September 8 2024 SWISS TEAMS SUNDAY IN ROCHESTER Today was the last day of the Med City Regional in Rochester, and Swiss teams were on the menu!  In the open crowd, it was the team of Aly El-Sehedar [Minnetonka], Paul Meerschaert [Long Lake], Sandy Fisher [Long Lake], and Lynne Castoldi [Minnetonka] that came in 1st place overall.  The "BCD" Swiss teams competition saw David Spring [Maryville TN], Larry Shell [Muscatine IA], Maria Roswall [La Crosse WI], and Dave Melin [Onalaska WI] coming in atop the field.       September 7 2024 . . .AND ANOTHER ONE CROSSES A RED LINE   Well, a ruby-red line, anyway!  A special shout-out to Sue Greenberg [Byron], who became a Ruby Life Master this week at the Rochester Med City Regional.  Well done, Sue!  (Most of you know Sue as the Club Manager at the Rochester DBC, and in addition is the Unit 103 President.) Day 5 of 6 at the tournament saw another 47 tables in play, with Robyn Johnson [St Paul] and Erik Johnson [St Paul] coming in 1st in today's Gold Rush pairs.  The Open pairs was championed by Ben Kristensen [Duluth] and Kyra Helmbold [Minneapolis].  And today's Bracketed Swiss team of Sandy Fisher [Long Lake], Paul Meerschaert [Long Lake], Dave Collins [Fridley] and Danny Collins [Fridley] took the top award there.  One more day to go before the bidding boxes are put away. Click here for the masterpoint winners. Click here for the full tournament results. September 7 2024 MEET MINNESOTA'S NEWEST LIFE MASTER   John Miller [Rochester] became Minnesota's Newest Life Master at the Med City Regional tournament in Rochester this week - and that title lasted all of 18 hours! Here's Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis], who played in the TH/F Knockout with teammates Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis], Peter Bock [Apple Valley], and Bev Meyer [Minneapolis], getting to the semi-finals to score more than 17 Gold points and put her over the top - to become Minnesota's LATEST "Newest Life Master"!  The next time you see Sarah at the table, be sure to give her a thumbs up. September 6 2024 AT THE MED CITY REGIONAL - DAY 4   Table counts are up as we are heading through the week - another 74 tables in play on Friday (that's 76.3% of the 2019 day 4 tables, and the best relative day of the tournament to 2019 so far). Winners today at the tournament include: Open Pairs Greg Caucutt Carole Mataya Gold Rush Pairs David Klevin James Lair TH/F KO Carole Miner - Cindy Balderson Bob Balderson - Kurt Schaeffer Swiss Teams 1 Ed Prosser - Larry Shell Sheri French - Lance Chamberlain Swiss Teams 2 Tim Bina - Nancy Meeden Amy Dutton - Stephanie Steele And later tonight is a soiree hosted by the Tournament Chair, whose spouse made a special cheesecake for the occasion: Seriously - you should be here.  Two more days and we're wrapping it up, so there's still time! Full results from the tournament can be found here. Masterpoint winners for the tournament can be found here. The Daily Bulletin for today can be found by clicking here.   September 5 2024 HAPPY HAPPY AT THE MED CITY REGIONAL - DAY 3 A few reasons to celebrate this week at the Rochester Med City Regional, with some milestones of pretty much all stripes: Turned 80 Rod Morlock   Turned 71 Bob Balderson   NEW Ruby LM Jim Schnepf   NEW LIFE MASTER John Miller Meanwhile - back at the table - it was Joe Koester [Brooklyn Park] and Gary Knippenberg [Golden Valley] who came in 1st overall in the Open Pairs today, earning 28.44 masterpoints: Tables on day 3 at the tournament came in at 79.5 in play - that's 64.8% of the day 3 tables five years ago (and best attendance of the week so far). Through three days it's Tony Ames [Minnetonka] and George Bleskachek [Eau Claire] who are atop the masterpoint winners with 41.32 gold points; 234 players in all have earned some gold so far, and there's another three days to go. Click here for the masterpoint winners. Click here for the Daily Bulletin. Click here for the full tournament results. There was an online event this week for the Gold Rush and Open players, and the Gold Rush was won by Sarah and Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] - with Karen Lee Barrett [Elk Point SD] and Anne Beaurivage [Lincoln NE] coming in tops among the field.  Congratulations to all those who played online and got some gold points! September 4 2024 AT THE MED CITY REGIONAL - DAY 2 Day 2 in Rochester at the Med City Regional saw another 68 tables in play, with our first Soloway-style KO winners!  