I want to thank not only Marilyn Marion and Betty Price, the Tournament Co-Chairs, but also the many people who worked in the background to make this tournament happen - those who prepared the food and those who did all the many jobs required to make everything run so smoothly. It was indeed gratifying at the end of the tournament to have people from out of our area come forward to express their thanks for a great tournament and to compliment our friendly atmosphere and hospitality.
Mark your calendars and get ready to attend the District 3 Summer Tournament in Secaucus August 5 - 11. This one is truly in our own back yard. You will see many of your Board members and other volunteers manning the Hospitality and Pairing desks so this should make you feel right at home. See the full particulars in the ad in this Newsletter.
When I became President over two and a half years ago, I defined two priorities, 1) to encourage new players, and 2) to enhance our use of technology. We have made progress on both fronts.
Re encouraging new players, the success of our novice events, Caddy Bridge, and the Pro-Am, as well as the Unit's support of the teaching programs at the club level have all contributed to progress on this front.
Re the use of technology, our progress is behind the scenes and less visible. I am pleased, however, that a working group has been convened to address the matter of getting the results of our tournaments onto our web page more efficiently. Our Board currently includes some who are highly proficient with the new electronic technologies, and many more - myself included - who are FAR less proficient. Making our reporting procedures "user friendly" for the technology neophytes has been a challenge, but we continue to work on it. My thanks to Arnie Bergen, our Webmaster, and to Tod Thorgersen, Lee Ohliger, Betty Price, Marilyn Marion, Mary Giannella, and Andy Muenz for participating in this group which is addressing such an important issue.
In this Newsletter you will find a list of the people on the Nominating Committee, which will be seeking candidates for the 2003-2005 term on the Board of Directors. We have a dynamic group of people currently serving on the Board, and I would like to encourage you to give thought to joining that group. If you are interested, please contact the Committee (in writing).
See you at the tables.
Glenda
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Our second unitwide charity game will be held at the Allendale Sectional on
Saturday evening, Sept 21. The unit's charity is Meals-on-Wheels. We'll
be serving a special dessert and hope to provide a gift for all participants.
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1/2 Robert King , Elizabeth King
Suzanne De Puyt, John Kuharetz
1/2 Melvin Baranoff, Tod Thorgersen
Carole Wardell, Joseph Adamo
Geoffrey Manis, Sandy Burns
3/5 R Barkley Calkins, Glenda Calkins
William Alexander, Arnold Bergen
3/5 Andy Muenz, Nicholas France
Burrell Humphreys, Bruce Humphreys
3/5 Renee Blank, Miyoko Boswell
Doree Sobel, Saeko Hisayama
6 Michael Jeshion, Joseph Pospis
Michael Gellar, Edith Klinger
The top two teams will meet later in the year for a knockout match to decide the winner of the event. After that match is played the master points for the top two teams will be adjusted to show 10.00 for first place and 7.50 for second place.
Also, District 3 is giving a $5000 Grant to Bridge At Schools. You may have read about this project in the Bridge Bulletin. Bridge At Schools, Inc. is an organization dedicated to using the game of bridge to make a positive difference in the education and development of children and youth, beginning with school research pilots to quantify bridge's comprehensive contribution to math, critical thinking and social skills. The goal is to create a curriculum That can be used in classrooms across North America as well as in after-school programs. Bridge At Schools hopes to have Bridge approved by the Department of Education. The ACBL Educational Foundation has given this organization $80,000 seed money and is planning on giving another $70,000 this summer. Hopefully, by then, it will be able to apply to various companies for grants and other units and districts will want to contribute to this very worthwhile endeavor. District 3's grant money will be given when there is a pilot program started somewhere in District 3.
Include the District 3 Summer Regional at the Crowne Plaza Meadowlands in Secaucus in your plans over the summer. August 5th -11th we'll back. If you need a partner, go to our District 3 web site; www.bridge-district3.org and find someone to play with on our new Partnership Bulletin Board. I hope to see many of you there. It's in your own backyard! Don't miss it!
Joan Gerard, District Director.
