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The festivities get going over at the Bridge Center of St Paul on Tuesday afternoon, New Year's Eve. Their regular schedule has been tossed out like 2024 calendars everywhere, and the one game Tuesday is an Open Game at 12:30pm. Prior to the game, there's a lunch provided at 12:00pm - ham, scalloped potatoes, and rolls. You are welcome to bring a dessert or appetizer to share if so desired, and even a libation to share with your opponents. (Polymarket odds on "the flask" making an appearance: 97%.) Then at 6:30pm on New Year's Eve, it's the Minnesota Grand Slam Club's online game on BBO. It's a $5 bridge game you can enjoy from your own home, and still make a ball drop at 9pm (it's always midnight somewhere) and hit the hay. Finally, Rochester features a "Glitz Game" on New Year's Day at 12:30pm. There's a prize for the glitziest bridge attire (sequins and glitter have been a regular attraction here, along with a couple of tuxedos in the past) - and there's a Happy Hour afterwards to celebrate the first bridge game of 2025 (and those playing in it). Whatever your New Year's plans include, being safe and healthy should be first and foremost - and if we don't see you at a bridge game until after the holiday, have a great start to 2025. |
 Overall, it's another year of weekly improvement compared to the year before. There are some big swings in weekly table counts on this chart, although most of those can be explained. For example, three tournaments had an impact on local clubs - a new regional in Rochester, the return of the Autumn Harvest, and a slide in the dates of this year's Aquatennial Sectional. Holidays had an impact, too, with both Christmas and Hanukkah falling on the same day of the week. And in March it was a 12" snowstorm across the state that closed clubs for several days, resulting in a drop in year-over-year tables there. More green than red is generally a good thing, and that's certainly the case here. What does 2025 bring? We may get an idea next week. |
In any event, there are now 192 Minnesota players who have qualified to go on in the D14 competition; that list (in full) is available by clicking on the image to your right. We have yet to get any club calendars from Unit 178 clubs for January, but check with your local club about GNT qualifiers next month. Below is the list of GNT games being run by the Bridge Center of St Paul in January. UPDATE: Unit 178 put out their calendar, with one GNT game for the month - it'll be at the Bridge Center of St Paul's Roseville location on Saturday, January 18th.  |  |
 | Without some circumstances out of control this year (the Edina Senior Center closing for a week during the summer, and more holidays happening to fall on Mondays, closing clubs) figures might even have been more impressive. But it's all good. In its first full calendar year at their new site, the Bridge Center of St Paul consolidated their grip on Twin Cities tables picking up +19.4% over 2023. Maple Grove (-7.0%), Duluth (-11.6%), and Detroit Lakes (-4.5%) all dipped slightly, but these clubs had fewer games in 2024 (due to the aforementioned circumstances). Each of the two Units saw an increase in overall club F2F tables; while we are running at about 57% of the pre-COVID numbers for F2F tables, everything is heading in the right direction. 2025 promises to have more opportunities for Minnesota players (another tournament already added to the calendar) and so far - at least - Minnesota's F2F club games overall haven't lost too much momentum. |
Enjoy spending time with the family - be sure to do a little overeating - watch some football - reconnect with friends and relatives - and do it all, as this is the time for all of that. We could see you back at the bridge table as early as tomorrow, and if it's not for another week or so, bridge players all across Minnesota will most certainly understand. |  |
Thursday the St Cloud Bridge Club held the Chuck Stenger Crown Royal-Wine team game at the St Cloud Labor Home. Ten teams participated in the bridge event, with the forty members of the St Cloud club enjoying Crown Royal, potluck hors d'oeuvres, wine, and the aforementioned "Ugly Sweater" contest. Winners of the team game were Greg Nastrom [St Cloud], Jane Curtis [Clear Lake], Alex Warzecha [St Cloud], and Win Anderson [St Cloud]. |  |
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 | Your "Top 20" masterpoint winners are listed to your left, with their gold points (and in some cases, yes, gold dust) listed in gold next to their name. There were almost 200 Minnesota players that earned some gold at their local club this week (199, to be exact) - and overall our state's clubs dished out a total of 51.38 gold points among the players. Most of us did not make the "Top 20" of course - but if you click on the image to your left, that will open up the spreadsheet that lists all 199 Minnesota players who earned some gold dust this week. Hopefully everyone (gold or not) had a great time playing. |
