June 2021 Newsletter http:/www.bridgewebs.com/chicagodbc [email protected]
A New Home for Chicago Duplicate Bridge! The rumors are now true! Chicago Duplicate Bridge has a new home! After an extensive search (Board President Barry Little looked at more than 40 properties, and Board committee members looked too), we have signed a lease for space at Dearborn Station, 47 W. Polk St. (where Dearborn ends at Polk Street). The lease begins June 15, and we will be taking the following couple of weeks to move in and get the space ready. We will be sending out more information regarding all the questions you may have about transportation and parking options, game schedule, covid precautions, and other issues. Watch your email for updates.
Upcoming Special Events—All on BBO **Tuesday, June 8 – Mentor/Mentee Game at 6:25 pm** **June 1-14 – NAP Qualifying Games (see below)** **June 19-20 – The Longest Day; all Club Games** Daily – Open Games at 12:15 pm Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri – Open Games at 6:30 pm Monday and Wednesday – 299er Games at 12:10 pm Thursday – 99er Game at 6:25 pm Saturday – 499er Game at 12:10 pm
Staying in Touch [email protected] is the best way to reach us.
Club Reopening Plans During the last week or so of June, we will be preparing the new space for in-person bridge, likely to begin during the first week of July. The exact schedule of games will be determined over the interim, and we will let you know via email as soon as it is decided. The home page of the web site, www.bridgewebs.com/chicagodb, will also have all the latest information. And watch This Week at Chicago Duplicate Bridge for any updates. If you would like to help with the move or getting the space ready, send email to [email protected]. NAPs Are Back! The National American Pairs (NAP) are a special time in the annual ACBL calendar. If you are a decent C-flight pair (non-Life Master) or B-flight (<2500), this is your moment to shine, and bring pride and honor to District 13. If you place high enough (top 2 in your flight) in the district qualifier (in Milwaukee in October), you will receive a stipend to attend the national final in Reno in March (essentially airfare and hotel). It is very rare in amateur bridge to receive a stipend to play in a tournament.
To participate in the district final, you must go through a club-level qualifier (NAP-Quals). Our club offers qualifying games in June, July, and August, all of which award double Masterpoints, both red and black. We charge an extra dollar over the usual price of the games (for the extra points) for our qualifying games, and that money directly funds our district winners, so that it is actually a prize and not a penalty. If you qualify during any of those games, you can participate in the District event in Milwaukee. Players who qualify at the club level may play with any other qualifier at the district level; that is, if you qualify with someone who does not want to compete at the district level, you may change partners. However, once you qualify at the district level, you cannot change partners for the national level.
We will be running both online and face-to-face qualifiers over the June through August period. NAP-Quals will definitely happen online during the first two weeks of June, June 1-14, because CDB is able to structure games so that those of you looking for Masterpoints of various colors have your opportunities maximized. They will be announced in “This Week at Chicago Duplicate Bridge,” so don’t forget to play!
Our Popular Mentor/Mentee Games! Our mentor/mentee games are very popular on BBO, and we run one on the second Tuesday night each month, with the next game scheduled for Tuesday, June 8, at 6:25 pm. The games use a manual signup process; email [email protected]. I/N players: You are welcome, regardless of whether you have a partner. Just email us and we will find you a partner. If you have a partner to play with, great; just register normally on BBO.
Mentors: If you are available (or pay for play), email us and we will match you up.
Tuesday night is intended to be a nurturing night, and we hope to see many of you there. Improve Your Bridge Game Eldad “Gino” Ginossar, our excellent instructor for intermediate and advanced players, is taking a well-earned summer break. He will be presenting a new series of lessons next fall at the new location. More details will be presented when they are available.
Beginning Bridge Lessons Plans are in the works for a series of beginning bridge lessons to begin as soon as we are established in our new location, likely late July or August. If you are interested in learning to play bridge or know someone who is, please contact Barry Little at [email protected].
Offerings for New or Intermediate Bridge Players Chicago Duplicate Bridge offers several different ways for less experienced players to learn more and practice their skills. The schedule going forward after we are playing in person will be confirmed when available. Less experienced players are also always welcome to play in the Open games; most everyone is welcoming and will offer feedback if you have time and wish to ask. ❖ 99er game o Thursday o 6:25 pm on BBO ❖ 299er games o Monday and Wednesday o 12:10 on BBO ❖ 499er game o Saturday o 12:10 on BBO ❖ Mentor game o Monthly, 2nd Tuesday of the month o 6:25 pm on BBO
Cheating at the Club We sent out an email to the whole club last month on the topic of cheating in bridge. We apologize to anyone who mistakenly thought it was personally aimed at them. As we made clear, cheating is not a widespread problem at CDB.
