Author: JP Weber

We have a winner for the August It’s Your Call, Victoria!

JP Weber It's Your Call, What's New

 

Congratulations to Shelley Burnham who scored a perfect 500 in the August quiz. She receives a free game at VICTORIA CLUBS on BBO.

Find the complete list of participants and scores under IYC Monthly Results in the It’s Your Call section at the top of the page. For quicker access, follow this link. You can also see comments from participants and even add your own!

And to see who’s ahead in the hotly contested race for top annual player, check out the Leaderboard.

To play in the September 2021 quiz, either click here, or hover your mouse over It’s Your Call (at top of page) to see a pull-down menu of choices.

Try our directory quiz and win a prize!

JP Weber What's New

Our unit member directory is now exclusively online, and with over 700 entries, it’s a great resource to find other local players.

If you’re not sure how to use the directory, our short quiz will help you get comfortable with it. The top three winners will each receive a free play valid on BBO.

The directory is private and accessible only by registered Victoria players, all of whom received a personal username and password last April. You can also use your email instead of your username. If you have forgotten your password (no worries, it happens!), simply request a new one from the login screen. And if you need help, just click on the “Contact Us” button on the right of the page.

How to play the quiz

  1. Click on “Log In” in the top menu (on the right)
  2. Enter your username (or email) and password
  3. You are now on the directory page. The quiz is on the right side of the page.
  4. Fill in the answers. There is no need for tedious counting, but be sure to use the “sort” and “search” features of the directory to quickly find what you’re looking for.
  5. The deadline for submissions is Monday, September 6, 2021 at 9 pm.

You might find it easier to do this on a large screen (computer) rather than a phone, but it will work on any device. Feel free to try again if you didn’t like your first answers. Only the last set of results you submit will be considered.

Public service announcement

JP Weber What's New

You are probably aware that there will be a federal election on September 20.

As with preceding ones, Elections Canada is looking to hire poll workers. This could be of interest to bridge players as they have the necessary competences, which include:

• Basic literacy skills (reading, writing and comprehension)
• Basic interpersonal skills, including the ability to exercise impartiality and to deal with people who may be impatient
• Ability to serve electors with disabilities
• Ability to perform repetitive tasks
• Basic analytical skills
• Good attention to detail
• Ability to follow directions and adhere to standards and safety measures
• Ability to learn quickly
• Ability to work long days (at least 13 hours)

For more information, go to Election Canada’s website

It’s Your Call July results are in!

JP Weber It's Your Call, What's New

Participation rebounded from last month’s nadir with forty-two players submitting results for the July quiz.   

Sheldon Spier won with an impressive score: 470 out of a possible 500. He receives a free game at VICTORIA CLUBS on BBO.

Find the complete list of participants and scores under IYC Monthly Results in the It’s Your Call section at the top of the page. For quicker access, follow this link. You can also see comments from participants and even add your own!

And to see who’s ahead in the hotly contested race for top annual player, check out the Leaderboard.

To play in the August 2021 quiz, either click here, or hover your mouse over It’s Your Call (at top of page) to see a pull-down menu of choices.

We have a new Life Master!

JP Weber Members, What's New

At the beginning of each month, ACBL sends us the list of new masterpoint rank holders for the previous month. 

To find out who our new life master is, go to the Masterpoint Milestones page, located under “Members” in the top menu of Unit 431’s website, bridgevictoria.ca. You will also see what other players are climbing up the masterpoint ranks.

Should you have any questions or comments regarding Masterpoint Milestones or other aspects of our website, please click on the “Contact Us” button in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

Results for the June It’s Your Call, Victoria!

JP Weber What's New

Our little quiz reached a participation nadir with only 28 players submitting results for June.  Not surprising, perhaps, with the longer days and nice weather we’re currently enjoying.

Congratulations to Cliff Kindree who won with an impressive 460 out of a possible 500. He receives a free game at VICTORIA CLUBS on BBO.

Find the complete list of participants and scores under IYC Monthly Results in the It’s Your Call section at the top of the page. For quicker access, follow this link. You can also see comments from participants and even add your own!

And to see who’s ahead in the hotly contested race for top annual player, check out the Leaderboard.

To play in the July 2021 quiz, either click here, or hover your mouse over It’s Your Call (at top of page) to see a pull-down menu of choices.

Masterpoint Milestones updated!

JP Weber Members, What's New

At the start of each month,  ACBL sends us the list of new masterpoint rank holders for the previous month. 

Our updated roster includes a new Bronze Life Master and a new Life Master. For the full picture, go to the Masterpoint Milestones page, located under “Members” in the top menu of Unit 431’s website, bridgevictoria.ca.

Should you have any questions or comments regarding Masterpoint Milestones or other aspects of our website, please click on the “Contact Us” button in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

Finding the online directory and other tips

JP Weber Members, What's New

Our website, www.bridgevictoria.ca, is dedicated to providing useful and timely information to Victoria bridge players. Here are  four tips to help you make the most use of it.

1) Online directory

The online directory is private and accessible only by registered Victoria players. Last month, I sent all of you a username and password to allow access. You can also use your email in lieu of your username.

Once you’re on the website, you can reach the directory by clicking on the “Log in” item in the top menu. As soon as you’re logged in, you will be taken to the directory.

If you have forgotten your password, you can request a new one.

2) Getting the latest news automatically

The website consists of pages and posts. Pages contain relatively permanent information, such as the list of board members, games on BBO, Masterpoint Milestones, etc. They are updated regularly, but unless you go onto them, you won’t know.

This is where posts come in. Posts are short announcements, found under “What’s New”. They will inform you of new developments such as new events or updates to pages. If you don’t want to miss any, you can choose to receive them by email by clicking on the Subscribe button, at the bottom of each page. Currently, 95 Victoria players have subscribed to this service.

