Competition entrants found the May set marginally less demanding than its predecessor, with close to 5% (65/1356) scoring in the 70s. By contrast, the panel’s performance on this set would suggest it was by far the most difficult of the year, and perhaps ever, with only 6/20 scoring in the 70s and a top score of just 73/80. That means that 23 competitors outscored the entire panel, so ‘Chapeau’ to all of them.
Leading the way this month, we had a clear winner, with a perfect 80/80 score:
John Klayman from USA
John is a retired software engineer currently splitting his time between Fairfax, Virginia and Bradenton, Florida. He says, "I started bridge in high school and played sporadically until I retired and bridge went seriously online, which has allowed me to play more frequently and with partners scattered across North America."
Also on the May Honour Roll, with a score of 78/80, are:
Brian Spears from UK,
Paul Dubois from USA,
Michael van Gulik from Canada, and
David Scott Greenstein from USA
And, with a score of 77/80:
Paul Boudreau from USA
And, with a score of 76/80:
David Williams from Wales,
Alexander Cook from Australia,
Dror Axelrod from Israel,
Todd Holes from USA,
Girish Bijoor from India, and
J Godwin from India
We have had nine winners or co-winners in the first five months of this year, and John is the fourth American to top the pile. In 2024, USA had only two winners and in 2025 only three, so this is already the best year for American competitors. There were also four more Americans on this month’s Honour Roll. Will this be the first year that one of them tops the race for the annual title too?
They still have some work to do, as the current leader, Brian, records his second consecutive second-place finish. Right behind him in the annual competition race, Dave, also makes this month’s Honour Roll. Don’t count out previous winner Alexander, either, again amongst the leaders after his win in April.
