February brings loads of opportunities for bridge players to dig out of the winter doldrums. But before you hit the bridge tables, see below for some stories from Bala that may make you smile -- and think about
your
role in the future of bridge.
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Questions? Comments? Concerns?
Contact your District 4 board members.
PRESIDENT
Meyer Kotkin
VICE PRESIDENT
Dave Kresge
SECRETARY
Bill Bauer
TREASURER
DISTRICT DIRECTOR
Joann Glasson
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The ACBL Board of Directors approved the expansion of the grassroots Grand National Teams Competition (GNT) in Flights B and C so that each District can now send both the first and second place finishers to the National Finals (which this year will be in Las Vegas on July 17, 2019) in those two flights. Both the Open Flight and Flight A National Finals are still restricted to the first place finisher from each District. To accommodate this change, the District 4 (D4) Executive Board approved a $1,200/team subsidy for the second place teams in Flights B and C and an additional $400/day/team after the second day of the National GNT Finals. So get your teams together and plan to play in the GNT District Finals: Open and Flight C on Apr 13 - 14 at North Penn Duplicate Bridge Club and Flights A and B on May 4 - 5, also at North Penn. The full Conditions of Contest are
here, and if you have any questions, you can e-mail the D4 GNT coordinator, Dr. John Dickenson (U141),
here.
Since I started writing this 4Spot column almost 15 months ago, the number of e-mails I get each month from my loyal readers has pleasantly surprised me. I did not fully appreciate how many readers I had until I got a slew of e-mails regarding my January 2019 article discussing the ACBL and D4 one-year retention rates for new members: 60% for the ACBL and 64% for D4. I posed this question about the reasons people terminate their membership after just one year: "
What is it that attracted these people to bridge, the ACBL and D4 initially that we did not deliver upon during their first and only year of membership?
" There were many thoughtful and reasonable comments and suggestions and I responded to each person who contacted me.
However, the one thing that no one mentioned, that I was hoping some people would pick up on as an introduction to my planned discussion of surveys this month,
is that I was asking the wrong people about what the ACBL, Districts, Units and/or Clubs did not deliver on
. Most of the people reading my 4Spot article are ACBL members who have always renewed their memberships. In order to get any significant actionable insights for the one-year membership loss rates, I should ask the people
who did not renew their memberships and left after one year
to tell me, D4 and the ACBL why they left.
There is both an art and a science to surveys, and the science of surveys begins with ensuring that the survey is directed towards the population (or, more commonly, a representative sample) of the people who can provide meaningful answers, insights, opinions and recommendations on the matters of interest. Even after correctly identifying a survey's target population, further stratification (survey scientists actually use that term but I am sure they did not borrow it from the bridge world) and different survey questions may be necessary for different groups/strata within the target population.
If you want to know why ACBL members are not attending tournaments, you need one set of survey questions for the players who used to attend tournaments and then stopped, and a modified survey with some different questions for the more than 35% of ACBL members who have never attended a tournament. If you want to know why attendance at all Regionals drops off during the weekend, survey the people who play on weekdays but not weekends (spoiler alert: fatigue and family considerations are by far the primary reasons).
After you play at any D4 Regional, D4 offers you a chance to fill out a survey developed by Fast Results about your tournament experience at that Regional. That survey is to help the D4 Tournament Chairs and Committees improve the overall player experience at our tournaments. The survey is not perfect and maybe we should improve/rewrite the Fast Results developed survey but that in a non-insignificant effort as is the analysis and summaries that Fast Results provides us free of charge and D4 effort. Those surveys do help us and I
encourage you to fill them out honestly and constructively
. Tell us what we are doing badly, what you think needs improvement and what we are doing well.
Our D4 Tournament Chairs and Committees always carefully read the analysis of the survey results and the contents of the free text entry boxes. For example, after the Lancaster Regional survey indicated that the noise of chairs moving on the concrete playing surface bothered a significant number of players, Tournament Chairs Jeanne Gehret (U168) and Tom Coxey (U168) arranged with Spooky Nook to put noise-reducing pads on the chair legs.
There is a lot more I could write about the science of surveys. I know that I appear to be a cool, hip, suave, interesting chick magnet type of guy but deep down, I am really a pocket protector wearing, slide rule toting nerd (I may be the only D4 member who still owns and can use a slide rule). If you see me at a Regional and are willing to buy me a free beer in the hospitality suite, I will prattle on for hours about stratified sampling, free text analysis, questionnaire design and anything else you never wanted to know about surveys.
As always, I welcome all comments and suggestions on any D4 matters and issues. My e-mail is [email protected] and my cell is 856.986.5109
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From the District Director
Spreading the Word
The new ACBL president, Russ Jones of Arkansas, is a professor at Arkansas State University and his field is Information Systems, Accounting and Computer Science. He brings his talent and experience to his new position in 2019.
