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September 01, 2020
August 28, 2020
Minneapolis Grand Slam Club - Tonight at 7:15 on BBO
Weekly reminder that the MGSC will be online tonight at 7:15 on BBO.
Let us know if your partner is not a regular Twin Cities player so we can get them registered to play.
Join the partnership desk to find a partner if you don't have one. This works two ways: once you sign up at the partnership desk, you can either invite someone in the pool to play or someone can invite you.
If you connect before the game starts, you'll be in your proper Flight based on masterpoints, etc. If you don't get a partner before the game starts, the director may choose to find one for you in order to fill out the movement. Note: this partner could be anyone, and you won't have time to discuss a card in great depth. Also, you will be in Flight A because you're coming into the game after it has started.
BBO is now able to host a second section along with our regular Open game. The Open game masterpoint awards will be increased based on the size of both games. We hope to see some new faces playing in our second section tonight (limited masterpoints 0-999). This game will start 10 minutes prior to the Open game.
We will have a Zoom session after the games finish.
Look for an update with that information later.
David says: See you at the table!
August 14, 2020
Thank You, Partner!
Thank You, Partner
Connie Nelson continues to deliver lovely news and stories about our unusual bridge world in 2020. We are SO grateful for all that she does!
In the meantime, however, the powers of the universe are scrambling some of our data and photos. So please accept my apologies for less than perfection with this post. Enjoy the happy faces, the years of enjoying bridge and remember that nothing (yes, not even bridge!) can be perfect.
But pretty good - YES!
On July 12, my husband Jim Schnepf and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. Roger and Sue Knauss were nice enough to invite us over to share steaks on the grill and a bottle of wine.
Sue and Roger Knauss – Married 46 Years
The four of us play bridge together at the St Cloud Club, playing as couples. We commented that the old adage that married couples should not play bridge together doesn’t seem to apply to our Club. We counted twenty couples who play with differing frequency. Here are ten who recently answered an emailed survey from me:
- Rick and Kathleen Bredlie – who play at our Club in summers, but live in Arizona
- Tom and Pat Buttweiller
- Sue and Roger Knauss
- Greg and Darlene Nastrom
- Mary and Rick Olson – who play at our Club in summers, but live in Colorado
- Paul and Sue Olstad – who play at our Club in summers, but live in Texas
- Susan and Gene Peterson – who play at our Club in summers, but live in Arizona
- Scott and Shirley Richardson
- Nancy and George Schnepf
- And, Jim and me.
So, what’s it like to be partners in life as well as bridge? After all, every duplicate game you play is 3 ½ hours of uninterrupted time together, with some fairly high emotional stakes. Like a roller-coaster, partners can rocket up and down together from ‘euphoria’ to ‘you-idiot.’
In researching this article, I discovered a fun booklet called, How to play bridge with your spouse and survive. I didn’t read the whole thing, but I loved glancing through chapters with such intriguing titles as: Premarital Bridge, Bridge Orphan Children, and After the Break-Up. Fortunately, none of us have had to navigate the break-up phase - yet!
In fact, the average years of married life across the couples mentioned above is 43 years! Although when Tom Buttweiller answered me, “Pat and I have been married almost 20 years. Pat would be able to provide a more precise answer,” I wanted to caution him that this answer could get him in serious trouble! (Pat later clarified that they have been married 17 years.) The longest married couple were Gene and Susan Peterson who celebrated 62 years on August 2nd!
Susan and Gene Peterson – Married 62 years
The average number of years these same ten couples have played bridge together (counting social bridge) was 29 years. The Olstads have played together the longest. In fact, they’ve been married 51 years, and have played bridge together for…. 51 years! Sue says: “When I went looking for a husband, one of the prerequisites was that he played bridge!”
I asked, “Who taught whom, or did you learn together?” The majority responded that they either took lessons together, or each knew some bridge before meeting. For example, Sue and Roger Knauss learned at the same time from Sue’s parents, Del and Clara Henning. (Before her death, Clara Henning was a long-time player and director at our Club.) The Buttweillers, the Richardsons, and Jim and I were the exceptions, as in each case the husband taught the wife. In all three cases, the husbands are pretty laid-back and non-judgmental which seemed to be key. As the Richardsons recall: “Scott learned in his youth from his parents and started playing duplicate in high school. Shirley started playing when we were both about 22 when a neighbor couple wanted to give it a try. Like us, the husband was experienced and the wife was brand new at it. The neighbor wife had trouble catching on, and the husband had little patience. He tended to criticize, rather than focus on teachable moments. They soon fizzled out. Shirley, on the other hand, had a knack for it and worked systematically on bidding and play. Those early years set the tone for our pleasant experience together at the bridge table to this day.”
