Bridge Club “Dr.Jurica Tomljenović”

bridge club “dr.jurica tomljenović”

Date: 07/09/2020

To: all welcome

No: 01 – PULA 2020

Well people, measures, but expect about 25-30 pairs per tournament. Weather forecast is great, so many will take some breaks from This has been really difficult year. Those who followed my bridge to swim and wonder around. This is what Pula is all posts on Facebook and pulabridgefestival.com know that from about, don’t forget it. We have players from Belgium, Bulgaria, the beginning of the pandemic I was reluctant to cancel the Canada, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, festival. It just did not feel right. It seemed smart, though. Poland, Serbia and Sweden. Those who know me knew - I just had to make sure that I have done everything possible to make it happen. I could not live I strictly followed all instructions provided by Croatian sport with myself if I just let it go. I made a promise that I would epidemiologist, Croatian headquarters of national security and organize the festival if I could, and I just could not give up Istrian county civil protection headquarters. On top of this, I because it would be more convenient. I spent my summer added some additional measures, that would not trouble talking to various persons in charge of such events, players but would provide additional safety (e.g. separate sets epidemiologists, national and regional security boards. The day of boards for each table, rules for disinfection before every I got the final permission was one of the scariest days in my round, Covid-19 tests for the tournament staff). As you know, life. Croatia is red listed by some countries, and that decreased the number of participants. However, Istria region is a really safe I know that many didn’t believe we will make it. I know that one and measures here are more strict than in other parts of everyone would understand if I cancelled it. I also know that the country. there are people who are upset right now about my decision to hold it despite the growing numbers in Europe. But I am It is imperative to follow all the rules. Some are stupid, some running it for those who need live bridge like air, who hoped seem (are) unnecessary. I, as organizer, have to guarantee that for it during the dark spring of 2020. I can’t thank you enough all of you will behave. Otherwise both me and you pay huge for supporting me through all this time. Every mail, every penalties and then you will have to feed me for the rest of my comment, every like, meant the world to me, gave me that life. We will be controlled repeatedly by Croatian police and portion of courage I needed to endure. My heart goes to all of they may cancel the festival and/or apply penalties at any time you who are here now and all who wished to come but were if we don’t stick to the rules. They are listed at the next page. not allowed. I completely understand anyone who feels that There are really a lot of asymptomatic cases, so please be holding a tournament is unnecessary risk, but I think, as long as careful. something is allowed, everyone should decide for themselves. We are not breaking any records this year. We are not having So, we are here again! At the beginning of 58.5 Pula bridge any organized parties, not even Victory ceremony. Mad hatter festival. It will be strange, it will be tough, but we will make it, sends you his warm regards and says that we will have the and we will talk to our kids (nephews, cats) about it. Right on greatest karaoke party in 2021. We are not kissing and the second page of the bulletin (and few more pages hugging. And if we are meeting our friends we still respect the afterwards), you will find all relevant information. distance. If I can do it, you can do it. But we are proving that we can play bridge and stay responsible. I am convinced that Every day we will play three tournaments starting at 10 a.m., 3 safety measures we are embracing will keep us reasonably p.m. and 9 p.m. I have about 110 registered players, probably safe. some more will appear, and there will be place for all at one Thank you so much! tournament or the other, just please register as soon as possible. Every tournament is limited to 52 pairs due to safety 07/09/2020 Bridge club "Dr.Jurica Tomljenović" – GOODMORNING BRIDGE