Russ is concentrating his year as president on the goals of streamlining costs at the ACBL and growing membership.
In order to grow membership, we have to grow teachers. The ACBL developed a new teacher program last year (ACBL Best Practices Teacher Certification) to replace the old TAP (Teacher Accreditation Program). The new program focuses on training teachers how to teach using simulations to practice their techniques. The new workshop was held at the Syracuse Regional last year with great success and positive feedback. District 4 is considering running it in June in conjunction with the Valley Forge Regional. The cost of the certification is usually $125, but District 4 will subsidize our members to reduce the cost to $50.
Best Practices Teacher Certification requires taking a test in advance on general bridge knowledge, attendance at all three sessions of the workshop in June and a demonstration of proficiency at the end of the program.
Please let me know if you are interested in attending. If enough participants respond, we will arrange for the workshop to be held.
[email protected]
The game of bridge is full of incredibly talented people and I'd like to mention two of District 4's finest this month.
Barbara Patterson, who owns Ami Bridge Club in Newtown, PA, has successfully built her bridge club into the most successful club in District 4 in 2018. Barbara's club was followed closely by Dave Legrow's Valley Forge Bridge Club. The key to the success of these clubs is the effort to provide a delightful atmosphere in which to play the game. Both clubs provide a welcome and friendly environment where players can enjoy the amazing game of bridge.
Susan Morse, the editor of the Unit 141 newsletter, is an accomplished author and actor. I just finished reading her book "The Habit" and recommend it to any reader who has dealt with the issues of caring for an aging parent. As a daughter with some similar shared experiences, it made me laugh out loud. The book is both funny and touching.
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Note:
Blue text indicates a link to a tournament flyer. Not all tournaments hav
e posted information yet, but 4Spot will provide links as they become available.
Sectionals
February 8-10
March 8-10
March 19
March 29, 30
Webster, NY
April 13, 14
April 19, 20
April 26-28
Camp Hill, Harrisburg
May 11
May 18
State College, PA
May 31-June 2
May 31-June2
Ithaca, NY
June 1, 2
Webster, NY
July 13-14
August 11
Regionals
Rochester Regional
August 5-11
Wilkes-Barre Regional
August 5-11
North American Bridge Championships
Flight A & C April 13, 14
Flight B & Open May 4, 5
February 18-24
June 3-9
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Our Monthly Feature
The 4Spot features fantastic contributors, on a regular rotation:
Larry's Learning Center
by Larry Cohen:
January, April, July, October
For Novices Only by Marti Ronemus:
February, May, August, November
The ABC of Bridge by Dave Wachsman:
March, June, September, December
This month, we look to Marti Ronemus for insights, tales and teaching moments from the bridge universe:
What's Happening in the Neighborhood
Thursday: I had one of those leisurely two-hour ladies' lunches with two bridge-playing girlfriends. Such funny stories to exchange. Judy had the best.
Her mom lives in a retirement village where they play bridge day and night, but perhaps not bridge as most of us know it. It is very old-fashioned in that some of the "girls" don't even play 5-card majors. Judy joined them for a game on her last visit. It was party bridge where you exchange partners every round, and Mom was at the other table where voices became a little heated. "Call Judy over. She's the expert," Mom said.
Judy went over to the table and found that they were arguing about who was to blame for Mom and her partner missing their 38-point slam. Poor Judy. How was she going to get out of this gracefully! She looked at the hands, praying for inspiration, and it came. "Well, I see the problem," she said. "There's no way you could find this slam unless you play Roman Key Card 1430. Do either of you play it?" Jaws dropped. "Well, then, you just can't bid it. No one is to blame." Back to the game, all feeling better.
A month later, Judy's phone rang. It was Mom. "We missed another slam today. I've got you on the speaker phone and we want you to teach us Roman Key Card 1430." So Judy did, following up with written material.
"So there they are. Not one of them plays Stayman, they never heard of Weak Twos, Limit Raises, Gerber, preempts or anything in modern bridge. But everyone in the building plays Roman Key Card 1430."
Monday: I got an email from one of my Faithful Readers today.
"My wife and I are new bridge players and enjoy reading your column in the 4Spot. We would appreciate your expert opinion on the following: We were playing a friendly social game with a couple that took lessons with us and had an interesting hand. Here's how the bidding went:
S W N E
P 1♠ P P
2♣ 2♥ all pass
"
When the dummy came down, West became viciously apoplectic.
♠xxxx
♥
x
♦
xxxx ♣xxxx
"A huge argument ensued, because West had 19HCP points and felt his partner should have brought him back to spades, rather than leave him in what was a 5-card trump fit. His wife felt equally strongly that she certainly didn't have to bid when she had zero points.
