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Last updated : Oct 31, 2024 08:01 EDT |
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The New England Royal Sectional Tournament at Clubs is the week of October 14. All Bay State Bridge games this week award extra masterpoints with equal parts gold , red , silver , and black . All of our games this week are scored with other in-person clubs throughout New England. Click here for district-wide overall results and final masterpoint awards.
(Note that masterpoint awards are initially reported as all silver ; they're changed to ¼ each gold , red , silver , and black at the end of the week.)
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Last updated : Oct 24, 2024 11:41 EDT |
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Tsuneko Eustace Memorial September 25 |
Our game Wednesday noon, September 25, will be in memory of Tsuneko Eustace, a long-time player at our club and the Newton and Westwood clubs in beforetimes. Please bring food and memories to share.
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Last updated : Oct 2, 2024 10:25 EDT |
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July 4 Cookout |
By popular demand, we'll gather for a Fourth-of-July cookout before the noon game! Please join us Thursday at 11:30 in Wellesley. We'll have hamburgers, hot dogs, and bratwurst. Please bring a side dish to share.
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Last updated : Jul 8, 2024 10:23 EDT |
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The New England Royal Sectional Tournament at Clubs is the week of May 20. All Bay State Bridge games this week award extra masterpoints with equal parts gold , red , silver , and black . All of our games this week are scored with other in-person clubs throughout New England. Click here for district-wide overall results and final masterpoint awards.
(Note that masterpoint awards are initially reported as all silver ; they're changed to ¼ each gold , red , silver , and black at the end of the week.)
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Last updated : Jun 11, 2024 07:29 EDT |
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Zach Grossack Lessons and Games: Defensive Signals |
What: lessons on defensive signals + open and 499er games
When: Tuesdays, 2024 March 5 and 12; lessons at 9:15, open and 499er games at 10:30
Teacher: Zach Grossack
Fee: $30 for lesson and game
Where: Italo American Educational Club, 75 Pleasant Street, Wellesley (How to Find Us)
No preregistration—just come!
Zach Grossack continues his lesson+game series on the first two Tuesdays in March. The lessons will focus on defensive signals.
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Last updated : May 20, 2024 15:33 EDT |
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Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State Bridge players who advanced in masterpoint rank in December, including Life Masters Joe Lanzel, Fred Wardwell, and Sam Wardwell!
Congratulations to Bay State Bridge players who did well in 2023 masterpoint races!
- First in unit Mini-McKenney races:
- Unit 108 (Eastern Massachusetts): Joe Lanzel (5-20), Cesare Verdi (20-50), Robin Zelle (50-100), Doug Costello (100-200), Mine Usluel (300-500), Walter Driscoll (500-1000), Emma Kolesnik (1000-1500), Ethan Wood (1500-2500), Larry Lebowitz (2500-3500), Harrison Luba (3500-5000), Natalie Bassil (5000-7500), Alan Watson (7500-10,000), and Zach Grossack (over 10,000).
- Unit 113 (Central Massachusetts): Eric Xiao (500-1000) and Jeff Xiao (1000-1500).
- Lanzel, Verdi, Eric Xiao, Wood, Lebowitz, Luba, Bassil, Watson, and Grossack were first in District 25 (New England).
- Lanzel, Wood, Grossack, Harrison Luba, and Eric Xiao were first, second, fifth, tenth, and tenth respectively ACBL-wide.
- First in unit Helen Shanbrom Ace of Clubs races:
- Unit 108: Cesare Verdi (20-50), Doug Costello (100-200), Joe Taverna (300-500), Barbara Tarlin (2500-3500), Cilla Borras (3500-5000), Natalie Bassil (5000-7500), Joe Cappannelli (7500-10,000), and Sheila Gabay (over 10,000).
- Unit 113: Chuck Rossi (1000-1500) and Jeff David (2500-3500)
- Tarlin, Bassil, and Gabay were first in District 25.
- Gabay was fourth ACBL-wide.
- Harrison Luba, Eric Xiao, and Jeff Xiao were the top three youth (under 20) in District 25 and second, eighth, and tenth respectively ACBL-wide.
- Zach Grossack, Harrison Luba, Ethan Wood, Eric Xiao, Jeff Xiao, and Emma Kolesnik were the top six juniors (under 26) in District 25 and first, fourth, sixth, 18th, 20th, and 25th respectively ACBL-wide.
- Zach Grossack and Adam Grossack were the top two players in District 25 and fifth and 22nd respectively ACBL-wide.
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements on our site and Masterpoint Races and Member Rank Achievements on the ACBL site.
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Last updated : Apr 29, 2024 13:32 EDT |
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Barbara Pofcher 1924-2024 |
Barbara Pofcher (Rudolph) of Newton MA and West Brattleboro VT, passed away on April 5, 2024. She was born January 12, 1924. For 59 years she was the beloved wife of the late Harvey Pofcher. She was the loving mother of Steven, Eric (Wendy) and Amy (Enrique). She was also devoted to her seven grandchildren and was a dear sister to the late James Rudolph (Adrienne).
Barbara was an exceptional woman and, being 100 years old, was a role model for many of her younger friends. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1945, where she became an avid bridge card player. After college, she played bridge three times a week and she achieved Life Master status.
Graveside services on Monday, April 8th at 11:00am at the Roxbury Lodge Cemetery, Baker St., West Roxbury.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Fanny Pofcher-Golda Griefman Scholarship Fund at Hebrew SeniorLife, 1200 Centre St., Boston, MA 02131.
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Last updated : Apr 29, 2024 13:14 EDT |
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Traffic Alert for Patriots' Day, Monday, April 15 |
We will hold our 10:30 Wellesley game on Monday, April 15, as usual. Please be aware that the Boston Marathon route runs through the middle of Wellesley on Central Street (Route 135) from Natick to Wellesley Square and on Washington Street (Route 16) from Wellesley Square to Newton. No problem reaching the club via Worcester Road (Route 9) from Route 128 or from other points to the east or west as usual. However, if you have to drive across the marathon route, there are only two places you’ll be able to do that: on Route 9 in Wellesley Hills and on Route 128 in Wellesley Lower Falls. Click here for a map.
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Last updated : Apr 15, 2024 13:52 EDT |
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More Lessons and Games with Zach Grossack |
Zach Grossack will host two lesson+game sessions on defensive signals. The lessons will be on Tuesdays, March 5 and 12, at 9:15 in Wellesley. They will be followed by open and 499er games at 10:30.
Please see our Classes page for full information.
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Last updated : Mar 27, 2024 11:30 EDT |
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Sectional Tournament at Clubs January 8-14 |
The District 25 Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC) is 2024 January 8-14, and all Bay State Bridge games this week award silver points. Scores are compared with other participating New England clubs, and there are lots of extra points for high-ranking pairs overall. Click here for overall awards.
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Last updated : Feb 4, 2024 10:46 EST |
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Zach Grossack Lessons and Games: "All Things Double" |
What: all things double: penalty, takeout, and the many other uses of my favorite bridge bid
When: Wednesdays, 2024 January 3, 10, and 17 31, lesson 10:45-11:45, 999er game 12:00-14:15
The January 17 lesson+game was postponed until January 31.
Teacher: Zach Grossack
Fee: $35 per player for both the lesson and the game; $90 for all three lessons and games if you pay on January 3
Where: Italo American Educational Club, 75 Pleasant Street, Wellesley (How to Find Us)
No preregistration—just come!
Zach writes:
Hello Everyone!
I've just returned from visiting NYC only to quickly turn around onto a plane head to the Fall Nationals in Atlanta. Bridge life on the road.
Thank you if you came to the trial run of our Lesson/Game combo on November 14th! I hope you enjoyed the counting on defense lesson, which was probably new and exciting for most :)
Due to the popularity of the idea, we will be running it more frequently. To start, I will be doing a 3 part mini-lesson series on Wednesdays in January on all things double: penalty, takeout, and the many other uses of my favorite bridge bid. That will start at 10:45. Then we will have an 18 boards 999er game from 12-2:15. You will get hand records with little write ups for the boards we do in class, and of course regular hand records from the duplicate game. January 3, 10, and 17.
The price including the lesson and the entry for the game is $35 per person. If you buy all 3 at once, it's $90. We will collect at the door - no online reservations necessary.
Come with a partner, or come solo and we will find you one.
Tell your friends!
Happy Holidays,
ZG
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Last updated : Feb 4, 2024 10:17 EST |
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Zach Grossack Lessons and Games: "All Things Double" |
Zach Grossack will be back on Wednesdays, January 3, 10, and 17 31, with combination lessons and games.
The January 17 lesson+game was postponed until January 31.
Zach’s topic is "all things double: penalty, takeout, and the many other uses of my favorite bridge bid."
Please see our Classes page for full information.
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Last updated : Feb 3, 2024 16:06 EST |
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"Welcome Back" Games November 27-30 |
The club is open as usual the week of November 27 (during the North American Bridge Championships in Atlanta). All games that week are special “Welcome Back” games that award mucho extra masterpoints—82% sectional rating—at our regular-game price.
- Monday, 10:30, Wellesley: open game—499ers pay $5 (see below)
- Tuesday, 10:00, Wellesley: pregame lesson with Stuart Whittle (free)
- Tuesday, 10:30, Wellesley: open and 499er games
- Tuesday, 12:15, Peabody: open game
- Wednesday, 12:00, Wellesley: open game
- Thursday, 10:00, Wellesley: supervised play with Stuart Whittle
- Thursday, 12:00, Wellesley: open game
David, Gary, and Tim will be at the NABC and look forward to seeing many of you in Atlanta.
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Last updated : Dec 12, 2023 10:20 EST |
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Invitation to Our Stratified Open Games |
If you’re a newcomer or advancing player, we understand that you may be more comfortable playing in limited games where all the players are at a similar level of experience, the games are shorter, and the pace is more relaxed. We will offer more limited games as interest warrants.
We also invite you to try our open games. Our directors and more experienced players promise to make this a pleasant experience for you!
All of our games are “stratified.” If your masterpoint holding is in the low ⅓ of the field (the “C stratum”), then you are also ranked and awarded masterpoints as though you had played in a separate game with just the other C pairs. This is a win-win-win situation!
- If you score in the top 40% of the C stratum, you earn masterpoints—exactly as many masterpoints as you would earn by playing with the other C players in a separate flight.
- If you do particularly well, you earn a higher masterpoint award in the B or A stratum.
