Scores 7X63  Main Challenge

December 2003 Scores

Analyses  by Richard Pavlicek

The “Our Finest Gifts We Bring” play contest had 854 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

301

401

Location Ranking

Bot’s Eye View

Participation Stats

Number of participants	854
Number of locations	114
Highest score	60
Median score	41
Lowest score	23
Average score	40.47

Top 100 Places

Rank	Score	LC	Name	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	60	ZW	Leif-Erik Stabell	A	A	Q	8	Q	B
2	59	HR	Dean Pokorny	A	A	J	8	Q	B
3	59	BG	Zahary Zahariev	A	4	Q	8	Q	B
4	59	PT	Manuel Paulo	A	A	Q	8	4	B
5	58	UKen	John Reardon	A	A	Q	8	Q	A
6	58	HU	Imre Csiszar	A	4	J	8	Q	B
7	57	PL	Euzebiusz Rebajllo	A	4	Q	8	Q	A
8	57	AU	Bruce Neill	J	A	Q	8	4	B
9	57	USin	Tim DeLaney	A	A	J	8	Q	A
10	57	SE	Carsten Kofoed	J	A	J	8	Q	B
11	56	PL	Wojtek Siwiec	A	4	Q	8	4	A
12	56	USil	Charles Blair	A	4	Q	5	Q	B
13	56	FI	Erkki Malkamaki	A	4	Q	8	4	A
14	56	USca	Rob Stevens	J	A	Q	8	Q	A
15	55	PL	Hieronim Wspanialy	A	4	J	8	4	A
16	55	RE	Sylvain Brethes	J	A	Q	8	4	A
17	55	UK	Marcus Chiloarnus	J	A	J	8	Q	A
18	54	CAon	David Grainger	A	A	Q	Q	4	B
19	54	FR	Jean-Christophe Clement	A	A	Q	Q	4	B
20	54	HU	Lajos Linczmayer	A	4	Q	5	Q	A
21	54	USwa	N. Scott Cardell	J	A	Q	5	4	B
22	54	USor	John Lusky	2	4	J	8	Q	B
23	54	UKen	Julian Wightwick	2	4	Q	8	4	B
24	54	CN	Weidong Yang	A	A	Q	8	A	B
25	53	PL	Klitajmestra Dzierlatka	A	4	Q	5	4	A
26	53	ZA	Sid Ismail	A	4	Q	5	4	A
27	53	UKsc	Nanning van Mulken	J	A	Q	8	Q	B
28	53	UKen	Neil Prebble	A	A	Q	5	Q	B
29	53	USpa	Herbert Bruch	Q	A	J	8	4	A
30	53	IT	Nicola Farina	A	A	J	5	Q	A
31	52	USny	Barry Rigal	2	A	Q	8	4	B
32	52	PL	Eustachy Truten	2	4	Q	8	4	A
33	52	BE	Jean Kovalewski	J	A	Q	8	Q	A
34	52	UStx	Ken Brantferger	2	A	Q	5	4	B
35	52	USmo	Howard Dean	2	4	Q	8	4	A
36	52	USmo	Ding-Hwa Hsieh	2	4	Q	8	4	A
37	52	IN	Sneha Sridhar	2	A	J	8	4	A
38	52	UKen	Toby Kenney	2	A	Q	5	4	B
39	52	CApq	Nick Krnjevic	J	A	Q	8	Q	A
40	51	UKen	Neil Morgenstern	A	A	J	Q	4	A
41	51	USca	Edward Wang	A	A	Q	5	Q	A
42	51	USca	Helen Mason	J	A	J	Q	4	B
43	51	CAon	Gabriel Nita-Saguna	A	4	Q	8	A	A
44	51	TR	Yavuz Ovacik	2	A	Q	8	4	B
