Here we are around St Patrick’s Day and the first day of Spring with lots to celebrate. The dust has settled on the rousing Burlingame Regional, spanning March 3-9, which so many of our Club members attended. With great success I might add! Congratulations to all of you who made your mark, large or small. It’s true our tribe is filled with wonderful bridge players who are also fascinating people.
Right out of the shoot, Aruna Desu teamed up with her SF partner and came first in B in the Monday Afternoon Pairs. Gillian and Paul Barsley of Palo Alto took first in C in the 299er Charity Pairs. That evening Henryk Szejnwald and Rich O’Brien placed first in B in the Evening Charity Pairs, while Kate Smith and partner took first in C in that event. Still on Day One, Deborah Lundahl and Donna Raynor topped A & B in the Evening 299 Charity Pairs and Paul Davis with Nancy Kehl nabbed first in C. A brisk start to the tournament!
In the Tuesday Afternoon 299er Pairs Ruby Chow and Dolly Musey came first in C. Skip to the Tues Eve Side Series and Gary Macgregor with his SF partner landed first in A. In the 99/299 Tue Eve Pairs we have Marla Kravatz and her partner grabbing first in A & B. Hip! Hip!
Wednesday started off brightly as Dave Wheeler and Marolyn Imaoka-Yancey earned first in A in the Wed Daylight Pairs. Later on Nancy Anderson and Marion Krause took first in G & H in the Wed Aft 99er Pairs. Vinita Gupta and her powerhouse team stole top ranking in the Wildcats KO Bracket 1. In the Wed AB Pairs, Mukund Thapa with his Oakland partner placed first in B. Andrew Dentai joined 3 ladies from other clubs to score top place in B & C in the Wed Eve Side Swiss. Do we have another ladies man amongst us?
Alan Polish joined his San Jose partner to take first in B in the Thu AM 299er Pairs, while Dana Bisconti and Amy Salisbury took first in C. We love to see new players doing well at tournaments! Prue Saunders hooked up with an East Bay gent to place first in A in the Morning Side Series. That evening Mary Ann Berg’s team beat out Vinita Gupta’s team for first in the Thu Eve Side Swiss. Geeske Joel and Will Watson’s team later took the 2-day Cardinal KO in Bracket 1. Jody and Richard Williams cashed in big points taking first in the Thu AB Pairs event.
Friday morning Prue chalked up another first in the Morning Side Series. Later in the day, Louise Doying and Bernadine Donoghue of Palo Alto placed first in C in the Sun Devils Fri Aft Side event. Aaron and Chuck Jones topped the chart in C in the Fri Aft 99er Pairs. Then Cynthia Yock and Gretchen Wyatt of Atherton tied Debbie Carey and Mary Lou Holding of Redwood City in the Fri Aft Student Game. Wowsers!
Saturday found the 5-person team of Franklin Gonzalez, Henryk Szejnwald, Rich O’Brien, David Cheng and yours truly taking first in the 2-day Cougars KO Bracket 3. The highlight of the tourney for me. That same day Andrew Hoskins of Palo Alto joined three others to finish first in the Ducks Compact KO for a bunch of points. Fung Bao and partner snatched first in A in the Saturday Eve Side Game. The Sat IMP Pairs found Robert Madalena and Tahir Gokcen on top in A. Later that evening Mary Ann Berg’s team stole first from Vinita Gupta’s team in the Beavers KO Bracket 1. In that event’s Bracket 3, Randy Ryals, Stephanie Singer, Carol Kemper plus one placed first. Kip Kado, Barbara Shukov, and the Samuels—Brian and Jan—were first in B in the Fri Eve Side Swiss.
The week ended up with Paul Davis, Nancy Kehl and Ralph & Susan Griffin taking first in B in the Sunday Aft 299er Swiss. Florence and Tad Yoshikawa with teammates took top rank in the Bracketed B Swiss. Polly Siegel and three others from the San Jose area took first for a big payoff in ‘X’ in the A/X Swiss event. Finally, Betsey Schneider, Kathy Harper, Donald Rothschild and one other placed first in A in the Bob Luebkeman Sr Swiss.
There’s one other event to tell you about. March 1-2 in Saratoga Unit 507 hosted the Santa Clara Valley NLM/500 Sectional. On Sunday, Reddy Raju, Devesh Goyal, Marla Kravatz and Paul Adriani won first in A & B in the Swiss event. Bravo!!
We are all lucky to love the game of bridge. It tickles the brain, tugs at the heart strings, and tantalizes the emotions. Hope you have heaps of fun and tons of slams! See you soon at the bridge table.