January 2021 Report for Modesto Virtual Club
By Ray Adams
January was a special month for lovers of silver points. We had seven straight games where master points were doubled with half being black and the other half silver. In all, there were 32 tables in play during the week.
High games were: 1) 67% by Ray Adams/Sherrie Barakatt on the 18th, 2) 65% by Gail Vick and Barbara Page the following day, the 19th, and Bruce Ruskin and Frank Frohman had 63.19% efforts.
Engebretsens were common, but mainly off the A & B variety. On the 21st, Pamela Mayne and Jaime Hamilton had a pure engebretsen finishing 1st in all three categories, since there average points put them in C. On January 22, Marcia Laird/Jim Page tied with Sherrie Barakatt/Jaime Hamilton for first overall, so they both had a first in C, first in B, and a tie for A that day. On the 19th, Jaime and Sherrie weer 1st in C and second in both B & A. Barbara Page and Gail Vick were first in both A & B in the same game. On the twentieth, Judy Remmers and Jeanne Russo were first in B and second in A. Also on the 20th, Lee Maddocks and Jaime were second in B and third in A.
Leading point winners during Silver Linings Week were: A: 1) Ray Adams with 8.60, 2) Bruce Ruskin with 4.40, and 3) Pamela Mayne, who won 4.04. In B, it was 1) Sharon Cole at 3.98, 2) Gail Vick with 3.38, and 3) Judy Remmers who came in with 2.72. In C, Sherrie Barakatt was first with 7.26 earned points. Readers will notice that this was actually second overall for the week. She was followed by Jaime Hamilton with 4.23 points, followed by Garrad Marsh who had 3.98.
There were 67 tables in play for the remainder of the month. Frank Frohman and Bruce Ruskin had the big game for the entire month with a 73.61% effort. Bruce and Jaime had the second best with a nice 67.33% on the last day of the month, while Ralph Jungwirth/Trell Uhl had a 65.33% game on the same day.
There were no pure engebretsens in the regular January games, simply A & B leaders. The 5th saw Barbara Page and Judy Remmers finish 2nd in both A & B. On the 7th, Libby Longstreth/Chris Gray were first in B and second in A. Cindy Rogers/Sherrie Barakatt were 1st in C, and third in both B & A also. While on the 9th, Sharon Cole and Jim Page tied for second in A & B. On the 12th, Sharon/Garrad were first in A & B. Judy and Jaime were second in B & A on the 17th, and finally, Chris and Libby were first in B and second in A on the 30th.
Leading point winners in regular games were A: 1) Bruce Ruskin, 8.51, 2) Ray Adams at 7.26, and 3) Ralph and Trelle with 4.56. In B, it was 1) Judy Remmers at 5.82, 2) Chris Gray with 3.46, and 3) Libby Longstreth who had 3.34. C leaders were 1) Sherrie Barakatt with 6.47, 2) Jaime Hamilton at 2.59, and 3) Jim Page coming in at 2.52.
Thus, all that remains is to announce the overall leaders for the entire month. In A, it was 1) Ray Adams with 15.86, 2) Bruce Ruskin at 12.91, and 3) Pamela Mayne with a total of 8.46. B was led by 1) Judy Remmers at 8.54, 2) Sharon Cole with 6.99 and coming in third was Barbara Page who barely edged out frequent partner Gail Vick who had 4.75 total. Sherrie Barakatt led the C players with 13.73 points, which was actually second overall in the unit. Second in C was Jaime Barakatt at 6.82, and Garrad Marsh was third with 5.93.
So, January was a long month with many master points earned. February will be three days shorter, but on the other hand, had the lovely Valentine’s Day midway through. Our virtual club will over double points on the 13th and 14th in honor of this day of expressing love, with half being black and the other half red. The Champagne Swiss Team event will be renewed due to popular demand. It will offer four Swiss Team events every day two hours apart. See you in February!
December Report for Modesto Virtual Club
By Ray Adams
Happy New Year, everyone! 2020 was a strange year with all the confinements we had due to the covid-19 pandemic. On the other hand, it was a very important year for our unit. The club was purchased by the unit from Jan Mastenbroek, and when and if the pandemic is over, we will be relocated to the Modesto Bowl on McHenry Avenue. Meanwhile BBO has enabled us to keep playing our favorite game online, which has kept most of us from going stir crazy.