COVID-19 RULES TOURNAMENTS

Please report your body temperature every morning All tournaments are limited to 52 pairs; (at pulabridgefestival.com); Registration for each tournament will close 12 hours be- Masks are obligatory at the venue (Congress Center); fore tournament starts; Badges are obligatory at the venue; Registration, position, results and other information: pulabridgefestival.com; Drinking/eating is not allowed at the venue (masks); Tournaments will start on time, players should come 15 While inside, talk as little as possible, do not shout for min earlier (temperature); any reason; Typical tournament will be played on 26 boards, 2 boards If you need to sneeze or cough, please make as much per round (14 minutes) and one-two minutes breaks (go distance from others as possible; outside!); Sterilizing hands is obligatory before every round; Wearing masks & badges and sterilizing hands before Only players who play a specific tournament are al- every round is obligatory; lowed at the venue; Registration for every tournament will close 12 hours Please come 15 minutes earlier (since we need to before the start; measure your temperature before entering the venue); Please prepare exact amount of money; Please give yourself few minutes to relax before enter- Entries are 20 E/player (15E/junior); ing the venue (walking in the sun can increase your body temperature); Cca 60% of the entries will go to the prize fund for the best 10%-15% of pairs; Please bring a jacket/cardigan to the tournament—it will be cold at the beginning since during the breaks Winners of every tournament get cups; we will chill down the room; Tournament personnel will contact you if you win a prize You will get your personalized bidding box at the first and agree on prize-giving time and place; tournament you will play - you will take care of it until the last tournament - then, please return it; You should check your result in bridgemate; North is responsible for boards and bridgemate, others In case there is an obvious mistake in scoring, you should should not touch it. E or W should check the result report no later than 2 hours after the end of the tourna- without touching bridgemate. ment at [email protected]; Tournaments will start without any delay—we need About 60% of collected entries will go to the prize fund time for chilling :D and sterilization; for the best 10%-15% pairs; During the breaks between rounds - please go outside Winners of every tournament will receive cups; to the fresh air; Overall winner of the festival will receive a cup; Registrations/Positions/Results — everything will be We will contact winners about prize-giving; posted only at pulabridgefestival.com; It is imperative that you follow information at Please stay responsible; Don’t come to the venue if pulabridgefestival.com daily - schedule may change or you don’t feel well even if you do not have tempera- there may be some other important information; ture;

Monday Tuesday Wedn. Thursday Friday Time 7.9. 8.9. 9.9. 10.9. 11.9. 10:00 – MP MP MP MP 15:00 MP IMP MP IMP MP 20:00 IMP MP IMP MP IMP

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TABLE RULES HOTEL RULES

All, except highly artificial systems, are allowed; Please dress smart casual; Please consult TD if you have any doubts; Please do not wear flip-flops or beach clothes; If you do not play natural system, CC is obligatory; After the last tournament (finishes about 11.15) please leave the Congress center, and do not stay in CC is recommended in any case for your protection; front of Histria, as hotel personnel has to sterilize ta-  One club opening should be alerted if it promis- bles and chairs. es less than 2 cards; Group gatherings are not allowed due to Covid-19 and security is more strict than usual;  One diamond opening should be alerted if it promises less than 3 cards; Entrance to the main part of the hotel Histria, due to pandemic is not allowed (except if you are staying  Standard W2s are not alertable; there of course);  1NT should be alerted if it is not in the range 14 Please be nice to hotel personnel - they are doing -18, balanced or semibalanced hand; their best to help us running this festival in such difficult conditions;  Please use STOP card; Please do not come to the Congress center if you are  Please lead face-down; not playing - you can find all information online, and there are lot of nice sunny places where you can  If you are not sure weather to alert or not, spend your time; please do; Please keep the distance all the time; Be nice to your partner, opponents, officials of the tournament and others...only together can we make Please wash your hands regularly; this tournament a friendly and comfortable place for You can take your drinks at the bar in the Congress all; center, but please drink outside, since masks are ob- Please report irregularities to the Tournament director. ligatory at the venue; Please use hand sterilizer before every round. If you wish to have breakfast or dinner at Park Plaza Histria prices are: Breakfast = 12 Euro; Dinner = 22 After the game take your bidding box with you, and euro/day. bring it back to the next tournament you will play. Keep it safe. After you play the last tournament—leave your bidding box on the table.

Weather

Bridge club “Dr.Jurica Tomljenović” – goodmorning bridge  07/09/2020 3 Bridge club "Dr.Jurica Tomljenović" – GOODMORNING BRIDGE What’s life without whimsy?

“Westley: Life is pain, Highness! Anyone who says otherwise is selling something.“ The Princess Bride

By Mate Meštrić

Westley certainly sounds like a Bridge player. If not 1) Love All, being moored to a deck of cards both as a victim ♠ T x x and villain by the vicissitudes of fate, than the blit- ♥ A K Q T x hering idiot sitting opposite or the lucky SOBs to ♦ x your sides will undoubtedly make you fully and ♣ K T x x completely understand the First of Four Buddha’s Noble Truths, that suffering DOES exists. Had we a (3♦) - pass - (4♦) - ? desire to discover that it exists for a reason, that it can be eliminated or that there are ways of elimina- 2) Love All, ting it, we never would have become Bridge ♠ K Q players, who above all else desire (and receive) con- ♥ A Q J T x x ♦ A x tinuous reminders of the First Noble Truth. ♣ J x x