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Send to: Lee Ohliger, Chairperson Nominating Committee, 288 Oak Street, Apt.C, Ridgewood, NJ 07450-2525
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Houston NABC March 7-17
Open Pairs I (130) 5th Kerri Sanborn , Irina Levitina
Silver Ribbon Pairs (78) 26th Fred Paul
Tues. Strat. Senior Prs (90) 6A Sam Aldendorfer
Tues-Thurs. Side Series (48) 4C Lee Ohliger, Ralph Meyer
"61" Club KO Tms Bracket 1 (16) 2 Janis Rush , Fred Paul
Bracket 2 (16) 3rd Robert Heitzman, Jr.
NABC Mixed Pairs (156) 6th Kerri Sanborn
Wed. Daylight Open Pairs (52) 2B Andy Muenz, Bob Zehm
Thurs. Flt. A/X Swiss (36) 5 Robert Heitzman, Jr.
NABC Women's Pairs (52) 2 Kerri Sanborn
Fri-Sat. Side Series (Aft.)(72) 4B Nick France
Fri-Sat Side Series (Eve.)(42) Veronica De Matolay
Open Swiss (54) 6 Robert Heitzman, Jr.
Women's Swiss (16)5 Kerri Sanborn 6 Irina Levitina
Woodbridge Sectional May 17-19
Fri. Aft. Open Pairs (42) 4C James Jensen, Ralph Meyer
Sat. Aft. Open Pairs (52) 4C Jonathan Ohliger, Lee Ohliger
Sat. Aft. 199er (22) 1B Michael Meyer, Alan Federl
Sat. Eve. Flt. A Pairs (24) 1 R.Heitzman, Jr., C. Friedman
Sat. Eve. B/C Pairs (22) 3C Madeleine Herbert
4C Jonathan Ohliger, Lee Ohliger
Stratified Swiss (36) 6B David Stern
Greater NYC Regional May
Wed. Side Game 6C James Jenson, Ralph Meyer
Thurs. Aft. Side Game 5A Sandra Weil
Thurs. Open Swiss 5A Federman
5C Susan Green, Elson Blunt III
Dolores Gingold, Sydney Gordon
Fri. Flight AX Pairs 6X Amy Nellissen, Andy Muenz
Sat. Sen. Prs. Sara Wiener
Sat. OP 3A Burrell Humphreys
6c Lee Ohliger, Jonathan Ohliger
Sun. Sr. Swiss 2nd Roz Elk, Sara Wiener
Mon. OP 3A Len Helfgott, Paul Quodomine
Those assisting were:
Jean Mazouat
Marilyn Marion, Martha Troxell, Annette Laurino, Nanette
Harris, Betty Hough,and Neale Van Delft.
Overall Winners were: 1st Nanette Harris, Annette Laurino 2nd Agnes Dauer, Helma Price 3rd James Sundstrom, David Mason 4th Berthod Kuerer, A. Rosenberg 5th Arlene Tais, Helen Collins 6th R. McDaniel, Amy Fluetter
The event was Swiss Teams, and with both sides vulnerable, I held as dealer: S Q H 98653 D AQ5 C AKQ2 and chose to open 1H. With the opponents silent, partner responded 1 S, and I rebid 2 C judging my hand not to be worth a jump shift. Partner then bid 3 H invitational, and I gladly bid 4 H. All seemed well until LHO doubled viciously, followed by three passes. The D J was led, and partner tabled the dummy.
