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THE SUN
Seattle Unit 446 Newsletter
February / March 2016
Yarington, Etnyre Win 2015 Round Robin
The 2015 Round Robin had 10 teams in Bracket A and 10
teams in Bracket B. After a hard fought regular season and excit-
ing knockout stage, the finals were all set! The flight B final had
the defending 2014 champion Joel Furhman team (Bill Campbell,
Cliff Marx, Dex Stuberg) taking on the team captained by Bill
Etnyre (Steve Estvanik, Audrey Wass, Jim Thompson, Robbie
Reaber). Team Etnyre was stuck 26 IMPs at the half, but came
storming back to take the victory, winning by 7 IMPs!
The Bracket A final was a rematch of the 2014 finals with
the team captained by the late Dick Yarington (Kevin Bolan, Bill
O’Brien, Leo Schwartz, John Schermer, Kenny Scholes) facing off
against the team captained by Kim Eng (John Aslin, Jeff Ford,
Paul Schwaighart, David Taylor). Last year Yarington destroyed
Eng 125-59. Eng knew it was going to be a different story this
year, as they had a 4.3 imp carryover they had accrued from their
regular season match. And…a different story it was! This year
Yarington only defeated Eng by 38 imps (66-28)…
In all seriousness, a HUGE congratulations to everyone on
the Yarington team for their TENTH consecutive Round Robin
victory. It isn’t easy making the playoffs, even harder to make the
finals, but it is unheard of to win this difficult event ten years in a
row. You all are to be commended!
—Kim Eng
Sign Up for 2016 Yarington Round Robin!
If you love playing bridge but sometimes wish it were a
little more social, the Round Robin is the event for you! If you
have never played before, the Round Robin is a team event where
you get to play competitive bridge in a friendly, social setting.
Each team will be placed in a bracket (determined by number of
masterpoints) and will play a handful of matches against other
teams. The beauty of the Round Robin is that you get to set your
own schedule! Team captains work together to find a mutual date
and home location that works for both teams. It is that simple!
Registration is now open for the 2016 Round Robin. If you
would like to register a team (consisting of 4-6 players) or if you
have any questions about this event, please send an e-mail to Kim
Eng at [email protected]. You can also sign up as an individual
or pair and I will make every effort to place you on a team of
comparable ability. The deadline for registration is March 1st.
The cost is $60 per team.
—Kim Eng
Mike Christensen Wins Trifecta
Congratulations to Mike Christensen for winning the first
ever Seattle Unit Trifecta, collecting 5.29 masterpoints along the
way! The event consisted of three special
games — Barometer Pairs, Fast Pairs,
and Mixed Pairs. Mike won the Fast Pairs
(with regular partner Mike Ring) and
scratched in the Barometer and Mixed
Pairs, allowing him to edge out Ole and
Julie Godefroy, the silver medalists with
5.01 masterpoints. Honorable mention
goes to John Krah as the only person
besides Mike to win masterpoints in all three games.
The Seattle Unit Board would like to thank everyone who
played in these unit games and a special thanks to Roger Putnam
for directing all of them! We hope to see more of you participat-
ing in the 2016 Unit Trifecta — see p. 4 for the dates of this
year’s games!
Trifecta Mixed Pairs MPs A B C Names Score 2.77 1 Barbara Nist - Dave Grubbs 60.32% 2.08 2 1 Bryan Delfs - Shawn Abernethy 60.12% 1.56 2 Jeff Ford - Kim Eng 60.05% 1.16 1 Mike Christensen - Becky Stevens 53.97% 0.87 2 Wayne English - Judy Dubester 44.65%
Page 2 February / March 2016
Greetings! The Seattle Bridge Unit (SBU) would like to extend a hearty welcome to all new
members and to all members who recently transferred into our unit! All new members will receive
one free play at each of the local clubs. Be sure to check your e-mail!
New Members: Gabor Aldassy, Molly Aldassy, Valerie Anderton, Phillip Andrist, Marjorie Beardsley,
Terence Block, Jonathan Cook, Rasool Doneshvar, Richard Farmer, Christine Griffith, Alice Haskin,
Dale Hultengren, Carol Loe, Kathleen Maurel, Shirley Metcalf, Muriel Murphy, Anne Nagler, Reid
Swick, Edith Whitfield
Transfers In: Bob Burke, Eveline Konig, Elana McQuade, Sally Molloy, Charles Pigott, James Spurlin
Congratulations to the following members on their rank advancements!
