Minnesota Bridge

Unit 103 - July Board of Directors' Agenda

Irrespective of season, our Unit Board members work hard for us throughout the year!

Below is the agenda that Unit 103 has scheduled for their July meeting.

Our thanks to all!

Granite City Sectional - Results

St. Cloud's beautiful summer Granite City Sectional has concluded; results are in!

Three players tied for top masterpoint winners:  Wendy Turk and Chris Champion of Colorado Springs, along with John Koch. Each earned 26.61 masterpoints. Well done!  

This was, however, a bit of an oddity. Wendy and Chris partnered one another in various events; John played with others. Yet at the end of the tournament, their masterpoints matched!

Carole Miner and Terry Beckman also scored over 20 masterpoints. The rest of the Granite results can be viewed here.

Our thanks to co-chairs Kory Solarz and Jean Leighton - plus our directors, caddies, other volunteers and of course - all our competitors!  Congratulations to all who placed and did well at the sectional!

Sectional in Clubs at the Edina Senior Center

We have an excellent opportunity this week for the STAC for Extra Masterpoints and Extra  FUN.

 

Tuesday, June 20 - 6:30PM

 

Thursday, June 22 - 7:00PM 

     

 

Any questions or if you need a partner, please call Judy at 952-474-3653.

 

We are expecting a big turn out.  There will be some healthy snacks!!!

 

Hope to see you at one or both games.  Tony II will be directing.

The Bridge Center of St. Paul - STAC Games & Longest Day

The Bridge Center of St Paul is running STAC games all week including Sunday late afternoon  except on Wednesday when they have a day long series of 5 18-board matchpoint games to support the Longest Day. 

 

Cost is $5 for each game.

 

Games at:

 

8am

11am

2pm

5pm

8pm

 

Free food will be available  between each session!

Tom Hammond - 1934 - 2017

The best part of bridge is the people who love it ... and the saddest part is reporting when we lose one of our members. Today, I regret to report that we suddenly lost Tom Hammond this week.

Kim Hayward, Club Manager at The Bridge Center of St. Paul - and good friend of Tom's - was kind enough to write this beautiful remembrance of our good friend, competitor and marvelous teacher.  Thank you so much, Kim.

Tom Hammond was one of the most active and giving Bridge players we've ever had at the Bridge Center of St Paul. He was integral in the creation of a teaching/mentoring program which, since he began in the mid-1990s, has yielded many satisfied players.

 

Tom played for many years with Ken Marier developing their system. He would always entertain requests for both lessons and entering into mentoring relationships with new players. His lesson series would sometimes be planned, or ala carte depending on the group.

 

When Tom taught he'd never want money. When students paid, he'd collect it all, go buy things for the local food shelves or homeless centers and come back to the class and report: "I was able to buy 309 toothbrushes, 216 tubes of toothpaste, 110 deodorants..." etc. He would often show up during a game with a huge box of donuts, I always noticed one was missing, so it seemed to me he wanted a donut, but thought we'd all like some too!

 

Tom was always happy to offer advice about Bridge, but also about life, with words of encouragement or a letter of recommendation. We missed him terribly every year when he and Judy would be off to California.

 

Now we will miss him every day. 

 

Kim Hayward, Club Manager

Bridge Center of St Paul

 

We also have a link to Tom's obituary here.  A Celebration of Life for Tom will be from 4 to 7 PM on Friday, June 23rd.

Our deepest condolences to Tom's wife, Judy, and all of his family.

 

 

Unit 178 April Minutes and June Agenda

Our thanks to Linda Brammer for sending us Unit 178's April minutes and the upcoming agenda for the Board meeting this coming Saturday.

Thanks to all for their continuing efforts for the betterment of bridge!

A Remembrance from Up North

Ron DeHarpporte, Larry Oakey partner, teammate, and long time friend, shares a TGLO story that hails from Canada!

We appreciate that Minnesota Bridge has already had a wealth of remembrances and stories about Larry Oakey. Yet, TGLO was an extraordinary individual in our bridge world. And - as stories continue to be submitted to us, we believe they must be shared.

This story arrives via Ron DeHarpporte. It's from a player whose name was unfamiliar to me:  Brian Pauls of Canada.

Ron notes that Brian was one of the best bridge players with whom Larry ever played.  Indeed, Ron thinks that Larry was of the opinion that Brian was the most talented partner he'd ever had.  The famed Eric Murray told Ron that Brian was "the best player in Western Canada." And, Eric Kokish, another elite Canadian player and "Koach" to the stars shared similar sentiments.

Brian saw Ron's name in Larry's obituary; the two then renewed a friendship that had been on hold for 50 years.

