Minnesota Bridge

CBO Club Special Tournament on Monday March 1st!

First day of March tomorrow - and an opportunity for those who are college bridge players to compete against students throughout ACBL land!

Instructions below; hope many of you are able to compete in this fun event and perhaps win prizes!

 

Don't forget about the CBO Club Special Tournament this Monday, March 1, awarding masterpoints and prizes. First through third place finishers will receive an Amazon gift card. Additionally, ACBL will draw the name of one random CBO tournament participant to receive a gift card.   You do need to be an ACBL member (only $5 for ages 25 and younger), have a BBO account (free) and be registered as a CBO member to participate in a CBO Tournament. Please note that it can take up to 24 hours to gain access to the CBO Club on BBO. Please encourage your friends to participate so that we can continue to offer these games.   If you've never played in a CBO tournament before, simply log into BBO and click Competitive / Tournaments / All Tournaments or Free Tournaments / Collegiate. The CBO tournament should be first on the list.   If you have any bridge playing college friends, encourage them to join the CBO. Membership is open to any college undergrad or grad student age 35 and under. If you don’t have a student bridge org/club at your school, consider starting one. We can help! www.acbl.org/college

MN Gopher Unit - #103 - Board Members

MN Gopher Unit #103 Board Members

 

President Warren Nelson                   Vice President Sue Greenberg

303 Dalewood Avenue S.W.                 4727 County Rd. 15 S.W. 

Cloquet, MN  55720-1203                     Byron, MN  55920

218-269-2724                                        507-365-8236

Nelson11375@yahoo.com                     rdbcmanager@gmail.com

Director Connie Nelson                       Director Matt Belau

902 Waters Edge Circle                          600 4th St. SW, #508

Avon, MN  56310                                    Rochester, MN  55902

320-282-7859                                          858-472-4433

connie@psg.us                                        mbelau1@gmail.com

Director Amy Dutton                             Director Kathy Beckman

668 Mulberry Lane                                  7328 Noble Ct. N

Mendota Heights, MN  55118                  Brooklyn Park, MN 55443

402-423-5406                                           763-229-2224

amy.dutton@gmail.com                            hlmarklady@aol.com

Director Rajiv Kapadia                           Director Tom Owens

120 Mapleridge Dr.                                    9418 Knighton Rd.

Mankato, MN  56001                                  Woodbury, MN  55125

507-351-0133                                            651-714-0100

Rajiv.Kapadia@mnsu.edu                          Tom@Insurance-Exec.com

Director Keith Thompson                         Non-Voting Member of the Board

1544 Minnehaha Ave. East                          Larry Huiras

St. Paul, MN 55106                                     1908 19th Terr. NW

612-239-2667                                               New Brighton, MN  55112

keithclockt@icloud.com                                715-410-8705

                                                                      bridge.kibitzer@gmail.com

 

 

MN GOPHER UNIT #103 NON-BOARD MEMBERS                                                              

Financial Advisor                                           Secretary

Lance Chamberlain                                        Patti Huiras

2670 Bandel Drive, NW                                    1908 19^th Terrace N.W.

Rochester, MN 55901                                       New Brighton, MN 55112

507-282-7319                                                    651-343-20 8

lancechamberlain@juno.com                            patti.huiras@gmail.com

2020 Results for Unit 103 - Mini-McKenney Standings

Our thanks yet again to Warren Nelson and Unit 103 for their 2020 efforts this year!
And congratulations to all our players!  Whether you had big tallies, are just learning bridge...
Or simply having a blast at the virtual table...  We hope that 2020 was super ...

And that 2021 is fabulous!

 

 

2020 Unit 103 Mini-McKenney Standings

 

0 - 5 Masterpoint Race

Richard Kjonaas             Maplewood, MN          122.80

Steve Rholl                     Northfield, MN               51.26

James R Noren              Woodbury, MN               27.52

 

                                                                  5 - 20 Masterpoint Race

Paul J Wehrman              Shoreview, MN              185.12

Catherine A Wehrman      Shoreview, MN              185.12

David J Katzelnick            Fountain Hls, AZ              24.88

 

                                                                  20 to 50 Masterpoint Race

John Miller                        Rochester, MN                 82.55

Andrew Lehman                St. Paul, MN                    47.87

Michael K Wilson              Edina, MN                        44.40

 

                                                                  50 to 100 Masterpoint Race

Jan Morris                          Rochester, MN               109.54

Gail M Baev                       Woodbury, MN                  64.09

Dr Wayne F Detmer           Woodbury, MN                  56.51

 

                                                                    100 to 200 Masterpoint Race

Ed Prosser                                                                 174.73

