Feedback from Players: since October, 2022 - New England Bridge Conference

NEBridge - Feedback from Players: since October, 2022

At the beginning of every month the Regional Director, Mark Aquino, sends out congratulatory emails to New England bridge players who have advanced in rank during the previous month. Some of them send responses, and Mark selects a few of the most interesting ones to be posted on NEBridge.org. Below are a few memorable ones from players who achieved a new rank between since October, 2022.

Thanks Mark!

I have had a long road to this!

It started at 1970 Boston NABC where I went to go to see the Aces play, found out I could play in a side game and jointed the ACBL that day.

Since I was working, I could not play in clubs, but I would go on vacations to select tourneys either NABC or my favorite tourneys in Las Vegas. Often I would go and pick up partners which led to great friendships. I still have my 0-49 trophy from 1986 Toronto and 2002 Flight C in Las Vegas.

It took me 32 years to be LIfe Master. When I retired in 2017, I could start play at the great Puritan Bridge club. At the time I had 500 points but more Gold, Red and Silver than I had black points. The club is great and I have found many friends and am very blessed to find such a great place to play.

Thank for your great work for District 25

Larry Schell

Thanks for your message of congratulations. I’m happy to share a little bit of my bridge journey, partly because it is a little different, and partly because I’d like to acknowledge someone who mentored me, but is now gone.

I learned to play bridge, as many of us did, in the lounge of my dorm in college. I loved it right away, but I managed to avoid the fate of several classmates who flunked out due to their participation in the games that ran 24 hours a day. I went off to grad school, got married, and mostly played party bridge. A friend of my wife introduced me to duplicate, and I managed to accumulate 20 some-odd master points. Then, life intervened: I got a full-time job, started a career and a family, and had little time for anything else. I did not play competitive bridge again for 40 years, until after I had retired.

In late 2015, I was playing golf with a friend, who had asked if his father could join us, to which I agreed, of course. Toward the end of the round, the elder gentleman commented that he had to hurry up and finish, because he was going to play bridge. I casually commented “Oh, I used to play bridge,” and my life changed. My companion was Dick Dugas, and he virtually grabbed me by the collar and dragged me off to the Upper Cape Bridge Club. That club was much more substantial then than it is now, and I was exposed to a whole new world of duplicate bridge. Dick was a wonderful person, an excellent bridge player, and he served me well as a mentor. He was also extremely competitive and sometimes impatient, but he taught me a tremendous amount. I learned a lot from other partners and mentors, too, but Dick was the one who really launched my bridge career.

I now split my time between the North Shore and the Cape, so I’m getting to know even more players from District 25. I play only a limited amount in tournaments, and with the late (post-retirement) start to accumulating points, my rank aspirations are limited. But I hope to keep plugging along and enjoying the game for some years to come.

Steve Colman

I retired just before the pandemic after a 50 year career in education mostly in NYC. Up to that p[oint i lived for Texas Holdem. The pandemic put an end to that. Looking for a replacement I noticed that at the senior center in ridgefield ct, Founders Hall there were bridge classes so enrolled and fortunately i had a great teacher Mike Hess who encouraged me to try duplicate. i did and it changed my life. Met lots of really friendly people found the Newtown Bridge Club where i play in person 3 days a week and online also, continue to take bridge classes with Mike and additional lessons at the Newtown Bridge club.

Charles Glassman

Thank you for the congratulations. I've played Bridge informally for many years online, in person, and/or in solitary. It was only in the last couple of months, as I moved to partial retirement, that I engaged with a local bridge club (Derry Bridge Club At MGCC) and started accumulating master points. I also realized last month I could acquire master points online at Bridgebase.com and set a goal for Junior Master status which I have been very pleased to achieve. Many thanks to ACBL for the opportunities to play organized Bridge games. You have my permission to share this, but I must regretfully decline to provide a self portrait.

On a slightly separate note, I was a bit surprised to find how few clubs there are in the southern New Hampshire area, where I live, or even in northeastern Massachusetts. I realize Covid had a big impact on participation (Nashua for example had a club prior to Covid), but find it surprising that recovery appears to have been slow. Personally, I would love to see a club open up in Nashua again. If there is something I can do to help facilitate a club in Nashua (short of running a club myself - I don't have the time or experience for that), I would be pleased to hear about it.