Scott and Shirley Richardson – Married 44 years
Last, I asked if the couples had one funny, or endearing, or maddening story to tell. Here are their answers:
- Nancy Schnepf – “On the endearing side, George’s mom and dad really looked forward to a weekend of bridge when we would visit them in Iowa. Even towards the end, we brought cards to the nursing home and played bridge. It is a very special memory for all of us. George’s mom and dad beat us one day, which I think was “meant to be” for that was George’s dad’s last bridge game.”
- Gene Peterson – “Playing in our retirement village club in Arizona we moved to the next table and discovered East’s cards were missing. After checking around and under the table, all 13 cards were finally found in the bidding box. It made me laugh. Getting older together is full of surprises!”
- Tom Buttweiller, always the jokester – “There is nothing funny or endearing about my behavior at the brIdge table. Pat may have observations about maddening behavior.”
- Sue Olstad – “Paul's a better player than I and he USED to criticize me at the table occasionally. I stopped that by saying in a loud voice one day: "Paul, you really have to stop critiquing my play. You are making our opponents uncomfortable."
- Sue Knauss – “Our “story” is that we both appreciate that bridge is a game we share, especially given the amount of time we spend at the tables. We like going to tournaments together - which also gets us to different areas of the country.”
- Rick Olson – “As we learned to enjoy the game, we would have other couples over for an evening of bridge. We did not realize this had an impact on our two children until one night when we were driving past a house with a large number of parked cars. Obviously, they were having a "party." Our oldest remarked, "They must be playing bridge!"
- Kathy Bredlie – “Playing Drury is a system that occurs when there are 3 passes and you bid one of a major. The way we play it, if partner has 10 or 11 points and 3 card support, he will bid 2 clubs. Rick forgot Drury and passed two clubs leaving us in a lovely 3 /2 fit. The net result was plenty of frowns and raised eyebrows -- and a zero on the board! (And it didn’t happen only once.)”
- Scott Richardson – “At our first tournament together, Shirley and I were a bit on edge. Just to keep from embarrassing ourselves, we nervously focused on following suit and bidding in tempo. How we scored was less important than avoiding censure for gaffes. So it was a comfort at one point to come across an old fellow who was even greener than we were. When he sat down, he looked at us with some confusion and asked, “Do honors count?” Bless his heart, we were thinking, someone truly clueless whom we could help without making him feel bad. With some relief at being the experienced pair, we took turns explaining that honors don’t enter into the scoring at duplicate and why. There, we were helpful to someone less at ease in that room than we were. We didn’t need to fret about our inexperience after all. Just before leaving, we learned that this guy ran a Bridge club in Palo Alto, had 2000 points, and liked to kid his opponents!”
I know that anyone reading this far would feel cheated if I didn’t include one husband-wife “put down” joke. So here goes:
Two wives were discussing whose husband played worse. Wife A said it wasn't even close, hers did. Wife B didn't agree. Wife B said, “Listen to what my husband did last night. He was playing 7NT. He had 11 tricks outside of spades, and the dummy had the AQ of spades. He had plenty of entries to his hand to take the finesse which would have won, but instead he led the spade Queen from the dummy!”
"What's so bad about that?" said wife A. "Against my husband that play works."
Obviously, this story did not come from our Club. I think we “play nice” together. Hope you agree that we give new definition to the phrase “Thank you, Partner!”
Thank you, Connie - thank you bridge players throughout Minnesota - we so appreciate you playing, enjoying, learning and having fun at the table! Thank you ALL partners!
July 31, 2020
Calling All Juniors!
Exciting Online Event Starting Tomorrow!
Saturday, August 1st, vie for masterpoints and prizes!
Details below - Enjoy!
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July 14, 2020
July 04, 2020
Bridge for Juniors - Happy 4th of July!
We are very proud of the juniors who are learning bridge, having fun and doing SO well!
ACBL recently had another CBO game for our junior players, and OF COURSE Minnesotans competed and of course played well!
We hope that more and more juniors will start learning bridge, as it truly is the greatest game. And we wish all our juniors the best, too, as they continue on to new jobs, higher levels of education - and more bridge!
Happy 4th of July to all!!
July 01, 2020
June 22, 2020
June 16, 2020
June 07, 2020
One Hand - A Micro Analysis of Bidding Opportunities
Mike Cassel is not only one of Minnesota's successful and expert players. He is also someone who gives a great deal to our community, in a variety of ways. One of those ways is to give players hints on how to "up" their game.
Now that we duplicate bridge players are playing online - or nothing - Mike sees interesting hands and likes to share them. Along with some wisdom for all, Mike has sent us both a good hand to weigh along with additional good advice.
Thanks, Mike! And we hope that many are enjoying the online Minnesota bridge games - along with all sorts of other online bridge activities! Enjoy!
