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Long time successful Twin Cities bridge competitor and bridge writer, Murray Appelbaum graces us today with a column about reading columns!
Snow's on the ground (lots of it!) and temps are still wintry. Nevertheless - spring and the Gopher Regional are closer than you think!
This year's Gopher is chock full of exciting team and pair games, a free lunch, free parking and coffee - plus a welcoming hospitality suite. Do check out this year's flyer, then make your plans. Daffodils and tulips - plus the Gopher Regional - are but a few months away!
Then think about having them compete in the Youth NABC this summer in Toronto!
Sharon Anderson, our District 14 Director, has all the details here!
Compete in this year's GNT and win a subsidized trip to the Summer NABC in Toronto! Check out our District Director's website for all the details! GNT flyer also attached below.
A stepping-stone squeeze is one of the most fascinating maneuvers in bridge. Even though the defenders may appear to have enough tricks for success, the stepping-stone squeeze removes their chances.
This week, in a thrilling slam hand, John Koch explains how we can step our way to a dramatic plus 980!
The U.S. Postal Service won't be stopped by weather. Neither will Minnesota sectionals!
Nevertheless, weather likely had an impact on our sectional last weekend in Chatfield. Hardy souls did turn out, nevertheless, despite the sometimes blizzard conditions.
Congratulations to Dave Hoffman of Oronoco, who topped the leaderboard with just shy of 13 masterpoints. Results and the other masterpoint winners can be found here.
February 28th is the date for our annual ACBL wide Senior Pairs game. To be eligible, you must be 55 or older. Competitors across the U.S. and Canada will be playing the same hands. The top pair will earn national and district recognition!
Grab your favorite 55+ pard and head down to the Twin Cities Bridge Center for this event! And remember; Mondays are "free soup" days, too!
Unit 103 wants you to save Saturday, March 26th. That is the date for their annual Ace of Clubs and MiniMcKenney awards luncheon and game.
More details will follow - but - be sure to save the date!
More times than I can count, I've issued a "Sorry, partner" for what I thought was a poorly declared hand or an unfortunate defense. Sometimes, however, if you look deeper, you find that another defense had a counter by declarer.
Today, John Koch presents us with a grand slam. One defender apologies to the other for his discards. Yet John explains that the discards were moot.
Check out John's column for the week - and see if you can calculate the way to 13 tricks, come what may.
It may be that the only "sorry" should be for having such a fine declarer at the helm!
Yes, I realize that we already covered our late January sectional. This is another Winter Carnival and bridge story - one about love between a king and queen. A love story worthy of Valentine's Day! Enjoy!
Paul Gutterman has presented us with an excellent column on hesitating. Now, Paul offers us a follow up with more to consider about tempo and good ethics at the table. Thanks, Paul, for your important insights into this critical topic.
I might add that players should realize that playing according to the rules is helpful for two additional reasons. First, it is much tougher to play against competitors who play in tempo! Are they worried? Confident? Confused? If your tempo is smooth, it's much more difficult for opponents to figure it out. Also, in certain circumstances, if you purposefully alter your tempo to mislead the opponents, you can be subject either to penalties on that hand - or ethics sanctions.
Playing without uneven hesitations isn't easy! But - if you follow Paul's recommendations, this tough task will seem a bit easier.
So you've pulled all the trump. You've still got 4 apparent losers in a game where you can only afford 3. What to do?
Even though there are no lurkers - more trump!
This week, John Koch explains the magic that happens when you run 'em.
Last week we listed the top 100 masterpoint holders in Minnesota. This week, you can view those players in our state who earned the most masterpoints at clubs, tournaments and online for the past year.
At the top of the list is a very well known name: Sharon Anderson. In addition to being one of our most winning players, Sharon is also our district 14 director for the ACBL. Sharon's winning total was just a hair under 520. To be included in the Top 100 for the year, slightly over 140 masterpoints had to be earned.
Congratulations to these players for their great performance - and - good luck to everyone in the state in 2011!