St. Louis players mourned the passing of Isabella Carlson, 91, known as the "First Lady of St. Louis Bridge". Over her 55-year career as a bridge teacher, she taught more than 10,000 people to play and hosted hundreds games and lessons at her home in Webster Groves MO. Even in her late eighties, she was teaching or directing duplicate games almost every day and evening.
The District 8 pair of Tom Dodd and Chris Habegger set a record with a 10-month reign in the popular Challenge the Champs bidding contest in The Bridge World magazine. Dodd, from South Bend IN, and Habegger, from Elkhart IN, were both in their early thirties. They outbid some of the top pairs in the world and were finally defeated by Kit Woolsey and Ed Manfield. They also set a record by scoring 96 of a possible 98 points in one of their matches.
The University of Illinois bridge team placed 3/4 in the National Intercollegiate Bridge Championships held in Fort Worth TX in March, 1990. Team members were Michael Steigmann, Mark Leonard, Milind Girkar and William Harris. The four were also winners of the Non-Life Master flight of the District 8 Grand National Teams and won trips to the national finals in Boston MA.
Leading the annual Dave Carter Top 100 list was Homer Shoop of North Webster IN, who won 731 masterpoints during 1989. Runners-up were Tom Oppenheimer (459 points), Jack Bryant (349), Carl Brueckner (297) and Bill Kuehl (278).
ACBL Board representative Ruth McConnell appointed four District 8 members to serve on national committees. Named to the National Goodwill Committee were Father Jerome Sommer of St. Louis and Mary Louise Moore of Mt. Vernon IL. National Charity Committee appointments went to Sharad Chitgopekar of Bloomington IL and Judy Cotterman of Kokomo IN.
Lou Matusiak was moderator of the District 8 Solvers Forum in the February issue of the Advocate newsletter. Top panelist, scoring 590 out of a possible 600, was Pete Giolitto of Rockford IL. Leading Solvers were Dave McNitt (Elkhart IN), Ayn Masilko (Rockford IL) and Kathy Bish (Leo IN).
The 1990 spring tournament calendar included three sectionals in Illinois (Effingham, Peoria and Champaign), two in Missouri (Columbia and Cape Giradeau) and two in Indiana (Kokomo and Fort Wayne). The Spring Festival Regional, chaired by Joyce McEldowney, was held May 1-6 in Peoria.
The Rockford-area team of Craig Bontjes, Ray Wuebben, Andrew Stang and Meyer Arbabanel won the trophy in the District 8 MIKI 49er Team Championship held at the Peoria Regional. The MIKI (an acronym for Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana) was an annual championship for players with 0-50 masterpoints. Players qualified in MIKI Swiss events at local clubs and 26 teams advanced to the District finals. Runners-up were Ken Vogelbaugh, Floyd Sherry, Bill Pifer and John Copley of Bloomington IL.
District 8 president was Dick Ellis of Kokomo IN. In his column in the February 1990 Advocate newsletter, he focused on how to develop a winning attitude. He shared advice he received when he asked Easley Blackwood for his favorite bridge tip. Blackwood's response was:
"Always remember your partner is your greatest asset. When he makes a mistake, remind him of it and he'll either misbid or misplay the next three hands. When he makes another mistake, remind him again and he'll misbid or misplay the next five hands. And finally, the third time this happens, you'll lose your partner for the remainder of the game."