Posts have a publication date, author and other info in the header, as in this example:

Notice the publication date (April 22, 2021), the post author and categories (in blue). If you’re logged in, you can add a comment, by clicking on the speech bubble ( ) which currently shows no (0) comments for this post.

3) Finding anything on the website

There is a Search box on every page. Just type in a relevant word or short phrase. For example, “Christmas” to look at pictures of past Christmas parties.

4) Asking for help

If you need any help using the website, just click on a “Contact Us” button. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

A new Bridge Buzz is now available for download!

JP Weber Bridge Buzz, What's New

Our Communications Coordinator, Madeleine Tremblay, has put pen to paper (literally – she writes with a fountain pen) and produced a stunning new edition of the Bridge Buzz, which as you all know is our Unit’s newsletter.

You may remember the olden days when copies of the BB were available at clubs. Given the current situation, that’s no longer possible so you will need to download it from our website. Just head to the Bridge Buzz page to do so. It’s where you’d expect to find it, under Members. However, for your convenience, here’s a direct link to the Bridge Buzz page.

Enjoy! And Madeleine will surely appreciate your feedback, which you can send her at communications@bridgevictoria.ca

Claim early, claim often!

JP Weber BBO, What's New

A couple of weeks ago, I posted some etiquette suggestions specifically for online playing. Several of them addressed slow play, aka the bane of BBO. (see for example the October 2020 editorial in ACBL’s Bridge Bulletin). Scroll down the right sidebar to read them.

Left unmentioned was a very important aspect of online play: claiming in a timely fashion,  as soon as the conclusion of the deal is obvious. This is not only courteous for your opponents and partner, it shows you actually know what you’re doing. Opps can also concede under the same circumstances but they often cannot be sure that their partner does not hold a winning card, so it’s usually up to declarer to make the call.

The title of this post is actually taken from an article by District 18’s Advocate in which he argues the case convincingly.

Here are a couple of his tips for online players:

  • Playing online, saving time is very important, so always claim or concede as early as possible. Your cyber opponents and your partner expect you to click the “Claim” button as soon as you know the likely result, even in cases where there may be a chance for an overtrick.
  • If you’re playing against beginners or known skeptics, it may save time to actually play out a few extra tricks before you make your “obvious” claim. Choose a point where the end position will be clear and simple and, best, all the trumps have been drawn.
  • Don’t insult your opponents’ intelligence by running an Idiot Squeeze, where you have an obvious-to-everyone loser, but you play out all 13 tricks in the hope that the defenders will make a bonehead discard or, even less sportsmanlike, that one will revoke. Accept that they aren’t going to pitch their ace and just concede the trick. You may need the time for a tougher problem on the next board.
  • Never play out all the tricks when you know you have the rest. This is actually a violation of bridge proprieties. According to Law 74, a player should refrain from “prolonging play unnecessarily (as in playing on although he knows that all the tricks are surely his) for the purpose of disconcerting an opponent”.

 

 

It’s Your Call April Results

JP Weber It's Your Call, What's New

Forty players submitted results for April. Congratulations to Michael Cockerell who won with a near-perfect 490 out of a possible 500. He receives a free game at VICTORIA CLUBS on BBO.

Find the complete list of participants and scores under IYC Monthly Results in the It’s Your Call section at the top of the page. For quicker access, follow this link. You can also see comments from participants and even add your own!

And to see who’s ahead in the hotly contested race for top annual player, check out the Leaderboard.

To play in the May 2021 quiz, either click here, or hover your mouse over It’s Your Call (at top of page) to see a pull-down menu of choices.

Online bridge etiquette

JP Weber BBO, What's New

Sharp-eyed readers may have noticed some changes in our sidebar bridge etiquette column.

The suggestions are now more relevant to online playing.

As Paul Linxwiler aptly noted in his November 2020 Bridge Bulletin editorial, slow play online is the most common topic of complaint from Bridge Bulletin readers.  Accordingly, several bullet points address aspects of this topic.

Enjoy and keep on playing online… in tempo!

And if you have any word of wisdom you’d like us to add to our etiquette column, please send it via the Contact Us button.

 

 

 

 

A successful CNIB fundraiser

JP Weber Tournaments and Events, What's New

Thank you all Victoria bridge players who participated in CNIB’s fundraising bridge game, Bridging Barriers Charity Game, a couple of weeks ago. You really made a difference as you can see from the following numbers.

There were 150 participants between the online auction and bridge game. Of these, 55 played in the bridge game.

The total number of players who were based on Vancouver Island was 36, with 20 from Victoria specifically.

Overall, the event raised $10,790.00. For more information on CNIB’s program, follow this link.

Well done, everyone!

New masterpoint ranks for February

JP Weber Members, What's New

At the start of each month, we receive from ACBL the list of new masterpoint rank holders for the previous month. 

You can find all of the February 2021 honourees on our Masterpoint Milestones page, located under “Members” in the top menu of Unit 431’s website, bridgevictoria.ca.

And if you have any question or comment, just click on the “Contact Us” button in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

It’s Your Call February Results

JP Weber It's Your Call, What's New

Thirty-six  players submitted results for February. Congratulations to Sheldon Spier who won with 390 points out of a possible 500. He receives a free game at VICTORIA CLUBS on BBO.

Find the complete list of participants and scores under IYC Monthly Results in the It’s Your Call section at the top of the page. For quicker access, follow this link. You can also check comments from participants and even add your own!

To check out the March 2021 quiz, either click here, or hover your mouse over It’s Your Call (at top of page) to see a pull-down menu of choices.

ACBL Unit 431, Victoria