My wife and I hoped he wouldn't have a stroke, and that their marriage would survive the argument.
What's your opinion about her stance?"
So, like my friend Judy, I get to play Solomon, but I don't have to be diplomatic. First, the man was absolutely 100% correct in his bidding. With a 19 HCP point hand, including 5 spades and 4+ hearts and in a bidding sequence like that, almost anyone would bid hearts after the 2♣ overcall. He's got at least nine, maybe 10, cards in two suits, probably a singleton club (maybe even a void) and came to play. He already knows, since his partner passed, that she doesn't have six points. Otherwise she would have bid 1NT. He isn't asking her to do ANYthing except 1) pass if her hearts are better than the spades, or 2) correct to 2♠ if the spades are better.
She should have bid
2♠,
even with zero points. He didn't ask her if she had points; he already knows she doesn't. He asked her which did she like better, hearts or spades.
As an aside: your "friends" sound appalling. As you become more involved in the bridge world, you will find that people who talk to each other the way these two do will not be welcome ANYwhere that NICE people go. Dump them.
Overheard at table 4:
"That's a Janice Transfer. Every time she changes tables, she's got to transfer her soda, purse, sweater and papers to the next table. Tonight, she's even dragging her umbrella around.
And one final word on diplomacy...or lack thereof.
Overheard at table 9: "Please don't criticize me. It just upsets me."
"I'm not criticizing you. I'm just telling you what you're doing wrong."
Well, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. I love hearing from you, so please send me your tales from the Newcomer world. You can't make this stuff up!
[email protected]
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Master Solvers Club
Moderator: Nick Straguzzi
We've picked up an excellent hand, but
our D4MSC partner is rebuffing our advances by continually bidding our worst suit at every level. Players are all over the lot trying to cope with this one. Where do you land?
First,
click
here
to read the analysis of this month's problem.
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Bulletins from Bala
THE FUTURE OF BRIDGE
Bridge many not be as popular as it was in the mid-20th century, but that doesn't mean it's just for an aging generation. Michael Haas, a resident of Haddonfield, is here to prove that. Read on
to learn more about this up and comer.
Susan Morse and her team won their Sunday team event at the Philadelphia sectional, while at the same time celebrating Susan's 60th birthday with style. The shirts were made especially for the occasion.
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Deb Crisfield, Susan Morse, Lisa Mita & Alison Shoemaker
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With 240 "points" on their t-shirts, they were hoping to be left in a 1Cx (making an overtrick) contract, but no such luck.
Susan is a bestselling author and
an actress who has worked in Los Angeles and New York. She lives in the Philadelphia area with her husband, actor David Morse.
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News from Around the Units
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Unit 112: Central New York
CONGRATULATIONS
to our Unit 112 members on their new master point rank achievements:
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Junior Master
Janet Derleth, Penfield
Mary Sheldon-Britt, Fairport
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Club Master
Anne Lynn, Skaneateles
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Sectional Master
Gail Gilbert, Canandaigua
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Regional Master
Vinod Patel, Rochester
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Advanced NABC Master
George Isgrigg, Pittsford
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Ruby Life Master
Dolores Toohey, Pittsford
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******Platinum Life Master******
Sam Maitra, Rochester
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Looking for
Silver
Points
?
Play in the STaCS at your local clubs week of February 18 - 24!
Check out our website for the STaC games in your area.
Club News
Joan Powell Duplicate Game - Elmira
Bridge Sharpens Mental Skills -
snow doesn't keep our 90+ bridge players from coming out at 9am for a good game of bridge. For 90th birthdays we celebrate with
cakes or pastries and discover each person's Card of Destiny - their birth card.
Have you ever thought how the deck of cards and the yearly calendar correlate? 52 cards in the deck, 52 weeks in a year, 12 court cards - 12 months, 4 seasons - 4 suits, 13 cards in each suit - 13 weeks in each season! Each day of the week is associated with a specific card. To find out your birth card
click here
Continue playing bridge to protect your memory!
Trudy, Grace, Alice and Bill
Bridge Studio - Vestal
Eileen Schuchman, Unit 112 Representative, presents Celia Austenfeld with her Diamond Life Master pendant. They play at the Bridge Studio in Vestal, New York. Ceil directs the Monday night game at the Bridge Studio. You will also find her at our tournaments.
Club managers please send me news from your clubs.
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Unit 120: Northeastern Pennsylvania
Hello everyone! Most of you know that our modern game of contract bridge was created in 1925 by American Harold Stirling Vanderbilt. Bridge is derived from a card game called WHIST, which dates back to the 17
th
century. But did you also know the word WHIST is an Old British word equivalent of "SHHH!" Therefore, the natural name for the game demands silence from its players. And there you have the rest of the story.