Regards,

Winston Rogers

Thank you for your congratulations on this achievement. I confess the ACBL ranks, for someone competitive like me, do provide motivation. I can share three things that may be of interest. One, I earned many of my red, silver points and gold points over 50 years ago and then stopped playing when I moved out of Boston and no longer had regular partners. In those days (I am pretty sure) you lost your points if you were inactive for a certain time so it was only when I learned this was not the case that I regained motivation to play. Two, BBO came along - and so did Covid. I went back to bridge to pass the time and all the rest of my black points were earned on line playing mostly with robots. I was uncomfortable playing with pick-up partners until I decided a 2024 goal would be more post-pandemic socializing which led to Three, playing in a live game. The Mansfield Sectional was nearby so that was my first foray into the real world. Thank you to the opponents and my partner who (gently) told me the bidding box was actually for bidding (where did THAT come from?!) and helped me learn how to put the cards back in the right order. And, above all, thank you to Denise Bahosh who so patiently worked to find me a partner and welcomed me at the tournament. It was all fun and my pick-up partner and I got just enough red and gold to put me over the top. That convinced me that pick-up partners can work both live though I would love to develop a regular partnership. So that is pretty much my history. I forgot how much fun bridge can be and now I actually feel motivated to work towards LM. Thank you to everyone in the bridge community for keeping this game alive over the years and during Covid - in the clubs, at the tournaments, and on line. I am appreciative to you all.

Priscilla Clark

For most of my life I did not play cards. As an adult, I was busy raising two children and working as a school administrator. In fact, it was not until I was almost seventy years old that I decided to take up bridge. I realized that it was time to develop interest in a sedentary activity that would engage my mind. My recreation had previously centered on physical activity such as cross-country skiing and kayaking, but I realized I should prepare for the days when I could no longer rely on strenuous outdoor activity as my primary source of socialization and recreation.

I took a few beginner bridge classes, and made friends with a number of the participants. When my husband saw that I was engaged in this activity, it renewed his interest in bridge after a hiatus since college. Once Covid spread in the United States, online bridge became the perfect venue for learning and practicing the game. I regularly enjoy this convenient and safe way to pursue my interest in bridge.

Rhoda Weinstein

I can’t say there was anything remarkable about reaching life master other than retirement….

I started playing when I was maybe 14 and my parents sat Sam and me down and taught us all about bridge. For one afternoon. Then they said they didn’t much like the game and would never play with us again but we needed to know how to play so we could play with all our relatives.

So we did play with grandmother, aunts and uncles, a few cousins, and then a perpetual game in my fraternity, and then I joined the ACBL and played a bit on my first job, earned maybe .04 MPs on little slips of paper that I never mailed in. But I kept reading the Bulletin.

Then social bridge all my life. Favorite story, ten of us showed up at a manager’s house for an evening of bridge just to be told by the babysitter that the manager and his wife had gone to the movies. More recently, a three table team game here in Wellesley every Sunday night for about the last 30 years. And then came retirement, and winters.

Now I play about six times a week with about six different partners. Never a dull moment!

Fred Wardwell

Having played Bridge in high school and in college, and in the early years of marriage, I had not played for a long time. Last year my wife, Leslie, died unexpectedly in April, and faced with grieving the loss I found bridge again at clubs in Branford and Old Saybrook Connecticut. I must say that the people I’ve met have been a breath of fresh air and have given me the courage to put myself out there and socialize during this very challenging period in my life. I look forward to Bridge every week and my partners provide tremendous support.

As a result, I’ve accumulated a few master points playing in the Branford Friday game, sometimes coming in the top three with my partner Donna. I’ve also played some competitions and enjoy those too. And finally, the community Bridge lessons on the ACBL site have been a great experience. Bridge is a wonderful lifelong hobby and I’m grateful to the ACBL for facilitating my return to playing.

