THE SUN
Seattle Unit 446 Newsletter February/March 2013
2012 Round Robin Wrap-Up by Ray Miller Teams captained by Richard Yarington and Steve Kasner have wrapped up victories in their brackets of the 2012 Seattle Round Robin. Yarington defeated a tough Castoriano team 109-35 in the Open bracket, while Kasner defeated the Matt Schafer team 98-23 to win the 0-750 bracket. The team of John Schermer, Ken Scholes, Kevin Bolan, Bill O’Brien, Richard Yarington, and Leo Schwartz continues to dominate the Round Robin. Online reports of the event go back to 2006 and indicate that they have won every year since then, mak- ing this at least their seventh consecutive victory! One report did contain a vague reference to the team having lost in the finals of the event at some point in the past, improbable though it may seem. This year the perennial favorites secured the final qualifying spot by a margin of only one VP, but dominated once again in the knockout stages. The team of Joel Castoriano, Bob Richardson, Ron Tracy, and David Hildebrand won the qualifying stage and were strong throughout, losing only one match prior to the final. Tying for 3rd/4th were the Rao team (Baluso Rao, Jess Sellers, Jim Aitken, Greg Ho) and Godefroy team (Ole and Julie Godefroy, Carlyn Steiner, Emery Selymes, Roger Urbaniak). In the new 0-750 bracket, the Kasner team lost three very close matches while capturing three big wins in the qualifying stage, but were dom- inant in the knockout stage. The Kasner team is made up of Steve Kasner, Wende Keirsey, Wally Hurst, and Greg Herman. Ben Bomber also played for the team, but didn’t play in the later stages of the event because of his studies abroad. Congratulations on a job well done. In second place was the team of Matt Schafer, Terry Graham, Dave Drischell, Marty Potter, and Jim Stick- man, who won the qualifying stage. Tying for 3rd/4th were the Lowe team (Roger Lowe, John Ellis, Larry and Myrtis Holdren, Bob and Carol Shelley) and Creech team (Leanne Creech, Bill Stewart, Bill Campbell, Ann Romeo). We have received very positive feedback from all in the event. The biggest feedback came to me from Southern Utah, when I received a call from Bob Shelley’s sister-in-law who told me she was starting a round robin event in her club because Bob was so enthusiastic about how much fun the Steve Kasner, Wende Keirsey, Greg Herman, Wally Hurst event is. A party was held at the Eastside Bridge Center in January for all par- ticipating teams, in which pairs from the open bracket were teamed up with pairs from the 0-750 bracket, and food and drink were enjoyed by all. Tell all your friends and recruit new players to this fun and exciting event! Sign up for the 2013 Round Robin!
We had 23 teams in 2012 — let’s go for even more this year! Registration is open now for the 2013 event. To register, send e-mail to Ray Miller at [email protected] with your team roster (4 to 6 players). Deadline for registration is March 31. Play will begin in April. We hope to have an even stronger signup for the 0-750 bracket this year. The format and matchups will depend on the number of teams entering, but will be similar to last year’s event. See http://bridgeinseattle.org for more information.
Page 2 February / March 2013
Club News
Vashon Bridge Club (VBC) The 2nd Tuesday of each month we have a larger than usual crowd as many nice players from Rainbow Location varies Bridge Club join us. November top masterpoint winners were Kim Eng (206) 567-5279 (3.66), Brian Zaugg (3.14), Jeff Ford (2.82), Phyllis [email protected] Gravitz (1.90), and Mike Bovarnick (1.90). VBC has an open bridge game every Friday evening, December winners: Joel Fuhrman and Scott Martin except the first Friday of the month, when the game will won our special holiday party game! Aaron Mohrman- be on the day before (Thursday). The location varies de- Theresa Venhuis and Shawn Abernethy-Jingsong Liu won pending upon availability of sites, so please call James our STAC game. Regular game winners were David Bin- Dam ahead of time for the location of the game. Reserva- ney-James Sherman and Mike Christensen-Mike Ring. tions are appreciated. We play in the lower level of the Mercer Island Con- gregational Church and there is parking just outside the —James Dam door. Our boards are premade with hand records (!), and results are posted at our web site shortly after the game ends. We are incredibly blessed: an extremely generous Mercercrest Bridge Club (MBC) anonymous patron has provided us with Bridgemates to use, so scoring is quicker than ever! This was a wonderful Mercer Island Congregational Church act by a wonderful person. 