Speaking of "SHHH", January has been a rather quiet month. Several of our bridge pals migrate to warmer areas to wait out the winter. But there are some exciting achievements to report nonetheless.
Please give a standing ovation to the following players on their new ranks:
Stephen J Tillman of Shavertown PA...New Gold Life Master
William F Burns III of E Stroudsburg PA....New Silver Life Master
Teri Trynz of Boynton Beach FL....New Bronze Life Master
FeBBRRRRRuary may be historically cold, but it's warm at the bridge clubs!
See you at the bridge table! Happy Valentines Day!
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Unit 121: Berks Montgomery
Brian C Snyder
484-838-0977
Our Mid Winter Unit Game was held Thursday January 10 at Sacred Heart Villa. Alfred and Travis Crump were first overall winners
Sue Wessner is hosting a bridge cruise May 9-18, 2019.
CLICK HERE
for more information.
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Hello Unit 133! I will be submitting the information for the monthly 4Spot. If you have any news you would like to share in this publication, please email the information to
[email protected]
.
In Unit 133, one of our goals in 2018 and continuing into 2019, is to recruit and retain new members.
Our efforts to recruit new members include:
- Beginner/Refresh Lessons at Brookside Country Club. This new Series 1 class is for anyone interested in learning to play duplicate bridge. It is designed for those who have never played bridge or those who need to refresh their game. Wednesday classes begin at 3pm with practice play at 4pm.
- Beginner Discussion/Game at Brookside Country Club. Each Thursday evening includes discussion at 4:45pm, a sanctioned duplicate game at 6pm and a dinner break at 7:15pm.
- Beginner Duplicate 0-50 game at LVAL on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Wednesday of the month at 8:45am. A free 15 minute lesson precedes the game.
- Beginner Duplicate 0-100 game at LVAL every Monday at 12:30pm. This game is the perfect placement for members who have maxed out of the 0-50 game.
For pricing and information about any of these opportunities, please contact Sara Gainey at 610-417-5982.
Our efforts to retain members include:
- A Free lesson on the 3rd Thursday of the month at 11am, preceding the 0-299 game at LVAL, is provided for intermediate duplicate players. Classes include Takeout Doubles, Two Over One, Negative Doubles, and other topics requested by the class. The lessons are organized and facilitated by Chuck Campbell and other guest presenters.
- Mentor/Mentee program is a 6 month program designed for more experienced players to be paired with newer, less experienced players. One of the goals of the program is for the teams to meet 6 times between July and December. In 2018, most of the 25 pairs completed this goal. A second annual Mentor/Mentee Swiss Teams event has been scheduled for March 28, 2019. All pairs will have the opportunity to play in the same game at the same time. The 2019 program will begin in May. For more information or to join the program as a Mentor or Mentee, please contact Mike Kohler at [email protected]. Thanks to Mike for organizing this effort for our members and to the Mentors for their time and expertise.
- NLM tournaments, held twice a year, provide opportunities for future Life Masters to try tournament play in an appropriate atmosphere with players of their same skill level. Two separate games are held, 0-100 and 0-500. One participant said "This was my first tournament. I was scared at first, but the people and director made me feel welcome. I will remember it fondly." The next NLM tournament is May 18, 2019. For more information or to register, please contact Lois Fuini at [email protected].
The Unit 133 Annual Meeting and Holiday Party
was held on November 11, 2018 at Brookside Country Club.
The slate of officers for 2019 was approved unanimously by the 82 members present at the meeting.
President, Jim Kenny
Vice President, Mike Kohler
Secretary, Mimi Lengel
Treasurer, Dave Kresge
New board member, Gwen Ritter
Trophies were presented to Players of the Year who earned the most points in unit games and sectionals.
Congratulations to:
0-50 points-Brian Snapp
50-100 points-Michael Adelizzi
100-300 points-Betty Abrams
300-1000 points- Gwen Ritter
Open-Deepak Khanna
After the Annual Meeting and lunch, two separate bridge games were played.
2018 Winners:
Open: 1st Place - Deepak Khanna and Dave Kresge
Open: 2nd Place - Stan and Karen Yellin
NLM:1st Place - Robert and Jane Davenport
NLM: 2nd Place - Nelson and Laura Rabenold
Thanks to Mimi Lengel for organizing this event.
The "In Memoriam Game"
on December 9, 2018 celebrated the many accomplishments of the players who passed away in 2018. We are saddened to report the loss of 12 members who passed away in 2018 and January, 2019. Honored at the event were : Bob "Frosty" Forstburg, Hilda Gibson, Shirley Hershey, Tom Komline, Arnold Kritz, Bettie McLean, Norma Neff, Steward Parlin, Rosemary Reinhard, Lew Schroeder, Bettyjane "BJ" Steiner, and Larry Young. They will be greatly missed. After the celebration, members played a game of bridge in their honor.
