Minnesota Bridge

Both

Do you want to be good at bridge?  Or - would you prefer to be lucky?

Steve Gaynor demonstrates that it never hurts to have a bit of both!

Late At Night

Does everyone who plays bridge lie in bed at night, going through some of the more interesting hands from their sessions?  I don't know about everyone.  But, I know that I do it - and, apparently Bill Voedisch does it, too.

In last fall's District 14 NAP qualifying event, Bill and his partner Denny Cerkvenik won a trip to the NABC in Houston to represent Flight B.  Here is an intriguing hand that kept Bill up late - along with savoring his victory!

Come Alive!

"Six-five, come alive!" is an old bridge saying.  Essentially, it demonstrates the power of distribution.  Thus, even if you don't have full strength high card points, you should bid a bit more when you have six-five (or more) distribution.

Today, John Koch graces us with a hand where declarer did indeed have six-five distribution - and where he did "come alive" in the auction.

Of course, bidding to a contract is only part of the plan!  Once you get there, you have to bring your contract home.  Can you get home alive on this hand?  Please see below; John shows us the way.

Boxing Club

Paul Meerschaert graces us with a column about "boxing."  No - this hasn't turned into ESPN; rather, this story is about how to "box" a bridge hand.

No clue what this means?  Then please be my guest and read Paul's excellent offering below.  Learning how to "box" will help you to beat up your opponents!  Not to worry; you can do it without causing even the slightest bruise. 

Less than Two

Our state remains the icebox of the nation, with temperatures that make zero look toasty.  Nevertheless, a hot event is less than two weeks away now!

February's St. Paul Winter Carnival Sectional will be held from the 6th through the 8th at Maplewood's Days Inn.  The tournament offers matchpoints, IMPS, team games, lessons by Mike Flader and a lunch during Sunday's Swiss.  

Warm your spirits and plan for this exciting event! 

Absolutely Grand

As detailed a few days ago, Kurt Schaeffer is one of Minnesota's most talented declarers.  Kurt gave me the hand below, and said:  "How do you take all the tricks?"  Yes, Kurt was in a grand slam, where one has no margin for error.

I recommended a few plays, and Kurt answered:  "You can't make it now."

Check out this fascinating deal, and see if you would have made it at the table!  It'll be grand if you can!

The First Board

Searching for one of the best declarers in the Twin Cities?  Surely Kurt Schaeffer would be one of the players you would consider.  Sometimes, even when I see Kurt make a hand at the table, I'm not sure how he did it!

Today, Kurt tells us how to set the tone for your team on the first board of a match.  Thanks, Kurt!

UPDATE:  Kurt made a few revisions to the article, along with adding in all four hands.  Please check out this new format.

Tony's Tuesday Game

Tony Ames runs a Tuesday night game at the Twin City Bridge Center.  This last Tuesday, Mike Cassel found a neat hand that led to the column below.  Mike; thank you!

Think Like Garozzo

For his 101st column, John Koch highlights a hand that Benito Garozzo played.  Garozzo is one of the all time greats; few of us can ever hope to play at his level.  Nevertheless, we can examine what Garozzo does at the table, and the reasoning behind his actions.

Our thanks to John for discovering this gem and teaching us how to think about a bridge hand like its stars!

Two Cool Tournaments

February may still be a brrrrrrrrrisk time of year in Minnesota.  Nevertheless, you can have a hot time at our cool sectionals!

The first one to arrive is the St. Paul Winter Carnival.  This festive event is the first weekend in February, on the 6th-8th at the Maplewood Days Inn.  See more details and a schedule here.

Later in the month, a bit south of Maplewood, you can enjoy the Chatfield Bridge Sectional Tournament from February 20th-22nd.  A copy of the Chatfield Sectional flyer is below.

Celebrate early 2009 with a double dose of competition!

Lucky in Love

Unlucky at cards?  Perhaps not.

Here is a cute tale about a couple in their 80's who found both marriage and bridge together!

My thanks to Rebecca Anspach for the heads up.