4545 Island Crest Way, Mercer Island Players of all levels are welcome! For more infor- mation, please call Brian at 206-453-8326 or contact us http://www.bridgeinseattle.org/mercercrest/ at [email protected]. We look forward to see- [email protected] ing you! —Brian Zaugg We meet once a week on Tuesday nights at 7:00 pm for good food, good friends, and good bridge (only the first two guaranteed). If you haven’t come already, we hope you’ll join us! Our games are always stratified so Des Moines Bridge Club (DMBC) newer players have a chance to play against the best, and 2045 S 216th St still compete among themselves. It's a delightful game, and the competition is excellent. Our game cost will be (206) 824-1192 $8 for all games that don't require an additional $1 (most [email protected] games) effective February 1st. We have two mailing lists, one for infrequent an- We welcome all players. Our stratified pairs game, nouncements and another for weekly game results. If Friday at 10:30 am, is only $5.00 and we have a potluck you’d like to be on either list, please drop us a line at buffet. Bringing food is not mandatory, but if you par- [email protected]. take, it’s nice to contribute something. Please arrive by We have several upcoming special games with an 10:15 a.m. Plenty of free parking. opportunity to earn extra masterpoints: My prayer is that everyone that comes to the club has fun and does their best. Hope to see you! Feb. 5: Junior Fund game ($1 extra) —Yvonne Kirkland Feb. 26: Club Membership game Mar. 12: ACBL-wide Charity game ($1 extra) (Continued on page 3) Mar. 26: Unit game
SEATTLE UNIT NEWSLETTER Page 3
Club News
(Continued from page 2) BRIDGE CLASSES: Nick Tipton, the director of Rainbow Bridge Club and Alki Bridge Club, is teaching Seattle Bridge Center (SBC) an introduction to bridge with classes on Monday eve- nings at 7:00 pm and intermediate classes on Saturday 1539 NE 145th, Seattle mornings. Both classes keep adding more students. Please contact Nick by e-mail at [email protected]. (206) 282-6414 HALF PRICE GAMES ($3.50) Wednesday morn- [email protected] ings at 10:30 am and Sunday afternoons at 1:00 pm. http://seattlebridgecenter.tripod.com UNLIMITED FREE PARKING with handicap ac- cess. Please park in the lot east of the club. Mark and Patti are in Mexico and Nick Tipton will be A PARTNER IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE. directing all sessions in February. Thank you, Nick, for NOVEMBER TOP CLUB MASTERPOINT WIN- allowing us to get away for some warm weather and total NERS: Rose Bolson, Suzanne Sax, Joe Ulrich, and Frank relaxation. These vacations are our lifeline to sanity. Brewer. DECEMBER TOP CLUB MASTERPOINT THE TOP MASTERPOINT AWARD FOR 2012 WINNERS: Rose Bolson, Mary McCune, Pete Pitell, goes to Joe Ulrich. Other high masterpoint winners were and Joe Ulrich. Rose Bolson, Corrine Joinette, Terry Chinn, and Mary —Patti McCallum McCune. A plaque hangs on the wall of SBC with Joe’s name engraved on it in honor of our dear friend Lorraine Leach. Joe has also been awarded an individual trophy. Eastside Bridge Center (ESBC) For those of you who not aware, Lorraine fell and broke her hip before Christmas and is slowly recuperating. We 8151 164th Ave NE, Redmond hope to have her back at the bridge table some day soon. (425) 881-6110 WE WOULD LIKE TO UPDATE OUR E-MAIL LIST so everyone is aware of special events at SBC. If [email protected] you would like to receive occasional e-mails concerning http://www.eastsidebridgecenter.com monthly unit games etc., please send us your e-mail ad- Happy New Year! Eighteen teams of bridge players dress. We are very protective of all your personal infor- brought in the new year at Eastside. Chris Moore did a mation including e-mail addresses. great job of organizing & directing this large group, and HALF-PRICED ENTRY FOR STUDENTS: It has boy did we eat great food! We even had duplicated been a policy for many years at SBC that all full-time stu- boards. Congratulations to the winners: (A) Marci Knip- dents will be charged half the normal entry fee or $3.50 schield, Steven Lewis, Michael Ring, Kathy Gilman; (B) per game plus any additional charge for special events. Joel Castoriano, Kathryn Chalfan, Jim Hamilton, Billie CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES every session Coopwood; (C) Susan Cothern, Ruthann Quinn, John
Friday, February 1 through Thursday, February 7. & Michelle Kirsch. SBC WILL BE CLOSED February 15-17 for the Changes are in the works for Eastside. Our Friday Sweetheart Sectional and again on March 31 for Easter. morning double games (open and 0-100) have inspired us THE ACBL-WIDE SENIOR GAME is Monday, to do another daytime double game on Monday morn-
March 4 at 10:30 am. ings: open and 0-300. That begins in February. Presently THE MONTHLY UNIT GAME will be at SBC we also have a double game of 0-2000 and 0-200 Monday Sunday, March 17 at 1:00 pm. Reservations please. nights at 7:00 pm. More good news is we have six tables
(Continued on page 4)
Page 4 February / March 2013
Club News