Dummy
S AT9753
H AT
D 8632
C 5
S Q
H 98653
D AQ5
C AKQ2
Certainly, this was not the dummy I had envisioned, and the double indicated that trumps were not going to behave. On the plus side, the diamond lead was into my AQ, and I wasn't down yet. I could count six sure side tricks, so I only needed four trumps (including the ace) to bring this contract home. When RHO produced the (K, I won the (A, and started to think about the trump position. With at most the (K in front of my partner's spade bid and a stray jack or two outside, my LHO realistically should have ©KQJxx for the double. If I could work out LHO's distribution, I could see a road home. I cashed the (AKQ, pitching 2 diamonds from dummy, and the opponents' carding led me to believe clubs were 4-4. Deciding that LHO was 2-5-2-4, I went for the gusto. (Q to the king, ace, and low, and a spade ruffed with the ©5. I then ruffed the (2 with the ©T, on which everyone followed. Now the big test: I played (8 to (Q, which held. With eight tricks in hand, the ending was now:
S T975
H A
S Jx
H KQJxx H x
D D xx
C
H 9863
D 5
I played the D 5, LHO ruffed low perforce, and I overruffed ace. I played a spade off the dummy, and ruffed H 8, and LHO was stuck. An underruff concedes the tenth trick directly, and the actual overruff resulted in an endplay from H KQx into my H 9xx. My teammates at the other table somehow managed not to double 4 H, so declarer had no reason to play the hand as I did, and went quietly down one. +790 and +100 was good for 13 IMPs. The full deal:
S AT9753
H AT
D 8632
C 5
S K4 S J862
H KQJ72 H 4
D JT D K974
C JT98 C 7643
S Q
H 98653
D AQ5
C AKQ2
One fascinating note about this hand is that the lead of the H K would not have helped. I can win in dummy, take the diamond finesse myself, and proceed as follows: three rounds of clubs, spade to the ace, spade ruff, cash D Q, ruff a club with the H T. Now when I lead a spade off dummy, I hold H 986 D 5 and LHO holds H QJ72. I pitch the diamond and LHO must ruff and is endplayed. But the hand isn't quite cold, either. A LOW heart lead will beat the hand, since LHO would then have H KQJx in the four-card ending, and no action by declarer will work. Winning the H T at trick one doesn't help, since you need to ruff with the H A later to get up to nine tricks. Any defender who finds that lead deserves +200.
Negative Doubles.
You say you play negative doubles. Oh, really?
You open 1C and LHO overcalls 1D. What do X, 1H, 1S and 1NT by partner mean? Are you positive that your partner would give the same answer? Even if you're sure, discuss it with your partner anyway. You might be surprised by the answer you get. And you should absolutely discuss this auction with any new partner. Here's why. Assume you are the dealer and you open your 4-3-1-5 20-count 1C. It goes 1D on your left, partner doubles, and RHO now bids 4D. What's your call? Doesn't it depend on what partner's double means? Does he or doesn't he guarantee 4-card support for spades? Wouldn't you like to be sure before you decide what to bid?
In my partnerships, we play that responder's X shows 4-card support for both majors (or 5-4 either way), and that the other bids have their usual meaning as if responder's RHO hadn't bid. It was the only way I knew and I was astonished to find out that others play it differently. Some people play that X promises only one major and that a bid of a major promises 5 cards in that major.
I have a very strong preference that the double show both majors. It's very simple. It takes advantage of the interference and allows responder to show more than he would otherwise have been able to, while still permitting responder to bid normally. Opener knows immediately in which majors, if any, responder has four-card support. When opener needs to make a decision at the four level, he is much better placed than he otherwise would be. (By the way, it is only after specifically 1C-1D that X promises both majors. At higher levels, it simply isn't practical to require that responder have both majors. 1D-2C takes up a whole level of bidding space. If you had to have both majors to double there, you'd never get into the auction. 1C-1D takes up no space at all and responder can make his normal bids.)
A couple of other thoughts on negative doubles. Make sure you're clear on the difference between 1C-1H-X and 1C-1H-1S. The double promises exactly 4 spades and the bid of 1S promises at least 5. And if you happen to play support doubles, make sure you have an agreement on this auction: 1C-1H-1S-2H-X. Playing with my son in a club game, this auction came up and we did not have the same interpretation of the double. I intended it as support, showing 3 spades. He thought it was penalty, reasoning that, since his 1S showed five spades, there was no need for the support double in that situation. I could just bid 2S and be confident that we had an 8-card fit. Thinking he might just have a point there, I searched through Mike Lawrence's computer program on Conventions (highly recommended), and found that Lawrence stated, without elaboration, that the double should be played as support. He was even kind enough to respond to an e-mail on the topic. In a competitive situation, he thought it very important for responder to know whether opener has 3 or 4 card support. He also stated that penalty doubles in front of the heart over caller tend to be long-run losing propositions.
