April 2025

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

Contact your District 4 board members.

PRESIDENT 

Betsy Cutler

betsy2955@gmail.com

VICE PRESIDENT 

Ala Hamilton-Day

alabridge@gmail.com

SECRETARY 

Bill Bauer 

william.baueriii@verizon.net

TREASURER

Pat Civale 

patcivale@gmail.com 

REGIONAL DIRECTOR 

Joann Glasson 

joannglasson@msn.com 

It is officially Spring and that means warmer weather and Bridge at the Beach are fast approaching! It also means the days are getting longer and that alone makes me feel more alive.

The Memphis NABC was a blast although it seemed smaller than previous events. The weather was nice except for the day of tornado watches and huge thunderstorms. The organizers opted to augment the indoor food vendor with food trucks every day which provided an amazing array of options. This also allowed players to spread out, so the lines were not long and most of us were out in the sunshine.

The upcoming District 4 calendar has a little bit of everything. First to happen on April 4-6 is Spring Into PCBA at Bala Golf Club. The Rochester Spring Sectional is April 5-6 followed quickly by the Unit 112 I/N Sectional in Fairport, NY (outside of Rochester) on April 25-26. The Allentown Spring Sectional is April 25-27. This leads right into the Rehoboth Regional April 28-May 2.  These are all great chances to earn silver, red and gold points!

In Memphis there was lots of talk and excitement about the Philadelphia NABC. Almost everyone I spoke with was planning to attend and all remember fondly having lunch at the Reading Terminal Market. John Dickenson and Ala Hamilton-Day were wonderful ambassadors for the event, passing out flyers and encouraging folks to attend!

Congratulations to the winners of the GNT events. 

Open:

Jay Apfelbaum, Arthur Korth, Andy Kaufman and Michael Shuster

Flight A: 

Bharat Rao, Lisa Mita, Paul Amer and Jeff Ruben

Flight B 

First Place: Phil Geibel, Tom Kriz, Frank Morgan and Andrew Krawitt

Second Place: Jack Willgruber, Daniel Frey, Jeffrey Rohrbeck and Lou Primavera              

Flight C 

First Place: Yascov Garini, Devika Chakraborty, Jason Zhang and Lee Guo

Second Place: William Even, Monica Knopf, Rebecca Bergey, Kamrul Khan & Ziyana Khan

If you plan to attend the NABC in July and have time to give, Cathy Strauss is seeking volunteers for all days, especially during the Youth Bridge days.  Contact her at cathy.strauss@gmail.com with your availability. The NABC puts our district into the spotlight, and we want everyone to have a great time and enjoy Philadelphia. Find your partners and make reservations soon if you plan to attend.

Betsy

betsy2955@gmail.com

From the Regional Director 

In last month’s report, I talked about the ACBL Clubhouse, hosted by BBO, where you can play online with lots of special games that award gold, silver and red points in addition to regular black point games.

When you play in these online ACBL Clubhouse games on BBO, a large portion of your entry fee is returned to the face-to-face club where you play most frequently, so you are supporting your local club as well as enjoying the convenience of online play.

Here’s the schedule of Clubhouse games on BBO:

https://news.bridgebase.com/acbl-clubhouse-schedule/

When you log into BBO, look for ACBL Clubhouse Games right under ACBL World.

There has been a new update to the ACBL Clubhouse:

The Clubhouse games are now under the umbrella of the ACBL Community Club which along with the online games includes special games that can also be played at your local face-to-face club.

Your local club can now run games that award red, silver or gold points concurrently on any week these special games are scheduled in the online Community Club. By allowing only face-to-face clubs and the ACBL Community Club to award glitter points, the ACBL is continuing its pledge to support your local face-to-face club.

All the details are online:    https://www.acbl.org/portfolio/community-club/

Email me if you have any questions:   joannglasson@msn.com

Joann

Regionals

Rehoboth Beach, DE

April 28-May 2

Rochester, NY

June 9-14

Sectionals

Philadelphia, PA

April 4-6

Rochester, NY

April 5-6

Rochester and Fairport, NY I/N

April 25-26

Allentown, PA

April 25-27

D4 STaC

May 5-11

Camp Hill, PA

May 16-18

Oswego, NY I/N

May 17

Boalsburg, PA

May 30-June 1

Rochester, NY

July 19-20

King of Prussia, PA I/N

August 25

Wilmington, DE

September 5-7

Cherry Hill, NJ

September 19-21

Camp Hill, PA

September 26-28

For the complete 2025 D4 calendar, click here.

