ACBL Unit 431, District 19, Victoria BC
As part of its fund-raising efforts, the Canadian Institute for the Blind is hosting several events including this one of special interest to bridge players. It features several well-known local players.
Tickets are available for $20 at https://hibid.ca/events/cnib-bridging-barriers
(once there, scroll down about a page to CNIB Bridge Workshop)
Congratulations to the follow Unit 431 players whose names are in lights on the ACBL website for placing in the Hollywood Magic Regional Tournament Overalls, held February 18 to 21, on BBO.
Let us know of any other notable results we might have missed at this tournament or in other games!
We update our website regularly to reflect changes in the local bridge scene.
For example, at the beginning of each month, we publish new Masterpoint Milestones, celebrating Victoria players who have reached new Masterpoint ranks.
Our bidding quiz, It’s Your Call, Victoria is updated monthly. The current quiz runs until February 20. Click here to play!
Sadly, we also need to occasionally update our In Memoriam page. Three Victoria players passed away recently. You can access obituaries here.
And if you have any news you would like to share with the local bridge community, please feel free to send us your item, via the “Contact Us” button found at the upper right corner of the page.
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind is putting on a fundraising bridge game, Bridging Barriers Charity Game. Here’s a chance to contribute to a worthy cause while enjoying your favourite game.
The cost is $50, eligible for an income tax receipt for the whole amount.
(Please disregard previous information stating receipt was for $35.)
The Unit 431 Board of Directors will hold the annual AGM on Sunday, February 28, 2021, at 3pm, by Zoom. This allows time for the Sunday mentor game to complete, and for players to log on to the AGM.
Instructions for joining the meeting will be sent to all members several days in advance of the AGM, along with an agenda and an information package, so members can review reports from the Board and the slate of candidates for election to Board vacancies. Nominations will close at the AGM.
A quorum of 20 members is needed to conduct business such as the election of Board members and approval of the financial report. We hope you can attend. We plan to keep the meeting to approximately 30 minutes.
Thank you,
ACBL Unit 431 Board of Directors
We had a great turnout for our first quiz of the year with 49 players submitting results for January. Congratulations to Don Copeland who won a second consecutive month with 470 points out of a possible 500. He receives a free game at VICTORIA CLUBS on BBO.
Will anyone challenge our “Ken Jennings” in 2021?
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 February 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 has just sent us the list of new masterpoint rank holders for December. Heading the tally are Gold Life Master Van Buchanan and Ruby Life Master Ev Goedhart.
Congratulation to both of them as well as to the other December awardees.
Full details can be found on our Masterpoint Milestones page, located under “Members” in the top menu of Unit 431’s website, bridgevictoria.ca.
Jim has been organizing and teaching duplicate bridge at Goward House for eleven years, now. Today’s TC featured a piece on his accomplishments (it’s in the 55+ Magazine section).
Click on this link to read the article.
As 2020 fades away, it’s time for a year-end report. Our quiz has been now running for four complete years. Although the format remains the same, we’ve significantly improved the interface this year, for a friendlier user experience. We have also added a new scoring system to determine who’s doing well during the year, even if they don’t win outright in any particular month. This is shown in the leaderboard, which includes the top 10 players and is updated monthly. For 2020, after a heated battle for first place, John Miller has come out on top. Click here to see the final results.
And let’s not forget the results for December:
Thirty-nine players submitted results for December. Congratulations to Don Copeland who won with 460 points out of a possible 500. He receives a free game at VICTORIA CLUBS on BBO.
Of note, Don Copeland and John Miller are the only two players to have won IYC 5 times. Who knows what might happen in 2021?
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 January 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.
On the first of each month, we receive from ACBL the list of new masterpoint rank holders for the previous month. Terry Foster and Heather Erskine, tireless organizers of the Mentor Games are both featured, having attained Ruby Life Master and Silver Life Master respectively. Congratulation to both of them as well as to the other November awardees.
You can see more on our Masterpoint Milestones page, located under “Members” in the top menu of Unit 431’s website, bridgevictoria.ca.
If you know people who might be interested in learning bridge, why not point them to this free online resource?
Head to our Facebook page for detailed information.
We are saddened by the recent passing of two Victoria players, Maxine Thomas and Cathy Bryce.
And we just learned that Paul d’Orban had died in May.
Links to their obituaries, can be found on our “In Memoriam” page, in the Members section of our website.