 The ACBL is offering "BridgeWar", which is an online game that blends the strategic depth of bridge with the fast-paced simplicity of the game, War. It's a game that aims to get new bridge players interested in the game by starting them with something familiar (the card game of War) and giving it a Bridge-like twist. The game will be free for anyone to play, and you do not need a partner or team to play. It's expected to be in play at the 2025 Youth NABC and online games are supposedly available sometime in early 2025. Details can be found on the ACBL's website by clicking here. |
Sub-committees have been formed in both Units for an effort to determine the mechanism by which a merger of units would take place - and if concerns on both sides of the discussions can be addressed. Those committees have yet to meet (Unit 103's Board meeting to discuss this matter just took place a few days ago). In addition, Unit 178 representatives Tom Botten [Prior Lake] and President Sue Sanger [Bloomington] made another trip to the Bridge Center of St Paul's monthly board meeting last week to make their case for why eastern Metro players should want to be part of Unit 178. (The BCSP Board's position on switching Units to 178 has been and currently is officially "[remaining] neutral".) Don't expect too much to happen until after the New Year gets going, but 2025 could be the year that Minnesota returns to one unit to benefit everyone. UPDATE: Of course, "radio silence" will be observed on this Bridge Blog during the Unit Unification negotiations to ensure the smoothest possible process without interference. Your primary source for the latest information on this (and all Unit info, frankly) should always be your favorite Unit representative. |
 | If these numbers are confirmed correct as reported (and not just a change in accounting method), this might be the first month in five years (January, 2020) that the league has stemmed the tide. (Hey, an annualized increase in players at the rate of 54 new players per year across all of the ACBL isn't going to be too noticeable, but at least there's a positive sign involved, and that's a start.) |
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Speaking of which, David Collins [Fridley] held on to keep the lead in masterpoints through today's Swiss Teams, and he's the 2024 Holiday Tournament Champion. This is the first time Dave has made the list - very likely not the last. Congratulations to him and to everyone who had a good time this week. | 
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Heading into the Sunday Swiss teams, Dave Collins [Fridley] has moved up the masterpoint list to the #1 spot - for now. We will see who gets to add their name to the Holiday Tournament Champions list tomorrow afternoon. |
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Between December 16 and December 22, your local club can participate in Stardust Week, where you'll be earning 25% gold points without having to make it to a Regional or NABC tournament. (This does not happen too often, so don't miss out.) Not all games next week are automatically enrolled in the ACBL's Stardust Week event; your club manager must sign up for them. . .so check with your club manager (or one of your club directors) and see to it that they join in on the fun. |  |
 | And this year, through the first two days of the Bridge Center of St Paul's Holiday Tournament, tables are not quite "through the roof", but that may not be too far away. Overall, tables compared to last year are up +7.6% through the first two days; Thursday was up +8.5% and Friday up +6.7%. The only weak spot in turnout is the 499er crowd, where Thursday's 499er tables were off -41.7% compared to last year, and Friday's 499er tables off -17.1%. Turnout is terrific! Can surge pricing be far behind? |
You can bring a donation to the tournament in Roseville this weekend, or you can also make a donation to this foundation by clicking here. |  |
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| Kyra Helmbold [Minneapolis] played in the bracketed teams today, tying another team for 1st place in their bracket - also winning their bracket today was Jeffrey Walker [Eagan] and Lou Tesler [Eden Prairie] for another 11.16 gold points - not bad for a day at the office. Two more days to go at the NABC. |
| There are still about a dozen Minnesota players who are sticking with the NABC through the second weekend - and then they'll be back to the cold (and warmth of the upcoming Holiday Tournament!). |
 Holiday Tournament, Bridge Center of St Paul Coming up is the four-day holiday celebration that is the Holiday Tournament in Roseville's BCSP location. Their charity this year is once again Every Meal, donate by clicking here. The Rochester DBC will have their holiday game and brunch on Monday, December 9th. Their charity this year is Family Promise, and you can make a donation by clicking here. The Woodbury Bridge Club also is having its annual holiday get-together on Monday December 9th. More info on that party can be found here.