The 4Spot features fantastic contributors on a regular rotation:

February, May, August, November:

For Novices Only

Larry's Learning Center

This one is bound to make us all a little nuts. Read about it here.

Visit the MSC website to read next month's problem and submit your answers online here.

Get Ready for Philly - Summer 2025 NABC News

A few tips on how to streamline your visit to the upcoming NABC in Philadelphia (July 24 to August 3):

Restaurant Guide: Starting with the Spring NABC in Memphis, the guide will no longer be part of the printed schedule handed out at registration. Trade in your flip phone for a Smart one or be prepared to use a laptop to access the guide, or hunt down the Information Desk on the fifth floor for help in Philly. I have been using ithe online guide here in Memphis and find it pretty intuitive if you are used to Google Maps. Check out the Memphis guide here. Click on the Price Range or Distance tabs and it converts to a ranked list of all the eateries in that category! A lot easier than paging through all the different locations in the paper guide once you get the hang of it. 

Purchasing Entries: All entries can be purchased in person at the venue or online the night before an event. Credit or Debit only - no cash. A $10 discount is available for D4 members and guests at the host hotel. Buy your discounted entry in person at the Entry Express "help desk," or skip that long line using a link provided on the home page of the ACBL's Philly NABC site. Must be done by midnight the night before or you'll turn into a pumpkin. 

SEPTA and Parking: Don’t forget to apply for a free SEPTA train pass if you are over 65. Parking in Center City is very expensive, but it is only $2 a day at SEPTA stations around the city.  You need the SEPTA parking app to pay for parking at a SEPTA station.

Bottom line – the world is going digital and the ACBL is too – this is your time learn how to do some things online!

Unit 112: Central New York

www.acblunit112.org 

Betty Youmans

readsausten@yahoo.com

April brings not only flowers but also Sectional tournaments in Unit 112.  

The Rochester Spring Sectional will be held on April 5-6. This will feature a bridge lesson by Roger Woodin on Saturday morning, followed by stratified open pairs and stratified 749er/NLM pairs. The Sunday schedule includes stratified open Swiss teams as well as stratified 749er/NLM pairs.

The Unit’s Annual Meeting will be held at 2 p.m. on April 5 at the Rochester Spring Sectional. Numerous Unit awards will be presented.  All are invited to attend.

A two-day Intermediate/Newcomer Sectional for non-life masters will be held on April 25 and 26 in Rochester. Pre-registration is required. Contact Bruce Toder at toder@chem.rochester.edu for additional information.

Unit 112 Congratulates its Advancing Players:



Junior Master

Nancy Bates

Noah Bell

Scott Forsyth

Linda Galanthay

Club Master

Gail Finkelstein

Lowell Weitkamp

Regional Master

Gerald Steenberge

Bronze Life Master

S. De Smith

Ruby Life Master

Kathy Creveling

Gold Life Master

Doug Bradley

Unit 120: Northeastern Pennsylvania 

Doreese Torrey

doreeset@gmail.com

Hello Unit 120!! 

Let's start off with well-deserved recognition. Please join me in congratulating (applause):

Sapphire Life Master

Judy Null

April is a spring month in the Northern Hemisphere. April takes its name from the Latin word aperire, meaning “to open” like spring flowers.

The first day of April is known for centuries as the day of pranks, but no one knows exactly why and how it all started. 

Some pranks included having a paper fish placed on a person's back as they were called "April fish." One of the first known references to this term is found in a 1508 poem written by Eloy d'Amerval. The phrase itself doesn't necessarily mean there was a holiday on April 1, but the idea of the "April fish" is that fish were more plentiful in the spring and thus easier to catch. In other words, an "April fish" was more gullible than fish caught in other seasons.

