We will be following their progress once the NABC gets going in July - but for now congratulations to these players on their success in the D14 GNT. |
 | In the Flight "C" finals, it was quite the match today! After a non-descript first round (19-15 DeBellis), the DeBellis team had a terrific second round to lead 60-21 at the break; then the third round went 47-7 to the Nelmark team to take the lead at 68-67 with 14 boards to go. EVERY IMP COUNTS at this point - and in the 4th round of this match, the scoring went 35-26 for the Nelmark team and the win. That was quite the wild finsh! It really was a tale of two different matches, with the DeBellis team winning the before-lunch break at 60-21, and then the Nelmark team winning the post-lunch matches at 82-33. PREVIOUSLY: It all comes down to today! Two flights in D14 have been decided; two more will be decided today. In the "C" flight, two teams remain and will play four matches to find out who goes on to represent D14 in the NABC GNT this summer in Philadelphia PA. The "B" flight is bit more complicated; there are four teams remaining. Two KO matches of 28 boards will send two winners at the lunch break into the Finals; the losing teams in the morning will play this afternoon for 3rd place. One other note - a fifth player was added to one of the "B" teams last night, as they were allowed to qualify to advance to today's play with an ineligible player on their team. But everything is set for the last two flights now, and it sure looks like Minnesota players will dominate the D14 GNT again this year. We will know for certain when the results are in this afternoon. |
 | Skipping to the Flight "C" competition, the two teams that are playing Sunday for all the marbles in that flight are the Nelmark and DeBellis teams - they'll play four matches for the win. And back over to the Flight "B", four teams play tomorrow. Those four teams are captained by Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis], Dave Neiman [Minneapolis], Arne Langsetmo [Robbinsdale], and Sheri French [Rochester]. For these Flight "B" players, the first half of tomorrow will be an elimination semi-finals match for each. . .then the remaining two teams play for the title. Best of luck to everyone still in the hunt. PREVIOUSLY: We are at the lunch break! BBO today is featuring the D14 GNT Finals, and while the Championship Flight has already been decided - the Flight "A" winner will be known later this afternoon. The two teams in Flight "A" are playing four rounds - so you'll see four scores there when everything is wrapped up this afternoon. At the moment - we are "at the half!" Also - who's ahead in the "B" and "C" Flights will be on the scoreboard to your left; there's a lot of bridge yet to go. The "B" and "C" teams are playing a qualifying round today for their champs to be decided tomorrow. |
 | The response to these one-day NLM events has been so well received that the St Cloud club has outgrown their previous tournament location in Sartell. Next Saturday's games will be held at the nearby-but-larger-playing-area of the Sauk Rapids Government Center. You can get directions to their new location by clicking here. There's much more information on the flyer to your left; click on the flyer to open it in a new window - and we'll see YOU (and your partner) in Sauk Rapids next Saturday. |
 | Only a single Championship Flight team signed up to play this season, so they are going to Philadelphia without ever having to use a bidding box. Congratulations to Keith Connolly [St Paul], Vern Swing [Minneapolis], Bob Schachter [Eden Prairie], Paul Meerschaert [Long Lake], Paul Lewis [Sioux Falls SD], and Linda Lewis [Sioux Falls SD] as the team that will represent D14 in the Championship Flight. Two teams are battling it out for the Flight "A" championship Saturday, and the winner will be determined tomorrow afternoon. Their scores will be posted to your left as the matches roll on. For Flights "B" and "C", Saturday is a qualifying Swiss teams for the right to play Sunday. Eight teams are in the flight "B" this year - four will go on - and there are four playing in the Flight "C" Saturday - two will go on from there to play Sunday. Best of luck to all playing - and we'll have updates throughout the weekend. |
 CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT Only one team entered - and they are going to Philadelphia. FLIGHT "A" Two teams entered, playing 56 boards Saturday to see who wins. FLIGHT "B" Eight teams entered, so Saturday is a qualifying Swiss - top 4 teams play Sunday. FLIGHT "C" Four teams entered, so Saturday is a semi-finals and the top 2 teams play Sunday. |