45	51	USpa	Sal Berenholz	A	A	Q	8	4	C
46	51	SE	Rolf Mattsson	A	A	J	8	4	F
47	51	IN	Kamal Roy	A	A	Q	8	2	A
48	51	PT	Jorge Castanheira	Q	A	Q	8	4	B
49	51	UStx	Albert Sekac	2	6	J	8	Q	B
50	51	IN	Sivakumar Salem	J	4	Q	8	4	B
51	51	USpa	Steve White	J	A	Q	8	Q	F
52	51	US	Marjorie Biele	Q	A	Q	8	Q	A
53	50	CAon	Gordon Humphrys	A	A	Q	Q	Q	B
54	50	USoh	Rob Herman	Q	A	Q	Q	Q	C
55	50	IS	Ulfar Kristinsson	A	A	Q	5	4	A
56	50	USma	Charles Altman	Q	A	Q	5	Q	B
57	50	IE	Maire O’Keeffe	J	A	Q	5	4	B
58	50	PT	Manuel Oliveira	2	A	Q	8	4	B
59	50	CN	Jie Jiang	A	A	Q	Q	4	B
60	50	PL	Roman Kujaczynski	A	A	J	8	4	B
61	50	CAon	Naveed Ather	Q	A	Q	8	4	A
62	49	USpa	James Benson	J	A	Q	5	4	B
63	49	IT	Antonio de Gregorio	A	A	Q	Q	4	B
64	49	CAon	Paul Hardy	Q	A	Q	5	Q	B
65	49	IL	Moshe White	Q	A	Q	3	Q	C
66	49	UKen	Gabriel Ip	2	A	Q	8	4	A
67	49	USma	David Rock	2	A	Q	5	Q	B
68	49	USga	Kenneth Hardcastle	A	A	Q	Q	4	B
69	49	USmi	Barry Lippitt	2	A	Q	8	4	C
70	49	PL	Piotr Lopusiewicz	2	4	J	8	4	C
71	49	USca	Chuck Wong	2	A	Q	5	Q	B
72	49	USca	Betsy Marcus	Q	A	Q	5	4	B
73	49	EE	Jan Tartan	Q	A	Q	5	4	B
74	49	CAon	Malcolm Ewashkiw	A	4	Q	8	2	A
75	48	USmn	Paul Meerschaert	6	6	Q	8	4	B
76	48	USnc	Ray Fiorillo	Q	A	Q	5	4	B
77	48	IT	Marco Catellani	Q	A	J	8	4	F
78	48	USco	David Caprera	2	6	J	8	4	A
79	48	CAbc	Keith Dowdall	2	A	Q	5	4	B
80	48	USfl	Marcia Greenstein	J	A	Q	5	4	A
81	48	USil	Jack Hagerty	Q	A	Q	3	Q	A
82	48	AU	Richard Cowan	A	6	Q	5	4	B
83	48	SE	Adam Folke	J	A	Q	5	4	A
84	48	USfl	Mel Klein	2	A	Q	5	4	B
85	48	BE	Sebastien Louveaux	Q	A	J	8	A	A
86	48	UKwa	Julian Pottage	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
87	48	US	Karina Kohl	J	A	Q	8	4	A
88	48	USmd	Frances Knopf	A	A	Q	Q	Q	C
89	48	LV	Peteris Poudziunas	Q	A	Q	3	Q	A
90	48	USoh	David Olson	Q	A	Q	5	4	C
91	48	CAns	Bryson Crowell	Q	6	Q	8	Q	B
92	48	USfl	Jerry Merrell	Q	A	Q	5	4	B
93	48	IN	Sridhar Venkatachari	2	6	J	8	4	A
94	48	HU	Balazs Kovacs	2	A	J	5	4	B
95	48	PT	Anant Rajani	Q	A	Q	5	4	B
96	48	HR	Zoran Bohacek	Q	A	Q	Q	Q	B
97	48	FR	Gillian Hewitt	J	6	Q	8	4	B
98	47	UKen	Victor Milman	2	A	Q	5	4	B
99	47	USpa	John Policella	2	A	Q	Q	Q	B
100	47	VE	Frances Hansen	Q	A	Q	3	4	A