In 1561, an early, clear-cut reference to April Fools' Day appears in a Flemish poem written by Eduard de Dene. In the poem, a nobleman sends his servant out on a series of wild errands. The servant eventually realizes that these are "fool's errands" because the date is April 1.

Even in 1760 there was speculation as to the origins of the holiday, with a line in Poor Robin's Almanac reading:

"The First of April some do say. Is set apart for all Fool's Day. But why the people call it so. Nor I nor they themselves do know".

However you plan on celebrating April, don't be “fool”ish!  Let's play Bridge!

See you at Bridge Table!

Unit 121: Berks Montgomery 

www.unit121bridge.com

Trish Richards

daletrish@comcast.net

Welcome to Berks Montgomery Unit 121 members and all our friends. Spring will be here when you receive this District 4Spot. Like you, I am done with winter. It is time for all those players that were hibernating to come and meet with your friends.

On March 6 we enjoyed sharing all flavors of Oreo cookies on Oreo Cookie Day. This was a Championship game. The champs for this game were:

            A Players

N-S      Sue Wessner and Ed Katz

            E-W     Sandy Deeds and Bob Matthews

            B Players

            N-S      Marlene Winklemen and Louise Rembley

            E-W     Larry Yoder and Tim Zettlemoyer

The winners from the 2024 Ace of Clubs, Mini-McKenney and Virtual Ace of Clubs follows. Congratulations to all.

In April, we have several special games to look forward to: 

April 8 we will celebrate National Zoo Day with a snack of animal crackers.

April 17 it will be National Tax Day. Lunch served along with a special celebration for our players who will reach their ninetieth birthdays in the coming year, and those who already have.

April 24 will be a very special Unit Appreciation Game. You will need to sign up and pay your bridge fees $8 per person in advance.

If you are looking for some tournament play, support one or all of our local sectionals. April 4-6 at Bala Golf Club (Unit 141), and April 25-27 at Lehigh Valley Active Life (Unit 133).   

As always, if you need a partner, call Sue Wessner at 610-972-5327.  She is happy to find you a partner at your level of play.

New Rank Advancements 

Congratulations!

Junior Masters

Terry Bridges

Denise Neas

Sectional Master

Margaret Borene

NABC Master

Vivian Kane 

Silver Life Master 

Larry Kemmerer 

Ruby Life Master

Lee Stanley 

Gold Life Masters

Karen Yellin 

Charles Eisenhart

Congratulations to Unit 133 players who placed 1st in the Ace of Clubs, the Virtual Ace of Clubs, and Mini McKinney Masterpoint Races!