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  | These two hands were in the qualifying round of the IMP Pairs, and you can click on either hand on your left to check out his discussion of the bidding and play. You'll note he improvised a bid - and had some good reasons why he should - which isn't just the mark of a good player, but that of a Grand Life Master now. |
| Paul Meerschaert [Long Lake] became a Grand Life Master, winning the Lebhar IMP Pairs Dave Collins [Fridley] played with Paul, winning the IMP Pairs in his first ever NABC event Lynne Castoldi [Minnetonka] picked up 182.66 masterpoints, finishing #31 of 2,476 players Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] earned his Silver Life Master the last session the last day of the NABC
Forty Minnesota players got masterpoints - you can find that list by clicking here. That's not including the fun that was had - the great dinners out - and the discussions on the way home. We're also able to report no Minnesota players mentioned on the Memphis Police blotter, so there's that. Next up is the Summer NABC in Philadelphia PA; there's no doubt some Minnesota players will again be making the trek to experience the Summer NABC. One way that you can go the summer NABC is to represent D14 in the Grand National Teams competition - The D14 Finals that determine who from Minnesota will represent D14 happen this upcoming weekend. You can still enter to play! The instructions on how to sign up for the D14 Finals online can be found by clicking here. |
Congratulations to all four of these pairs - along with our other Flight "C" pair, Jane Schmidt [St Paul] and Thorwald Hansen [Edina] - and our Flight "A" representatives that played earlier in the NABC - Bob Balderson [Eden Prairie], Cindy Balderson [Eden Prairie], Carole Miner [Rochester] and Kerry Holloway [Bloomington]. Remember to get in on this action for this upcoming year, as the 2025 NAP season begins with club games in June, July, and August. You've got a chance to represent D14 next year at the Spring NABC in St Louis MO!
Qualify in a club game during June, July, or August2 Once qualified, plan to play in the D14 NAP Finals this September3 Top finishers in the D14 Finals go on to the NABC in St Louis MO next year (a short drive from MN) |
In the North American Pairs Flight "B" event, Thomas Knier [Burnsville] and John Miller [Stillwater] were among the 78 pairs in today's first session. They had a 56.63% game in the morning - then this afternoon, they had a 53.78% game and wound up 8th overall. That's good enough to qualify to go on to tomorrow's finals, and 8th out of 52 playing tomorrow is a great start before the cards even come out. Peter Bock [Apple Valley] amd Bev Meyer [Minneapolis] also made the cut, qualifying as #15! In the NAP Flight "C" event, Tom Owens [Woodbury] and Dan Ganter [Maple Grove] had a terrific 58.64% game this morning to finish 6th out of 68 pairs at the lunch break. They came back with a 48.88% game this afternoon - and are moving on to tomorrow's "C" Finals starting in 19th place out of 36 pairs moving on. Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] and Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis] scored a 49.44% game this morning in the Flight "C" competition and came back this afternoon with a 50.73% game - which was good enough to have them qualify for tomorrow's Flight "C" Final - they're starting out in 33rd place. Jane Schmidt [St Paul] and Thorwald Hansen [Edina] made up the third Flight "C" pair from Minnesota representing D14 - they had a 48.43% game in the morning but came back after lunch to score a 42.82% game and unfortunately missed the cut. Here is hoping (thinking) they still had a good time - very few players get to play in the NAP at the National level! The NAP finishes up tomorrow along with the rest of this NABC. |
 | The deadline to register for this event next weekend is approaching - no later than this upcoming Thursday. All of the details are provided by Keith Connolly [St Paul] who is the D14 GNT coordinator this year; you can get these details by clicking on the image to your left or just by clicking here. |
 | Tomorrow, the North American Pairs "B" and "C" competition gets underway. D14's Minnesota representatives will be there. Today, it was the four-person combo of Tom Owens [St Paul], Dan Ganter [Maple Grove], James LaFave [Minneapolis], and Gary Rowland [Golden Valley] who won their Bracketed B teams bracket winning 4, tying 1 and losing 1 - and picking up another 6.39 masterpoints. |
