There were more high scores on this set, with around 8% of competitors scoring in the 70s, compared with 3% the previous couple of months. Even so, 77/80 led the panel, so some of the players on this month’s honour roll outscored all of the experts. Leading the way, was a threesome who scored 79/80…
Alon Amsel from Belgium,
Dave Williams from Wales, and
Erhan Öner from Türkiye
Born in The Netherlands 47 years ago, Amsel moved to Belgium aged four. A mathematics graduate, he is currently in charge of the Credit Risk Modeling team at Argenta Bank in Antwerp.
He has won the Belgian championship seven times since 2008. Representing Belgium, Amsel won a silver medal at the 2004 World University Teams, and won the 2022 European Champions Cup in Helsinki playing for Riviera Bridge Club (beating the Swiss Zimmermann team in the final).
He says, “I learned bridge from my Dutch grandmother as a kid, but only started playing seriously around the age of 18. As a proud dad of two smart boys aged 14 and 12 (who so far refuse to play bridge), I haven't played much internationally in the last 14 years.”
Amsel is also the author of primarily humorous articles that appear in the Dutch magazine IMP, which is now also available in an online English version.
Dave, 61, from Llangollen, Wales, has been the most consistent bidder in this competition, having previously finished 3rd, 4th, 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the annual rankings. Dave trained as a mathematician and retired from his role as a Youth Information and Advice Worker in November 2020. He loves to binge watch box sets and has a bridge library of over 650 books. He plays online only now, and just with robots. He is a regular leader in the Daily Challenge and Daily Dozen Tournaments on IntoBridge.
Erhan, 60, is an orthopedic surgeon working in a special hospital in Muğla, Türkiye. He says, "I have played bridge for 27 years and prefer playing in clubs and tournaments. I am also a tournament director at our small amateur bridge club in Muğla. I really didn't expect that score, but I am so glad for it."
Also on the October Honour Roll, with a score of 78/80, are:
Shubham Acharya from India,
Akın Koçlar from Türkiye, and
Todd Holes from USA
And, with a score of 77/80:
Peter Vlas from Netherlands,
Olivier David from France, and
Merijn Groenenboom from Netherlands
This is the second monthly victory of the year for both the UK and Turkiye, but the first win for Belgium in the three years this competition has been hosted on RealBridge. Illustrating the truly international nature of this competition, Belgium is the eighth different nation with a player who has either won or co-won a monthly competition this year.
Currently lying second in the annual competition, Dave moves up from third place last month into a first-place tie on this set. Last month’s solo winner, Todd Holes, the leading American in the annual contest, again makes the honour roll, this time just a single point behind the leaders.
Congratulations to everyone on this month’s honour roll.