Ace of Clubs Race

0-5 Masterpoints - Joseph Frueh 

5-20 Masterpoints - Nathaniel Kolo

20-50 Masterpoints - Frank Haig 

50-100 Masterpoints - Steve Berman,

100-200 Masterpoints - Don Spielvogel

200-300 Masterpoints - Nelson Rabenold

300-500 Masterpoints - Dave Willgruber 

500-1000 Masterpoints - Grace Sutherland 

1000-1500 Masterpoints - Jim Kenny 

1500-2500 Masterpoints - Ed Spitzer

2500-3500 Masterpoints - Karen Yellin

3500- 5000 Masterpoints - Stan Yellin 

5000-7500 Masterpoints - David Wachsman

Mini McKinney Race

0-5 Masterpoints - Joseph Frueh 

5-20 Masterpoints - Nathaniel Kolo 

20-50 Masterpoints - Dorothy Cockrell

50-100 Masterpoints - Vivian Kane 

100-200 Masterpoints - John Turoczi 

200-300 Masterpoints  - Carol Turoczi 

300-500 Masterpoints - Dave Willgruber 

500-1000 Masterpoints - Grace Sutherland 

1000-1500 Masterpoints - Lee Stanley 

1500-2500 Masterpoints - Betsy Cutler 

2500-3500 Masterpoints - Karen Yellin 

3500-5000 Masterpoints - Gary Hillenbrand 

5000-7500 Masterpoints - Janis Wachsman 

 Over 10,000 Masterpoints - Deepak Khanna 



Virtual Ace of Clubs Race

0-5 Masterpoints - Ann Padjen

20 - 50 Masterpoints - Margaret Barilla 

50 - 100 Masterpoints - Steve Berman

100 - 200 Masterpoints - John Turoczi

200 - 300 Masterpoints - Carol Turoczi 

300 - 500 Masterpoints - James Waters

500 - 1000 Masterpoints - Craig Bailey 

1000 - 1500 Masterpoints - Lee Stanley

1500 - 2500 Masterpoints - Betsy Cutler 

2500 - 3500 Masterpoints - Bob Cole 

3500 - 5000 Masterpoints - Paul Irvine 

5000 - 7500 Masterpoints - Janis Wachsman 

     Unit 133 Spring Sectional 

 April 25, 26, & 27

Please join us for our Spring Sectional in Allentown at Lehigh Valley Active Life for an opportunity to earn Silver Masterpoints. Enjoy a pleasant atmosphere, friendly people, delicious lunch, and great bridge.

Schedule:

Friday, April 25

10am – Open and 0-750

2:30pm– Open and 0-750

Saturday, April 26

10am – Open and 0-750

2:30pm– Open and 0-750

Saturday, April 26 is a special 0-20 free game with a postmortem.

Sunday, April 27

10am- 2-Session Swiss Team play through with lunch break. Open and 0-750 teams.

Games may be combined due to attendance and stratified is at the discretion of the Director.

Location:

Lehigh Valley Active Life

1633 West Elm Street

Allentown PA 18102

Fee: $12 per player per session (does not include lunch.) Please pay at the door using a credit card.

Lunch: $10 Prepay by check payable to LVBA and include your sandwich choice. Mail both check and sandwich choice to Lois Fuini, 3944 Shirley Drive, Schencksville PA 18078. Sandwich choices: Italian, Turkey, Roast Beef, Roasted Veggies or Cheese Subs.

Questions: 

Please contact Tournament Chairperson, Lois Fuini at  lafuini@yahoo.com

All games in Unit 133 are zero tolerance and fragrance free. 

Unit 141: Philadelphia 

www.philadelphiabridge.info

Cathy Strauss

cathy.strauss@gmail.com

It’s just a few days until our popular Spring Sectional, April 4-6, at Bala Golf Club. Friday and Saturday games start at 10:00 AM and 2:30 PM; Sunday teams start at 10 AM. Great bridge and great hospitality!  You can find the flyer here.

A warm welcome to our newest PCBA members:

Daljit Chatrath

Ann Front

Alvin Guo

Gerald Klugman

Meyer Krauss

Randy Krauss

Barbara Lewis

Betsy Skiles

Keith Spirgel

Janet Tancredi

Congratulations to our members who achieved a new rank!

Junior Masters

Linda Preske

Tiffany Leong

Robin Fischer

Gary Fink

Club Masters

Jason Zhang

Leslie T Scheid

Vellore R Ramakrishnan

Daljit Chatrath

Maureen Caulfield

Michael Barnet

Sectional Masters

Elinor K Wapner

Michael J Denner

Regional Masters

Radu Vasilescu

Mary Tassaro

Larry Kimble

Yaacov Garini

NABC Master

Michael Kleidermacher

Bronze Life Master

Susan G Wilson

Gold Life Master

A William Schmidt

Unit 168: Central Pennsylvania 

Ben Hawn 

bwhawn@bellsouth.net

Congratulations to the following Unit 168 players as they move up the ACBL’s ranking ladder:

Junior Masters

Dan Driscoll 

Barbara Goll

Jane Pyryt 

Club Master

Benjamin Lezu

Sectional Masters

Donald Fisher

Charles Lee

Regional Masters

Linda Avillo

Steven Becker

NABC Master

Kim Engman

Advanced NABC Master

Joseph Marter

Ruby Life Master

Jack Rudy

Platinum Life Master

Phil Monyer 

What about balancing? Quick review: when the opponents find a fit at the two level and then quit, it usually behooves us to balance. If they have a fit, we likely have a fit. We may or may not be dying to play a contract of our own, but we want to push them up from the two level to the three level. Especially at matchpoints we should balance whenever reasonable. We don’t mind paying out the occasional -500 or so because we’re convinced balancing is a long-term winner.

