May 2020 Newsletter 4th Floor, 820 N Orleans Street, Chicago, IL 60610 (312) 631-3948 http:/www.bridgewebs.com/chicagodbc

Chicago Leads the (Virtual) Way! Chicago Duplicate Bridge, in the person of Vice-President Matthew Dyer, has been a leader, and a guinea pig, as ACBL has built out its online programming for stay-at-home bridge. We are fortunate to have Matthew to bring our concerns and our needs to the attention of the decision makers. As early adopters, we sometimes find the glitches before they can be resolved, but the result is that we’re able to offer multiple games each day. In addition, we’ve created working partnerships with several other local clubs that allow us to expand our reach and allow our players more opportunities to play. We can all be proud of the part we’re playing in keeping bridge alive in the Chicago metro area. More info below!

And as we can’t say often enough: Stay at home as ordered by the Mayor and Governor, get plenty of rest, and take care of yourself!

Upcoming Special Events—All on BBO DAILY – Open ChicagoDB Games at 12:15 pm Monday and Wednesday – 299er ChicagoDB Games at 12:10 pm Tuesday – 499er ChicagoDB Game at 6:30 pm Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs – ChicagoDB at 6:30 pm Friday – Treetowns at 7:30 pm Saturday – Treetowns at 6:30 pm Sunday – UCClub at 3:30 pm Read about the BBO games below, including more detail on how to find specific games. When the stay-at-home order is lifted, CDB will assess the local situation, keeping in mind that we have a particularly vulnerable population. When we are comfortable that we are not putting our players in danger, CDB will go back to our regular schedule of in-person games, including monthly Swiss teams and mentor games, and special events. We will also “make up” missed events (such as the Rank Advancement Party we skipped) as much as possible. Watch this space! Click on Calendar below the News on the Home Page to see the full schedules at http://bridgewebs.com/cgi-bin/bwom/bw.cgi?club=chicagodbc&pid=display_future

Thanks So Much—But the Need Is Still There! Chicago Duplicate Bridge members are a wonderful group of people. We all owe a word of thanks to our members who have contributed to the ongoing sustainability of the club. Some people have played—often many times—at the ACBLSYC games. Some have played—again, often many times—at the Virtual Club games. Each of these provide revenue to the club for each game played. Some of you have taken and are planning to take more lessons from Eldad “Gino” Ginossar; Gino is donating 10% of his revenue to the club. And 31 people have donated through our GoFundMe page (search “Chicago Duplicate Bridge”; the name under that is 7NT). A few others have sent contributions directly to the club. If you are playing in our games on BBO, consider donating an additional dollar or two to CDB for every game you play.

Whatever you can do, no matter how small, helps. We have been working to get a loan either through the federal PPP initiative or other means, but that has not come through as of yet. We have also been working to negotiate expenses with our large commitments.

Chicago Duplicate Bridge Leads the Metro When you play in the Virtual Club games on BBO, a portion of your fee goes back to your “home” club. Many of our members play at multiple venues in the Chicago metro area. To promote local bridge, we have formed official relationships with other local clubs. With Lawson and Treetowns we are operating as a single club. We share our player list with vacb105395 (the Temple Jeremiah family), so you are encouraged to play in their games, as they are in ours. And we are working with vacb275776 (Larry Cohen's family of games-- UCClub). Please “friend” them on BBO and support the games that they are running, most of which are deliberately placed to not conflict with ours, because they are supporting ours.

Treetowns runs an open but elite game in Elmhurst on Tuesday nights as well as Friday and Saturday night games now under the joint banner. Consequently, you may see unfamiliar names as opponents in our games; we’re all in this together. As we work out our relationship with these clubs, and when we should run parallel 299er games, things will continue to change.

BBO Games that Benefit Chicago Duplicate Bridge Here is how you can play bridge and help financially support Chicago Duplicate Bridge. The ACBL is running 2 kinds of games that cost BBO$, the largest part of which goes back to your home club. To play in these games, you need to have BB$ in your account. To put money in an account, click on the blue BB$ tab, top right on the home page. You can add BBO$ using a smartphone or tablet, but BBO charges a 30% surcharge. There is no surcharge when using a laptop or desktop computer. The menu is self-explanatory. The 2 types of games are ACBL Support Your Club games and Virtual Club games. Both are described below.