Scores 7X63 Main Challenge

Analyses Top December 2003 Scores

Places 101-200

Rank	Score	LC	Name	1	2	3	4	5	6
101	47	AU	Andy Chan	A	A	Q	8	4	E
102	47	USma	Arthur Shahian	A	A	Q	5	4	B
103	47	USnh	Richard Bator	A	A	Q	5	4	A
104	47	USor	Mike Sweet	2	A	Q	8	4	C
105	47	USil	James Ellison	J	A	Q	Q	4	B
106	47	CAab	Nicolae Vartosu	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
107	47	TR	Nail Ekici	Q	A	Q	5	4	A
108	47	CAon	Paul Redvers	Q	A	Q	5	4	B
109	47	HK	David Mok	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
110	47	DE	Harro Wimmel	2	A	Q	5	4	B
111	47	UKsc	Tim McKay	Q	A	Q	5	4	A
112	47	USga	Anne Skal	Q	A	Q	5	4	A
113	47	CAmb	Janet Dugle	A	A	Q	5	4	E
114	47	USia	Bob McCurdy	2	A	Q	5	4	B
115	47	CApq	Claudette Piper	Q	A	Q	5	4	A
116	47	TW	Roy Tsai	A	A	Q	Q	4	A
117	47	IL	Michael Tilles	2	A	Q	5	4	B
118	47	USaz	Kurt Oelze	2	A	Q	5	4	B
119	47	USva	Bette Segal	Q	A	Q	5	4	C
120	47	NL	Frans Buijsen	Q	6	Q	5	4	A
121	47	UKen	Carlos Dabezies	A	6	Q	5	4	B
122	47	PL	Jacek Masiarek	2	4	J	Q	Q	A
123	46	JP	Mark LaForge	J	4	Q	5	2	B
124	46	BE	Graham Southgate	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
125	46	USca	Tom McGuire	J	A	Q	8	4	F
126	46	USnc	Faye Sattin	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
127	46	RO	Catalin Lazar	Q	A	Q	5	4	B
128	46	USin	Kenneth Woodman	J	6	Q	5	Q	B
129	46	FR	Pierre Bian	J	A	J	Q	A	B
130	46	USva	Bill Jamerson	Q	A	Q	3	Q	B
131	46	USnj	Steven Shulman	2	A	Q	5	4	C
132	46	NL	John Mol	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
133	46	USco	Steve Marx	2	A	Q	Q	Q	B
134	46	BM	Sven Pride	A	A	J	Q	A	A
135	46	USca	Jim Bauch	A	A	Q	5	A	B
136	46	USfl	Nicki Caplan	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
137	46	IL	Yossi Nygate	J	A	Q	8	Q	F
138	46	NL	Leo Blaauw	Q	A	Q	5	4	B
139	46	USnc	Jim Masson	Q	A	Q	5	4	C
140	46	USil	Don Lussky	J	A	Q	3	4	B
141	46	USwa	John Givins	J	A	Q	5	4	B
142	46	CAbc	Dauna Gustavson	J	A	Q	3	4	B
143	46	LV	Janis Dzenis	2	A	Q	Q	4	B
144	46	USfl	Bert Kabath	K	A	Q	8	4	B
145	46	USva	Tibor Koos	2	A	Q	5	4	B
146	46	USmn	Tony Ames	J	A	Q	3	4	B
147	46	CAon	Dale Freeman	2	A	Q	8	2	A
148	46	UKen	Frances Hinden	2	A	2	8	4	B
149	46	USnh	Merrick Weinstein	J	A	Q	5	4	F
150	46	IT	Marco Buccoliero	J	A	J	Q	4	E
151	46	SG	Gerald Tan	6	A	J	Q	4	B
152	46	CZ	Carol Kumins	Q	A	Q	3	Q	B
153	46	UKen	Chris Challinor	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
154	46	USnj	James Bartow	J	A	Q	5	4	B
155	46	PL	Slawek Cwiek	2	4	Q	5	4	A
156	46	PL	Kazik Drozdz	2	4	J	Q	4	A
157	45	AU	Ron Lel	A	A	Q	3	4	B
158	45	UKen	Dean Swallow	Q	A	Q	5	4	C
159	45	USny	Mildred Simon	Q	A	Q	3	4	B
160	45	USor	Kevin Lewis	J	6	Q	5	Q	C
161	45	CApq	Janine Verret	J	A	Q	3	4	C
162	45	UKen	Mary Stanley	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
163	45	USpa	Matt Lahut	Q	A	Q	3	4	B
164	45	IL	Amiram Millet	A	A	J	5	A	E
165	45	USny	Chris Willenken	A	2	J	Q	Q	A
166	45	USil	Bob Fash	6	A	J	8	4	C
167	45	USmd	John Glynn	J	6	Q	5	4	C
168	45	USca	Gary Peck	Q	A	Q	3	4	B
169	45	AU	Patrick Moore	Q	A	Q	Q	Q	A
170	45	USca	Ronald Kow	2	A	Q	Q	4	B
171	45	USca	Pamela Fitch	2	A	J	5	4	A
172	45	USpa	Bertrand Kushner	A	A	Q	Q	4	B
173	45	USil	Dan English	Q	A	Q	Q	4	A
174	45	USfl	Len Rubin	J	A	Q	3	Q	A
175	45	TR	Nukhet Urgunlu	J	A	Q	5	A	B
176	45	TR	Ender Giray	Q	A	Q	Q	Q	A
177	45	USwa	Teri Traynor	Q	A	Q	5	4	F
178	45	BG	Elena Mitkova	Q	A	Q	Q	4	C
179	45	FR	Albert Ohana	2	A	Q	Q	4	B
180	45	USsc	Rick Giles	Q	A	Q	5	4	A
181	45	USca	George Fisher	Q	A	Q	5	4	C
182	45	USco	John Bortins	J	A	Q	5	4	A
183	45	AU	Bob Geyer	Q	A	Q	3	4	B
184	45	USnj	Chazz Rearick	Q	A	Q	Q	Q	A
185	45	SE	Anders Stromberg	Q	6	Q	5	4	B
186	45	CAbc	Michael Dimich	2	6	Q	8	4	A
187	45	USsc	Mike Ray	J	A	Q	Q	4	A
188	45	USma	Bob Boudreau	6	A	J	8	Q	F
189	45	DE	Roland Watzdorf	2	A	Q	5	A	A
190	45	USfl	Paul Kendall	J	4	Q	8	4	F
191	45	CL	Rudolf Buitelaar	2	A	Q	Q	4	B
192	45	NO	Hans Holme	6	A	J	5	4	A
193	45	LV	Aigars Germanis	Q	6	J	5	4	B
194	45	CN	Jing Liu	A	4	J	Q	4	F
195	45	IN	Gowniyan Vaideeshwar	J	4	Q	5	4	A
196	45	DE	Hans Fleischhack	Q	A	J	5	A	A
197	45	USco	Jeanne Achziger	Q	A	Q	5	4	B
198	45	SG	Roddy Kok	Q	A	J	5	2	C
199	45	PT	Paulino Correa	2	A	J	5	4	D
200	45	IN	K.V. Ranganath	2	A	Q	5	4	B