Congratulations are in order to Jeff Gaudio and Terry Sciabica who recently became new Sectional Masters. Also, Darryl Resenheim of Sonora became a Regional Master in December.
There was only one 70% game in December. That was the 72.22% effort turned in by Cindy Rogers and Ray Adams on the 29th. Second highest was 67.5% by Sharon Cole and Garrad Marsh on the thirty first. In third place was the 67.08% game by Debbie DeZarn and Jean Jerrigan on thea sixth.
The only engebretsen belonged to the Lairds, Jim and Marcia, who finished 1-2-3 in the December 5th game. On the eighth, Jaime Hamilton and Sherrie Barakatt were first in C and second in both B & A. Gail Vick and Judy Remmers were first in B and second in A on the seventeenth. Sharon Cole and Jim Page were first in A & B on the nineteenth. Gail Vick and Jeanne Russo were second in both A & B on the twentieth,. Raj Modi was 1st in C, 2nd in B, and 3rd in A , also on the twentieth. And finally, Sharon and Garrad were first in both A & B on the thirty first.
The point winners for December were A: 1) Ray Adams with 10.07, 2) The Maynes, with 8.80, 3) Frank Frohman, with 6.24 For B, first was Sharon Cole who had 6.90, while coming in second was Judy Remmers who earned a total of 6.32, followed by Gail Vick in third with a grand total of 6.14. In C, Sherrie Barakatt was the leader with 6.36, Jaime Hamilton was second with 5.00. I always find it interesting when a player comes in with a completely even number with no fractionals, but I suppose this will happen one time out of a hundred. And third in C, was Garrad Marsh who earned 4.35.
Readers will note that Sharon was third overall and Sherrie Barakatt actually finished fourth in the race. Great going, ladies! It’s good to see bridge buffs rising above their stratum.
We had a total of 91 tables for December, which I figure is a good number considering that there were two major holidays and no special promotions on BBO. I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to our New Year. Hopefully, I will see you all online and then in our new club.
Bridge in November by Ray Adams
November was a fun month for our Modesto Unit bridge buffs. We started out with excellent attendance and ended up with 100 tables for the month, including 32 in Stardust Week. The latter capped off the month with locals winning double black points, with one quarter of that total being gold.
In our Junior game on Veterans’ Day, November 11, Terry Sciabica, playing with robot, Tin Bottom, was first in A & B, while Raj Modi and Cindy Thompson were second in A & B. Patty Heckindorf and Sharon Jackson were first in C.
We had three 70& or better games in November. Libby Longstreth and Frank Frohman had a 77% effort on Thanksgiving Day. The Maynes had a 72.93% game on 11/28, and Ralph Jungwirth and Trelle Uhl came in at 71.53% on the 21st. Keep it up, all six of you!
There were several engebretsens in November. Marcia and Jim Laird kicked off the month with a pure engebretsen on the First, finishing first in A, B, & C. On the tenth, Sherrie Barakatt and Jaime Hamilton had a progressive engebretsen, coming in first in C, second in B, and third in A. On the 19th, Raj and his robot, Steely Guts, had a pure engebretsen. On November 22, Libby and Chris Gray were first in both A & B. On November 23, Jaime Hamilton and Mike Saeler had another pure engebretsen. Meanwhile, on the same day, Libby and Joyce Rudesill were second in A & B. Stockton players Usha Bansal and Debra DeZarn were first in C, second in B, and second in A, on November 25, the day before Thanksgiving
In Stardust Week, leading A player was Ray Adams with 5.80 points, Frank Frohman was second with an even 5.0, and the Maynes were third with 4.29. Cindy Rogers was the leader in B with 3.84, while Joyce Rudesill followed with 3.78, and Libby barely edged Sharon Cole for third by 3.29 to 3.28. In C, Jaime Hamilton had an outstanding week with 4.57. As you can see, this would have put him third overall. Way to go, Jaime! Sherrie Barakatt was second with 3.72, and Garrard Marsh came in third with 2.92.