How else to explain that we choose to spend our partner opens 1♣, no opposition bidding time pursuing convoluted and elaborate coin flips, rejoicing when heads appear and despairing when 1♣ - 1♥ tails rears its ugly tail? That we enjoy the intellectu- 1NT - 2♦ (GF) al puzzle of whether a finesse in a slam contract will 2♥ - 3♥ work? Seems unlikely, the more probable explanati- 3♠ - 3NT on being that Bridge players are indeed gluttons for 4♣ - ? punishment, masochists extraordinaire who keep (4♦ would be last train) coming back again and again for yet another lesson. 3) Game All, In any case, this is/was meant to be a Bridge co- ♠ A x lumn, one with problems and diagrams, a hint or ♥ Q x x two how to get them right and not a condemnation ♦ 8 x x x x x of our lifestyle. As Hyman Roth explained to The ♣ x x nd Godfather, “This is the business we have chosen.” we pass in 2 chair So here are four problems I faced last weekend in the final stages of the Croatian National League. pass-pass-pass-1NT Depending on how many you get right you either 2♦ *- pass - 2♠ - 2NT** get a medal or you get contemplation on the Truth pass - ? of Suffering. (*majors, **minors)

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4) Game All, So how many did you get right? I got some ♠ K Q 9 x x good news for those of you who didn’t do so well, if ♥ A J T 9 you only got one right you still get a medal, I mana- ♦ x x ged to get all four wrong. Except for those of you who ♣ K T decided to bid slam and miss guessed the queen of we overcall 1♠ after a precision 1♦ opener clubs, you get nothing. But since you are optimists in the bidding and hopeless in card play you already ( 1♦ ) - 1♠ - ( 2♥ ) - 2♠ knew that. So after 336 boards, one of the teams ( 3♥ ) - pass - ( 4♥ ) - pass overtook us by 1 IMP, and the other by 3 IMPS. pass - ? It was at that point that my Significant Other Do you have the answers in your mind? informed me that now is the time to go to her nieces Well, here is how the cards were: birthday party, to celebrate and be merry, to rejoice in life and spread cheer and happiness all around. Regarding the first problem, partner’s hand was Mercifully children’s birthdays seem to include more ♠AQ9 ♥Jxxxx ♦ Jx ♣Axx, so give yourself points alcohol than the adult ones. Some hours later I co- if you doubled as partner will be bidding a ma- uldn’t help but notice a large basket sitting on the king 4♥. Maybe you would survive bidding 4♥, living room table, my curiosity peaked and I reached but maybe partner would drive past 4♥ with inside. Filled with fortune cookies it was, how apt I that hand, and you would get to a failing 5♥. thought. What whimsy did fate have in store for me? Passing is no good. On the second hand partner had ♠Axx ♥Kxx ♦Kxx ♣KTxx so it’s likely that last train would end in 4♥. You need to guess clubs to make the slam, which means that it’s a good slam for the optimist and a bad one for the pessimist. So give yourself points if you drove to slam and are an optimist. Queen of clubs was in front of the king. Did you feel lucky on the third hand? Visualizing partner with something along the lines of ♠xx ♥Ax ♦AKxx ♣Axxxx where you have 9 top tricks or did you feel like it would be stretching? Give yourself points if you felt lucky as that was more or less partner’s hand and you have 9 top tricks. How about the last one? Feeling bloodthirsty or would you just be happy if they go down? Dis- cretion was the better part of valor, partner had a pile of dirt, and with both heart honors with declarer, you score two hearts and a club, 10 tricks is on ice.

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FACTS ABOUT CROATIA

Croatia’s History Fact 1: The country of Croatia was inhabited as early as the Paleolithic Age. The Croats then arrived in the 6th century. Fact 2: On June 7, 879, Croatia was internationally recognized as an independent state. 46 years later, Tomislav became the first king in 925. Croatia thus became a kingdom and maintained its sovereignty for two centuries. Fact 3: After years under different rules including the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Croatia finally gained its full independence on June 25, 1991. Fact 4: Zagreb is the capital and largest city in Croatia. It became the capital of the Balkan country in April 1941. and is 247 square miles (641 square kilometers). It is home to a fifth of the country’s population. Fact 5: Croatia is also home to an original Egyptian sphinx. In 297, twelve sphinxes were brought to Split, Croatia. Currently, only a black granite one remains and is standing at the Peristyle. Fact 6: The Pula Arena in Pula, Croatia is the only remaining Roman amphitheater in the world to maintain its four side towers. It is one of the remaining three pieces of Roman architecture to keep its architectural integrity.