Winners
:
Open:1st place - Ellis and Mary Sokoloff
Open: 2nd place - Chuck Campbell and Jim Kenny
0-500: 1st place - Barbara Berk and Lois Fuini
0-500: 2nd place- Jon Clemens and Brian Snapp
Thanks to Julie Brooks for all her efforts organizing this event.
The Junior Fund Charity Game
was held Thursday, January 10, 2019 at the Easton bridge club. Players earned extra masterpoints while helping the ACBL Junior program for youth up to age 26.
Winners
:
1st Place-Richard Clausen and Don Swan Jr.
2nd Place-Gary Hillenbrand and Arup Mukherjee
Thanks to Betsy Cutler for organizing this charity event.
Congratulations to all our members for their new rank achievements.
New Junior Masters
Karen Guido
Victoria Smooha
Georgette Drudy
Elizabeth Stelts
New Club Masters
E. J. Krall
Patty Fosselman
Beth Dimler
New Regional Masters
Barbara Dopera
Michael Adelizzi
Barb Dare
Emily David
Grace Sutherland
Nancy Eiler
Gerald Kern
Linda Thaler
New Sectional Master
Robert Dougherty
New Life Master
Betsy Cutler
New Bronze Life Master
Judy Cary
New Silver Life Masters
William Forrester
Nail G. Risk
Arup Mukherjee
New Gold Life Master
John Botzum
What's Happening Next?
Sunday, February 3 - "Souper" Bowl Sunday
at 1pm at LVAL will benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. Bring a can of soup or any non-perishable food item to donate. In addition all cash donations and proceeds from the games will benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. There will be an Open game and a NLM game if there are 3 tables or more for the NLM game. The cost is $8. Please bring a snack to share.
STaC Game Week
February 18 -24 Silver point STaC Games (Sectional Tournament at Club) at Allentown LVAL.
Games include:
- Monday, February 18, at 12:30pm at the 0-100 and 0-500 games.
- Wednesday, February 20, at 8:45am at the 0-50 game.
- Thursday, February 21, at 12:30pm at the 0-299 game.
- Friday, February 22, at 12:30pm at the invitational game
Watch for more STaC games in June and August.
March 28 - Mentor/Mentee Swiss Team Game
at 12:30pm at LVAL. Any team is eligible to play providing one person on each half of the team has less than 300 points. This is an outstanding opportunity for all the Mentors/ Mentees to all play together in the same game. For more information, contact Mike Kohler at [email protected].
April 26-28- Unit 133 Spring Sectional
- Friday and Saturday,10am and 2:15pm, Stratified Open Pairs and 0-500 NLM Stratified Pairs. Sunday, 10am-with lunch break, Stratified Open Swiss Teams two session playthrough or 10am single session 0-500 NLM Stratified Swiss Teams. Free lunch every day. For more information please contact Pat Saeger at [email protected].
May 18 - NLM tournament at LVAL
at 10am and 2pm. Two silver point games, 0-100 and 0-500. $25 per person includes lunch, snacks and entry fee. Registration required. For more information, please contact Lois Fuini at [email protected].
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Unit 141 congratulates its New Life Masters and all those who reached new designation levels.
New Life Masters
Mary Vitray
Gold Life Master
Karen Hoffner
Ruby Life Master
David Morgan
Ella Zimmerman
Silver Life Master
Michael Bruno
Sam Mehta
Alison Shoemaker
The 2019 Annual Meeting and Jane Segal/Sonny Jaspan Game will be May 19, 2019 at Bala Golf Club. Watch for flyers soon.
Thanks to all those who turned out at Bala Golf Club to make the January 11-13 Sectional one of the largest we've had in recent years. I hope to see you there in early March for the next one.
I've enjoyed my tenure heading up Unit 141 and learned a great deal. I am pleased to announce Howard Kahlenberg will be taking over as the incoming Unit 141 President. Please offer him your support and pitch in at tournaments when you can.
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Unit 168: Central Pennsylvania
The Harrisburg Bridge Club will be hosting the following ACBL-Wide games in February. Entry for these 2 games will be a sliding scale: players with 1000+ points pay $10; players with 500-1000 points pay $5; and players with less than 500 points play FREE. Non-members pay an additional $2.
- Saturday, 2/2: International Fund Game. This is our monthly Brunch and Bridge game, with food served at 10:30 a.m. and game at 11 a.m. Please register in advance by emailing the club at [email protected], calling us at 717-737-4461, or on the sign-up sheet at the club.
- Wednesday 2/20: ACBL Charity Game. 11:30 a.m. Advance registration is requested.