Junior Master (5 MPs): Anne Bruskland, Eran Erez, Janis Gonzalez, Robert Horn Jr., Nicholas Paris,
Janet Russell, Stanley Slete, Debra Taylor, Sandra Tone, Linda Whatley, Dian Williams
Club Master (20 MPs): Maritza Aubrey, Carl Berkenwald, Sally Casey, Mel Geokezas, Patti
Hulvershorn, James Horrell, Susie Kalhorn, Tony Marshall
Sectional Master (50 MPs): Joanne Kerr, Kelmar Lemaster, Jane Millar, Charlotte Riviera, Rodney
Waldbaum
Regional Master (100 MPs): Tony Alberts, Carolyn Giffin, Vincent Johnson, Sharon Riddle, Carol
Rosenthal, Keith Rosenthal, Rona Visser, Carolyn Wyman
NABC Master (200 MPs): Judith Dubester, Paul Huntress
Life Master (300/500 MPs): Donald Stark, Margaret Webb
Bronze Life Master (500 MPs): Barbara Aydelott, Diane Felure, Mary Jo Hale, Sheila Kim, Lynne
Phillips
Silver Life Master (1000 MPs): Reidun Decker, Becky Stevens, Dave Walker
Total Members: 1,414 as of January 1, 2016
If you’d like to get involved with helping the growth of bridge in our area and showing people
how fun and amazing this game is, please don’t hesitate to contact a board member. SBU is run total-
ly by volunteers who want to keep bridge in Seattle great. We would love your help! —Mike Ring
Membership report
But wait, there’s more! Beginning in 2016, the ACBL has introduced
two new masterpoint ranks: Ruby Life Master, for Life Masters with at least
1,500 masterpoints (300 silver/red/gold/platinum), sitting between the Silver
Life Master (1000 MP) and Gold Life Master (2500 MP) levels; and Sapphire
Life Master, for Life Masters with at least 3,500 masterpoints (700 silver/red/
gold/platinum), between the Gold Life Master (2500 MP) and Diamond Life
Master (5000 MP) levels.
At right (p. 3) is a list of members who were (in some cases posthu-
mously) promoted in rank with the introduction of the new titles on January 1.
Congratulations to all members on their new titles!
Page 3 SEATTLE UNIT NEWSLETTER
Ruby Life Master (1500 MPs): Kay Adams, Frank Alexandro, David Baer,
Craig Barkhouse, Richard Barnes, Doro- thy Barron, Nancy Bass, Jack Belur, Dorothy Bennett, Maxine Blumenthal, Jules Bue, Terrance Chinn, Michael Christensen, Kevin
Cline, Gil Comeau, Billie Coopwood, Dona Costello, Dianne Cox, Kathleen
Curtis, Bryan Delfs, Amy DeShaw, Elaine DeShaw, Dennis Duryea, James
Elliott, Michael Elliott, John Emmerson, Paul Wayne English, Karen Epley, Sha-ron Erwin, Laurel Ewing, Joel Fuhrman, Marian Garrett, Janet Geoffroy, Robert
Getz, Tami Gillman, Florence Goza, Nancy Grant, Fred Hagen, Jim Hamil,
Tom Hansen, Kathy Hauck, Judith Hess, Galen Hesson, Jon Hildrum, Harold
Huffaker, Edith Huffman, Betty Hyde, Shirley Jabon, Rosemarie Jesse, Ste-
phen Kalish, Mark Kawasaki, Gertrude Kerr, Thomas Land, M Dodie Larner,
Marietta Larson, Allan Lazar, Patricia Lewis, Rudolph Lisa, Jingsong Liu, Phyl-
lis Mackenzie, M Mardesich, Phil Mar-riott, Michael Mays, Mark McCallum, Patti McCallum, Beth McCaslin, John
McCaslin, Delbert McClure, Gerald McDonald, Warren McGee, Barbara
McHarg, Sharon Miller, Margery Mont-gomery, Richard Morey, Doris Murdoch,
Tom Myers Jr, Marion Nelson, M Don Nudelman, Maxine Ogino, Shirley
Opstad, David Perkins, Joan Picchena, Peter Pitell, Margo Putnam, Michael Ring, John Robinson, David Roselle, James Scavone, Maureen Schroder, Eugene Schwartz, Andrew Sherrill,
Steve Skoor, Viston Smith, David Sokolow, James Spurlin, John Stafford,
Linda Stix, Paula Strand, Katherine Svarc, David Taylor, Rob Thomason, Diana Thompson, Ben Tucker, Carol
Ure, Anthony Vukov, John Weinberg, Margaret Wesselhoeft, Marcia West,
Tim White, Walt Williams, Carol Wright, Carole Yager, Brian Zaugg, Carol Zogg Sapphire Life Master (3500 MPs): Hel-
en Abbott, Sharon Bialek, David Binney, Lynn Blumenthal, Marilyn Breeze, Sis Breidenbach, Jessie Brunswig, Frank
Burke, Jackie Buroker, Steven Campau, Richard Carter, James Costello, William Flaherty, Cynthia Glad, Don Glad, David
Hildebrand, Donald Mamula, Marty McCune, Phyllis
Novak, Stan Roberts, Sandra Scholes,
Paul Schwaighart, Emery Selymes, George
Slemmons, Nada Sundermeyer, Mary Thompson, Craig Zastera
Congratulations Greg! The Herman
team will be USA2 for the Patiño Cup
competition (players under 26) at the
2016 World Youth Bridge Champion-
ships. Greg spent four days playing bridge
in Atlanta in December, at a team trials to
select two top junior teams to represent
the US.
On Day 1 there was a round robin
to choose the top four teams to play for
the USA1 spot. After the round robin,
Greg’s team was
seeded 2 and
Ben Bomber’s
team was seed-
ed 3, and thus
would face each
other in the
USA1 semifi-
nals. You may
remember that
Ben and Greg were partners on the UW
team that won the Collegiate Champion-
ships in 2013.
