ACBL Unit 431, District 19, Victoria BC
Nev Hircock, our Bridge Buzz editor, has been working hard preparing a very interesting and relevant April 2020 edition.
Due to the current situation, no paper copies have been printed. You’ll find it exclusively on our website, bridgevictoria.ca.
Cast your eyes upward to the top menu and there it is: The Bridge Buzz.
You could also just click on this direct link: The Bridge Buzz.
Nine days ago, I received an email from Ed Crews, who was looking for an easy way to connect and play with local players on BBO (bridgebase.com). Ed suggested making available a list of people and their username (handle).
To implement this excellent idea, I set up a web page on our Unit 431 website for interested local players to share their handles. We had a great response and as of today, 69 Victorians have signed up. The page is only accessible to players who have registered. If you wish to do so, just go to bridgevictoria.ca/register-bbo and follow the instructions.
One of the things you can do on BBO is support your local clubs by playing one of the three daily SYC games (under ACBL World). 80% of the table fee goes to your local club. ACBL knows where you play and distributes the money accordingly.
And for a change of pace, you can of course play our online bidding game, It’s Your Call, Victoria, right on our website! (bridgevictoria.ca/members/its-your-call-victoria/)
Feel free to contact me at webmaster@bridgevictoria.ca if you have any questions.
JP
Dear Victoria player,
How are you getting your bridge fix during these trying times? There are a number of online resources, such as BBO where you can play with and against friends, robots and perfect strangers.
Closer to home, you could try our great bidding game, available to all Unit 431 members on this very website. We have 40-50 regulars who participate every month. Winners get a free play valid at all local clubs (perhaps not useable right now…) and they also get bragging rights.
This month’s winner is Bill Gibson with an impressive 480 points out of a possible 500. Close second is perennial champion John Miller with 470. Full details are found here.
The April quiz is now online. If you haven’t played it yet, no worries, complete instructions are given on how to play. Give it a try!
All local clubs being closed for an indeterminate period, players are looking for alternatives. Online bridge playing is one of these.
BBO (Bridge Base Online) offers a variety of different games, some which allow you to win ACBL masterpoints. You can play by yourself or with your partner, against robots or other human players. BBO has just added a game designed to help your local clubs. Here’s an excerpt from their announcement:
“Starting Thursday, March 19, daily at 5 p.m. Eastern time, ACBL members can play with any other ACBL member in a specially created game on BBO and earn black masterpoints®. When you play in one of these games, the majority of your table fees will be given back to your club. This way, you can help to support your club while also having the opportunity to win black masterpoints. “
Unfortunately, the first game was limited to 300 persons and was quickly swamped. They are now considering adding a 7:30 pm Eastern (4:30 pm our time) game.
Another thing you can do on BBO is set up a table and invite 3 friends. It’s free and you can play as long as you want.
Tournaments are being cancelled: The Victoria Spring Sectional, and Vancouver Regional, scheduled for April have both been cancelled.
The ACBL District 19 Board will be meeting online on April 21 and hope to be in a position to make a decision about the 2020 Penticton Regional at that time. Members are advised not to make nonrefundable deposits on accommodation or transportation.
We will strive to keep Unit 431 members updated with any relevant news concerning bridge. Check our site regularly.
After carefully listening to the advice of our Provincial Health Officer regarding the COVID-19 situation in our region, the Unit 431 Board of Directors has cancelled the Victoria Spring Sectional, which was planned for April 3-5, 2020. We know you will agree the health and wellbeing of our members, their families and our community is the most important consideration. At this time, there is no plan to reschedule the tournament.
Monterey Bridge Club has just joined Victoria Bridge Centre and Island Bridge Club in announcing clubs will be closed effective Monday, March 16, until further notice. More information is available on their websites by clicking on the above links. In the meantime, Nev and Rita are proposing an online teaching programme through Ben-Hir, for participants to practice bidding, declarer play and defence. For more information, contact Nev at hircockn@gmail.com.
The Unit’s March 29 Mentor Game (at VBC) is also cancelled.
We had a record participation of 54 players in the February quiz!
John Miller won with 460 points out of a possible 500. He receives a free play, valid at local clubs, courtesy of Unit 431.
See detailed results here: It’s Your Call February results
Erratum: Your webmaster goofed and bid the wrong suit. This weekend’s tournament was of course the Ace of Hearts, not Diamonds!
Here’s the corrected version of the post:
The Ace of Hearts Sectional for players with fewer than 200 master points was held on Saturday February 15.
