TThe October set proved to be very tough, with barely 3% of competition entrants returning scores in the 70s. Remarkably, though, nine of last month’s Top 10 on the annual competition leader-board were amongst the 42 competitors who broke the 70/80 barrier.
The result is that there is now a real logjam at the top of the leader-board, with only 3 points separating the top six contestants. Our leader scored in the 70s, but his 71/80 was his worst score of the year, so he failed to add to his tally ...
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 remains at the top of the leader-board without having won a monthly competition this year. He was the solo winner of the August 2024 competition, and a co-winner in September.
All but one of the Top 10 after nine months scored in the 70s on this difficult tenth set. With Brian, Alexander and Dave all scoring 75/80, they move into three-way tie for second place, 2 points behind Dror. Just one further point back, are Venkakesh (76) and Paul (75), while Stephen’s 75/80 leaves him just 6 points behind. Those six now hold a double-digit lead over the field.
We also have four newcomers to the leader-board this month, as players who had missed a month earlier in the year now have the same nine counting scores as everyone else. 79/80 from this month’s winner, Koushik Mukherjee from India, drops him into the leader-board in tenth place. Also joining the Top 20 are Austria's Peter Lipp, Kevin Podsiadlik from USA and Graham Hazel from England.
After ten months, the number of players averaging at least 70/80 or higher from their best nine sets jumps to an impressive 28. That means that you need an average score of over 70/80 to make the first page of the leader-board. Very impressive!
The annual score is the total of the best 9 monthly scores over the year.
