Minnesota Bridge

D.C. Bound

District 14's Grand National Team weekend was a great success.  Thirty-five teams were in play on Saturday, culminating in four winners on Sunday from Superflight and Flights A, B, and C.  These teams will go on to the Washington D.C. NABC in July, earning the right to compete against teams in their strata from all over North America - along with a few bucks to supplement.   

Thanks to Tournament Chairman Mike Cassel for an excellent job, to directors Mike Flader and Tony Ames for a smooth running tournament, to Judy Nassar for loads of yummy treats, to Gus Doty's two hard-working grandsons who caddied for everyone, to all the other volunteers who cooked and baked and helped with all the other activities that were necessary for a fine weekend. 

Finally - thanks to all those District 14 players who came to New Brighton in an effort to capture their prize!

Here are the winning teams.  More photos and reports from GNT 2009 will be forthcoming.

 

 

 

 

 

Superflight

Bob Balderson, Cindy Balderson, Peg Kaplan, Bill Kent, Paul Meerschaert, Carole Miner

Flight A

Dennis Dufner, John Lijewski, Terry Lijewski, Kory Solarz

Flight B

Phyllis Anderson, Paul Gutterman, Peter Litchfield, Peg Mitchell

Flight C

Judy Hansen, Jake Olson, Jeff Olson, Mary Sass

Volunteers

We need you!

Mary Vik is teaching bridge at Cretin Durham Hall High School.  Students there need help with learning how to play on line.  If you are able to donate an hour of time during the lunch hour to assist Mary and the kids, we would greatly appreciate it!

Please contact Sue Jackson at 651.636.4446 or [email protected] if you are able to help out.  And thanks in advance!

 

Grand National Teams 2008-2009

Our District 14 GNT finals are only a few days away now!  And, as there has been a bit of conflicting data floating around about where and when, here is THE official scoop.

Where:

New Brighton Family Service Center, 400 10th St. NW (East entrance) New Brighton

When:

Saturday, March 7th at 1:30PM and 6:30PM

Sunday, March 8th at 10:00AM (and do NOT forget daylight savings change!) plus TBA - expecting play to complete approximately 5:30PM

Updated flyer information and directions below.  See you there!

Unit 103 Awards Celebration

On Saturday, March 28th, Unit 103 will herald those players who won Ace of Clubs and Mini McKenney awards in 2008.  Everyone can enjoy a great dinner and awards presentations, followed by a unit game.

The dinner starts at 6PM at the Bridge Center of St. Paul, 2603 6th Avenue in North St. Paul.  Bridge will commence at 7PM. 

Cost for the gala dinner catered by Tinucci's is $7; entries for the game following are $6 per player.  First place award winners will receive a free dinner and game entry.  Second and third finishers will be awarded free game entries.  Invitations will soon be sent out to the achievers!

If you are able to attend, please RSVP to Elaine Prebonich at 651.490.5430 by Wednesday, March 25th. 

Congratulations to all and hope to see lots of folks celebrating!

 

Looking in the Mirror

Have you ever heard someone use the phrase "mirrored hands" at the table?  Obviously, it is impossible for players to ever have identical hands on any given deal.  Yet, we can have identical distribution in each suit.  That is the meaning of "mirrored hands."

John Koch presents us with such a hand this Wednesday, which delivers a tough problem for declarer.  Because of the "mirrored hands," declarer must look at himself in the mirror.  Does he take what would be the "percentage action"?  Or, does declarer follow his gut, taking into account other bits of data at his disposal?

Read below the line to see what John did - and why.

Board 178 Meeting

Unit 178's President, Marv Riedesel, alerted me to the unit's board meeting on March 14th, 9:30AM, at the Twin City Bridge Center.

A tentative agenda.  Marv wants Unit 178 members to know that they are welcome to attend, if they so choose.  Familiarity with the agenda should also help folks to know what your board members are doing to improve bridge in Minneapolis!

New Brighton - Then DC!

This Saturday and Sunday, players from four flights:  Superflight, and Flights A, B and C will have an opportunity to compete for a trip to the NABC in Washington DC this July!  For many years, District 14's competition for this honor was held in Ft. Dodge, Iowa - quite a bit down the road for most Minnesotans.  This year, those of us in the Gopher State are fortunate that the playing site is far closer to home:  New Brighton, a northern suburb of Minneapolis.

Many years, I and my teammates have competed in this exciting event with a big potential pay-off - once in a while, with thrilling success.  If you would like to try your team's skill and fortune this year, all the details about the GNT and concurrent Swiss Team Sectional can be found here.

Last night, Tony Ames and I teamed with Diane and Larry Henson of Minnetonka for a practice match with some newer players.  They are planning on competing in Flight C this weekend. 

If you want to participate in the ACBL's premier "grass roots" event, compete against your peers from all of District 14, potentially win a subsidized trip to play teams from all over North America - and have loads of fun - then be sure to head to New Brighton this weekend!  I look forward to seeing you there!