Scores 7X63 Main Challenge

Analyses Top December 2003 Scores

Places 201-300

Rank	Score	LC	Name	1	2	3	4	5	6
201	45	FR	Jean-Pierre Bloch	Q	A	Q	3	4	B
202	45	RU	Eugene Marchenko	6	A	Q	8	4	A
203	45	AU	Bernard Nightingale	2	A	Q	Q	4	B
204	45	CZ	Tomas Mecl	Q	A	Q	Q	4	C
205	45	NZ	Linda Sloan	Q	A	Q	Q	Q	A
206	45	BG	Boris Potskov	Q	6	Q	5	4	B
207	45	UStx	Chad Harris	Q	A	Q	5	4	B
208	45	PL	Julka Kowalska	2	4	J	5	4	A
209	45	USnj	Leonard Helfgott	A	6	Q	8	4	A
210	44	USnh	Bruce Downing	Q	A	Q	5	A	B
211	44	USok	Dwayne Hoffman	A	A	Q	5	2	B
212	44	USnc	Benjamin Raskind	Q	A	Q	Q	4	A
213	44	UKsc	Geoffrey Linnitt	Q	A	Q	Q	4	A
214	44	UKwa	Alan Stephenson	2	A	Q	3	Q	B
215	44	USca	Al Goldspiel	Q	A	Q	8	4	F
216	44	HU	Laszlo Sztrapkovics	6	A	Q	8	4	C
217	44	USca	Con Sera	A	A	Q	5	A	A
218	44	UKen	Ruth Lister	Q	A	Q	3	4	C
219	44	GR	Filippos Karamanlis	6	4	J	5	4	B
220	44	UKwa	Keith Davison	Q	A	Q	3	Q	A
221	44	CN	Qing Ye	Q	6	Q	5	4	B
222	44	USar	Dick Heil	Q	6	Q	Q	4	A
223	44	USny	Andrew Nitzberg	6	4	Q	8	A	A
224	44	UStx	Larry Smith	Q	A	Q	3	4	C
225	44	USfl	Lance Marrou	J	A	Q	5	4	B
226	44	DK	Torben Paving	Q	A	Q	Q	4	A
227	44	AU	David Stern	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
228	44	IN	Bonny D’Lima	Q	A	Q	Q	4	A
229	44	US	Valerie Stone	Q	A	Q	3	4	B
230	44	USfl	Frank Nankin	A	A	Q	3	4	B
231	44	USma	Mark Aquino	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
232	44	PT	Nuno Damaso	2	A	Q	Q	4	B
233	44	CAon	Kim Ireland	Q	A	J	Q	4	A
234	44	CAbc	Corrie DeRooy	Q	A	Q	Q	4	A
235	44	EE	Allar Padari	2	6	Q	5	4	B
236	44	CApq	Martial Chagnon	2	A	Q	3	4	B
237	44	USca	Jeff Strutzel	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
238	44	CApq	Monique Jobin	Q	A	Q	3	Q	A
239	44	USmd	Jerrold Miller	2	A	Q	5	4	C
240	44	GR	Despoina Kanellopoulou	6	A	J	8	4	F
241	44	UKsc	Shelagh Lorimer	J	A	Q	Q	4	C
242	44	BE	Rutger van Mechelen	6	4	Q	8	4	A
243	44	BE	Eric Baes	2	A	Q	5	Q	E
244	44	USca	Yumiko Reynolds	2	A	Q	3	4	B
245	44	CAns	Del Knox	2	A	Q	Q	4	A
246	44	UStn	Sim Therrell	2	6	J	8	Q	F
247	44	FI	Taru Suppula	J	A	J	Q	2	C
248	44	SG	Adrian Lam	A	6	Q	Q	4	A
249	44	TR	Guven Dalkilic	2	A	Q	5	4	B
250	44	TR	Nihal Tulin Ozturk	Q	A	Q	Q	4	A
251	44	USco	Charles Goudey	J	A	Q	Q	4	C
252	44	CN	Xiongwen Gu	Q	2	J	8	A	B
253	44	PL	Anna Kreglewska	2	6	Q	5	4	B
254	44	UKen	Mike Tucker	Q	A	Q	5	4	B
255	44	USny	Jay Levy	A	4	Q	Q	4	A
256	44	CApq	Ansar Burney	2	A	Q	3	Q	B
257	44	HK	Hongyan Chen	2	A	J	Q	A	B
258	44	PT	Jose Egreja	2	6	Q	5	4	B
259	44	USnj	Dirk Enthoven	2	A	Q	3	4	B
260	44	IN	Lakshmi Chari	2	A	Q	3	4	B
261	44	CApq	Norm Gordon	2	A	J	8	4	F
262	43	USga	Bill Bickford	Q	A	Q	3	4	A
263	43	USwa	Bob Richardson	Q	6	Q	Q	Q	B
264	43	USil	George Klemic	2	6	Q	5	4	E
265	43	CAbc	David Breton	Q	A	Q	3	4	C
266	43	RO	Bogdan Mitran	6	A	Q	Q	Q	B
267	43	SG	Siew Chuan Tan	2	A	Q	8	A	F
268	43	AU	Solaris Whitesail	Q	A	Q	3	4	A
269	43	NL	Joost Verhagen	J	A	Q	3	4	B
270	43	IN	Kalyan Lahiri	6	A	Q	5	4	A
271	43	USla	Lorraine Steiner	A	A	Q	3	4	A
272	43	USva	Mark McEnearney	2	6	J	Q	4	C
273	43	UKen	Coral Wiggins	Q	A	Q	3	4	A
274	43	RO	Kostea Cucu	6	6	Q	8	4	C
275	43	USnc	Mike Rice	Q	A	Q	5	4	D
276	43	NL	Monique van de Sande	2	6	Q	5	Q	C
277	43	USmi	Ronald Rasansky	A	4	Q	3	4	B
278	43	CAns	Burnie Hutchinson	Q	2	Q	Q	Q	A
279	43	USca	Dennis Kibler	2	A	Q	5	4	B
280	43	IN	Ramesh Keshavamurthy	2	A	Q	Q	4	B
281	43	HR	Tomislav Bosnjak	Q	A	Q	5	A	B
282	43	USfl	Muriel Altus	Q	A	Q	5	4	A
283	43	USpa	Lois Stuart	Q	6	Q	Q	4	B
284	43	USfl	Carol Dickman	Q	A	Q	3	4	A
285	43	NZ	Moira Macnab	J	6	Q	5	4	A
286	43	USny	Leonard Brum	2	A	Q	3	4	B
287	43	CApq	Huguette Lacaille	Q	A	Q	3	4	A
288	43	SE	B.G. Olofsson	Q	6	Q	Q	4	B
289	43	USca	Charles Thompson	6	A	Q	8	A	B
290	43	USmn	Jack Rhatigan	Q	A	Q	Q	4	C
291	43	CAon	Robert Avery	Q	2	Q	5	Q	B
292	43	BE	Alon Amsel	2	6	Q	Q	Q	B
293	43	CH	Pedro Bilar	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
294	43	CApq	Michel Lalonde	Q	A	Q	3	4	A
295	43	TR	Azer Inal	Q	A	Q	3	4	A
296	43	AU	Ed Barnes	2	6	Q	5	Q	A
297	43	USma	K. Scott Kimball	2	6	Q	5	4	B
298	43	USsc	Rich Regan	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
299	43	USal	Ben Wheeler	J	A	Q	5	A	A
300	43	USpa	Andy Purbrick	6	A	Q	8	4	A

