Cincinnati Bridge Association May, 2001 Vol. XXVI, Number 2
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THERE’S A NEW GAME IN TOWN!!
Starting this week
T.G.I.F. BRIDGE GAMES
7:30 PM EVERY FRIDAY
at the Bridge Center
A NEW OPEN PAIRS GAME
ON THE 1ST, 2ND, 4TH and 5TH FRIDAYS
with PRESORTED HANDS
and HAND RECORDS
FRED POLLACK WILL COMMENT ON ONE OR TWO HANDS
AFTER EACH PAIRS GAME
PLUS A SWISS TEAM GAME
EVERY 3RD FRIDAY
PLAN NOW TO START YOUR WEEKENDS
AT THE BRIDGE CENTER
The Flying Pig Regional
Sharonville Convention Center
June 4-10, 2001
See full schedule of events on Page 3
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INSIDE
Prez Sez 2
Flying Pig Regional Schedule 3
ACBL Awards System 4
Unit 124 Awards Night 5
Director’s Nightmare 6
Tournament Winners 7
Library News/Lessons 8
Membership News 9
Safety Plays 2- Otto Walter 10
Middletown Sectional 11
Board Meetings/N. KY Bridge 12
Financial Report 13
Stand-By Partners 14
Club Notes 15
COMING EVENTS
Memorial Day Open Game
Monday, May 28, 11 AM
Deschappelles invites everyone
to the Bridge Center to play!
Middletown Sectional
August 24-26
U.F.C.W. Assembly Hall
in Monroe, Ohio
(see page 11)
Mentor/Mentee Dinner
Friday, September 7
For information on other events check out our website: www.cincybridge.com
Carolyn Ahlert, Editor
(513) 624-0535
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Thanks to Tournament Chairmen Diane Travis and Jody Kieffer, along with their committee members and Alex Pappas, for a most successful March Sectional Tournament. The Sharonville Convention Center was not available, so we used our Bridge Center and rented space at the Union Hall. Because we did not have to pay the convention center rent, we were able to provide hospitality at every game. The Team of Two format for the Sunday Team Game was not popular and we will not have this type of game in the future. We have contracted with the Sharonville Convention Center for our Fall Sectional, but we plan to have more sectionals at our Center.
We tried unsuccessfully to find stand-by partners for the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evening games. The board decided to concentrate on having a stand-by partner every Tuesday evening. Thanks to Elena Hickman, we have a stand-by for every Tuesday until October. Contact Elena if you wish to volunteer. Contact any director if you are willing to be a stand-by partner for his/her game. This service is designed to have a partner for out-of-town visitors, new players, and players who find they need a partner “at the last minute”.
The Mentor-Mentee program is underway. We always need more mentors
(200+ M.P.’s); please contact Bill Brewer if you have not volunteered and would like to be a mentor.
The Board of Directors voted to purchase a Duplimate. This is a machine which gets input from a computer to generate or duplicate boards. It uses specially bar-coded cards and the plastic boards which we already use. The computer input can be randomly generated hands, made-up hands, hands from ACBL, etc. A hand record is available and can be printed. Several sections can be duplicated, making scoring across sections possible. This opens the possibility of barometer games (everyone playing the same hands at once) as well as duplicated Swiss games. We hope this will make the games more enjoyable and interesting.
Remember - Bridge is a game for fun and improvement of your mental skills!
Nancy Z. Sachs
President
THE ACBL AWARDS SYSTEM
For new members of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) who may be confused by all the terminology
in the awards and ranking system, here’s a guide to the most common terms:
Masterpoints
These are your reward for winning or placing in a duplicate bridge game. Also referred to as “points” or “MPs,” masterpoints come in the following colors:
Black points are awarded at club and unit games – also referred to as “club masterpoints.”
Silver points are awarded for all events at sectional tournaments, progressive sectionals, and StaCs (Sectional
Tournament at Clubs).
Red points are awarded for all events at regional tournaments and the three annual North American Bridge
Championships (NABCs).
Gold points are awarded for being first your direction and for placing overall at regionals and NABCs in events
of two or more sessions with an upper masterpoint limit of 750 or more MPs, except in the case of
knockouts where 1/3 and 1/2 gold points are awarded without the restriction of playing against players
with 750 or more MPs.