In the overalls, Ray Adams was first in A with 11.54, the Maynes were close behind with 11.24, and Frank Frohman finished third with 9.45. B leaders were: Libby Longstreth with 9.93, Chris Gray was second with 7.40, and Joyce Rudesill third with 6.54. In C, Sherrie Barakatt was first with 9.50. Looking at A & B, it is easy to see Sherrie was actually fourth overall. Way to go, girl! Jaime Hamilton was second with 7.33, and Garrard Marsh third with 5.42.
So, that’s it for November, 2020. Lots of black and gold points were awarded. Here’s hoping December will be just as exciting!
Modesto Virtual Club, October Report
By Ray Adams
We had an exciting month this October in the Modesto Virtual Club. Joan Clendenin became a new member of the ACBL, while Darryl Rosenheim and Mike Gutowski were reinstated. Up and coming player Jaime Hamilton became a Sectional Master, while John Fiscalini moved up to Silver Life Master status. Our total tables for the month were 108, with 34 of those coming in the Club Appreciation week, when points won were doubled. The Club Appreciation week actually ran into November 1, so those results are included in the Club Appreciation totals, although not in the October points for members. This day’s points will become part of the November overalls. There were several engebretsens and several near perfect engebretsens in October. Jaime Hamilton was involved in many of them. On the first, Jaime and Marcia Eblen had a pure engebretsen and on the 26th Jaime and Sherrie Barakatt had another pure engebretsen, finishing 1st in all 3 strata. On the 11th, Judy Remmers and Chris Gray had a B level engebretsen, finishing 1st in A and B. On the 13th, Jaime and Sherrie finished 1st in C, B, and 2nd in A. On the 17th, Jaime and Marcia were 1st in C, 2nd in B, and 2nd in A. And on the 8th, Jaime and Sherrie were 1st in C, 3rd in B, and 4th in A. In the 99er game on the 14th, Jaime and Jeff Gaudio had a 1st in B and 1st in A. By the way Cindy Thompson and Sue Winter were 2nd in B and 2nd in A in that game, while Patty Heckendorf and Alice Holloway were 1st in C. There is now a two district 99er game at 6:30 PM on Mondays through Thursdays. So far, only Jeff Gaudio and Terry Sciabica of our unit have played in the game and they won points on the 20th. In the Club Appreciation week, the Maynes were first in A with 8.22 points, Ralph Jungwirth was second with 7.70, and Trelle Uhl was third with 4 points. In B, Cindy Rogers was first with 3.91, Sharon Cole second with 3.85, and Judy Remmers third with 2.52. In C, Sherrie Barakatt led the way with 3.19 points, Garrad Marsh second with 2.09, and Jim and Marcia Laird third with 2 points. For the month of October, top A players were: 1) Ralph Jungwirth with 19.79, 2) the Maynes, with 14.90, and 3) Trelle Uhl with 14.14. Top B players were Sharon Cole with 7.38 points, second, Judy Remmers with 5.66 points, and Chris Gray came in third with 5.13. Sherrie Barakatt was top C player with 7.22 points, Jaime Hamilton second with 6.16, and Garrard Marsh third with 4.18, barely edging out Jim and Marcia Laird who had 4.09. The top game of the month was the 80%-er turned in by Jaime Hamilton and Jeff Gaudio in the 99er game on the 14th. Top club game was the 69.97% effort by Gary Capwell and Roger Smith on the 13th. This was the only time the two played in October by the way. Ralph and Trelle had a 69.27% effort on the 4th. During the Club Appreciation week, the Maynes came in first with a 70.83% game. Well, November has already started and I am looking forward to more stimulating bridge in the next four weeks.
Modesto Virtual Club Mid-October Report
By Ray Adams
I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to acknowledge some new members to our unit and two new achievements of Junior Master status. Katherine Zagone of Modesto recently joined our unit and William R. Bain and Mrs. Zora V. Bain of Merced transferred into our unit from Fresno. Also, my good friend and student, Lou Israels of Modesto, and Muhammad A. Randhawa of Turlock, whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting, became Junior Masters this past month.
The occurrence which made me realize I had overlooked the new members and new advances in rank was the arrival of the local leaders in the Ace of Clubs and Mini-McKenny Masterpoint races since the end of August.
In the 0-5 category, Julie Miller and Lou Israels tied for first in both races. We now know that Lou earned enough points to advance to the next level. Daniel Bocks, who I believe is the son of Lorraine Bocks, was third in both categories.