The team of Carole Miner [Rochester], Cindy Balderson [Eden Prairie], Bob Balderson [Eden Prairie], and Kurt Schaeffer [Lakeville] took top honors in the first KO to earn 20.31 masterpoints. Another mini-Soloway KO team event gets going tomorrow.  Today's Open Pairs winners were Tony Ames [Minnetonka] and George Bleskichek [Eau Claire], and the Gold Rush pair that came in 1st overall today was Linus Bendel-Stenzel [Edina] and partner Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis]. And today's Bracketed Swiss Teams champs were Jerry Rosenblad [Stewartville], Al Larson [Rochester], Ed Prosser [Rochester], and Rod Morlock [Stewartville] - well done, all! Five years ago, there had been 202.5 tables in play through two days, so we're at 55.3% of 2019's tables to date.  (Historically, first time post-COVID-held tournaments have had 56% to 57% of their pre-COVID tables, so we are right in line with expectations.) There is an online option for gold points with this tournament, that's open to everyone in D14.  These online evening games started tonight and continue tomorrow night - and have 5 tables in the Open crowd with 11 Gold Rush tables in play.  (These online tables are not included in the overall table counts here, as there was no online option in 2019.) Full results from the tournament can be found by clicking here; and the online bulletin for today can be found by clicking here.  Masterpoint winners for the tournament can be found by clicking here. September 4 2024 OPENING DAY AT THE MED CITY REGIONAL   It's underway.  The Med City Regional in Rochester got going last night.   Winners on Tuesday included Greg Caucutt [Rochester] and Carole Mataya [Rochester], coming in 1st place overall in the Open Pairs.  In the Gold Rush pairs, Sydney Lund [Amery WI] and Colin Hall [Sioux Falls SD] came in 1st place overall - but there's more to the story.  These two have never played together - they got hooked up at the partnership desk - and still came in 1st place!  Congratulations to both these pairs (and everyone who had some fun on Tuesday).  Play resumes in the morning at 10am. Full results can be found by clicking here; and it's not too late to join in on the fun! A reminder that the online Open pairs and online Gold Rush get going tonight (Wednesday) at 7pm.  Just sign into BBO and look under the VACB games (just like you would for a regular club game) - you'll see the D14 Rochester Regional events listed.  Get a partner and play against other D14 pairs, to get some gold points without leaving your own living room! September 3 2024 ONLINE REGIONAL GOLD POINTS TOMORROW NIGHT The Med City Regional in Rochester this week features an online game for Open players - and an online game for Gold Rush players (under 750 masterpoints).  These games start tomorrow evening at 7pm, and continue Thursday evening at 7pm, and allow players from all over D14 to earn gold points just as if they were at the playing site in Rochester.  Get a partner for evening regional play this week and join the fun! - Sign on to BBO (Bridge Base Online) - Look under "Virtual Clubs" - Look under "North America" - Under the listing of available games, you'll see the Rochester           Med City Regional D14 games (both Open and Gold Rush) - Sign up for your game with your partner just like any club BBO game This is a great way to earn regionally-rated gold points while never leaving your pajamas.  Plus, the winners of each event get the same winner's prize found at the Med City Regional and everyone who enters will receive the Med City Regional patch for their convention card at home. September 2 2024 PREPARATIONS ARE COMPLETE - JUST ADD PLAYERS Everything has been set up at the Empire Event Center in Rochester for the Med City Regional that starts tomorrow.  Now we're just waiting for the players to show up and the cards to be dealt!  If you are planning to head to the tournament this week, directions to the playing area can be found by clicking here. And if you're not planning to head to Rochester, remember there's a convenient stay-at-home online option for this Regional, where you can get GOLD points by playing online.  It's just like any other VACB game on BBO, where you'll see the game listed for a 7:00pm start on Wednesday night.  