(Mike's article is below the line in a PDF. Only format your webmaster could manage!)
Continue reading "One Hand - A Micro Analysis of Bidding Opportunities" »
June 06, 2020
THREE Online Bridge Games for Minnesota!
Hi All - Time to enjoy Minnesota summer - and -
Lots of online bridge!
Fabulous player and director, Jackson Wahl, shares exciting news!
Hi Folks--
I'm excited to announce that, with the end of my school year, I will begin to hold more games for the TCBC starting on Monday, June 8. Many people have requested additional games at more times, and in particular many people have indicated interest in limited games with different limits. I have revised our schedule as seen below in an attempt to hold games at different times than are already available in the Twin Cities. Here is the new schedule:
Monday, 3:30: Open and <300
Tuesday, 11:30: Open and <500
Wednesday, 11:30: Open and <300
Thursday, 9:30: Open and <500
Friday, 3:30: Open and <500
Saturday, 9:30: Open
I'd like to remind everyone that the TCBC is peering with both the Bridge Center of St. Paul and with the clubs run by Tony Ames. This means that all players who are regulars at any of those clubs may play in games run by all three clubs online. Please pass this new schedule onto friends from St. Paul and beyond!
Please also note that guests continue to be allowed, as long as they play with a player on the approved list. Please let me know in advance if you wish to play with a guest.
Both of the other games in the Twin Cities are moving to a $5 entry fee, and, in solidarity with them, I have also chosen to modify the entry fee to $5 (which seems to have become the national standard).
Finally, I'd like to remind you to review the alert and announcement procedures for playing on BBO, particular if you are unfamiliar with online play. They are not the same as in-person alerts. Here is a decent tutorial on how to alert.
Hope to see you all soon!
Best--
Jackson
June 03, 2020
Cookies and Caring
When Connie Nelson, our fabulous St. Cloud reporter, sent me her June article, we were "only" dealing with covid-19.
Now, with the terrible events of the last 10 days, Connie's stories are appreciated even more than ever.
Thanks, Connie, for your lovely stories and for "cookies and caring". We need them more than ever!
A daughter of one of our St Cloud players recently sent her Mother a “care package” because she knew her Mom was missing the bridge table during this time of quarantine. The daughter sent the “cheer-up” cookies above. Wonderful, right?
Who was the Mom in question? None other than longtime St. Cloud Club member Charlene Thul. Char is a frequent player at the Club and Gold Life Master with almost 3000 points. Many MN Bridge Blog readers may have met her at various tournaments.
When I called Char to interview her, she was playing bridge online. She answered the phone saying, “I am playing with a robot, and he doesn’t understand my bids.” I almost laughed in her ear, because there’d be many a St Cloud partner who has felt the same as that robot! Char is an unconventional bidder, who intuitively - and notoriously – is aggressive in her bids. Once, a friend included a green “Pass” card inside Char’s birthday card. The friend wrote, “I wasn’t sure if you knew this bid exists!” But, one thing is for certain… if there is a slam or game to be made, Char will be in it!
I asked Char when she started playing bridge. She said that she remembers her Mother sitting at the kitchen table, dealing out four hands of bridge face up and practicing play of the hands. But, Char didn’t learn bridge there. Char learned at the snack bar in Mitchell Hall while attending St. Cloud State University. She said there was always a bridge game going. You could play, leave to go to class and someone would take your place. When you returned, you could sit in again. There was a game around the clock. (And Char’s job while in college was giving away “starter packs” of cigarettes, so hanging around the snack bar was perfect.)
Char said the partner who got her “hooked” on bridge was partner Helen McDonnell. Char lived in Grand Rapids from 1997-2003. Helen came to Grand Rapids each summer. Char and Helen would drive to Duluth, to Fargo, and all over the state to attend tournaments. On each drive home, Helen would take out the hand records. Reminding Char of the hand she held, Helen would ask for Char’s reasoning for each bid. Char recalled, “We would fight a lot about bids. It was fantastic! If it weren’t for Helen and her post-analyses of every hand, I would not have succeeded at duplicate.”
Char has a very caring soul. While I wanted this article to be about her, she morphed most of our call into a conversation about another of her playing partners, Rose Phelps.
Prior to Grand Rapids, when Char was a young wife and mother in the 1960s, she and her husband lived in Cold Spring MN. There, the bridge games were held in the basement of the Cold Spring Brewery and were accompanied with free beer! She says she met many great bridge players there. Two of the people she met were Rose Phelps and her husband Don.
When the game at the brewery closed down, the Phelps would pick Char up and they’d drive together to the duplicate game held at the Labor Home in St. Cloud. Char said Rose’s husband was a good player, and he could get “hot under the collar” with Rose about her bidding or play. However, the couple had one rule --- “once in the car, he was not allowed to bring up any hand.” Char says that Don always abided by that rule.