The week of February 18 to 24 is STaC week with games scheduled as follows:
- Monday, 2/18 at 11:30 am (Open) and at 6:30 pm (0-100)
- Tuesday, 2/19 at 12:15 pm (Open and 0-750) and 7 pm (0-1500 or Mentor with NLM)
- Thursday, 2/21 at 12:15 pm (Open and 0-500) and 6:30 pm (0-750 Junior Mentor)
- Friday, 2/22 at 11:30 am (0-1500 Swiss)
- Sunday, 2/24 at 1 pm (Women's Swiss)
Additional Special Games in February include:
- Thursday, 2/14 is Valentine's Day and we have a sweetheart deal for members of the club: the afternoon game (12:15) will be FREE for all club members - Open and 0-500 sections.
- Wednesday, 2/13 is the monthly Wine & Cheese Open game
- Wednesday, 2/27 is the monthly Swiss Team game
CONGRATULATIONS to these Unit 168 members on their new masterpoint rank achievements:
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Club Master:
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Bobbie Goodyear, Elizabeth Winger
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Sectional Master:
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Carol Buchholz, Patricia Calvani, Jeanne Foley, Frances Kasher, Jeffrey Osman, Robert Renzi, Barclay Richards, Margie Walson
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Regional Master:
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Jinan Bahia, Barbara Gaige, Roseanne Hughes, Gail Johnson, Patricia Kaufold, Paul Romano, Kenneth Wenger
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NABC Master:
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Daniel Droz
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Life Master:
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Eva Train, Ronald Zimmerman
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Ruby Life Master:
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Russell Williams
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Silver Life Master:
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Jane Larkin
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Wacky Hands & Gadgets - by Dave Bort
Unusual Over Unusual
In a club game from last summer our opponents held:
North: Q3 AKQ76 Q3 AJT6 South: AK86542 4 T984 K
while partner's and my hands were:
West: JT9 J9852 AJ 743 East(me): 7 T3 K7652 Q9852
Bidding:
West North East(me) South
1H(1) 2N(2) 3S(3)
Pass(4) Pass(5) Pass(6)
Notes:
(1) I have a strong hand - 18 points, and probably no more than 5 losers (unless the KQ of Clubs are both in the West, but that's only a 25% chance) - but I'm not enthused about rebidding 2N with my two doubletons.
(2) Unusual 2NT, implying 5-5 in the minors (or the 2 lowest unbid suits, by partnership agreement). Yes, I'd prefer to have at least 8 points, but I'm not going to let that get in my way when we're white-on red. The point is: N/S don't know how strong my hand is, and using my shape as protection lets me introduce uncertainty into their auction.
(3) Hmmm, I've only got 10 points, and I'm worried about my stiff Club King after East's bid. I also have uncertainty about who's short in Diamonds. But, I'm willing to bid my good Spades, so I'll at least do that with 6 of them.
(4) Even non-vulnurable, I'm not getting involved in this with limited strength and no good fit with partner. Besides, they're not even in game (yet), and maybe they won't get there. At any rate, given that partner and I don't have a fit, NS probably don't have a fit, either. In general, I believe in following the guideline: "Let the opponents play misfits."
(5) Darn it, I thought I had a big hand, but now partner's bid my short suit, I'm worried about both my Diamond Queen and my Club JT, given East's annoyingly disruptive bid. I give up!
Result: Making 5. Now, could N/S have bid more effectively? They most certainly could (see below)
Discussion: Many players <Alert: emotionally laden words coming up - you may want to shield the children and thin-skinned partners!> will "whine and cry" about the memory burden involved in learning what seems like an endless list of conventions; but, many of these bidding tools have been developed specifically to deal with the problems that partnerships actually face at the table. In this case, there is a quite-effective tool available, called Unusual Over Unusual (U/U). Briefly, when the opponents bid Michaels over a minor or the Unusual Two Notrump (both of which show two known suits - it changes somewhat when only one suit is known - see the reference), your bidding becomes all about - guess what? - the other two suits, Right! So, had N/S been playing U/U, here's how their auction might have gone (refer to hands above):
West North East(me) South
1H(1) 2N(2) 3S(3)
Pass(4)
4S(5)
All Pass
Notes:
(1) Same as Note (1) above.
(2) Same as Note (2) above.
(3) After East's obstreperous bid showing the minors, my bidding is all about the majors. If I cue-bid the lower of the opponent's suit (Clubs), I'm implying 10+ points, and support for the lower of the two suits we might care about (namely, the Hearts that partner bid). But, if I cue-bid the higher of their indicated suits (Diamonds), I'll imply 10+ points, and at least five of the higher of our suits, namely Spades. If I bid 3S outright, I'll imply 10+ points and 6+ Spades. Just bidding 3H would imply Heart support, but deny 10 points. And finally, doubling would imply 10+ points and the ability to double at least one of the opponent's suits for penalty (probably meaning at least four cards to an honor). The double may help us find our way to a worthwhile penalty, if we don't have a game of our own, if partner can double the other of their suits for penalty. So, here goes my descriptive bid.