Of course, there's nothing keeping you from attending this tournament in person - AND playing online!  But whether you'll be participating in person or online (or both!), it's all good to go for tomorrow's opening rounds at 1:30pm.   September 1 2024 IT'S KIND OF OFFICIAL NOW    When the Minnesota Bridge Trailer shows up with the tables and bidding boxes, you know it's official.  The last piece(s) of the puzzle for a fun tournament would be the arrival of the tables for set-up. . .and that set-up will take place tomorrow evening thanks to some Rochester Bridge Club volunteers. Everything is a "go" for this tournament starting Tuesday - and we hope to see you there.  (We will definitely save one of these tables for you.) September 1 2024 MAKE PLANS FOR THE NAP UNIT FINAL PARTY Three weeks from today is the Minnesota Unit NAP Final.  This two-session red and gold point bridgefest will take place at the Bridge Center of St Paul's Roseville location on Saturday, September 21st.  (It's going to be quite the party atmosphere!) Players must have qualified for the NAP at their local clubs this summer to play in this Unit Final.  If you are unaware of whether or not you qualified at your local club this year, click here to open the list of NAP qualifiers for Minnesota.  (With 557 players having qualified, there's a good chance your name is on the list.) The games on the 21st are at 10am and 2pm, and will pay LOTS of red and gold points.  The flyer for this Unit Final party atmosphere is to your right (or you can click here). September is a busy, busy month for bridge players, and this is one of the major events - so plan on getting a partner and we'll see you on the 21st.    August 31 2024 UNIT 178's SECOND HARVEST DONATION   Donations from Unit 178's Aquatennial Sectional (and some individual donations to boot) totalled $1,580.00 for the Second Harvest Heartland organization.  On your left is the check presentation, with Dylan McNeill from Second Harvest on the left accepting the donation from Unit 178 President Sue Sanger [St Louis Park], Tournament Chair Marc Ashton [Excelsior], and Tournament Co-Chair Tom Botten [Prior Lake].  The generous donation from this tournament (and attending players!) is expected to provide 4,740 meals in our community - and if you would like to make a donation on your own to this very worthy cause, the Second Harvest website can be found by clicking here. August 31 2024 FINAL MN NAP CLUB QUALIFYING RESULTS The first stage of the North American Pairs in Minnesota this year is over; the opportunity to qualify at your local bridge club has ended.  This year, there's been some emphasis on getting more players involved in the NAP, and that extra effort has produced a resounding success, with 822 tables of NAP players across Minnesota this summer.  Compared to just one year ago, that's a tables-in-play increase of +18.0%. The number of Minnesota players who have qualified to go on in this competition is HUGE.  This year, 557 players have qualified in the NAP - that list of all those players can be accessed by clicking here.  The vast majority of these players (261) who have qualified are Flight "C" players, which is terrific. Year-over-year table data is up compared to 2023 across the board.  Next up for the NAP is for these qualified players to play in the big NAP Unit Final.  That two-session event will be held on September 21st at the Bridge Center of St Paul, where lots of red and gold points await.  After that - it's the NAP D14 Finals, which will be held online the first weekend of October.  Congratulations to everyone who has qualified this year!   August 30 2024 "IF MY FRIENDS COULD SEE ME NOW"    That's Jane Schmidt [St Paul] in the photo to your left.  Jane flew down to Dallas for the Labor Day Regional this week to play some cards with her sister. . .and sure enough, they're having fun.  Playing on a team with a pair from Layfayette, LA, they got their photo in the Daily Bulletin, winning their team bracket on Wednesday.  Well done, Jane!  (Now we are wondering if your sister will fly up here to play next week with you in Rochester?) August 30 2024 CALLING ALL TEAMS - GNT QUALIFYING GETTING UNDERWAY Team play in duplicate bridge is picking up in popularity, and if you're into teams, the period from September 1st to March 28th is right up your alley.  The Grand National Teams qualifying period at the club level will run for the next six months.  