(1) ACBL “Support Your Club” Games The ACBL is running ACBLSYC (Support Your Club) games three times a day, at 9am, 4:10pm, and 6:30pm (Central). These cost BBO$5 and pay ACBL black . All of these games are selling out—the 4:10 pm game by 2:15 pm. So, for example, both you and your partner need to be logged onto BBO at 2:00 pm to register.

There is an additional ACBLSYC individual game for BB$6. Every day at any time of day you can play 18 boards against robots (and you are guaranteed to get the best hand at the table and you never have to be dummy), and earn black points, with $5 going to the club. Find this at the top of the list after you select Competitive, then ACBL Masterpoint Tournaments under Pending. (2) Virtual Club Games on BBO We are very, very lucky to have a close, caring bridge community. At 12:15 every day (all 7 days) and Monday through Saturday evenings, Chicago Duplicate Bridge/Treetowns is running pair games on BBO. These games are “private,” restricted to our players (and those of our partner clubs) and their guests. CDB was one of the first in the country in offering these private games to keep us together during this stressful time. Each game costs $5 BBO.

If you have played at CDB or a friend club in the last year, you should be good to go. If not, email your BridgeBase username to [email protected]. Once you are on the list, just sign up on line below. Here’s what you do next:

1) Log on to BBO. 2) Under Featured Areas, select Virtual Clubs 2 hours or less before the game in which you want to play. You can do it up to game time, but it’s helpful if you sign up at least 10 minutes before start time. 3) Select ACBL Virtual Clubs. 4) Select Pending. 5) Identify our game. In the left-hand column you will see vacb270876. Click on the middle column with the game name and time. Please note that the game will be identified as “combined,” “open, “299er,” or other similar description of the intended audience, so be sure you get the game you want. 6) Enter your partner’s BBO username. Your partner must be logged into BBO to see and accept the invitation. 7) At start time, the first set of boards will appear on your . Have fun! 8) After the game concludes (that means all tables are finished), the results will appear, showing the pairs ranked and the percentage score. FAQ—Matthew Answers Your Questions Here! Why are there random people from foreign countries in the game? BBO cannot handle sit-outs, so I have to fill the seats by the end of the first round. If I can't find people I know, I fill the seats with anyone available.

What is Treetowns, and why are people I don't know playing in our Tuesday night game? The ACBL is concerned about clubs stealing money and players from other clubs. Clubs are allowed to collaborate. After discussion with the owners, we run the Lawson games under a joint banner. Tom Dressing's clubs at Temple Jeremiah have agreed to share players (you can play in their games and they can play in ours). Treetowns in Elmhurst opted to share player lists and play under a joint banner on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday nights. The Treetowns game attracts Chicago's World Class players, and if we have enough players signed up, we will also run an I/N game on Tuesday night.

I registered for the game but at gametime I didn't get in. Many of these instances have been investigated. In every single case, the player was recorded as not logged on (or asleep, or playing elsewhere) at gametime. Wiggle your mouse or turn on your phone.

I thought I should be B flight, but ended up in A. ACBL ranks everyone playing in each game in decreasing order of ACBL masterpoints (by the player in the pair with the most MPs), and the top 1/3 are A, the second 1/3 are B, and the bottom 1/3 are C. Robots and non-ACBL players (including beginners and those with no masterpoints) are deemed to have infinite points, and assigned to A flight. The actual cutoff numbers depend on who shows up to a game. For example, in one recent 299er game, the C group was players with 1-47 MPs; B was 48-53; and everyone else was in A.

BBO said I earned 0.5MPs, but my ACBL Live email said I had 0.75MPs. Which is it? The ACBL has decided to give a 50% bonus to ACBL Virtual Club games (and I think ACBLSYC games). Basically this was easier to do on ACBL Live than on BBO, so BBO shows you what the old rules would give you, and ACBL Live gives you the bonus. It is the bonus (i.e., the higher number) that is credited to your ACBL account.

