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!
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Lots of great opportunities for our CBO Club members. Not a member yet? Just sign up!
And please note below the opportunity for college students to participate in being a paid intern, too!
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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!”
Time passes for everyone, including the students at U of MN who graduate and sometimes head for different pastures. One of those students is Sean McNally, a first class bridge junior at the U - and now at Georgia Tech. Sean finished first in the tournament with over 75%! Bravo, Sean! And something is going on at Georgia Tech; 2nd and third place were Georgia Tech students also!
Note that our Minnesota players are still active and enthused; so glad to see them up in lights, too.
We are glad Minnesota students are still playing and competing - and we look forward to what the future brings for all of our young bridge players!
Also, Stephanie Threlkeld, ACBL's fabulous Education and Communications Manager would like us to have a look at a youtube created for us all. Big thanks to Stephanie for ALL she does for us - and enjoy the show!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZvqKlR-uPM&feature=youtu.be
Dear District Presidents, District GNT Coordinators and District 14 competitors,
This year in so many ways, bridge and life are different. Our thanks to the many people who contribute to our special events, and to our many competitors who are excited to compete against their peers at a national level.
We thank you all for your contributions to our game, and we thank Brian Weikle for his detailed information about GNT in these special times. Thank you for reading what Brian has shared with us, and we hope that many of you will be able to compete in GNT.
Dear District Presidents and District GNT Coordinators,
The 2021 Grand National Teams qualifying season began September 1. Given this year's unique circumstances, we are providing this summary of important details.
Club Qualifying
Club qualifying is optional. All players who qualified at the club level during the 2019-20 season are automatically qualified for Unit and District play in 2021. Districts may choose to permit club qualifying games to qualify additional players, although we expect that most Districts will not. Such games must be team games and submitted to ACBL Live for Clubs in an ACBLscore file.
District Finals
Districts which completed their GNT Finals in 2020 may choose to send those winners to the National Final in 2021. Districts whose Finals were not completed in 2020 must hold District Finals in 2021 to qualify teams for the National Finals.
Player Eligibility
Player eligibility status is "frozen" from the 2019-20 cycle. In other words, players are eligible for the same flight they were eligible for in 2019, no matter how many masterpoints they have won in the meantime. Similarly, players are eligible to play in the District in which they lived in August 2019. Players who have moved to a new District will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Action Required (by Oct 1, 2020 please)
Determine whether your District will be permitting club qualifying games. Notify ACBL (specialevents@acbl.org) and the clubs in your District.
Determine whether your District will hold District Finals in 2021, or whether the 2020 winners will represent your District at the National Finals. Notify ACBL (tournaments@acbl.org) and any affected players.
If you are holding District Finals in 2021, send the dates and sites to tournaments@acbl.org. Note that, as in past years, District Finals may be held online. If Finals are played face-to-face, they must be held after March 1, 2021.
Send your District's Conditions of Contest to specialevents@acbl.org.
2021 GNT National Finals
The GNT Finals will be played, in person, at the Summer NABC in Providence, RI.
Sincerely,
Brian Weikle
Manager, Bridge Operations
ACBL Field Operations
CC: ACBL Board of Directors
In this day and age of uncertainty about our daily lives, I want to take an opportunity to thank some of the wonderful people I have had the pleasure with whom to share this game. I for one pray for the day that I can play “Real Bridge” face to face again. I am not a fan of playing online, not so much the specter of possible cheating. Cheaters will cheat no matter the venue. I just miss the people, and the pleasure of being in a room full of players all enjoying this pastime together. Even if it is only done in pairs of two.
While the list of players I have played with is long indeed, and I have learned things from many not mentioned here. Yet I would like to publicly thank a few that I have had the pleasure of having a working partnership with over the years. So, in no particular order these players are:
Robert Schachter – A brilliant mind that not only pays attention to all the little details, but has helped me understand the importance of paying attention to the odds when other information is not available. This may seem like a simple thing But it is something that is easy (at least for me) to forget about at times.
While using my limited Math skills is important, the greatest gift that Robert has brought to our partnership is the ability to laugh off, and forget about bad results; just focus on the next hand. Again, easier said than done, for myself and I think many bridge players.
While I will not mention all of our past successes a few stand out.
2nd in the Silidor Pairs in Philadelphia 2018
Making the 3rd day of the Platinum Pairs in Philadelphia 2018
And in general - I can honestly say a slew of + scores on defense, missed by many others!
Jim Hall – A Brilliant player, that I am fortunate to have played with and from whom I learned so much. Jim had many fine attributes and skills at the bridge table, his card play, and his defensive acumen were both top-notch. Perhaps though his best gift to me was that playing with him gave me access to many fine teammates and players I might never have gotten to know. From Jim Nash, to Bill Kent, from Alan Stout to Pierre Flatowitz (Sorry Pierre I am pretty sure I am misspelling your name) and many others. I was fortunate to have many fine results playing with Jim, some of our successes that stand out are:
9th place in our first National event together. Bobby Nail Pairs 1998 in Orlando
6th place in the Blue-Ribbon Pairs. 2004 in Orlando
Just Making the 3rd day in three other Blue-Ribbon Pairs
To name a few!
Peggy Kaplan - Without a doubt the fiercest competitor I have had the pleasure of playing with. If nothing else I always knew when playing with Peg that I was going to get her all at all times. She too has bestowed upon me the gift of introducing me to players far beyond my ability. To learn from and to have the pleasure of playing against. While mostly online this list includes, Nick Nickell, Ralph Katz, George Jacobs, Claude Vogel, Steve Beatty, Walt Schafer, Richard Pavlicek and son Rich Jr, and many others. I have many fine memories of my times playing with Peg or Pegs (my nickname for her). They include:
Our first Event together. Winning the Last day Swiss at the Fall Nationals in Boston 1998. Highlighted by bidding and making 5 slams in one 7-board round against a strong Pair.