- You gain experience playing against players of all levels, from beginners to world champions. (In what other game can you play against, learn from, and occasionally beat some of the very best players for about the price of a movie ticket?)
When you play in an open game, we promise:
- More-experienced players will be nice to you!
- More-experienced players will not gloat!
- More-experienced players will not criticize your play!
- More-experienced players will not give you unrequested advice!
- More-experienced players will remember when they were in your shoes!
- If you ask, more-experienced players will be delighted to answer your questions and give you advice about the bidding or play of a board!
- Please don’t hold up the seven-minute-a-board pace of the game. You might have time to ask (quietly) at the end of a round if you’ve finished early. Otherwise, ask at the end of the session.
- Don’t ask too much.
- Asking two experts a question may yield two or more different answers!
- Sometimes you’ll do better than an expert pair on a board, sometimes for a round, and occasionally over a whole session, and that’s exciting!
If a more-experienced player ever fails to live up to this promise, please tell a director. The director will take appropriate action.
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Last updated : Nov 27, 2023 03:02 EST |
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Win at Matchpoints: Lesson + Play |
Please join us Tuesdays, January 3–17, 10:00–12:30, for Win at Matchpoints: Lesson + Play sessions with Zach Grossack and Kim Gilman. Please see our Classes page for full information.
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Last updated : Nov 27, 2023 03:00 EST |
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Tuesday, November 14, Lesson and 999er Game with Zach Grossack |
Tuesday, November 14, lesson 9:15–10:15, 999er game 10:30–13:00
Teacher: Zach Grossack
Fee: $30 per player for both the lesson and the game
Where: Italo American Educational Club, 75 Pleasant Street, Wellesley (How to Find Us)
No preregistration—just come!
Zach writes “If you'd like to see this type of lesson-game combo become a thing, please join us on the 14th (with or without a partner - we will match you up)!”
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Last updated : Nov 22, 2023 11:06 EST |
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Thinking Slam with Zach Grossack |
WHERE: Bay State Bridge, 75 Pleasant St., Wellesley, MA—How to Find Us
WHEN: September 6, 13, 20, and October 4 (skipping September 27 during high holidays). The class begins at 10:15 and ends around 11:45. There is an open duplicate game and a limited duplicate game, both at noon, after the lesson finishes for those interested in testing out their slamming!
HOW: Easy booking at zgbridge.com. You are also welcomed to just show up—drop-ins are just fine.
WHO: All levels welcome, but intermediate and advanced players (and even experts) especially won’t want to miss this class!
HOW MUCH: This will be a 4 part class, the 4 classes together at $110. Per class drop-ins are welcome, with each individual class at $35
You’re invited to another special series of celebrity lessons on Wednesdays, September 6, 13, and 20 and October 4, from 10:15 to 11:45. Stay for our 12:00 game, which will have a 999er flight (18 boards, 2½ hours) as well as an open flight (24 boards, 3 hours).
Zach has won eight North American Bridge Championships and is the 2022 ACBL Player of the Year. He writes:
I am excited to return to the teaching circuit, this time with my favorite topic in history: Thinking Slam.
Remember when you were first taught that you need 33 combined points for a slam? We're going to throw that one by the wayside. I'm sure you've all taken 12 tricks with fewer points than that - and in this class, I will be showing you how and when to look for these slams. Why? Because those who bid slams win more at bridge, of course!
This class will cover both the technical side of slam discovery, as well as the conceptual side. We will go in depth on Roman Keycard Blackwood and control bidding, as well as look for key factors that determine when to start whiffing for slams. These concepts include double fits, an abundance of aces, “30 point decks” (if you don't know what that means, come to the class and learn!), knowing when shortness is useful (and also knowing when it might not be!), and much more.
By the end you will start visualizing the number of tricks your side will take during the bidding. Trust me.
September 6: Roman Keycard and a few things you might not have known about it
September 13: The Key Factors—what exactly to look out for when exploring for slam
September 20: Control Bids and Cue Bids
October 4: The “30 Point Deck” and putting it all together.
Come as a partnership, or come as an individual and we will fix you up with a partner. And of course feel free to tell all of your bridge friends who might be interested!
Hope to see lots of you there.
Slams ahoy,
ZG
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Last updated : Nov 10, 2023 09:12 EST |
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June, July, and August Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State Bridge players:
- who advanced in masterpoint rank in June, July, and August, including Life Master Anne Farrington, Silver Life Masters (1,000 points) Tracy Burlock, Walter Driscoll, and Sam Gallo, Gold Life Master (2,500 points) Harold Nordstrom, Emerald Life Master (7,500 points) Natalie Bassil, and Platinum Life Masters (10,000 points) Alan Watson and Rick Binder
- who rank high in 2023 masterpoint races through August, including district leaders Joe Lanzel, Cesare Verdi, Barbara Tarlin, Max Siline, Harrison Luba, Natalie Bassil, Joe Cappannelli, Alan Watson, Sheila Gabay, and Zach Grossack
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements on our site and Masterpoint Races and Member Rank Achievements on the ACBL site.
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Last updated : Nov 10, 2023 09:01 EST |
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Last updated : Oct 4, 2023 14:02 EDT |
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September is International Fund Month |
September is International Fund Month, and all of our games are International Fund games. The ACBL’s International Fund supports North American participation in international competitions. All masterpoint awards are 64% sectional black points (about twice the awards for regular club games).
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Last updated : Oct 4, 2023 14:02 EDT |
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Thinking Slam with Zach Grossack |
You’re invited to another special series of celebrity lessons on Wednesdays, September 6, 13, and 20 and October 4, from 10:15 to 11:45. Stay for our 12:00 game, which will have a 999er flight (18 boards, 2½ hours) as well as an open flight (24 boards, 3 hours).
Zach has won eight North American Bridge Championships and is the 2022 ACBL Player of the Year. He writes:
I am excited to return to the teaching circuit, this time with my favorite topic in history: Thinking Slam.
Remember when you were first taught that you need 33 combined points for a slam? We're going to throw that one by the wayside. I'm sure you've all taken 12 tricks with fewer points than that - and in this class, I will be showing you how and when to look for these slams. Why? Because those who bid slams win more at bridge, of course!
This class will cover both the technical side of slam discovery, as well as the conceptual side. We will go in depth on Roman Keycard Blackwood and control bidding, as well as look for key factors that determine when to start whiffing for slams. These concepts include double fits, an abundance of aces, “30 point decks” (if you don't know what that means, come to the class and learn!), knowing when shortness is useful (and also knowing when it might not be!), and much more.
By the end you will start visualizing the number of tricks your side will take during the bidding. Trust me.
WHERE: Bay State Bridge, 75 Pleasant St., Wellesley, MA—How to Find Us
WHEN: September 6, 13, 20, and October 4 (skipping September 27 during high holidays). The class begins at 10:15 and ends around 11:45. There is an open duplicate game and a limited duplicate game, both at noon, after the lesson finishes for those interested in testing out their slamming!
HOW: Easy booking at zgbridge.com. You are also welcomed to just show up—drop-ins are just fine.
WHO: All levels welcome, but intermediate and advanced players (and even experts) especially won’t want to miss this class!
HOW MUCH: This will be a 4 part class, the 4 classes together at $110. Per class drop-ins are welcome, with each individual class at $35
September 6: Roman Keycard and a few things you might not have known about it
September 13: The Key Factors—what exactly to look out for when exploring for slam
September 20: Control Bids and Cue Bids
October 4: The “30 Point Deck” and putting it all together.
Come as a partnership, or come as an individual and we will fix you up with a partner. And of course feel free to tell all of your bridge friends who might be interested!
Hope to see lots of you there.
Slams ahoy,
ZG
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Last updated : Oct 4, 2023 14:02 EDT |
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New Wednesday 999er Game Starts September 6 |
Starting Labor Day week, we have two 999er games in Wellesley: Tuesdays at 10:30 and Wednesdays at 12:00. These games are 18 boards and last about 2½ hours.
On Tuesdays, come for a free pregame lesson at 10:00. On Wednesdays, come for Zach Grossack’s “Thinking Slam” classes at 10:15 (see below).
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Last updated : Oct 4, 2023 14:01 EDT |
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June and July Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State Bridge players:
- who advanced in masterpoint rank in June and July, including Life Master Anne Farrington, Silver Life Master (1,000 points) Tracy Burlock, Emerald Life Master (7,500 points) Natalie Bassil, and Platinum Life Master (10,000 points) Alan Watson
- who rank high in 2023 masterpoint races through July, including district leaders Joe Lanzel, Cesare Verdi, Marty Cohen, Harrison Luba, Natalie Bassil, Joe Cappannelli, Alan Watson, Sheila Gabay, and Zach Grossack
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements on our site and Masterpoint Races and Member Rank Achievements on the ACBL site.
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Last updated : Sep 11, 2023 12:48 EDT |
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2022 Masterpoint Races |
Congratulations to Bay State Bridge players who won 2022 masterpoint races, including:
- unit Helen Shanbrom Ace of Clubs winners Sue Geer, Sam Gallo, Bob Gervis, Barbara Murphy, Carole Weinstein, and Haven Sharaf
- Murphy also won her district race
- unit Mini McKenney winners Jeff Xiao, Dori Senerchia, Emma Kolesnik, Eric Xiao, Rita Vachani, Ethan Wood, Larry Lebowitz, Harrison Luba, Barbara Murphy, Carole Weinstein, and Adam Grossack
- Jeff Xiao, Kolesnik, Eric Xiao, Wood, Lebowitz, Murphy, Weinstein, and Grossack also won their district races
- Jeff Xiao and Wood also won their ACBL-wide races
- Harrison Luba, Eric Xiao, and Jeff Xiao were the top three youth (under 20) in our district and ranked second, third, and fourth ACBL-wide
- Zach Grossack, Ethan Wood, Harrison Luba, Jeff Xiao, Emma Kolesnik, and Eric Xiao were the top six juniors (under 26) in our district and ranked first, sixth, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh ACBL-wide
- Adam and Zach Grossack, Larry Lebowitz, Sheila Gabay, Ethan Wood, and Stephen Gladyszak were the top six in our district in total masterpoints
- Adam and Zach were sixth and eighth ACBL-wide
- Zach Grossack was the Player of the Year (most platinum points in NABC+ events at the three North American Bridge Championships). Adam Grossack ranked fifth and Larry Lebowitz tied for ninth.
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements on our site and Masterpoint Races and Member Rank Achievements on the ACBL site.
