Scores 7V63  Main Challenge

December 2001 Scores

Analyses  by Richard Pavlicek

The “Do You Hear What I Hear?” defensive-play contest had 522 participants, and everyone scoring above average is listed here. Ties in the rankings are broken by the date and time of submission (earliest wins). At the end of this page is a “Bot’s Eye View,” which shows how various computer programs fared.

Top 100

101

201

Location Ranking

Bot’s Eye View

Participation Stats

Number of participants	522
Number of locations	89
Highest score	59
Median score	40
Lowest score	20
Average score	39.90

Top 100 Places

Rank	Score	LC	Name	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	59	PT	Manuel Paulo	A	K	8	3	5	6
2	57	UStx	Billy Leeper	A	A	8	3	5	6
3	57	HR	Miro Tesla	A	K	8	3	7	6
4	57	HK	Walter Lee	A	K	8	3	7	6
5	56	UKen	Gareth Birdsall	3	A	8	4	5	6
6	56	USaz	Beverly Terry	3	K	8	4	5	5
7	55	USnj	Leonard Helfgott	3	K	8	3	5	5
8	55	CA	Charles Grainger	2	K	8	3	5	6
9	55	IN	Sourendra Coomer Dutt	A	10	8	4	5	5
10	55	IN	Ritam Dutt	A	10	8	4	5	5
11	54	RU	Sergey Kustarov	A	10	8	3	7	6
12	53	UStx	Herbert Wilton	2	K	8	3	7	6
13	53	USny	Daniel Testa	3	A	8	3	5	5
14	53	CN	Weidong Yang	2	K	8	3	7	6
15	53	TR	Ahu Zobu	A	K	Q	9	5	5
16	53	USny	Franco Baseggio	A	K	Q	3	7	6
17	53	UStx	Hanchang Wang	A	K	Q	3	5	5
18	53	ZA	George Rahr	3	K	5	3	5	5
19	52	CAon	David Grainger	2	10	8	3	5	6
20	52	CAon	Gabriel Nita-Saguna	A	K	8	3	7	4
21	52	UKen	Anthony Golding	A	K	Q	3	5	6
22	52	US	Cliff Gillespie	3	K	5	3	2	5
23	52	SE	Johan Gronkvist	2	A	8	4	5	5
24	52	HR	Tonci Tomic	A	K	8	3	4	8
25	52	CAon	Daniel Korbel	A	10	5	3	5	5
26	52	GR	Angelo Giokaris	A	A	5	3	2	5
27	52	RO	Bogdan Vulcan	3	A	8	9	5	5
28	52	IN	Vibhas Todi	3	A	Q	3	5	6
29	51	US	Evelyn Gerke	2	A	8	4	2	5
30	51	CH	Dima Nikolenkov	A	A	Q	3	2	5
31	51	USny	Micki Kaufman	A	K	5	4	7	4
32	51	IN	Vikas Phadke	3	K	Q	3	2	5
33	51	RU	Artem Arikov	2	K	5	3	5	5
34	51	CH	Olivier La Spada	J	K	8	3	4	6
35	50	UKen	Gordon Rainsford	3	A	5	3	2	5
36	50	USil	Mark Ganzer	2	K	Q	3	5	5
37	50	UStx	Sally Wheeler	A	A	Q	3	7	5
38	50	AU	Gaye Marks	3	A	5	3	2	5
39	50	PL	Wojtek Siwiec	A	K	8	3	7	K
40	50	USoh	Craig Biddle	3	A	Q	4	5	5
41	50	TW	Zeno Lin	3	A	Q	3	2	6