Gregory M Dorr                   Little Canada, MN            91.37

Joanne K Long                    Rochester, MN                 74.98

 

                                                                   200 to 300 Masterpoint Race

John Woog                          Rochester, MN                  232.31

Sherri Browne                     Roseville, MN                    128.64

Sheri French                       Pine Island, MN                 115.88

 

                                                                    300 to 500 Masterpoint Race

Dr Jack L Crary                   Detroit Lakes, MN              138.94

Clyde E Johnson                 Duluth, MN                         125.13

Cynthia S Schield                Fort Myers, FL                    107.17

 

                                                                   500 to 1000 Masterpoint Race

Gloria Georger                      Rochester, MN                    188.20

Connie R Nelson                   Avon, MN                            134.74

James A Schnepf                  Avon, MN                             133.34

 

                                                                    1000 to 1500 Masterpoint Race

Robert R Roediger                 Rochester, MN                     187.75

Layne E Vinje                         Rochester, MN                     133.72

Rajiv J Kapadia                      Mankato, MN                        122.74

 

                                                                   1500 to 2500 Masterpoint Race

Gene P Brandl                       Apple Valley, MN                     250.40

Dr Del Swanson                     Apple Valley, MN                     223.90

Grant Duffrin                          Roseville, MN                          204.19

 

                                                                    2500 to 3500 Masterpoint Race

Colin M Campbell                   Duluth, MN                              244.02

Bill J Heyer                                                                             197.18

Larry Johnson                         Brooklyn Center, MN               135.21

 

                                                                    3500 to 5000 Masterpoint Race

Joseph W Browan                    Maplewood, MN                       209.58

Genny Rice                               Rochester, MN                         190.24

John R Allen                              Oakdale, MN                            168.55

 

                                                                  5000 to 7500 Masterpoint Race

Greg L Caucutt                         Rochester, MN                            205.26

Kathy A Beckman                     Brooklyn Park, MN                      169.18

Carol J Mahoney                      Rochester, MN                            135.91

 

                                                                 7500 to 10,000 Masterpoint Race

Carole A Miner                           Rochester, MN                             270.73

Gregg Van Dyke                        Key Largo, FL                                   8.94

 

                                                                Over 10,000 Masterpoint Race

Terry L Beckman                         Brooklyn Park, MN                       597.89

John R Koch                                Saint Cloud, MN                          312.07

Tuesday Evening Swiss Teams Returns to the Twin Cities!

Tony Ames, both one of our top players and one of our finest directors, posted the results for the initial offering of the Tuesday Evening Swiss Teams.  Congratulations Harry, Barry, Kerry and Michael Lee Howland (MLH - your parents couldn't rhyme you, too?!?)  A nice finish for their team, and so great to see people enjoying the fun of battling as teams for a change, too.

I also asked Kerry if he would write up a little bit of what happened that evening - and he most cordially obliged.  Big thanks to Kerry, congrats to their team, and hope all of our players had fun with our new event!  Kerry's story comes next, results after that...  And I hope that more of our competitors will rally to the next Tuesday Evening Swiss Teams event!  
******************************************************************************************************************

The Plymouth Bridge Club has a new Swiss Team event every Tuesday night. After ironing out a few glitches, the Swiss format has been approved for prime time.

 

Harry and Barry invited Kerry and Michael (not rhyming any more) to play with them in the inaugural event.  We played last night.

 

One positive swing came on a slam hand. I held AQxxxx Qxxx x xx. Michael and I play precision, so most hands not opened 1C have fewer than 16 HCP.  Our weak two’s are 8-13, thus opening 1S and rebidding 2S shows 14-15 without jumping.

 

I opened 2S, pard bid 3C (relay to3D, then showing 5 hand types).  I bid 3D, pard bid 4C (exclusion for Clubs). Double by David Neiman, pass, we play R2D2 (redouble and double show second step 0 or 3), so pass shows 1.

 

Michael bid 6S, and held KJxx AKJx, AKxxx, void. Easily makes 7. 

 

A fun way to start the season.

 

Kerry

 

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

Subject: Tuesday Evening Swiss Teams

Reply-To: ynot6934@aol.como

Winning all 4 matches for a VP total of 61, Harry Sapienza, Barry Purrington, Kerry Holloway and Michael Lee Howland won the initial offering of the Tuesday Evening Swiss Teams.

Results were:

 

Rank	Name	Score (VP20)	Points
1	bpurringto+hsapienza,Kellog+MNgoofer	61.00	0.80
2	Cbalderson+Windsurff,Peg Waller+Ron1005	54.00	0.56
3	darlene789+jn55345,dlweiss+vswing1	47.00	0.40
4	rharha+sharonroe,tempport+bxley	45.00	0.24
5	ice33+farmboy7,caught1+njskag	33.00	0.08
5	laz49+slamster,dytrevor+dgoodrie	33.00	0.08
7	Long Lake+lvettel,slomovas+lmlhopkins	26.00	0.08
8	Nancy w T+fishtuc,L D Schram+Mike Stein	21.00	0.08

Help! I Need Somebody!