Brian and Ron played on many teams together, often with Larry as a teammate and usually in Winnipeg - but on occasion, the team would travel Down South to the Gopher during the 60's. 

Brian virtually gave up bridge in the early 70's to become one of Canada's most successful attorneys. Another top Canadian player, Hersh Wolch, became an important Canadian official. Recently, however, Brian has begun to play a bit again, yet he states "not seriously." He still works as a full time, successful attorney.

Brian's TGLO story is below. We thank Brian for sending to us and Harpo for sharing it.

If you knew Oakey at all - it will put a smile on your face!

Mike Lawrence Seminar

 

This past weekend, three dozen Twin City bridge players experienced a most special treat. They attended the Mike Lawrence seminar on Saturday and Sunday, affording them the opportunity to learn from one of the top players in bridge history.

 

 

Mike has an extraordinary record of accomplishment.  In ACBL competition, Mike has an amazing array of championship wins and runner-ups in the toughest events on the calendar. Plus he's a three time world champion. Plus Mike played on the world reknown Dallas Aces.

 

 

And - as if that were not enough, Mike is one of the most prolific, successful and revered bridge authors. Mike has written more than 23 bridge books (with more on the way), bridge CD's, and articles of his have been published in both the ACBL Bulletin and The Bridge World.  Many, including your webmaster, found Mike's books invaluable tools to learning the game. His ability to describe not only what to do, but why you should be doing it, gives players deep insight into how to be a successful player.

 

 

During the two day seminar, attendees were given the scoop on how best to respond to takeout doubles and, an age old problem:  what to do after an opponent preempts. Following lectures, players were able to go through Mike's problem hands, ask questions and gain much insight. Lunch was also enjoyed both days; those participating got to learn more about Mike and our fascinating game.

 

 

In addition to his wealth of bridge wisdom, Mike brought along his lovely wife, Karen. Our thanks to Diane and Larry Henson, who were instrumental in putting together the seminar and providing hospitality to Mike and Karen while they were visiting.

 

 

As you can tell from the smiles from our seminar participants, the Mike Lawrence visit was a tremendous hit. If more of our players wish that they could have attended, then perhaps Mike will grace us down the road with a repeat performance.  Here's hoping!

 

 

More photos below of this fun, exciting and educational weekend!

Granite City Sectional

Just six days from today, on Thursday, June 15th, the Granite City Sectional in St. Cloud begins. Enjoy bridge Thursday, Friday and Saturday - with Sunday free! Enjoy teams or pairs; your choice!

The flyer for Granite City can be found here; all the info about the events, schedule and places to stay if you're not a local.

Have fun in St. Cloud - and do well!

The Flying Pig Regional - NOW From St. Paul!

 

Compete in the Flying Pig Regional from the comfort of the Bridge Center of St. Paul!

 

The Flying Pig Regional will be the next regional tournament participating in this electronic game with cooperation from The Common Game on Bridgebase Online.

 

When: Tuesday, June 6th 3:45pm (4:45pm ET)

2 session Gold Point Game (2 - 18 board sessions will occur back to back)

 

Where: At your local club (event will be played live at Flying Pig Regional)

Locally: Bridge Center of St Paul, 2603 Sixth Ave E, N St Paul, 55109

Cost: $26/per person for both sessions

 

Benefits: Why should you do this?

No need to travel to a regional tournament

Earn gold points at your local club

Save Money (on travel and accommodations)

 

How it works:

You need to fill out the BBO registration and submit your BBO payment. One player signs up with the $52 payment and invites partner via BBO.

Note: both you and your partner will need to fill it out.

On the day of the event, you and your partner will need to be present at the club for both sessions.

You will play via your own tablet/phone/electronic device.

(Make sure you are fully charged, have BBO ID, and are familiar with the platform)

*************************************************************************************

Please call, email or see me with questions!

Kim Hayward, Club Manager

Bridge Center of St Paul

​bridgecenterofstpaul@gmail.com

651-490-5430 w

651-271-3500 c

Youth WILL Be Served!

 

There's no doubt that the bridge world in the U.S. is an aging community. And for many of us, it's a puzzle. College was a common place for students to pick up the game. Lots of young marrieds did, too, enjoying home games as their new babies slept through set after set.

In the last decades, however, something changed. While many of us play on and on as we age, not seeing fresh faces at club games and tournaments has been a disappointment.

We are thrilled, however, at programs like Dean Matthew Bribitzer-Stull's Honors bridge classes at the University of Minnesota. And seeing students from other colleges and universities this week at the Gopher was a treat!

 

 

My apologies for not having the names of these intent students who traveled to Minnetonka for regional events this past week. I hope that they know, however, how glad we were to see them!  And - we hope, too, that they will continue to play and learn and compete - as many of us have for over half a century.  

Game on!