Croatian Geography & Cities Fact 7: Croatia borders five countries. Hungary to the north, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, as well as Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the south, and Slovenia to the west. The Adriatic Sea borders the majority of Croatia’s southwest region. While it does not directly border with Italy, the two countries share a maritime border. Fact 8: Croatia may be one of Europe’s smaller country’s but it is actually the 127th largest country in the world. Fact 9: There are nearly as many Croatians living outside of the country as there are living there. The current population is a little over 4 million people. Fact 10: Croatia has more than 1,200 islands, islets, and crags off the coast of the mainland. However, only 48 Hum—the smallest town in the world are inhabited. Hvar and Korcula receive the most visi- tors of all the islands. Fact 11: The smallest town in the world is in Croatia. The town of “Hum” is so small its population is only between 17 to 23 people. Fact 12: Vinkovci in eastern Croatia is one of the oldest towns in Europe. It has been continuously inhabited for more than 8,000 years! Fact 13: Zlatni rat beach changes in shape and color depending on the wind. This beach is in Bol, on the island of Brac. Its nickname is the Golden Horn. Fact 14: Dubrovnik was the main film location for Dubrovnik King’s Landing in the popular HBO show Game of Thrones. The city of Split was also used as one of the film locations.

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Croatia’s Culture Fact 15: Croatia is the home of the popular dog breed Dalmatians. The breed dates back to the 17th century. The coast is named after the breed. Fact 16: The Croatian military first wore knotted neckties in the 1600s, thus many historians believe the necktie was invented in Croatia. Fact 17: Croatia is very well known for its delicious cuisine, including specialties like Peka and Pag Cheese. Fact 18: There are names of two Croatian’s on the map of the Moon. Scientists J.R. Boskovik and A.Mohorovicic. Fact 19: Nikola Tesla was born in the northern Adriatic region of Lika. Fact 20: The world’s first torpedo was constructed by Rijeka native, Ivan Lupis. Fact 21: Croatian innovator, Slavoljub Penkala, invented the very first mechanical pencil. The name pen comes from his surname. Fact 22: While the popular film Mamma Mia 2 takes place in the Greek Isles, it was actually filmed on the Croatian Island, Vis. Fact 23: The main exports of Croatia consist of textiles, transport equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, and fuels. Fact 24: Croatia has the highest number of UNESCO Intangible Goods of any European Country. In addition to our interesting facts about Croatia, there are also 10 sites in Croatia listed on the UNESCO World Heritage site list. The list includes the Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian, Dubrovnik city, and Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Croatia’s Great Outdoors Fact 25: Croatia’s highest mountain is the Di- nara peak which over 6,000 feet (1,831 me- ters). Fact 26: Croatia is one of the most verdant and green countries in the world. 10% of the country is home to 11 natural parks, 8 national parks, and 2 nature reserves. One of it’s most famous national parks is Plitvice Lakes National Park. Fact 27: Croatia enjoys 2.715 hours of sunshine a year. That’s more than Sydney, Aus- tralia. Hvar Island receives the most with al- most 2,800 hours of sunshine. Fact 28: Alfred Hitchcock once said that the seaside town, Zadar, has the best sunset in the world.

National park Plitvička jezera

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Lara Tiara winner Anna Zaręba

Brk Open Pairs: Wojciech Strzemecki - Przemek Zawada of Poland

Player of the Festival 2019 Maksymilian Chodacki

Open Teams : Mateusz Sobczak, Maksymilian Chodacki, Arkadiusz Majcher, Piotr Marcinowski

IMP Pairs: Karoly Dautbegovic - Adalbert Horvat of Croatia

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Mixed Teams: Terry Weigkricht, Franz Terraneo, Sylvia Terraneo, Wolfgang Bieder of Austria

Lara Mixed Pairs: Anna Zaręba - Piotr Tuszyński of Poland

BAM Teams: Deyan Spasov, Nikolay Vasilev, Grozdan Rusinov, Zhivko Siderov of Bulgaria Non-Mixed Teams: Andrea Stanković, Alexander Hydes, Slobodan Simić, Filip Jelić of Croatia, Serbia and England

Non-Mixed Pairs: Adam Krysa - Andrzej Hycnar of Poland

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RESTAURANT KUGLANA: 2 MINUTES FROM THE VENUE—JUST UP THE STAIRS 10% DISCOUNT WITH YOUR BRIDGE BADGE

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