With the seismic events that have happened around the world - and to our game - bridge is quite different in a number of respects these days.  Additionally, it appears that MN Bridge is not receiving stories from players: problem hands, amusing incidents, thrills and chills!  It's also great to know what's happening to our newer players, our top experts and more.

As I am not able to play bridge right now (but I'm a committed kibitzer), I would like to call on YOU, our Minnesota devotees, to submit any stories, hands, triumphs, heartaches and the like that you think would be of interest to our players.  Long or short; technical or belly laughs - feel free to send 'em in!

Bill Voedisch was kind enough to offer a "wowzer" of a quickie!

At last nights St Paul Swiss, Denny and i had a 2,000 score.  That's their contract, doubled, red, down 7. 

19 IMPS for the good guys!

 

Wow - somebody sure needed some help last night!  And thanks to Bill for sharing his and Denny's story.  If you haven't racked up a big number ever - you haven't lived!  Play at your favorite game and see how high you can go!

 

And - thanks in advance for sharing YOUR bridge tales!

 

 

 

Hi Minnesota Buds - Joseph Jones has news for all wishing to play at ACBL NACB Tournaments that we're going to have to hold on for a while.  I know most of us much prefer to see our friends from all over the world, enjoying a yummy dinner in between rounds as we discuss hands and even do a tad of site seeing.  But Joe will explain why we are unable to do so right now - and I hope everyone keeps on enjoying virtual bridge at their favorite MN club - or "sneaks down" (LOL) to their favorite club in Miami, Tucson or California for a toasty, roasty great game!  (Or stay home in bed and turn up the thermometer!)  Peg

Dear Member,   Due to the ongoing risk posed by COVID-19, the ACBL has canceled the 2021 Spring North American Bridge Championships that were scheduled for March 11-21, 2021 in St. Louis, MO.     ACBL officials and local volunteers have worked tirelessly with the host hotel and local government officials, and, sadly, the event cannot be held as scheduled because the coronavirus pandemic continues to surge and the vaccine roll-out is slower than anticipated. Please know the health and safety of our members and our employees is of paramount importance to us.   Due to the attractiveness of the location, the ACBL is working to negotiate rescheduling an NABC in St. Louis sometime in the future. Members will be notified if and when those dates have been finalized.   We will continue to offer chances to play and win black, silver, red and gold masterpoints® on Bridge Base Online. Details of ongoing and special events along with Virtual Clubs can be found at acbl.org/virtual.   Sincerely, Joseph Jones ACBL Executive Director January 11, 2021

From President Dave Neiman - With Love for Us All for Bridge!

The Minneapolis Grand Slam Club will be honoring Peggy Kaplan at our weekly game this coming Friday, January 1^st, 2021. We will donate $100, plus $1 for each person who plays in the game, to Peggy’s chosen charity, the ACBL Education Foundation (ACBLEF.org), whose mission is to “...introduce more people, of all ages and walks of life, to the game of bridge…”

Our club has been fortunate and proud to claim her as a member for many, many, (many!) years, but her influence and contributions to the game and world of bridge extends far beyond our borders. She has played at a high level for most of those years, both nationally and internationally. If you don’t recognize the name, you will certainly know the perky woman with the radiant smile and the camera who has been chronicling NABCs in photographs for decades.  

Beyond her own success in bridge, I think Peggy would consider one of her proudest and most important accomplishments is to be a mentor to the Minneapolis-area youths who are beginning their bridge careers at Carleton College and the U of M.

My own words don’t do justice to the influence bridge has had on Peggy and the impact she has had on the world of bridge.  I asked Peggy herself to say a few words (below) and I linked a couple of BW articles to this one for further reading.

We would like to welcome all players, young and old, experienced and newcomer, to our game this week. The game is $5 and game time is 7:15pm CENTRAL time and can be found on BBO’s Virtual Club section under the director ID VACB255646 (MGSC Friday).  To respect IDs and email privacy, if you would like to play, reply to this email with your name and BBO ID (and your partner’s!)  and I will have the director add you to the game’s player list. There will be a Zoom call after the game for participants.  Please forward this note to anyone you think would like to play in this week's game in honor of Peggy Kaplan. 

http://bridgewinners.com/article/view/help-us-honor-peggy-kaplan/

http://bridgewinners.com/article/view/nobituary-for-peg-kaplan/

https://www.acbleducationalfoundation.org/page/about-the-acbl-educational-foundation-1.html

 

My Love Affair with Bridge

As many MGSC players know, I've been ill for some time and unable to play bridge - but I can watch!  And I am thrilled that Cookie Hoberman, my friend from Omaha who has built the Nebraska Regional (in Iowa - go figure) to tremendous standards, has been working with others to create the ACBL Educational Foundation Fund for Junior and Collegiate players, with a tournament in February.  Cookie is honoring Bob Hamman, the player that many believe to be the best in the history of the game - and me, the person who isn't QUITE in Bob's league (hahahaha), but adores our game, the people from all around the world who play it - and who hope it thrives and grows for a great many decades to come.