Roger Hill

Salem, CT

Slow and Steady is Just Fine

My mother taught me to play bridge when I was a teenager. There were many bridge players at Carleton College in the late 1960's. I bid wildly and acquired some bad habits

I started playing duplicate in 1979. Near the end of the year I met my current partner Steve Emerson, an MD/PhD student at Yale. We have played together for more than 44 years, eventually becoming "a strong New England Flight B Pair." My other New England partners Rita Brieger and Harold Miller eventually became teammates, All have my gratitude, as does my Florida partner Marty Fox.

It took Steve and me seven years to earn our first gold points, but after that we usually got some at every regional. We play a simple 2/1 style without New Minor Forcing or support doubles. We have had some highlights:

In the early 1990's we finished first overall in the final session of a 4 session IMP Pairs at the Nationals in Boston. I had 10 gold points when the session began. When it ended I had more than the 25 needed to become a Life Master.
I won one open regional with Rita and one with Steve and several Flight B team games.
At a NYC Regional Steve put a triple repeating squeeze on two World Champions. They got upset with each other but quickly switched from Polish to English and asked Steve if he knew what he was doing. When Steve nodded his head, both shook his hand.
Recently we got the best of one of America's top young bridge players at a regional in Astoria. My grandson was kibitzing which made the day memorable - even though no one remembers who finished fifth.
Thanks to Randy Baron for publishing my pamphlet Go for the Gold in the early 1990's and thanks to the Connecticut Bridge Kibitzer for publishing several of my columns. All stress the importance of partnership psychology.

Go over your errors AFTER the session ends. Remember most bad boards occur when one partner compounds a minor error made by the other partner.

Make slow and steady improvement. Read bridge books if you want to improve. Have fun. Be an ethical player. Keep on playing as long as you can to keep your mind alive.

Burt Saxson

I actually started playing bridge in college in the 1960's and enjoyed traveling to sectionals and regionals but when I got married in 1973, I decided I couldn't keep up with the time involved so I stopped playing competitive bridge for 33 years and I resumed playing in 2006. In the meantime, I kept sharp by reading just about every article in the Bridge Bulletin and Bridge World magazine. I am currently teaching bridge to seniors for ILR (Institute for Learning in Retirement) and thoroughly enjoying their love of the game. One of the highlights that I remember from so many years ago was playing in a night game at the Hartford Bridge Club in 1968 and having Charles Goren and Harold Ogust visit the club. I didn't actually get to play against them that night but it good to see them there. At a regional in New Jersey later that year I remember standing at a table ( along with many others) watching Oswald Jacoby declare a contract.

I have enjoyed playing and reading and teaching bridge for many, many years and I will continue as long as I am able.

Harold Miller

I have been playing duplicate bridge since high school. While I was in Dallas, Texas for a summer internship while in college, I was paired up at a local bridge club with a math teacher from Massachusetts. Through playing with Arnie, I met Frank Blachowski. Frank and I placed third overall in the non-smoking (anyone remember those days?) Open pairs tournament at the 1978 Long Island Regional. I graduated from MIT, went to law school and started my career spending two years in Chicago. In the mid-1980’s when I had returned to the Boston area, I began playing at the Puritan Club in Braintree. Forming a team for a club Swiss game, I met Hal Hindman. Hal and I went on to play in the non-life master flight Grand Nationals, winning a trip to the Nationals in Buffalo that year. I continued to actively compete in bridge until after my son was born. Parenting took up most of my extra-curricular time. But I always kept my hand in bridge attending the occasional tournament and playing at the local clubs in Framingham and Westwood. I am happy to say my bridge partners, those I have named and others, have remained life-long friends and I am lucky to get to play with them when I can. I am devastated by the damage wrought by Covid on our local club games.. Most of my masterpoints over the past few years have been from playing robot bridge (if you can call it bridge) and online duplicate games. I hope I will get to play more face to face bridge in the coming years. The ability to create enduring friendships and be a part of the bridge community while challenging your mind is what makes bridge so precious. The masterpoints are of secondary importance.