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Last updated : Aug 28, 2023 08:15 EDT |
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Bay State Players Win Three National Championships in New Orleans |
At the Spring North American Bridge Championships in New Orleans, Bay State Bridge players won two NABC+ championships and an NABC championship. Zach Grossack and Linda Robinson won the Baldwin North American Pairs. Sheila Gabay and Lew Gamerman won the Leventritt Silver Ribbon Pairs, making Lew a Grand Life Master. Vik Srimurthy and Venky Venkataramani won the 0-2500 Pairs.
Linda Robinson and Mark Aquino were third in the Leventritt Silver Ribbon Pairs. Sheila Gabay and Alan Watson were third and Selen Hotamisligil and Cenk Tunçok were fourth in the Rockwell Mixed Pairs. Ethan Wood and his teammates were second in the 0-10,000 Knockouts.
Emma Kolesnik, Marina Polestra, Rena Lieberman, Natalie Bassil, Larry Lebowitz, and Adam Grossack also ranked overall in NABC+ events. Carole Weinstein, Bob Gorsey, and Brenda and Neil Montague also ranked overall in NABC events.
Walter Driscoll, Barbara Blauer, Susan Lincoln, Muggsie Rocco, Elizabeth Wood, Ethan Wood, Bart Bussink, Juan Felipe Cuervo, Carolyn Bitetti, Ulla Winkler, Joanne Tulimieri, and Zach Grossack won regional events, flights, brackets, or strata. Walter won four times with three different partners.
Congratulations to all! Apologies if I missed anyone—please let me know.
New Orleans attendance was 7124 tables, 15% higher than last spring in Reno.
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Last updated : Aug 28, 2023 08:14 EDT |
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April and May Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State Bridge players:
- who advanced in masterpoint rank in April and May, including Life Masters Bill Finch and Emily Gordon and Diamond Life Master (5,000 points) Stuart Whittle
- who rank high in 2023 masterpoint races through May, including district leaders Saul Agranoff, Joe Cappannelli, Sheila Gabay, and Zach Grossack
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements on our site and Masterpoint Races and Member Rank Achievements on the ACBL site.
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Last updated : Aug 28, 2023 08:14 EDT |
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April Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State Bridge players:
- who advanced in masterpoint rank in April, including Life Masters Bill Finch and Emily Gordon and Diamond Life Master (5,000 points) Stuart Whittle
- who rank high in 2023 masterpoint races through April, including district leaders Saul Agranoff, Joe Cappannelli, Sheila Gabay, and Zach Grossack
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements on our site and Masterpoint Races and Member Rank Achievements on the ACBL site.
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Last updated : Jul 3, 2023 09:24 EDT |
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Last updated : Jun 26, 2023 11:23 EDT |
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Last updated : Jun 7, 2023 15:15 EDT |
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2023 US Bridge Championships |
The 2023 United States Bridge Championships are May 1–25 in the Chicago area. Those vying to represent the US in the 46th World Bridge Teams Championships August 20–September 2 in Marrakech included Larry Lebowitz, Adam Grossack, Zach Grossack, Ethan Wood, Tom Breur, Sheila Gabay, Emma Kolesnik, Chris Parker, Stew Rubenstein, Yiji Brennan, Mark Aquino, and Pat McDevitt. Click here for results.
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Last updated : May 29, 2023 15:22 EDT |
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Marilyn Klashman 1933-2023 |
Marilyn (Gans) Klashman, formerly of Newton, passed away peacefully, May 5, 2023. She was 90. Marilyn grew up in Roxbury and graduated from Boston University before settling in Newton to raise a family. Marilyn was predeceased by her loving husband, Saul, with whom she shared a remarkable 57 years of marriage. She was a devoted mother to her three children, David (Wendy), Diana (Tony), and Jodi. She adored her grandchildren, Leslie, Meredith, and Courtney, and cherished the time spent with them. In addition to her immediate family, Marilyn was also preceded in death by her dear brother Lenny, and is survived by her niece Elizabeth Smullen (John). A Graveside Service will be held at Newton Cemetery, 791 Walnut St., Newton MA on Thursday, May 11 at 10:30am. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to St. Jude's Research Hospital, www.stjude.org For complete obituary, please visit the Levine Chapels website. Levine Chapels, Brookline 617-277-8300 www.levinechapel.com
Published by Boston Globe from May 8 to May 9, 2023.
..... see less
Marilyn (Gans) Klashman, formerly of Newton, passed away peacefully, May 5, 2023. ..........
..... see more |
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Last updated : May 29, 2023 14:27 EDT |
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The New England Royal Sectional Tournament at Clubs is the week of May 22. All Bay State Bridge games that week will award extra masterpoints with equal parts gold , red , silver , and black . All of our games that week will be scored with other in-person clubs throughout New England.
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Last updated : May 29, 2023 14:25 EDT |
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Zach Grossack Pregame Lesson May 23 at 9:45 |
Please join us for free pregame lessons every Tuesday before our 10:30 open and 999er games. The lessons usually start at 10:00.
Zach Grossack will teach on May 23. The lesson that day will start at 9:45.
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Last updated : May 24, 2023 11:34 EDT |
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Win at Matchpoints with Zach Grossack |
Tuesdays, 2022 December 6–December 20 and 2023 January 3–17, 10:00–12:30
Each session will be a 40-minute lesson followed by a 12-board game.
Teachers: Zach Grossack and Kim Gilman
Fee: $20 per session or $50 per three-week series (click here to book online)
Where: Italo American Educational Club, 75 Pleasant Street, Wellesley (How to Find Us)
We want to invite you to our bridge club, Bay State Bridge in Wellesley, MA, for a special celebrity lesson series and bridge game starting Tuesday, December 6th. We have booked Zach Grossack to teach you some incredible bridge tips, and play in a duplicate game just for the students. One lucky player each week will win a drawing to partner with Zach!
Zach has won seven North American Bridge Championships and is the 2022 ACBL Player of the Year.
If you’d enjoy some insight into how the experts get top scores in duplicate bridge, learning from Zach is both enlightening and fun! Bring your partner if available; singles are welcome and will be paired in class. If you win the drawing to play with Zach, your partner will get another good partner for the game!
December Series |
January Series |
December 6 |
Avoid the Minors |
January 3 |
Double Their 1NT Overcall |
December 13 |
Greedy for Overtricks |
January 10 |
Play it Safe or Go for the Overtrick? |
December 20 |
When to Lead Trumps |
January 17 |
Defensive Signals Using Upside-Down |
The cost is $20 per session or $50 for three. You can register here online with your credit card, or pay by cash/check/Venmo at the door. Join us at least once and also receive a “free play” coupon for any future game at Bay State Bridge.
Questions? Contact our bridge teacher Kim Gilman at kgilman11@gmail.com or call 978-254-5008. We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday mornings!
Zach Grossack has won seven national bridge titles, including the prestigious Platinum Pairs last March. He reached the highest bridge ranking, Grand Life Master, at age 22, breaking the record for being the youngest player to achieve this elite bridge milestone. Zach not only excels in bridge play, but is also a pro at teaching the game to those who are learning and improving. Zach engages students with succinct and memorable bridge tips, combined with fascinating real-life examples and lots of humor. His website is www.zgbridge.com.
Register here for the December or January lesson series in Wellesley.
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Last updated : May 10, 2023 17:18 EDT |
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First Quarter Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State Bridge players:
- who advanced in masterpoint rank in the first quarter, including Life Masters Kathryn Conway and Rob Russell, Gold Life Master (2500 points) Carolyn Krebs, and Grand Life Master (10,000 points plus an NABC+ championship) Lew Gamerman
- who rank high in 2023 masterpoint races through March, including district leaders Cesare Verdi, Saul Agranoff, Natalie Bassil, Joe Cappannelli, Sheila Gabay, and Zach Grossack
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements on our site and Masterpoint Races and Member Rank Achievements on the ACBL site.
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Last updated : May 8, 2023 10:04 EDT |
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April is the ACBL’s annual Charity Month. All Bay State Bridge games this month contribute $1/player to charity and award extra masterpoints (64% sectional rating).
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Last updated : May 1, 2023 10:53 EDT |
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Party April 26 for Grand Life Master Lew Gamerman |
On Wednesday, April 26, we’ll honor Lew Gamerman for achieving the ACBL’s highest rank. Lew became a Grand Life Master when he and Sheila Gabay won the Leventritt Silver Ribbon Pairs in New Orleans.
We’ll have a pot-luck brunch at 11:00 preceding the ACBL-wide Charity Game at noon. Please bring something to share.
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Last updated : May 1, 2023 10:53 EDT |
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Zach Grossack Pregame Lesson April 25 at 9:45 |
Please join us for free pregame lessons every Tuesday before our 10:30 open and 999er games. The lessons usually start at 10:00.
Zach Grossack will teach on April 25. The lesson that day will start at 9:45. The topic is “Going After the Opponents.”
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Last updated : Apr 25, 2023 19:05 EDT |
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Traffic Alert for Patriots' Day, Monday, April 17 |
We will hold our 10:30 Wellesley game on Monday, April 17, as usual. Please be aware that the Boston Marathon route runs through the middle of Wellesley on Central Street (Route 135) from Natick to Wellesley Square and on Washington Street (Route 16) from Wellesley Square to Newton. No problem reaching the club via Worcester Road (Route 9) from Route 128 or from other points to the east or west as usual. However, if you have to drive across the marathon route, there are only two places you’ll be able to do that: on Route 9 in Wellesley Hills and on Route 128 in Wellesley Lower Falls. Click here for a map.
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Last updated : Apr 24, 2023 12:17 EDT |
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Tuesday Intermediate/Newcomer Games and Pre-game Lessons |
We're delighted to add an Intermediate/Newcomer game to our weekly schedule. Please join us and tell your friends!
When |
Tuesday mornings, 10:30, starting January 24 |
Who |
Newcomers and intermediate players. (Players with >299 masterpoints may prefer the open game at the same time. Players with >999 masterpoints must play in the open game.) |
Pre-game lesson |
10:00 |
Where |
Italo American Educational Club, 75 Pleasant Street, Wellesley (How to Find Us) |
How much |
same as our open games (Information); no charge for pre-game lessons |
How long |
18 boards, finishing about 1:00 (25 minutes per three-board round) |
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Last updated : Apr 16, 2023 07:21 EDT |
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All March Games Award Extra Masterpoints |
All Bay State Bridge games in March award extra masterpoints (64% or 82% of sectional tournament rating). Most are the same price as regular club games. Please see Calendar Month.