The Minneapolis Grand Slam Club is hoping that those who can might donate something for this worthy cause - and come out and play on Friday!  I’ve also been asked to list my national wins, so I have below.  Please note that the Machlin Women's Teams was second by ONE IMP (none of us coulda found THAT!!)  And I was proud and delighted that Minnesota stars were with me - Cindy Balderson, Carole Miner and Melody Bi.

I was asked to mention some highlights of my many years of competing.  I'm afraid if I got going too much - you might miss Friday's game!!

But - I will add a few thoughts.  One is from my bridge idol Bob H, and it is one of the wisest actions you can take to up your game.  When a hand has ended - it is OVER!!  If you want to contemplate when the event is finished how you could have made the hand you did NOT make, or how brilliant you were - DO NOT!  Focus on the hand you are playing, and that is it.  Not always easy, but this alone improves your game.  I literally have been on teams where our opponents were significantly superior to our players - but they forgot Bob's brilliant advice.

More of my beliefs about bridge are these.  Never stop learning.  Try your best for you and your pard to have fun. Be nice to your pard AND your opponents (try!)  The game is better if you do.  

And if you can, help others.  I was blessed beyond measure by tons of great friends and partners over the years, by truly wonderful mentors who took me under their wing and and taught me so much.  Bridge IS the greatest game, can be played if you're 8 or 100!  

My thanks to you all.  You are THE BEST!!

Peggy Bundy (thank you, George Jacobs!!)

 

NABC Bridge 1sts & 2^nd

 

2011    1          Freeman Mixed Board-a-Match           NABC+

2009    1          NABC+ Fast Open Pairs                     NABC+

2005    1          Freeman Mixed Board-a-Match           NABC+

2004    1          Rockwell Mixed Pairs                          NABC+

2007    2          Machlin Womens Swiss Teams           NABC

 

Memorial Service for Platinum Life Master & Friend - Peder Langsetmo

Hi All:

A number of bridge players in the Minnesota area had been asking after my father, who passed away last week at the age of 93.  Peder was a long-time fixture in the Minnesota bridge scene and was a Platinum Life Master.

The family would appreciate it if others who might not know about the upcoming service to "pass the word" in the MN bridge community.  The service will not be an open service, due to the Covid pandemic.   But it will be live-streamed on Saturday, December 5th at 12:00PM.  The service will be held at:              www.unityunitarian.org/memorial-services.html

For those unable to participate at that time, the service will also be available later

on Youtube (details to be given later).

In lieu of flowers, please direct any memorial contributions to the Animal Humane Society

(https://www.animalhumanesociety.org)

or Meals on Wheels

(https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org)

We will also be doing a narration of stories about him during the service, and we invite any of his bridge friends to contribute any anecdotes they have about him, or other thoughts and comments they may have.

We won’t be able to fix everything into the service, but we would appreciate any submissions

you might have that you’d like to share, and we will see if we can work them in.  You can e-mail any such accounts to me (Arne Langsetmo, alangsetmo@icloud.com) for compilation  (and our own personal memories), and please indicate if you would like such material to be anonymous.

Best regards to all his bridge friends, partners and opponents, from the Langsetmo family!

— Arne

 

Note from Peg--

Arne would appreciate if people could post on MN Bridge as soon as possible if they have stories or memories they would like to share about Peder.  They are hoping to have many to share during Peder's memorial service so we need them soon!  Thanks to all our friends from around the bridge world who wish to honor Peder.

An Invitation to Participate!

Apologies in advance if you receive multiple invitations as you may be represented on more than one distribution list.

The Minneapolis Grand Slam Club (MGSC)  is in its ninth decade of continuous play.  The premier event of the annual cycle is an extended team event.   Once a double elimination knockout in recent years the event has become a RRKO like this year’s premier online team events sponsored by the Online Contract Bridge League (OCBL) and the ALT.

The Grand National Teams are the ACBL’s premier live grass roots team events.  They are configured in four flights.  This year’s pandemic has completely thrown the competition a loop.  Club play would have started in September and culminated in District Finals next Spring with a trip to the Summer NABC for the flight winners.