Day 2 was the semifinal knockout
for USA1. After three segments Greg’s
team was up by 20 IMPs. Greg had sat out
the third segment and could have played
the fourth segment. He decided to let his
teammates play. The Bomber team scored
36 IMPs on the first 5 boards. It was tough
to watch. The Herman team came back
and was up by 2.6 IMPs with one board to
go. On the final board his team gave up 7
IMPs and lost the match.
The event was being conducted in a
“repechage” format where teams who lost
in the USA1 event dropped into a second-
ary competition for the USA2 spot, so the
Herman team would now play in a round
robin in the USA2 event, while the Bomb-
er team moved on to the USA1 final.
On Day 3, the Herman team won
their round robin. Meanwhile, the Bomb-
er team lost the USA1 final. Their teams
would play a rematch on Day 4 for the
USA2 finals. It was a good day for the
Herman team as they won all four seg-
ments. The segment Ben sat out was deci-
sive as Greg’s
team picked up
43 IMPs, taking
a 50 IMP lead at
lunch. Greg sat
out the third
segment, but his
team held Ben’s
team at bay by a
42 to 41 IMP
margin. After seeing the 36 point assault
on Monday, Greg was back in for the final
round and brought the win home.
As you all know, bridge is a big
deal with Greg. He has been practicing
online every week with US Bridge Federa-
tion coaches for about five years now.
Many of you were instrumental in foster-
ing Greg’s passion for bridge and taught
him a few things along the way. Thanks to
all of you who have supported Greg. A
shout out to the players at the Meyden-
bauer Bay Yacht Club (Greg’s first bridge
experience), the Eastside Bridge Center,
and the especially the UW Bridge Club.
—Bill and Michele Herman
Greg Herman To Represent US
at Junior World Championships
From left: Christian Jolly, Julie Arbit, Greg Herman, Anam Tebha, Jordan Kaye, Oren Kriegel
Page 4 February / March 2016
Club News
Seattle Bridge Center (SBC)
1539 NE 145th, Seattle
(206) 282-6414
Our website is having problems, so until we make further arrangements, special events will be posted with the game results at the ACBL Club Results page. NO SUNDAY GAME UN-TIL MARCH — Wayne English and Nick Tipton will be directing all games during February. Mark and Patti are in Mexico until March so until then there will not be a Sunday game. I am so sorry for the inconvenience to those who have loyally supported this session. I hope you will come join us again in March. TUESDAY EVENING from 7:00 to 10:00 SBC is open for no charge Drop-in-bridge. Anyone who would like to come play hands and talk about the bidding or play is welcome. This is a great opportunity for players to practice using bidding boxes and update their bidding systems and play of the hand. Thank you Da-vid Dailey for making this possi-ble. A NEW SERIES OF BEGIN-NING BRIDGE LESSONS is be-ing taught by Mark on Tuesdays from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. These lessons will resume in March. For more information please call or e-mail the club. SBC will be closed Friday, February 26 and Saturday 27 for the sectional tournament at Vasa Park in Bellevue. Nick Tipton continues to teach a class on Monday
evenings from 7:00 to 9:30 for beginners and Saturday from 9 to 11:30 for more advanced players. All games are open and stratified. We have plenty of parking available with handicap access. OCTOBER MASTERPOINT LEADERS were Krish-na Rustagi, Joe Ulrich, Yat Sing Ma, and Allen Custer. NOVEMBER MASTERPOINT LEADERS were Peg-gy Moen, Vivian Camandona, Cindy Glad, and Terry
Chinn. DECEMBER MASTER-POINT LEADERS were Mary McCune, Cindy Glad, Tommy Bailey, and Sue Chen. TOP MASTERPOINT WINNERS FOR 2015 were Cor-rine Joinette, Joe Ulrich, Cindy Glad, and Terry Chinn. Corrine will be honored with the Lorraine Leach memorial trophy for the second time.
—Patti McCallum
Alki Bridge Club
West Seattle Senior Center
4217 SW Oregon, Seattle
(206) 484-3303
http://www.alkibridgeclub.com/
Believe it or not, Alki’s games averaged over 17.5 tables in 2015. Thank you all for coming to our little corner of Seattle! Alki features all of the modern conveniences: pre-dealt hands with hand records every game, Bridgemates for immediate
and accurate scoring, and a non-playing director to keep the game moving. We have an excellent facility in West Seattle with a spacious and bright room and a full service
(Continued on page 5)
SAVE THE DATES!
Mark your calendars for the following special
unit events in 2016!
2016 TRIFECTA
Sunday, May 1: Barometer Pairs
All pairs play the same boards at the same time
throughout, with results posted immediately after
each round. Due to the large number of predupli-
cated boards needed, advance registration is re-
quired. E-mail [email protected] by April 27.
Sunday, September 11: Fast Pairs
The speed of play is increased to 5 minutes per
board instead of the usual 7-8 minutes.
Sunday, October 30: Mixed Pairs
Pairs must consist of one man and one woman.