I used to be able to play in CDB games, but I am now blocked. What should I do? Message (and email [email protected]) the tournament director (vacb270876) as early as you can, and then pay attention to messages around game time. Be prepared to act quickly. I will usually tell you to "go"; it is usually a good idea to logout and login again if this happens (or if anything bad happens). I apologize sincerely to those I have not reached in time, but given the choice between a complete game crash and a pair not being able to play, I pick the 62 people waiting for a game to start. There is an unresolved software bug with “blocked” players that shouldn't be. We are case studies for this bug, receiving individual attention from the BBO programmers. They are totally swamped right now and working as fast as they can.

You changed the time for a board from 7 to 6 minutes. My wife and I are thinking about leaving the game because we feel pressured by the stronger players who put us under pressure if we are taking a long time on the first hand. The rationale behind moving to 6-minute boards for the open game is that in live bridge the standard is 7 minutes per board. On BBO, you don't have to take the cards out of the board, sort your hand, shuffle the hand at the end, record a contract, score, check the score, turn the boards, and physically play the cards. So it should be possible to play a board online at least a minute faster than in live bridge. The ACBL suggests 6 minutes for open games, consistent with most of my responses.

Do I get a zero if I timeout on a board? No. If you time out on a board, either the robot director or I will adjudicate the board and find a fair outcome. You will not be cheated on the score if you time out. The director will take care of it.

I keep clicking the wrong bid or card, and you don't allow undos. What can I do? To keep this from ever happening, change your account settings. Go to Account (right tab), then settings, and set confirm bids to ON and confirm played cards to ON. Confirm bids requires you to click OK before the bid is accepted and fixes all misbid problems. Confirm card requires a double click, which only fixes some misclicks. Some directors will adjust for an obviously irrational misclick, but this is highly exceptional.

Please explain again how you alert bids on BBO. The alert procedure is a lot easier if you have confirm bids on. Here’s what the ACBL says: “BBO uses a self-alerting system similar to high-level tournaments where screens are being used. That is to say, you alert and explain (if asked) your own bids. To make a conventional bid click the Alert button BEFORE clicking the bid. It will show grayed to your opponents. They can now click it and ask for an explanation. A box will pop up on your screen requiring you to provide an explanation. Please provide it here and not via table chat, as your partner cannot see your alerts and should not see your explanations either. In case you forgot to alert, you can at any time click one of your bids and explain it. In the same manner you can click on an opponent's bid (alerted or not) and require an explanation. When a bid is outlined and/or shaded it can mean 3 things: • If the bid is only outlined, it means it was alerted but has no explanation • If it is outlined and shaded, it was alerted and has an explanation • If it is shaded but not outlined, it was not alerted but has an explanation.”

That means that all alertable and announceable bids should be alerted by clicking the alert key before the bid. If you are making a transfer or opening 1NT with 15-17, click the alert button before bidding and type in “transfer” or “15-17” after the bid. If you are playing something unusual (like a 12-14 NT or precision), then type it in before clicking the bid. “Could be short” (or “CBS” for regular opponents) needs to go into the announcement window. You must do something to protect both the opponents and your side, because the director MUST rule against you if you have not alerted and there is damage.

How exactly do I call the director? In the upper left there should be a “hamburger menu”—a blue square with 3 white stripes, and Call Director will be an option. Click there and you will have a field to enter your objection.

If you call the director and have a complicated explanation, please start typing it before I get there. (Common complaints are “west slow,” “south refuses to explain bid,” “east paused for a minute before passing,” or “E/W played the last board slowly and we lost a board.”)

I will get there as quickly as I can and will rule as I would in a live game (including hesitations), but it gets murky when there has been a clear misclick. I rule within the spirit of the law, and I'm not giving anyone a free top board for an obvious misclick.

What if I don’t understand an opponent’s bid? If you want to know what a bid means, then click on the bid at any time. It will send a message to the opponent saying “explain,” and the opponent should respond. And if you don't get satisfactory descriptions, then call the director. This is why we get paid the big bucks (well, we don't right now—but this is the job of the director).

You must answer the questions asked, even if you are a beginner, regardless of whether the bid was alertable. There have been a number of instances of advanced players intimidating beginner players through this process (very bad), but if you are asked to explain then “standard” (or “std” or “natural”) is usually the correct response.

