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In This Issue
Get Inside!
Bridge in a Day
Longest Day
Peggy Solomon
NAPs
Save the Date
Queen
Table Tips
Club News |
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Feedback
Send your comments and suggestions for future articles to Allison Brandt at [email protected]
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Too Hot? Too Humid? Go Inside and Play Bridge!
 It seems like summer weather can always give us an excuse to play bridge. This summer, it's just been too wet and stormy to golf or sit on the beach, so it's best to stay in and shuffle the cards. With luck and good play, we hope you have had success at your local clubs and Valley Forge. Perhaps you're turning your attention to the summer Nationals in Atlanta, just around corner. Whatever your plans, stay dry and cool and enjoy your time at the bridge table.
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 If you are reading this article, there's a good chance that you already know how to play bridge. You can encourage your freinds and family, though, to join in the fun. Let them know about an exciting Learn Bridge in a Day seminar that takes place on September 21.
Learn Bridge in a Day is a one-day program designed that introduces all of the fundamentals. It works great for rank beginners, players who started years ago and need a refresher course, or home players who want to know about how the competitive game is played. While bridge is certainly a game to learn for a lifetime, this wonderful program (developed by Patty Tucker of Atlanta, GA) condenses that basics that used to take weeks to learn into an entertaining and instructive single day. All instructors are ACBL accredited and the introductory class includes time for actual play.
The course, which will be held at Bala Golf Club, runs from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. It includes lunch, a student manual and other materials, and a gift bag. At the end of the day, participants will have a solid foundation in bidding and play, and can be ready to tackle more lessons or a novice duplicate game. The cost is $75; there is a 10% discount for groups of 4 or more that register together.
Please forward this newsletter to your friends or family that might be interested in this wonderful opportunity to be introduced to bridge "in a day."
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District 4 Exceeds "Longest Day" Goal
 Many thanks to all of you who participated in and supported The Longest Day, a fundraising effort in support of the Alzheimer's Association. The combination of player participation on June 21, personal and club donations, sponsorships, and other support helped District 4 greatly exceed its goal. Much credit goes to Team Captain Lewis Klein, who initiated the District's involvement in this national activity and spearheaded the effort to raise awareness and build enthusiasm for this worthy effort. Lewis and his mother Anita made news on the national ACBL website:
"Lew Klein of Clementon NJ was helping to care for his mother, Anita, an Alzheimer's patient, when he came across an article about The Longest Day in the Bridge Bulletin. He was inspired to participate.
Klein learned that The Longest Day coincided with District 4's Valley Forge Regional and he immediately contacted the district. 'They were glad to allow my team to run a program at the regional and Tom Weik, the district president, was the first person to donate to our team,' said Klein.
Thanks to an email campaign by Klein and his team, a wall at the Valley Forge Regional will be decorated with photos of players' loved ones that have been affected by Alzheimer's disease. The photos will be underneath a banner that reads Memories lost - but not forgotten. Klein and his team will also accept donations on-site for the Alzheimer's Association.
While planning his event for The Longest Day, Anita lost her battle with Alzheimer's. 'While this was a difficult time, I continued with the help of my teammates, including Michael Mayer, who did such a great job creating the flyer we are using,' said Klein. 'My team looks forward to June 21 so we can join all the other teams involved in this worthy cause.'"
Here is a link to the site and the full text of the article:
http://www.acbl.org/news_archive.php?id=858
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Solomon Teams: A Look Forward and a Look Book
 The 2013 Solomon Teams season is winding down. The finals will pit the Civale team against the Rabinowitz team. We'll report the results in the next month's newsletter.
In the meantime, it's a good time to remember the namesakes of the event. The Solomon Teams, and extended teams event where the matches are often played at homes rather than in clubs, is named for Peggy and Charles Solomon. The Solomons were national bridge luminaries of the '40s, '50s, and '60s who hailed from Philadelphia. Judy Kay-Wolff, herself a Philly bridge classic, knew the Solomons (and all the other Philly "greats"). In her June 8, 2013 blog, she recounted the little known history of Peggy Solomon's early bridge days.
Few in the bridge world actually know the backgrounds and the chance meeting and eventual marriage of these two individuals ... Peggy Mastbaum-Golder-Solomon and Charles J. Solomon (bridge luminaries with quite diverse histories) who found each other and happily spent the remainder of their adult lives together. This photo, unlike the other recent ones from my personal collection, was borrowed from a story I would like to share with you by an unknown author (interspersed with some of my own personal input):
 | | Peggy and Charles Solomon |
Peggy Solomon was the daughter of movie magnate Jules E. Mastbaum, a Philadelphia philanthropist who donated the Rodin Museum, which was replicated in 1927 on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. Her first husband, Colonel Benjamin M. Golder, was a member of the Pennsylvania State Legislature from 1916-1924 and was later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (1924-1933). He passed away on the last day of his term as the 1946 ACBL President at the age of 52 and was named Honorary Member of the Year in 1947.