42	50	UKen	John Reardon	2	K	Q	3	7	6
43	50	FI	Erkki Malkamaki	3	K	Q	3	2	5
44	50	DE	Christian Glubrecht	3	A	5	3	2	5
45	50	IL	Yoram Bavli	2	10	5	3	5	6
46	50	IN	Neelotpal Sahai	J	K	8	3	J	6
47	50	CA	John Houseman	3	10	5	3	5	5
48	50	AU	Bill Powell	2	K	Q	3	2	6
49	49	CAab	David Johnson	3	A	Q	9	5	5
50	49	BE	Sebastien Louveaux	2	K	8	3	J	5
51	49	IT	Tudor Gheorghiu	2	K	10	3	5	6
52	49	UY	Sara Rathauser	3	A	5	3	7	5
53	49	HU	Zsuzsa Ranki	A	8	5	4	4	6
54	49	USfl	Bonnie Lamkin	3	10	5	3	2	5
55	49	USca	Michael Day	2	10	8	3	2	5
56	49	USil	George Klemic	3	A	5	3	5	8
57	49	USfl	Phil Benamy	3	A	8	9	4	5
58	49	DE	Ulrich Voigt	3	10	Q	3	2	6
59	49	CL	Constantino Sifaqui	2	A	5	4	2	5
60	49	TW	Fat Orange	2	A	5	3	5	5
61	49	IN	Gowniyan Vaideeshwar	3	K	Q	3	J	6
62	49	IN	Sivakumar Salem	3	K	Q	3	J	6
63	49	USal	Bob Simkins	2	8	8	3	5	6
64	49	USfl	Bijoy Anand	2	K	Q	3	4	6
65	49	USnc	Charles Frith	2	10	8	3	2	5
66	48	USny	Gerald Cohen	3	8	5	9	5	6
67	48	USca	Len Vishnevsky	2	A	Q	3	5	5
68	48	AU	Peter Grant	2	A	5	3	2	5
69	48	UKen	Neil Morgenstern	3	A	5	3	4	5
70	48	FR	Jacques Normand	9	A	5	4	5	5
71	48	NO	Magnus Skaar	3	K	Q	3	2	8
72	48	USmn	Tony Ames	3	10	Q	3	5	5
73	48	USil	Charles Blair	2	10	Q	3	5	6
74	48	USva	Tibor Koos	3	A	5	3	4	5
75	48	IN	Arvind Srinivasan	2	K	Q	3	4	6
76	48	USca	Damo Nair	3	K	Q	3	4	5
77	48	TW	Lemon Chiou	J	A	5	3	5	5
78	48	US	Jim Fox	A	K	Q	9	J	5
79	48	USal	Albert Lilly	A	A	Q	9	7	5
80	47	FI	Pekka Niemisto	3	8	5	3	5	5
81	47	UKsc	Nigel Guthrie	3	10	Q	3	2	5
82	47	USil	James Hudson	2	A	8	3	J	5
83	47	CAon	Paul Redvers	9	10	8	3	2	5
84	47	UStn	Charles Cohen	3	8	8	9	2	5
85	47	AU	Mark Abraham	J	K	8	9	J	5
86	47	AU	Bob Geyer	2	A	Q	3	2	5
87	47	UKen	Rose Das	3	A	10	4	2	5
88	47	CAbc	Brad Bart	3	10	5	3	4	5
89	47	UStx	Jeff Kaldem	2	A	5	9	2	5
90	47	USwi	Rich Dorfman	3	K	Q	3	2	5
91	47	BG	Peter Ludnev	J	10	5	4	2	5
92	47	HU	Imre Csiszar	2	10	5	3	2	5
93	47	UK	Steven Whitaker	9	K	Q	3	2	5
94	47	IT	Felice Cupane	2	A	8	4	7	4
95	47	PL	Roman Kujaczynski	3	K	Q	9	4	5
96	47	USca	Rob Stevens	2	K	Q	3	7	5
97	47	EG	Ehab Ragab	2	10	5	3	2	5
98	47	UKen	Douglas Dunn	3	8	5	3	7	6
99	47	CAon	Malcolm Ewashkiw	9	10	8	9	5	5
100	46	USca	Dennis Kibler	3	K	Q	3	5	K