(Continued from page 3) Rainbow Bridge Club (RBC) of beginning bridge students on Tuesday, so hopefully we Multifaith Works will be able to start up Tuesday night again in the near 1401 E Jefferson St, Seattle future. With so many players making life master, we de- (206) 484-3303 cided to change Wednesday evenings to 0-500. This has been a very popular night game. [email protected] No plans for Valentine’s Day? Come to our special http://rainbowbridgeclub.org Tuesday morning Valentine’s open pairs charity game. We are right in the middle of Seattle, close to every- During February, Eastside will be featuring nine Junior thing! We host three games per week, on Tuesdays and Fund games which provide extra points (see the website Thursdays at 7:00 pm and Saturdays at 6:00 pm. There is calendar). no game on the 2nd Tuesday of the month due to sched- Everyone loves Grand National Team events, and we uling conflicts with our host facility. The cost to play is have one scheduled for February 24th at 1:00 pm only $6.00 even for most special games. (delicious potluck at 12:30). Form your teams early to Rainbow Bridge Club welcomes players of all levels practice for the Sweetheart Sectional. We will be closed and we make fun a priority. New to duplicate bridge? February 15-17 for the Sweetheart Sectional at Vasa We're the club for you! The 2nd and 4th Saturdays are Park. limited games (0-500/NLM) – ideal for newer players! MARCH is PARTY TIME! We are celebrating with All other games are open to all levels. our 5th Anniversary Party on Saturday, March 2 at 1:00 Rainbow Bridge Club is a GLBT based group, but all pm. Reservations are required for this special extra point friendly people are welcome! Visit our website for direc- game. Don’t wait until the last minute but e-mail or call tions, announcements, scheduled games, and posted to sign up as we will definitely have a full house (usually scores. We are always looking for friendly new faces to 24 tables). Parking will be at a premium. Don’t park in come and join us and we aim to keep Rainbow as “the the first 6 stalls marked Bahai. Remember that on big friendliest game in town!” games like this one, or on Saturdays, you can park at Co- Running late? Call (206) 484-3303 to reserve your lumbia Bank directly north of us for free. March is also spot in the game. ACBL Membership month, which means you win lots of —Nick Tipton extra points at no extra cost. Check the website for all the scheduled games. Our last GNT Swiss Team game is scheduled for 3/24 at 1:00 pm (potluck at 12:30). Eastside players have had some big games: Jane & Alki Bridge Club (ABC) Brian Andrews had a 69.79%, Bill & Michele Herman a 63.43%, Rona Visser and Kathy Lichtenberg a 62.5%, West Seattle Senior Center and on Saturday, January 5, with 23 tables, Craig Zastera 4217 SW Oregon, Seattle and Greg Ho had a 64.86% game and Judy & George (206) 484-3303 Slemmons had a 61% game. Sorry I can’t name everyone [email protected] who did well. Way to go eastsiders! http://www.bridgeinseattle.org/westseattle/ Let’s hope for a continued mild winter! See you at the bridge table. We are hitting the ground running in 2013. We've —Dianne Cox got two solid games each week, on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:30am with a break from 12:00-12:25 (Continued on page 5)
SEATTLE UNIT NEWSLETTER Page 5
Club News
(Continued from page 4) Roche-Leonard Wisbey, Jim Burbidge-Stephen Heller, and Lois Larson-Steven Larson. Congratulations to all the for lunch. Every game is Open and the first Monday and Emerald players who earned points! Wednesday of every month is a special game. We aver- Top Emerald players in November were Leonard age 14-15 tables each game! Get there early to ensure Wisbey (6.46), Ira Quint (6.19), Ralph Eley (5.52), seating! Cost is just $6 for all games. Shirley Kuhlman (5.48), and Bob Gerend (5.27). Top Our new Dealing Machine provides truly random players in December were Paul Bartron (6.54), Marge boards with hand records, even with multiple sections. Blunt (5.21), Bud Schafer (4.83), Jerry Thorpe (4.58), We have a non-playing director to keep the game moving and Leonard Wisbey (4.44). and scores are available immediately after the game. We Wes Kuhlman, author of Bridge Maxims for Serious are located in West Seattle for all you south-enders and Bridge Players, starts off the new year with the following Vashonites. We have an excellent facility with a spacious good advice: “Reconsider adjusting your basis for opening and bright room and a full service deli providing excel- leads if matchpoints in defense are below average for lent soup, salads, and sandwiches for lunch. your last three games.” And a bonus tip to keep in mind: Alki Bridge Club closes for weather according to the “Failure to lead partner's bid suit must be based on judg- Seattle School District. Call for verification. Call or e- ment of a superior defensive sequence.” mail to confirm game on February 18th (President’s Come and join us at the Emerald Bridge Club – it’s a Day). For directions, see website listed above. Contact Gem of a game! Nick for partnerships or other information. —Carmen Flak —Nick Tipton Newcastle Bridge Club (NBC) Emerald Bridge Club (EBC) Regency Newcastle Brooklake