New Friendly Bridge Class, March 18

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Friendly BridgeThe new Friendly Bridge class for newcomers begins again on Sunday, March 18, 2018. No registration required. Just show up at the Bridge Center (1911 Bishop Road, behind Krispy Kreme just west of Staples Mill and Broad) on Sunday between 5:30 and 5:45. The lessons are from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm. You will receive a FREE BOOK, and the first 4 lessons are FREE! At week 5, you will pay $4.00 per week. Please come and try bridge out. You will learn a new skill while meeting some very nice folks. It might be the best decision you ever made!

Richmond Winter Sectional Jan 12-14

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Winter Sectional at the ACCA Temple

Our first sectional at the Shriners’ ACCA Temple was a big success with 223 tables, the fourth largest turnout in the last 15 years. The expanded playing area, ample parking and great facilities provided our best venue ever. The Shriners will be working on improving the lighting for our June Sectional. We were fortunate to avoid the bad weather that preceded and followed the tournament dates. Kent Massie and Harry Gellis led the master point winners with 28.59 each, followed closely by David Butler (26.47), Rick Deyerle (24.19) and Gregory Bright (24.19). In the under 300 games Judy Chvala (9.44), John Gusich (9.39), John Woods (8.90) and Cindy Murphy (8.77) led the way.

There were 985.96 master points earned by 265 players. Mark Dahl and Nancy Lowry recorded the highest percentage game, winning the Saturday afternoon pairs game with a 70.24%. Winners in the Sunday bracketed Swiss were Andrew Gofreed, Howard Miller, Brian Schoenfeld and Muh-Sha Crawford in bracket one; Tom Kasvin, Francis Terminella, and Harry and Anne Alferink in bracket two; Darlene and Bryan Selz and Zubair and Loretta Hassan in bracket three; and Brian Knapik, Jim Stiff, JoAnn Olson and Gail Knapik in bracket four. There was a tie for Saturday afternoon’s BAM winners. First place was shared by the team of John Woods, Marjorie and Clem Bribitzer, and John Gusich and Chris D’Ambra, Mary Dennis Kelley, Daria Snider and David West.

The Alferinks coordinated the hospitality maintaining Richmond’s reputation for excellence; Anne Atwood paired a significant number of people needing partners; George Lewis and Ed Kinlaw made the pre-dealt boards for Friday and Saturday and assisted Anne Duty directing the large crowd. Sarah Kinlaw and Juliet Fratkin were kept busy as caddies. Finally, my eternal thanks to Winnie for helping me as Co-Tournament director.

Ample room made a good environment for playing bridge.

Mark Dahl gave expert lecture on Saturday morning.

Christmas Mother Game

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Christmas Mother Game Sets Records at New Home

The RBA Christmas Mother game set attendance and fund raising highs with its first venture at the ACCA Temple, our new home for sectionals and special games.

With two sections in both the Open and Friendly Bridge games, the event sported 34 tables, up more than 20% from last year’s 28 tables. Along with the RBA’s match and the generous contributions from players, more than $2,800 was donated to the Chesterfield Christmas Mother Fund. In addition, the RBA made a $500 contribution to the ACCA Temple Shriners Children’s Hospital Fund. Players also made donations to the Feed More’s Food Bank.

Mark Rosenbloom and Becky Duty, on the strength of a 68.06% game, took first place overall and garnered 6.42 masterpoints. Second overall were Harry Gellis and Bob Pustilnik, followed by DeWayne Jones and Leland Nettles, and Dickie Hamilton and Bob Quesinberry.

In the Friendly Bridge section Landon Woody and Joan Wingfield finished first overall with a 67.7% game. Lanny Levenson and Mindy Moiselle came in second.

Starting with a well-received lunch organized by Anne Atwood and Winnie Fratkin, and concluding with drawings for free plays donated by the Bridge Center and RBA, the game was a festive way to start the Holiday Season.

Finally, a special thanks to Ed Kinlaw for his usual excellence in directing such a big game. Susan MacLaughlin assisted Ed by providing additional Bridgemates, computer and printer.

The next RBA event will be the Winter Sectional at the ACCA Temple, January 12-14 when we will be in the main ballroom. Get your partners now!