Many players enjoy team events including Swiss Teams and KOs.  To promote team play MGSC is offering a series of Tuesday night, 24-bd matches scored on a 20pt VP scale beginning November 10.   The more teams that sign up the more brackets we can offer and the more ‘even’ the competition will be.  The top four teams after the round robin phase will compete in longer KO matches.

The sessions will be every Tuesday at 6:30pm online at BBO.  A $100 fee will cover the entire Round Robin phase.  If there are only 5 teams in your bracket, thus a 4 session RR, you will receive a refund.

The conditions of contest:  MGSC 2020-2021 RRKO CoC  Any U103 or U178 member or anyone who has played in the  MGSC Virtual Club Friday night game.

You can sign up at: Team Signup, with as many as six players.  Contact Dave Neiman if one of your team members doesn’t show on our rosterlist.  Your registration is not complete unless you send $100 to MGSC c/o Barry Purrington  829 Overlook Place, Eagan, MN 55123 before November 10.  Your team will be disqualified if the club has not received a check before November 17 (grace period).

Any team can choose to play up in higher bracket if doing so does not collapse the initial bracket assignation.  You may choose to make your initial registration conditional if we have only one bracket and you do not wish to play against the strongest teams.

The event coordinator is Steve Gaynor  mailto:stev1249@comcast.net.  We can facilitate team formation if you are a pair looking for compatible teammates.

Those of who are not MGSC members are particularly welcome to form teams.  It's a big plus to play a series of 24 board imp events against players you know or have some familiarity with rather than 12-bd  IMP speedballs on BBO.  You will see how other matches scored on the same boards, and have a chance to play "real" imp matches without time pressure.  And there will be a nice masterpoint award if you are one of the four teams to reach the KO phase.

We are hoping for a big turnout.  If we get enough teams for three brackets you will surely be playing against teams very similar in experience to your own.

Mike Cassel, MGSC Bulletin editor and former D14 GNT Coordinator

Snowbirds, Sunbirds, and Stayers

Connie Nelson is ready to entertain us and keep our bridge thoughts happy and active as we move from sunshine and autumn leaves to .... winter!  Big thanks to Connie for keeping us busy with changing seasons, fun and BRIDGE!

 

 

October’s early snow and cold caused me to start dreaming about warmth and sunshine.  Jim and I usually take a break each year from “the dead of winter” (i.e. January-March), choosing a different place to go each year.  In early 2020, we rented a condo in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.  As we often do, we found that going to the local bridge club helped us make instant connections.   The club at New Smyrna Beach was no exception.  Nice people! 

One encounter did strike me as funny.  When I told someone there that I was a snowbird from Minnesota, they asked me how long we were staying.  I answered one month.  They remarked, “Only those who stay at least three months are snowbirds.  You are a snowflake!”

 

The encounter piqued my curiosity. I did some research.  I discovered that the word snowbird is nearly 100 years old.  It was first used in 1923 to describe seasonal workers who went south for winter work.  But, by 1979, it was being commonly used to refer to older people who flocked south in the winter to vacation.  I also learned that there’s a corresponding term – sunbird – for people who “flock” north during the summer months.

This winter, COVID-19 will keep Jim and me at home.  I thought I’d ask our St Cloud Club about their migration plans, and whether COVID-19 is affecting them.  I also asked if they had a story to tell about differences between other clubs where they play, and ours.    

Snowbirds.  Representing the many of our club who go south each winter, here’s what Tom Buttweiller had to say:

 

Each year, Pat and I go either south to Bonita Springs, Florida, or west to Kona, Hawaii.  We play bridge in each place.  They are dramatically different from each other, and from St. Cloud.  In Florida, we play at a private, for-profit club.  It has a game seven days a week, usually with about 40 tables each time.  The cost to  play is between $10-$12 per person per session.  (St. Cloud is quite a bargain!)  I estimate about half the players are snowbirds.  People are cordial,  but it is all quite businesslike.

Hawaii is a totally different scene. We play at a small club, with a once a week game.  It is very friendly, with not many snowbirds.  The biggest draw is the spectacular place we play. We play in a building with floor to ceiling glass walls on two sides.  It is located on a mountain side, not far from the ocean.  The windows look out over the Pacific, and can be opened to the breeze.  It is not unusual to see whales spouting.  (Tom somehow neglected to contrast that with the windowless lower level of the Labor Home where we usually play!)

Postscript:  Pat and Tom had reservations in Kona for Jan 1 through Mar 19, 2021; they have cancelled them due to COVID-19.  They are hoping to go south, but want to avoid Florida.  They are currently shopping rentals in Nevada.  