Red against red you have a balancing decision with Axx JT9x Axxx QT, a mediocre 11 HCP. 

1C P 1S P 

2S P  P ??

You’re playing against a good pair. You have four of each red suit so that seems to imply you should balance. Partner is marked with spade shortness - two at the most. The opponents quit at 2S so you might well have half the deck. Still, red at the three-level seems like a lot, and while we probably have a fit, there is no 100% guarantee. It’s late in the session and you’re having a good game; maybe passing makes the most sense?

No, we are not passing. Must double, right or wrong. If we go for -200 against -110, hopefully partner will understand. A good partner will.

Anyway, you double and the auction proceeds: pass on your left, 3D from partner. That’s followed by two passes. LHO thinks for a while and pulls out the 3S card. That’s a bit of a relief. All pass and you lead the jack of hearts. 

Double dummy you can set 3S two tricks. But my partner and I can’t defend double dummy. We beat 3S one trick. Double dummy 3D is making, but my partner and I can’t play double dummy either so it would’ve gone down one. 

What does this hand prove? Absolutely nothing. No one hand ever does. It’s just an example of an aggressive balancing action. It turned out to work on this day. Even if it hadn’t worked, I’m certain it was correct.

Should South open the hand 1C? It’s very close. With two four card majors I think that I would. But I would not fault a pass either. This deal was passed out at many tables.

Also note that as is so often the case, the HCP are divided almost evenly. When you balance you are not bidding your hand; you are bidding the partnership’s combined assets. It’s safe to balance with eight HCP, because partner is likely marked with 11-13 HCP. Be sure to balance aggressively next time you play. When it doesn’t work, I don’t want to hear about it.

Unit 190: Delaware 

www.unit190.org

Paula Varrassi

pvarrassi@gmail.com

Delaware Clubs

The Bridge Studio of Delaware, Wilmington

Harold Jordon

302-479-5431

club@bridge-studio.org

MOT, Middletown

Cheryl Shields

302-602-1638

c.shields@mehrs.com

Monday Morning Bridge Club

Friday Nooners

Dover

Clare O’Brien

410-310-0549

Clare758@outlook.com

Shore Bridge

Lewes

Anna DeLapo

302-236-0346

Anna7nt@gmail.com

Shuffles2

Ocean View Presbyterian Church

Thursday @ 12:30

215-817-2465

Shuffles2023@gmail.com

UPCOMING EVENTS

Bridge at the Beach Regional

April 28-May 2, 2025

Rehoboth Beach Convention Center

Rehoboth Beach DE

Dini-Romito NLM Sectional

June 6-7, 2025

Mariners Bethel Global Methodist Church

Ocean View DE

MOVING ON UP

Junior Master

Gail Pace

Club Master

Frank Falcone

Alex Koriakin

Regional Master

Liander Gong

NABC Master

Jeanmarie Leonard

Silver Life Master

Thomas Tully

Ruby Life Master

Trina Brinsfeld

Larry Froeberg

Robert Gray

Debbie Schenkel

THE WELCOME MAT

New Transferred Members

Larry Froeberg

Gail Levy

Jeanne Peech

Nathan Tash

New Members

Sylvia Adams

Alfred Bacon

Susan Epstein

Karen Jones

Faye Markowitz

Mia Muratori

Anne Scott

Beth Tarkula

 A NOTE OF THANKS

"Our sincere thanks to all Unit 190 members. The cakes, photos and recognition given to us when reached our 10,000 masterpoint threshold were such thoughtful gestures. We appreciate these efforts you made on our behalf." - Pete and Marie Filandro

THE RESULTS ARE IN



Click here for the Blue Hen Sectional results

Click here for the Unit 190 Masterpoint Race winners of 2024

Link to the unit website

Unit 217: Susquehanna 

Jim McKeown

jcm751@comcast.net

Please join us for our next Sectional, May 30 - June 1, 2025 at the at the Boalsburg Fire Co, 113 Pine Street, Boalsburg, PA when we will recognize these award winners (and play a little bridge).      

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4Spot | April 2025 | Editor: Susan Morse