Scores 7V63 Main Challenge

Analyses Top December 2001 Scores

Places 101-200

Rank	Score	LC	Name	1	2	3	4	5	6
101	46	USny	Barry Rigal	2	10	10	3	5	6
102	46	UK	Gareth Millwood	9	A	5	3	2	5
103	46	UStx	Richard Higgins	5	A	8	3	5	5
104	46	USaz	Robb Gordon	3	10	Q	3	4	5
105	46	US	Burton Odell	3	A	8	2	2	5
106	46	SI	Hubert Froehlich	3	K	5	3	2	K
107	46	CAab	Nicolae Vartosu	3	8	5	9	5	5
108	46	USca	Marvin French	2	A	8	9	2	4
109	46	UKen	David Morran	3	A	Q	3	5	5
110	46	ES	James Calabut	3	K	8	9	7	K
111	46	USma	Arthur Shahian	3	A	Q	3	J	5
112	46	UKen	Jonathan Jacobs	9	A	5	4	7	5
113	46	PL	Marcin Zbroja	2	K	10	3	2	5
114	46	CAon	Jerry Smee	3	K	5	4	A	5
115	46	USnc	Dale Swift	2	A	5	3	4	5
116	46	UKen	Roger Morton	J	A	Q	9	5	5
117	46	RU	Evgeny Nozdrin	2	K	5	3	5	K
118	46	USsc	Rajan Iyer	5	A	5	3	5	6
119	46	AU	Peter Gill	2	10	10	3	5	6
120	46	IN	Shyam Sashital	A	10	Q	3	5	5
121	45	USnh	Richard Bator	3	A	5	3	2	K
122	45	DE	Hans Fleischhack	3	A	5	4	2	K
123	45	DE	Zuzana Herrmann	J	10	Q	3	2	5
124	45	USoh	David Stuckey	3	A	Q	3	2	5
125	45	USmd	Rex Settle	J	8	8	9	5	5
126	45	AU	Alex Kemeny	2	A	5	3	J	5
127	45	CAon	Brian Priebe	3	A	5	3	2	K
128	45	USny	Rita Sierocinski	A	8	5	3	J	5
129	45	USca	Phillip Mackler	3	A	5	3	2	K
130	45	AU	Ken Dalley	3	8	Q	3	5	5
131	45	USmn	Brian Weikle	3	8	5	9	2	5
132	45	USca	Mike Kerr	3	10	5	9	2	4
133	45	USca	Doug Burke	3	K	5	3	A	5
134	45	NL	Jelmer Hasper	2	K	5	3	A	6
135	45	USfl	Rod Kerr	3	8	5	3	7	5
136	45	USmo	Kit Nowicki	3	A	5	3	2	K
137	45	USfl	Lois Lagrew	3	A	5	4	2	K
138	45	IN	Venkatesh Ramaratnam	2	10	10	3	2	6
139	44	USny	Dennis Kaye	J	8	5	4	2	5
140	44	USca	Mike Carney	J	K	5	3	A	6
141	44	USfl	Sandra Berger	2	A	8	4	7	K
142	44	CApq	Peter Schwartz	2	10	10	3	5	5
143	44	TR	Okan Ozcan	3	A	5	2	2	5
144	44	UKen	Mark Taylor	2	K	5	4	7	K
145	44	USca	Milton Spinner	2	10	10	3	5	5
146	44	USva	Carey Shirk	2	8	8	4	2	4
147	44	NL	Wim van Roon	3	8	Q	3	2	5
148	44	UKen	Dave Warren	3	8	Q	9	2	5
149	44	UKen	Charlotte Vine	3	K	Q	3	A	5