Check your local club's calendar for GNT games and get a team together to play (and if you club isn't running enough of these GNT games for your taste, let your club manager know and they'll add a few).  It's a great way to earn some red/black points that are sectionally-rated - and enjoy that part of bridge that is all about international matchpoint (IMPs) scoring. August 29 2024 GOLD-POINT ONLINE GAMES NEXT WEEK    Here is a friendly reminder that even if you are not planning to travel to Rochester to play in the Med City Regional next week - you can still earn some gold points playing in the comfort of your own living room. There will be an online option for both Gold Rush (under 750 masterpoints) and Open players on BBO starting next Wednesday evening at 7pm.  Just sign in to BBO and look under "virtual clubs" like any other online club game.  You'll see the regional games listed there. NOTE that ALL participants in the online game option for this regional will receive our Med City Regional patch for their convention card (to impress their opponents, natch) - along with the one-of-a-kind prize for those that come in 1st place in their event. August 29 2024 NEXT MONTH IS ALL BRIDGE ALL OF THE TIME Here's a friendly reminder that next month will be loaded with masterpoints for the earning, and with pretty much every possible color combination available to players.  Some of what you can expect:  International Fund Games all month long at your local clubs         Extra black masterpoints  Rochester Med City Regional 3rd to the 8th         Gold and red points with teams and pairs every day of the week  ACBL-wide International Fund Game on the 11th         10.00 masterpoints go to the top score in D14; participating clubs can be found here  Minnesota North American Pairs Unit Final - Roseville on the 21st         Red points and some gold available in this non-qualifying 2-session NAP extravaganza  Fall Sectional in Mankato on the 28th and 29th         Silver points at the Rambling River Sectional  Grand National Teams Qualifying at your local club         All month long, you can get red and black points in team games at your local club This could be the biggest month for masterpoints in some time!  So many opportunities for extra masterpoints during the next 30 days that someone should earn the title of "Minnesota Player Of The Month".  And regardless of how serious you are about getting the most masterpoints during the upcoming 30 days, the opportunities are there for everyone to get some scratch - a little or a lot. August 29 2024 SOMETIMES, YOU NEED A LITTLE LUCK This week's Thursday lesson by John Koch [St Cloud] has to do with making a slam - by trying to figure out distributions - and maybe getting just a little bit of luck.  Click on the image to the right or click here to check out what John has to say about it.    August 28 2024 ACBL's GNT STRAT CHANGES SETTLED The ACBL's Region Directors have apparently come to an agreement on changing this season's GNT stratification, just in time for the GNT club-qualifying period to start on Sunday.  Last night a meeting was held to reconsider the original changes that had been approved; after some discussion there was a new motion presented (and approved, 10-3, with our R5 Director Dennis Carman voting to approve), which will create the following GNT strats:  Open (unlimited masterpoints)  0-6000 masterpoints (Flight "A")  0-3000 masterpoints (Flight "B")  0-750 masterpoints, no Life Masters (Flight "C") One of the sticking points was whether or not Life Masters could play in the new lowest flight (0-750).  At Regional tournaments, such as the one in Rochester starting Monday, LMs are allowed to play in the 0-750 Gold Rush.  But in the end, when it comes to the GNT Conditions of Contest, there will be non-Life Masters only in the Flight "C".  The new Conditions of Contest should be issued this weekend (and will be posted on this website). August 28 2024 GOPHER CARD TABLES GETTING A REFRESH    Last night Unit 103 President Sue Greenberg [Byron] held a zoom meeting online with the rest of the Unit Board in a regularly-scheduled get-together.  One of the discussion items that will impact many Minnesota players was the approval to purchase ten new card tables for the tournament trailer.  