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Fit (and a little luck) Mean EverythingNeale Van Delft
During the last round of a mediocre session at a recent Allendale Sectional, I opened a Precision 1 Club with the following hand:
S AKJxx
H Jx
D xx
C AKxx
The bidding then proceeded as follows:
Declarer Partner
1 C 1 H
(Thought Ah, he has more that 8 points)
1 S 2 C
(Thought Good, we have a club fit)
3 C 3 D
(He must be asking if I have a stopper)
4 C 6 C
(By partner) What the heck, it's the last
round
After my left-hand opponent led the Ace of diamonds, I was very relieved when dummy came down with:
S xx
H AKxxx
D 10
C QJ9xx
Ruffing the second diamond with the 9 (just in case) and finding the trumps divided two and two, all I needed was Spades divided no worse than 4-2. When both opponents followed to the Ace and King of spades, I was home free. Spade ruff; Ace, King of hearts, heart ruff, spade ruff (dropping the Queen), heart ruff, good Jack of spades pitching the last heart and two trump in dummy. Our 26 high card point slam came home thanks to reasonable distribution and a good fit. (As an aside, the spade Queen happened to be on side so a finesse would have worked also).
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North American Open Pairs Andy Muenz
This summer and fall you can qualify to represent District 3 in the North American Open Pairs (NAOP) next March at the Philadelphia National Tournament. In June, July and August, the local clubs will be having NAOP qualifying games. (Check the club calendar of this newsletter for the specific dates and times.) Once you qualify at the club, you'll be eligible to play in the Unit final on Sunday, October 6 at the Rockland Bridge Center. Brunch will be served at 12:00 and game will begin at 1:00. If you do well there, you'll be able to play in the District finals on Saturday, October 12 at the Immaculate Conception Church in Mahwah. The top 3 pairs in each flight will qualify to play in Philadelphia next March. Flight A is open. Flight B is limited to players who had fewer than 2000 master points as of June 1. Flight C is limited to non-life masters with fewer than 500 points as of June 1. For more information, please call Andy Muenz on 201-447-0107.
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Bridge is Elementary Mary Giannella
Since February a group of 14 students in grades six through eight have been learning the basics of bridge. They have been working under the direction of Mary Giannella through a program sponsored by the ACBL and a mini-grant written by Mary. The children enthusiastically participated in a tournament at the end of the program. The winners will be annonced at an awards assembly in June. The participants will receive bridge tee shirts, and the winners will receive trophies. We look forward to possibly seeing some of these young faces in the future at Allendale.
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Bi-Unit Wide Results for May and JuneLee Ohliger
May 5, 2002 Bi-Unit Wide
59.5 Flt A Tables
1A Geoffrey Manis - Melvin Baranoff
3A Cheryl Porter - Marvin Deneroff
29.5 Flt B Tables
2B Lucille Silverman - Mary Manilych
Final Results of June 5,
Flt A Tables
1A Rena Harris - James Metzger
4A Paul Silver - Rolf Paul
5A Sandra Weil - Rhoda Paul
6A Eva Scatassa - Lenore Server
7A Richard Rosner - Charlotte Davidson
8A Edward Gaines - Jack Bernhard
9B Carol Coan - Eva Rubach
Flt B Tables
1B Carol Coan - Eva Rubach
2B Barbara Martin - Joan Gutt
3C Marcia Cooper - Caroline Greenberg
Flt C Tables
1C Marcia Cooper - Caroline Greenberg
2C C Heytink - Cynthia Rosen
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Ace of Clubs - Unit 106 2001 Kaye Roelke
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR LIFE MASTER OF YEAR
DANIEL WOLF STEFANO COPPOLA
JR. MASTER OF YEAR BRONZE LIFE MASTER
EDSON WILEY LISA INSOLERA
CLUB MASTER OF YEAR SILVER LIFE MASTER
BEVERLY KAUFMAN JOAN HAUSSMANN
REGIONAL MASTER OF YEAR GOLD LIFE MASTER
STUART TARKAN CHERYL L. ANGEL
NABC MASTER OF YEAR DIAMOND LIFE MASTER
MICHAEL GELLAR ROSALIND R. ELK
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Saturday Success