Sunday, June 5: Captain’s Teams
The Seattle Unit is bringing back this very popu-
lar event. Some of the best players in the unit are
chosen as captains. They will pick their team
(behind closed doors) from all of the players who
sign up. Once the teams are formed, the format will
be Swiss Teams, and you get to play one round with
each person on your team. More details to come
later on how and when to sign up!
—Kim Eng
Page 5 SEATTLE UNIT NEWSLETTER
Club News
deli provides excellent soup, salads, and sandwiches for lunch. We play every Monday and Wednesday at 10:30 am with a break at noon for lunch. Every game is Open and the first Monday and Wednesday of every month is a special game! Get there early to ensure seating! We look forward to seeing all of you! Cost is $8 for all games, plus $1 for some special games. Our monthly Swiss Team game will NOT be on the first Friday in March due to a conflict with the Everett Sectional. It is rescheduled for the third Friday night. All tables will have duplicated boards every game. Check out our website for a schedule of games and results as well as a virtual Partnership Desk. Congratulations to our final masterpoint leaders for 2015: Ron Tracy (91.77), Paul Schwaighart (87.90), Wayne English (63.21), Diane Felure (62.46), and Ken Fox (59.95). February 1 and 3 are Club Championship games ($8). February 5 at 7:00 pm is a Club Championship Swiss ($8). March 2 and 7 are Charity Games ($9). March 18 (3rd Friday!) at 7:00 pm is our final GNT Qualifier Swiss ($9). CANCELLED GAME — Alki will not be holding a game on Monday, February 15 (President’s Day). The West Seattle Senior Center is unavailable then.
—Nick Tipton
Rainbow Bridge Club (RBC)
http://www.rainbowbridgeclub.org
RBC now calls Seattle Bridge Center home. We hold a weekly game on Saturday nights at 6:00. Every game is a special game of some sort, generally $7. We would love to see some new faces, or old ones as the case may be! Check our website for exact games as well as updates on our new facility. Questions? Caught in traffic? Call Nick at (206) 484-3303 to reserve your spot in the game. February 20 will be an Open Charity Swiss. March 19 will be a GNT Qualifier Swiss. We will be closed on
February 27 for the Seattle sectional and March 5 for the Everett Sectional.
—Nick Tipton
University of Washington Bridge Club
Christ Episcopal Church
1305 NE 47th St, Seattle
Greetings! Please join us Sunday evenings for a friendly game of duplicate with a mix of college students, people returning to the game, and seasoned vets. We have supervised play at 5:15, the game starts at 6:00 and we’re done usually by 9:30, leaving time for a rousing postmortem. If you need a partner, let me know. We will not have a game on February 28 due to the Vasa Park sectional. Let me know if to receive notices on the game via e-mail. Come play!
—Ann Romeo
Mercercrest Bridge Club (MCBC)
Mercer Island Congregational Church
4545 Island Crest Way, Mercer Island
http://www.bridgeinseattle.org/mercercrest/
Whether you are old or new, we always love to see people for bridge on Tuesday nights. We pride ourselves on our hospitality and our friendliness. All games are stratified, so there is good competition for all levels. Every week the hands are pre-made, hand records are available, and full results including the contracts on all the hands are available online a few minutes after the end of the game. The latest results are available at:
http://www.bridgeinseattle.org/mercercrest/results/ We will be having a Life Master party for John Krah and Daniel Poore in February. To get information about that game and other special games, please join our an-nouncement list by sending a note to [email protected].
(Continued from page 4)
(Continued on page 6)
Page 6 February / March 2016
Club News
November masterpoint leaders were Ray Miller (4.94), Jennifer Chalfan (4.01), Chris Moore (3.94), Cornel Galer (3.57), and Bryan Delfs (3.31). December winners were Stan Christie (5.34), Jingsong Liu (4.41), Kevin Cline (3.00), David Hankins (3.00), and David Walker (2.66). We also have year end results! The top masterpoint winner in 2015 was Ray Miller with 30.79 points. Others winning at least twenty points were Jeff Ford (29.19), Mike Christensen (27.13), Cornel Galer (26.69), Jennifer Chalfan (22.68), Daniel Poore (22.20), John Krah (22.20), Stan Christie (21.26), Chris Jarvis (21.25), Dave Setterholm (20.76), and Kim Eng (20.35). Congratula-tions to all our winners! If you’d like to come play and don’t have a partner, call us or e-mail us a day or two before the game. We are almost always able to make arrangements, and we’d love to have you join us.
—Jeff Ford
Des Moines Bridge Club (DMBC)
Des Moines Senior Center
2045 S 216th St
(206) 824-1192
We have a great group that comes to play bridge at the DesMoines Bridge Club. Our regular game costs $6, making it the best deal in town. Scores are posted at the club results section of the ACBL website. Thanks to eve-ryone that came to our Christmas Party, we had delicious food and a great time. We will have a Membership game which will award extra points on February 26, and a Club Championship for extra points on March 25. Check the ACBL Club Re-sults for other special games we may have in the future. My prayer is that everyone that comes to the club has fun and does their very best — hope to see you.