Bob Asher

Each milestone I reach is an exciting benchmark in my duplicate bridge journey.
Both of my parents were life-masters, and Bridge was important part of their lives together. They were very successful both locally and regionally. However, they didn’t allow any of their children to play bridge until we graduated from college! As a result, I didn’t start playing regularly until I was a Grandmother. I’m grateful to Dottie Kelleher and Horace Grover who run our local bridge clubs, and all the regular players who attend these games. My fellow players have explained conventions and offered support regularity so that my learning is ongoing. The Portland groups are a friendly and active bunch. I’m grateful to my regular partner, Russ Glidden, who shows patience and good humor even when I don’t. I’m also grateful to David and Sally Magee, who originally taught us the game. I think the only secret to success is playing a lot of bridge. Luckily I have a tolerant husband, Hank, who encourages me. This includes playing online as well as in person. I also like to read the newspapers columns on bridge and taking the bridge quiz and see how well I compare to the experts. Most of all, I’m grateful to all the kind and wise players who have offered supportive advice along the way in a gentle and helpful manner.

Anna Noyes Benoit

Thank you for your kind consideration. You are very thoughtful. It's been an unexpected journey since I took my first bridge lesson over 25 years ago. Little did I expect friendships, romances, and travel all tied to my love of this game. I have been most fortunate to have wonderful (and forgiving) partners and mentors that have helped me accomplish this honor.

Ciao,

Natalie Bassil

My journey began in September, 2022. I had waited 6 months for the next available bridge lessons at The Warwick Bridge Club in RI. I received private lessons from the Director there, Robert Garfinkel. My lessons consisted of 10 two hour sessions where I learned to play duplicate bridge. Since I was the only student, I never got to play a game. At the end of November Bob suggested that I play with his Wednesday night group. It is a smaller group and it would be a good introduction to the game. Bob was going to be my partner and would “carry me”. When one of Bob’s regular players, Jane, arrived that evening, she told him that her regular partner was unable to come. Bob said, “no problem, you can play with Donna”. I was flabbergasted and informed Jane that I had never played before. Her response was, “no problem, I am very patient and do not get upset”. True her word, she was wonderful. I could not have asked for a better person to introduce me to the game. We had an okay night with some wins and losses. I was encouraged at the end of the night when she informed Bob that she would play with me again.

In December, one of the Wednesday night players along with my very dear friend in Long Island, Pat Lessard, told me about another bridge group in RI for new players. It is The Viking Bridge Club in Portsmouth. The Director there is Susan Miguel. I contacted her and she suggested that I come to her Thursday game. This was a wonderful suggestion as I was able to play with people on my level. In addition to playing, Sue gives a brief lesson before playing which is extremely helpful. She has the ability to explain a complicated game to new players with style and humor. She runs the Viking Bridge Club in a relaxed and confident atmosphere. New members are always welcome and can be assured that they will always learn something from her.

I continue to play at both bridge clubs. Wednesday nights are more challenging and have a wonderful partner there, Norm, who is very patient with me as I learn all the nuances of this complex game. Thursdays I continue to receive instruction on new conventions and strategies on playing. In addition to these groups, my friend, Pat gives me weekly private lessons and we discuss issues I encountered while playing on both days. I have been extremely fortunate to have encountered players in both bridge clubs as well as Pat, who are willing to give me constructive criticism and have helped me improve my game. I love the game and look forward to improving!

Donna Schupack

To paraphrase a famous quote (attributed to Thomas Edison), my journey to achieving Sectional Master status has involved a fair amount of inspiration as well as a lot of perspiration.

I had played a little bit of bridge in college, stopping for 45 years to pursue a career as a software engineer and raise a family. Eventually I retired, the kids grew up, and, sadly, my husband died suddenly in 2018. A friend encouraged and even inspired me to get back to playing bridge. But it took quite a while before I became committed to the game. I first tried reading a bridge book, but that didn’t motivate me too much. Then I discovered bridgebase, and I started practicing online. Finally, after several months, I felt comfortable enough to start playing face-to-face bridge.