One Hundred

Today's column from John Koch is a memorable one.  (And yes; it is memorable beyond the "standard" reason that all of John's columns are worth filing away in our memory bank!)  This column represents the 100th bridge article that John has sent to us.

Those of us who have known John for years were always well aware that John was and continues to be one of Minnesota's best.  Some may not recall, but John, along with Tony Ames, Mary Egan and Rod Beery won the Senior Knockout Teams in 2004.  They navigated their way through quite a formidable field and - although some matches were extremely close - in the end, they were the victors. 

Until recently, though, I was unaware of John's talents as a bridge writer.  With this tale, we can now add up 100 stories of how to declare, defend, signal, bid, analyze and live to fight on successfully at the table.  I am sure that everyone will join me in thanking John for his contribution to our Minnesota Bridge Blog - and truly, to the advancement of everyone's game.

Number 100 is worthy of its classification.  John demonstrates what to do to achieve success in a most difficult situation.  I will bet that this hand earned John's partnership 100% at the table, too!

John:  thanks!  We look forward next week to 101. 

Unit 178 at Work

If you're a Unit 178 member, and you'd like to know what your Unit Board has been up to in 2008 - well, here you go!

My thanks to all the Unit Board members for their service - and to President Marv Riedesel to providing this data for us.

Continuing the Conversation

Bridge has dozens of fascinations.  One of the most fun, however, is the theory behind what we do.  We love to talk about what works - what doesn't - and how to improve our games.

We are most fortunate to have weekly columns from the gifted John Koch (both at the table and with the keyboard).  In addition, we are lucky to have top players like Mike Cassel, who respond thoughtfully to ideas that John presents!

Mike kindly wrote a column that references John's column from the last day of 2008.  Enjoy!

Pat Fleming

All Minnesotans know that this winter has been exceptionally difficult.  Extreme cold, snow and way too much ice confound us.

But for bridge players, the last month or so has been tough for another reason:  we have lost way too many of our community.  Today in the Star Tribune, we are able to read through an obituary for our friend, Pat Fleming.  I remember Pat as a quiet but warm and friendly woman who received great enjoyment from our game and from all the people who played it.  Of course, we all appreciated Pat's presence, and we will miss her and her long standing partnership with husband Tom Swenson at the table and throughout life.

Our sympathies to Tom and the rest of Pat's family.

Grand National Teams

If you enjoy team games and would like an opportunity compete for play at the national level, then the Grand National Teams (GNT) are for you!  The event is "grass roots" - played at a local level, with a few teams earning the right to compete at the NABC in Washington D.C. this coming July.  In addition, winning teams receive a subsidy from District 14!

This year, the final District 14 competition will be held in a suburb north of Minneapolis, New Brighton, March 7-8.  The conditions of contest about this year's GNT, along with a flyer about the event, are posted below.

Irrespective of your level of experience, be it Superflight (unlimited), Flight A (up to 5,000 masterpoints), Flight B (up to 2,000 masterpoints) or Non-LM (under 500 masterpoints), GNT is exciting, fun and a fabulous opportunity!  If you haven't yet made your arrangements, find a team and experience GNT yourself!

More On Scott

The Star Tribune has a quite nice article about Scott Nobles and his illustrious career away from the bridge table.

Fortune Favors the Bold

Or, so the saying goes.

At the bridge table, however, bold actions do frequently pay high dividends.  And, when you are as talented a player as John Koch is, you can afford to think big.

Once again, John shares with us his thought processes.  Would you have bid the slam that he and his partner reached?  Would you have met with success, had you found the six level?  Read below and find out!

Scott Nobles

Scott Nobles was a fine competitor and an active member of our bridge community for many years.  An obituary of this very smart man can be found in today's Star Tribune.

Saying Goodbye

The last couple of weeks have been a time of loss for our bridge community.  Larry Oakey gave a beautiful remembrance of Lorraine Schweitzer, his partner and good friend.  Now, we learn that our community must say goodbye to lost Pat Fleming, Scott Nobles and Miriam Frost Featherston.

Miriam's friend Marsha Brouillet offers a lifetime of memories of their friendship and bridge exploits below.