—Yvonne Kirkland
Mercer Island Bridge Club (MIBC)
VFW Hall (Post #5760)
1836 72nd Ave SE, Mercer Island
(425) 351-2464
http://www.mercerislandbridgeclub.com/
Happy New Year to all. I sincerely hope you had a glorious holiday season and are ready to play some serious bridge in the new year. January presented us with an opportunity to award bonus masterpoints and continue to support our junior bridge department. Education and especially the young players have always been close to our hearts. Don Stark became a New Life Master, really in De-cember, but we partied with him in January. MIBC continues to run games Monday evening at 7:00 pm and Tuesday at 11:00 am. Our games are low key and a very friendly environment. We encourage sin-gles and always provide partners for our singles. While Barbara is away playing bridge, Craig Mills, Craig Ruden, and Moises Saul will continue to serve our players. We always have the Pizza Pairs event the last Monday of each month which includes all the pizza you can eat. If you haven’t tried it, maybe this month you should try it
(Continued from page 5)
(Continued on page 7)
Unit Board News
The Seattle Unit Board had its first meeting of 2016
on January 11, and elections were held for unit officers. The
new unit president is Tim White. The new vice-president is
Susan Cothern. John Weinberg and Jennifer Chalfan retain
their roles from last year as treasurer and secretary, respec-
tively.
Ann Romeo, JC Chupack, and Larry Holdren are
joining the board in 2016. Jeff Ford, Aaron Mohrman, and
Ann Stephens completed their terms in 2015.
Page 7 SEATTLE UNIT NEWSLETTER
Club News
out. There will be a special LEAP YEAR PIZZA PAIRS on February 29 at 7:00 pm. Plan to attend! Good luck in the new year.
—Barbara Nist
Eastside Bridge Center (ESBC)
12310 134th Ct NE, Redmond
(425) 881-6110
http://www.bridgewebs.com/eastside
2015 stats are in, and some familiar names top the masterpoint winners: Greg Ho (191.24), Yoko Barnett (177.42), Dave Hildebrand (129.50), and Harry Steiner (117.95). Jim Scavone, Jim Aitken, Mike Christensen, Maurice Blustein, Mike Bovarnick, and Stan Roberts round out the top ten. Top winners in the under-500 race are Ben Drajpuch (48.80), Jack Yuan (39.30), Larry Braun (31.57), and Bill Hirt (26.91). Virginia Holte, Mary Greeniaus, Mort Lat-ta, Will Fox, Mary Blanchett, and Marilyn Helbig also made the top ten. Eastside Bridge Center is looking forward to some new games and special events in the upcoming months. We will be holding a Swiss Team game on the second Fri-day of each month. Beginning in February, another new event, Fast Pairs, will be held on the first Thursday of each month. The game will start at 7:30 pm and be done by 10:00. On Saturday, February 6, the afternoon game will be an ACBL International Fund game, and we will celebrate Valentine’s Day with special treats on Saturday, February 13. On Monday, March 7, our 10:30 game will move to 12:00 noon for an ACBL Senior Game. The week of March 14-19 will bring Club Championship games — extra points all week! We look forward to seeing you for any or all of these fun events!
—Susan Johnson
(Continued from page 6)
Hospitality Corner
Greetings from Hospitality! Here is a reminder
that we need treats for our unit’s upcoming events: the
Sweetheart Sectional at Vasa Park, February 26-28, and
the Non-Life Master sectional, April 16-17. I could also
use some help with lunch during the Swiss at Vasa Park.
Please bring what you can, and let me know (at
[email protected]) if you can help in the kitchen.
—Ann Romeo
Easy Gingersnaps
Why not donate a batch of these delicious treats, or a favorite recipe of your own, for our next sectional? Just bring them to the tournament, or arrange to deliver them to Ann Romeo.
1 c. sugar ¾ c. shortening ¼ c. molasses 1 egg, beaten 2 c. flour 2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cinnamon ½ tsp. ground cloves ½ tsp. ground ginger Mix shortening and sugar. Stir in molasses and egg.
Sift together dry ingredients, then add to wet mixture
and mix thoroughly.
Take small spoonfuls of dough, shape into ball, roll
in granulated sugar, and place on cookie sheet. Press flat
with heavy-bottomed water glass. Bake 10-12 minutes
at 350°, until slightly crisp. Loosen cookies from sheet
with thin metal spatula immediately upon removing
from oven, then let cool.
Makes about 4 dozen.
Page 8 February / March 2016
It is fashionable among experts these days to play sys-
tems on after a direct 1NT overcall (i.e., bids have the
same meaning as if partner had opened 1NT); I suspect
most have not really thought about it. If they had, I be-
lieve that they would have concluded (as have I) that sys-
tems off is better. Stayman (2C) and Jacoby transfers are
essential after your side opens 1NT, but there are four
major differences between opening 1NT and directly
overcalling 1NT. Let’s explore how these differences af-
fect playing systems on after a direct 1NT overcall:
1. Opening lead considerations. It is a disadvantage to
have the lead coming up to a 1NT overcaller (as opposed
to a 1NT opener) since opener’s partner will lead open-
er’s suit unless he has an even better lead (which opener
probably won’t find)! If he does lead opener’s suit it will
be through any card or cards that dummy may have in the
suit, rather than the opener leading up to it or them if he
is on lead (as in systems off). So, with respect to opening
leads, it is clearly better to simply have the 1NT overcall-
er’s partner bid his suit naturally and have the lead come
from the opener rather than his partner. Also, if you
transfer (as in systems on) then opener can double to show
a second suit (which he can’t do if you play systems off
unless he is willing to risk bidding the suit at the three lev-
el) and/or suggest an alternate lead.
