THE DUMMY DSBA PRESIDENT S LETTER UPCOMING EVENTS

♣♦ THE DUMMY ♥♠ Quarterly Publication of the Delaware State Bridge Association ------------------------------- May 2016 UPCOMING EVENTS  May 19-21 D...
3 downloads 0 Views 1020KB Size
♣♦ THE DUMMY ♥♠ Quarterly Publication of the Delaware State Bridge Association ------------------------------- May 2016

UPCOMING EVENTS  May 19-21 District 6 Sectional - Cambridge  May 21-22 Dt. 4 GNT/NAP Wilkes-Barre  June 3-5 Unit 190 Sectional – Studio  June 10-12 Unit 135 Sectional - Baltimore  June 23-25 Unit 190 Sectional - Lewes  June 27 – July 3 Valley Forge Regional  July 20 - 31 Summer NABC – Washington  Aug. 15-21 District 6 Regional – Hunt Valley  Aug. 23 DSBA Pairs Wilmington & Lewes

Overheard at the regional: “I need to remember that when I open 1NT and you bid 2♣, that I need to Alert your bid because we don’t play Stayman.”

EDITOR: ALA HAMILTON-DAY

DSBA PRESIDENT’S LETTER Congratulations to all those who achieved personal goals at the recent Sectional in Wilmington and the Regional in Claymont. Heartier congrats go to all of those who played and had FUN, whether at tournaments or at their local clubs. Kudos, as well, to the many volunteers from Unit 190 (whether DSBA Board Members or not) who helped make the Delaware Regional such a success. Service is a great way to deepen one’s commitment to the bridge community and to give back to the game we all love. As I write this, the DSBA Pro-Am game is just days away, with separate events in Wilmington and Lewes. I’m looking forward to meeting and greeting the Northern Ams whom I do not already have the pleasure of knowing. Along the same vein, the DSBA is launching a Mentoring pilot program in mid-May. Our aim is to unite up-and- coming players with more experienced players, in an ongoing playing and discussion relationship. Also coming up on the DSBA calendar, in less than two months, is the First State Sectional in Lewes in June. I’ve attended the last two years and have been blown away by the energy in the room and the Southern hospitality. Outside the state, we are blessed with a close-by Summer NABC in Washington in July. Many, many bridge playing and masterpoint garnering opportunities abound! Thanks to my fellow board members for their ideas in service to bridge in Delaware and their efforts at implementing the best of these ideas. See you at the tables!

Alan Horowitz, DSBA President

1

Delaware's "First State" Regional March 28 - April 3, 2016

Unit 190 Masterpoint Winners 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

54.86 46.60 46.12 37.33 32.91 32.38 29.11 29.01 27.49 26.91 25.60 23.31 22.08 19.65 18.36 17.80 17.37 17.17 17.17 17.11

Andrew Stayton, Rehoboth Beach DE Mark Henderson, Wilmington DE Ala Hamilton-Day, Rose Valley PA Jess Stuart, West Chester PA Rick Rowland, Wilmington DE Jeff Ruben, Wilmington DE Randall Berseth, Bear DE Fred Gillespie, Glen Mills PA Jeremy Xu, Wilmington DE Francis Bizzoco, Dagsboro DE Christopher Marlow, Wilmington DE Anne Taylor, Newark DE Janelle Gmitter, Lewes DE Barbara Rhoades, Wilmington DE Melody Henderson, Wilmington DE Cindy Rowland, Wilmington DE Richard Popper, Wilmington DE Linda Szilagyi, Georgetown DE Peter Wise, Georgetown DE Caroline Hughes, Wilmington DE

Regional Accolades A roast of Platinum LM Jess Stuart, from West Chester, PA, was emceed by Rick Rowland on Saturday night at the Regional. If you haven’t heard about Mrs. O’Leary, make it a point to ask Jess.

