Are you looking for a few good laughs? Would a tutorial on how to navigate
Bridge Base Online (BBO) be helpful? District 4's own Susan Morse provides both in the form of a hugely entertaining read in the June issue of Bridge Bulletin. Her article,
Bridge in the Time of Corona, is insightful, fun -- educational, too. In case you misplaced your copy,
here's Susan's article
. Enjoy!
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Questions? Comments? Concerns?
Contact your District 4 board members.
PRESIDENT
Meyer Kotkin
guymath@comcast.net
VICE PRESIDENT
Jeanne Gehret
jeannegehret@comcast.net
SECRETARY
Bill Bauer
william.baueriii@verizon.net
TREASURER
Pat Civale
pat@csa-accounting.com
DISTRICT DIRECTOR
Joann Glasson
joannglasson@msn.com
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Every month, when I sit down to write my 4Spot article, I hope that I can deliver good news and possibly introduce a little humor. Unfortunately, 2020 has been a terrible year for the world at large and bridge in particular. It seems that every month lately I must report on the death of a District 4 (
D4
) personality. I am extremely saddened to report the death of past D4 Director Ray Raskin (Unit 141
[U141]
). Ray was a Platinum Life Master and a D4 Tournament fixture for decades. More importantly, Ray dedicated himself to a lifetime of volunteer service to the Bridge community by serving: on the D4 and U141 Boards of Directors; as the U141 President and as the D4 Director; as a D4 representative to the ACBL Board of Governors; and as the President of the ACBL National Appeal and Charges Committee back in the days when appeals of Director’s rulings at North American Bridge Championships went to player committees, and those appeals often stretched late in to the night and early morning. Ray was an accomplished industrial chemist and when he learned I used to think about a career in Physical Chemistry before I chose Chick Magnetism and Mathematics, he would love to tell me all about his latest projects. He also was extremely proud of his son Fred, who was an Academy Award winning Film Editor for Quentin Tarantino. Unfortunately, Ray suffered a stroke about three years ago and had not been healthy enough to play in a Tournament since the stroke. Yet, he would still e-mail me occasionally to ask how things were going at the Valley Forge Regional, U141 and D4. Rest in peace, my friend.
It appears to me that Virtual Club Games and Virtual ACBL events are now running smoothly, at least for the most part. Some bumps are to be expected but many clubs are now online and generating revenue from their Virtual games and their share of the proceeds from the ACBL run Support Your Local Clubs games. Thanks to all of you who are playing in these games on-line – they are key to the survival of our local clubs and the ACBL itself. I am writing this on the last day of the June Virtual ACBL Regional and attendance is strong. Most notable to me is that the Gold Rush Games are averaging about 500 tables per session. The Open and Mid-Flight events are averaging about 80 tables per session and the side games about 100 tables/session. The 99er and 499er single session events are also doing well. These events are bringing a lot of money in to the ACBL and might be the only thing keeping the ACBL afloat.
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There is another distinguished Bridge organization that is suffering under the COVID-19 pandemic: the American Bridge Association (
ABA
). The ABA was founded in 1932 in response to the ACBL’s shameful practice of denying membership and the right to play in ACBL tournaments to Bridge players of color. (That ACBL policy was not formally changed in the ACBL Bylaws until 1967). I am a huge fan of the ABA, and their mission statement which you can find
here
, commits to an environment that fosters the growth of Duplicate Bridge while respecting the rights “and basic worth of each participant at every level of performance.” The ABA is running four games a day at 11AM, 5:30 PM, 8PM and 11 PM. The games are $2 for 12 boards and the Saturday 11AM game is always a Charity or ABA Education Fund game. While those ABA games do not offer ACBL masterpoints, they do help support an outstanding organization in our Bridge community. Please consider playing in at least one of the ABA games a week. If you do not have a partner, you can buy a Robot for an additional $0.25 – an option I think would serve the ACBL Virtual games well. However, I want to do more to help the ABA. If you would like to play in an ABA game and can stomach playing with me while not being distracted online by my overwhelming chick magnetism, send me an e-mail and we can try to arrange a date for an ABA game. I do have some standing weekly ABA games with my friend Marc Labovitz (U141) but I am sure he can be flexible because he too wants to help the ABA as much as I do.