2. There is a cue-bid available. The 1NT overcaller’s
partner now has a cue-bid available for Stayman, unlike
the partner of a 1NT opener. In addition to probing for a
4-4 major suit fit, the cue-bid can be used to handle strong
one-suited or two-suited hands (see below for invitational
hands) by starting with a cue-bid and then bidding a suit
(rather than transferring into the suit), which is a forcing
sequence. With a weak two-suited hand you would ignore
your second suit (as you also would in systems on) and
merely bid your best suit at the two-level.
3. A 1NT overcaller’s partner is more likely to have a
bust than a 1NT opener’s partner, so you are more likely
to be doubled for penalty. If the opener’s partner doubles
1NT for penalty (or even if he merely passes), it is a seri-
ous disadvantage to be unable to run to two clubs or two
diamonds (both of which are artificial in systems on).
4. Your side is less likely to have game-going or slam-
going values. So any advantages that playing systems on
confers towards finding the best contract is lessened
(especially at IMPs), since usually only a part score is in-
volved.
You can handle invitational bids in systems off by
jumping in your suit rather than by transferring and then
bidding 2NT or then bidding your suit (with six), as you
would in systems on. A possible disadvantage to this is
that, if you only have a five-card suit, you will play a 5-2
fit if partner declines your invitation and has a doubleton
in your suit, whereas you are able to play 2NT using sys-
tems on. But, when this is the case, playing your 5-2 fit
often works out better than playing 2NT.
There are several other popular conventions that have
been insufficiently analyzed (or they would have become
unpopular!). Examples: fast arrival, support doubles, re-
quiring support for partner’s suit when using Drury or an
immediate cue-bid, two-way new minor forcing, systems
on after a 1NT opener is doubled for penalty, negative
doubles after a 1NT opener, bidding a suit to show two of
the top three honors after your partner has opened two
clubs, and fourth suit forcing to game (as opposed to
merely forcing to either 3NT or the four level). I cover
these in detail in the section on conventions in my book,
Things Your Bridge Teacher Won’t Tell You (Master Point
Press).
articleS
Systems On After a 1NT Overcall
by Dan Romm
Page 9 SEATTLE UNIT NEWSLETTER
How much of the outcome of a matchpoint session is
the result of skill? How much is just luck, good or bad?
Statistics shed light on these issues, on the reasonable
assumptions that the skill of a regular partnership is re-
flected in its average performance over
time against similar competition, and that
variations in the partnership’s results
over the course of time are essentially
random. These random variations can be
described as “luck,” if “luck” includes the
chance that on a given day the partnership
played more skillfully or less skillfully
than usual.
The size of the “luck” factor can be
measured by the standard deviation of a
partnership’s results over time. For 68
partnerships that played frequently at
Alki Bridge Club over a period of two-plus years, the
median standard deviation was a little less than six per-
centage points.
One might expect stronger pairs to show greater
consistency than weaker pairs; but the data indicated oth-
erwise. There was practically no correlation between
average partnership results and the variability of those
results. (R2 < 1%, for statistics junkies.)
Statistical theory suggests that for a typical partner-
ship, about one result in ten will be more than ten per-
centage points above or below the partnership’s long-
term average, simply as the result of “luck.” About half
the partnership’s results will be at least four percentage
points above or below its long-run average.
For partnerships with higher or lower variability,
these ranges expand or contract proportionately. Howev-
er, there was not a great spread in the standard devia-
tions. None was as low as four or as high as eight.
Fluctuations attributable to “luck” can dwarf differ-
ences in “skill,” as measured by differences in average
performance. These differences tend to be tightly clus-
tered. For the same partnerships at Alki,
more than half averaged between 47%
and 53% over the period reviewed. (As
might be expected, no partnership aver-
aged more than 60% or less than 40%.)
Despite the comparatively sizea-
ble fluctuations attributable to “luck,”
small differences in “skill” will tell. Sta-
tistical theory suggests that if two pairs’
long-run averages against similar compe-
tition are separated by only 2%, the
stronger pair has about a 60-40 chance of
outscoring the other in a given session. A
2% differential is not much; it is just the difference be-
tween achieving an average result and suffering a bottom
on a single board out of a typical session of about 25
boards.
If the differential in average scores is 5%, the strong-
er pair’s chances of outscoring the other are better than
70-30. Even a 1% differential produces odds of 55-45;
and so forth.
Despite the considerable influence of “luck” on the
outcome of a particular matchpoint session, therefore,
seemingly small differences in “skill” lead to substantial
differences in the likelihood of success over the long run.
And “luck,” as defined here, includes an element of skill
in the ordinary sense: the skill that is shown or is missing
on a particular day.
Articles
Luck vs. Skill at Matchpoints
by Monty Gray
Page 10 February / March 2016
articles
Seattle NextGenBridge is back in the schools, with
four middle schools (Denny, McClure, Asa Mercer and
Washington) and a foray to Roosevelt High School. Stu-
dents have a wide range of activities to choose from, so
how can we compete for their attention with bridge? The
stigma as a game “old
people” play still exists,
even as the now genera-
tion learns to play.