| It won't take three weeks for the weather to improve, but you've still got three weeks to get your partnerships together for the Med City Sectional down in Rochester; this Open Sectional tournament gets going on April 10th. The flyer for Rochester's Med City Sectional is to your left; click on it to open in a new window for viewing or printing. This three-day tournament will feature Pair/Team games each day, along with 499er pairs. All games are single-session, and the partnership chair's contact information is provided on the flyer to your left. Get your partners scheduled and we'll see you for some silver points in Rochester (along with some warmer weather, no doubt)! |
Daniel McIntyre [St Paul] and Dan Knier [Waite Park] entered the 0-2,500 pairs event; with a 55.21% morning session and 56.01% afternoon session, they've qualified to play tomorrow in the finals as the #7 pair out of 28 - well done! There's more - you can check out all the NABC events by clicking here; and a look at the masterpoint list for this tournament is available by clicking here. |
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 | PREVIOUSLY: This is another big day for Minnesota bridge players at the Spring NABC in Memphis TN. They are inbetween bridge sessions right now; here is your update on their progress:  James LaFave [Minneapolis] heads a Swiss team that includes Dan McElroy [Burnsville] and Gary Rowland [Golden Valley] along with Earl Rivers [Michigan] and they're playing in the finals of the 0-2,500 Swiss Teams. They came into today 12th out of 12 (but making the cut yesterday!), won their first round, lost their second round, and then squeaked a win in round 3 just before lunch to move up to 7th place at the break. Another plane from MSP landed in Memphis, and today Dan Knier [Waite Park] and Tom Knier [Burnsville] are playing in the mid-flight pairs. . .they're joined by Dan McIntyre [St Paul] and John Miller [Stillwater] - both these two local pairs are in the top half of the competition going into the post-lunch session. The Rockwell Mixed Pairs also having their two-session finals today; all four local pairs in this competition taking it on the chin this morning, but sometimes that is how bridge goes. Of course, you don't have to win a bazillion platinum points or completely dominate your bracket to have fun in Memphis; even players who are getting just a few gold and red points will tell you just being there is a great time. Look for an update on Minnesota players tonight. |
 | What really stands out, though, is when it comes to Minnesota's weekend. When you look at Friday-Saturday-Sunday combined bridge tables, across the ACBL they have 24.9% of their tables in play. Here, we have less than half that (12.1%). (That could be because we've got more options for things to do with our weekends?) |
One other update of note: Dan McElroy [Burnsville] and Gary Rowland [Golden Valley] along with James LaFave [Minneapolis] squeaked by in the 0-2500 Swiss Teams event to move on to tomorrow. They survived a 21 team event with just 12 qualifiers as the #12 team - but they are in it! PREVIOUSLY: The next big event at the NABC in Memphis TN began this morning with the Rockwell Mixed Pairs. It's a four-session two-day event, with two qualifying sessions today. . .and those that qualify this afternoon going on to play tomorrow. It's no surprise that there are some of your local players that entered this event - and maybe no surprise that they're doing well! Of the 266 pairs that entered this event - here are how your Minnesota friends have fared after the first session:
Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis] and Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis]: 58.71% for 18th place (of 266)
Rebecca Anspach [St Paul] and Keith Connolly [St Paul]: 52.62% for 89th place
Bob Balderson [Eden Prairie] and Cindy Balderson [Eden Prairie]: 52.27% for 97th place
Paul Meerschaert [Long Lake] and Lynne Castoldi [Minnetonka]: 51.28% for 114th place
Kyra Helmbold [Minneapolis] and David Helmbold [Los Gatos CA]: 51.12% for 119th place
Deborah Weiss [Minneapolis] and Vern Swing [Minneapolis]: 38.78% but time yet to come back! There's three tables of Minnesota players, just in this event. Best of luck to all of them and an update coming after the second session tonight. |
Another late winter storm is expected tomorrow; the current forecast is here. A band of 3" to 8" of snow is expected by Wednesday afternoon; while it's not expected to close a lot of schools, etc., it could make for a messy trip to and from the bridge game. Be sure to check with your local club to make sure they're still open for business tomorrow. The good news is that this system's dump of wet snow should taper off quickly as you go to the northwest; while Northfield may get 9" of snow, Maple Grove might get 2". St Cloud should miss all the action. So not all Minnesota clubs will be affected by this snowfall. This will be the last winter storm of the season (only because spring officially starts on Thursday). |  |