(4) Same as Note (4) above.
(5) Oh boy, that makes it easy. Partner's implying six Spades and 10+ points, so now I know what to do with my big hand. Yay!
Comments: Your partnership cannot avoid running into Unusual 2N or Michaels bids by the opponents from time to time. It's better to have some way to deal with them than not, eh?
References:
"25 More Bridge Conventions You Should Know", by Barbara Seagram & David Bird, Chapter 21: Unusual Over Unusual
Bidding for What You Need and the Second King-Ask
Funny thing - I was looking for another good hand for this column, but I forgot the old maxim: "Watch out what you wish for... you might get it! So, in a club game this very afternoon, EW vul, and our opponents held:
West: 7 J6543 652 Q852 East: 865 KQT97 T93 JT
while partner's and my hands were:
North(me): AKJT932 None AQJ87 9 South: Q4 A82 K4 AK7643
The bidding was:
West North(me) East South
1N(1)
Pass 2H(2) X(3) Pass(4)
Pass 4D(5) Pass 4S(6)
Pass 4N(7) Pass 5S(8)
Pass 5N(9) Pass 6C(10)
Pass 6S(11) All Pass
Notes:
(1) 15-17, probably not a singleton (but maybe, with an A, K, or Q, according to the latest ACBL rules).
(2) Transfer to Spades.
(3) Lead-directional - please lead a Heart partner.
(4) After the double, passing denies three cards in Spades. Some also play that a Redouble would show 3 cards, with a minimum hand, and that completing the transfer shows three cards and a maximum hand; a useful agreement, but not one partner and I were playing. Also, some play that completing the transfer shows a position-dependent stopper in the opponent's indicated suit (such as Kx or Qxx), while passing denies such a stopper (rather than simply showing two or three cards in the transfer suit. Sometimes knowing whether a stopper exists in the opponent's suit can help to decide on a NT game; but, partner and I weren't playing that gadget either.
(5) Implies a (probably) five-card side suit, a source of tricks.
(6) I'd better show my honor-doubleton tolerance for partner's suit. After all, since they have a five-card side suit, maybe they have six Spades? Anyway, even with five Spades, my Q-small should be helpful.
(7) Roman Keycard Blackwood - yes, this is an unusual bid, with a void in Hearts, but I'm pretty clear we want to be in Spades, so I know what to do next if partner's response bid is not encouraging. And, who knows, maybe partner will bid something forward-going.
(8) Two keycards (from among the four Aces and the Spade King) and the Spade Queen.
(9) Ooh, it was forward-going! Yay, we have all the keycards and the Queen of trumps, so I can (and should) ask for Kings. For partner and me, that means the Specific King-Ask (asking partner to show their lowest actual King, rather than bidding to show the number of Kings). Note that different agreements exist for responses when partner has more than one King (not addressed here, but recommended for your homework). Too bad partner and I weren't clear on how to proceed with more than one King - it might have helped (Note to Self).
(10) I have the Club King, partner (and maybe another, but not three).
(11) Darn, I still don't know about the Diamond King, and I don't want to lose even to timid game-bidders and go down trying for a grand that it isn't there, and I'm afraid of being misunderstood if I bid 6D (I wouldn't want partner to pass, when we should clearly be in Spades!), so I will wistfully settle for the small slam (sigh).
Result: Making 7! So disappointed we couldn't reliably find the grand (and I tried so hard, too - aw)! As it turned out, (hard as it may be to believe) my partner and I were lacking yet another special slam-bidding agreement that would have let us find the grand, scientifically (with no apology to S. J. Simon).
Discussion: While I can't fault partner for simply bidding according to our partnership agreement, they were reportedly held back by residual uncertainty as to whether my 4D bid may have showed a splinter; the answer: no, it couldn't - if I had a splinter, I would have bid it as my first bid. In fact, the classical meaning applied, i.e., I was showing a (probably) five-card side suit - a source of tricks. So, even if partner simply "followed the rules" and bid their lowest specific King (the Club King) in response to my King-Ask (rather than thinking carefully and deciding that since I had shown a five-card Diamond suit, and probably had at least 10 or eleven pointed cards, i.e., Spades and Diamonds, that it might very likely be more important to me to hear about their Diamond King, rather than their Club King - not that I'm Bitter!), I was still too afraid to make the next bid that might have let us find the grand. I didn't want to get a bottom, guessing to bid a grand that wouldn't make. So, I bailed in 6S. But, if instead, partner and I had the agreement that after a King-Ask response, a second non-slam-suit bid constituted a Second King-Ask, we would have comfortably bid the grand, the last part of our auction being:
West North(me) East South
(see bids 1-8 above)
Pass 5N(9) Pass 6C(10)
Pass 6D(11) Pass 7S(12)
Pass 7N(13) All Pass
(9) Specific King-Ask
(10) I have the Club King, partner (and maybe another, but not three)
(11) Do you have the Diamond King, partner? If so, bid a grand slam!