Sunbirds.  We also have several Club members who come up to “summer” in Minnesota. 

 

 

Mary and Rick Olson are one such couple.  Mary said that she and Rick originally learned to play bridge while living in Minnesota.  They left MN in 1974, and have lived around the world.  But, they kept their MN lake home, and would return whenever they could.  They now live in Colorado, and each year come back from the middle of May until the middle of September. 

COVID-19 did not change the amount of time they spent here this year.  What did change was the dramatically fewer number of guests they entertained.  I always knew that many Colorado friends came each year to visit Mary and Rick.  What I didn’t know was that one year, from May to September, they had only two nights without company.  Whew! 

Most of their guests are bridge players.  Two of them – Wendy Turk and Chris Campion – are mainstays at our St Cloud Sectional each June.  Many other guests play at our Club while they are here.  Mary says that their universal comment has been: “What a friendly club!” 

 

Stayers.  This year we may have more “stayers” than usual.  Jon and Sandra Hatch usually go to Arizona every year Dec to April, but – due to the virus - are uncertain about this year.  Sue are Roger Knauss also have not decided about a winter hiatus. 

Here are two people who have decided to stay put: 

 

 

 

 

David Hanson:  Due to COVID-19, we will be spending our first winter in Minnesota in 11 years.  When in AZ,  I play bridge at Sun City Grand, at a large community club.  Interestingly, that club has not arranged any online games…so kudos to Kory and everyone else in Minnesota who has helped keep our club games going.  Hopefully bridge will keep me sane this winter.

Last, club director Kory Solarz says he’ll be here, adding: “I don’t ever go south, but occasionally my game does!”

 

Minneapolis Grand Slam Club Honors District 14 Player Bill Kent

This Friday, the MGSC will honor one of our District's most accomplished players, Bill Kent, with a Charity Game in his honor.

 

Peg Kaplan, one of Bill's long-time partners, has written a blog post about Bill's many accomplishments as a player and his contributions to the game in numerous service roles for decades.

https://moot.typepad.com/minnesota_bridge/2020/10/bill-kent-a-district-14-gem.html

 

Bill has selected a Children's Hospital as his charity of choice.

The MGSC will donate $75.00 + $1 for each person playing on Friday night to this worthy cause.  Anyone wishing to make an additional donation may contact the Club (by replying to this email) or send a donation to the MGSC c/o Barry Purrington (Treasurer) and we will add that amount to the Club's donation.

 

We have been fortunate to have Bill be part of District 14's bridge community. Whether you've played with him (lucky!), against him (good luck!) or benefitted from his service to the game, you've been in the presence of one of the best.

 

Best wishes, Bill!

Happy Birthday Kim!

Today is Kim Hayward's birthday!  Many of us frequently would see Kim at the clubs, or directing at tournaments.

Of course, with the most strange year of Covid and all that is connected with it, this has been a year like no other. Yet Kim has continued to do a fine job for us all, monitoring our online games and helping our players to enjoy bridge in a new way.

Please join me in wishing Kim a Happy Birthday - and thanking her for all that she does for us!

 

Unit 178 Minutes for August 25, 2020 Board Meeting

 

The meeting was called to order (GoToMeeting} by Board President Steve Gaynor

 

Board Members Present: Steve Gaynor, John Schlundt, Vicky Smith, Richard Cottle, Cass Weill, Sue Sanger, Linda Conley, Jane Schmidt and Jackson Wahl

Financial Report Approved: Later, by phone, it was agreed to continue stipends to Jackson Wahl and Tony Ames until years end.

ACBL, Board of Directors Election:  The voting was held online. The new Board Director selected was not known at the time of this meeting.                     

Status of Unit 178: The building at 60^th and Nicollet, owned by Teri and Chip Blu, has been sold.  On August 26, all properties owned by Unit 178 are to be moved to the St. Paul Bridge Club for safe storage. Teri remains interested in teaching.

Future of TCBC:  Items discussed include the following: It was noted that online bridge is popular. Where will future TCBC games be played? Tony Ames is currently managing 3 games and is not interested in expanding. Finding a new site: Last year there was a committee looking for a place to play. Mike Cassel and Ron DeHarpporte were on that committee. They should be contacted. Should the club be converted to non-profit?

Description of a Viable Site:  Must accommodate 130 tables per week. Must be accessible (no steps). Must have bathrooms for the handicapped. Must have adequate ventilation system. Must have adequate storage space. Existing Community Centers and some Senior housing buildings may be possible. Rent must be affordable. Location must serve existing and future TCBC members. Games may be held in different locations during each week.

Search Committee: John Schlundt will contact Joel and Lori Kramer to head up a new committee. They should contact Mike Cassel and Ron DeHarpporte as well.

