Minnesota Bridge

Des Moines Regional

District 14 Director Sharon Anderson reminds us that one of the summer highlights of bridge begins tomorrow:  the Des Moines Regional.

See you there!

How Many?

Sometimes, we are dealt a hand with a long suit where no specific level seems exactly right.  Is the hand too weak for a one level bid?  Too strong for the two or three level?  Better to pass - or just guess and pick one of the above?

Murray Appelbaum presents such a hand, along with the thought processes involved in weighing it all.  Thanks, Murray!

Sublime or Mundane?

Some of us love to reach for "New York Times" hands.  These involve plays that are so dramatic, they would earn the right to be read by millions in the NYTimes bridge column.

Sometimes, however, "New York Times" plays earn not accolades but the booby prize.  Sometimes, "normal" saves the day.

How is one to tell which way the wind blows?  Today, John Koch offers us such a lesson.

A Teacher's Inspiration

Teachers and inspiration.  When we contemplate them, we think of students who were inspired by their teachers.

Sometimes, however, the tables are turned.  A student can inspire the teacher!

Paul Meerschaert shares such a story with us.  Somehow, though - my guess is this teacher inspired his students, too.

Thanks, Paul!

Aquatennial

Our next summer sectional is less than a month away!  Enjoy all the festivities of the Aquatennial Silver Point Tournament at the Twin City Bridge Center.  The tournament starts July 15th and runs through the 19th. 

A full schedule can be found here.

St. Cloud Success

The Granite City Sectional in St. Cloud ended yesterday.  The two top masterpoint winners were foreigners!  Congratulations to William and Sue Moore Treble for their excellent performance.

To see who did what in all the events, check out the results page here.  A great way to spend a summer weekend!

Capturing the Excitement

Those who watched the final match of the team trials were able to view bridge at its most thrilling.  The Nickell team faced the Fleischer team:  one of the strongest teams in U.S. history, facing a team that had beaten team after team of elite experts from the start of the competition.

The last day of bridge afforded the spectators "can't take your eyes away" hands.  Every two to four hands, one team would overtake the other by a few IMPS.  Near the end of the penultimate set, the Nickell team built up a moderate lead.

On the first hand of the last set, however, the Fleischer team met with disaster.  One pair had a bidding misunderstanding, finally resting in 5 clubs redoubled.  Down 1600 translated into a 19 IMP loss for the Fleischer team - and they never recovered.

Mike Cassel has thoughtfully delivered a column that details many of these fascinating hands.  Thanks Mike!  And - enjoy seeing how the best of the best do what they do in the heat of competition.

Second Chances

Sometimes in life we are dealt second chances.  Sometimes those second chances arise at the bridge table, too.

Have you ever had a hand where partner has blown the defense?  Sure you have; anyone who plays bridge has hands where this happens.

You have two choices.  You can fume and fret and think about how you will berate partner when the hand is over.  Or - you can dig deep and see if there is a second chance.

As he always does, John Koch masterfully teaches us.  Today?  It's all about second chances.

Granite City

We will not be selecting a representative to the Bermuda Bowl this weekend in St. Cloud.  But - we will have the Granite City Sectional! 

On Friday the 19th through Sunday the 21st, the tournament has pairs and team events, all located in a convenient city in our state.

Do check out the schedule, and show your stuff at a fun tournament!

Philadelphia Story

Exciting news!  Come October, 2010, a World Championship will be held in Philadelphia.

A press release with lots of details can be found at Sharon Anderson's District website.  For bridge players everywhere, an exceptional opportunity!

A Line

Technology provides incredible opportunities for bridge.  With vugraph online, whether we are sitting adjacent to the screen in White Plains - or are at home in Chicago, Shanghai or Roseville, we can watch all the action.

Mike Cassell is one of those watching while competitors are aiming at the right to represent the U.S. in the Bermuda Bowl.  As you can imagine, some spectacular hands arise during play.  Mike has kindly written up one of those, declared by Ron Rubin.  The hand and Mike's write up are below; enjoy!

And - don't forget.  Two more sessions online today!

Not This Bermuda Bowl

A few of our elite "home town" Minnesota players were in contention - for a while - to earn a slot at the next Bermuda Bowl.  At the team trials in White Plains, Joe Grue was competing on the George Jacobs team with partner Curtis Cheek.  Howie Weinstein and Steve Garner continued their tip-top partnership on the Roy Welland team.

Joe's team lost one match early, but was still alive with a double elimination format.  Alas for Joe, the strong Nick Nickell team proved too much for them.  The Jacobs team lost by a moderate number of IMPS.

The next match, it was Howie and Steve's turn to face Nickell's squad.  In an even longer match, Nickell came on strong.  The Welland team tried a number of maneuvers, with some working.  Behind by a large margin, however, not enough of the "shooting" worked. 