Here are the winners!
Unit 431’s Annual General Meeting will be held on Sunday, February 23, 2020 starting at 12:30 pm. Plan to attend and choose your new Unit Board!
The AGM will be followed by a fun, individual movement duplicate bridge game ($5)
Free coffee and cookies!
Free pizza and pop after the game!
Read all about it in the flyer.
The Victoria bridge community was saddened by the death of Dr James (Robbie) Robinson who passed away last Thursday while feeding the hummingbirds on his balcony. Robbie was 96 and not in the best of health with heart problems.
We will all miss him.
Our Unit 431 website, bridgevictoria.ca, was migrated to a new hosting provider this morning (January 8). Users should not notice any differences, however if you encounter any issues, please let the webmaster know by emailing him at webmaster@bridgevictoria.ca.
They scored 460 (out of a possible 500) and will each receive a free game, valid at local clubs, courtesy of Unit 431.
All participants in the December game have received a personalized email with their detailed score.
Find the complete list of participants and scores under It’s Your Call-Results in the MEMBERS 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 play the January 2020 quiz, either click here, or hover your mouse over Members (at top of page) to see a pull-down menu of choices, one of which is It’s Your Call, Victoria!
OK, there might be a bit of hyperbole in the title, but we did have a fabulous Christmas party.
Over 120 people enjoyed the pre-dinner entertainment which included the hilarious Yarborough awards, a musical event featuring not three, but four kings of Orient, and a singalong in which everyone joined.
The overall winners of the 2-section bridge game were Ewa Zwicky and Brian Fraser with 66.4%, which gave them an impressive 5.83 MPs. They also get their names engraved on the Sam Duprau Trophy (pictured).
For a complete pictorial coverage of the Christmas party, please go the Unit’s Facebook page. There are quite a few items (photos and videos), so don’t be afraid to scroll down to see them all.
Mike scored of 470 (out of a possible 500) and receives a free game, valid at local clubs, courtesy of Unit 431.
All participants have received a personalized email with their detailed score.
Find the complete list of participants and scores under It’s Your Call-Results in the MEMBERS 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 play the December 2019 quiz, either click here, or hover your mouse over MEMBERS (at top of page) to see a pull-down menu of choices, one of which is It’s Your Call, Victoria!
Duplicate Light that is, an introduction to duplicate bridge for social bridge players.
Come join us every Wednesday for a gentle, friendly game to learn the ins and outs of duplicate. Game starts at 12:15 with registration at noon at St Aidan’s Church. Find complete details under “Events” in the top menu, or click here for direct access.
Bob won for the second time this year with a score of 490 (out of a possible 500) and receives a free game, valid at local clubs, courtesy of Unit 431.
All participants have received a personalized email with their detailed score.
Find the complete list of participants and scores under It’s Your Call-Results in the MEMBERS section at the top of the page. For quicker access, follow this link.
To play the November 2019 quiz, either click here, or hover your mouse over MEMBERS (at top of page) to see a pull-down menu of choices, one of which is It’s Your Call, Victoria!
Constant readers (should there be any) will have noticed the right sidebar article on bridge etiquette. There is a lot to say on the topic and I try to change the content from time to time.
For the past couple of months, I had a piece on claims and concessions, arguing that when the conclusion of the game is no longer in doubt, there is no point in playing it out. The player in position to do so (generally the declarer) should claim or concede as soon as possible.
I’ve now gone back to basics with a series of Do’s and Don’ts, which most might agree with. If you don’t, let me know, and I’ll post your arguments.
My favourite of them all:
This is especially true when you’re on lead. Take example on our dear departed friend Bela. As soon as the bidding is over, place your card face down. You should be able to remember the contract for the next few seconds and write it down once play has started.
Pictures from the Ace of Spades are posted on our Facebook page. Look to your right!
Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed a new addition to our website. The right sidebar, on every page, now shows our Facebook page, which you can see in full by clicking on the FB icon.
Kudos to Jill Stainforth and Catherine Mustafa for initiating and maintaining our social media presence.
John scored a rare 500 and receives a free game, valid at local clubs, courtesy of Unit 431.
All participants will receive a personalized email with their detailed score within the next few days.
Find the complete list of participants and scores under It’s Your Call-Results in the MEMBERS section at the top of the page. For quicker access, follow this link.
To play the October 2019 quiz, either click here, or hover your mouse over MEMBERS (at top of page) to see a pull-down menu of choices, one of which is It’s Your Call, Victoria!