This was not quite as tough as the January set, with the result that around 75 competition entrants managed to return scores of 70/80 or higher (compared with less than 30 last month). David Bird topped the expert panel with a perfect 80/80, and the leading competitor almost matched that achievement, returning a most impressive 79/80:
Rik Suyver from Amsterdam, Netherlands
Rik en Marjon Suyver is a 75-year old retired lawyer from Netherlands. He learned the game from his father in the 1960s, and he is a regular at the HOK Bridge Club in Amsterdam. “My adage,” says Rik, “is that bridge is a difficult game.”
For the second consecutive month, we have a Dutch player on the top step of the podium.
Other competitors on the February Honour Roll are, with 78/80:
Brian Spears from Scotland,
Venkatesh Ramaratnam from India, and
Lysandra Zheng from New Zealand
This is the second month in a row in which Venkatesh has finished in a tie for second place, so I think it is fair to assume that he is the early leader in the 2024 annual competition. And, with a score of 77/80:
Barbara Drinovec from Slovenia
All five players on this month’s honour roll hail from the Old World. Two of the eight players who scored 75/80 were from the New World, so Bill Wisdom and Oleg Dolgik, both from USA, are the leading Americans this month.
Congratulations to everyone who scored in the 60s or 70s on what was not a particularly easy set of hands.
