Minnesota Bridge

Ring In The New

May all your finesses come home in 2008!

Chestnuts Roasting

In honor of Christmas, John Koch has sent us an old chestnut.

I'm not sure if you will wish to roast it on an open fire.  This hand is most instructive, however, and learning how to do what Belladonna did with it will surely heat up your game!

Please see below - and I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Winter Carnival

February 1.  We've just about recovered from the excitement and stress of the holidays.  We've trudged through the height of Minnesota's January winter.  Are we ready for some St. Paul hospitality and the legendary St. Paul Winter Carnival Sectional?

You betcha!

Please see below for all the fun details!

37 x 37

What do you have when you combine thirty seven Life Masters with thirty seven newer players?  One very special evening!

Our thanks to Richard Dehlinger for providing us with both photographs and tales about The Bridge Center of St. Paul's Excellent Adventure!

Doug Frost, a 299er instituted the notion to have a game where Life Masters played with "newer kids on the block."  The idea grew like wildfire.

Thirty seven Life Masters offered to pair with those sans title for the evening.  Tom Hammond organized a buffet, featuring his famous "Hot Dish."  The "Little Strip Mall Hideout On The Prairie" never before had so many bridge enthusiasts at one time.  The night was a huge success, and definitely will be repeated.

Much of this enthusiasm and growth began with the efforts of Tom Hammond.  In Spring of 2005, Tom offered a series of lessons for new players.  Twelve one-hour sessions on Wednesday evenings were followed by two hours of play.  Building on the popularity of those lessons, Tom extended the series into the Fall, adding in fundamental conventions.  The latest reincarnation is now "Championship Bidding" which progressed over the Summer of 2007.

Tom is a superb combination of great teacher, bridge theoretician, director, coach, humorist and friend.  You cannot find a better deal than $5 for a Wednesday night lesson/session with Tom Hammond at the BC of SP!

December 14th

  On December 14th:

• Alabama became a state
• The Wright brothers made their first attempt to fly
• The Soviet Union was expelled from the League of Nations, and

Larry Oakey was born!

Few people have had a greater impact upon bridge in Minnesota than TGLO (The Great Larry Oakey).  For literally decades, Larry has directed and assisted at club games and tournaments both in around the Twin Cities.  Many of today's players may not recall, but in the "olden days" prior to computers, pair events were scored by hand.  Larry could do "a sheet" in frighteningly short order.  Some of us wondered if Larry perhaps was a precursor to a desk top!

When it comes to playing our great game, Larry again is no slouch - to put it mildly.  Earlier in his career, Oakey partnered and teamed with such notable players like Howie Weinstein, Steve Garner, Jim Hall, Morrie Freir, and others.  Recently, Larry showed his stuff with partner Kerry Holloway, earning a berth to the 2008 NAP in Detroit.  In between, yours truly was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play and learn with The Great One for a number of years.

Larry continues to help out constantly at games, tournaments, private parties - and partner players of virtually all levels.  Calling Larry the bedrock force of bridge in Minnesota surely would not be far off the mark.

Some of Larry's friends celebrated his 70th birthday with him.  Please join me in extending a huge "Happy Birthday" wish to Larry from the entire bridge community!

The Alarm Clock

Some believe defense to be the toughest part of the game.

Although a declarer can do all he wishes to be deceptive and misleading, defenders must weigh the pros and cons of such behavior.  Pro:  declarer is led astray and takes less tricks than he might otherwise do.  Con:  partner subjects the defense to a paucity of tricks!

This week, John Koch analyzes what a defender can do to heighten the odds of getting all the tricks available.  Study his column below, and see if your partnership has such "alarm clock" signaling at your disposal.

San Francisco Stars

Minnesotans have attended and prospered at ACBL National tournaments for years.  At our most recent Nationals in San Francisco, Rose Meltzer hosted a most special event:  "Breakfast with the Stars."

Meltzer, a member of the National hosting district, is quite an expert in her own right.  The first woman to win a major international title in open competition, Rose's star has burned brightly in the toughest competition imaginable.  As her fierce abilities are combined with graciousness, Rose judged to invite people to a lovely breakfast buffet with bridge stars.  Over quiche, fresh fruit and muffins, bridge players were able to chat with our country's top competitors.