Community Center [note new location] 7454 Newcastle Golf Club Rd 726 S 356th St, Federal Way (425) 351-2464 (253) 939-0733 [email protected] http://home.comcast.net/~emudd/bridge.html http://bridgeinseattle.org/newcastle/ Stratified Open Pairs, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:00 am. Need a partner? Call Dennie Dye at (253) 939 Newcastle Bridge Club received a wonderful Christ- -0733. mas present this year and now all games are scored by Emerald Bridge Club moved in December (make a Bridgemate! As Barbara becomes more familiar with pro- note of our new address). We are now comfortably set- gramming, the results are out almost as soon as the hand tled in at our new location. Santa Claus – our own Ed records. Howard – found us there and presented the Club’s gift to February will be Junior Fund Month and every game Dennie at our annual Christmas party. will award bonus masterpoints. Not only is Emerald the friendliest game in town, March 5 will be an InterClub Championship Game. our players are winners! In December, Robert Gerend March 7 will be a Club Championship game. Both games not only made Life Master, he also earned Bronze Life award bonus masterpoints for the same low entry fee. Master status and received a cake to prove it [see photo, p. December continued to be a great month for our 15]. At the Tacoma Holiday Sectional in Fircrest, the fol- students and players. We held a party for Larry Holdren lowing pairs finished first in their events: Kenneth De (Continued on page 8)
Page 6 February / March 2013
District 19 competitions 2013 Grand National Teams by Pat Dunn The Grand National Teams is a multi-stage competition beginning at the club level (club qualifying events run through March 31, 2013) and continuing through a district final stage, wherein each of the 25 ACBL Districts selects a qualifying entrant for the National stage of the competition, concluding this year at the Summer Nationals in Atlan- ta, Georgia beginning July 30, 2013. There are four flights or brackets for this competition: OPEN – all ACBL members who reside within the District in which they are competing; FLIGHT A – players with no more than 5000 masterpoints; FLIGHT B – players with no more than 2000 masterpoints; FLIGHT C – players who have not at- tained Life Master status and who have no more than 500 masterpoints (all masterpoint totals and rank requirements as of the September 2012 cycle). The qualifying team in each of these four flights receives a stipend from the Dis- trict, both in recognition of their success and to defray some of their expenses at the national stage of this competi- tion. The District final stage has historically rotated between sites in either greater Vancouver or greater Seattle, as they are the two largest population bases for players in our District. This year we are reverting to a previously-tried approach, having the District final involving two different sites on two different weekends in an effort to increase attendance and foster greater interest in the competition. The details for this year are as follows. While players may only participate in one flight at the National level of the competition, some players desire the opportunity to com- pete in more than one level at the district stage, if/when their qualification allows them to do so (i.e., their qualifica- tion at the club level allows them to choose among several possible levels at the district stage). To both enhance the fields at the district level and to encourage growth in the event itself, the District coordinator has chosen the follow- ing sites and dates for this year’s District level competition:
OPEN FLIGHT and FLIGHT B will be held at the Vancouver Bridge Centre (2776 E. Broadway, Vancou- ver, BC) on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7. Saturday’s competition will begin at 1:00 pm.
FLIGHT A and FLIGHT C will be held at the IUOE Union campus (18701 120th Ave NE, Bothell, WA) on Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21. Again the Saturday competition will begin at 1:00 pm.
The plan is to similarly rotate these brackets in 2014 with Open and B in the Seattle area and A and C in the Vancouver area. The district is not wed to this format, and players’ suggestions, comments, and general input are actively solicited. Several other districts have been experimenting with on-line competitions for this event at the Dis- trict level, and we are also considering such implementation. There are obvious advantages, disadvantages, and diffi- culties to such an approach, but if it would make the event more meaningful and enjoyable for the participants it is certainly a possibility. The first stage of the district finals will depend on the size of each of the fields, either beginning with a two- session Swiss to arrive at a semi-final knockout configuration for day 2, or beginning directly with a knockout-type format, to continue with a final or semi-final and final on the second day of the weekend.