My next step was to start attending the Newcomers Group at Family Friendly Bridge in Arlington, MA. I went almost every Thursday morning for about a year. Bob Gaudet, the director, was certainly a great inspiration to me. His combination of mini-lessons, supervised play, and awarding of masterpoints really motivated me to learn more about bridge. He also encouraged me to start attending local sectional tournaments.

But then, in March 2020, covid came to town, and nothing, not even bridge, would ever be the same. All the clubs closed during covid, forcing everyone to start playing online. Online play was a blessing in disguise, of course, since there was nowhere to go and nothing to do during covid. So I started playing more often, sometimes with some of my original partners from the Newcomers Group, and other times with some more experienced partners whom I met on the bridgebase partnership desk. Before long, I found myself playing 4 times a week! All that playing during covid resulted in my further honing my bridge skills and winning even more masterpoints. Next, I focused on playing in some Silver Linings games in order to meet the Sectional Master rank requirements. Happily, my Sectional Master goal finally became a reality!

In summary, in a little over 4 years, I went from being a beginning bridge player to a competitive intermediate-level player. My advice for newer players is this: make bridge a regular part of your schedule. Seek out lots of different partners. You will be amazed at how much you can learn from playing with a variety of bridge partners. And don’t be afraid to be competitive. Always be open to a new challenge! Strive to play in games and tournaments at a level that includes players who are a little stronger than you. Will you make mistakes in bidding and playing? Of course you will! But, over time, you will start to notice that you are making fewer mistakes, gaining confidence, getting higher scores, and piling up masterpoints!

And you will have tons of fun along the way!

I’m glad I started my bridge journey and hope to continue it for many years to come. I wish all newer players the best of luck as you start or continue on your own bridge journey!

Nancy Rosenfield

I had been out of duplicate bridge since the mid 90's due to work and family obligations. In 2013 my wife and I were on a cruise to the Galapagos Islands. On the cruise was a woman named Liz Randall. Liz was and is a long time bridge teacher from Long Island. We started talking bridge and she encouraged me to take it up again as I was entering semi retirement. A few months later she introduced me to BBO and we played a few games. I still didn't jump back in until I met my old partner from the 90's and we decided to give it a go in late 2015. The reason I mentioned Liz (I still play a bit with her on line) is that she saw your name in one of the online games and mentioned that she once shared a cab with you and your son way back in 2000 (or thereabouts) at an NABC. I doubt if you remember such a chance encounter, but it makes for a good story.

Anyway, thanks for the notice. I'm a once a week player except for the occasional tournament. I have mostly played in the old games at the Newton temple and Westwood. I now play at Bay State mostly and occasionally at Family Friendly.My old partner is no longer around and it's been a scramble this year to find someone who can put up with my irregular schedule. Which brings me to a point. With the FtF games getting smaller it would be really nice if the district or someone ran a partnership desk kind of thing. I have done a lot of walkins, but that's tough for someone with my experience to pull together a card in 10 minutes or so.

Bill Finch

My bridge began in the UK playing social bridge with Culbertson and then ACOL rules.

When I moved to the USA I learned to play duplicate bridge playing 2/1 and won my first gold point at the Rye Town Hilton tournament and I was hooked!

I am a member of the Newtown Bridge Club and I am grateful to the Club and all the players who have helped me reach the level of Ruby Life Master.

Caroline Molyneux

Thank you so much for your kind email. I am so pleased to have reached this level - I remember as a complete newbie wondering with my friends whether we’d ever reach Life Master. Secretly, I set personal goals and was pleased when I met them. I have also been so very fortunate to have been mentored by some of the very best in bridge. I played with Harold Feldheim for many years and I know he would be thrilled by my recent achievement. After Harold died I began playing with Brian Glubok and Bob Lavin. And then Covid hit, with lock downs and the end of face to face bridge for me, for several years. I began playing online which took a fair amount of getting used to. At the same time Brian introduced me to some outstanding players: Alex Kolesnik, Walt Schafer, Joe Grue and Ron Smith all of whom I began playing with in virtual clubs, BBO games and online tournaments. Playing with and learning from world class players has been an unparalleled experience for me.