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I find myself watching a lot more TV than I used to. Often times, I am playing in a Virtual Game while watching TV so I sometimes do not concentrate well on either. I am a big fan of ME TV that shows many old programs from my youth including Perry Mason, Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock. Every night I watch these programs and then go to sleep so my TV the next morning is usually tuned to ME TV. The other day, I woke up, turned the TV on so I wouldn’t have to talk to my wife and there was Leave it to Beaver. This episode was from the early 60s or late 50s and Beaver and his friend were looking to play some unspecified card game. Beaver could not find the cards so they agreed to play “their parents arguing and yelling at each other after they came home from a night of bridge.” Beaver’s friend starts imitating his mother and says, “after all these years playing bridge you still don’t know hearts are higher than diamonds.” Not sure things have changed much in 60 years.
Even during these hard, troubled and frightening times, we should all take time this month to celebrate the birth of our nation. Over the years, the United States has had many heroes and today we need look no further than our Armed Forces, medical professionals, police, firefighters, first responders, National Guard and essential workers in all types of jobs to see true American heroes everyday who are helping us weather these critical times. This month, let me introduce you to retired Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Robert Friend. Those of you who used to follow the Bridge World’s Master Solvers Club might recognize LTC Friend as a regular panelist who tackled the most difficult bridge questions. If you are into the search for Extraterrestrial Life, you might recognize LTC Friend as the head of the Air Force’s Project Blue Book (which was made into a TV show). If you are an ABA member, you might recognize LTC Friend as one of the top ABA masterpoint holders of all time and the person whom the ABA honored by naming their annual Open Masterpoint contest after. If you are in to military history, you should recognize that LTC Friend was one of the original Tuskegee Airmen that eventually became the first Black Flying squadron in the Air Force (then the Army Air Corp). LTC Friend flew more than 140 combat missions during World War II and in 2016 was one of only seven surviving Tuskegee heroes. Just the other day, my wife and I were again watching TV (again so I do not have to talk to her) and there was a rebroadcast of a 2016 Black History Museum program. General Colin Powell saluted the seven surviving Tuskegee aviators, and told them he would not be in his position as a General and Chief of Staff if not for the path the Tuskegee aviators pioneered that eventually led to the integration of the US Armed Forces. It was a powerful moment. When the Washington Post asked LTC Friend whether he viewed himself as a racial “path-breaker” (whatever that is), he replied: “I never felt that I was anything but an American doing a job.” You can read more about this true American hero
here
.
America Strong! Please stay safe and healthy and I hope we can all soon get together for some face-to-face bridge.
As always, I welcome all comments and suggestions on any D4 matters and issues. My e-mail is
guymath@comcast.net
and my cell is 856.986.5109
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From the District Director
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ACBL NEWS
By now you will all have received notification that the ACBL has canceled all face-to-face tournament play for the rest of 2020. This was a difficult decision to reach and there was some sentiment to try a more wait and see approach, but in the end, giving our tournament chairs and players some certitude was forefront.
In order to give masterpoints at an open ACBL tournament, the tournament needs to be staffed by an ACBL director. The health and safety of our ACBL directors was paramount in this decision. If some areas of the country, that are not so severely affected by the virus, decided they wanted to run a tournament, an ACBL employee would be forced to board an airplane to run the tournament, risking possible illness.
Another consideration was that if a tournament was held and a player contracted and spread the virus to others, the ensuing publicity, not to mention possible legal actions, would be detrimental to the ACBL and the game of bridge.
We all hope that a vaccine or treatment will emerge that will allow us to get back to the bridge table. We miss our friends and a few minutes with them online is not the same as that face-to-face smile and hug, but we have an obligation to our volunteers, employees and players to keep them safe.
As Chair of Finance, I distributed to the ACBL board this week some very good news. Management, with the help of Jay Whipple, has done an amazing job of moving virtual bridge clubs online and running both Regional Tournaments and Silver Linings Events so that our players can get the silver, red and gold points that they seek. These Events have also been financially very successful. The special events, coupled with increased club game play and major cuts in expenses should bring the ACBL into a profitable position at year end.
The tentative schedule of events planned for the balance of the year include robot pajama games in July and November, a broadcast team event for top level players, upgraded club championships, regional events in August, October and December and another Silver Linings Event in September.
Stay well and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I have managed to be re-elected for another three-year term as your District Director since I was the only one who applied for the job.