Scores 7X63 Main Challenge

Analyses Top December 2003 Scores

Places 301-400

Rank	Score	LC	Name	1	2	3	4	5	6
301	43	UKen	Andrew Billson	J	A	Q	Q	4	B
302	43	USca	Martin Hertz	2	A	Q	Q	4	B
303	43	CApq	Gabriel Gilbert	Q	A	Q	Q	4	B
304	43	PL	Andrzej Krakowiak	2	A	Q	3	Q	A
305	43	IN	Shreerang Joshi	2	A	Q	Q	4	B
306	43	CH	Karl Proper	Q	A	Q	3	4	A
307	43	AU	David Harris	2	A	Q	3	4	B
308	43	USfl	Kay Jones	Q	6	Q	Q	4	B
309	43	IE	Paul Waldron	Q	6	Q	Q	4	B
310	43	AU	Diana Hearn	Q	4	Q	5	Q	D
311	43	AU	Lars Barnulf	Q	A	Q	3	4	A
312	43	RO	Mircea Popescu	A	6	Q	Q	4	A
313	43	IN	Suraj Jain	2	A	Q	Q	4	A
314	43	UKen	Richard Morse	2	A	Q	8	2	C
315	43	CApq	Nicole Gervais	J	A	Q	3	4	B
316	43	CAbc	Connie Delisle	2	2	J	8	A	B
317	43	PL	Darek Kardas	2	4	J	Q	4	A
318	43	PL	Marcin Zbroja	2	4	J	5	A	A
319	42	USca	Tysen Streib	A	Q	J	Q	4	B
320	42	NL	Tommie Nooij	A	A	Q	Q	4	F
321	42	SI	Simon Pirjevec	2	A	Q	3	4	A
322	42	TR	Savas Kucukyavuz	Q	A	Q	Q	A	B
323	42	SE	Pierre Winberg	Q	A	Q	Q	Q	E
324	42	USny	Rita Sierocinski	Q	A	Q	Q	A	B
325	42	CApq	Bob Scruton	J	2	Q	Q	4	B
326	42	USpa	Jack Fishman	Q	A	Q	3	4	B
327	42	TW	Hang Chang	2	A	Q	Q	4	B
328	42	NL	Karen de Leeuw	Q	6	Q	Q	4	B
329	42	UKen	Colin Street	2	A	Q	Q	4	A
330	42	UKen	Daniel Miller	2	6	Q	Q	4	B
331	42	USmd	Arlene Gordon	J	2	Q	Q	4	B
332	42	NL	Peter van der Stap	6	A	Q	5	4	A
333	42	CApq	Richard Paquin	A	A	Q	5	4	F
334	42	ZA	Brad Ross-Jones	Q	A	Q	3	4	B
335	42	USca	Stephen Seagren	2	A	Q	5	4	E
336	42	USca	Allen Prohofsky	2	6	Q	Q	4	B
337	42	FR	Michail Macri	Q	A	Q	Q	4	E
338	42	UStx	Alexander Labry	J	A	Q	5	2	B
339	42	USia	Richard Newell	J	A	Q	Q	4	B
340	42	RO	Geza Stanca-Vass	6	A	Q	5	4	B
341	42	USny	Carol Sturdevant	J	A	Q	Q	4	A
342	42	USne	Ashish Agarwal	2	A	Q	5	4	E
343	42	PE	Vladana Diaz	2	A	Q	5	4	B
344	42	USny	Kevin Bathurst	2	A	J	3	A	B
345	42	PL	Jacek Zwolinski	2	A	J	Q	4	F
346	42	ID	Taufik Nasution	A	A	Q	5	4	F
347	42	FR	Gillian Paty	A	2	Q	5	4	C
348	42	USca	Mike Roney	J	A	Q	3	4	B