In the 5-20 category, Susanne Sachs, Jim Lee, and Casey O’Mara were 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, in both races.
The two 20-50 races saw the same three leaders: Jaime Hamilton was first, Terry Sciabica second, and Marcia Eblen third.
The 50-100 races also saw the same three persons finish 1,2, and 3. It was G.W. Marsh in the lead, with Jim Page, and Alan Beban following.
There were more names involved in the 100-200 races. Marna Ferreira of Sonora was first in both categories, while Barbara Bogart of Modesto was second, and Ronald Michaelis of Groveland was third in the Ace of Clubs race. In the Mini-McKenny, Neil and Sharon VonTersch tied for second.
The same three finished first, second, and third in the 200-300 category in both races. It was Lorraine Bocks, followed by Sherrie Barakatt, and Roger Hanlon. Sometime this past year, Lorraine and Sherrie moved into the next higher category of 300 – 500.
In the 300 – 500 Ace of Clubs race, Karen Davis of Sonora was first, followed by Terry Nogode of Stockton, and Michael Saeler of Modesto. However, Michael earned enough points in the Mini-McKenney race to finish first, while Karen Davis was second, and Pam Sands of Modesto, third.
In the 500 – 1000 competition, David Jenkins of Sonora was first in the Ace of Clubs race, while Sharon Cole was second, and Dennis Northern third. Meanwhile in the Mini-McKenney contest, Libby Longstreth barely edged out second-place finisher Sharon Coles, while David Jenkins was third.
In the 1000 – 1500 category, Gary Smith was first, Pamela Mayne, second, and Mary Sue Moore third in both races.
It was also the same three in the 1500 – 2500 race, with John Mayne first, Larrie Sweet second, and Frank Frohman third in both categoreies.
In the 2500 – 3500 division, also known as the welterweight division, Lee Maddocks was first in both races, while Ray Adams was second in the Ace of Clubs and third in the Mini-McKenny, as he and Bruce Ruskin switched positions, Bruce finishing third in the Ace of Clubs and second in the Mini-McKenney.
This past year, the 3500 to 5000 category, sometimes known as the light heavy weight division, had but two members, with Ralph Junwirth finishing first in both the Ace of Clubs and the Mini-McKenney, while Jan Mastenbroek was second in both.
Finally, the last category, 5000 – 7500. which is the Modesto heavy weight division. has but one member: Chris Brown, who was naturally, first in both races.
Of course, the races run to the end of the year and we will find out in a few months in there are any changes to the leaders. Meanwhile, I look forward to more fun playing competitive bridge.
September News in Modesto Virtual Club
This was an exciting month for our Unit. We had two new ACBL members: Stacey Elvery of Oakdale and Robert Rasp of Turlock. Also, Raj Modi became a Sectional Master, while Garrard Marsh achieved Regional Master status. Congratulations to both of you on your accomplishments.
Two players who played duplicate for the first time, Sue Henry and Cindy Pylman, won gold for the first time when they placed second on the 23rd, behind 1st place finishers, Jeff Gaudio and Terry Sciabica in the Juniors game on the 23rd.
We had what the ACBL called Star Dust week. This was actually a chance for players to win gold points in their local virtual club. I associated the term Star Dust with the Woody Allen movie, “Star Dust Memories.” In one scene, Woody is on a train that appears to be filled with Ingmar Bergman characters going to a conference on philosophy and death. None of them are smiling. Woody sees another train from his window where the passengers are partying and having a great time. He asks the conductor if he can be on that train. Like Woody, there were many times during Star Dust week when I wished I was on that party train myself. Nevertheless, we had 39 different individuals who won from the amount of .11 to 1.51 gold points during the week. The majority were C players, who obviously need gold points more than any of the other flights.
On Tuesday of Star Dust week, BBO crashed, all data was lost, and BBO restored the system and gave us two more days to make up for the crash the following week. Of course, if you talked to the pairs playing on that fateful Tuesday, everyone was having a 70% game at the time when the system failed. I would have thought there might have been some pairs with a 5% or 10% game to even things out, but apparently that was not the case.