If you have played at the Gopher Regional, you know some of those tables are A) on their "last legs" - literally - and B) 30" tables rather than the standard 34". With the trailer coming to Rochester for the regional there next week, this seemed like an ideal time to go through all of the tables and replace the worst of the worst.  A request has been made to Unit 178's Board to also purchase ten new tables (Gopher Chair Patti Stuhlman asked that the Units split the cost of this 50/50) - we'll see what they say.  In the meantime, look for newer, better tables at the Gopher next year for those finesses that still might not work. August 27 2024 ONE WEEK TO GO! The countdown is approaching liftoff.  7 days from now, the Rochester Med City Regional gets underway at the Empire Event Center.  Directions to the Event Center can be found by clicking here.  It promises to be quite the week of bridge in Rochester, and don't forget there's an online option with this tournament on Wednesday and Thursday evenings next week.  Just sign on to BBO and click on the VACB games page (just like a virtual game for your local club) - you'll see the D14 Open and D14 Gold Rush tournaments listed.  (Of course, it won't quite be as exciting as being at the tournament itself, but surely it's the next best thing!)    August 26 2024 BRIDGE - FOR YOUR HEALTH   Monday's heat indices across Minnesota range from the cool spot at the lake (Duluth, 89F) to everywhere else (above 105F today).  You know bridge is good for your mind, but today, for sure, being inside the air-conditioned bridge club playing cards will be much better for you than being outdoors.  Yardwork can wait; golf and tennis, maybe later in the week.  Get inside and play cards - for your health! August 26 2024 MINNESOTA NAP QUALIFIERS LIST   There are still a few scattered NAP games yet to go this week, but the list of Minnesota players who have qualified to go farther in the North American Pairs competition is already extensive; frankly, a much shorter list might be one of Minnesota players who have not qualified.  But that's great news - as Minnesota leads the way among District 14 states, with 557 players having qualified this summer.  (This includes 261 flight "C" players, which is off the chart.)  Click on the image to your left of the list to open it in a new window and scan for your name and eligibility.   Next step in the NAP is the Minnesota NAP Unit Final on Saturday, September 21st, which will be held in person at the Bridge Center of St Paul's Roseville location.  Then it is the online D14 NAP Finals October 5th and 6th (more on that by clicking here). August 25 2024 ACBL DOES AN ABOUT-FACE ON GNT STRATS - UPDATE Here's another puzzler for you.  The Region Directors made a motion to change the GNT strats at the Toronto NABC effective September 1st of this year.  The motion to create a new strat (and change existing ones, more here) passed in Toronto 12-1. But according to our Region 5 Director Dennis Carman [Chicago IL], there's a hitch involved. The ACBL's Advisory Council has asked that the District Directors reconsider their motion - there is a meeting on this Tuesday night.  (We have made an effort to get some information from the Advisory Council, but have not yet heard anything.)  For now, it appears as though the GNT strats for the upcoming season (starting next Sunday) will remain as they have been.  (NOTE:  This reversal does not diminish any level of FUN with this year's GNT.)  Any updates we receive will be posted.  UPDATE:  Another motion made, and passed, will change the strats effective September 1st of this year.  The details can be found by clicking here. August 25 2024 KORY SOLARZ KNOCKDOWN TOURNAMENT The St Cloud club's 2nd Annual Kory Solarz Knockdown Tournament was held this week (it had been postponed due to a COVID outbreak at the beginning of the month).  The travelling trophy for this event is named the "Boushek Board", in honor of David Boushek who makes the boards for every bridge session in St Cloud.  But the nickname for it might be the "Darlene Nastrom" Award, as she and three new teammates won the event - Darlene for the second time - (that's two out of two). (Left to right, that's Mark Stiegel [St Cloud], Jane Curtis [Clear Lake], Greg Nastrom [St Cloud], and Darlene Nastrom [St Cloud].)  