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Because of COVID-19 related uncertainties about when tournaments can safely resume, please check the ACBL calendar listings.
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The 4Spot features fantastic contributors, on a regular rotation:
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Larry's Learning Center by Larry Cohen:
January, April, July, October
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For Novices Only by Marti Ronemus:
February, May, August, November
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The ABC of Bridge by Dave Wachsman:
March, June, September, December
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To continue with our 2020 focus on doubles, we go once again to
Larry's Learning Center where this month we suggest you incorporate the
maximal double into your game. It's a great way to clarify for partner whether your 3-level bid is simply competitive or shows a desire to reach game.
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Moderator: Nick Straguzzi
What is partner trying to say? And how should you respond? Bids from passed hands are tricky to interpret. What is your next call with the hand below? Make your choice and then
check to see what our experts have to say.(Don't expect unanimity.)
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News from Around the Units
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Unit 112: Central New York
Pat Stadelmaier
pstad145@aol.co
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CONGRATULATIONS
Unit 112 members on your rank achievements*
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I have held two-session bridge games for the Longest Day at the Canandaigua Duplicate Bridge Club for each of the past 5 years. I forego table fees and ask players to write a check to the Alzheimer’s Association. The proceeds have increased each year, and were just over $4,000 In 2019. Of course, I have been disappointed to not be playing face to face bridge since mid-March and had to cancel plans for 2 NABC’s. But I was especially disappointed to not be holding games for the Longest Day as this has become my favorite annual event at my club. I consulted with our local office of the Alzheimer’s Association and decided to hold a virtual fundraiser, and decided I would be very happy to raise $3,000 this year. I posted the fundraiser on Facebook, as well as emailed it to my club and my bridge students.
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I am very overwhelmed by the generosity that bridge players, friends and relatives have shown. As of this writing, donations have now exceeded $5,000, and I have received many kind notes including personal stories from players who have lost family members to this horrible disease. Thank you to all who have supported this effort, and hopefully this money can help find a cure.
Mary Miller
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Elmira – Corning, Vestal bridge players played virtual bridge to benefit their brains.
Saturday, June 20, players played bridge morning, afternoon and evening to support the Alzheimer’s Association, raising $630. Playing all three games were – Leo Birmngham, Stephen Mast, Joanne Sarli, and Paul Tick for a total of 24 tables. Thanks to everyone that supported the event.
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Vestal Bridge Studio Closing
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Thirty years ago, I chose to open a bridge studio so I could teach bridge when I wanted without the hassle of finding a place to teach. There is so much to this game. We can play at the level we know, but advance if we realize that there is more to this magnificent game. I was running one duplicate game and moved that game to the rented space as well. As other established clubs had trouble meeting the rents where they were playing, those games were moved to the studio as well. One game had started about 1942 at the American Legion in Binghamton with 2 sections of 12 tables each. One game was at the IBM Country Club and hit 23 tables one evening. Over time, all that collapsed. This is a familiar story in the USA.
With the onset of this pandemic, I realized in late March that carrying the cost of rent and overhead was too much of a liability. The studio is now empty except for cleaning supplies. My house is a mess of stuff that still needs to be put away. Over 600 bridge books have been disbursed and I hope they are being read.
I'm sure I am not the only person in District 4 that has realized the financial risk is too great to enjoy the luxury of rented space for bridge. It has been a joy to teach bridge and run games, meeting the wonderful people that have taken to the game and have advanced with me in knowledge of the game.
Many players of Binghamton sent me money to help me through the costs I still faced without income. Tears came to my eyes when donations came in when they did. Now, I can begin to repay those donations. They can give the money returned to charity if they don't want the returns.
Now, it is BBO for directing, which is not directing as you can't lead out of turn or fail to follow suit. Instead, directing on BBO is learning how to handle the technology behind the scenes. Sitting at home with a computer in front of me, I can watch several tables play the same hand and say out loud “don't lead that” since no one can hear me.
I have picture frames with pictures of the people that have played at the Vestal Bridge Studio over time, and many of them are no longer living. We have been one big family, and we miss those gone as well as the Bridge Studio of Vestal.
When face-to-face bridge is safe again, we will hope to find locations where we can once again play together. The boards and bid boxes are waiting. Maybe the Bridge Studio is not yet dead.
-Mary Poplawski
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Continue to play in your virtual games supporting your clubs.