Newsletter: Email: ACBL has information available. Jane Schmidt and Diane Henson will be involved. Help to find partners is important. Steve will contact the Grand Slam Club.

Outreach: Outreach to social bridge players will be addressed by Linda Conley.  Barbara Zipoy will start a Facebook page. ACBL should be contacted.

Next Meeting: Wednesday September 30 at 9:30. Zoom will be used. 

Goodbye from Jackson Wahl

Hi Folks:

 

It is with sadness that I announce the end of my directing online TCBC games for the time being. Today's 11:30 Tuesday game will be the last. My fall term is starting, and with attendance dwindling and the closure of the TCBC, it seems prudent to declare them at an end. I have enjoyed these last several months and I treasure the many kind words you all have sent. Thank you for playing.

 

I believe Chip and Teri are still running a Saturday TCBC game, and the St. Paul club runs daily games as well, which you are all eligible to play in. There is no end to bridge, fortunately!

 

Best,

Jackson

The Bridge Center of St. Paul

 

 

Sept 2020 Club Calendar Online... 

 

Wow. We made it to September! We're still missing you all desperately. Adele Boettner is doing well in her new place. Betty Salber is also on the mend and she's been playing more regularly now. 

 

SCHEDULE CHANGES

 

We are changing just a few things in our schedule. We are once again adding a section to the Wednesday evening Pool game. This time however it will be a 0-1000 mid-flight game at 6:15. We will be doing something similar on Friday morning. First, our 9:30 0-500 game will become 0-300, then in addition to that and our 9:45 Open games, we'll add a mid-flight 0-1500 game at 9:40. Now you have three to choose from. Lastly, Saturday morning the noon game will change from 0-500 to 0-750.

 

Remember, now on BBO the lower MP sections benefit the upper sections, so even though we'll have separate groups playing, the scoring won't change dramatically for the higher MP groups.

 

UPCOMING SPECIAL GAMES

 

ACBL is offering a gift for Labor Day. All points next Monday will be doubled, with no extra entry fee. So, come play on September 7 and earn a few extra black points.

 

Here is the most exciting news!!! For the week of September 21 to 27 all club game masterpoint awards will be doubled and then 25% of that award will be GOLD! Yes, you heard it here, 25% gold for all you win that week. There will be a $1 increase in table fee, but lots cheaper than going to a Regional, right? During that week we will offer an expanded schedule including nightly Open Games.

 

CALENDAR

 

To make things easier (we hope) a PDF of the September calendar is attached.

 

LESSONS

 

Intermediate Chat has resumed online. It is Tuesdays at 1pm. Coaches take 4 players off to a BBO table and use Zoom to talk through the hands. It's almost like before, but quieter, no hearing the table next to you.

 

Chat Bridge has also resumed. We need to get 10 players to have an actual game, but that doesn't always happen. Please come if you are 0-20mp and would like a 1 on 4 lesson. When we don't have 10 players we still go to tables with coaches, much like Intermediate Chat.

 

Beginning Lesson Series will start on September 14. Registration is on our website homepage. Please let friends know about this if they've been wanting to start or review this wonderful game. These will take place on Zoom & Shark Bridge, another Bridge website designed for teaching.

 

--

Kimberly Hayward, Club Manager

Bridge Center of St Paul

651-490-5430 w

651-271-3500 c

UNAPPROVED ACBL GOPHER Unit 103 Meeting Notes

 

UNAPPROVED
American Contract Bridge League
Minnesota Gopher Unit 103
Board of Directors Meeting
Thursday, August 20, 2020
via Zoom

On line were: Warren Nelson, Larry Huiras, Kathy Beckman, Amy Dutton, Sue Greenberg, Keith
Thompson, Connie Nelson, Matt Belau, Lance Chamberlain, and Patti Huiras

Meeting was called to order by President Warren Nelson at 10:00 am.

Minutes of the June 18th meeting were presented and a motion to accept was made by Connie, secondby Matt, unanimously approved.

Financial Report for the period ending June 30 was presented and a motion to accept was made by Sue, Second by Kathy, unanimously approved.

Old Business:
 On-Line Bylaws Vote and Election of Board
Larry reported the results of the election (attached):
Eligible voting membership 968. Total ballots received 158.
1. Proposed Bylaws adopted (For 143, Against 5, and 10 abstentions)
 Sue moved to ratify the results, seconded by Amy, unanimously approved.
2. Slate of Board Members approved (with 1 Write-in vote and 7 abstentions)
 Connie moved to ratify the results, seconded by Keith, unanimously approved.

There was some discussion about new elections on-line again in the future. The cost was
minimal for the on-line election, and there was some cost for the ballots that had to be mailed.
Warren complimented Larry on a job well done.