What does it mean when I see a pop-up that says, “Explain”? If a pop-up appears requesting “Explain,” you need to respond. If you receive one, then you should explain your bid, even if it is not alertable. And beginners: simply say what your bid meant (e.g., 1C-1S-2H ... if you play reverses, then say “4h 17+ ,” and if you don't know what they are, then explain that it shows 4+ hearts 13+). Call the director if someone harasses you. Call the director if you don't understand the question. And please copy the chat and email it to me if you think you have been harassed.

If the explanation is insufficient, you can use the chat feature to ask a specific question, without your partner knowing. It is possible to chat to the table (which you shouldn't do if you are trying to ask a question), to both opponents simultaneously, or to an individual player. Change “->table” to “->opponents” to get the info you need, or click on the player's username to send a private chat. If you cannot get a sufficient explanation, then call the director.

A window popped up asking me to explain, and the opponents went ballistic when I responded to the question in the table chat. Should I ask for this player to be barred? If a pop-up appears asking you to Explain, then you should explain in the popup window. If you respond there, the opponents will see the explanation, but not your partner (which is important if you are in the middle of a bidding misunderstanding). If you respond to >Table, you may convey unauthorized information to your partner.

The Longest Day—Not This Year Given the continuing stay-at-home order in Illinois, CDB will not be participating in the ACBL’s fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association, The Longest Day. ACBL is still looking at the possibility of holding the event, but given the prevalence of the virus in the Chicago area, it seems wise to cancel a day-long, four-game marathon, even if the Club is open by mid-June. We encourage members to contribute to the Alzheimer’s Association, and look forward to having an even better day in 2021.

Larry Cohen Seminar Cancelled It’s not a surprise, but Larry Cohen has cancelled his entire planned tour for this season. It’s a disappointment for us all, but understandable. If you registered, your fees will be refunded. If you have questions about your refund or a particular way you would like to receive your refund, please contact Judy Adler at [email protected].

Beginner, Intermediate/Novice News With the club closed, Chicago Duplicate Bridge is offering limited masterpoint games on Bridge Base Online. Currently 299er games are offered on Monday and Wednesday afternoons; 499er games on Tuesday evening and Saturday afternoon. We are monitoring demand and may add additional limited MP games or discontinue a specific game as needed, so keep an eye on the “This Week” emails if you are interested.

And anyone can play in the Open games offered every day and most evenings. Beginners, this is a great way to begin to play against more experienced players. Players are friendly and we’re all still getting accustomed to how the program works. Don’t be shy; take the plunge! One tip: When you watch your partner play the hand, you have the opportunity to see what works well and what may not work as well. It’s a great learning opportunity.

Lessons—We’ve Got Lessons Again! Eldad “Gino” Ginossar is again offering bridge lessons on Zoom. There will be two subscriptions to weekly lessons, each costing a total of $70 for all 4 lessons in May. If you wish to take both sets of lessons, the total cost is $120. For an additional $10, participants can stream the lessons online afterwards. Each 90-minute lesson will include a 45-minute topical lesson, another 15-20 minutes on a secondary topic, and some analysis and Q&A related to the immediately preceding CDB game. It is not necessary to play in the game to benefit from the lesson. For an additional $10 a month, participants can join the course portal on Ruzuku for an enhanced learning experience. On this platform, students will be able to re-watch edited lessons, interactively rerun lessons' drills and quizzes, have all the course handouts organized, and more. To register, send email to [email protected]. Gino will tell you how you can pay the enrollment fee and will then send a link to the Zoom sessions. A portion of all revenues goes to Chicago Duplicate Bridge. ❖ Master Lessons for Advanced Players (Gino Ginossar) o Mondays, 3:00 pm o May 4: Splinters o May 11: Suit preference on defense o May 18: Safety plays o May 25: Advanced 2/1 ❖ Intermediate Lessons (Gino Ginossar) o Wednesdays, 3:00 pm o May 6: o May 13: Negative double o May 20: Declarer play o May 27: Drury CDB may also offer a set of Beginning Bridge lessons on Zoom. These would be designed for people who want to learn bridge from scratch. With the enforced stay-at-home, many people are looking for ways to spend their time at home. Bridge is, as we all know, a great pastime. If you know anyone who might be interested, please have them contact Gino. Again, email [email protected]

Upcoming Tournaments On April 30-May 3, ACBL is hosting an online tournament on BridgeBase Online. Games will award Gold Masterpoints; there are games at a range of levels. There will be a game at 3:00 pm CDT and one at 6:30 pm CDT each day. Preregistration is required. You can find more information at http://acbl.org/virtual. (We will be running our usual club virtual games those days as well.)