 | This is only "at the half" of the tournament, and while it's not likely to completely recover over the next six days, there should still be a total tables in the neighborhood of 6,000 when they close up the bidding boxes on Sunday. No word yet on what the ACBL's "break even" point is with this tournament. |
 | Over 20 Minnesota players are at this tournament - which might explain the slightly smaller game at your local club this week. There's a few more headed to Memphis tomorrow - so stay tuned for updates. |
This was not the only Swiss Team with Minnesota ties to do well in Memphis today; Chris Westermeyer [Falcon Heights] and Ross Anderson [Woodbury] played on a team in the Gold Rush today and came in 2nd place overall of 14 tables. They missed out on 1st place overall by just a single Victory Point (99-100)! Keith Connolly [St Paul] and Shmuel Greenberg played in the NABC+ Open Pairs today - Keith earned 20.89 platinum points by coming in 19th overall of 64 pairs in today's competition. That is not bad at all for a day at the bridge table. Masterpoints won by Minnesota players through today are listed on the chart to your right. More Minnesota players are headed to the NABC tomorrow, so there's still plenty of room on the list of Masterpoint Winners for our local players - stay tuned. |    |
 | We asked Paul after his big win how he went about the last session - here's what he had to say: Bridge Blog: Being that far back with one session to go, how did you approach this final session? Did you still think "we can win this!" or were you much more relaxed? Paul: I approached it the same as any session. I just try to do my best and not miss anything. :) We did know we had a good game, I was expecting top five, but [we] had to be stopped by the tournament director as we were leaving as he told us we might win. BB: Guessing you had quite the party last night - how did you celebrate this accomplishment? Paul: We had beer and pizza with friends! |
 | Dave Collins [Fridley] and Paul Meerschaert [Long Lake] played in the Lebhar IMP Pairs yesterday and today, finishing in 1st place for 100.00 platinum points. They came back from lunch today in 34th place in this event - but then were on fire this afternoon to overtake everyone else in the competition. Paul became a Grand Life Master with this win; he came close to winning an NABC event in 2018 in the Silodor Open Pairs with Robert Schachter [Eden Prairie], coming in 2nd overall for 93.75 masterpoints. And this is the 1st NABC event that Dave Collins has ever played in - so he's 1-and-0 in this level of competition! Of course, this would also send them straight to the "Century Club" for this NABC, where they've earned 100.00 masterpoints or more. It only took one event to make it, but don't let anyone tell you it was "the easy way" to do it. |
Two new events got underway today at the NABC: the 0-10K Swiss Teams and the NABC+ Open Pairs. Both of these are two-day events. Lynne Castoldi [Minnetonka] is playing on a team in the 0-10K Swiss, and so far they've done pretty well:  Heading into the two final sessions of this event, Lynne and her team are in 1st place! Can they hold on? We'll find out tomorrow. But it should be a nice dinner out tonight for the four of them. There are now almost two dozen Minnesota players in Memphis having fun at this tournament - and it's just the first weekend. |  |
March 15: 1/3 Red points March 22: 1/3 Gold points!!! Need gold, come get a pile! March 29: Club Championship April will feature upgraded games and the best news is the table fee will be no extra charge as Unit 178 will pay the additional sanction fee for you! Take advantage of these offers and come and play. Games are stratified, and hand records are available when you finish. Game time is 12:30 pm and many players will go to one of the many local eateries after the game for a good post mortem session (winners and whiners). Of course, all the games are matchpoints. Contact Keith Thompson if you need a partner at keithclockt@icloud.com. See you at the club! -- Steve |