 2020 Awards: Sue got all the awards and certificates mailed. Cost was around $150 for the
mailings. Sue is proposing that the Awards Banquet for next year be April 24th (4th Sat. in
April). 2nd option was May 2, but that might be in conflict with GNTs.

 Annual Calendar of Events: The Board had received an email with a list of all the events for the
next year by month as well as a summary of the Tournaments. This was well received by the
Board. A couple of changes were made to the items as presented. Patti will send out a copy of
what is proposed for the next year to each Tournament Chair and/or responsible person and
then send a monthly calendar each month to the Board

 New District Director: All the Board members received an email to vote. There was a discussion
about the number of votes from each unit (based on the number of Directors and not on the
membership). Warren will follow-up with the ACBL to find out the details on this. Connie was
concerned about having time to discuss the vote prior to voting. The deadline for voting is Sept.
15.

New Business:
 Resumption of Club and Tournament Activities. Warren had reported that the Unit had lost 7
people this year, but the numbers for the Unit were up. Larry reported that the ACBL has
reported membership is down 2.8%. This is due in part to no "in-person" club games so no new
people are coming in.

 Kathy reported on the Twin City Bridge Center being sold. They will be closing Sept. 1. Teri
wants to continue teaching at Community Centers, etc. She wants to continue her chat groups.
Keith asked about the status of the Minneapolis sanctions. Kathy said they are keeping the
sanctions and their Board is meeting on the 25th to discuss what they want to do about another
location. The Fall tournament is in question at this time.

 GNT Qualification: After some questions and comments, a motion was made by Amy, second by
Connie and unanimously approved that the 2019 GNT qualifiers will be allowed to advance to
the next GNT game whenever that takes place, pending ACBL approval.

 Election of Officers and Appointments: Connie proposed and Kathy second, a motion to reelect the current Board -- Warren President, Sue Vice President and the Directors, with Larry as
a Non-Voting Board Member, Lance as Financial Advisor and Patti as Secretary. Unanimously
approved.

 Reaching out to the Members who are not on BBO.
There was a a discussion about loosing people that are not playing on BBO. Why aren't they
playing? Keith thought that some people don't have access to a computer and possibly they
could go to the St. Paul Bridge Center. Larry suggested Keith contact Larry M on the Board.
Connie thought some people may not have internet and therefore cannot afford to play. Sue
talked about the Rochester club (Medcitybridge.com) putting up videos (Matt will forward a link
to the Board) to help people get on BBO. Connie would like to survey the membership (perhaps
Larry can do something like for the election) to see why people aren't on BBO. Warren talked
about the special games Duluth was offering for people to sign on and play in a special game.
This was tabled for the time, but should be on the agenda for the next meeting.

Next Meetings: October 15 at 10 am via Zoom
December 17 at 10 am via Zoom
Motion to adjourn made by Sue, second by Kathy. Unanimously approved.

Submitted by Patti Huiras, Secretary

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!

Grief Strikes Minnesota's Bridge World

Very sad news from the Bridge Center of St. Paul.

I'm sorry to report that this morning we lost a club member. Thomas Juntunen passed away due to a sudden heart attack. He turned 60 this past January. He had pneumonia during the spring. He was still working so mainly joined us in the evening and played many Sundays. His regular partner was Jim Essex. The two of them often partnered on team events with Larry & Patti Huiras.

 

If you would like to get further information as it becomes available, please contact Larry Huiras at bridgekibitzer@gmail.com or 715-410-8705.

 

Each of our bridge players are precious to us.  Such a blow when we lose a member!

 

--

Kimberly Hayward, Club Manager

Bridge Center of St Paul

651-490-5430 w

651-271-3500 c

New Website for Rochester Duplicate Bridge Club

Rochester Duplicate Bridge Club has a new website!

 

It is https://medcitybridge.com

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

 

Matt Belau

Rochester

 

Club Games in the Twin Cities

Hi Folks,

 

Many of the TCBC games haven't been launching recently, as I'm sure you're well aware. I don't enjoy setting up a game only for it not to occur, and I'm sure none of you enjoy signing up and having it get canceled.

 

Thus, I am reducing the number of games the TCBC will hold to only the following, which have almost always garnered enough players:

 

Tuesday, 11:30 - Open and <500

Thursday, 11:30 - <500 only

Saturday, 11:30 - Open only

 

Thank you for supporting the games and continuing to sign up over the past several months. It's been a great pleasure to direct games for the TCBC. The future of the TCBC isn't clear at this point, but in the meantime, the St. Paul Bridge Center and Tony Ames's games will continue to be open to all TCBC players. 

 

Thanks,

Jackson