Thus, our "locals" will have to wait for the next cycle to represent the U.S.  For those who would like to see two tough teams battle it out for USA #2 in the Bermuda Bowl, be sure to watch vugraph at Bridge Base Online tomorrow.  While we're disappointed that we can't watch one of "our" guys compete - we will be able to watch fabulous and exciting bridge!

Unit 178 Minutes

For those who like to keep up with the inner workings of their Unit board - here are the minutes from Unit 178's May board meeting.

Our Volunteers

District 14 Director Sharon Anderson poses some questions about volunteers at her website.

Help Sharon!  Take a tour and add your opinions.

Choices

At the Open Team Trials to select two teams to represent the United States in international competition, Your Editor has been photographing away since Sunday evening.  All I can say is:  the field is brutal.  This event is a "double elimination" (you can lose once and still be one of the teams selected).  But, every match, you seem to meet an opponent who is even more fierce than the once previously.

Teams must judge who to field against which pairs, what systems to play, what conventions will most wound - yet will be comprehensible to their own side.  Choices and more choices.

In today's column, John Koch gives us a hand where choices must also be made. 

Thanks, John - and here are a few photos, too, of Minnesota friends who are competing against the best - as they, too, are the best!

Thanks from Unit 178 President Marv Riedesel

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Wow, A very sincere thank you to all of you who contributed to our charity efforts this year. Our goal was to exceed the $2020 donated last year to our selected charity. 52 individuals donated 110 items to our silent auction –

THANK YOU! 16 players volunteered to be auctioned off as expert players –

THANK YOU! 37 players made purchases at the silent auction –

THANK YOU! 18 players made cash contributions –

THANK YOU! 68 players played in the charity game on Saturday evening –

THANK YOU! 30 players bought a ticket in our raffle –

THANK YOU! 6 players contributed 22 items for the bake sale –

THANK YOU! Larry Oakey volunteered his directing services of the game -

THANK YOU! Chip & Teri Blu, owners of the TCBC, donated 80% of the entry fees for the game plus a set of lessons for 4 to our silent auction –

THANK YOU! Our charity committee worked tirelessly collecting items, contacting players, publicizing the event, preparing food, and carrying out the many other activities necessary to run a successful event – Sharon Anderson, Roger Anderson, Vicky Smith, Verda Gould, Mary Johnson, & Harold Dodson –

A HUGE THANK YOU TO EACH OF YOU. To each of you who read this - Please extend your gratitude to Chip, Teri, Larry, and the members of the committee for a tremendous effort.

We did it! – We are sending a check in the amount of $3000 to our selected charity this year - the Minneapolis Chapter of MAD DADS.

Additional details may be found in the minutes of the Unit 178 Executive Board meeting posted later on the blog and the bulletin board at the TCBC.

District 14 Representatives

Our District 14 Director, Sharon Anderson, has posted about our district's representation with the ACBL.

Hidden Treasures

In the age of advanced electronics, sometimes I am overwhelmed by all the data available!  Today, I had two surprises.  First, some last-day-of-the-Gopher Regional photos popped up in my digital camera.  Second, while combing through my enormous pile of saved emails, I found an email about a clever falsecard, signed:  "Jack Rhatigan; Victim"!

My thanks to Jack and to all those who posed for me at the Gopher.  Enjoy!

I offer this as an example of a false card that cannot hurt, and may cause your opponents great concern.  At pairs, North held:  2, KQJ, J86432, 832.  South opened 1 spade with:  AQ876, A10872, 9, J10, everyone vul.  West bid 1NT with KJ95, 53, AKQ, A765, and all passed.

South won the opening lead of the spade deuce with the ace, and declarer played the jack!  Now south (yours truly) started to think.  "Would LHO overcall 1NT with KJ doubleton of spades?"  Perhaps West just made a poor bid.  Would north lead a singleton spade instead of searching elsewhere?  Yes, sometimes. 

Finally, after soul searching, I continued spades - losing three of the tricks our side could have taken.  All this was because declarer - a bridge player and not a "card pusher" - played the spade jack.  West offered me the hook; it got firmly imbedded and I took the bait.  Really a great falsecard.

Declarer made 4NT instead of the 1NT he would have made had he played a small spade and received a heart shift.

                                                    Jack Rhatigan, Victim

Seeing the Unseen

Sometimes when we play a hand, what is possible is not always readily apparent.  Where there is a will, however, occasionally there is a way!

As he does every Wednesday, John Koch demonstrates the way to finding an unlikely dummy entry.  Remember:  often we are restricted only by the bounds of our imagination!

Internet Bridge

Sharon Anderson, our District 14 representative, is on an ACBL committee overseeing bridge on the Internet.  Sharon shares some of her thoughts on her webpage, and requests our feedback.

Please do visit her page and help Sharon with your recommendations!