More details on the results of this fun night of bridge can be found by clicking here. August 25 2024 MONTHLY MILESTONES IN AUGUST Costco getting the order for 29 celebratory cakes this month, as 29 Minnesota players achieved their next masterpoint rank during August.  Congratulations to these players on their hard work - and when you see them at the club, be sure to give them a thumbs up! GOLD LIFE MASTER - Tom Knier [Burnsville] RUBY LIFE MASTER - Keith Thompson [St Paul] SILVER LIFE MASTER - Gene Nelson [Maple Grove] BRONZE LIFE MASTER - Michael Curran [Maple Grove] LIFE MASTER - Michael Curran [Maple Grove], Kay O'Brien [Apple Valley],       John Pelegano [St Paul], Kathy Stadther [St Cloud] ADVANCED NABC MASTER - Judy Knutson [St Cloud] NABC MASTER - Nancy Brunzel [Chisago City]. David Lui [Roseville] REGIONAL MASTER - Bob Engstrom [Bloomington], Mary Helen Gill [Long Lake],       Dennis Hoidal [Columbus], Diana Peterson [Ramsey],       Joann Sufka [Nisswa] SECTIONAL MASTER - Diane Alshouse [St Paul], V Francis Luikart [St Paul],       Robert Marx [Maple Grove], Betsy Michel {Minneapolis] CLUB MASTER - Dick Argue [Rochester], Brian-Paul K Crowder [Little Falls],       Gregory Sletten [Detroit Lakes] JUNIOR MASTER - Weston Cutter [Mendota Heights], Susan Egan [St Paul],       Mary Jane Edel-Joyce [Roseville], David Jann [Birchwood],       Randall Shane [St Paul], Jill Wroblewski [Minneapolis] August 24 2024 ACBL ISSUES NEW TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE POLICY The ACBL has issued a new tournament schedule policy, which is for Regional and Sectional tournaments staffed by ACBL directors (it does not include Local Sectionals, or I/N Sectionals staffed by non-ACBL employees).  But if you're hiring an ACBL Director for your tournament, this policy will impact the scheduling of your event. First, the ACBL's definition of a "session interval".  That's the time between the scheduled start time of two consecutive sessions.  A tournament with events at 10am and 2pm would be a four-hour session interval.  10am and 3pm would be a five-hour session interval. In a nutshell:  Session intervals of less than four hours and thirty minutes (4:30) are not permitted except by special permission.  Permission must be requested by contacting tournaments@acbl.org.  4:30 or 4:45 session intervals are permitted for sessions of no more than 24 boards.  Session intervals of 5:00 or longer are permitted for pairs sessions up to 27 boards or team sessions up to 28 boards. There's more.  Click here for all the details.  This policy is in effect as of September 1, 2024 for all new tournament schedule submissions. August 23 2024 ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN A FEW THINGS Fall really is for learning, and there are lots of opportunities to get out there and improve your game.  Teri Blu [Minneapolis] is teaching a Beginning Bridge course at the Edina Senior Center Tuesdays starting on Setpember 10th.  You can read more about what she's planning to offer by clicking on the image to your right; and you can register via the Edina Senior Center website by clicking here. This is one of a half-dozen bridge classes being taught all over the state of Minnesota next month.  There's a class near you no matter where you live, and you can get the latest details on all of the lessons offered this fall by clicking here.    August 23 2024 ST PAUL's NLM SECTIONAL WRAP-UP Three days of silver points wrapped up today at the Bridge Center of St Paul's NLM Tournament.  Another 17.5 tables today brought the tournament total to 60 tables, that's up 14 tables from last year (or +30.4%). Today's big winners were Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis] and Linus Bendel-Stenzel [Edina], which, combined with their scores on day 1 of this tournament makes them the I/N Tournament Champions!  Congratulations to both of them - and to all the I/N players who scored some silver points at the tournament this week. You can find all the results from this tournament by clicking here; now that these players got a chance to earn some silver points, next up it's gold points at the Rochester Med City Regional in a couple of weeks!  Congratulations to all the players this week in St Paul.  Below are your masterpoint leaders from the tournament. August 22 2024 A FAMILIAR PAIR ARE EAU CLAIRE REGIONAL CHAMPS    49.49 masterpoints in four days!  That is enough to be crowned Tournament Champions over at the Eau Claire Regional this week.  