Minnesota Bridge

Tournaments for You

In our most recent post, we reported about two Minnesota natives who are competing at the very highest level of our game:  the Bermuda Bowl in Shanghai.  Currently, our boys Howie and Steve are standing firmly in first place!  Though they have a long road ahead of them - still nice to be at the top of the pack currently.

Of course, only a tiny fraction of a sliver of bridge players will ever compete at this level.  Nevertheless, wherever we compete, bridge is an incredible game.

Today, I stopped by the Twin City Bridge Center to visit their 299er tournament held over the weekend.  Great to see lots of folks competing in the Swiss Team.  Gloomy outside, but not in the TC Bridge Center!

At one table, I learned that our tournament drew competitors from near and far.  Gail Tamblin-Hall and her husband came from Canada to the Twin Cities to purchase a car - and ended up playing bridge in the tournament!  Welcome - and hope you return soon!

Remember; even Howie and Steve once were beginners....  Get your feet wet in the local games and 299er competitions.  Who knows?  Maybe one day you too will be battling against the greats!

Playing and Kibitzing

If you live in the Twin Cities, ample opportunities are available to play bridge.  You can check out the many clubs listed at the left column on the blog - in addition to the frequent tournaments.  The rest of the state is not left out, either!  Many of our outlying cities have excellent local duplicates.

But .... When you are not playing bridge, you might choose to watch some of the finest experts in the world compete in the Bermuda Bowl.  You can find lots of information about the event here.  To kibitz, go to Bridge Base Online and watch the show.

Saturday night was the first evening of competition.  As most of you know, we have two "home town" boys in the event:  Steve Garner and Howie Weinstein.  So far, so good; their team (USA I) scored big against USA II, the Nickell team!

The good news is that if you want to kibitz, you can do so and still play in the local dupe.  The BB is held this year in Shanghai, so I guarantee you will not find a game locally while the show in China is being held!

Here or there - enjoy!

The Best Revenge

Does it annoy you when an elite opponent gabs away at the table while you're trying to concentrate?  Put me down as an "affirmative" for that activity.

But, neither snow nor sleet nor chattering Hall of Famers can distract Our Man in The Corner, John Koch!

Bravo for another stellar column!  Please find it below. 

Also note; this column comes with zero sound effects....

Are You A 299er?

Then there is a very special event coming up for YOU this weekend!  A 299er Silver Point Sectional at the Twin City Bridge Center at 60th and Nicollet on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  You can go to www.tcbridgecenter.com and click on the tournament there - or use the link on the side for more details.

And .... if you need a partner for any events, request below by leaving a comment!  I remain hopeful that people will start using this superb resource to grow our games!

The Ball is Rolling!

We just began a feature at the Minnesota Bridge Blog whereby those looking for games at upcoming tournaments can find partners and teammates.  Lo and behold, Lloyd has gotten the ball rolling!

Here's hoping that Lloyd's post ends up with a fine partner for him - and a profitable game for them both. 

May others join on the bandwagon and make the most of the tremendous resource we have available to us!

Thanks, Lloyd, for being the one to get it all started!

Paul Bunyon Sectional - September 21-23

Looking for a partner or teammate for this tournament?  Make your needs known below in the comment section - and good luck.

More Bang for Our Buck - Partnerships

Some people have told me how much they enjoy the Minnesota Bridge Blog.  Others aren't even aware that it exists!

The MN BB really is only what we make of it. If we all work at it and utilize it, it can be a productive tool to further bridge in our state.  If we ignore it - well, its worth will be minimal.

One specific way in which I think the MN BB could better serve us is this.   When a tournament is upcoming, a specific post can be put up about the tournament.  Within the comment section, people who are looking for partners and/or teammates can make their needs known.  If you have 50 masterpoints and wish to find a partner for a Saturday afternoon session, go to "comments" and make your request.  Maybe someone else is looking for you! 

Similarly, if you and your partner need teammtes for a knockout or a Swiss, make a request.

It might take a bit of time and effort before this procedure becomes known to enough folks to work.  But I believe that it could be a useful tool for those who would like to play in more tournaments. 

We shall see! 

By the way.  If you have an idea, suggestion or the like for the MN BB, please let me know.  I'm happy to put into place anything that will aid bridge in MN!

Take a NAP!

Don't be asleep and miss the NAP!  What is the NAP?  It's the North American Pairs. 

The ACBL hosts an event at every Spring Nationals where pairs can compete locally, then District-wide - and then earn a berth to play in a national event.  Better yet, top finishing pairs get a subsidy for their trip.  Win, and each winner gets $700 toward their trip.  Come in second place, and each competitor gets $300. 

You do not have to be an expert to play in this.  Flights A, B and C are available, depending upon your masterpoint holding.

This year, the competition will be held in Omaha on October 6-7.  The national event will be held next spring in Detroit.

See all the details in the flyer below - and join in the event if you can!

MUCH Appreciated!

Marv Riedesel has a report on last night's Appreciation Game at the Twin City Bridge Center.  Thanks to him for his story - and of course, thanks to Chip and Teri Blu for their festive evening!

TWIN CITY BRIDGE CENTER APPRECIATION NIGHT

About eighty Twin City bridge players enjoyed dinner and a free night of bridge, compliments of the Twin City Bridge Center.  On September 20, Teri and Chip Blu, owners of the TCBC, hosted an appreciation dinner and night of bridge as a token of their thanks to players in the area.  The players braved monsoon type rains, plus hail and strong winds to participate!