After Rose’s husband died, Char and Rose started playing together. Rose is now 94 years old, and they still play together once a month. They have played off and on for almost 60 years! Char says Rose always praises her and comments that Char has taught her so much. Char said, “I love Rose, because she loved me first. She has always made me feel like a hero.”
Based on her daughter Corie’s cookies, Rose’s admiration, and my knowledge of how St. Cloud players care about Char, I’d say she’s earned that love coming her way.
May 25, 2020
More Silver!
Kim Hayward, Club Manager at the Bridge Center of St. Paul, also wants to alert us to the many opportunities to play online bridge and win SILVER POINTS!
Below Kim's message, you will find a useful chart of what to do and where to go!
ENJOY!
Many of you are on the player list for BBO Virtual Club games at Twin City Bridge Center, Edina, Plymouth, Metro Bridge or Bridge Center of St Paul games. You can now attend any and all games in those clubs.
This week the ACBL is offering 100% Silver points for all games on BBO Virtual Clubs and a 3X multiplier on the usual club point rating. This is not a STAC, but just your usual games with bonuses. Fees this week will be $6 per player.
The attached file is the full schedule for all the clubs. Included are the director contact numbers if you have trouble getting into a game or have any questions.
After this week you are still authorized to play in any and all of the games around the Metro. Thank you for your continued support helping all of these clubs through this difficult time.
--
Kimberly Hayward, Club Manager
Bridge Center of St Paul
651-490-5430 w
651-271-3500 c
May 23, 2020
Silver Points at the Twin City Bridge Center
Hi Folks -
I'm writing to let you know that next week's Virtual Club games, held on Monday the 25th through Sunday the 31st, will all be worth three times as many masterpoints, and that the points earned will all be silver. Twin City Bridge Center will be holding its usual schedule and usual games during the week. We will be charging $6 to cover the extra table fees, which matches the price at St. Paul. I hope to see you all there - let me know if you have any questions!
I have an additional point to discuss as well. It is important for everybody who plays in the online games to know how to alert bids and speak to their opponents. Online, you alert your own bids by typing in the box where it says "alert" before you make the bid. (You can also click the "alert" button to indicate that the bid is alertable.)
Note that your opponents can see what you typed as your alerted bid, but your partner can't! If you'd like to know about an opponent's bid, click on the bid itself. If you do that, a text box will appear on their screen, and they should type what it means. If you aren't satisfied by their response, private message them at the bottom of the screen by clicking on the blue button with "->Table" and selecting "Private".
Everyone should be watching the chat at the bottom of the screen as well; if your opponent asks for clarification, you have a responsibility to clarify bids. The meanings should NOT be discussed in the whole table chat until a hand is complete.
Thanks for your continued support of the online games!
Best -
Jackson Wahl
May 11, 2020
May 06, 2020
More Online Games & Updates!
Jackson Wahl, our newer college bridge competitor above, now rising star AND director, shares more online bridge news with us!
Jackson; thanks for all you are doing to keep our Minnesota bridge community playing and having fun online!
Hi Folks--
Thank you all for your valuable feedback regarding the time and length of TCBC games. I've come to the following decisions:
1. Limited Games
There has been an outpouring of support for limited games. Because of this, I am adding a third game limited to less than 750 masterpoints on Thursday morning. Like Tuesday, there will be two sections, one Open and one <750. For now, we'll keep Wednesday restricted to less than 750, but I may open it up if we don't get enough tables. If you like the restricted games, keep on coming to them - I need to consistently hit 6 tables in order to keep those games running!
2. Timing of Games
I am shifting Saturday's game to 9:30 AM. The 9:30 votes more than doubled the 11:30 votes, so the choice is clear. For those who asked for earlier Tuesday/Thursday games, or more later games, I fear I can't make that happen - for now, I have classes, and my schedule is a bit restricted. I'm trying to provide a variety of times that work for everyone!
3. Board Timing
In a huge majority, more than 70% of people preferred a slower game. It is incredibly frustrating to have a tricky hand or slow opponents and have to get your board adjusted, especially if there are multiple ways a hand could have gone. With 6 minute boards, only about 50% of tables finished on time; with 7 minutes, about 90% finish in time. If it's a quick round, the game will automatically progress to the next round when everyone's done, too. Therefore, we are moving back to 7 minute boards for the time being.
Whew! To recap the schedule:
Tuesday, 11:30, Open and <750
Wednesday, 3:30, <750
Thursday, 11:30, Open and <750
Friday, 9:30, Open
Saturday, 9:30 Open
Thanks again! See you on BBO!
Best--
Jackson