EDITOR: ALA HAMILTON-DAY

2

DSBA Pro Am - South Flight C A B

Leah Holmes and Michael DeBellis Eli Solomon and George Hawkins Donna Vaughn and Laurie Shelton

Percent 62.02 61.38 60.90

Mickey DeBellis and Leah Holmes

DSBA Pro Am – North A B C

Rick Rowland and Jerry Goodman Barbara Rhoades and Denise Ucciferro Samuel Amer and Louise Roselle

62.27 59.32 56.36

Rick Rowland and Jerry Goodman

EDITOR: ALA HAMILTON-DAY

3

Denise Ucciferro and Barbara Rhoades

Samuel Amer and Louise Roselle

Assistant Karen Pollak, Director Carole Everitt, Chair Anne Taylor

EDITOR: ALA HAMILTON-DAY

4

JUNIOR MASTER

Leslie F. Goldstein

Barbara A. Stepanak

Gerry Baker

Richard W. Weissmann

SILVER LIFE MASTER

Jim R. Edwards

NABC MASTER

Thomas G. Hughes

Ruth R. Edwards

Jonathan P. Baumel

Donald J. Rudisill

Warren C. Hardy

Betty Duncan

RUBY LIFE MASTER

CLUB MASTER

Peter Wise

Carole L. Everitt

Carol Bason

Jeremy Xu

Mark G. Henderson

Ian Burn

GOLD LIFE MASTER

Laura A. Campbell

ADVANCED NABC MASTER

Jean D. Gandek

Janelle L. Gmitter

Elizabeth M. Janairo

LIFE MASTER

DIAMOND LIFE MASTER

Cornelia N. Winner

Francis A. Bizzoco

Thomas J. Grabowski

Lucinda C. Wright

Linda A. Szilagyi

Ala Hamilton-Day

SECTIONAL MASTER

Pat Tylander

Andrew D. Stayton

Phyllis M. Anthony

BRONZE LIFE MASTER

REGIONAL MASTER

Paul D. Amer

Scott N. Freber

EDITOR: ALA HAMILTON-DAY

5

The Lewes Sectional Peter Harris The Lewes Sectional will again be held at the Lewes Presbyterian Church and regular players will know that this is a very pleasant venue close to the center of this pretty seaside town. The playing area is limited to a maximum of 35 tables and anyone who really intends to play should register with Peter Harris ([email protected]) as soon as possible, so that they can ensure that they have the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful hospitality provided by our local players. The tournament is earlier this year, so that it does not clash with the Nationals being held in Washington D.C., in July. This should make finding suitable accommodation a little easier, for anyone wishing to stay over for all 3 days of the tournament. Unfortunately, accommodation is not inexpensive so, if you have local friends, I suggest that you have a quiet word in their ears! On Thursday, June 23rd, there will be a morning session for "Novices", any player with less than 20 MP's. Anyone playing in this session will be given a free entry into the Thursday afternoon session. Both sessions on Thursday and Friday (10:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m.) will be flighted so that there will be lots of opportunities for players at all levels to enjoy the competition. Both of the Saturday sessions will be Swiss Team events. Lunch will be provided at the end of the first session, so that the second session can start as soon as possible. It is likely that the Swiss Teams event will end at around 6:00 p.m. This will give participants ample time to enjoy dinner in one of the many local hostelries or to travel home at a reasonable hour. Last year's event was a great success and we hope to do even better in June. Please make a note in your diaries and let us know if you wish to play. Anyone needing a partner or partners for a team, should contact Dini Romito or Peter Harris.

RENO SPRING NABC Unit 190 Masterpoint Winners 1 104.94 Benito Garozzo, Wilmington DE 2 32.43 Ala Hamilton-Day, Rose Valley PA 3 19.29 Rick Rowland, Wilmington DE 4 13.36 Samuel Amer, Newark DE 5 13.36 Paul Amer, Newark DE 6 10.36 Richard Popper, Wilmington DE 7 10.17 Linda Szilagyi, Georgetown DE 8 10.17 Peter Wise, Georgetown DE 9 4.96 Richard Weissmann, Lewes DE 10 4.96 William Lorelli, Lewes DE