| Dave Collins [Fridley] and Paul Meerschaert [Long Lake] made the cut in the IMP pairs, coming in 28th out of 176 pairs. They'll play tomorrow. Carole Miner [Rochester] and Kerry Holloway [Bloomington] came in 15th out of 170 pairs in the Senior Mixed Pairs - and will play tomorrow. Bob Balderson [Eden Prairie] and Cindy Balderson [Eden Prairie] also survived to head to tomorrow's Senior Mixed Pairs final two sessions, coming in 29th out of 170. It's been a good NABC for Minnesota players so far, and it's only day 3! Chris Westermeyer [Falcon Heights] and his partner came in 5th overall in the Gold Rush (that's 5th of 24 pairs, well done!). PREVIOUSLY (2:00p): Today at the NABC in Memphis, TN, Minnesota's Chris Westermeyer [Falcon Heights] played in the Gold Rush along with his partner from Connecticut (and no stranger to the Bridge Center of St Paul) Jason Grove. Today's Open Pairs featured a few new Minnesota players, with Rebecca Anspach [St Paul], Penelope Morton [Duluth] and Valerie Broughton [Minneapolis] all entering the big game today. Paul Meerschaert [Long Lake] and Dave Collins [Fridley] entered the IMP Pairs, and at the session break today they're 39th out of 173 pairs. Over in the Senior Mixed Pairs, Carole Miner [Rochester] and Kerry Holloway [Bloomington] are 10th out of 140 pairs at the break. More to come! |  |
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PREVIOUSLY (3:30p): Yesterday Bob Balderson [Eden Prairie] and Cindy Balderson [Eden Prairie] survived the NABC's North American Pairs qualifying sessions to move on to the two-session finals today. They've played one session of the Finals in Memphis this morning, and heading into the second session they've popped up to 5th place overall with a 54.81% game this morning. Everyone is just sitting down to play today's second session - an update after dinner is coming. Kerry Holloway [Bloomington] and Carole Miner [Rochester] may have missed the cut from yesterday's NAP qualifying, but they've really bounced back in the Open Pairs today. Their 59.01% game in the first session of two is enough for a current 7th place out of 84 pairs in the event. Peg Waller [Edina] and Ron DeHarpporte [Edina] also among that crowd, with a 54.32% game this morning. And Lynne Castoldi [Minnetonka] appears to have renewed her "quest" for masterpoints for 2025. |  |
 | Less experienced players are the future of our game - which is why it's so great to see volunteers put on these events that are just for NLMs. The one-day sectional in St Cloud has gotten so popular that they've had to move to a larger location (which, quite frankly, is a problem many of us would like to have). The flyer for this tournament is on your left - click on it to open it in a new window for better viewing or printing. How much fun will they have in St Cloud next month? Last year's April one-day NLM tournament there had 17 tables in play in the morning - and another 16 in the afternoon - so it's definitely a good time. |
There are three Flight "A" pairs from D14 at the NABC, and all three pairs have made it through the first of two qualifying sessions above the 50.00% mark. Here's how they're doing: NAP FLIGHT "A" - FIRST OF TWO QUALIFYING SESSIONS - 68 PAIRS
Michael McNamara [Horace ND] Tom Fox [West Fargo ND] 57.98% 8th of 68 Carole Miner [Rochester] Kerry Holloway [Bloomington] 52.33% 28th of 68 NAP FLIGHT "A" - SECOND OF TWO QUALIFYING SESSIONS - 28 PAIRS MOVING ON TO TOMORROW
2-session average of 54.49% 14th place of 68 5.04 platinum points Michael McNamara [Horace ND] Tom Fox [West Fargo ND] 2-session average of 56.38% 7th place of 68 4.44 platinum points Carole Miner [Rochester] Kerry Holloway [Bloomington] 2-session average of 48.46% 42nd place of 68 (Did not make the cut) |
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 | Teri Blu [Bloomington] and Jane Trahms [Minneapolis] had a sparkling 68.70% game Monday, which appears to have been good enough for 1st place overall in the District. That's ten full masterpoints! Well done, Teri and Jane! Your leaderboard for D14 is located to your left; congratulations to all the Minnesota players who scored well and got some overall awards. . .and to everyone who played and had fun, big awards or not. |
Jan Martel is the COO of the United States Bridge Federation; she recently announced some of these kibitzing opportunities on the Bridge Winners website. Here are some of the things you can check out:
- Also March 12th through March 18th, you'll be able to online kibitz by heading over to the RealBridge website. - The Platinum Pairs semi-finals and finals will take place March 15th and 16th; they are planning to have coverage at 10:20am and 3:50pm (Minnesota's time is the same as Memphis). - The Vanderbilt will be on RealBridge starting March 17th. Monday the 17th, the morning online kibitzing starts at 10:30am and then 4:00pm; Tuesday March 18th, it's at 10:00am and 4:00pm. The last four days of the Vanderbilt will be on BBO, with online kibitzing sessions at 10:00am and 4:00pm. |