(Continued on page 7)
SEATTLE UNIT NEWSLETTER Page 7
District 19 competitions
(Continued from page 6)
Those competitors who have not qualified at the club stage of this competition retain the opportunity to com- pete at the district stage by paying an additional $25 buy-in fee, beyond the per-session card fees for the event. No more than four members on a team can utilize this “buy-in” aspect for entry to the event. A complete Conditions of Contest for the event is available online at the District 19 website (www.d19.org) as well as the Seattle and Vancouver unit websites. Please direct any questions or comments to Pat Dunn at [email protected] or (425) 746-3930.
2013 North American Pairs Seattle area pairs swept the top spots in all three flights of the District Finals of the North American Pairs, held at the Fircrest sectional in December. The top three pairs in each flight qualify to represent District 19 in the national finals at the Spring NABC (held this year in St. Louis, March 14-24). Congratulations and good luck to all participating pairs! Flight A [Open] Flight B [0-2000] Flight C [0-500/NLM]
1 Henry Lortz-Ken Christiansen 1 Patrick White-Chris Pesce 1 Gene Gousie-Kathy McMullen 2 Randy Corn-John Maki 2 Brian Zaugg-Liliana Diaconescu 2 Henry Hu-Hongqi Tian 3 Dick Yarington-Ken Scholes 3 Dex Stuberg-Clifford Marx 3 Penny Lepp-Ray Lepp 4 Lawrence Hicks-Dan Jacob 4 Brad Kalweit-Sheila Smith 4 Maggie Burke-Gary Wilson
Meet Me in Test Your Play St. Louis! by Dan Romm North (dummy): A54 J43 KJ1098 A4 From Aaron Mohrman: South (you): 2 2 AQ765 KQ10543 “I’m organizing a happy hour for all the Seattle-area players at You reach the contract of 6D by South. West leads the ace of hearts the St. Louis NABC. It will be on and continues with the king, which you ruff; East follows twice. You are Thursday, March 21, from 5:00 to cold if trump are 2-1, so you test trumps by drawing one round and 7:00 pm. (This is the first day of the West shows out. Now what? Red Ribbon Pairs and Silodor Open Solution: You are cold if clubs are no worse than 4-1, but if you test- Pairs.) If you are going to be at the ed trump by cashing your ace, you have made a critical error if West tournament, I hope you can join us. started with five clubs. If you correctly led a trump to the dummy at The location is still being finalized, trick three you are still cold, provided you don’t now lead more trump. but it will be somewhere near the Merely ruff another heart, lead a spade to the ace, ruff a spade with the playing site. Please RSVP to ace of trump, return to dummy by overtaking the queen of trump, draw [email protected] and I'll trump and claim. Note that had you played the ace of trump at trick share the final plans with you.” three you would have squandered a necessary entry to the dummy. This again illustrates the importance of not playing hastily as declarer.
Page 8 February / March 2013
Club NEWS
(Continued from page 5) in December and in January we had Life Master Parties A World Class Defense for Bill Campbell, Ruthann Quinn (after all her surger- ies), and Raynor Christiansen. Sholeh Winters will have by Dick Yarington her date in February. Join our classes, play at the club and you too can have a Life Master Party in your future. In August 2012 the World Championships were held in Lille, France. John Schermer was on the team Lessons: Sign up now for lessons starting in March. nd Days and times to be determined by student majority. which placed 2 in the Seniors event. I asked him what Two Over One – An introduction to the structure of his favorite hand from the tournament was. Out of the bidding within the system. Small classes guarantee indi- nearly two weeks of sessions, this hand from a qualify- vidual guidance. Each class is 1½ hours of lecture fol- ing round against an Argentinian team was his best. It lowed by 2 to 2½ hours of supervised play using the prin- was written up in the daily bulletin under the title ciples of the day’s lessons. 8 lessons $200, retakes half “Don’t Mess with the Zohan (or John Schermer)”. price. Take his cards and see if you can find his brilliant play. Advancing Player #1 – This class teaches thought You hold 98x Kxxx xx KJ8x. RHO opens 1NT processes, counting, signaling, play of the hand, etc. (14-16), you pass, and LHO raises to 3NT, ending the There are no conventions taught in this class. 1½ hours auction. What would you lead? lecture and 2 to 2½ hrs supervised play. 8 lessons $200. John rejected the lead of either of his long suits, as Advancing Player #2 – This class is intended for stu- he felt that they might set up tricks for declarer. He dents who have already taken Advancing Player #1, but decided to lead a top-of-nothing spade. In his partner- want to further refine their bridge skills. Lesson plans will ship’s agreements, the 8 was the correct card to lead be customized to fit the students’ needs. from this holding (the 9 would have been convention- Singles are always welcome and accommodated. Res- al), so he led the 8 of spades. Dummy went down with ervations are appreciated, but not required. Always plen- KJx Jxx QJ10x Qxx. Back to you: ty of food and a relaxed environment. $8 per game; $100 for 14 game punchcard. (Dummy) —Barbara Nist KJx Jxx QJ10x Elderberry Bridge Club (EBBC) Qxx (You) Foundation House 98x 32290 1st Ave S, Federal Way Kxxx (253) 939-0733 xx http://home.comcast.net/~emudd/elder.html KJ8x
