coming in 4th overall (for 6.78 gold points) and Rebecca and team coming in 6th out of 11 teams, for some red points. The Bracketed Round Robin Teams 3 bracket featured Minnesotans Gary Rowland [Golden Valley] and James LaFave [Minneapolis], who earned some red points there. The entire list of 3,020 masterpoint winners can be found by clicking here. All of the results from this NABC in San Francisco CA can be found by clicking here. |
 | It was 11.34 platinum points today that Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] and Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis] earned while playing in the NABC+ Mixed Pairs. They qualified for the two final sessions on Friday, and then scored a 50.87% game in the morning followed by a 52.68% game in the evening session to pick up those platinum points. Platinum points are hard to come by! But all Minnesotans will have the chance to earn some of those come July of next year when we host the Summer NABC in Minneapolis. Thomas Racciatti [Minneapolis] won another bracketed teams event on Friday, this was bracket #2. That's another 14.85 gold points for him and for his teammates. Randy Okubo [St Paul] entered the Keohane North American Swiss Teams, coming in 57th of 81 teams in the qualifying - missing the cut to go on in the event, but still picking up 1.59 platinum points. Also missing the cut but scoring 0.53 platinum points was Gary Rowland [Golden Valley] and James LaFave [Minneapolis] playing in the NOAM Swiss. Michele Grindal [Minneapolis] and Keith Thompson [Bloomington] played in the bracketed teams on Friday, in bracket #7, where they picked up some red points with their team. The entire list of 2,966 masterpoint winners can be found by clicking here. All of the results from this NABC in San Francisco CA can be found by clicking here. |
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       | First up, table counts through day 8 of 11. In the post-COVID world, there have been four previous Fall NABCs, and the one currently underway is doing pretty well. The top left chart is a comparison of tables through day 8 to the previous four post-COVID Fall NABCs, and while this year's NABC is down considerably from last year (off 2,383 tables so far, or -30.0%!), that's not the whole story. Las Vegas NV is a card-playing town, and tables this year are still up nicely compared to when this was held in Atlanta GA, Phoenix AZ, and Austin TX. Then there are the events - the remaining charts to your left show the table counts for the major Fall NABC events as well as for the same events in all of the post-pandemic Fall NABCs. It's looking good. That's great whether you're a future host city or not, but especially good when you are hosting an NABC soon. We won't know for sure what sort of crowds show up in July until we get to July, but right now the early tea leaves suggest that there's plenty of appetite for the NABCs in general - and that's a good start for Minneapolis. |
 | Rebecca Anspach [St Paul] picked up a player and played in Thursday morning's side game, picking up some additional red points before heading home. One of the last remaining NABC+ events is the NABC+ Mixed Pairs; Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] and partner Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis] entered this event, scoring some platinum points with a 55.84% morning game - and then a 57.11% game in the afternoon. They've qualified to go on to the final two sessions later today, finishing 27th of 104 pairs making that cut. Randy Okubo [St Paul] played in the finals of the NABC 0-10K Fast Pairs, with he and his partner earning some gold points with a 46.02% game in the morning and post-lunch 47.04% game on Thursday. Thomas Racciatti [Minneapolis] showed up Thursday to play in the Mid-Flight Pairs, as he and his partner won the event - coming in 1st overall - for 30.55 gold points. (Nice work for a day at the office.) His big win came with a 62.64% game in the evening session and a 59.11% game earlier in the day. Michele Grindal [Minneapolis] and Keith Thompson [Bloomington] played in the Bracketed Teams 4 again on Thursday, this time with fellow Minnesotans Gary Rowland [Golden Valley] and James LaFave [Minneapolis], coming in 4th overall and picking up 4.25 gold points. Vern Swing [Minneapolis] was found in the Top Flight Swiss teams for a second day in a row. Finally, Kyra Helmbold [Minneapolis] played late last night in the nine table evening side game and came in 1st place overall for 4.12 gold/red points. The entire list of 2,849 masterpoint winners (so far!) can be found by clicking here. All of the results from this NABC in San Francisco CA can be found by clicking here. |
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  | The Daily Bulletin at SFO claims that the ACBL will cover the entry fees for the first two rounds of the Championship Flight of the Grand National Teams final at the Summer NABC in Minneapolis. It's not often that the ACBL provides "free bridge" to its players, but this might be a consideration for teams to play up in the big flight. |
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Randy Okubo [St Paul] made it to the finals of the 0-10K Pairs on Tuesday, coming in 20th overall of 28 tables - good for 5.99 gold and 0.67 platinum points. Rebecca Anspach [St Paul] played in the Open Pairs, nabbing a 50.82% game and another 1.11 red points. Michele Grindal [Minneapolis] and Keith Thompson [Bloomington] entered the 0-6000 Blue Ribbon Pairs, scoring a respectable 47.21% game in the morning session and a 43.73% game after lunch. (The crowd at these NABCs, they are tough.) Patti Stuhlman [Minneapolis] and Peg Waller [Edina] played among the 84 pairs in the Whitehead Women's Pairs today. That's a two-session qualifying pairs game, with the finals tomorrow. Patti and Peg rebounded from a tough morning session to come back in the afternoon with a 51.68% game. (To be fair, this is the toughest crowd with which to have even a slightly "off" game.) All of the results from this NABC out west can be found by clicking here - and the masterpoint winners are listed here. |
In the holiday season, consider gifting an entry to your friends and partners. (You will be able to buy an Entry in July through Entry Express.) It's not too late to Name a Game at the 2026 Summer Nationals (the deadline is January 15th). Honor your teacher, partner or friend, $100 for a one-session event; $200 for a two-session Pair or Team Game. Consider a donation to the Summer Nationals -- any amount is appreciated. The donation form [can be found by clicking here]. Thank you to everyone who played in the Club Fundraising Games November 3-9. Your contribution is getting us closer to our fundraising goal. We're going to have a wonderful time at the Summer NABC! --Patti Stuhlman, 2026 Summer NABC chairperson |
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 | The list of these ACBL Regionals this year is to your left, with the table counts for each of the tournaments. Of the 98 Open Regionals, the Gopher Regional came in at 43rd in table count, with the Med City Regional tournament showing up in 72nd place. Gatlinburg TN was still the #1 tournament in 2025 with 2,459 tables, despite their shedding almost one-third of their tables this year (-28.2%). They were followed very closely by Hilton Head Island SC (2,421 tables), and then Houston TX (1,799 tables). You can find out more about ACBL table counts and table trends by checking out the ACBL Tournament page on this website (or just click here). |
 | In the Top Flight Swiss teams, Kyra Helmbold [Minneapolis] played, coming in 5th overall for another 14.30 gold points. Randy Okubo [St Paul] also played in the Top Flight Swiss, coming in 9th overall for 7.61 gold points. Marc Ashton [Excelsior] played in the Mid-Flight Swiss teams, coming in 6th overall for another 10.19 gold points. The foursome of Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis], Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis], Norrie Thomas [Plymouth], and Linus Bendel-Stenzel [Richfield] also played in the Mid-Flight Swiss teams on Sunday, picking up 1.13 red points, and The Mid-Flight Swiss also featured Rebecca Anspach [St Paul] who earned 3.81 gold points on Sunday.
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 | In a world where bridge clubs are generally having a tough time, this is terrific news for bridge in our state. Let's keep it going in December. |