The celebration started at 5:30 with ham, turkey, and beef sandwiches, accompanied by a variety of salads, condiments, drinks and a huge cake.  For the next ninety minutes, there was lots of visiting and sharing of bridge hands.  Teri spoke emotionally prior to the game about how much the bridge playing community means to her.  In particular, Teri cited Amy Clark, who recently lost her father due to a heart attack.  Amy's communication with Teri during this difficult time further brought to Teri's attention the camaraderie and closeness of the bridge community.

Marv Riedesel, President of Unit 178, spoke briefly about upcoming tournaments.  Marv also put in a plug for the Minnesota Bridge Blog (thanks, Marv!) and the email service that Units 178 and 103 are providing for their members.

The guests then enjoyed a 19 table sectionally rated game while the rain continued to pour.  The game finished about 10:30.  After crowding around the window, as usual,  to see the scores, Teri and Chip were thanked for a fun evening.  Finally, we were all able to walk to our cars without getting drenched!

Thanks, Teri and Chip!

Cat and Mouse

Both declarer and defenders do their best to make life difficult for the other.  If you can hide your holdings, your opposition may go wrong.  A bit of cat and mouse, so to speak.

John Koch has wise advice for both declarers and defenders with this week's column.  Twitch your whiskers and pay attention!  Don't let the opponents see you squirm!

Please see our new column below.

The Greatest Game

Bridge makes it into the New Yorker.

Remembering Irving

As most of our members know, we lost an icon in the bridge community this past month:  Irv Steinfeldt.

A memorial service for Irving will be held this Sunday at Temple Israel.  Here are the details for those who are able to attend.

Inferences at the Top

Not all readers may be aware, but John Koch of "Koch Corner" is a national champion.  John won the Senior Knockout Teams at the fall nationals, along with teammates Tony Ames, Mary Egan and Rod Beery.  If any of you are thinking, "Oh, piffle; seniors?  Big deal!" - then think again.  This team beat several groups of stellar, world champion class players to earn their title.

John played this week's hand against Neil Chambers and John Schermer, a most tough pair.  Given that John won 12 IMPS for his team - and his team won the match by 2 IMPS - I would say that this deal clearly was most instrumental in their success!

Kudos to John and the rest of his team.  Take a look below to see what inferences you can develop in top level bridge.

Let There Be Light!

Submitted by Tom Hammond:

Is bridge the light of some people's lives?  I'll let you decide.

During the Wednesday evening 299er game at the St. Paul Bridge Center, the lights in the entire building went out.  The game plunged into darkness.  Players were told to remain in their seats to avoid injury.

When the lights did not come back on immediately, I felt my way along the wall to the corridor, then to the outside doors, and finally around the building to the back door.  There I was able to shine my car lights into the bridge center.

One by one, people made their way out of the building to their cars.  Yet, when I returned to make certain that everyone had gotten out, I saw to strange, iridescent lights hovering in the darkness.  One player was holding a pen light above the table as another held his lighted cell phone.  The combination provided enough light to help them finish their last hand!

Are bridge players determined, or what?

Bid-A-Round

Paul Meerschaert offers another instructive article.  This one focuses on bidding.

See below, and get your hands around it!

Top One Hundred

Bridge players are competitive creatures.  Rare is the player who pays no attention to how they and the rest of the bridge world is doing.

The coin of the realm when we do well is masterpoints.  Leading everyone in Minnesota Units 103 and 178 is Jim Hall.  As of the last report, Jim is the proud owner of over 12,297 masterpoints!  Two other Minnesotans have over 10,000 masterpoints; your blogmaster, Peg Kaplan at 10,381 and Jerry Lee, with 10,072.

Twenty players have 5,000 or more masterpoints.  Don Priewert is soon to go over that mark.  And 1986 masterpoints were required to be in the top 100; Jeff Arenson grabbed that spot!

Congratulations to these top performers - and good luck to everyone else in adding to their total.  You never know when you, too may end up in the top 100!

My thanks to Unit 178 President Marv Riedesel for providing us with this report, which you can access below.

Tournments

Put me down as someone who enjoys virtually every type of bridge competition:  local games, sectionals, regionals, nationals, international - online and even kibitzing competition! 

As you can see, I'm not the only one who enjoys a fun tournament.  Here are a number of people who competed at the Labor Day Sectional - and here is how they all did.  Kudos in particular to Irwin Boris and Murray Appelbaum for their huge 75% game!

And - everyone has a comedian!  Here is ours:

If This Is Wednesday ....

It must be time for another of John Koch's superb articles!  

This week, John recounts a hand from the toughest matchpoint game there is:  the Blue Ribbon Pairs.  Look below and see if you would have taken as many tricks as our champion declarer did!

And A Dapper Dresser, Too!

This very nice remembrance of Irv Steinfeldt appeared in the Star Tribune over the weekend.  Someone commented, though, that they should have recalled Irving's superb wardrobe.  'Tis true.  Irving always looked classy.

He will be missed.

Two Days Left!

Almost 30 years have passed since I played in my first full sectional tournament.  Nevertheless, I can still remember sweaty palms starting out .... meeting loads of new people .... having a wonderful time .... and tremendous excitement when I won my first tournament event in the Swiss Teams the last day!

This Labor Day weekend, those of you who have never ventured out for a sectional have your own opportunity for fun, meeting new friends and thrills.  Please join us at the Labor Day Sectional at the Twin Cities Bridge Center on 60th and Nicollet.  Two single session pair events are on the schedule today, with a two session Swiss Team starting Monday at 11AM.

Lots of people have attended this tourney so far.  Join the crowd!