Questions of all sorts were posed.  "What are your favorite conventions?"  "How does system matter?"  "How did you learn to play bridge?"  "What are the best ways to improve your bridge game?"

  Enjoy these shots of stars like Jill Levin, Chip Martel, Mike Passell, Dave Berkowitz, Sabine Zenkel and others who shared their secrets and stories at this fine event.

I had the pleasure of sitting with Kerri Sanborn and Alan Sontag.  In particular, you might be interested in one of Sontag's tips for improving your game.

Happy Holidays!

A number of Minnesotans had happy holidays at the most recent Holiday Sectional in Maplewood.

Congratulations to Terry and John Lijewski.  Three seconds and a first put them at the top of the masterpoint chart.

Barry Purrington and Mike Cassel stitched together a most impressive 73+% game to seize the Friday afternoon session.

And two teams pulled away from the rest of the field to tie in the Swiss:  Mike Cassel, Peder Langsetmo, Murray Appelbaum, Barry Purrington, Peg Waller and Tony Ames, Judy Nassar, John Koch and Carol Rynders both came in with 94 VP's.

Finally, it is a rare tournament in Minnesota that finds itself without a Balderson victory.  December's Maplewood was no different.  The squad of Bob and Cindy Balderson, partnered with Kurt Schaeffer and Carole Miner won the Knockout, with Marilyn Demoully, Elaine Hassinger, Dolores Harvey and Nan Gabriel in the second berth.

Well done by all!  The rest of the results can be seen here.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

It's getting to be that time of year.  Your fingers stick to the door when you get the morning paper; braving the elements from parking lot to store warrants a medal.

Yet, despite the fiercest effects of winter, we can still delight in our favorite pastime indoors!

Steve Gaynor alerts us to an upcoming exciting event.  From January 17 to 20, International Falls holds their "2008 Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard Runs and Icebox Days."  (Do not blame me for this title; I am only the reporter!)

Included in this frosty celebration is a bridge tournament at Holy Trinity Church.  Sponsored by the Thunderbird Lodge, State Farm Insurance and the Chamber of Commerce, it will be held Thursday, January 17th and Friday, January 18th.  Beginners, social players and serious tournament players can all enjoy the competition provided by this truly international event.  Trophies and cash will be awarded each evening! 

Contact Byrne and Carole Anderson:  218.286.5225 for additional information.  Also, visit:  http://www.internationalfallsmn.us/iceboxdays.shtml

Second Chances

And third chances and fourth....

Too often, bridge players only see the obvious on a hand.  "Should I take a finesse?"  "Must I guess a queen?"

Sometimes, there are hidden additional opportunities lurking - if only we take the time to imagine them.

As always, John Koch sees what lies beneath the surface.  Allow him to guide you to deeper plays as declarer; please see below!

Spot On!

This week, John Koch delivers an array of lessons:

• To bid, or not to bid?
• Assessing the distribution
• Managing our suit control

And - the ever important Watch Those Spots!

See below - and learn!

As always - our thanks to John for each and every fascinating lesson.

Wave of the Future

As you may know, the first ever ACBL Youth Championship will be held in Georgia July of 2008.  If you are a reader of the Minnesota Bridge Blog, then you also are aware that we have some budding young bridge players in our state, thanks to the diligent efforts of people like Evan Sachs and Colin Kehe.

Some of these students would like to compete in the Youth Championship - but they are in need of funding.

Please help us brainstorm as to how we can raise funds to send a few of our best and brightest upcoming youths to this exciting tournament. 

Would you be willing to host some fundraisers - and would others of you be willing to play in them?  Could some of you make donations toward this cause?  Are you aware of funds that are available to be used to support kids attending a national tournament?

All suggestions are welcome and appreciated!  Let's support the future of bridge in Minnesota!

A First!

Two Minnesotans who met only one day prior to playing bridge together did quite well.  Indeed - they could not have done any better; they were first in their national event!

Congratulations to Rebecca Anspach and Nicholas Erpelding for coming in first in the National 99er Pairs in San Francisco.  Read all about these competitors in the Daily Bulletin on the front page.

And my thanks to Unit 178 President Marv Riedesel for alerting us!