Stratified Open Pairs, Sunday at 1:00pm. Need a Declarer calls for the jack of spades at trick one, partner? Call Dennie Dye at (253) 939-0733. partner plays the queen, and declarer wins the ace. At Sundays just got sunnier! Check out the new game trick two, declarer leads a low heart from hand to- hosted by Dennie Dye and Marge Blunt. Come join us in wards dummy’s Jxx. Plan your defense. our pleasant surroundings. Now that the tournaments are behind us, we expect nice turnouts. See you soon! (Continued on page 11) —Carmen Flak
SEATTLE UNIT NEWSLETTER Page 9
UNIT BOARD NEWS
A message from the outgoing Unit Hospitality Corner
Board President and SUN Editor Ann Romeo Jeff Ford Thanks again for all the great treats you provided to make the Fall Sectional a success! Much appreciated. It's been a very busy couple of years for me in the We need your help again for the upcoming Sweet- bridge community, and I'm happy to be handing off heart Sectional (again at Vasa) on February 15-17. Any some things to some excellent replacements. and all treats, healthy or not, are wel- For the last two years I have comed! served as unit board president. The On Sunday, we WILL be provid- board was full of smart people and ing a lunch for $6.00 per person, probably hard workers, making my job pretty soup and sandwich, which you will pay for easy. At our most recent board meet- when you buy your entry for Swiss. A veg- ing we elected Jen Chalfan as the new etarian option will be provided. If you president. I actually work with Jen at must opt out, see me or Susan Cothern at my day job where she has to get hard- the Partnership desk. headed software developers working Finally, I am honored to be select- toward a common goal, and she does ed by our SBU board to be the newest a great job of it. I think she'll be able member of the District 19 board. I repre- to run the board with one hand tied sent YOU. Please let me know if you have behind her back. Jeff Ford any issues or concerns you would like me For a little over three years I've to raise with D19; I’ll be happy to raise also been editing the SUN. I am them at our Spring meeting. grateful to all of the people who sent Thanks again, and if you have any me contributions, especially to regu- questions, don’t hesitate to contact me at lar writers Dick Yarington, Ann Ro- [email protected] or (425) 615-1413. meo, Julie Godefroy, Dan Romm, and Brian Zaugg. David Wright was less prolific, but equally enjoyable to Earn Free Plays read. When he offered to take over at Sectionals! the editing, I knew from his writing he would do a great job. And I guess The unit is trying to have guaran- this means I'm forgiven for putting teed partners for all events at all of our the pretentious sounding title tournaments. In order to do this, we need "Making the Wright Play" on his arti- volunteers for each day of the tournament cles without asking him [Yes. —Ed.]. to play with a walk-in player if needed. I still have three more years on If you’re willing to volunteer, the board, so I will still have plenty to Ann Romeo you’ll play free if you’re needed the day do. If there's something you think our unit could be you volunteer and you’ll also receive a free play at a fu- doing better, I'd love to hear your ideas. Most im- ture sectional event. portantly, though, the next time you see Jen or Da- Please contact Susan Cothern, our partnership chair, vid, please tell them how much you appreciate the at [email protected] for more information or work they're doing. to volunteer.
Page 10 February / March 2013
COLUMN
Making the Wright Play
by David Wright
Partner puts you in 6H, with no opposing bidding, on refuses to cover when you lead through him, your fourth the following hands: club will be a slow loser. (Say you first run the 10 and lose to the J. You win the return, and can either run the Dummy: Kxxx Axx KQJ A8x club Q or play low to dummy’s 8, winning the trick – Declarer: — KQJxxx Axx Q109x but when the K fails to fall under dummy’s A on the third round, you are left with a second loser in your hand.) LHO leads a trump. You win the ace in dummy, RHO following, and play another round to your hand on You can get around this by starting your play of the which RHO shows out. The contract obviously depends club suit at trick three, keeping dummy’s last trump to on not losing two club tricks. What play offers the best ruff the fourth round with if necessary. But LHO will still chance in clubs? And is there any reason not to draw the have a trump while all this is going on — doesn’t this risk last trump before turning your attention to that question? running into a ruff?