Among the C players that week, Marcia Laird was 1st with 4.90 points, Lorraine Bocks 2nd, with 3.88, and Cissy Hilken of Stockton, 3rd with 3.57. The B players were led by Chris Gray at 6.04 points, 2nd was Judy Remmers with 5.60, and 3rd was Libby Longstreth with 4.08. In A flight, the Maynes were 1st with 4.59, Ray Adams 2nd, with 4.54, and Chris Brown 3rd, with 3.18. As you can see, the B & C players outdid the A’s, with Chris Gray 1st overall, Judy Remmers 2nd, and Marcia Laird, 3rd.
The overalls for the month were: A, Ralph Jungwirth 1st with 13.26, Trelle Uhl 2nd with 11.30, and Chris Brown 3rd, with 7.48. In B, Judy Remmers won the honors at 9.03, Larry Sweet was 2nd at 8.59, and Chris Gray was 3rd at 8.06. The leading C players were Dennis Northern with 7.61, Marcia Laird with 6.10, and Sherrie Barakatt coming in 3rd at 4.18.
Our guests from Stockton did quite well. Cissy Hilken placed 3 times, finishing with an engebretsen on the last day, the 29th, while playing with Lynette Foppiano. She also placed with Stockion player Debbie Greenberg. Cissy and Lynette also had a 2nd degree engebretsen on the 23rd, finishing 2 in all strata. Deb DeZarn and Roger Smith also won one game during Star Dust week, achieving an engebretsen in doing so. Jaime Hamilton and Marcia Eblen also had an engebretsen, finishing 1st among all players in all strata. Jim and Marcia Laird had another engebretsen, finishing 1st in all strata like Jaime and Marcia. Judy Remmers and Joyce Rudesill had an A/B engebretsen, placing 1st in A and B. Larry Sweet and Dennis Norther also duplicated Judy and Joyce’s feat.
The two top scoring games for the month were the 73% game turned in by Bruce Ruskin and Frank Frohman on the 26th and the 70% effort by Libby Longstreth and Chris Gray on the 24th. All in all, it was an exciting month, with a total of 102 tables in play, 38 of them during Star Dust week. I look forward to an exciting October.
September News in Modesto Virtual Club
This was an exciting month for our Unit. We had two new ACBL members: Stacey Elvery of Oakdale and Robert Rasp of Turlock. Also, Raj Modi became a Sectional Master, while Garrard Marsh achieved Regional Master status. Congratulations to both of you on your accomplishments.
Two players who played duplicate for the first time, Sue Henry and Cindy Pylman, won gold for the first time when they placed second on the 23rd, behind 1st place finishers, Jeff Gaudio and Terry Sciabica in the Juniors game on the 23rd.
We had what the ACBL called Star Dust week. This was actually a chance for players to win gold points in their local virtual club. I associated the term Star Dust with the Woody Allen movie, “Star Dust Memories.” In one scene, Woody is on a train that appears to be filled with Ingmar Bergman characters going to a conference on philosophy and death. None of them are smiling. Woody sees another train from his window where the passengers are partying and having a great time. He asks the conductor if he can be on that train. Like Woody, there were many times during Star Dust week when I wished I was on that party train myself. Nevertheless, we had 39 different individuals who won from the amount of .11 to 1.51 gold points during the week. The majority were C players, who obviously need gold points more than any of the other flights.
On Tuesday of Star Dust week, BBO crashed, all data was lost, and BBO restored the system and gave us two more days to make up for the crash the following week. Of course, if you talked to the pairs playing on that fateful Tuesday, everyone was having a 70% game at the time when the system failed. I would have thought there might have been some pairs with a 5% or 10% game to even things out, but apparently that was not the case.
Among the C players that week, Marcia Laird was 1st with 4.90 points, Lorraine Bocks 2nd, with 3.88, and Cissy Hilken of Stockton, 3rd with 3.57. The B players were led by Chris Gray at 6.04 points, 2nd was Judy Remmers with 5.60, and 3rd was Libby Longstreth with 4.08. In A flight, the Maynes were 1st with 4.59, Ray Adams 2nd, with 4.54, and Chris Brown 3rd, with 3.18. As you can see, the B & C players outdid the A’s, with Chris Gray 1st overall, Judy Remmers 2nd, and Marcia Laird, 3rd.