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 | One example is the recruiting numbers that the ACBL requires Units to meet. When the ACBL originally came out with this program, a Unit would have to recruit 70% of the same number of new members from December 2019 (pre-COVID) to get any additional money from the ACBL. That number was dropped to 50%, and this month Bronia Jenkins [ACBL] announced she's dropping that further to 40%. The bottom line is that this should mean better funding opportunities for both Minnesota Units (as well as everyone else in the ACBL) - and stronger Units benefit players everywhere. Remember to do your part, getting your bridge friends back to the table at the club! |
Game time is 6:30 CT, partners and teammates is BYO or can be made at the online Partnership Desk. Cost is $6/person. Find us on BBO at VACB101691. See you at the table! -- Dave N. |
 | Your 26 players for this month in the spotlight are listed on the chart to your left - chances are excellent that you've got one or more playing in your local bridge club this week. When you see them, be sure to give them a hearty congratulations! |
 | So who's playing? And how are they doing? It's early in the year, but Terry Beckman [Brooklyn Park] is sitting at the top of the leaderboard through the first two Minnesota tournaments. It's a very close competition, with less than nine masterpoints separating the top eight players. Will the race for this title be a runaway by the time we get to the Bridge Center of St Paul's Holiday Tournament? Or will "all family business" be settled at their tournament in December? Time will tell, but a lot of Minnesota players are off to a great start here. |
Minnesota bridge clubs have a LOT of games on Mondays, and so it's no surprise that you'll have a few options when playing for those extra MPs. Participating clubs include: DULUTH The Duluth DBC game at 12:00p Monday is participating BRIDGE CENTER OF ST PAUL The 10:00a game in Roseville Monday also is part of the Super Silver Senior Pairs ROCHESTER The Rochester DBC game at 12:30pm will be part of this special event EDINA Finally, the 11:30am Plymouth DBC game at the Edina Senior Center will also be included
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Will this program be renewed for another year? We'll find out at the Gopher when Unit 103 holds their board meeting in May. But it sure appears as though a bit of investment can really help drive opportunities for Flight "C" players - and benefit both the programs themselves as well as Flight "C" players who choose to capitalize on these opportunities. |
Unfortunately, the unintended consequence of this policy is that when clubs don't need to run GNT qualifying games, they don't. GNT games are the most expensive for a local club to run ($7.15/table + the D14 per table fee), so unless clubs have a reason to run them, they generally do not. That means players (especially those with less experience) have fewer options during the six-month GNT season to play the GNT format prior to the end-of-season GNT Finals. (Some players have no options.) Less experienced players, in particular, are not going to look at the D14 Grand National Teams Final as the best time to get their first taste of GNT team play. So this season, the buy-in fee was eliminated from the D14 Conditions of Contest. We were told you must qualify at the club level this year. Now it turns out the D14 GNT Coordinator (Keith Connolly [St Paul]) has re-issued the Conditions of Contest so that the extra buy-in charge is back and available. That's great news for everyone who wants to play at the end of the month! And hopefully we will have a big crowd for all four flights. But if we do have a larger crowd - it may be due to the fact that this year, clubs were under the impression they had to run GNT games (and thus provided some IMP play experience). We will see who shows up at the end of the month. |
Minnesota bridge clubs have a lot of Wednesday games - check with your local club, either by phone or on their website, to make sure the game's being held. These late-winter early-spring storms can be tricky, with even a minor shift in the track of the storm making the difference between 2" of snow and 8" of snow. Whatever the case, it's not going to be like it is outside right now, and even if your game is cancelled, the cards will be there next week (even if the snow is not). |
Here are the details from D14 President Steve Gaynor [Inver Grove Heights], who sent this out to all D14 unit presidents and our local area game operators and graciously shared with us:
I wish to inform you about the ACBL Clubhouse and its' benefit to our local clubs, both Face to Face (F2F) and online. If your online players play in games run through the clubhouse almost half of the entry fee comes back to the home club of each participant. This is done on a pro-rated basis, so if someone plays 75% of their games at club A and 25% at club B, those clubs benefit accordingly. From what I understand this is a better return than any other BBO game or games offered by the big alliances. This month the Clubhouse will feature games offering different pigmented points. This will also apply to F2F games run at your club! Club managers and directors have to do NOTHING! The points will automatically be credited. However, be advised that this will only apply to games that are regulary rated, no club championships, fund games, etc will receive the pigmented points. Of course if you have some "use them or lose them" games like club championships, do what you think is best for your players. March 11-16: 33% of the masterpoint award for all games will be Red. March 17-23: 33% of the masterpoint award for all games will be Gold. March 30-April 2: 33% of the masterpoints awarded at F2F clubs will be Silver. 100% of the masterpoints awarded in the ACBL Clubhouse will be silver! Future promotions for pigmented points will be decided based on the results this month, but the ACBL Clubhouse will continue to operate and keep money flowing back to local clubs. I feel we owe it to our players who want these pigmented points to give them this opportunity, so if you have sent out a schedule, consider revising it and STRONGLY advertise the benefits of playing both in the ACBL Clubhouse online and at your F2F club during the pigmented point promotion. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding this or any bridge matter. Yours, Steven Gaynor, President, ACBL District 14 612-[seven-zero-eight]-7563 |
Sectional Sat April 5 Sauk Rapids | Sectional April 10-12 Rochester | REGIONAL May 19-24 Bloomington  | Sectional Thu June 5 Rochester  | Sectional June 12-14 Sauk Rapids  | Sectional July 9-11 Maple Grove  |
       | Connie Nelson [Avon] shares that it may be awhile before you get to congratulate John in person as he will be undergoing heart surgery tomorrow morning (Tuesday) for an artery that's 99% blocked. Keep him in your thoughts as he undergoes the procedure and recovers this week. Connie posted to the St Cloud club (and approved for posting here) John's email, which is kochjohn74-at-gmail-dot-com, and his home address for cards and well wishes. That is 2116 Killeen Court, St Cloud, 56301. RECOVERY UPDATE: John was sent home the same day after his successful surgery, recovering now. Not even 48 hours later, he's earning masterpoints playing bridge on BBO. All good news! |
 | UPDATE: Keith Connolly [St Paul] reissued the D14 Conditions of Contest to include the $20 buy-in for anyone who did not qualify at the local club level. That means everyone who wants to play in the D14 GNT Finals at the end of the month can for an additional $20 per player, even if you did not qualify in a club game. |
  | Results for this tournament can be found by clicking here. Your top 30 masterpoint winners are to your left. Total tables for the weekend came to 128.5, which is off -18.4% from last year. Having so many players out of town at a couple of destination regionals this week probably didn't help, and possibly the incredibly warm weather actually impaired attendance just a bit. In any event, the fun was had by 150 different players, and next up on the tournament trail for many Minnesota players will be the NABC starting in about 10 days. (Also, remember there is plenty of March Masterpoint Madness right here in Minnesota.) (This post was edited to correct the Tournament Champion after the D-I-C for the tournament re-issued masterpoint awards 24-hours post-tourney.) |
 | There's one day to go; it's Swiss Teams tomorrow. This is a tournament that was held last year, but before that hasn't been held since 2020. (This was one of the very last tournaments to be held before the big COVID shutdown, with only 56 tables in 2020 in play.) Table counts for this tournament are off from last year, but there's still time - and the Swiss Teams is a popular event. We'll see what tomorrow brings, but one thing's for sure - good bridge and good company are on the schedule. |
   If John Koch [St Cloud] is playing in the Swiss teams tomorrow in Roseville, there's an excellent chance he's crossing the 15K masterpoint mark. (And if not, it'll be some time next week on BBO.) The cake is baked and the icing is being applied. Best of luck to John and his team at the Leap Into Spring Sectional. |