As of now, all in-person tournaments have been cancelled for the immediate future. As soon as we get back to normal, we’ll be providing tournament information. For more information on all upcoming local tournaments, see http://bridgeinchicago.com/tournaments/. For ACBL- wide tournaments, see http://tournaments.acbl.org/.

Player Achievements Because there were no games held at CDB and members are playing in a variety of online venues, we do not have meaningful “in-house” achievements. We’re all looking forward to being able to acknowledge outstanding games by our friends and colleagues. Player Rank Advancement Congratulations to the following members who have advanced in ACBL rank in March, as noted on April 6. John Knoepke and Tijuana Nelson, Junior Masters; Frank Greco, Dawn Kasserman, and Drew Olson, Sectional Masters; Nick Evens, Regional Master; Allan Sweet, Silver Life Master; Guy Franklin, Gold Life Master. Unit 123 Rankings Congratulations to players in the Unit 123 rankings posted April 6!

Mini McKinney Ace of Clubs 0-5 Tijuana Nelson, #3 0-5 Jessica Nielsen #4 Jessica Nielsen #7 Tijuana Nelson #5 Susan Youngs #8 5-20 Peter Bush #1 5-20 Peter Bush #1 David Kovacs #3 David Kovacs #2 Elise Schreiber #5 Elise Schreiber #4 Conrad May #9 Conrad May #6 20-50 20-50 Mai Phan #5 Nancy Krippel #7 50-100 Mary Reed #6 50-100 Mary Reed #3 Mini McKinney Ace of Clubs Steven Strong #8 Steven Strong #5 Holly Economos #9 Maurice Norman #7 100-200 Kunal Pujara #1 100-200 Kunal Pujara #1 Kathryn Norman #3 Kathryn Norman #2 Ron Raedeke #6 Ron Raedeke #6 Cynthia Huang #7 James English #7 Frances Margolin #8 200-300 Daniel Weiss #1 200-300 Les White #1 Les White #2 Pauline Oyama #6 Pauline Oyama #8 James Sturtevant #8 James Sturtevant #9 Missy Ravid #10 Patricia Ballman #9 300-500 Aleksander Lishkov #1 300-500 Aleksander Lishkov #1 Sarik Goyal #2 Carolyn Naselli #6 500-1000 Judi Katz #1 500-1000 Judi Katz #1 William Berkman #2 William Berkman #2 Monte Lamb #5 R Paul Urbanick #3 Philip McPeek #7 Monte Lamb #5 R. Paul Urbanick #9 Valy Lev #9 1000-1500 Paul Prez #4 1000-1500 Mickey Goldgehn #4 Nic Hristea #6 Burton Lewis #5 Mark Pinkowski #7 Janet Nachman #8 Linda Sweig #10 1500-2500 John Miller #3 1500-2500 Rosede Olson #3 Susan Eggebrecht #6 Susan Eggebrecht #5 Cory Perkers #9 John Miller #7 2500-3500 Tom Fogarty #1 2500-3500 Roger Theis #1 Michael Airdo #4 Michael Airdo #3 Roger Theis #5 Dorri Goldgehn #5 James Hudson #8 James Hudson #6 Tom Fogarty #7 3500 -5000 Kendra Bridges #2 3500-5000 Matthew Dyer #2 Matthew Dyer #3 Jane Kennedy #3 Joseph Stokes #5 John Goring #5 Betsy Downs #9 Kendra Bridges #6 Jane Kennedy #10 Cherrolyn Woodwine #7 5000-7500 Judy Zhu #1 5000-7500 Judy Zhu #1 Robert Kent #3 Robert Kent #2 Richard Strauss #8 Toddy Leavitt #3 7500-10000 Eldad Ginossar #1 7500-10000 Ellen Kent #1 Amin Hakim #3 Eldad Ginossar #2 Ellen Kent #4 Amin Hakim #3 Barbara Saben #6 Barbara Saben #4 10000+ L. James Phillips #4 10000+ L. James Phillips #1 Claude Vogel #6 Claude Vogel #8