EDITOR: ALA HAMILTON-DAY

6

EDITOR: ALA HAMILTON-DAY

7

Attention Mentors and Mentees!! (Mentees?) Super Opportunity: From May 15 to September 30 with the DSBA-Unit 190 Bridge Mentoring program!! In January, the DSBA Board voted to fund a Unit 190 Mentoring pilot program to support beginning players and to increase the number of new players at Unit 190 clubs. With this program, launched at the 2016 Pro/Am game, the Unit hopes to increase table counts, reduce frustration for newer players, and encourage players to play in sanctioned duplicate games. The trial program will run from May 15 to September 30, 2016. The Mentoring Chairs (North: Karen Pollak [email protected] and South: Barbara Saulsbury [email protected]) are available to answer questions and provide materials (sign-up sheets, agreement forms, etc.) about the program at the Pro/Am. Here are the Basics: • All participants must be current ACBL members and DSBA-Unit 190 members. • The Mentees must have less than 100 points. • The Mentors will be ACBL Life masters. • Mentor and Mentee can assist in the selection of their partnership with the aid of the Club managers and Mentoring chairs. Only Mentors and Mentees that have registered their partnership with one of the Mentoring Chairs and a Club may participate in the full program. Each Unit 190 club that agrees to participate will provide documentation of Mentor/Mentee play. The Unit will reimburse participating club's monthly for the Mentor’s playing fees when playing with a registered Mentee partnership for up to 2 plays per month. Don’t miss this opportunity-Mentors find a Mentee or vice versa! You can register any time in between May 15 and September 30, but the earlier the better! If you need assistance ask the Club managers and the Mentoring Chairs.

EDITOR’S NOTE: An article or story, on any subject, sent to [email protected] would be much appreciated. Perhaps someone can provide a review of the book The Bridge Ladies, available on May 3, 2016, published by Harper Wave. According to Parade magazine, the book is “Betsy Lerner’s coming-of-age story in which a mother and daughter connect courtesy of a bridge game that’s been going on for 50 years.” That sounds like an interesting read. Is there a bridge lady who can tell me if it was?

EDITOR: ALA HAMILTON-DAY

8

EDITOR: ALA HAMILTON-DAY

9

EDITOR: ALA HAMILTON-DAY

10

“Director Please!” ACBL Tournament Director Sandy Cerato ([email protected])

Here are a couple of issues that have come up and players have asked me about them. SLOW PLAY Bridge is a timed event and hands should be finished the same day they were handed out. But one of the most frustrating things for players, and also for a director, is moving a game along. Slow play isn’t actually the problem with players being behind. Think about it, most of your opponents do not take that long to bid or play a deal—yet before you know it, the round is being called and you are nowhere near finished with the last board. Here are some suggestions which, if followed, would solve many of our problems: Do not post mortem between deals whether you are in a pair game or a Swiss team. Finish the round and then discuss hands if there is still time. Do not give lessons or critique partner—it’s counterproductive-- partner will not be able to concentrate on the next hand because she will be focusing on the last hand or on your criticism. And your opponents are clearly not interested in your evaluation. If you are on opening lead, make your lead before recording the contract in your private score. You’ll have plenty of time to record the information and still see the entire first trick. BID BOX ALERTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS When using bid boxes, the ACBL requires that players tap the Alert strip and say “Alert” at the same time. When making an Announcement, use the appropriate announcement word (such as, “transfer”) and tap the Alert strip at the same time. A player who Alerts or Announces a bid, must make sure his opponents are aware that an Alert or Announcement has been made. BRIDGEMATE PROPRIETIES ACBL laws expressly prohibit “gloating,” yet now that we use Bridgemates, it seems difficult to avoid the appearance of gloating when announcing the percentage of a result. Bridge clubs, where Bridgemates are used, can leave on or turn off the settings which will show the results of an individual board. When the E/W player has accepted the result, generally someone announces the percentage. The manner in which this is done can lead to players feeling that there is gloating over that result. Be considerate and realize that when you announce that your side received an 83%, your opponents are already feeling crummy and announcing a top percentage “rubs it in.” If you have any director questions or ideas for director columns, contact me at: [email protected] And remember to make time for bridge every day. EDITOR: ALA HAMILTON-DAY

11

EDITOR: ALA HAMILTON-DAY

12