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New Members and Milestones Kay Roelke
NEW MEMBERS through April 1st TRANSFERS IN:
Suzanne Cuomo Catherine L. Eide M A Avazian
M. L. Engber Marty Farnan Meryl Dinowit
Marjorie Hirshberg Barbara Hogan Esther Flashner
Helen Hurtz Laura Gunsberg Alan Langford
Nanette Harris Jeanine Kachele Carl G. Lenz
Ariela Karolin Dr. Monte Keen Andrea Luckey
Anne Kirk Annette Lauring Takako Noda
Ron Levin Eleanor Malone Cassie Wentworth
Suzanne Mc Conville Michael Miller
Dr. Marcia Norton Maria Proscia
Mary Raynault Diane Redak
Josephine Roberto Herb Rosenthal
Ruth Selender Estelle Sollish
Rlene Tais Yoko Uchida
Joseph Vallely Mary Vallely
Marge Wasson Albert Will
Total Membership 1259
Over 500 Points New Bronze Life Masters
Barbara Dahl Richard Hoffman
Gloria Khoury
New Silver Life Master New Gold Life Master
Annabella Nelken Fred Weidmann
Janis Rush
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Tips for New Players Barkley Calkins
In bridge, as in all of life, two chances are better than one, three chances are better than two, etc., etc. When presented with more than one way to make a contract, alert declarers will watch for opportunities to combine their chances. Over fifty years ago in The Bridge World magazine, Paul Lukacs, a brilliant bridge writer, presented a hand, elegant in its simplicity, which challenged declarer to combine his chances in three different suits.
Looking only at the north-south hands, consider the sequence of plays that offers the best chance of bringing home a small slam in spades:
NORTH
S K J 8 6
H A K J
D A Q
C K 5 4 3
SOUTH
S A Q 10 9 5 4
H 9 2
D 5 4
C A 8 6
Possible bidding with today's conventions could be:
South West North East
1 H pass 2 NT pass
4 H pass 4 NT pass
5 H pass 6 H all pass
Although it has only 10 HCP, most players would open South's hand; it has 2 1/2 quick tricks, twelve points counting a point each for the fifth and sixth spades, and the six card spade suit provides an easy rebid. Two no-trump is the increasingly popular Jacoby raise, forcing to game, and promising at least a full opening bid -- unlimited on the upside -- with at least four card trump support. Four spades by South indicates no singleton or void and a minimum opening bid, i.e. no interest in going on. With his powerhouse, North persists anyway with key card Blackwood; South's five-spade response promises two key cards - the four aces and the king of trump being the five key cards - plus the queen of trump.
There are eleven top tricks; the essential twelfth trick could come from 1) a successful diamond finesse, 2) a 3-3-club break, or 3) a successful heart finesse. Before reading further, can you work out a sequence of plays to combine these chances, thereby providing the maximum opportunity to bring in the contract.
Answers, after drawing trumps, try the heart finesse first. If that wins, you are home free; if it fails, win any return and play the two top hearts, discarding a club from hand, next play the two top clubs and ruff a club. If the clubs do not break 3-3, try the diamond finesse as a last resort. While this sequence of plays does not guarantee the contract, it offers the best chance for success by testing all three available opportunities.
MORAL: When there is more than one way to develop an essential extra trick, the thoughtful declarer will look for ways to combine those chances.
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NORTH
S AKQXXX
H AQXXX
D
C J9
SOUTH
S XX
H KXX
D AKX
C AKQXX
THE BIDDING: (E-W PASSED THROUGHOUT)
SOUTH NORTH
1 C 1 S
(18 - 19) 2 NT 3 H (looking for more Info)
4 H 4 NT (standard Blackwood)
(2 Aces) 5 H 7 NT
This board was played 12 times and 7N was a top. After the game, there was a lot of discussion about the hand. Our opponents were muttering to anyone who would listen, that they were "fixed."
I strongly disagree. Freak hands sometime call for unorthodox measures. I bid the way I did for these reasons:
American Contract Bridge League Memphis, TN Jay A. Baum Chief Executive Officer May 28, 2002 Mrs. Glenda Calkins Ms. Amy NellisenDear Glenda and Amy:
Kindest regards,
Jay Baum