150	44	PL	Kazik Drozdz	2	8	Q	4	2	5
151	44	TW	Teng-Yuan Liang	2	A	5	3	5	K
152	44	USnj	Larry Pennefather	A	A	5	9	A	5
153	44	IE	Colin Smith	2	K	5	9	2	K
154	44	USfl	Stuart Schwartz	3	A	Q	4	2	K
155	44	UKen	Andrew Morris	J	A	10	3	5	5
156	44	USmn	David Neiman	3	8	Q	3	2	5
157	44	USca	Rich Pavlicek	2	8	Q	9	5	6
158	44	ZA	Gundi Fritzsche	2	A	10	3	2	5
159	44	USca	Steve Mager	3	A	10	3	4	5
160	44	TW	Wen-Lung Huang	J	A	10	3	5	5
161	44	HU	Peter Talyigas	3	8	5	3	2	8
162	44	USok	Linda Waggener	3	A	5	2	2	5
163	43	CAon	John Cunningham	2	10	Q	3	5	4
164	43	USca	Sandy Barnes	5	K	Q	3	2	5
165	43	HU	Jozsef Szikszai	2	8	Q	3	2	5
166	43	USca	John Vogel	3	10	10	3	5	4
167	43	USpa	Frank Abel	J	A	Q	3	5	5
168	43	USpa	Dottie Abel	3	A	5	3	A	5
169	43	USca	Alan Holmes	2	A	Q	3	2	5
170	43	USmn	Hui-Shu Yen	2	10	5	9	2	4
171	43	USmo	Glenn Smith	J	8	5	3	2	5
172	43	USil	Robert Brock	3	K	Q	9	2	4
173	43	EE	Allar Padari	2	A	5	3	2	K
174	43	CAon	Bruce Cook	J	A	5	4	2	K
175	43	USwa	Bob Richardson	2	A	Q	3	2	5
176	43	CAon	Bob Stuart	2	K	5	3	A	5
177	43	USny	Maureen Watkins	J	A	8	2	2	5
178	43	IT	Stefano Biciocchi	2	8	Q	9	5	5
179	43	NZ	Jenny Millington	3	A	10	3	2	4
180	43	CAns	Philippe Westreich	2	A	10	9	2	5
181	43	AU	Bill Jacobs	2	8	5	3	5	8
182	43	CAns	B. Downey Grover	2	10	10	9	5	5
183	43	SE	Margaretha Karlsson	A	A	5	3	J	K
184	43	RO	Lorand Dali	2	A	Q	9	J	5
185	43	ES	Aurelio Gracia	3	A	Q	4	A	5
186	43	RO	George Eckstein	J	10	10	3	5	5
187	43	USfl	Marcia Greenstein	2	A	5	3	2	K
188	43	USca	Grant Peacock	2	K	5	3	4	K
189	42	IT	Giovanni Bobbio	2	8	Q	9	2	5
190	42	USfl	William Slepin	3	K	10	3	J	4
191	42	CApq	Michael Kovacs	2	A	5	3	2	K
192	42	IE	Robert Knight	2	10	Q	3	2	5
193	42	AU	Tania Gariepy	2	A	Q	3	2	K
194	42	CApe	Virendra Gupta	5	10	5	3	2	5
195	42	CAon	Greg Eland	J	A	8	9	2	K
196	42	NL	Martijn Schoonderwoerd	3	A	10	4	2	K
197	42	USny	Tom Douglas	2	A	Q	4	4	5
198	42	UStx	Bill Erwin	2	10	Q	3	5	K
199	42	CA	Jack Adam	3	8	10	3	2	5
200	42	USwi	Rene McFall	A	A	10	2	2	5