(12) Why, yes, so here you go!
(13) Well, there we go, indeed! With our solid Diamond honors and your Club King, we can now even withstand the Diamonds breaking 5-1 (even if your Diamond King was stiff), so no worries, woo-hoo!
Comments: While playing with a regular or semi-regular partner, we naturally develop a more solid understanding of partner's inclinations and signals that help with defensive play. We can also improve our own declarer play by using such tools as Bridge Master 2000 (yes, recommended). But, we also want to inexorably upgrade our bidding toolkit, not simply stopping because we have something that works well enough to let us win frequently enough in club games. At least, that's the key to relentless improvement! Of course, there's also judgment, as opposed to following the rules (with a nod, this time, to Simon). Good luck.
References:
1) "25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know", by Barbara Seagram & David Bird, Chapter 6: Jacoby and Texas Transfers (in particular, Summary bullet 6).
2) Roman Keycard Blackwood, The Final Word (5th Edition), by Eddie Kantar, for the King-Ask, and the Second King-Ask (and the Third-Round Control-Ask, and the Suit-Ask in Minors, and ... and... but, you get the idea). Buy it! Use it!
Stay tuned for more wacky hands & gadgets next month.
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February 8 - 10
Nom nom! Have you ever chowed down on a delectable vegetarian stew? How about an ambrosial Capriotti hoagie? Foodie and former chef Debbie Schenkel, the new Hospitality Chair for Unit 190, is working hard to show us her chops by serving up some inspired deelish dishes. For great games, delicious lunches, and wonderful hospitality, you need to come, next weekend, to the DSBA's traditional February sectional. Note that it will be at the old Bridge Studio location,
in Building 1407 at Foulkstone Plaza.
"Red sky at night, shepherd's delight.
Blue sky at night, day."
DAVE TREADWELL SECTIONAL
December 27 - December 31
Top DSBA Award Winners
1. 21.79 Steven Blomstedt
2. 15.56 Rick Rowland
3. 10.77 Mark Henderson
4. 10.27 Alessandra Graves
5. 7.19 Melody Henderson
6. 7.19 David Venetianer
7. 6.97 Michael Haas
8. 5.84 Caroline Hughes
9. 5.55 Robert Haas
10. 5.39 Robert Taylor
11. 5.39 Anne Taylor
12. 5.30 Judith Cronin
13. 5.19 Debbie Schenkel
14. 4.81 Sigridur Kristjansdottir
PLAYER ADVANCEMENTS
JUNIOR MASTER
:
Donald Gluck and Susan Gluck
CLUB MASTER
:
Marie Q. Caruso
SECTIONAL MASTER
:
Candy Davis and Phyllis A. Lochiatto
REGIONAL MASTER
:
William B. Herdle and Katherine Hoopes
NABC MASTER
:
Stuart Nemser
BRONZE LIFE MASTER
:
Joyce E. Taylor and Chet Thayer
SILVER LIFE MASTER
:
Jane A. Beck
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| Mr. January - Rick Rowland |
Next Beer Card Day - February 11th
In addition to winning a Pray for Snow beer, Mr. January appeared at #178 on the ACBL Top 500, earning 730 points. Also making the grade was Mark Henderson at #455, with 509 points scored.
Provisional
MINI-MCKENNEY
and
ACE OF CLUBS
Winners
MINI-MCKENNEY
ACE OF CLUBS
0 - 5 Kusum Patel Elayne Davidson
5 - 10 William Herdle William Herdle
20 - 50 Michael Vogel Michael Vogel
50 - 100 Teresa Spicer Debbie Schenkel
100 - 200 Diane Gordy Diane Gordy
200 - 300 Nancy Ferguson Silicia Debellis
300 - 500 Teresa Young Teresa Young
500 - 1000 Karen Pollak Karen Pollak
1000 - 1500 Kurt Engleman Francis Bizzoco
1500 - 2500 Mark Henderson Mark Henderson
2500 - 3500 Jeff Ruben Jeff Ruben
3500 - 5000 Bernard Rehberg Marie Anzilotti
5000 - 7500 Andrew Stayton Andrew Stayton
7500 - 10000 Marie and Peter Filandro M. & P. Filandro
10000 + Rick Rowland Rick Rowland
For news and results from around Unit 190, check out the Unit 190 website and click on the links below:
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Check back next month for news from Unit 217.
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