Club Championship |
64% sectional rating |
$12/player |
Upgraded Club Championship |
82% sectional rating |
$12/player |
Charity |
64% sectional rating |
$13/player |
Unit Championship |
64% sectional rating |
$13/player |
Unit Charity |
82% sectional rating |
$13/player |
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Last updated : Apr 10, 2023 20:44 EDT |
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January Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State Bridge players:
- who advanced in masterpoint rank in January, including Gold Life Master (2500 points) Carolyn Krebs
- who rank high in 2023 masterpoint races, including district leaders Barbara Tarlin, Marina Polestra, Stewart Rubenstein, Sheila Gabay, and Zach Grossack
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements on our site and Masterpoint Races and Member Rank Achievements on the ACBL site.
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Last updated : Mar 29, 2023 12:51 EDT |
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Bay State Players Win Two NABC+ Events |
Bay State Bridge players are at the top of the Spring North American Bridge Championships in New Orleans, after winning both NABC+ events that concluded in the first four days! Zach Grossack and Linda Robinson won the Baldwin North American Pairs Wednesday and Thursday (Friday Daily Bulletin). Sheila Gabay and Lew Gamerman won the Leventritt Silver Ribbon Pairs Friday and Saturday (Sunday Daily Bulletin). Mark Aquino and Robinson were third in the Silver Ribbons, and Alan Watson was sixth.
Robinson tops the masterpoint list with 156 points (all platinum) followed by Grossack at 106 and Gabay and Gamerman both at 100.
These were the first NABC+ victories for Gamerman and Robinson. The win makes Gamerman a Grand Life Master. Gabay now has four NABC+ wins and Grossack nine.
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Last updated : Mar 25, 2023 13:34 EDT |
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March 7 Pre-game Lesson: Zach Grossack on Lead-directing Doubles |
Zach “Cover Boy” Grossack will teach the pre-game lesson on Tuesday, March 7, at 10:00. The subject is lead-directing doubles. Please join us for Zach’s lesson and for the 999er and open Unit Championship games that follow at 10:30.
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Last updated : Mar 12, 2023 08:27 EDT |
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Phoenix NABC |
At the North American Bridge Championships in Phoenix, the team including Adam and Zach Grossack and Larry Lebowitz reached the quarter finals of the Soloway Knockout Teams and finished third in the Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams. Zach garnered “Player of the Year” honors [Daily Bulletin, December 3, p. 1] by winning a total of 852 platinum points in “NABC+” events at this year’s three NABCs. All five of Zach’s teammates were also in the top ten [Daily Bulletin, December 5, p. 4].
Other Massachusetts players who ranked overall in NABC+ and NABC events: Mark Aquino, Emma Kolesnik, Ethan Wood, Stephen Gladyszak, Dean Panagopoulos, Michael Schrage, Sheila Gabay, John Manopoli, Peter Clay, Paul Harris, Dan Jablonski, Al Muggia, Natalie Bassil, Bill Irvine, Kamla Chawla, and Jiang Chen.
Massachusetts players who won other events, strata, and brackets: Eric, Jeff, and Victor Xiao, Barbara Blauer, Rob Russell, Yumi Hough, Grace Charron, Al Votolato, Barry Margolin, Nathan Glasser, Paul Harris, Peter Clay, Katie Love, Don Smith, Rena Lieberman, Marina Polestra, Tom Breur, Peter Weiden, and Jill and Joe Sackett.
Congratulations to all! Sorry if I missed anyone—please let me know.
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Last updated : Mar 4, 2023 06:44 EST |
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Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State Bridge players who advanced in masterpoint rank in May through December, including Life Masters Jayson Rhuda, Sam Gallo, and Barbara Liskov; Silver Life Masters (1000 points) Roberta Francis, Monte Jaffe, Stan Piltch, Rita Vachani, Carolyn Bitetti, and Marilyn Ogden; Gold Life Masters (2500 points) Rene Frayman, Danny Krebs, Marianne Bechet, and Larry Lebowitz; Diamond Life Masters (5000 points) Kim Gilman, Ken Bloom, and Stewart Rubenstein; Emerald Life Master (7500 points) Amnon Gabay; and Platinum Life Master (10,000 points) Sandra Drum. Grand Life Masters Stephen Gladyszak and Pat McDevitt passed the 20,000-point mark.
Charlie and Sandra Drum are the first couple in the New England district with 10,000 masterpoints each.
Congratulations also to Bay State Bridge players who rank high in 2022 masterpoint races, including district leaders Larry Lebowitz, Barbara Murphy, and Adam Grossack. Harrison Luba is the top youth (under 20) in our district and second ACBL-wide. Zach Grossack, Ethan Wood, Harrison Luba, and Emma Kolesnik are the top four juniors (under 26) in our district and rank first, sixth, eighth, and ninth ACBL-wide. Adam and Zach Grossack lead our district in total masterpoints this year and are sixth and eighth ACBL-wide.
The Player of the Year (most platinum points in NABC+ events at the three North American Bridge Championships) is Zach Grossack. Adam Grossack ranks fifth and Larry Lebowitz is tied for ninth.
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements on our site and Masterpoint Races and Member Rank Achievements on the ACBL site.
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Last updated : Mar 4, 2023 06:44 EST |
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Carol Markell, 1946-2023 |
MARKELL, Carol R. (Fireman) Age 76, of Chestnut Hill, on Friday, February 17, 2023. Daughter of the late Harry and Louise (Grover) Fireman. Sister of the late Robert Neil Fireman and his surviving wife Ellen (Porter) Fireman. Mother of Adam Markell & his wife Rose Markell, and grandmother of Sara Markell. Services at Mishkan Tefila Memorial Park, 2605 Centre Street, West Roxbury on Monday, February 20 at 12 noon. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to ILD Clinical and Translational Research Fund at Massachusetts General Hospital to support the ongoing work of Dr. Robert Hallowell and his colleagues. Gifts may be made online at giving.massgeneral.org designated to Patrick Rooney/Fireman Family. Levine Chapels, Brookline www.levinechapels.com 617-277-8300
Published by Boston Globe from Feb. 18 to Feb. 19, 2023.
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MARKELL, Carol R. (Fireman) Age 76, of Chestnut Hill, on Friday, February 17, 2023. ..........
..... see more |
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Last updated : Mar 4, 2023 06:43 EST |
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February is the ACBL’s annual Educational Foundation Month, and all Bay State games award extra masterpoints (64%-sectional-rated black points).
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Last updated : Feb 28, 2023 07:45 EST |
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Bobbi Arbetter 1934-2023 |
Roberta “Bobbi” Arbetter, 88, of Chestnut Hill, MA, passed away on February 7, 2023, knowing that she was deeply loved and that her memory will be a blessing to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Bobbi was born to Morris and Betty (Berman) Feldman on March 3, 1934, as Roberta Sandra Feldman, in Boston, MA. She grew up in Brighton. She graduated from Simmons College in 1955 with a major in social sciences and was involved with Hillel.
Bobbi was a highly competitive Bridge player, who enjoyed the game so much she even adopted “No Trump” as a political belief. She loved playing cards and did her best to teach bridge to her grandson, whom she hoped would still get the hang of it one day. Bobbi loved skating, tennis, bowling, traveling the world, and vacationing with her husband and children in Europe and the Pacific Rim. She was a loving and accepting grandmother who was always excited to cheer on her grandchildren in whatever new endeavor they took on.
She is predeceased by her late husband Albert, sister Ronnie, and stepdaughters, Jodi and Bunny. Bobbi is survived by her children, Stephen and Stacey, her grandchildren, Jennifer, Douglas, Samantha, Mia, Brady, Vinny, great-grandchildren, Mackenzie and Rocco; and her best friends Marilyn Wolman, and Kaila Balder.
A graveside burial service will be held at Sharon Memorial Park, on February 10, 2023, at 10:45 am. If you wish to honor Bobbi’s memory, please consider a donation in her name to the Friends of Dana-Farber, 450 Brookline Ave., SW 120, Boston, MA 02215.
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Roberta “Bobbi” Arbetter, 88, of Chestnut Hill, MA, passed away on February 7, 2023, knowing that she was deeply loved and that her memory will be a blessing to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. ..........
..... see more |
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Last updated : Feb 28, 2023 07:44 EST |
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Welcome Newcomers and Advancing Players! |
Please join us for Lesson + Play sessions with Zach Grossack and Kim Gilman Tuesdays, January 3–17, 10:00–12:30 and for Supervised play with Stuart Whittle Thursdays 10:00–12:00.
We will add masterpoint-limited flights to our schedule as soon as your interest warrants. You are always most welcome at our open games! These games are “stratified,” so if your masterpoint holding is in the low ⅓ of the field, you’ll earn at least as many masterpoints as you would earn if the low ⅓ played in a separate flight. Rest assured that the veteran players will make you welcome and will be delighted to give you tips and answer your questions if you ask.
Please click here for more information.
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Last updated : Feb 24, 2023 15:29 EST |
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John Whistler 1944-2022 |
During the holiday season of 2022, John W. Whistler of Hopkinton, Massachusetts passed away at his home at the age of 74. John was born in Denver, Colorado on August 18, 1948, to Dr. Carl and Marsha Whistler.
John graduated from East Denver High School in 1966 and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Colorado in 1970. After moving to Boston in the early 1970s, he taught mathematics and science for the Boston Public School District. Later he worked in information systems for Verizon before retiring. John was an avid contract bridge player and achieved the level of Sapphire Life Master. He had many friends who played the game and appreciated his unique sense of humor. John loved handicapping horse races, and he spent many summers at the Saratoga Race Course.
He is preceded in death by his parents and his brother James. He is survived by his sister Judith and her husband, William Peterson of Boulder, Colorado, and his nephew, John Peterson, and his family of Portland, Oregon. He is also survived by his many card-playing friends.
Arrangements are being held privately and are under the care of the Chesmore Funeral Home of Hopkinton.
Published by the Hopkinton Independent, 2023 January 25, and by HopNews, 2023 January 26.
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During the holiday season of 2022, John W. Whistler of Hopkinton, Massachusetts passed away at his home at the age of 74. ..........