ACBL Ranks
As you accumulate points, you’ll reach certain milestones, or ranks that indicate your progress. Each rank requires that you have a certain number and type of points. After reaching the status of “Life Master” additional designations have been established to indicate continued progress:
Rank MPs Color Requirements
Rookie 0-4.99 None
Junior Master 5 None
Club Master 20 None
Sectional Master 50 At least 5 silver points
Regional Master 100 At least 5 red (or gold) and at least 15 silver points
NABC Master 200 At least 5 gold, 15 red (or gold), and 25 silver points
Life Master 300 At least 25 gold, 25 red (or gold), and 50 silver points
Bronze Life Master 500 Must have met Life Master requirements
Silver Life Master 1,000 Must have met Life Master requirements
Gold Life Master 2,500 Must have met Life Master requirements
Diamond Life Master 5,000 Must have met Life Master requirements
Grand Life Master 10,000 Must win a Nationally rated Championship event
Why have we given you all this information? Because we want you to get involved and begin racking up the points and running through the ranks as fast as possible so you can collect a few of the awards associated with each rank! We want to see you start a friendly competition with you bridge friends to see which of you can collect to the most masterpoints in a given year! It’s a fun way to learn the game. The more you play, the faster you learn, and the more you play against better players, the faster you will see your game improve!
Contests
The ACBL conducts the annual Mini-McKenney and Ace of Clubs contests for players in each of the twelve ranks.
The Mini-McKenney is awarded annually to players winning the most masterpoints in a calendar year in each category. These points can be won in any color. The awards are given to winners in each rank in each unit. There is also an ACBL-wide award for each category.
The Ace of Clubs is awarded annually to players in each of the twelve categories who win the most masterpoints in a calendar year at the club level (only points won at the club level count for this award). The award is given to winners in each category for each unit around the country, as well as ACBL-wide.
Unit 124 Awards Night, May 4
These Unit124 players were recognized for winning the following awards:
Mini-McKenney Awards MPs Ace of Clubs Awards MPs
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Thomas Deddens 29.75 Thomas Deddens 27.05
Michael MacPash 27.15 Bob Buster 16.81
Phyllis Downey 26.02 William Keebler 12.26
JUNIOR MASTER OF THE YEAR
Susan Hermans 66.80 Doris Kehoe 28.70
Jeanne Weyers 48.66 Louise Stein 16.63
Doris Kehoe 40.38 Helen Mitchell 13.61
CLUB MASTER OF THE YEAR
Cecelia Gleisinger 82.42 Ellen Ammons 44.10
Michael Dickman 74.43 Edward Willins 41.16
Robert Carter 74.21 Michael Dickman 40.60
SECTIONAL MASTER OF THE YEAR
Lorna Davis 210.08 Lorna Davis 89.95
Shirley Davis 81.34 Elmer Hubka 41.74
Dorothy Wierwille 68.89 Bill Childers 37.70
REGIONAL MASTER OF THE YEAR
Jerry Katz 188.87 Mary Segal 46.35
Joann Katz 188.43 Philomena Dillhoff 40.72
Gerry Mirus 100.84 Robert Nerenberg 39.49
NABC MASTER OF THE YEAR
Walter Bunker 131.71 Sylvia Peters 74.72
Sylvia Peters 124.67 Walter Bunker 61.66
Sherby Chernin 121.61 Sherby Chernin 54.65
LIFE MASTER OF THE YEAR
Charles Reynolds 458.80 George Charrier 54.21
James Bush 164.13 Elena Hickman 46.63
Elena Hickman 151.68 Charles Reynolds 43.50
BRONZE LIFE MASTER OF THE YEAR
Leslie Reynolds 439.34 Edward Long 110.06
Amitabh Raturi 216.35 Leslie Reynolds 85.19
Anton Habash 170.83 Jerry Violetta 80.34
SILVER LIFE MASTER OF THE YEAR
Diane Travis 339.71 Jacqueline Meyers 111.53
Joseph Muenks 282.39 Susan Goodman 96.81
Barbara Levinson 186.32 Nancy Luetge 83.62
GOLD LIFE MASTER OF THE YEAR
Frederic Pollack 211.01 Frederic Pollack 84.60
Bruce Parent 204.18 Ronald Babcock 83.42
Nancy Sachs 155.35 Nancy Sachs 49.43
GRAND LIFE MASTER OF THE YEAR
Norman Coombs 1028.67 Norman Coombs 40.18
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Director’s Nightmare
by Jodie Kieffer
One of the most common partnership misunderstandings comes when opponents overcall our 1NT. Many people have never discussed if they are playing systems on or
off, if their next bid is now a transfer, or natural, and what all the bids now mean. As a director, this becomes a big problem because we are usually left to sort out what to do when misinformation occurs as a result of not having discussed this situation before it happens. As a general rule, you are supposed to assume you cannot hear or see anything that comes from partner aside from his/her bids, as if partner is behind a screen. This means, if you meant your bid as natural, and partner alerts it, this alert is unauthorized information to you. You have to bid as if you did not hear it. If you intended your bid as a transfer, and partner neglects to say "transfer", you must bid as if your partner did say transfer, as her failure to say transfer is unauthorized information to you.