Stay safe and healthy!
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Unit 120: Northeastern Pennsylvania
Doreese Torrey
doreeset@gmail.com
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Hello Unit 120!! As Pennsylvania moves into the green, players are achieving points online, and we continue to have excellent Unit accomplishments to announce. It is my pleasure to recognize the following players and their new rankings.
New Bronze Life Master Joe Distini, Clarks Summit PA
New Life AND Bronze Life Master Melvin L Schoenberg, Bushkill PA
New Sectional Master Richard L Derby, Shavertown PA
New Sectional Master Warren G Todd, Dallas PA
New Junior Master Tara Wagner, Kingston PA
Lets give them all a socially distant HIGH FIVE and WELL DONE!!
The Honesdale-Hawley Duplicate Bridge Club has been running online bridge games since mid-April, and games are growing in attendance. Club Manager-Director is Fay Pacchioli and you can contact her at
skingp31@aol.com
. The club has pooled with three other clubs - NEPA-DBC (Jack Burns). Stroudsburg (JoAnn Maugher) and the BridgeLady (Beth Rosenthal) in order to build attendance and make it possible for all club members to play online as well.
Currently, since this is the only online game in Unit 120, anyone in Unit 120 should be able to be certified to play in the games. The games are averaging about 9 tables on Mondays and Wednesdays with smaller groups on Thursdays and Sundays. If you are interested in getting online to enjoy some competitive bridge, contact Fay at the email address above. There is a great staff of volunteers that are more than willing to help if you are new to online bridge or need assistance. They all look forward to hearing from you.
Until next month, stay safe, wash your hands often, wear masks when out and adhere to social distancing guidelines.
See you at the online bridge tables!!
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Unit 121: Berks Montgomery
Brian C Snyder
4spadesdoubled@gmail.com
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Sue Wessner will host a bridge cruise November 9-20, 2020.
CLICK HERE
for more information.
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Unit 133: Lehigh Valley
Lois Fuini
lafuini@yahoo.com
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Happy Fourth of July!
Our Fourth of July celebrations may look a little different this year. Picnics and barbecues may be a little smaller and fireworks may be cancelled. But, people in our country will still express and give thanks for the freedom and liberties fought for by our first generation of many of today’s Americans. So Stay Safe and fly your flags in celebration of our great country.
Welcome!
Welcome to new members
John and Vera Cosgrove.
New Rank Advancements
Congratulations!
New Junior Master
Joseph Garvey
New Club Master
James Sorensen
New Regional Master
Lee Stanley
New Bronze Life Master
Betsy Cutler
Virtual Club Games Update
So many of our members have expressed their gratitude for the Virtual Club Games. Thanks to ACBL and BBO for providing this opportunity for our members to sharpen their skills and earn masterpoints while keeping in touch with their bridge friends.
Unit 133 is currently offering 9 virtual games per week. The Unit Games Committee has worked very diligently to balance the needs of all our members. And it has been a learning process with lots of important and helpful input from our players.
We continue to coach our players who need help with online playing. Walking them through the registration process and the mechanics of the game makes them feel more comfortable with this new endeavor. The committee hopes more and more players will be encouraged to participate.
The committee is researching the possibility of providing team games on the weekend. More information will be available next month.
Virtual Game Schedule - June 29th through July 31st
Monday - 0-100 and 0-750 Games at 12:30pm
Tuesday - 0-300 and Open Games at 10:30am
Wednesday - 0-300 Game at 10:30am
Thursday - 0-500 Game at 10:30am
Open Game - at 7:15pm
Friday - 0-100 and 0-2000 Games at 12:30pm
Saturday - reserved for scheduled unit games such as the In Memoriam Game and possibly future Swiss Teams Games
The Longest Day
On Saturday June 20th, Unit 133 players “came out” to play a game of virtual bridge to support the people suffering from Alzheimer’s and their caretakers. All proceeds from entry fees will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Association.
We had a total of 10 Tables in the Open Game.
Congratulations
to the overall winners:
1st - Bagisa and Arup Mukherjee
2nd - Mike Kohler and Frank Morgan
Thanks to everyone who played and to all those who made extra contributions. It’s not too late to participate! If you wish to make an additional donation, please mail your check, payable to the Alzheimer’s Association, to Betsy Cutler, 1383 Deerfield Drive, Allentown PA 18104. Thank you for playing and donating to this very worthwhile cause that touches so many of our lives in so many ways.