Many players are familiar with a form of play that Actually, no! Because LHO (not RHO) has the re- arises in a suit holding AJ10 opposite xxx: you can take a maining trump, and given that you are playing LHO for at “double finesse” (low to the 10, then low to the J, or vice least one club honor (a 75% chance), it is totally safe! If versa), winning two tricks if one (either one) or both of LHO has one or two clubs, his honor will appear in time the missing honors are onside – a 75% chance, all else for you to win the ace, draw the last trump, knock out being equal. Similarly, with AQ10 opposite xxx, the the other club honor if you haven’t already, and claim. If double finesse (low to the 10, then low to the Q) has a LHO has three clubs, he will follow as you play three 75% chance of winning at least two tricks: two tricks if rounds of the suit and your fourth club will be good. If one honor (either one) is onside (50%), and three tricks LHO has four or more clubs, he will have to follow all if both honors are onside (25%). the way (no doubt gnashing his teeth in frustration) while you ruff your club loser in dummy, and then you can re- In the layout above, the possession of the high club turn to hand to draw the last trump. spots (10, 9, 8) between the two hands gives you a simi- lar double finesse position in that suit. You can lead the Once RHO shows out of trumps, it is completely queen or ten from hand (towards the ace) on the first safe to double-finesse in the seven-card side suit with a round, and if that loses, lead the other card from hand on trump still out. (Well…if RHO has KJxx of clubs, you the next round, with a 75% chance of finding at least one might go down two instead of one this way – he can give of the missing honors on your left. Even better, you avoid LHO a ruff after the second finesse loses – but since go- the torture of trying to guess what to do if you play ace ing down two instead of one in a slam rarely makes much and another club from dummy and RHO follows low on difference to your result at any form of scoring, the re- the second round. (Better the 75% play you know than ward is far greater than the risk.) At the table LHO the 100% play you don’t!) turned up with Kxxx of clubs, so spotting this extra chance play was the key to making the slam. Ironically, However, a problem arises on this layout because you possession of BOTH the annoying fourth club AND the are leading towards the hand with shorter clubs. If LHO bothersome third trump was more of a hindrance to has four or more clubs to an honor, and inconveniently LHO than a help — but only if you played carefully!
SEATTLE UNIT NEWSLETTER Page 11
Membership news
We extend a hearty welcome to our new members! Don’t forget to bring your younger friends out, as our entry fees are only $1 for teens at the tournaments! Seattle Bridge Unit #446 is run by volunteers. We invite all our members to participate and support Unit #446. NEW Life Masters (300/500 MPs): Janet Brown, Peter Brown, James Dam, Larry Holdren, Beverly Little, Marilyn Philips Bronze Life Master (500 MPs): Muhunthan Sivapragasam Silver Life Master (1000 MPs): Lee Silvas Gold Life Masters (2500 MPs): Emily Bone, Helene Fornia, Leo Schwartz Complete membership and rank advancement information was not available for this issue. See the next issue for more achievements!
