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Get in by six - get out by nine!
Tony Ames is changing the starting time for his Tuesday night game at the Twin City Bridge Center. Starting time is 6PM - and the game finishes at 9PM.
Concerned about time for dinner? Don't be! Once everyone is at the game, Tony will order pizza - and at no charge to players! Tony will even have a standby partner available. So - if you show up, you can play.
Enjoy the new and improved Tuesday night game!
Partner invites game. With full values for the auction so far, you forge on - and partner's dummy is the bare minimum.
What now?
This Wednesday, John Koch shows us how to make lemonade when we are handed lemons!
Another fine Minnesota tournament! Even with beautiful fall weather Saturday, we had a nice turnout.
Congratulations to Terry and Kathy Beckman. They earned 19.31 masterpoints each, to put them at the top of the heap for points won in New Brighton. Just a teensy bit behind was Terry Lijewski.
All results and masterpoints earned can be found here.
And thanks to all who contributed, volunteered and made Autumn Harvest 2013 a success!
A dreary, wet Minnesota fall day. What better activity in which to engage than bridge!
Fortunately for all of us, we have a great venue for that! The Autumn Harvest Sectional in New Brighton is happening right now. All the details can be found in this flyer.
Please note the new schedule has games today and tomorrow, Saturday - with Sunday free for football!
Grab your favorite partners and teammates and head to New Brighton for autumn fun!
A number of French landmarks are famous throughout the world: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame and Palace of Versailles are but a few.
Yet, a bridge maneuver at the table with a French accent is also a wonderful creation: the "coup en passant". What is this marvelous move?
Le columnist John Koch has an explanation that is magnifique!
What is one of the most exciting things that can happen to a bridge player? To make it into the New York Times bridge column, of course!
A few days ago, our own Sharon Christenson accomplished that feat!
Mike Cassel, District 14's GNT Coordinator, is already busy planning away for this coming season.
Irrespective of your level of ability, this is an event you do not want to miss! Given that there are some significant changes to the event this year, please do visit our District 14 website for an overview of what those changes are.
Then put together your team and perhaps you will be heading to the Las Vegas NABC, summer 2014!
Chester Bahr, longtime Rochester bridge player and an ACBL
patron, passed away Sept. 9, 2013.
Though Chester hadn't been playing much bridge recently, the Rochester
club and Minnesota at large will miss
his warm smile, outgoing personality and competitive spirit.
Chester and Bea, partner through life and at the bridge table, attended many Minnesota and national tournaments. Above is a photo of Chester and Bea celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary.
Chester was successful at the bridge table, with family and work. Our condolences to Bea and the rest of his family; he will be missed by all.
Chester's obituary can be found here. Our thanks to Rochester Duplicate Bridge Club Manager Sue Greenberg for her kind words above.
In 2004, Tony Ames and John Koch, along with Rod Beery and Mary Egan, entered the NABC Baze Senior KO Teams. For those who see the word "senior" and think that this means the event is a walk in the park - think again. When you see names like Bobby Wolff, Dan Morse, Fred Hamilton, John Sutherlin and others - you appreciate that you must play some pretty tough bridge to survive.
And "survive" their team did. Despite playing on a four man team (which can be most fatiguing) and facing superb competition - at the end of the event, Tony, John, Rod and Mary were in the winner's circle.
In today's Koch Korner column, John details a difficult hand that Tony played against two world champions: John Shermer and Neil Chambers. (By the way, this same pair will be representing the United States in the coming days in Bali on USA1 in the Senior Knockouts. Be sure to kibitz some of the action on Bridgebase!)
Had Tony not declared as magnificently as he had, John might not have written today's column. But - Tony did, and thus John did - and we are the benefactors of enjoying such fine play!
Critical to our game is capturing new devotees. On Saturday, September 7th, the Bridge Center of St. Paul created a fine environment toward that goal with their hosting of a Learn Bridge in a Day session.
Eleven tables of new players, eager to learn about the mysteries and delights of bridge arrived. They even stayed well past the scheduled end time - just to play and learn a little more!
Sandy Casey led the fund raising to be able to present the program, oversaw the organization and promotion - and then taught the Learn Bridge in a Day lesson. Many said they would be back!
Our thanks to Sandy and others who do wonderful work inspiring the bridge players of tomorrow - and to Mary McIntyre for her reporting and photos!
All bridge players enjoy winning, and being the best competitor possible. Nevertheless, bridge is a game where proprieties and rules govern how we can go about beating the other guys.
Our thanks to Steve Gaynor for providing us with superb guidance as to how we can do just that. It's a revelation!
OK, OK; no one has an opponent that is a Martian. But - many of us do have a "favorite opponent."
This week, John Koch tells a tale from a match against his favorite opponent - and, how to go right.
Please see below; the hand is out of this world!