349	42	USny	Gerald Cohen	A	A	Q	Q	A	A
350	42	USdc	David Chernov	Q	4	Q	3	4	A
351	42	HK	Alex Chan	Q	6	Q	5	Q	A
352	42	ES	Mercedes Eizmendi	Q	6	Q	5	4	B
353	42	EE	Aivar Tihane	6	6	J	8	A	B
354	42	USoh	Forrest Smith	Q	A	Q	5	4	F
355	42	USaz	Al Hollander	2	A	Q	Q	4	C
356	42	UKje	Peter Rioda	Q	A	Q	3	4	B
357	42	DE	Rainer Herrmann	6	4	J	Q	4	A
358	42	USca	Kevin Lane	2	6	Q	5	4	A
359	41	USil	Rick Kirby	J	A	Q	Q	A	B
360	41	USma	Sabrina Miles	Q	A	Q	Q	4	A
361	41	USwa	Ovidiu Burlacu	2	A	Q	Q	4	B
362	41	IL	Brian Zietman	Q	A	Q	Q	Q	F
363	41	USmd	Mollie Lipman	Q	A	Q	3	Q	B
364	41	RO	Petre Voicu	J	6	Q	Q	4	A
365	41	CAon	Bala Iyer	J	2	J	8	2	A
366	41	NZ	Dean Eidler	2	4	Q	Q	4	C
367	41	USnj	Mani Gupta	2	A	Q	Q	4	B
368	41	CAon	Robert Burns	Q	6	Q	3	4	B
369	41	NZ	Paul Carter	Q	A	Q	Q	4	F
370	41	ZA	Carin Verburg	2	6	Q	Q	4	B
371	41	USca	Paul Nelson	Q	6	Q	5	4	B
372	41	UKen	Adam Dickinson	Q	6	Q	8	4	F
373	41	CAon	Greg Eland	J	A	Q	Q	Q	F
374	41	BE	Eugeen Vannuten	J	6	Q	3	4	B
375	41	USmi	Patty Becker	Q	6	Q	3	4	B
376	41	USnc	David Kogut	2	A	Q	Q	4	C
377	41	USor	Ed Freeman	Q	6	Q	8	4	F
378	41	CApq	Pierre Caron	2	A	Q	3	4	F
379	41	USfl	Matthew Norris	Q	Q	Q	3	Q	C
380	41	BR	Tibor Feher	J	A	Q	3	4	E
381	41	CAon	Junaid Said	2	6	Q	Q	A	B
382	41	USmo	Sheryl Finkenstadt	2	A	Q	3	4	B
383	41	TR	Senih Inal	Q	4	Q	3	4	A
384	41	NO	Sverre Johnsen	J	6	Q	Q	4	B
385	41	PL	Robert Ruta	J	A	Q	3	4	B
386	41	SI	Bojan Jus	Q	A	Q	Q	Q	E
387	41	RO	Francisc Lascu	Q	6	Q	Q	4	B
388	41	UKen	Barney Nisbet	2	A	Q	Q	A	B
389	41	USnj	Tina Daly	2	A	Q	Q	4	E
390	41	AU	Adam Hooper	J	6	Q	Q	4	B
391	41	IN	Brendon Tauro	2	6	Q	Q	4	B
392	41	EE	Rein Molder	Q	6	Q	Q	A	B
393	41	PT	Goncalo Esmeraldo	A	A	Q	Q	4	F
394	41	USca	Debra Cameron	Q	6	Q	5	4	B
395	41	USca	Stu Goodgold	2	A	Q	5	4	F
396	41	PT	Carlos Cabrinha	J	6	Q	5	4	E
397	41	USca	Roger Clough	6	A	Q	3	4	B
398	41	USpa	Kathy Miller	2	6	Q	8	4	B
399	41	USla	Carolyn Songy	J	A	Q	3	A	B
400	41	CN	Wqiqiqi Laoqi Wu	6	A	J	8	4	F