(Continued from page 8) give the defense a chance, but what if declarer has the 10 of clubs? Dummy’s queen is in the way. John found the Initial Analysis: Was this lead effective? It is clear only play that neutralized this card by leading the jack of clubs that partner has at least four spades, but who has the 10 at trick three. If partner has Axxx of clubs and declarer has of spades? Declarer must have the 10 of spades, because if 10x, leading the king followed by the jack would also he didn’t, he wouldn’t waste the jack of spades at trick work, but if partner has A9x and declarer has 10xx, lead- one. Playing the jack would assist the defense, enabling ing the jack on the first round is the only winning play. them to attack spades from either side when they gain the Aftermath: Declarer had A10x AQxx Axxx 10x. lead. No matter how he squirmed, he was finished after the Brilliancy Moment: Why is declarer attacking jack of clubs switch as the defense successfully cashed hearts? He must have good hearts, he has three tricks in four club tricks. This hand was played about 50 times in spades, and he probably has four tricks in diamonds. This the Open, Women’s, and Seniors team events. Not all adds up to nine tricks. The only hope for the defense is to pairs got to 3NT, but most pairs took 9 tricks. John se- take four clubs along with the king of hearts. cured the only plus score in his direction. Truly, a well The Master Stroke: How does the defense get four deserved score for a world class play. club tricks? Clearly, partner must have the ace of clubs to
FEBRUARY 2013
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
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SBC Club Championship Games (all sessions, 2/1-2/7)
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
SBC Club Championship Games (all sessions, 2/1-2/7)
ABC Charity Game NBC Junior Fund Game ABC Charity Game MBC Junior Fund Game RBC Club Championship NBC Junior Fund Game
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NBC Junior Fund Game ESBC Charity Game SWEETHEART SECTIONAL
NBC Junior Fund Game SBC, ESBC closed SBC, ESBC, RBC closed
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(cont.) NBC Junior Fund Game
SBC, ESBC closed NBC Junior Fund Game
24 25 26 27 28 ESBC GNT Qualifier NBC Junior Fund Game (1:00 pm)
MBC Club Membership Game NBC Junior Fund Game MARCH 2013
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
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ESBC Anniversary Party
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 SBC ACBL-wide Senior NBC Inter-Club Championship ABC Club Championship NBC Club Championship Game I/N SECTIONAL
MBC ACBL Charity Game ABC Club Championship RBC Club Championship
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
I/N SECTIONAL RBC GNT Qualifier
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SBC Unit Game
MBC Unit Game
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
ESBC GNT Qualifier (1:00 pm)
31
SBC closed Title
SEATTLE UNIT NEWSLETTER Page 15
Club Schedules and Locations
Sunday Thursday 1:00 pm Seattle Bridge Center 10:00 am Eastside Bridge Center Elderberry Bridge Club Emerald Bridge Club 10:30 am Seattle Bridge Center Free Lunch Monday 7:00 pm LeEtta King Bridge Club 10:00 am Eastside Bridge Center Open/0-300 Rainbow Bridge Club 10:30 am Alki Bridge Club Newcastle Bridge Club Seattle Bridge Center Eastside Bridge Center 0-2000 7:00 pm Eastside Bridge Center 0-2000/0-200 Seattle Bridge Center Lessons + Play Friday 10:00 am Eastside Bridge Center Open/0-100 Tuesday 10:30 am Des Moines Bridge Club 10:00 am Eastside Bridge Center Seattle Bridge Center Emerald Bridge Club 6:30 pm Vashon Bridge Club (except first Fridays; 10:30 am Seattle Bridge Center time varies, call first) 11:00 am Newcastle Bridge Club 7:00 pm UW Bridge Club (school year only) 7:00 pm Mercercrest Bridge Club 7:30 pm Seattle Bridge Center Rainbow Bridge Club (except 2nd Tuesday) Saturday Wednesday 9:30 am Eastside Bridge Center 0-20 “Fun Bridge” 10:00 am Eastside Bridge Center Noon Seattle Bridge Center 10:30 am Seattle Bridge Center 1:00 pm Eastside Bridge Center Alki Bridge Club 6:00 pm Rainbow Bridge Club 0-300 1st/3rd Noon Ronald Methodist Church Senior, 0-2000 Open others 7:00 pm Eastside Bridge Center 0-500
All games are open unless otherwise specified.
Locations:
Ronald Methodist Church 17839 Aurora Ave N (entrance on Linden, not Aurora) Margaret Marshall, (206) 363-5484 (206) 972-1941 (cell)
LeEtta King Bridge Club Central Area Senior Center 500 30th Ave S (206) 226-9732
University of Washington Bridge Club Christ Episcopal Church 1305 NE 47th St (206) 692-1501
Bronze Life Master Robert Gerend celebrates at the Emerald Bridge Club. See “Club News” starting on page 2 for other club information. Seattle Unit ACBL Membership: Julie Godefroy 1210 101st Pl NE Bellevue, WA 98004-3534
Tournament Trail Check out www.acbl.org for most current information
February 8-10 Bellingham Sectional Spokane Sectional 15-17 Bellevue Sectional 18-24 VANCOUVER, WA REGIONAL
March 1-3 Moses Lake Sectional Seattle Unit Newsletter 9-10 Bothell I/N [0-500/NLM] Sectional 14-24 ST. LOUIS, MO NABC Published every other month, in February, 22-24 Arlington (Everett) Sectional April, June, August, October, and December. We love to get contributions from unit mem- bers. Please email any recent bridge accom- plishments, milestones, rants, raves, or correc- SUN Delivery tions to [email protected]. The deadline for articles is the 10th of each odd The SUN is delivered to all unit members who provide an email numbered month. All submissions may be edit- address or ask for it to be sent by mail. Let us know if you want to get a paper copy of the newsletter. ed for length and content. The newsletter is edited by David Wright.