The August set was certainly not easy, and yet a number of those on the leader-board still returned high scores. Having been tied for the lead after the July competition, Israel’s Dror Axelrod put a little blue water between himself and the chasing pack with a score of 79/80 this month.
A 42-year-old lawyer from Jerusalem, Dror is married with a son and two daughters. He says, “I have been very fortunate to have my father, Asher, as a bridge partner, and I am thankful for his continued guidance and support”. A model of consistency, Dror retakes the lead even though he has still not won a monthly competition this year. He was the solo winner of the August 2024 competition, and a co-winner in September.
The other big winners this month are Alexander and Brian, who both also scored 79/80, and they move up into the podium places, respectively 1 point and 3 points behind the leader. Right behind the top three, Dave, Paul and Venkatesh are in a three-way tie for fourth place, 7 points off the lead.
Eight of last month’s Top 10 scored in the 70s in August. Paul’s 79/80 hauls him up from twelfth place and into the Top 10.
After eight months, the number of players averaging at least 70/80 or higher drops by two, to 16. Still very impressive. You currently need a score of 553 to make it onto the first page of the leader-board, which means an average of just over 69/80. What a very high standard is being set by all.
Numerically, Americans lead the way with six competitors in the Top 25 (three of those in the Top 10). There are also four Brits, and two each from India, Belgium and Russia.
The annual score is the total of the best 9 monthly scores over the year.