I have begun playing face to face tournaments again. Sadly, there are few brick and mortar clubs in my area and I, as I’m sure others do, find it difficult to rearrange a schedule based on online play to include face to face games. I don’t know how the ACBL can help clubs regrow attendance. I miss playing face to face tremendously and hope those days will return.

Thank you again,

Jill Fouad

I played bridge in college. After graduating from Queens College, I taught for several years before my first son was born. Resuming my career after my children were born, I joined the computer industry working her way up from programming positions into management before I retired. My husband, Barry, and I have three sons, 8 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren with 2 more due in April and a 13-year-old “designer mutt”, Zoey, a cross between a Bichon Frise and a Papillon.

For many years I ran a marathon group of bridge players in Trumbull and Shelton. I joined Newtown Bridge Club in 2016. There I re-met Susan Fronapfel with whom I had worked for several years and began to play duplicate. My regular partners are June Steigler and aureen Gordon for online and in-person games. I am competitive and like to win, but I don’t let it bother me when I don’t. I enjoy bridge because “It gets you out socially, keeps your mind alert and exercises your brain!”

One item would be more opportunities to win silver, etc. I needed .02 silver, a ridiculous amount and not many ways to close that gap.

The other thought would be to have STaC wins available somewhere. It’s been almost a whole month since the game and the CTBridge.org website was not working.

Linda Diamond
Trumbull, CT

I started playing bridge when I retired 11 years ago. My life had always been about work and family with very little time for me, which is not unusual for a working mom. I was lucky to find my first bridge teacher, Karen Barrett, who taught bridge to beginners in Darien, Ct. She was patient and encouraging. It was there where I met my regular and steady partner Meredith Stravato.

After playing together for years, Meredith and I were approached by world class bridge expert Richard DeMartino of Riverside, Ct., who graciously offered to mentor us. He was impressed by our strong desire to learn and he wanted to give something back to the bridge community. We couldn't believe our lucky stars. Rich has been our mentor/teacher for the last 4 years and what we have learned is immeasurable.

It was during the pandemic, with limited activities, that I earned most of my points playing on BBO. I got my Life Master and Bronze Life Master awards simultaneously, in Providence, RI. And 2 months later I earned my Silver Life Master award. I'm very proud of what I've accomplished and learned, and especially fulfilled by the friends I've made along the way.

Helen Donohue
Greenwich, CT

Most of my life I played non-sanctioned social and team duplicate games. I did join ACBL back in the sixties and earned about 60 master points in local games in New Jersey, before dropping my membership due to work and other constraints.

When I retired to NH, in 1996, I started playing again in a non-sanctioned weekly game in New London run by Ted Fulton. There I met many nice people who were also good bridge players. I still continue to play in that game every week.

About 10 years ago I was introduced to the Eastman Bridge Club run by Jane Verdrager. There I met more nice people who were also good bridge players. Since Eastman is a sanctioned game, I rejoined ACBL and became grandfathered under the old rules for Life Master at 300 points. While at Eastman I formed a partnership with Dick Tracy, among others. After a few games with Dick, he told me, "You should be a Life Master". I thought that would be impossible at my age, but Dick persisted and convinced me to play with him in some sectional and regional tournaments. We did pretty good and won an open pairs regional at Warwick for some gold. Then, just before the pandemic, we got more gold by winning the team of four event at a regional with Dick, Karen Hewitt, and Steve Randall. That put me over the top for Life Master.

Since then, I have played mostly on line in an assortment of tournaments, playing with many partners, but especially Dick Tracy, who has been instrumental in my success.

David Donovan
New London, NH

I learned bridge in college in 1976 but did not play duplicate until 1981. I began in local clubs like most people. I started playing in area Regionals and some Nationals in 1984 and have had modest success ever since, slowly accumulating Masterpoints. My most successful partnership has been with Larry Bausher of CT since about 1990. He was happy to play the relatively simple strong club system that I developed and we've been playing it with few changes ever since. I do have a published Lebensohl variant that some top players have adopted called Advance Lebensohl which is essentially a transfer system after one notrump interference. I intend to continue playing bridge going forward when I'm not playing golf which has been my main hobby for many years.

Glenn McIntyre
Bedford, MA