The overalls for the month were: A, Ralph Jungwirth 1st with 13.26, Trelle Uhl 2nd with 11.30, and Chris Brown 3rd, with 7.48. In B, Judy Remmers won the honors at 9.03, Larry Sweet was 2nd at 8.59, and Chris Gray was 3rd at 8.06. The leading C players were Dennis Northern with 7.61, Marcia Laird with 6.10, and Sherrie Barakatt coming in 3rd at 4.18.
Our guests from Stockton did quite well. Cissy Hilken placed 3 times, finishing with an engebretsen on the last day, the 29th, while playing with Lynette Foppiano. She also placed with Stockion player Debbie Greenberg. Cissy and Lynette also had a 2nd degree engebretsen on the 23rd, finishing 2 in all strata. Deb DeZarn and Roger Smith also won one game during Star Dust week, achieving an engebretsen in doing so. Jaime Hamilton and Marcia Eblen also had an engebretsen, finishing 1st among all players in all strata. Jim and Marcia Laird had another engebretsen, finishing 1st in all strata like Jaime and Marcia. Judy Remmers and Joyce Rudesill had an A/B engebretsen, placing 1st in A and B. Larry Sweet and Dennis Norther also duplicated Judy and Joyce’s feat.
The two top scoring games for the month were the 73% game turned in by Bruce Ruskin and Frank Frohman on the 26th and the 70% effort by Libby Longstreth and Chris Gray on the 24th. All in all, it was an exciting month, with a total of 102 tables in play, 38 of them during Star Dust week. I look forward to an exciting October.
The Halfway Point
By Ray Adams
Hi fellow bridge buffs! This has been an interesting year for Unit 529. Things year started out normally, with regular games on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, with limited games and the Unit Game on Sundays. Then the Corona virus hit this country. First, our Sectional was canceled, then our club was closed. This led many bridge buffs to take up online bridge at BBO, and it was not long before our unit opened a virtual club online with games on the four days mentioned above.
The next we knew, the unit bought the club from the Mastenbroeks and all the money that our virtual club earns online now goes to the unit. Eventually, when we get the clearance from the state and federal governments, we will open a new club at a location to be determined. This is exciting news for local bridge players, indeed. I look forward to seeing all of you online until we get a new club when I hope to see all of you face to face again.
June 30 marked the end of the first half of 2020, and the ACBL sent out the leaders in the local Ace of Clubs and Mini McKenney races.
Modesto player Sandra Dieker tied with Daniel Bocks of LeGrand for first in both races in the 0 to 5 category.
Suzanne Sachs of Twain Harte was the leader in both competitions in the 5 to 20 level.
Terry Sciabica headed the field in the 20 to 50 Ace of Clubs and Mini McKenney.
Gerald Marsh led the group in the 50 to 100 competition in both categories.
Marna Ferreira of Sonora was the top point winner in the 100 to 200 category, while Sharon and Neil Von Tersch of Oakdale were out ahead in the Mini McKenney race.
Sherrie Barakatt led the field in the 200 to 300 field, while Lorraine Bocks had that honor in the Mini McKenney competition. I have a feeling both these ladies will not remain in this category for long, as I have played both with and against both of them, and they are tough competitors.
Karen Davis of Sonora led the 300 to 500 Ace of Clubs competition, while Mike Saeler had that honor in the Mini McKenney.
In the 500 to 1000 area, David Jenkins of Sonora led, while Pat Gallo of Livingston headed the Mini McKenney race.
Gary Smith headed both competitions in the Silver Life Master rankings.
Frank Frohman led the Ace of Clubs in the 1500 to 2500 category, while John Mayne was first in the Mini McKenney race.
The top point earner in the Gold Life Master area was Lee Maddocks, who usually runs the online Sunday game at our virtual club.
Ralph Jungwirth grabbed the most points in the 3500 to 5000 race. I remember it was not that long ago that we had a party for Ralph at the old club to celebrate his achievement of reaching this level.
And the top Master Point holder in our unit, Chris Brown, led in both races in his field: the 5000 to 7500 category.
Look for a lot more excitement in the second half of 2020, except in the last category, where Chris is the only unit member to have reached that height.
I look forward to seeing you all online and hopefully in the near future back at the tables in our new club, earning more and more Master Points.