Still, we have kids
who have come back for a
second and third session
and acknowledge that
bridge has value in their
lives. And they are start-
ing to play in groups on
their own.
We know that bridge
has given us much —
new friends, and a sport
for life. But what benefits do kids get from it? When
asked, comments range from “I can focus more”, “it helps
me solve problems”, “I don’t get as angry anymore over
little things”, and “it’s really hard” to “it’s fun” and many
more.
We have seen the positive impact in more concrete
forms from improved scores in math and language skills to
kids being more confident and less afraid to learn new
things. Taking on the challenges of bridge helps kids to
discover a new path to learning that makes working
through problems easier. Through making each contract
and playing their hands well, they can see short term pro-
gress leads to achieving longer term goals. This inspires
them to want to learn. We have sparked their curiosity
and imagination.
To reach more schools we need more volunteers. We
have an excellent group and are planning to expand to the
Eastside which has three separate school districts so there
is more work to do. Volunteering is indeed a labor of
love. It is returned ten-
fold by seeing the kids’
accomplishments.
The IRS has giv-
en us a 501C3 status so
contributions are tax-
exempt. We are setting
up various ways to do-
nate to SNGB and are
developing an annual
fundraiser. This year we
will sponsor a school
team from Seattle to
compete at the Youth
NABCs in Washington,
DC, so there’s much preparation that needs to be done
and funds to be raised.
We can use help with community/school outreach,
website, and our end-of-school tournament on Friday,
May 6. Be a bridge mentor to a kid. We’ll be asking for
coaches, chaperones, and tutors to get the kids ready to
represent Seattle at its best. Please help these kids who
have worked so hard realize their dream as we realize ours
— bridge for a new generation.
For more information and to get involved, contact
Anne Farmer at (206) 441-7244 or (206) 854-0008 (cell),
or e-mail [email protected].
Special thanks to all who have volunteered and sup-
ported us this school year.
School Days
by Anne Farmer
SNGB volunteers were recognized at a luncheon. (Standing) Wayne English, Daniel Poore, Hailey Thomassen, John Givins,
Carol Schroeder, Anne Farmer, Shirley Johnson; (seated) Victor Bremson, Bill Campbell, Bill Bumpas, Melanie Doren, Jim Rush
Page 11 SEATTLE UNIT NEWSLETTER
articles
Artificial bidding conventions can be fun to learn and
play, and useful on many hands. However, if you like to
play without many conventions, don’t be ashamed! Hand
evaluation and bidding judgment, independent of system,
are far more important than conventions. Having a strong
natural base may help if you later come to adopt some
conventions – if you understand what “problem” a con-
vention is intended to solve (i.e., what hand types are dif-
ficult to bid in a natural system), it will help you under-
stand when it applies and how to use it, and remember
when it comes up.
If you are adopting a new convention, make sure you
and your partner are on the same page about certain ques-
tions. Playing a convention means more than remember-
ing the bid itself and any immediate responses to it. Does
it have the same meaning by a passed hand, or in competi-
tion? If the conventional bid displaces a natural bid, what
do you do instead with a hand that would have made the
now-unavailable natural bid? If you previously showed the
conventional hand type in some other way, what does the
old bid or sequence now show?
I believe you should ask yourself one other question
before adopting a convention: do you have the discipline
NOT to use it “because it’s there” on inappropriate hands?
From a psychological standpoint, there seems to be a sub-
conscious pressure to use conventions or rare specialized
bids once one adopts them. (The psychology can arise ei-
ther when the convention creates an opportunity to bid
where none previously existed, or when it creates a choice
between a conventional bid and a natural bid or other
course of action, including in constructive sequences.) No
matter how loose or strict a partnership’s parameters for a
bid are, there seems to be a temptation to relax them
when a hand just outside the parameters comes up, partic-
ularly with conventions for rare hand types. Thus one sees
the gambling 3N (showing a solid minor) opened on
AKJ10xxx or AKQxxx, or Michaels on 5-4 in the majors,
etc. If you find yourself unable to resist such temptations,
perhaps it would be better (for partnership harmony, if
nothing else) to remove them from your path in advance.
The impulse can afflict even top experts. A European
world champion playing in an international event picked
up ♠Qxxx ♥QJxxxxx ♦xx ♣—. Besides opening however
many hearts he wanted, or passing, he had a conventional
opening bid showing a weak hand with both majors, and
used it on this hand. The opponents jammed the auction,
he was unable to clarify the three-card discrepancy be-
tween his suits, and his partner eventually corrected 6H
(which was cold) to 6S (which went down three). Bridge
author David Bird, reporting the hand in Bridge Hands to
Make You Laugh…and Cry, noted that “players who use
these obstructive openings tend to stretch them to the
limits or even, as here, well beyond the limits.”