Congratulations to Terry Beckman [Brooklyn Park] and John Koch [St Cloud], the two Minnesota Gophers who badgered the locals to come away with the win.  A look at the Top 20 Minnesota masterpoint winners from this tournament are located to your right. August 22 2024 NON-LIFE MASTERS' SILVER SECTIONAL DAY 2 Day 2 at the Bridge Center of St Paul's I/N Sectional found Jane Schmidt [St Paul] and newly-minted Life Master Thorwald Hansen [Edina] coming in 1st for th day, earning 3.25 silver points for their efforts.  Another 19.5 tables were in play today - you can find all the results from this tournament by clicking here.  One more day of action tomorrow!  Click on the image to your right for your masterpoint leaders through day 2 of 3.    August 22 2024 TREND TOWARDS FACE-TO-FACE HOLDING STEADY During the initial lockdowns during COVID, online play was a godsend for bridge players (and their clubs).  Since bridge is such a social game, once clubs started opening back up three years ago, the trend has been moving to back to in-person bridge. . .and that trend continues now. Below is a chart of the combined Minnesota club face-to-face tables as a percentage of club in-person and online tables.  The trend, over time, has been to move back to in-person bridge - and over the past 52 weeks, face-to-face tables have consistently made up more than 90% of all Minnesota club tables.  Remember, just four years ago, there was some question if we would ever be back at the bridge table in person!  But for fans of F2F cards, it's all good news. August 22 2024 THE THROW-IN This week's Thursday column is by Keith Connolly [St Paul], and it's about the "throw-in".  (And it's not throwing in the towel.)  This is a play to help you get one more trick at the table - and he says it's not as difficult as it may sound.  Click on the image to the right or click here to have a look at Keith's discussion.    August 21 2024 DAY 1 AT ST PAUL'S I/N SECTIONAL The Bridge Center of St Paul's I/N Sectional got underway today at their Roseville location, and today's winners were Linus Bendel-Stenzel [Edina] and Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis], who earned 3.61 silver points!  18 tables were in play between the two sessions today, and 27 different Minnesota non-Life Masters earned some silver masterpoints (full results can be found by clicking here).  It all gets going again tomorrow (and then again on Friday).  Click on the image to your right for your Top Ten masterpoint leaders through day 1 of 3.    August 21 2024 HERE IS YOUR LATEST MINNESOTA LIFE MASTER    That's Faye Bowers [Marquette MI] and Thorwald Hansen [Edina] to your left, two of the players who traveled from out of town to play in the regional tournament over in Eau Claire WI this week.  They aren't partners, but they do share something in common, and that is that they both crossed the line to become Life Masters yesterday!  It's always great to make that achievement at a tournament, and for these two, it happened this week in Eau Claire.  Congratulations to each of them, and when you see Thorwald at the table here in Minnesota, be sure to congratulate him in person. August 20 2024 GOPHER PLAYERS BADGER THE LOCALS - UPDATE This week there is a four-day regional over in Eau Claire WI.  It's close enough that some Minnesota players are making the (roughly) two-hour trip (for most) to play for some gold points there.  UPDATE:  Through two of the four days, more than one-third (36.5%) of the masterpoint winners are from Minnesota.  They are listed to your right.    August 20 2024 TWO WEEKS OUT 14 days from now, the Rochester Med City Regional gets underway.  Today is the last day for the cheapest hotel rates (using the rate code MedCity), and you can make a room reservation by clicking here (or visiting the Best Western Apache Mall site).  The hotel and playing area are attached and all on one floor.  The pre-tournament bulletin is below (click on it for a look at what's what next month). Click on the flyer to your right for more information, and you can get the full details of this tournament by clicking here.    August 20 2024 ACBL-WIDE JUNIOR FUND GAME RESULTS Yesterday was the ACBL's second ACBL-wide Junior Fund game of the year, and once again Minnesota players did quite well across D14.  