Stay Safe! Play in Place!
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Unit 141: Philadelphia
Howard Kahlenberg
howard.kahlenberg@gmail.com
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While it is disheartening that the ACBL has had to cancel face-to-face bridge for the rest of the year, it was a necessary step given the current situation. I am not usually the silver lining type, but at least we can be thankful that the public health crisis is happening in a post-internet world. Can you imagine trying to deal with this situation without your cell phone and the internet?
Of course, the primary benefits of this have nothing to do with bridge. But on the bridge side of things, in addition to BBO, I recommend the site Bridge Winners (bridgewinners.com): It’s like Facebook for bridge, but without the annoying posts of pictures of what your friend ate for breakfast. In addition to articles of general interest, there are bidding problems you can answer (or ask), and lots of great national and world class players to follow. But it’s not just people you don’t know. Unit 141 players who frequently comment include Mike Shuster, Hank Youngerman, and Barry Dehlin, among others. There is a special area for intermediate players.
Congratulations
to the newest Unit 141 Life Masters - Kay Garrity of Lansdale and May Sakr of Ardmore.
Other Unit 141 Members achieving new ranks:
New Ruby Life Masters (1,500 points) – May Sakr (This is not a typo – there is no stopping her!)
New Silver Life Master (1,000 points) – Al Fitzgerald, Natalie Colvin and Stephen Emerson
New Bronze Life Masters (750 points) – T E Molnar, Karen Prince, and Arthur Seidner
New Regional Masters (100 points) – Norman (Norm!) Braslow and Mary Beth Kineke
New Sectional Masters (50 points) – Linda Blickman, John Mesrobian, Richard Meyers, and Thomas Schaffer
New Club Masters (20 points) – Ric Andersen, Carol Campbell, Christina Carter, Joanne Duffy, Michael Duffy, Lori Flynn, Kenneth Levine, Mary Merlini, Dwayne Orrison, Anne Pearl, and Pamela Scalamandre
New Junior Masters (5 points) - Joy Effron, Spencer Field, David Mark, Arlene Novak, Stephen Shoff, and Bunny Slepin
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Unit 168: Central Pennsylvania
Jeanne Gehret
jeannegehret@comcast.net
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Clubs in South Central PA have joined forces to offer online bridge games to its club players. These games have been running for several months, with new games and times continuing to be added. The current schedule of games appears at the end of this article.
If you have been playing online with us, Thank You! Your entry fee ($6 for 21 boards) has been essential support for the ongoing expenses at your local club until such time that face-to-face bridge is again possible. A portion of your fee goes to the hosting site, to the ACBL, and the remainder comes back to your local club(s).
If you have not played in our online club game, or have friends who haven’t yet tried it, please consider registering and joining the fun.
Detailed information about how to find our games is located on the home page of the Bridge Boardroom website (link:
http://www.bridgeboardroom.com/
). Just scroll down the main page for those instructions.
All games are offered via Bridge Base Online (known as BBO).
If you need assistance or have any questions related to our online games, please contact Edward Scanlon via email at
edjsiii@yahoo.com
or by phone at 717-755-9505
Below is the current list of games and start times for South Central PA online bridge:
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Unit 190: Delaware
Ala Hamilton-Day
alabridge@gmail.com
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In conjunction with the ACBL Pair games noted above, the Unit 190 team games are still being played. Come and try your luck against the
Four Gay Blades
, the
Strange team
or
Feel the Bern
. You could have played
The Lady and the Tramps
, but apparently the “Lady” has left town. If you want to take the
Tramps
on for a 12-board morning match, they are still hanging around and talking smack.
PLAYER ADVANCEMENTS
JUNIOR MASTER:
Susan Keyser
CLUB MASTER:
Neil Himelein
REGIONAL MASTER:
Ann H. Biehn
NABC LIFE MASTER:
Duke Lohr and Peg Wilson
LIFE MASTER:
Mary K. Reilly
RUBY LIFE MASTER:
Sharon Weintrob
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For news and results from around Unit 190, check out the Unit 190 website and click on the links below:
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Unit 217: Susquehanna
Jim McKeown
jcm@psu.edu
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Please check back next month for an update on Unit 217. Stay well!
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