There are a few potlucks at the Bridge Center of St Paul's Roseville location this month - which will also be an opportunity to party hard (and play hard!). Thursday, December 19th, Monday, December 23rd, and Tuesday, December 31st are all potluck celebrations of the holidays and upcoming new year.
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| The final two sessions of the Super Senior Pairs took place today, and Tom Grue [Apple Valley] along with his partner from Las Vegas won the opening session with a 63.10% game. This was enough to propel them into 4th place overall heading into the final session - finishing 17th out of 56 pairs for 10.91 platinum points. Mike Flader [Eagan] and Joel Kramer [Minneapolis] earned 8.89 platinum points in the same event, and Sue Jackson [St Paul] and Stephen Jackson [St Paul] won 7.73 platinum points. Today's Gold Rush saw Karl Hansen [St Paul] and his partner from New Jersey with a nice 63.13% game in the opening session which was good for 2nd place out of 92 pairs! Then - lunch happened - and the afternoon wasn't quite as fun. (We've all been there.) Karl still got 1.53 gold points today - well done! More Minnesotans are showing up out in Nevada, and those 32 players now getting masterpoints are listed to your left. Best of luck to everyone tomorrow. |
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Here is hoping everyone at the tournament has a good time - and gets some masterpoints. |
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A couple of Minnesota college alums Kyra Helmbold [Minneapolis] and Cecilia Ehrlichman [Northfield] are working their way through the Soloway Knockout Teams. They played four matches today, losing their first three (-2 IMPs, -24, -11) but roaring back to win their 4th (+28 IMPs) and come in 68th out of 103 teams today. Here's a look at the scratch these players (and more!) are getting after a couple of days in the desert. UPDATE: Sure enough, a couple of score corrections came in and bumped Keith Connolly from 130th to 132nd place - and out of tomorrow's competition. He, along with Tom Grue [Apple Valley] and Gregg Van Dyke [Key Largo FL] will be entering something new tomorrow. |
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All of this would not have been possible without your donations and the matching funds from Units 103 and 178 ($2,500 and $500, respectively). Most recently, Unit 178 has offered our club the use of some chairs they currently have in storage. Again, many thanks to both Minnesota bridge units. We will leave the Appeal open through our December Sectional tournament ending December 15, 2024. Any additional monies we receive will go toward the purchase of some additional needs including new portable cooling unit(s) for our future tournaments, replacement boards, new cards, and Bridge supplies to make the game better. We asked for your help…..you responded generously! Many, many thanks to all of you. We go forward with a healthy financial outlook for 2025. Sincerely, Board of Directors Bridge Center of Saint Paul |
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Monday, John played with Barb Zipoy and recorded a terrific 76.70% game. They had 7 top boards out of 24; Barb's last 70% game was about a year and a half ago on June 16, 2023 (when she paired up with Mary Sass [Apple Valley]), so this was also a great result for Barb! John's other big games this month took place on a couple of Wednesday mornings, with his regular partner Joe Koester [Brooklyn Park] - a 77.84% game on the 13th along with a 70.74% game one week before in the Royal STaC. You may recall that Barb and John were the big Minnesota winners in the Royal STaC week this month - here they teamed up as a partnership to score this stellar 76.70% game Monday. Congratulations to both of you! |
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Second is a motion to give full overall awards to all players on a team who play 50% of the boards in a one-day team event. The current ACBL policy is that you get a percentage of overall awards based on how much you play - recognizing that there are rewards for multi-day events. (They are very different from a one-day event.) Arguments on both sides of this issue are expected to be spirited. |
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John Edmundson [Maplewood] is teaching a "Beginning Bridge – Bridge Basics" class on Monday evenings from 6:30p to 8:30p. This in-person-only class starts on January 6th and goes through February 24th.