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Last updated : Feb 23, 2023 10:10 EST |
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Maurice Segall 1929-2023 |
Maurice Segall, born in Joliette, Canada, May 16, 1929, passed away peacefully at home in his sleep on January 16, 2023, in Needham, Massachusetts. Beloved husband, father, and grandfather, he was predeceased by his wife, Sarah (Ostrovksy) Segall. Maurice began his long and illustrious academic and business career as an Economist with the Canadian Government after graduating with Honors from McGill University in Montreal. He also earned a Master's Degree from Columbia University in New York and did graduate work at the London School Of Economics. In 1955, he became Executive Assistant to the President of Steinberg's Limited in Montreal, and in 1961, JC Penney himself recruited Maurice to be the Director of JC Penney's Treasury Store Division and Director of Operations in New York. He joined American Express in 1970 where he became Executive Vice President of American Express with general management authority over the Credit Card Division, where he left his mark as the key figure in the redevelopment of the Card. In 1978, Maurice became Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Zayre Corporation in Massachusetts where he turned the Company around, created BJ's Wholesale Club, and expanded the TJ Maxx division, among other achievements. Maurice remained active after his retirement and was a Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group as well as a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, MA. He was a devoted and loved teacher bringing his real world experience into the classroom. He sat on many corporate Boards such as Shawmut National Corporation, American Airlines (where he chaired the Compensation Committee), Harcourt General, New England Telephone, and along with his wife was a Trustee of Massachusetts General Hospital, the Beth Israel Hospital, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Maurice and Sarah were loyal Democrats, often donating money to political campaigns. Maurice was not just a successful executive and academic, but also an avid tennis player with a wicked forehand. He was an enthusiastic golfer with an accurate wedge, and an outstanding poker player who could compete against the best, which was his passion. His children hope that when he passed, he was dreaming of holding a Royal Flush, with a full complement of chocolate wafers and ice cream by his side. He is survived by his children, Elizabeth, Eric and Peter Segall, and their spouses, James Sagui, Lynne Segall and Jacqueline Segall; and his six grandchildren, Jessica, Andrew, David, Madeline, Sara and Kai Segall. Maurice's keen intellect, sense of humor, generosity, smile and sparkling eyes will be sorely and deeply missed, always. Services will be private.
Published by Boston Globe from Jan. 18 to Jan. 22, 2023.
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Maurice Segall, born in Joliette, Canada, May 16, 1929, passed away peacefully at home in his sleep on January 16, 2023, in Needham, Massachusetts. ..........
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Last updated : Feb 23, 2023 10:10 EST |
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Schedule Week of February 6 |
The week of February 6, we will hold our Monday Wellesley game, our Tuesday Peabody game, and our Thursday Wellesley Supervised Play. We will not hold games in Wellesley Tuesday-Thursday. The New England Bridge Conference’s Presidential Regional Tournament is Tuesday-Saturday, February 7-11, in Southbridge.
February 6-11 |
Wellesley |
Peabody |
Southbridge |
Monday
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Educational Foundation Pairs, 10:30 |
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Tuesday |
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Educational Foundation Pairs, 12:15 |
10:00, 14:15, 19:30 |
Wednesday |
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10:00, 14:15, 19:30 |
Thursday |
Supervised Play, 10:00-12:00 |
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10:00, 14:15, 19:30 |
Friday |
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10:00, 14:15, 19:30 |
Saturday |
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10:00, 14:15 |
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Last updated : Feb 13, 2023 12:21 EST |
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Junior Fund Month |
January is the ACBL’s annual Junior Fund Month. All Bay State games will benefit the ACBL’s Junior Fund and award extra masterpoints (64%-sectional-rated black points).
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Last updated : Feb 6, 2023 08:09 EST |
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Win at Matchpoints with Zach Grossack |
You’re invited to another special series of celebrity lessons and bridge games on Tuesday mornings, January 3–17. We have booked Zach Grossack to give you some incredible bridge tips, and play in a duplicate game just for the students. One lucky player each week will win a drawing to partner with Zach!
Zach has won seven North American Bridge Championships and is the 2022 ACBL Player of the Year.
If you’d enjoy some insight into how the experts get top scores in duplicate bridge, learning from Zach is both enlightening and fun!
For more information, please see our Classes page, or Zach's web page, or Kim Gilman’s web page. Click here to register.
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Last updated : Jan 23, 2023 09:29 EST |
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Bidding Brush-up: Lesson + Play |
Wednesdays, 2022 September 21–November 9, except October 5*, 10:00–12:00
Teacher: Kim Gilman
Fee: $20 per session or $110 for all seven sessions (click here to book online)
Level: Newer Players through Intermediate
Where: Italo American Educational Club, 75 Pleasant Street, Wellesley (How to Find Us)
Join me at Bay State Bridge in Wellesley, MA, for a one-hour lesson on Wednesday mornings, followed by an hour of just playing for fun! (I will be there to answer your questions as you play.) Come alone or with your partner—a partner is guaranteed.
We require COVID vaccination, including a booster if eligible. Please note that “up to date” vaccination now includes a new updated bivalent booster, and we urge you to get one as soon as practical. Mask-wearing strongly encouraged for Bidding Brush-up.
Drop into any single session for $20 or enroll in all 7 for $110. (Click here to book in advance, or just show up.)
Dates and Topics:
September 21 |
Forcing or Non-forcing? |
September 28 |
Rebids by Opener |
October 5* |
no in-person session
free online class on declarer play |
October 12 |
Rebids by Responder |
October 19 |
4th Suit Forcing |
October 26 |
Targeted Game Tries |
November 2 |
Game Tries when Opponents Interfere |
November 9 |
Strong Jump Shifts |
*There will be no class on Wednesday, October 5, due to Yom Kippur. However there will be a free 90-minute online class that morning from 10:00 to 11:30 for those who are available. I will send you a Zoom link the day before, and feel free to invite your partner/friends. It will be a Declarer play class and for those who haven’t tried it yet, you will enjoy my online “bridge classroom” where you get to declare every hand.
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Last updated : Nov 14, 2022 08:17 EST |
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Newcomer (99er) Games Wednesdays at Noon |
Please join us Wednesdays at noon in Wellesley for a friendly game. First time playing bridge in-person? Ready to get back to bridge with real cards? Come have fun, meet new friends at your level, earn masterpoints, and enjoy a relaxed game of bridge.
This game is for newer players, or anyone who feels they are still learning the game. It is officially designated a “99er Game” which means you must have fewer than 100 bridge masterpoints to participate. Many of the players are online students who are starting with no masterpoints and playing their first face-to-face bridge!
These are duplicate bridge games where you just play (no lesson). We hope you will come have fun, meet new friends at your level, perhaps earn some bridge masterpoints, and enjoy a relaxed game of bridge.
The games are at Bay State Bridge’s venue in Wellesley: the Italo American Educational Club, 75 Pleasant Street (click here for directions). There is plenty of free parking. The cost is $10 per person (cash or check).
No partner necessary. We guarantee all single players a partner! And tell your friends—all are welcome!
This will be a duplicate bridge game where you will just play (no lesson). But I hope you will come have fun, meet new friends at your level, perhaps earn some bridge masterpoints, and enjoy a relaxed game of bridge.
If you have questions, please contact Bay State Bridge or Kim Gilman (<kgilman11@gmail.com>, 617-372-6376, www.bridgewithkim.com).
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Last updated : Sep 28, 2022 07:41 EDT |
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Masks Optional |
Masks are now optional at Bay State Bridge games. Many of us still choose to wear masks. If someone asks you to wear a mask while you’re sharing a table with them, please do so graciously without question.
We require COVID vaccination, including a booster if eligible. Please note that “up to date” vaccination now includes a new updated bivalent booster, and we urge you to get one as soon as practical.
Thank you for doing your part so we can all feel safe and comfortable playing bridge in-person!
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Last updated : Sep 28, 2022 07:32 EDT |
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March and April Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State Bridge players who advanced in masterpoint rank in March and April, including Life Masters Walter Driscoll, Dori Senerchia, and Joanne Tulimieri and Silver Life Master (1000 points) Chuck Rossi.
Congratulations also to Bay State Bridge players who rank high in 2022 masterpoint races, including district leaders Leo Troy, Barbara Murphy, Carole Weinstein, and Zach Grossack. Zach Grossack and Ethan Wood are the top two Juniors (under 26) in our district and rank first and sixth ACBL-wide.
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements on our site and Masterpoint Races on the ACBL site.
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Last updated : Sep 18, 2022 18:26 EDT |
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Newcomer Games Start Wednesday, May 18 |
Many thanks to Kim Gilman for instigating Wednesday Newcomer Games at our club. All players with less than 100 masterpoints are welcome. Kim wrote:
Newcomer Games start Wednesday, May 18! Join us at noon for a friendly game. First time playing bridge in-person? Ready to get back to bridge with real cards? Come have fun, meet new friends at your level, earn masterpoints, and enjoy a relaxed game of bridge.
This game is for newer players, or anyone who feels they are still learning the game. It is officially designated a “99er Game” which means you must have fewer than 100 bridge masterpoints to participate. But, I expect the vast majority will have 0 masterpoints—because this is to provide many of my online students a chance for face-to-face bridge!
The games will be at Bay State Bridge’s venue in Wellesley: the Italo American Educational Club, 75 Pleasant Street (click here for directions). There is plenty of free parking. The cost is $10 per person (cash or check). Those joining us on the 18th will also receive a coupon for a free game on any future Wednesday.
No partner necessary. We guarantee all single players a partner! And tell your friends—all are welcome!
For our kickoff event, bring your own drinks or enjoy the club’s free coffee and iced tea. Fresh baked goods from the wonderful Quebrada Bakery in Wellesley are on me 🍪.
To play at Bay State Bridge, you must show proof of up-to-date COVID vaccination, including a booster if eligible. Masks are optional. I will be wearing one.
This will be a duplicate bridge game where you will just play (no lesson). But I hope you will come have fun, meet new friends at your level, perhaps earn some bridge masterpoints, and enjoy a relaxed game of bridge.
No RSVP is necessary; feel free to just show up on May 18th! (But if you want to tell me you’re coming, that would be great to help with the planning.) Please arrive a few minutes before noon so we can get everyone seated with a partner and start the game on time. Once play commences, you are expected to finish all the bridge hands until the game is over, which will be about 2:30 p.m.
I can’t wait to meet some of you in person! I’m really excited to start playing “live bridge” again myself, and for you to join in the fun.
Will you let me know if you have questions?
All the best,
Kim Gilman <kgilman11@gmail.com>
617-372-6376
www.bridgewithkim.com
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Last updated : Aug 29, 2022 14:54 EDT |
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North American Pairs |
In June, July, and August, about half of our games are club-level qualifying games for the North American Pairs, including all games June 2–15. NAP games award half-red, half-black masterpoints at about triple the level of regular games (82% sectional rating).