However, we have strong evidence that one pair has been communicating inappropriately while the hands are out. We have asked them not to play together online. Their behavior has deprived many of you of masterpoints over months, and the club takes this seriously.
We hope all of our players will review how they are communicating with their partners during the game. If the opponents can't see or hear it, and the cards are out, it is probably cheating. Upcoming Tournaments and Special Games Although all in-person tournaments have been cancelled for the immediate future, the ACBL is occasionally scheduling special games that award extra Masterpoints or colored points, including some online tournaments.
❖ NAP Qualifying games o June 1-14; dates in July and August TBA As soon as we get back to normal, we’ll be providing in-person 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 Rank Advancement Congratulations to members who have advanced in rank in March, as noted in the April 6 update. Jackie Snuttjer, Junior Master; Gail Conder, Regional Master; Sadhana Dahal and Joyce Joseph, Ruby Life Masters. Unit 123 Rankings Congratulations to players in the Unit 123 rankings posted May 6!
Mini McKinney Ace of Clubs 0-5 / 5-20 0-5 / 5-20 20-50 Marcy List #7 20-50 Marcy List #7 50-100 Carolyn Oesterle #8 50-100 Joan Stelmack #8 Joan Stelmack #9 Carolyn Oesterle #9 100-200 John Knoepke #9 100-200 John Knoepke #9 Mini McKinney Ace of Clubs 200-300 David Kovacs #1 200-300 David Kovacs #1 Peter Bush #2 Peter Bush #2 Linda Abrahams #4 Linda Abrahams #4 Katherine Norman #8 Katherine Norman #8 300-500 Missy Ravid #1 300-500 Missy Ravid #1 James Sturtevant #2 Jan Sax #2 Rosalie Sturtevant #2 James Sturtevant #4 Jan Sax #5 Rosalie Sturtevant #4 Christine Lyon #8 Christine Lyon #8 Sarik Goyal #9 Les White #9 Les White #10 Sid Mitchell #10 500-1000 Julie Burke #8 500-1000 Julie Burke #7 1000-1500 Adriana Humada #1 1000-1500 Adriana Humada #1 Duke Bhatia #2 Paul Prez #2 Paul Prez #3 Duke Bhatia #3 Daniel Wright #4 Mark Stein #5 Mark Stein #5 Daniel Wright #8 Nic Hristea #10 1500-2500 Susan Eggebrecht #3 1500-2500 Susan Eggebrecht #2 Cory Perkers #4 Rosede Olson #3 Rosede Olson #5 Judi Katz #6 Eli Jolley #7 Abigail Nichols #7 Judi Katz #8 Joseph Tomlinson #8 Abigail Nichols #9 Joseph Tomlinson #10 2500-3500 Michael Airdo #2 2500-3500 Michael Airdo #2 Bruce Ladin #3 Bruce Ladin #3 Roger Theis #4 Roger Theis #4 Thomas Dressing #5 Thomas Dressing #7 Dorri Goldgehn #9 Dorri Goldgehn #9 3500 -5000 Tom Fogarty #2 3500-5000 Tom Fogarty #2 Joseph Stokes #3 Joseph Stokes #3 Serdar Ogut #5 Serdar Ogut #5 Patt Quinn #6 Patt Quinn #6 Mark Ginsburg #7 Mark Ginsburg #7 Matthew Dyer #8 Matthew Dyer #8 Kendra Bridges #9 John Goring #9 John Goring #10 Carl Nelson #10 5000-7500 James Diebel #2 5000-7500 James Diebel #2 Adrienne Cohen #3 Adrienne Cohen #3 Richard Strauss #10 Richard Strauss #9 7500-10000 Amin Hakim #1 7500-10000 Amin Hakim #1 Judy Zhu #4 Barbara Saben #5 Barbara Saben #6 Judy Zhu #6 10000+ L. James Phillips #1 10000+ L. James Phillips #1 Eldad Ginossar #6 Eldad Ginossar #3 Claude Vogel #6