♣ Course Fee is $70 for all 8 classes - no refunds after the third week of classes. ♣ Register online at: www.bridgecenterofstpaul.com ♣ The course book is $13, available at the club (Kim can arrange for you to pick up). ♣ Taught by: John Edmundson. For more information email: edmundson.john@gmail.com
♦ Each class includes approximately a 1 hour lesson and 1 hour of play. ♦ The course book is available at the club (Kim can arrange for you to pickup) or online from Baron Barclay. ♦ Course Fee is $70 for all 8 classes - no refunds after the third week of classes. ♦ Taught by: Larry Huiras. For more information email: bcofstp@gmail.com |
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 | The ACBL's program is called "Gold For Good", and if you'd like to participate there is a $30 entry fee. This entry fee is what goes as your donation to disaster relief, but it also upgrades all of your games that week to be eligible for gold points. ALL of your game scores that week are eligible for the program, including your local club games and those at the Bridge Center of St Paul's Holiday Sectional. There are two weeks during which you can upgrade your games, December 9-14 and December 16-21. You can read more about this program by clicking here. |
There is a face-to-face bridge game Friday at 6:30pm this week; but everything gets going a half-hour earlier at 6pm. Your $5 entry fee (holiday markdowns already taking place!) includes refreshments and a light supper before the cards come out. They've got a Club Championship to run, and this is the perfect venue for that rating - so look for extra masterpoints. The type of game (pairs? teams? GNT qualifier?) is up to you. Players are asked to RSVP by emailing the MGSC as follows:
2) Indicate who your partner is - OR if you need a partner 3) What type of game you would prefer (pair/team/GNT Qualifier team) |
But starting on December 1st, this lesson and game are moving up 90 minutes - so the lesson will be taught at 4:30pm and the game starting at 5:00pm. Make note of the new time for this Sunday game (and lesson) - and make a partnership to play in it! |
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 | Once again this year their local charity will be Every Meal, which fights childhood hunger; cash and food donations will be accepted at the tournament. Get your partnerships together as it's never too early to schedule them for the Holiday Tournament! |
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 | Click on the image to your left for a look at how everyone is doing - so far - and remember these masterpoint awards aren't final until the ACBL says they are. That might be some time next week (but sooner than some US Election returns, for sure). In the meantime, the link to find the results for all of this week's STAC games can be found by clicking here. |
  | 73 of the 154 players are Flight "C" players (0-750), even though they can play in any flight for D14. On the other hand, 8 Minnesota players that have qualified are over 6,000 masterpoints - and can only play in the Championship Flight. |
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 | An excerpt from The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (seriously, this is scary stuff - click at your own risk) How to host a Halloween Party (from 1963) |
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Don't forget that D14's rules have changed for this year's GNT competition - you must qualify in a club to go on to the D14 Finals in March, 2025. There is no buy-in allowed at the end of the season. Looking at the November calendars, between Thanksgiving week and the Royal STaC there don't appear to be too many GNT games on the schedules for the month - but if you pipe up and let your club manager know you'd like to see a few, they're not difficult for your club manager to schedule. The ACBL will put together a list of Minnesota players who are eligible to go on to the D14 competition, and when they put that list together, you'll see it posted here on the Bridge Blog. |
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 | Looking back at the last fifteen years of open sectional tournaments in Minnesota (that's 109 open sectionals) - an 80% game has happened only once before. You'd have to go back to a Saturday evening in Duluth on September 10th, 2016 to find a pair that came away with an 80% game at this level of competition. Gregg Van Dyke [Key Largo FL] and Tom Grue [Apple Valley] had an 80.42% game at the Paul Bunyan Sectional back in 2016 - but they are the only pair that Sarah and Jackson are joining in this club as of now. Click on the image to your left to see the highest game percentage found in each of Minnesota's open sectionals over the last ten years. (NOTE that the I/N scores are not included here, only open, unrestricted masterpoint games.) |
The 164 tables over three days ended up as 69.0% of 2019's 3-day tables for this tournament; that's a good turnout. The last time this tournament was held five years ago, it was held at the Oak Marsh Golf Club [Woodbury], roughly 17 miles farther east. In this case, closer certainly seems better for attracting players. |  |