Players who qualify in at least one of these games (look for a “Q” next to your name on the results) may play in the New England District Finals*. The top three or four pairs in each flight will qualify for the North American Finals at the 2023 Spring North American Bridge Championships in New Orleans and receive subsidies to help with their travel expenses.
Note that most of our non-NAP games in June, July, and August are also special games, awarding masterpoints at 64% or 82% sectional rating—about 2½ or 3 times the level of regular games.
Please click here for more information about club special games.
*The New England District Finals will be played on BBO in October. Flight A: Saturday & Sunday, October 22 & 23, 10:00 & TBA. Flight B (<2500): Saturday & Sunday, October 15 & 16, 10:00 & TBA. Flight C (<500): Saturday, October 22, 10:00 & TBA.
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Last updated : Aug 29, 2022 14:54 EDT |
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Eric Schwartz, 1943-2022 |
Eric G. Schwartz of Arlington passed away peacefully on May 26, 2022, after a short illness, at the age of 79. Beloved husband of Linda Watson Robinson, devoted father of Gregory Schwartz and stepfather of Ben (Laurie Rogers), Keziah, Hannah, and Nat Robinson. Fond step-grandfather of Chaya, Ziva, and Ada Robinson, and loyal friend to his former wife Jean (Batista) Schwartz.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, Eric earned a B.A. from Queens College and an M.F.A. from the New England Conservatory of Music. He retired in 2003 from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, where he worked enthusiastically as a computer programmer for nearly 30 years, quietly maintaining the infrastructure of the banking system, including the check sorters in their years of declining use.
Eric was an accomplished pianist and accompanist. In 1967, during his army service in Vietnam, he was chosen to accompany the legendary tenor and cantor Richard Tucker when he came to conduct a Seder for Jewish servicemen and to entertain the troops in Saigon. That led to his inclusion in a touring singing and comedy quintet of enlisted men who were ferried by helicopter to and from remote outposts where no stars and dancing girls could go. He loved choral music, opera, and especially Gilbert and Sullivan. He participated avidly during his entire working life in local choirs and amateur and semi-pro productions as a performer, accompanist, composer, rehearsal director, and music director.
Eric had a lifelong passion for mind sports, most notably the game of bridge. He was an Emerald Life Master. From his early days playing with future world champions in college, through hundreds of sessions at the Chess Club in Boston, to frequent competitions at the highest levels in North American Bridge Championships and more recently in online international competitions, he loved bridge and the camaraderie around it.
A passionate and lifelong fan of baseball, he grew up adoring the Brooklyn Dodgers. Following their exodus, he rejoiced and despaired each day during the baseball season with the ups and frequent downs of his beloved New York Mets, whom he followed obsessively for the entirety of his remaining years.
All services will be private. He will be laid to rest in Long Island alongside his parents, Samuel and Cecil (Schoichet) Schwartz.
—Boston Globe, 2022 May 31
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Last updated : Jul 4, 2022 00:19 EDT |
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No Games Wednesday, June 1 |
Our open and 99er games on Wednesday, June 1, are canceled (because the Italo American Club is hosting a gathering after a member’s funeral). Wednesday noon open and 99er games resume June 8.
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Last updated : Jun 2, 2022 09:32 EDT |
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May is the ACBL’s annual Grass Roots Fund Month, and all Bay State Bridge games this month benefit the Grass Roots Fund for our New England district.
Masterpoint awards are about 250% of regular games (64% sectional-rated).
Two annual North American Bridge Championship events have “grass roots” qualification. Players in four flights compete to represent each district in the North American Pairs and Grand National Teams finals at the Spring and Summer NABCs respectively. The Grass Roots Fund helps subsidize district winners’ travel to the NABCs.
New England’s GNT representatives at the Providence NABC in July are:
- Championship flight (open): qualifying tournament June 11–12 and 25–26 (online)—see NEBridge.org
- Flight A (<6000): Jiang Chen - Qinqin Wang Lexington, MA; Meiyan Duan - Shen Duan Andover, MA
- Flight B (<2500): qualifying tournament April 30–May 1 (online)—see NEBridge.org
- Flight C (<500 non-life master): Moses Liskov Lexington, MA; Barbara Liskov Waltham, MA; Christina Ahrens Arlington, MA; Walter Driscoll Cambridge, MA and
Jack Miller Wilton, CT; Sue Geer Manchester, MA; May Persson Wellesley, MA; Ann Peterson Natick, MA
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Last updated : May 31, 2022 07:35 EDT |
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Reopening Day |
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Move "mouse" over thumbnail to change
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Thank you for the wonderful turnout for our Grand Reopening Day! At 24 tables, our game was, we believe, the largest ACBL club game this year to date, which is a tribute to your eagerness to resume “normal” duplicate bridge and to Massachusetts’ success in taming COVID-19 (click here for current statistics from CovidActNow—Massachusetts is among the best four states in infection rate, positive test rate, and vaccination rate).
Congratulations to Sheila Gabay and Lew Gamerman (first in A), Bill Gay and Ed Aron (first in B), and Charles Green and Chiyoko Alvarez (first in C).
We appreciate your comments and suggestions, including:
- “So, so happy with the turnout you had today. Congratulations.”
- “Thanks for a nice game yesterday!”
- “What an amazing event today at your new facility. Congratulations on a job well done setting it up for us. Thank you for all the backround work you and your team did to make this happen. … Great to see so many familiar faces again.”
- “Thanks for a great new club opening.”
- “I am so glad you're back!!”
- “Always enjoyable in your game.”
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Last updated : May 7, 2022 13:00 EDT |
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January and February Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State Bridge players who advanced in masterpoint rank in January and February, including Life Master and Silver Life Master (1000 points) David Cohen and Gold Life Master (2500 points) Anita Taylor.
Congratulations also to Bay State Bridge players who rank high in 2022 masterpoint races, including district leaders Barbara Murphy, Carole Weinstein, and Adam Grossack.
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements on our site and Masterpoint Races on the ACBL site.
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Last updated : May 7, 2022 12:44 EDT |
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Come Back to In-Person Bridge for April Special Events! |
April is a great time to come back to in-person bridge! All our games award extra masterpoints, starting with New England’s first Royal STaC and continuing with charity games for the rest of the month. We’re adding a Wednesday morning game in Peabody. COVID Community Levels remain Low throughout Massachusetts.
Royal STaC April 4–8
Click here for overall rankings across all participating New England clubs and final masterpoint awards. All masterpoint awards for the “Royal STaC” are equal parts gold , red , silver , and black .
April is Charity Month
All in-person games for the rest of the month award extra masterpoints. Most of your donations ($1 per player per session) will go for Ukraine food relief.
Patriots Day, Monday, April 18
Our 10:30 game is on. The Boston Marathon runs on Routes 135 and 16 half a mile south of the club. It’ll be easy to reach the club from Route 9 as usual, but be aware that the only nearby place to drive across the marathon route will be on Route 9 where it passes under Route 16 at Wellesley Hills Square. Click here for a map.
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Last updated : May 7, 2022 12:28 EDT |
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Zach Tops Reno NABC |
Zach Grossack won his fifth and sixth NABC+ titles and Adam Grossack won his fourth NABC+ title at the Spring North American Bridge Championships in Reno. Zach shared the Mott-Smith Trophy for most masterpoints earned at the Spring NABC with his partner, Michael Rosenberg.
Michael and Zach won the Kay Platinum Pairs. Larry Lebowitz’s team, including Adam, Michael, and Zach, won the Jacoby Open Swiss. The Lebowitz team also reached the quarter-finals of the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams, losing to Vinita Gupta’s team on the last of 60 boards by 3 IMPs.
Our friends from Central Massachusetts, Sarik Goyal and Eric, Guanghao, and Jeff Xiao, teamed with Kyle Rockoff to win the NABC 0-10k Knockouts. Our friend who moved to NYC, Adam Parrish, won the NABC+ Fast Pairs.
Other Bay State players ranked overall in NABC+ events:
- Leventritt Silver Ribbon Pairs: Lloyd Arvedon and Pat McDevitt, ninth; Alan Watson and Rick Binder, 17th
- Rockwell Mixed Pairs: Mark Aquino, 27th; Natalie Bassil and Bill Irvine, 58th
- Silodor Open Pairs: Eric Schwartz, 21st
and an NABC event:
- President’s Cup North American Pairs Flight C: John Tully and John Frantz, fourth
Peter Clay, Walter Driscoll, Sheila Gabay, Paul Harris, Tim Hill, Robin Hillyard, Gerry Hitt, Dan Jablonski, Barry Margolin, Pat McDevitt, Cenk Tuncok, and Ethan Wood won other events/brackets/strata. (Apologies if I missed anyone.)
Congratulations to all!
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Last updated : Apr 28, 2022 10:38 EDT |
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Come Back to In-Person Bridge for April Special Events! |
April is a great time to come back to in-person bridge! All our games award extra masterpoints, starting with New England’s first Royal STaC and continuing with charity games for the rest of the month. We’re adding a Wednesday morning game in Peabody. COVID Community Levels remain Low throughout Massachusetts.
Royal STaC April 4–8
This new kind of Sectional Tournament at Clubs awards extra masterpoints with equal parts gold , red , silver , and black . All of our games this week will be scored with other in-person clubs throughout New England.
Our Royal STaC schedule is:
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Monday
April 4 |
Tuesday
April 5 |
Wednesday
April 6 |
Thursday
April 7 |
Friday
April 8 |
Wellesley |
10:30 |
no game* |
12:00 |
12:00 |
10:30* |
Peabody |
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12:15 |
10:30† |
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*This week only our Tuesday Wellesley game is rescheduled to Friday (conflict at the Italo American Club).
†New Wednesday Peabody game starts April 6.
April is Charity Month
All in-person games for the rest of the month award extra masterpoints. Most of your donations ($1 per player per session) will go for Ukraine food relief.
Patriots Day, Monday, April 18
Our 10:30 game is on. The Boston Marathon runs on Routes 135 and 16 half a mile south of the club. It’ll be easy to reach the club from Route 9 as usual, but be aware that the only nearby place to cross the marathon route in a car will be where Route 9 passes under Route 16 at Wellesley Hills Square.
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Last updated : Apr 11, 2022 13:44 EDT |
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Bay State Players Shine at Austin NABC |
Bay State Bridge was well represented at the first North American Bridge Championships in two years, led by two NABC+ victories: A J Stephani, Margot Hennings, Carole Weinstein, and Bob Gorsey won the 0-10,000 Swiss Teams, and Dick Budd and John Hrones won the Super Senior Pairs.