If you wish to add a short tribute to their entry, please send it to the webmaster.
Note that entries are sorted in reverse chronological order of the death.
We had exceptional participation for our little game. Eighty submissions were received. Almost everyone found at least one typo. Several people also reported awkward or grammatically ambiguous sentences.
As to the typos themselves, 58 players reported “We organizes…”, 19 reported “by an board…” including four who flagged both of them.
Needless to say, the prize winner had to be determined by random draw among eligible participants (four board members sportingly participated, knowing they would be ineligible).
The winner of Max Hardy’s 2/1 book is Sophie Watt. Congratulations, Sophie!
The page has now been corrected. However, should you see anything on the website which needs to be changed, please let us know by clicking on the “Contact Us” button. It will only take you a few seconds. You can also send us your comments and suggestions the same way.
ACBL states that “The objective of the Alert system is for both pairs at the table to have equal access to all information contained in any auction. In order to meet this goal, it is necessary that all players understand and practice the principles of Full Disclosure and Active Ethics. Ethical bridge players will recognize the obligation to give complete explanations. They will accept the fact that any such information is entirely for the benefit of the opponents, and may not be used to assist their own partnership.” (from ACBL Alert Procedures)
Self-alerting of bids is one of the unexpected benefits of playing on BBO. Only opponents get to see your self-alert. Your partner is unaware that you even alerted, thus minimizing unauthorized information. Of course you have to do it the right way, which means NOT using the chat box. Click here if you’re unsure of how to do it.
You should therefore have no qualms about alerting a possibly ambiguous bid since you are not conveying unauthorized information to your partner by doing so.
Larry Cohen in a 2015 article gives some interesting examples of possibly alertable bids.
With self-alerting, no need to keep track of ACBL rulings – just alert every not-so-obvious bid. Once you get used to self-alerting, you will find it becomes a natural part of the bidding process. Don’t forget that announcements, such as transfers, are also alertable.
Finally, if you’re unsure of the meaning of an opponent’s bid, click on it to elicit a response from the bidder.
JPW
We had 41 players submitting results this month.
Glen Thornborough won with a respectable 450 points out of a possible 500. He receives a free game at VICTORIA CLUBS on BBO.
All participants in the October game will be receiving a personalized email with their detailed scores.
Our new scoring system shows who’s doing well during the year. The leaderboard, which includes the top 10 players is updated monthly. It’s a horse race, with the first two players again switching places this month. And several others are hot on their heels. Two more months to go before we crown the winner for 2020! Click here to find out more.
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 November 2020 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 published a document earlier this year (Convention Charts 2020) showing permissible bidding conventions for different types of games and competitions.
Club games will usually be conducted under the Open Chart. However, restricted games, such as mentor games should use either Basic or Basic+. Unit 431 mentor games will henceforth be using Basic+.
Here is an excerpt from the ACBL document, showing both the Basic and Basic+ Charts, so you can see the differences between them.
Lame pun aside, if you’re looking for gold, you might want to try ACBL’s “Fall into Bridge” online tourney, Oct 15-18. There are events available for all levels of players.
You’ll need to sign up with a partner. Both of you will require a BBO username (aka “handle”). If you need info on how to get one, or indeed on any other aspect of BBO, click on BBO🔺 in the top menu of this page.
A veritable cornucopia of gold, ruby and silver hit Victoria this September with a new Gold Life Master, a Ruby LM, two Silver LMs and a newly minted Life Master.
In addition, nine other players attained new Master ranks on their way up to Life Master status.
Find out who they are on our Masterpoint Milestones page. And if they’re friends of yours, why don’t you send them a congratulatory email since you probably won’t be seeing them in person for a while!
BBO is having a Carnival weekend with some weird and wacky games. Check it out here.
For more information on BBO (local games, how to play, etc) click on BBO in the top menu of this page, or in fact any page on the website.
For a second consecutive month 38 players submitted results.
Mike Dorn Wiss won the September quiz with 470 points (out of a possible 500). He receives a free game at VICTORIA CLUBS on BBO.
All participants in the September game have received a personalized email with their detailed scores.
Our new scoring system shows who’s doing well during the year. The leaderboard, which includes the top 10 players is updated monthly. There’s a close race going on between the first 2 players who traded places this month. Click here to find out more.
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 October 2020 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.