Remember you can qualify for the D14 GNT by playing and qualifying in any GNT game (even one that is being held nowhere near D14) - but you'll have to do so at a club-level game this year to go on to the D14 Finals. Those finals will be held online the weekend of March 29-30, 2025. |
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There is one more day of cards at this tournament tomorrow. Full results of this tournament can be found by clicking here. |
ACBL tournaments that have returned to the calendar after the introduction of COVID to the bridge world have averaged 56% of their pre-COVID table counts. (The Rochester Regional is an example of such a tournament, having overperformed slightly with 61.4% of their 2019 tables.) The last time around at the Autumn Harvest there were 78 tables in play on Thursday in 2019. That would be 75, disregarding the evening teams game (not held tonight), and 56% of 75 is 43. All things being equal (and they are not 100% equal, starting with the new venue), 12 open tables and 10.5 NLM tables this morning would meet 56% of the number from 2019. (12 open and 8.5 NLM tables in the afternoon would also meet this percentage from 2019.) We will see what takes place! Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to get a partner and blow these expectations out of the water. UPDATE: Day 1 seeing 57 total tables, that's 72.6% of 2019's day 1 tables - a great start! The NLM tables today (10 in the morning, 9 in the afternoon) came right in at the 56% number; but the Open tables today (19/19) were 90.4% of 2019's day 1 Open tables. Several NLMs have become Open players in the past five years; that may have something to do with today's table counts. Full results of this tournament can be found by clicking here. |
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Presently, the bridge clubs in Duluth and Rochester have signed up for this event (no Unit 178 clubs are participating as of this post) - but there is still time for your club manager to sign up. And if you're looking to get into the action, click here for a list of participating clubs. |
 | If you're interested in obtaining a copy, send Connie Nelson an email at connie@psg.us. If you know John (and chances are you do), you know it's good stuff. |
   
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The flyer for this tournament is to your right - click on it to enlarge it and open it in a new window (for viewing or printing) - and we will see YOU next week at the bridge table. |
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During the meeting club president Jeff Walker updated members on an Equipment Fundraising Drive to purchase a new dealing machine which is being funded in part by a $2500 grant from Unit 103. The drive also hoped to replace a number of worn out chairs by asking members to donate $40 to “buy a chair.” The cost of new chairs is being subsidized by a $500 grant from Unit 178. Finally, the club hoped to fund a new sound system, which miraculously appeared already installed for the meeting and sounding awesome! 64 players remained for the game which was a 16 table web of 26 boards. Terry Beckman and Paul Meerschaert finished first overall. Jackson and Sarah Wahl finished second, not quite a half board behind. Finishing third were Dan McIntyre and Tom Knier. The evening was a success and a fun time was had by all. --Larry" |
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Connie Nelson [Avon] provides the recap of the day's fun:
[F]orty-seven different players earned master points. The Top Ten masterpoint winners were: (preliminary points) • Dale Simson, 1st 3.35 Silver • Maclore Christensen, tied 2/3 3.18 Silver • Steve He, tied 2/3 3.18 Silver • Mark Anderson, tied 4/5 2.66 Silver • David G Hanson, tied 4/5 2.66 Silver • David Lui, tied 6/7 2.13 Silver • Richard Trachy, tied 6/7 2.13 Silver • Gloria Emerson, tied 8/9 2.0 Silver • Janet Enger, tied 8/9 2.0 Silver • Amy Roske, 10th 1.85 Silver Seven players played in their first ACBL Tournament ever: Tamara Armstrong, Marlene DeVoe, Julie Huseth, Mary Johannes, Doreen Miller, Mary Stoiber and Mary Wagner. And eleven entrants had fewer than 10 MPs. I view these players as our tournament’s “Most Valuable Players.” Introducing new people to tournament play, and encouraging them to return, makes for a brighter future for all of us who enjoy Minnesota bridge. Finally, THANK YOU to everyone in our Club for your help in putting on this tournament, especially to Sharon McKenzie who was in charge of the snacks all day, to Director Joe Lisbon, to Jane Curtis and Margi Kappes who drove in to serve lunch, to John Selden who moved our tables and other supplies, to Jim Schnepf for covering all the computer mechanics, to Saundy Fedor and Win Anderson who were the smiling faces at our welcome table, to Rhonda Rossman for serving as Partnership Chair, and ALL members of our tournament team. It does indeed take a village! --Connie"     
L to R: Dale Simson [St Cloud], 1st-time tournament player Mary Wagner [Sartell], Mark Anderson [St Cloud] and David Hanson [St Cloud], Jane Schmidt [St Paul] and Maclore Christensen [St Paul], and Wendy Hennes [St Cloud]. |