Scores 7X63 Main Challenge

Analyses Top December 2003 Scores

All Others Above Average

Rank	Score	LC	Name	1	2	3	4	5	6
401	41	USfl	Judie Frank	6	A	Q	3	4	B
402	41	USca	Alvin Farber	Q	A	Q	Q	A	B
403	41	FI	Juuso Leikola	2	6	2	8	Q	A
404	41	USny	Gene Saxe	2	6	Q	Q	4	C
405	41	LV	Robert Lusis	Q	6	Q	3	4	B
406	41	PT	Pedro Matos	2	A	Q	8	A	E
407	41	USwa	Randy Deans	Q	6	Q	3	4	B
408	41	USct	Scott Maramo	Q	6	J	5	4	F
409	41	USca	Robert Dannels	6	4	Q	Q	4	B
410	41	CL	Constantino Sifaqui	Q	A	Q	5	4	E
411	41	UKsc	Paul Gipson	2	6	Q	Q	4	A
412	41	NO	Magnus Skaar	Q	6	Q	Q	4	A
413	41	USca	Jack Shiffer	Q	A	Q	5	A	A
414	41	UKen	Biddy Smyth	2	A	Q	Q	4	B
415	41	ES	Javier Carbonero	2	6	Q	Q	Q	A
416	41	USmi	Carol Borich	K	A	Q	Q	4	B
417	41	USfl	Steve Barcus	2	A	Q	5	4	F
418	41	UKen	Geraint Harker	2	A	Q	Q	4	B
419	41	CAon	Sheila McDonald	6	A	Q	8	Q	F
420	41	US	Mari Green	Q	6	Q	Q	2	B
421	41	TR	Bulent Iyidogan	2	A	Q	5	4	F
422	41	USfl	Lee Fleishman	Q	6	Q	Q	4	A
423	41	AS	Elena Pavlova	Q	6	Q	Q	4	A
424	41	PL	Wojtek Urban	2	4	J	Q	A	A
425	41	UKen	Douglas Dunn	2	A	Q	8	A	A
426	41	USca	Grant Peacock	2	A	Q	Q	2	A
427	41	USpa	Phyllis Berman	Q	A	Q	Q	4	A

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 7X63 Main Challenge

Analyses Top December 2003 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	45.27	7	PL	Poland	22
2	44.33	78	USco	Colorado	6
3	43.60	52	US	United States	5
4	43.43	65	IL	Israel	7
5	42.80	4	PT	Portugal	15
6	42.67	19	FR	France	9
7	42.63	29	USpa	Pennsylvania	19
8	42.50	131	USnj	New Jersey	10
9	42.33	35	USmo	Missouri	6
10	42.20	89	LV	Latvia	5
11	42.14	27	UKsc	Scotland	7
12	41.91	34	UStx	Texas	11
13	41.91	37	IN	India	22
14	41.89	30	IT	Italy	9
15	41.83	110	DE	Germany	6
16	41.78	6	HU	Hungary	9
17	41.73	12	USil	Illinois	15
18	41.55	33	BE	Belgium	11
19	41.29	44	TR	Turkey	14
20	41.29	54	USoh	Ohio	7
21	41.23	18	CAon	Ontario	26
22	41.20	75	USmn	Minnesota	5
23	41.13	3	BG	Bulgaria	8
24	40.89	13	FI	Finland	9
25	40.86	73	EE	Estonia	7
26	40.83	57	IE	Ireland	6
27	40.71	22	USor	Oregon	7
28	40.67	24	CN	China	12
29	40.58	39	CApq	Quebec	24
30	40.57	31	USny	New York	21
31	40.56	88	USmd	Maryland	9
32	40.41	5	UKen	England	51
33	40.31	79	CAbc	British Columbia	13
34	40.14	10	SE	Sweden	14
35	40.12	14	USca	California	58
36	40.00	151	SG	Singapore	10
37	39.88	91	CAns	Nova Scotia	8
38	39.83	26	ZA	South Africa	6
39	39.67	106	CAab	Alberta	6
40	39.55	76	USnc	North Carolina	11
41	39.50	9	USin	Indiana	6
42	39.50	69	USmi	Michigan	8
43	39.05	80	USfl	Florida	42
44	39.05	120	NL	Netherlands	20
45	39.00	119	USva	Virginia	10
46	39.00	293	CH	Switzerland	5
47	38.97	8	AU	Australia	32
48	38.93	127	RO	Romania	15
49	38.86	192	NO	Norway	7
50	38.75	205	NZ	New Zealand	8
51	38.56	21	USwa	Washington	16
52	38.56	56	USma	Massachusetts	18
53	38.56	109	HK	Hong Kong	9
54	38.40	321	SI	Slovenia	5
55	38.00	118	USaz	Arizona	7
56	37.00	219	GR	Greece	6
57	36.60	116	TW	Taiwan	5
58	36.57	346	ID	Indonesia	7