Three of the five D14 overall awards went to Minnesotans, with Lance Chamberlain [Rochester] (Minnesota's newest Emerald Life Master) and Matt Belau [Rochester] coming in 1st in D14 for 10.00 masterpoints.  Here's a look at the top pairs in District 14: 1 Lance Chamberlain [Rochester] Matt Belau [Rochester] 64.16% 2 Gary Schneider [Duluth] Mike Schultz [Duluth] 62.86% 3 James Boardman [Cedar Radpids IA] Greg Slager [Cedar Rapids IA] 60.32% 4 Bob Buckheister [Cedar Rapids IA] Al Langenfeld [Cedar Rapids IA] 60.05% 5 Layne Vinje [Rochester] Judy Argue [Rochester] 59.79% Full results from this ACBL-wide game can be found by clicking here. The next ACBL-wide game will be for the ACBL's International Fund, and will be held on Wednesday afternoon, September 11th.  Get your club to get in on the action!  And for a list of clubs participating in that September game, click here. August 19 2024 SEPTEMBER CLUB CALENDARS SO. MUCH. HAPPENING.  Grand National Teams play starts in September, and those games are highlighted on the following club calendars in purple.  If you have a pet, don't forget to feed/water/take care of them this month.  Same goes for a non-bridge playing spouse.  We will see you at the regional in Rochester.  Click on any calendar to enlarge it and open in a new window.         August 19 2024 WHEN SIZE MATTERS Following up on yesterday's post regarding the increasing number of Minnesota tables in play (since the May Gopher tournament), it's not just that there are more overall tables in play.  The number of tables in play per game is also on the increase.  So if your local game seems to be getting just a little bit larger, you're right. Check out the six-week rolling average of tables per Minnesota F2F club game below.  It lists every weekly six-week rolling average since the post-COVID reopening in 2021; and the 12-week post-Gopher Regional period for each year is highlighted in red.   What this chart shows is that two years ago, the average size of the typical Minnesota F2F club game was 6.30 tables.  One year later (in 2023), it went up +5.3% to 6.63 tables per game.  And this year, it has gone up another +5.1% to 6.97 tables per game.  There's always room for improvement - but this is a trend that is currently moving in the right direction. August 18 2024 F2F MINNESOTA TABLE COUNTS ON THE RISE    It's been 12 weeks since the Gopher Regional Tournament, and for the most part Minnesota's year-over-year face-to-face (F2F) bridge play continues to be on the increase. Between club F2F play (up +8.1%) and the three tournaments since the Gopher (+22.2%), overall tables in play across the state are up +9.7% over the same 12 post-Gopher weeks as in 2023.  With the Edina Senior Center closed for a short period this summer, Unit 178's club tables took a small hit - but the Twin Cities Metro area still saw growth of +10.9% over last year.  Here are those table counts for the period of May 27 to August 17: 5/27 to 8/17 This year Last year Y-O-Y change Club F2F tables  2576 2434.5 +147.0 Tournaments 387.5 317 +70.5 Outstate MN 1096.5 1050.5 +46.0 Metro Area 1535 1384 +151.0 Unit 103 clubs 1991.5 1757 +234.5 Unit 178 clubs 640 677.5 -37.5 Statewide 3019 2751.5 +267.5 If you're curious as to how much the Bridge Center of St Paul is driving table counts in the Metro Area right now, the lower of the two charts above to your left is the same data over the last 12 weeks but excludes all BCSP tables from 2023 and 2024.  It's what is happening with the state's bridge tables everywhere else. The result: Without the growth happening at the Bridge Center of St Paul, Minnesota's overall F2F club tables have still risen +2.8% over last year; Metro Area tables showing very modest growth (+0.8%, thanks to the Woodbury Club); and the rest of Unit 103 clubs over the period saw an increase of +7.5%. August 18 2024 "SILVER SENIORS" ACBL-WIDE GAME OCTOBER 10 For those bridge players over the age of 60, there is an ACBL-wide "Silver Seniors" game on Thursday afternoon, October 10th.  Because it's an ACBL-wide game, there will be plenty of extra masterpoints available, and those seniors that finish with an overall score will get 10% silver points. Clubs, including here in Minnesota, do not have to have a Thursday afternoon sanction to participate, but their club must register by clicking here.  Any club can participate, so if you'd like your local bridge club to be part of the party, be sure to ask your club manager about getting involved.