Minnesota Bridge

Thinking About the Hand

Two guys who are usually pretty good on defense!

Defense is a tough adventure.  Nevertheless, many hands have clues.  If we take all the information available to us, often we can arrive at a solution that leads to success.

This week, John Koch presents us with such a hand.

Many of our Minnesota players are in San Francisco at the 2012 Fall NABC.  Think about John's hand of the week - and realize that often, the solution is there.  We simply need to concentrate on all the data we have at our disposal!

We Have A Winner!

Jack Rhatigan sent me this exciting bit of news:

Howard Weinstein and Steve Garner are bidding in this December's 2012 Bridge World.  They managed a score of 87 out of a maximum of 100 in ten hands of the Challenge the Champs contest.  A score of 87 is really manificent!  And, Howie and Steve will return in the January issue.

Jack is right; a most impressive performance by Howie and Steve.

And - speaking of impressive performances - the boys pulled one off tonight in San Francisco.  When the scores came in - Howie and Steve, along with teamates Aubrey Strul, Michael Becker, Tarek Sadek and Walid Elahmady were at the top of the pack!

I captured a smiling team photo, then instructed Howie and Steve to pose separately for a MN Bridge Blog photo.  Their Egyptian teammates, Tarek and Walid, were so excited I couldn't separate 'em!

Congratulations, guys - all around!

And the Competition Begins

Minnesota bridge players, past and present, at the 2012 Fall NABC in San Francisco!

Happy Thanksgiving

Whether you are going to be on a plane headed to the San Francisco NABC, driving to be with family or celebrating at your own home - we wish all in the Minnesota bridge community a Happy Thanksgiving!

Upcoming Events

Good luck to all the Minnesota players competing at the San Francisco NABC!

 

Upcoming Events

Holiday Sectional at the Bridge Center of St. Paul in North St. Paul - Dec 7-9

Friday:            2:30 & 7:30         Pair/Teams and IN (0-200)
Saturday:        9:00 & 1:30         Pair/Teams and IN (0-200)
Sunday:         10:00                    Stratified Swiss Teams

                           
December is Grass Roots month, established by the ACBL to help support grass roots games, the GNT and NAP at local levels.  Please show your support by attending games
designated as Grass Roots at your local clubs in December.   

2013  Winter Carnival sectional in New Brighton - Jan 25-27    

CAN-AM Regional in Montreal - Aug 12-18

Tony Ames &  Judy Nassar are organizing a group to the regional. Events are also being
planned for non-playing spouses.  If interested, please contact Tony at [email protected] or Judy at 952.474.3653.

Spot of Choice

When defending, we have the opponents' bidding to guide us.  This, however, is not enough.  We must rely upon our own carding to know which suits to attack, which to avoid and which to continue at a key point in a hand.

These may seem like simple and straightforward rules.  And - on one level - they are.

Yet, as we all know, often "at the table" figuring out what a spot card means is not always as easy as it may appear on the surface.

This week, John Koch presents us with excellent reasoning about which spots to play when - and why.

Unit 178 Minutes

For those wishing to keep up on Unit 178 activities and plans - here are the minutes from the Board's November meeting.

Still Sharp

As many of us know, Minnesota expert Tim Wernz has been in a tough health battle for some time.  Nevertheless, as Irwin Boris highlights so well in his story below, at the bridge table, Tim's judgment is still keen and successful!

Our thanks to Irwin to sharing this story of how Tim has been in the winners circle over the years.

Into the Future

Steve Gaynor has a master schedule.  It stretches far into the future, with a wide variety of activities and events that interest Minnesota bridge players.

Steve's schedule is here.  Be sure to get in touch with him if you think that something should be added or needs correcting.  And our thanks to Steve, too, for keeping track of all this great bridge!

Transfers

We all know about Jacoby transfers and Texas transfers.  And, some of us now play "transfer advances" where responders "transfer" to their suit rather than bid it directly.

Yet, there is another sort of "transfer" that is used not during the bidding, but the play.

If you are a squeeze aficionado, this week John Koch will show you how to dazzle your partner and pulverize your opponents with transferring a menace.

And if the above is a mystery to you - then be sure to read John's column this week!

WUMBA Wonders

One aspect of bridge that separates the excellent players from the fair-to-middling is the ability of the former to read the cards.

This week, John Koch focuses on the talents of one of our neighbors to the east.  Here is WUMBA's Art Flashinski at the helm. 

John points out that Art is the winner this year for most masterpoints won in Wisconsin-Upper Michigan sectionals. 

With skills like these - no one should be surprised!

MN State Sectional 2012 Results

MN State Sectional 2012 is now "in the can."  The last bids, plays, triumphs and disasters are now history.

The player who earned the most masterpoints at this sectional was Mike Cassel.  Mike's total of 27.74 put him just ahead of Kory Solarz and and Terry Lijewski, who tied for 2/3. Total points earned for all those who played can be found here; results for each event are here.

Many thanks to co-chairmen Kathy Beckman and Verda Gould, plus all their volunteers, for their hours and hours of effort to bring us a fine tournament.  Our gratitude also goes to Mike Flader and his directing staff for smooth running games.

To all who came and conquered and learned and had a fun weekend - thanks for being there!

Today!

November's Minnesota State Sectional begins today!

Head on down to Shakopee this weekend for great competition and loads of fun!  Details here.

UPDATE:  For today, Saturday and Sunday's results - check in below!  We will post results as received.

What Is Bridge?

If your friends who are not familiar with the game we love ask "what is it"? - then you can show them this!