Rank	Average	Best	LC	Location	Entries
59	60.00	1	ZW	Zimbabwe	1
60	55.00	16	RE	Reunion	1
61	47.00	17	UK	United Kingdom	2
62	47.00	100	VE	Venezuela	1
63	46.33	68	USga	Georgia	3
64	46.00	123	JP	Japan	1
65	46.00	134	BM	Bermuda	1
66	45.75	2	HR	Croatia	4
67	45.33	86	UKwa	Wales	3
68	44.50	114	USia	Iowa	2
69	44.00	103	USnh	New Hampshire	4
70	44.00	211	USok	Oklahoma	1
71	44.00	222	USar	Arkansas	1
72	43.25	180	USsc	South Carolina	4
73	43.00	191	CL	Chile	2
74	43.00	299	USal	Alabama	1
75	42.33	152	CZ	Czech Republic	3
76	42.00	271	USla	Louisiana	2
77	42.00	343	PE	Peru	1
78	42.00	356	UKje	Jersey & Guernsey	1
79	41.00	380	BR	Brazil	1
80	41.00	423	AS	American Samoa	1
81	40.75	226	DK	Denmark	4
82	40.50	342	USne	Nebraska	2
83	40.50	350	USdc	Washington DC	2
84	40.00	55	IS	Iceland	3
85	40.00	428	EG	Egypt	1
86	40.00	459	USwi	Wisconsin	1
87	39.33	113	CAmb	Manitoba	3
88	39.25	352	ES	Spain	4
89	39.00	490	CAsk	Saskatchewan	1
90	39.00	503	UKni	Northern Ireland	1
91	39.00	521	USak	Alaska	1
92	39.00	538	USid	Idaho	1
93	38.67	497	USky	Kentucky	3
94	38.00	202	RU	Russia	2
95	38.00	548	CAnb	New Brunswick	1
96	38.00	558	USks	Kansas	1
97	38.00	566	SK	Slovakia	2
98	38.00	567	PK	Pakistan	1
99	38.00	577	MX	Mexico	1
100	38.00	591	GT	Guatemala	1
101	37.00	596	LB	Lebanon	1
102	37.00	602	USme	Maine	1
103	37.00	608	MT	Malta	1
104	37.00	618	UShi	Hawaii	1
105	36.50	560	CApe	Prince Edward Island	2
106	36.00	663	USnm	New Mexico	1
107	35.50	647	MK	Macedonia	2
108	35.25	246	UStn	Tennessee	4
109	32.50	408	USct	Connecticut	4
110	32.50	585	AR	Argentina	2
111	32.00	738	CR	Costa Rica	3
112	28.00	837	CAyt	Yukon	1
113	27.00	839	RS	Serbia	1
114	26.00	851	AE	United Arab Emirates	1

Scores 7X63 Main Challenge

Analyses Top December 2003 Scores

Bot’s Eye View

I posed these 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 have 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.

*I do not allow any setting that takes more than a minute to make a play. Time considerations are also used to break ties, i.e., if two bots have the same total score, the edge goes to the one that took less time. I conduct the tests on a 2.0 GHz CPU with 512 MB RAM, running Windows 98.

Congratulations to Jack, which won going away with a fabulous score of 55, tying the best score ever for a bot since I began these play contests. Four other bots topped the average human score: Bridge Baron, Micro Bridge, Blue Chip Bridge and GIB, all bunched closely from 46 to 44. The win also gave Jack a convincing lead in the overall standings. Former bot-giant GIB seems to be in a lull lately — at least it’s been a long time since the last upgrade — so maybe Matt Ginsberg will soon be having dreams about “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

Jack was most impressive on Problem 3 (6 slam) being the only bot to find the heart-honor return to break up the impending squeeze. Jack was also the only bot to return a heart on Problem 4 (3 NT) — alas, it chose the wrong spot, else it would have instilled fear into the hearts of bridge players everywhere with a score of 59!

For practical purposes, the bots stayed on the chart this month. The only errant leads* were a few insignificant cases, such as the 5 instead of the 4 on Problem 5. HAL, however, tried for a quadruple shot by printing out “Queen” as its answer to Problem 3. When I inquired which queen, it printed out some vulgarity I will not repeat — but same to you, HAL! I hope it enjoys the 2.

*When a bot leads an unlisted card, I substitute a listed card if the difference is trivial or negligible. If the difference is significant, I record the actual lead and score it appropriately, but never lower than the award for the worst listed lead.

December 2003 Rankings

Rank	Score	LC	Program version	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	55	NL	Jack 2.0	A	A	Q	5	4	B
2	46	US	Bridge Baron 14.0	A	A	Q	3	4	A
3	45	JP	Micro Bridge 10.01	Q	A	Q	3	4	B
4	44	UK	Blue Chip Bridge 4.0.8	Q	A	Q	5	A	B
5	44	US	GIB 6.1.3	Q	A	Q	3	4	B
6	34	DE	Q-plus Bridge 7.1	2	A	Q	3	4	F
7	31	CA	Bridge Buff 8.0	2	A	Q	3	A	F
8	12	US	HAL 9000	K	Q	2	3	2	F