Winning our first 11 matches in the San Francisco North American Swiss 2012
Beating Meckstroth-Rodwell, Berkowitz- Cohen, Becker-Strul in the Championship Flight of the Grand National Teams Washington 2009
Among the many!
Peg Waller – One of my longer partnerships. One of the things that I learned playing with Peg, was just learning. Let me explain. While I am sure this was not intentional on her part, I always got the feeling that she never really thought that much about my skills at the bridge table. This in turn got me thinking of ways to better my play, and accelerated my learning. So, in truth I have her to thank for probably the largest growth spurt I had playing this sport. One thing stands out from my times playing with her though; she taught me to enjoy the successes at the table and to stop obsessing about the poor results. Very keen of her to spot this quirk in my personality and point it out to me, so that I could work on it!
Our successes include:
Many top finishes in National events, including commonly being in the top 20 in the National Mixed Pairs
2nd Place finish in the 0-10,000 National Swiss in Washington 2016
My first Regional Pair Win (it was a long time coming for me) Mason City sometime in the late 90’s
Bob Balderson – A fine all-around player and one of the fiercest competitors I have played with. Bob’s strength is his ability to play effectively against the opponents. Myself, and a lot of you have learned this game as one where you work in concert with your partner, as a team. Two against two in essence. Bob has the ability to do this as well as we can, but he seems to have an innate sense of knowing when he needs to take over and “play against the opponents”. Truthfully this was at times annoying. But that was my gut reaction speaking and upon reflection I came to appreciate this skill that he has. It is hard to describe but the more you play with him, the more one appreciates it.
I had many successes playing with Bob, they include:
My partner when beating Meckstroth-Rodwell, Berkowitz-Cohen, Becker-Strul in the Grand National Teams Washington 2009
Representing District 14 in the Championship Flight of the Grand National Teams, at least 10 times!
Winning many KO and Swiss events at both the Regional and Sectional level. His specialty!
Michael Lee Howland – The most remarkable thing playing with Michael was simply his remarkable smile when at the bridge table! Michael and Carole Miner share this trait, which is what makes playing with both of them truly a treat. Michael has an innate sense at the table which is hard to define (Carole Miner has this too!) I do not know what this remarkable trait is exactly but I do know that the two of them combine to create many opportunities at the table not normally seen. Let’s just say the opponents seem to make more mistakes against these two players as anyone else I have played with. I don’t really know how to describe this skill, but one thing I am sure of, is that it is not random luck. Perhaps they just create havoc!
While I played in only one National with Michael, we did play into the 2nd day of the Blue Ribbon’s and missed day 3 by just a hair.
I did win many Regional games with Michael and enjoyed them all.
And with his help and inspiration developed my own Club system. While this system is not perfect by any sense. It has something that has given me great joy and a sense of accomplishment!
Carole Miner - I have mentioned Carole previously in my tribute to Michael Lee, as they both share similar traits. I always thought they might make a great partnership. I can envision these two creating some enormous games together!
Carole too is a tough competitor, and while she can at times be tough on her partner it is always obvious that her intent is to get the most out of her game. The best part of playing with Carole though is just simply witnessing the joy she gets out of playing. It is both evident, and greatly appreciated.
While at times I have been hesitant to put some partners in what I know will be tough contracts, I never hesitate with Carole. She loves to play hands, and does it as well as any of my other partners.
Our list of successes are:
Two top 10 finishes in National Pair games. Providence 2014, St Louis 2013
My partner finishing 2nd in the National 0-10,000 Swiss
My teammate for many Grand National Team Championships including knocking off Meckstroth-Rodwell, Berkowitz-Cohen, Becker-Strul in Washington 2009.
Sharon Smith/Snell/Meerschaert – As most of the lessons I learned from this remarkable lady have nothing to do with Bridge, they are MINE and MINE alone! She did however instill in me the wonders of getting to know as many of the remarkable people that play this game as I could. While I admit to this not being one of my strengths, it is a skill I am still working on. I have her and another lady to thank for introducing me to the importance of comradeship and appreciation for others.
Alexandra/Sandy Fisher - The second wonderful addition to my life, and also the one that reminds me how remarkable the people who share a passion for this game are. Again, most of her lessons are MINE and MINE alone. While far less experienced than me she had reminded me of the power of the preempt. Watch out folks this bundle of positive energy loves to preempt. And I love to watch the havoc that ensues!
For all those partners out there that I did not mention in this short tribute, know that I remember my times with you as well and treasure them!
That’s it, I just wanted to let everyone know that despite my, at times grumpy behavior, I appreciated everyone in our bridge community and cannot wait to be able to do so again in person. Be well everyone, stay safe, and I will see you on a better day!
Comments from peanut gallery Pegs!
In Minnesota we are blessed with all sorts of players who have passion for bridge. Some have more talent than others; some are more social than fierce. Yet so many appreciate one another and literally for decades have reaped the fun and the fascination and the wonderment of our game.
Right at the head of the class is Paul - a fellow who has super talents, loves to learn, is fun is smart and has lots and lots of friends.
Thanks to Pauls for this most interesting column - and thanks to all our Minnesotans who also have the passion and love to play The Greatest Game!
Hi All - Time to enjoy Minnesota summer - and -
Lots of online bridge!
Fabulous player and director, Jackson Wahl, shares exciting news!
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.
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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!
Spring is here! Many online games are available - and locally from the Twin City Bridge Center!
Rising junior star Jackson Wahl is now also a director!
Please help Jackson help out our Twin City players, by voicing your views on game specifics!
Thanks - and - enjoy your games!