19 more Bay State players ranked overall in NABC+ events:
- In the premier Soloway Knockout Teams, Larry Lebowitz’s team, including Adam and Zach Grossack, ranked third/fourth. Spector beat Lebowitz in the semi-finals en route to winning the event.
- Whitehead Women’s Pairs: Sheila Gabay and Linda Robinson, third
- Mixed Swiss: Stephen Gladyszak, Sheila Gabay, Max Siline, and Carrie Liu, fourth
- Nail Life Master Pairs: Pat McDevitt and Mark Aquino, fifth
- 0-10,000 Swiss Teams: Barry Margolin, Nathan Glasser, Ethan Wood, and Bart Bussink, fifth
- Keohane North American Swiss: Alan Watson and Rick Binder, 15th
- Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs: Harrison Luba, 17th; John McLaughlin, 29th
- 0-6,000 Mini-Blue Ribbon Pairs: Harold Nordstrom and Ashok Rao, 27th
Carolyn Bitetti, Nathan Glasser, Paul Hattis, Ann Jenkins, Harrison Luba, Barry Margolin, Linda Robinson, Jill and Joe Sackett, Eric Schwartz, Joanne Tulimieri, and Ulla Winkler won other events/strata.
Congratulations to all!
The tournament in Austin, Texas, November 25–December 5 drew 5,256 tables. That was half of the last NABC in beforetimes (10,373.5 tables in the fall of 2019 in San Francisco), but not bad under the circumstances.
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Last updated : Mar 31, 2022 17:18 EDT |
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December Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State Bridge players who advanced in masterpoint rank in December, including Life Master Charlotte Bailey, Silver Life Master (1000 points) Tom Breur, and Gold Life Masters (2500 points) Barbara Glazerman and Judith Inker.
Congratulations also to Bay State Bridge players who ranked high in 2021 masterpoint races, including:
- New England district winners Venky Venkataramani, Harrison Luba, Barbara Murphy, and Stephen Gladyszak
- Eastern Massachusetts unit winners Katherine Sears, Sam Gallo, Carolyn Bitetti, Ethan Wood, Roger Li, Steven Diamond, Natalie Bassil, and Carole Weinstein
- the top three juniors (under 26) in our district, Zachary Grossack, Harrison Luba, and Ethan Wood, who ranked first, third, and eighth ACBL-wide
- the top two youths (under 20) in our district, Harrison Luba and Ethan Wood, who ranked second and third ACBL-wide
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements on our site and Masterpoint Races on the ACBL site.
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Last updated : Mar 31, 2022 16:46 EDT |
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Ukraine Charity Week March 28-31 |
All our games this week (March 28–31) will be charity games benefitting the people of Ukraine via the United Nations World Food Program. Entry fees will be just $10 per player plus whatever you’d like to contibute for Ukraine food relief (minimum contribution $3 per player).
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Last updated : Mar 31, 2022 16:23 EDT |
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Boosters Required Effective January 24 |
To help us keep enjoying duplicate bridge in person, starting January 24 we’re requiring “up to date” COVID vaccination, including a booster if it’s been six five months since your second Pfizer or Moderna shot or two months since your Johnson & Johnson shot.
Click here for more information on boosters, including how to get one in Massachusetts quickly, conveniently, and free.
The next time you play at the club, please show us your COVID vax record, including a booster if you’re eligible. Thank you!
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Last updated : Mar 28, 2022 09:00 EDT |
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Wellesley Games Resume Monday, January 17 |
Our Wellesley games resume Monday, January 17.
During our week off, reported COVID cases in Massachusetts peaked on Wednesday and dropped steeply Thursday and Friday. These reports lag the spread of infection, and a more timely indicator, coronavirus in our wastewater, has dropped steeply since January 5 to pre-Christmas levels.
As we return to the club, please do your part to help us all enjoy our pastime in reasonable safety:
- Stay home if you’re sick.
- Wear a good mask snugly covering your mouth and nose.
- Get a booster when you’re eligible.
Looking forward to seeing you back at the club!
—Tim Hill and David Metcalf
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Last updated : Jan 23, 2022 11:51 EST |
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Good News in Our Sewage! |
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The Deer Island Treatment Plant monitors the level of coronavirus in our wastewater—a more timely indicator of COVID spread than case rates. The level climbed steeply in late December, but now it’s falling steeply, and the January 11 levels were lower than December 23. Click here for the data from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. Click here for a Boston.com article.
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Last updated : Jan 15, 2022 08:35 EST |
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No Wellesley Games January 10-14 |
We are pausing our Wellesley games for a week, so NO GAMES IN WELLESLEY JANUARY 10-14. With the omicron surge, the case numbers are still setting new records daily, and an asymptomatic player who played January 3-6 had a positive result on a routine test January 8.
We hope to resume Wellesley games on Monday, January 17. 🤞🏻
The PEABODY GAMES JANUARY 10-11 ARE ON.
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Last updated : Jan 14, 2022 12:23 EST |
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Peabody is Back, Now on Mondays AND Tuesdays! |
The heating system at the Peabody Temple has been fixed, so games resumed Tuesday, December 7.
In addition, a new weekly game started Monday, December 13, so we have games in Peabody on Mondays and Tuesdays at 12:15 at Temple Ner Tamid of the North Shore, 368 Lowell Street. Please click here for directions.
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Last updated : Jan 9, 2022 18:51 EST |
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November Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State players who advanced in masterpoint rank in November.
Congratulations also to Bay State players who rank high in district masterpoint races through November, including race leaders Venky Venkataramani, Barbara Murphy, and Stephen Gladyszak.
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements.
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Last updated : Jan 9, 2022 18:39 EST |
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Shark’s Pointers Book Published |
Mark Aquino’s new book, Shark’s Pointers, is available in paperback through bookstores (including Wellesley Books) and as an eBook. It’s based on the online talks that Mark gave for the Westwood Duplicate Bridge Club during the COVID closure.
“The original ‘Shark’s Pointers’ article appeared in 1975 in a small Boston-area newspaper. Thirty years later, the idea re-emerged as a series of bridge columns and lectures in Massachusetts. Then during the pandemic Shark’s Pointers went online, and it is these latter talks and the advice they contain that have now been collected into this book.
“Written in an over-the-shoulder style, this book can be read for fun or profit or both: you will learn more about bridge if you care to, or you can just enjoy the anecdotes and the great deals.
“MARK AQUINO (Boston, MA) is a Grand Life Master and a retired Engineering Manager from Procter and Gamble. An avid bridge player, teacher and administrator, he has served on the boards of the USBF and the ACBL. He is married and has two sons, one daughter, two granddaughters, and one grandson.”
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Last updated : Dec 18, 2021 17:51 EST |
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October Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State players who advanced in masterpoint rank in October, including Gold Life Master (2500 points) Tsuneko Eustace and Diamond Life Masters (5000) Henry Daley and John Hrones.
Congratulations also to Bay State players who rank high in district masterpoint races through October, including race leaders Venky Venkataramani, Barbara Murphy, and Stephen Gladyszak.
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements.
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Last updated : Dec 18, 2021 17:49 EST |
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Welcome to In-Person Bridge |
Sunday afternoon, 2021 September 12, 1:00–3:30
Teacher: Kim Gilman
Level: beginner and intermediate
Where: Wellesley (How to Find Us)
Save the date! Kim Gilman is hosting a “Welcome to In-Person Bridge” event for newer players on Sunday, September 12, 1:00–3:30 p.m.
Did you learn to play online during the pandemic, and now look forward to meeting your fellow players? Are you ready to play face-to-face with fellow bridge enthusiasts? Kim can’t wait to meet her online students. Everyone is welcome if you are a relative newcomer, so join the party!
Here is the schedule for the afternoon:
1:00–1:20 — Social Time & Light Refreshments
1:20–1:40 — How to Play in Person — Logistics etc. (Those who already know — please come to help show the newbies how it works!)
*1:40–3:10 — Friendly Duplicate Bridge Game
3:10–3:30 — Optional Q & A with Kim on the hands you played
*Please arrive no later than 1:30 if you wish to play in the bridge game. Late arrivals can observe, but may not be able to play.
Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required to attend this event. There is no charge, but a $10 donation is requested to help cover facility rental and costs.
Please RSVP by e-mail to kgilman11@gmail.com.
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Last updated : Dec 18, 2021 12:13 EST |
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Masks Required (Temporarily!) |
On July 27 the CDC advised people who are fully vaccinated “To maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.”
Cases in Norfolk County were very low in June, bottomed out at 2 new cases per 100,000 people in the week ending July 5, surged to a peak of 126 in the week ending September 5, and then decreased to 99 in the week ending September 26. The six adjoining counties are between 123 and 255.
Following CDC guidance, we are temporarily requiring everyone to wear masks. 🙁 😷
Bring your own or use a disposable mask available at the club.
Thank you for helping keep us all safe while we continue enjoying in-person bridge!
Bay State Bridge COVID policies:
- Proof of full vaccination required.
- Masks are temporarily required. (Your mask must snugly cover your nose and mouth to be effective. Please step away from others before taking your mask off briefly to eat or drink.)
New CDC Guidance for People Fully Vaccinated issued 2021 July 27: “To maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.” Norfolk County now has “substantial transmission” (50-100 new cases per week per 100,000 population). The six adjoining counties have “high transmission” (100+), as do 95% of counties nationwide.
New Massachusetts Department of Public Health Guidance issued 2021 July 30: “Fully vaccinated individuals are advised to wear a mask or face covering when indoors (and not in your own home) if you have a weakened immune system, or if you are at increased risk for severe disease because of your age or an underlying medical condition, or if someone in your household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk for severe disease, or is an unvaccinated adult.”
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Last updated : Dec 18, 2021 12:01 EST |
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July-September Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State players who advanced in masterpoint rank in July, August, and September, including Silver Life Masters (1000 points) Ed Astrachan, Barbara Blauer, and Yumi Hough; Gold Life Masters (2500) Michael Lindheimer and Jean Shaffer; Diamond Life Master (5000) Barbara Murphy; and Emerald Life Master (7500) Charlie Polay.
Congratulations also to Bay State players who rank high in district masterpoint races through September, including race leaders Venky Venkataramani, Barbara Murphy, and Stephen Gladyszak.
For complete lists, please see Masterpoint Achievements.