Peggy grew up in a bridge environment as both of her parents played. Because Ben was such an active individual, he was always on the go and encouraged Peggy to engulf herself in something to occupy her time. She wanted to join the Women's Bridge Team at her country club shortly before World War II, but was disappointed that she could only make the Third Flight Team. She was determined to improve and decided to take lessons. Her first teacher was a Mrs. Evans, who was also teaching Nelson Eddy (of "Naughty Marietta" fame) who was then a Philadelphia resident. Peggy's next teacher was a rising young star named Charles Goren who, at the time, only charged $5 a lesson. (You can't even play in a duplicate for five bucks these days).
 | | Can you identify the folks in this photo? |
One day as Peggy was walking by the Cavendish Club in Philadelphia, she met Charlie Solomon (a confirmed bachelor at the time), who stopped and introduced himself to the Widow Golder. Following a few minutes of casual conversation, he invited her to play sometime. She was thrilled. After all, she was a novice and he was an established star. As a first-time partnership, they placed 36th out of 36 pairs. However, Peggy was undaunted and undeterred. Charlie Solomon then became her mentor in bridge and as the kibitzers predicted, they married in 1948. After a few years of practice and tutoring, she became one of the nation's top-ranked female bridge players. Peggy was the third woman to earn the rank of Life Master (after Helen Sobel and Sally Young). She won nine and placed second in eleven North American Championships. In 1960, the Solomons were featured in a newspaper article headlined "The Solomons: Top Married Bridge Team."
The title they earned brought to mind a funny offshoot I wanted to share with you. Back in San Antonio sometime in the late sixties, in the middle of the night the phone rang. Bobby (who was a World War II history buff) [Wolff--Judy's husband -- Ed] was awakened by a man's booming voice, shouting excitedly, "We're advancing on the Solomons!" - "We're advancing on the Solomons!" The first thought that entered his sleepy mind was that our American Forces were moving toward the Solomon Islands in the Pacific. Suddenly he came to his senses and realized it was Ozzie Jacoby calling him from a distant tournament to share the good news: Ozzie and his wife, Mary Zita, were now the second place wedded couple in the ACBL Masterpoint Race - not far behind the likes of the Solomons!
Charlie died suddenly in 1975 (leaving all his country clubs up for grabs - a situation which I alluded to in an earlier blog). Peggy survived him by twenty years and will always be remembered as one of the loveliest ladies to ever grace the Philadelphia bridge scene. A grand dame - in every sense of the word!
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NAP Club Qualifying Continues
 Keep in mind that NAP (North American Pairs) club level qualifying continues only in July and August. This grass roots event, sponsored each year by the ACBL, requires a club qualification to play in the District finals. District finals are held in October and success there earns a spot at the National level (held the following spring).
More details on the NAPs can be found on the District 4 website: www.district4.info. Clubs that have already reported NAP game schedules have those games schedules posted on the Unit 141 website here. |
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Save the Date: First Fall Bala Sectional Is Around the Corner
 It might be hard to imagine it now as we just celebrated the 4th of July, but the next Unit 141 Sectional will be here sooner than you realize. Mark your calendar now to save the dates: September 6-8. The location will be Bala Golf Club. Additional information, as always, is available at the Unit 141 website. Click the link in Upcoming Events section of this newsletter for more details.
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Fit for a Queen
 Life is easy with aces and kings, but with some hands it's all about the queen. This month, we recap some helpful tips from Eddie Kantar about that card.
1. When a trump is led on the get-go, assume the opening leader does NOT have the queen and play accordingly.
2. When the opening leader makes a potentially ambiguous honor card lead such as the jack at notrump which could be the top of a sequence or from the KJ10 or AJ10, and as the declarer you have the AKQ, take the trick with the queen, the honor card third hand knows you hold regardless what the lead shows.
3. When discarding at notrump or even a suit contract where getting a ruff is not an issue, avoid discarding from short suits, particularly shorts suits where you cannot see the queen in dummy. You may be exposing partner's queen to a finesse in a two-way position. It is usually right to discard from unimportant length. |
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Table Tips: Alert!
 As the ACBL makes clear in its rules and regulations, bridge is not a game of "secret messages." The bidding side has an obligation to disclose and explain all of its agreements. Here is a quick summary of the way to ask for information about an alerted bid.
1. The official way to ask for information about an alert is, "please explain." If you use a less formal alternative, it is still your responsibility to be clear that you are requesting an explanation and to be polite.
2. Players may only request an explanation of an alert when it is their turn to bid. You may not ask when it is your partner's turn to bid or at any other time during the auction.
3. You are not obligated to ask what the alert means at all, and not during the bidding. You can always ask at the end of the bidding instead. You will want to know the meaning of the alert if you intend to compete during the auction. If you intend to pass, though, it might be better not to ask. In some cases, allowing the opponents to explain what they think the bids mean when they are in the middle of a mixup can help them out.
For much more information about alerts, alert procedures, and calls that are alertable, visit the ACBL website page on alerts. |
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Club News
Raffles Bridge Club initiates new games for novices and non-life masters this month. Please let your friends and family who are new players or might become new players about the novice game, which includes a lesson each week. You can find complete details at the new Raffles website.
Tuesday afternoon (starting July 9): Non-Life Masters Game
12 PM: mini-lesson
12:30 PM: ACBL-sanctioned game for non-life masters only
Thursday morning: Novice and Newcomer Play
9:15 AM: lesson
9:45 - 11:30 AM: supervised play
The Yorktown Bridge Club will hold its Club Championship form July 5-10. They will host a Unit-Wide game on July 20. Keep in mind that the club now hosts the Common Game.For more information and a complete schedule, visit http://www.yorktownbridgeclub.com/schedule.php.
Local clubs are encouraged to send announcements, schedules, updates, and special games for placement in upcoming newsletters.
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