I know this is a very confusing area for a lot of players, but an area that is also difficult for the director to help restore to equity. One very simple way to avoid this entire situation is to have a small discussion with your partner regarding your agreements over interference by opponents over your 1NT. What do your bids mean if the opponent doubles? What do they mean if that double is showing a single suit as opposed to being penalty? What do your bids mean if the opponent makes a two-suited bid? A single-suited bid? What are your agreements if the opponents bid is artificial and you do not know their suit?
Spending a few minutes sorting out your agreements in these situations saves everybody the frustration of having the director at the table. We all make mistakes, and everybody has misbid, but if you take just a few minutes to work out what you are doing when opponents get in your way, it can be tremendously helpful to your side as well as to your friendly neighborhood director!
Novice Cincinnati Team Scores Big in Louisville Knockouts
Even though Cincinnati players Michael Pierce, Richard Pleshek, Steve and Ellie Megerle were the team with the fewest masterpoints (a total of only 62 points!), they didn’t use the handicap given to them in the Handicapped Knockouts at the Louisville Sectional on February 17th. They were undefeated and beat all the other teams
head-to-head to win the event straight up!
Here’s how Michael (South) and Richard (North) bid one exciting hand:
N/S Vulnerable North
Axxxx
Kx
10
AKJxx
South
Void
AQ
AKQJxxxxx
Xx
S W N E
2C P 2S P
4N P 5H P
7N P P P
West led a club and when the diamonds broke favorably, Michael claimed, making 7,
Bidding at the other table went a lot differently. South preempted with 5D and North responded with a 6D bid. They made 7 Diamonds, but the Pierce team racked up 13 IMP points on their way to an 83-17 victory in the Semi-Finals and a spot in the Finals Saturday night. They went on to win the Finals in a close 61-53 match.
This proves even new players can win big in tournaments against players with much more experience. We’ll expect to see many more victories from this promising team!
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♠ ♥ TOURNAMENT WINNERS ♦ ♣
Cincinnati Spring Sectional, March 30-April 1, 2001
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Friday Afternoon, Stratified Open Pairs
Flight A: 1. Nancy Sachs-Linda Wolber
2. Kay Mulford-Jackie Toth
Flight B: 1. Sanford Franklin-Eve Horwitz
2. Jerry Violetta-Laura Owens
Flight C: 1. Mark Newkirk-Kenneth Recob
2. Susan Westerling-Maurine Kuiken
Friday Afternoon, 199er Stratified Pairs
Flight A: 1. Thomas & Sue Terwilliger
2. Michael Pierce-Richard Pleshek
Flight B/C: 1. Michael Pierce-Richard Pleshek
2. Philip & Louise Stein
Friday Evening, Stratified Open Pairs
Flight A: 1. Amy & Joe Fisher
2. Elena Hickman-Marvin Comer
Flight B: 1. Marilyn Braun-Lois Cohen
2. Jerry Violetta-Laura Owens
Flight C: 1. Myrna Rosen-Harret Spiegel
2. Richard Magnus-Anita Mangold
Friday Evening, Stratified 199er Pairs
Flight A: 2. Thomas Hillger-Ray Tolstein
Saturday Morning, Stratified Open Pairs
Flight A/B: 1. Dan Worobetz-Della Worobetz
2. James Dahlmeier-Victoria Gregory
Saturday Afternoon, Stratified Open Pairs
Flight A: 2. Deborah Cummings-Agnes De Lany
Flight B: 2. Ellen Ammons-Shirley Oder
Flight C: 1. Ellen Ammons-Shirley Oder
2. Richard Magnus-Anita Mangold
Saturday Afternoon, Stratified 199er Pairs
Flight A: 2. Patrick Lammers-Jeanette Katon
Flight B/C: 1. Sylvia Maltz-Sue Greenberg
Saturday Evening, Stratified Open Pairs
Flight A: 1. Bruce Parent-Norman Coombs
Flight B: 1. Ralph Terbrueggen-John Meckstroth
2. Paul Pschesang-Walter Bunker
Flight C: 1. Ralph Terbrueggen-John Meckstroth
2. Terry Briscoe-Gerald Black
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Sunday, Team of Two Pairs
Flight A: 2./Flight B: 1. Walter Bunker-Mary Segal-Sherby Chernin-Ed Lee
Sunday Morning, 199er Swiss Teams
Flight A: 2. Terry Briscoe-Michele Staats-Robert & Suzann Wurster
Flight B: 1. Michael Pierce-Richard Pleshek-Ellie Megerle-Stephen Megerle
Sunday Afternoon, 199er Swiss Team
Flight A: 1. Tonette DeAngelis-Cecelia Gleisinger-June Cushman-Gayle Niemann
Flight B: 1. Michael Pierce-Richard Pleshek-Ellie Megerle-Stephen Megerle
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CBA LIBRARY NEWS
RETURNING BOOKS
When returning books to the CBA Library, please leave them in the box marked “Returned Books” in the Directors’ Room at the Bridge Club. Do not leave them on top of the library bookcase.