Scores 7V63 Main Challenge

Analyses Top December 2001 Scores

All Others Above Average

Rank	Score	LC	Name	1	2	3	4	5	6
201	42	CAbc	Ross Lam	2	A	Q	4	2	K
202	42	USma	Bob Boudreau	2	8	Q	3	5	6
203	42	TW	Ye-Fon Tsai	J	A	5	3	5	K
204	42	RO	Cristian Guidea	9	A	10	3	2	5
205	41	USwa	Josh Sinnett	3	10	Q	3	A	5
206	41	ES	Juan Boveda	3	A	Q	4	5	K
207	41	USca	Tysen Streib	9	A	5	4	2	K
208	41	SE	Bjorn Sorling	9	8	5	9	2	5
209	41	FI	Juha Tamminen	J	A	5	3	2	K
210	41	CAab	Daniel Bertrand	J	8	Q	3	2	5
211	41	USfl	Scott Keiling	3	A	10	3	2	K
212	41	USoh	Robert Urmanic	2	10	8	9	A	5
213	41	USfl	Arlynne Alexander	9	A	5	4	2	K
214	41	CAbc	David Hooey	2	A	Q	2	2	5
215	41	AR	Luis Argerich	J	A	Q	Q	5	5
216	41	PT	Rodrigo Cunha	J	K	5	4	J	K
217	41	USor	Ed Freeman	3	10	Q	3	2	K
218	41	US	Dave Scott	3	A	10	3	2	K
219	41	AU	David Stern	J	A	Q	Q	2	5
220	41	CAns	Del Knox	A	A	Q	Q	5	K
221	41	SI	Egon Novak	J	A	5	9	2	K
222	41	USwa	Bill Sinnett	2	A	5	3	A	5
223	41	UKsc	Mike Hammett	3	A	Q	3	7	K
224	41	TW	Tracy Tseng	2	A	5	3	A	5
225	41	RO	Horia Garbea	J	A	10	4	2	4
226	41	USfl	Lee Elton	2	8	Q	4	2	4
227	41	IN	Govindarajan Srinivasan	2	A	Q	2	2	5
228	41	UKen	Sonia Zakrzewski	3	K	8	9	A	K
229	41	NO	Ivar Engelstad	J	8	Q	9	2	5
230	41	PL	Zbych Bednarek	5	8	8	3	2	5
231	40	USil	David Wetzel	3	8	10	3	4	5
232	40	TW	Hang Chang	3	A	5	3	A	4
233	40	USfl	Robert Markley	A	8	Q	4	7	K
234	40	RS	Zoran Radojcic	2	10	Q	2	2	5
235	40	US	Ron Falor	A	A	5	3	A	K
236	40	IE	James Heneghan	9	10	Q	3	J	5
237	40	DE	Harro Wimmel	2	A	5	3	J	K
238	40	USfl	Irene Powers	A	10	5	2	2	5
239	40	EE	Meelis Tiitson	2	A	Q	3	A	5
240	40	CAab	Dick Yuen	3	8	Q	9	2	5
241	40	USoh	Bill Huepenbecker	J	8	5	3	J	5
242	40	USoh	Craig Satersmoen	J	A	Q	3	A	6
243	40	EG	Andrew de Sosa	3	10	5	3	A	8
244	40	AU	Paul Sherman	5	K	Q	3	2	5
245	40	AU	Niclas Jonsson	3	A	5	Q	2	K
246	40	CAns	Burnie Hutchinson	J	A	5	2	7	5
247	40	USca	Martin Hertz	J	A	5	3	A	5
248	40	USdc	Ron Zucker	J	K	Q	Q	J	5
249	40	CAab	Derek Martin	3	A	Q	3	2	K
250	40	USco	Judy Drury	J	A	8	2	2	4
251	40	USoh	Barbara Bisesi	A	A	5	2	7	K
252	40	BG	Radoslav Radev	2	A	Q	3	4	K
253	40	NL	Philip Mokveld	3	10	Q	9	7	5
254	40	SI	Janko Mijoc	9	10	5	3	2	K
255	40	USsc	Rick Giles	3	A	10	3	2	K
256	40	USor	Todd Anderson	2	8	5	Q	7	6
257	40	USfl	Alan Kravetz	J	A	5	3	A	5
258	40	CAns	Bryson Crowell	3	8	Q	3	5	K
259	40	USma	Irene L. Finkle	3	A	5	3	A	4
260	40	USfl	Elaine Schwartz	3	A	Q	4	A	8
261	40	CAon	Colin Lafferty	2	A	Q	9	2	K
262	40	NL	Graard Steenbakkers	J	8	10	3	5	5
263	40	UK	Kurt Rosenfeld	3	A	10	3	2	K
264	40	ID	Noer Imanzal Kartamadjana	2	A	Q	3	A	5
265	40	USca	Kevin Costello	2	A	Q	3	J	5
266	40	AU	Merrelyn Daly	A	A	5	2	2	K
267	40	USnc	Lynn Dillard	2	10	5	3	A	5
268	40	TW	I-Don Jien	J	8	10	3	5	5