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| FLIGHT "A": 1)Robert Schachter [Eden Prairie} and Paul Meerschaert [Long Lake] - 38.40 G 2)Bob Balderson [Eden Prairie] and Cindy Balderson [Eden Prairie] - 28.80 G 3)Michael McNamara [Horace ND] and Tom Fox [W Fargo ND] - 21.60 G 4)Carole Miner [Rochester] and Kerry Holloway [Bloomington] - 17.07 G FLIGHT "B":1)John Miller [Stillwater] and Tom Knier [Burnsville] - 20.10 G 2)Bev Meyer [Minneapolis] and Peter Bock [Apple Valley] - 15.08 G 3)Ed Prosser [Rochester] and Carole Mataya [Rochester] - 11.91 G 4)Jerry Burdeski [Moorhead] and William Swenson [Minneapolis] - 10.72 G FLIGHT "C":1)Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] and Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis] - 26.80 G 2)Thorwald Hanson [Minneapolis] and Jane Schmidt [St Paul] - 12.00 G 3)Kathleen Stadther [St Cloud] and Jan Gembol [Clear Lake] - 2.96 4)Tom Malterer [Duluth] and Peggy Anderson [Cloquet] |
1)55.70% Robert Schachter [Eden Prairie] and Paul Meerschaert [Long Lake] 2)55.57% Michael McNamara [Horace ND] and Tom Fox [W Fargo ND] 3)54.81% Terry Beckman [Brooklyn Park] and John Koch [St Cloud] FLIGHT "B": 1)58.60% Bev Meyer [Minneapolis] and Peter Bock [Apple Valley] 2)56.58% Elliot Eskin [Edina] and Jennifer Peterson [Golden Valley] 3)55.25% Layne Vinje [Rochester] and Sheri French [Pine Island] 4)54.91% Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] and Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis] FLIGHT "C": "C" players this year were folded into the Flight B" game |
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Under their new rules, put into practice six months ago, units must earn their money, through contacting former ACBL members and getting them "back in the fold" as well as recruiting new players. After the first six months of this new program, Unit 103 has gotten 98% of the money it would have under the old reimbursement program, almost entirely through new member recruitment. Unit 178 has gotten no money for new member recruitment or recruiting lapsed players, so they have seen just 67% of the money they would have gotten under the old program. It's critical to a healthy unit to get as much of these funds as possible, so it's really incumbent on everyone to make sure and reach out to former players - provide a friendly and welcoming table for newer players - and by all means, if your friends are playing party bridge, get them to take a lesson or two at your local club. There's an upside and a downside to the ACBL's new program - and it's up to all of us to try and make sure our units stay healthy and in business. |
 | Another change includes a night of free, social bridge on RealBridge's website. Think of it as social duplicate bridge on ZOOM, and although you can play the same 20 boards as other duplicate pairs, there are no masterpoints awarded. Still, if you've got a few friends across the country and want to chat and catch up while you're playing bridge, this may be a good option for you. These games take place on Monday evenings, from 5pm to 8pm (Minnesota time) - and cost nothing. You can find out more information about this program and how to sign up for it by clicking here. |
There is also an opportunity for club members to ask the BCSP board questions - if you would like to sign-up for this event, please click here. PLUS - a reminder that their annual fundraising drive is happening. More on that here. |
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Sandy Casey provides this update:
--Sandy C
My bridge friends have been so kind and supportive thru it all. I will drive that tractor again some day." -- Bill |  |
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This year the board is asking members to donate additional monies to help obtain matching grants from Unit 103 which has offered to reimburse the club up to $2,500 toward the purchase of a new dealing machine and from Unit 178 which has offered to match $500 toward new chairs to upgrade some of our older tattered chairs. The board suggests you buy a chair for $40 or donate toward a new dealing machine. More information at the annual meeting. [The] deadline to appear in the 2025 directory [is] 12/15/24." |
The full name, and we should be using it, is "Jane Johnson Club Appreciation Month". Jane Johnson was the ACBL's longtime Club Department Manager until her death in 2001. When she passed away, the ACBL began what was known as the Star Club program, which asked clubs to apply for recognition based on specific criteria - and earn one, two, or three stars. Club members were asked to nominate their clubs for the annual Jane Johnson Club of the Year award. Unfortunately, the Star Club program never really took off, with less than 130 of the ACBL's 3,200 clubs participating in the early 2000s. In 2006, the criteria for recognition was simplified, but still this program was not working. So the ACBL elected to kill the Star Club program and honor Jane by renaming Club Appreciation Month each October as Jane Johnson Club Appreciation Month (the games carry this name as well). |