So You Want to Play a Convention
by David Wright
MORE DATES
2016 SEATTLE SECTIONALS
February 26-28: Sweetheart Sectional Vasa Park
April 16-17: Non-Life Master Sectional North Seattle College
May 27-30: Knockout Sectional Bothell Union Hall
July 15-17: Suntan Sectional
Forest Ridge School (Bellevue)
September 16-18: Fall Sectional Vasa Park
FE
BR
UA
RY
2
01
6
Sun
Mo
n
Tue
We
d
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
AB
C C
lub
Cha
mpi
onsh
ip
2
3
AB
C C
lub
Cha
mpi
onsh
ip
4
5
AB
C C
lub
Cha
mp.
Sw
iss
6
SB
C In
t’l F
und
Gam
e
ES
BC
Int’l
Fun
d G
ame
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
AB
C C
lose
d
16
17
18
19
20
RB
C C
harit
y S
wis
s
21
22
23
24
25
26
DM
BC
Mem
bers
hip
Gam
e
27
28
UW
BC
Clo
sed
29
WIN
TE
R S
EC
TIO
NA
L (
SB
C, R
BC
clo
sed
)
SE
CT
ION
AL
, co
nt.
SW
EE
TH
EA
RT
SE
CT
ION
AL
(S
BC
, RB
C c
lose
d)
MA
RC
H 2
01
6
Sun
Mo
n
Tue
We
d
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
DE
AD
LIN
E T
O R
EG
IST
ER
F
OR
201
6 R
OU
ND
RO
BIN
2
AB
C C
harit
y G
ame
3
4
5
RB
C C
lose
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6
7
AB
C C
harit
y G
ame
E
SB
C A
CB
L S
enio
r G
ame
(12
:00)
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
AB
C G
NT
Qua
lifie
r S
wis
s
19
RB
C G
NT
Qua
lifie
r S
wis
s
20
21
22
23
24
25
DM
BC
Clu
b C
ham
pion
ship
26
27
28
29
30
31
ES
BC
— C
lub
Ch
amp
ion
ship
s (a
ll se
ssio
ns,
3/1
4-3
/19)
Page 15 SEATTLE UNIT NEWSLETTER
Club Schedules and Locations
Locations: Emerald Bridge Club Fife Community Center, 2111 54th Ave E, Fife Dennie Dye, (253) 939-0733 Ronald Methodist Church 17839 Aurora Ave N (entrance on Linden, not Aurora) Margaret Marshall, (206) 363-5484/(206) 972-1941 (cell) LeEtta King Bridge Club Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Ave S (206) 226-9732 Vashon Bridge Club Location varies, call for details James Dam, (206) 567-5279/[email protected] See “Club News” starting on p. 2 for other club information.
Sunday 1:00 pm Seattle Bridge Center (starting in March) 6:00 pm UW Bridge Club Monday 10:30 am Eastside Bridge Center Open/0-750 Alki Bridge Club Seattle Bridge Center 7:00 pm Mercer Island Bridge Club Eastside Bridge Center 0-2000 Seattle Bridge Center Lessons + Play Tuesday 10:00 am Eastside Bridge Center Emerald Bridge Club 11:00 am Mercer Island Bridge Club 7:00 pm Mercercrest Bridge Club Eastside Bridge Center 0-200 Seattle Bridge Center “Drop-In Bridge” Wednesday 10:30 am Alki Bridge Club Noon Ronald Methodist Church Senior, 0-2000 Eastside Bridge Center Light Lunch 7:00 pm Eastside Bridge Center 0-750
Thursday 10:00 am Eastside Bridge Center Emerald Bridge Club 10:30 am Seattle Bridge Center Free Lunch 6:30 pm LeEtta King Bridge Club 7:00 pm Eastside Bridge Center Friday 10:00 am Eastside Bridge Center Open/0-200 10:30 am Des Moines Bridge Club Seattle Bridge Center 6:30 pm Vashon Bridge Club (except first Fridays;
time varies, call first) Saturday 9:00 am Seattle Bridge Center Lessons + Play 9:30 am Eastside Bridge Center 0-20 “Fun Bridge” Noon Seattle Bridge Center 1:00 pm Eastside Bridge Center Open/0-750 6:00 pm Rainbow Bridge Club
All games are open unless otherwise specified.
Seattle Unit Newsletter
Published every other month, in February,
April, June, August, October, and December.
Contributions from unit members are greatly
appreciated. E-mail news, letters, anecdotes,
or articles to [email protected]. The
deadline for submissions is the 10th of each
odd-numbered month. All submissions may be
edited for length and content.
The newsletter is edited by David Wright.
Seattle Unit ACBL Membership: Michael Ring 1630 228th St. SE, Apt. A304 Bothell, WA 98021
Tournament Trail
Check out www.acbl.org for most current information
SUN Delivery
The SUN is delivered to all unit members who provide an e-mail
address or ask for it to be sent by mail. Let us know if you want to
get a paper copy of the newsletter.
February 12-14 Bellingham Sectional
Spokane Sectional
15-21 VANCOUVER, WA REGIONAL
26-28 Bellevue Sectional [see flyer, p. 12]
March 4-6 Everett Sectional
9-20 RENO, NV NABC
26-27 D19 GNT Finals, Flights A/C
April 4-10 SPOKANE REGIONAL
16-17 Seattle I/N (NLM) Sectional
D19 GNT Finals, Open/Flight B