Names with accented or non-English letters have been converted to an English representation with a 26-letter alphabet. Many people use erratic capitalization, so I determine proper case by algorithm; if this does not correctly display your name, please advise and I will add it to the exception list. If you wish to contact someone whose name you see listed (such as a lost friend) give me permission to send your address to that person, then he or she can contact you. I will not give out e-mail addresses (these are private and go nowhere from me).

Scores 7V63 Main Challenge

Analyses Top December 2001 Scores

Location Ranking

This table lists all the participating locations, ranked by the average score of their entries. The “Best” column shows the best finish (by rank) of any player in that location. Locations with less than five entries are ineligible for the top ranking and grouped separately.

Rank	Average	Best	LC	Location	Entries
1	43.40	6	USaz	Arizona	5
2	43.18	41	TW	Taiwan	11
3	43.14	39	PL	Poland	7
4	42.67	40	USoh	Ohio	6
5	42.62	5	UKen	England	21
6	42.50	9	IN	India	18
7	42.00	2	UStx	Texas	13
8	41.50	134	NL	Netherlands	6
9	41.44	22	US	United States	9
10	41.20	63	USal	Alabama	5
11	41.11	36	USil	Illinois	9
12	41.11	44	DE	Germany	9
13	41.05	13	USny	New York	19
14	40.83	72	USmn	Minnesota	6
15	40.38	27	RO	Romania	8
16	40.20	81	UKsc	Scotland	5
17	40.08	38	AU	Australia	24
18	39.92	19	CAon	Ontario	25
19	39.60	153	IE	Ireland	5
20	39.57	180	CAns	Nova Scotia	7
21	39.56	51	IT	Italy	9
22	39.51	55	USca	California	41
23	39.38	49	CAab	Alberta	8
24	39.00	53	HU	Hungary	8
25	39.00	106	SI	Slovenia	6
26	39.00	111	USma	Massachusetts	6
27	39.00	167	USpa	Pennsylvania	6
28	38.60	45	IL	Israel	5
29	38.60	74	USva	Virginia	5
30	38.50	65	USnc	North Carolina	6
31	38.38	23	SE	Sweden	8
32	37.86	54	USfl	Florida	37
33	37.20	175	USwa	Washington	5
34	37.00	43	FI	Finland	6
35	36.75	7	USnj	New Jersey	8
36	36.70	15	TR	Turkey	10
37	36.38	88	CAbc	British Columbia	8
38	36.20	70	FR	France	5
39	35.80	179	NZ	New Zealand	5
40	34.40	264	ID	Indonesia	5
41	33.00	125	USmd	Maryland	6

Rank	Average	Best	LC	Location	Entries
42	57.00	4	HK	Hong Kong	1
43	51.00	30	CH	Switzerland	2
44	50.33	11	RU	Russia	3
45	50.00	1	PT	Portugal	2
46	49.00	8	CA	Canada	3
47	49.00	52	UY	Uruguay	1
48	46.00	3	HR	Croatia	3
49	45.00	121	USnh	New Hampshire	1
50	44.00	26	GR	Greece	2
51	44.00	136	USmo	Missouri	2
52	43.75	18	ZA	South Africa	4
53	43.50	97	EG	Egypt	2
54	42.25	93	UK	United Kingdom	4
55	42.00	110	ES	Spain	4
56	42.00	194	CApe	Prince Edward Island	1
57	41.50	173	EE	Estonia	2
58	41.00	84	UStn	Tennessee	2
59	40.67	50	BE	Belgium	3
60	40.67	71	NO	Norway	3
61	40.50	59	CL	Chile	2
62	40.50	91	BG	Bulgaria	4
63	40.00	162	USok	Oklahoma	2
64	40.00	234	RS	Serbia	1
65	40.00	250	USco	Colorado	1
66	39.67	142	CApq	Quebec	3
67	39.00	14	CN	China	3
68	39.00	275	USla	Louisiana	1
69	39.00	290	USwv	West Virginia	1
70	38.67	217	USor	Oregon	3
71	38.00	90	USwi	Wisconsin	4
72	38.00	307	CAmb	Manitoba	1
73	38.00	326	PK	Pakistan	1
74	37.50	118	USsc	South Carolina	4
75	37.50	248	USdc	Washington DC	4
76	37.00	270	CAsk	Saskatchewan	2
77	36.00	367	USde	Delaware	1
78	36.00	375	USin	Indiana	1
79	35.50	215	AR	Argentina	2
80	35.00	380	USmi	Michigan	1
81	35.00	396	DK	Denmark	1
82	34.50	341	USga	Georgia	4
83	34.00	415	USnm	New Mexico	1
84	34.00	420	JP	Japan	1
85	33.67	334	SG	Singapore	3
86	33.00	433	USar	Arkansas	1
87	33.00	434	USia	Iowa	1
88	32.00	452	USnv	Nevada	1
89	31.00	461	USne	Nebraska	1

Scores 7V63 Main Challenge

Analyses Top December 2001 Scores

Bot’s Eye View

I posed these defensive-play problems to some of the well-known bridge computer programs, and the results are tabulated below. (These results are not included in the “number of participants” shown above, nor in the calculation of the median or average score.) Most of the programs had different skill settings (thinking time), and this was set to the highest level within reason. The scores and rankings, based on six specific problems, are not necessarily indicative of each program’s overall capability.

In a few cases a bot’s actual lead was not among the choices offered. If the lead was effectively equivalent to a listed option, that choice was substituted. For example, on Problem 2, Blue Chip Bridge chose to underlead with the 2 (instead of the 8), obviously a trivial difference, so the 8 was credited. This month the bots were pretty good overall, with no ridiculous leads. Even HAL stayed on the charts, cleverly finding my sixth choice on each problem.

Congratulations to GIB, which returned to its usual form, topping the other bots with a fine score. It is also remarkable that half the bots scored better than the average human score. Careful, folks! These critters may be closing in fast.

December 2001 Rankings

Rank	Score	LC	Program version	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	48	US	GIB 4.1.12	3	A	5	4	J	5
2	44	CA	Bridge Buff 8.0	A	A	5	4	J	K
3	43	JP	Micro Bridge 9.01	2	A	5	4	2	K
4	40	US	Bridge Baron 11.0	A	A	5	2	7	K
5	37	DE	Q-plus Bridge 6.1	J	4	5	3	J	5
6	36	UK	Blue Chip Bridge 3.4.3	9	8	5	3	7	K
7	33	US	Finesse Bridge 2.5	A	4	5	2	7	K
8	11	US	HAL 9000	5	4	Q	5	A	K

Bots Tested (alphabetical)

Program	Author/Creator
Blue Chip Bridge	Ian Trackman and Mike Whittaker
Bridge Baron	Tom Throop and Stephen Smith
Bridge Buff	Doug Bennion
Finesse Bridge	Mark and Aaron Marin
GIB	Matthew Ginsberg
HAL	Someone with a warped mind
Micro Bridge	Tomio and Yumiko Uchida
Q-plus Bridge	Hans Leber

Scores 7V63 Main Challenge

Analyses Top December 2001 Scores

© 2001 Richard Pavlicek