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Last updated : Nov 18, 2021 11:08 EST |
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Monday 10:30 Games in Wellesley Start November 15 |
With the addition of Monday games our schedule is:
Mondays |
Tuesdays |
Wednesdays |
Thursdays |
Fridays |
10:30, Wellesley |
10:30, Wellesley |
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supervised play,
10:00-12:00,
Wellesley
no supervised play Nov. 25 |
10:30, Wellesley
no game Nov. 26 |
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12:15, Peabody
no game Nov. 16
Nov. 23 at K of C
no game Nov. 30 |
12:00, Wellesley
no game Nov. 24 |
12:00, Wellesley
no game Nov. 18
no game Nov. 25
no game Dec. 16 |
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Last updated : Nov 18, 2021 10:59 EST |
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No Peabody Game November 9 |
Our Peabody game on November 9 is canceled (no heat). Peabody games resume November 16 on Tuesdays at 12:15.
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Last updated : Nov 10, 2021 08:03 EST |
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North American Pairs |
In June, July, and August, about half of our games are club-level qualifying games for the North American Pairs, including all games the week of June 16. NAP games award half-red, half-black masterpoints at about triple the level of regular games (82% sectional rating).
Players who qualify in at least one of these games (look for a “Q” next to your name on the results) may play in the New England District Finals November 6–7 in Mansfield. The top three or four pairs in each flight will qualify for the North American Finals at the 2022 Spring North American Bridge Championships in Reno and receive subsidies to help with their travel expenses.
(Note that most of our non-NAP games in June, July, and August are Club Championship or Special Fund games, which award masterpoints at 64% sectional rating—about 2½ times the level of regular games.)
Please click here for more information about club special games.
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Last updated : Nov 6, 2021 11:28 EST |
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June Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Bay State and Westwood players who advanced in masterpoint rank in June, including Life Master Katherine Sears and Gold Life Master (2500 points) Peter Clay.
Congratulations also to Bay State and Westwood players who rank high in district masterpoint races through June, including race leaders Venky Venkataramani, Barbara Murphy, Terry Byrne, and Stephen Gladyszak.
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Last updated : Nov 3, 2021 08:11 EDT |
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Warwick Regional Canceled |
The ACBL has canceled all open regional and sectional tournaments that were scheduled to start in August, including the Ocean State Regional in Warwick, RI.
This ACBL announcement does not affect club games. The Bay State Bridge schedule is unchanged.
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Last updated : Sep 3, 2021 12:43 EDT |
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Henri and Monday’s Game |
Although Tropical Storm Henri will likely strike a major blow on Long Island and the south coast of New England Sunday, it’s unlikely to affect our Monday noon game. 🤞🏻
Wellesley may get tropical-storm-force winds (≥ 39 mph) and an inch or two of rain Sunday, but the Monday forecast is “A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. South wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.”
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Last updated : Aug 23, 2021 11:23 EDT |
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Pro-Am Monday Noon, July 26 |
Please join us for a special “Pro-Am” game on Monday, July 26, at noon. Every partnership has one player with 500 or more masterpoints (a “Pro”) and one player with less than 500 masterpoints (an “Am”). (Two “Ams” may play together.)
“Ams”: This is an opportunity to play with a “Pro” for the price of a regular game.
“Pros”: This is an opportunity to give back to the game and the club, and you play for FREE.
Masterpoint awards are 65% of an open event in a sectional tournament (slightly higher than an open club championship).
Need a partner? We can help you find one. Sign up below or at the club if you need a partner. (No need to sign up in advance if you have a partner.)
Saturday morning update: We have more “Pros” available. “Ams,” please use the form below to request a partner. We’ll pair you up right away.
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Last updated : Jul 26, 2021 18:30 EDT |
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New Events Start July 14-15 |
- Wednesday 12:00 299er games in Westwood start July 14
- free pre-game talks by Dean Panagopoulos at 11:15
- July 14 game is FREE!
- Thursday 10:00 Supervised Play with Stuart Whittle starts July 15—see Classes for more information
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Last updated : Jul 19, 2021 10:01 EDT |
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Welcome Newcomers and Advancing Players! |
Please join us for our 499er games Wednesdays at noon starting June 16!
We will add more masterpoint-limited flights to our schedule as soon as your interest warrants. The best way to let us know you’re interested is by playing in our Wednesday 499er games!
You are also most welcome at our open games. These games are “stratified,” so if your masterpoint holding is in the low ⅓ of the field, you’ll earn at least as many masterpoints as you would earn if the low ⅓ played in a separate flight.
Please click here for more information.
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Last updated : Jul 6, 2021 08:33 EDT |
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A New Name, Two New Venues, and a New Schedule |
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On June 1 Newton Bridge Club and Westwood Duplicate Bridge Club joined forces and resumed in-person duplicate bridge. We have a new name
Bay State Bridge
two new venues
Italo American Educational Club
75 Pleasant Street, Wellesley*
Temple Ner Tamid of the North Shore
368 Lowell Street, Peabody*
and a new schedule
Mondays |
Tuesdays |
Wednesdays |
Fridays |
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open, 10:30, Wellesley
starts June 29 |
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open, 10:30, Wellesley |
open, 12:00, Wellesley |
open, 12:15, Peabody
starts July 13 |
open, 12:00, Wellesley
499er, 12:00, Wellesley |
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Please join us!
We’ll continue to expand our schedule as interest warrants. The best way to vote for more bridge is by showing up!
We require proof of vaccination.†
— Tim Hill and David Metcalf
* Both venues are minutes from route 128. For directions, please see How to Find Us.
† For everyone’s safety and peace of mind, you must have received the recommended one or two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine 14 days before playing. So we can assure you that everyone is fully vaccinated, please show us your CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or some other proof of vaccination. (We’ll keep a list—we’ll only ask to see your card the first time.)
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Last updated : Jul 2, 2021 07:16 EDT |
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Tuesday Games Start June 29 in Wellesley and July 13 in Peabody |
We’ve added two Tuesday games to our schedule, one in Wellesley, and one at a second venue in Peabody:
- 10:30 in Wellesley (Italo American Educational Club, 75 Pleasant Street) starting June 29
- 12:15 in Peabody (Temple Ner Tamid of the North Shore, 368 Lowell Street) starting July 13
Our full in-person schedule is now
Mondays |
Tuesdays |
Wednesdays |
Fridays |
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open, 10:30, Wellesley
starts June 29 |
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open, 10:30, Wellesley |
open, 12:00, Wellesley |
open, 12:15, Peabody
starts July 13 |
open, 12:00, Wellesley
499er, 12:00, Wellesley |
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Please see How to Find Us for directions to both venues.
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Last updated : Jul 2, 2021 07:16 EDT |
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A New Name, a New Venue, and a New Schedule |
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On June 1 Newton Bridge Club and Westwood Duplicate Bridge Club joined forces and resumed in-person duplicate bridge. We have a new name
Bay State Bridge
a new venue
Italo American Educational Club
75 Pleasant Street, Wellesley*
and, effective June 11, a new schedule
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Mondays |
Tuesdays |
Wednesdays |
Fridays |
10:30 |
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open—starts June 29 |
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open |
12:00 |
open |
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open
499er |
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Please join us!
Thank you for putting up with our early schedule experiments and telling us your thoughts. Now you can count on the games listed above happening every week, and we’ll expand the schedule as interest warrants. The best way to vote for more bridge is by showing up!
We require proof of vaccination.†
— Tim Hill and David Metcalf
* The Italo American Educational Club, 75 Pleasant Street, Wellesley, is just off route 9, six minutes from route 128. For driving and public transit directions, please see How to Find Us.
† For everyone’s safety and peace of mind, you must have received the recommended one or two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine 14 days before playing. So we can assure you that everyone is fully vaccinated, please show us your CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or some other proof of vaccination. (We’ll keep a list—we’ll only ask to see your card the first time.)
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Last updated : Jun 22, 2021 16:00 EDT |
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Sol Hartman Paintings |
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Many thanks to Sol Hartman for hanging several of his paintings at the club!
For information, please see Sol’s web site.
The photo above shows Richard Burns sitting next to Sol’s “Richard.”
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Last updated : Jun 11, 2021 08:01 EDT |
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In-person Games June 7–11 |
Please join us for our second week of in-person bridge! We’ve scheduled three games this week.
- When:
- Monday, June 7, 10:30
- Wednesday, June 9, 12:00
- Friday, June 11, 10:30
- Where: Italo American Educational Club, 75 Pleasant Street, Wellesley*
- What: Club Championship pairs (extra masterpoints), 24 boards
- Required: Proof of vaccination†
Thank you for your patience while our schedule remains a work in progress. We hope to announce a longer-term schedule by this Friday, June 11. We’ll offer more games, morning and afternoon start times, multiple flights, supervised play, classes, etc., as soon as interest warrants, but we want to learn when and how often you are ready to participate. The best way to vote for expanded offerings is by showing up!
Tim Hill
Westwood Duplicate Bridge Club |
David Metcalf
Newton Bridge Club |
* The Italo American Educational Club, 75 Pleasant Street, Wellesley, is just off route 9, six minutes from route 128. For driving and public transit directions, please see How to Find Us.
† For everyone’s safety and peace of mind, you must have received the recommended one or two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine 14 days before playing. So we can assure you that everyone is fully vaccinated, please show us your CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or some other proof of vaccination. (We’ll keep a list—we’ll only ask to see your card the first time.)
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Last updated : Jun 10, 2021 16:00 EDT |
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Thursday Afternoon Supervised Play |
Every Thursday, 14:30–16:30
Teacher: Marty Cohen
Fee: $15/player
Supervised Play is the ideal setting to consolidate learnings, increase confidence, and improve your understanding and expertise. It is suitable for all levels and essential for beginners. Like any activity, bridge requires practice of learned conventions. This is a real-time game experience without the real-time game pressure. Play random pre-dealt hands with an ACBL certified bridge instructor and tournament expert supervising and discussing how to perfect the bidding, declare play, defense between partnership, and learning the way of “bridge thinking”.
Come with or without a partner and you will be placed with players of similar levels. Walk-ins are alwayswelcome. Please email the club at Marty if you have special interests you would like to cover during supervised play.
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 10:58 EDT |
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Newcomer Game every Monday at 7:15 P.M. |
If you are new to the game and have fewer than 20 MPs, join us for our Newcomer Game every Monday evening at 7:15 P.M.
The Newcomer game on Mondays consists of the play of 12 boards in about 2 hours (10 minutes per board). Players can have access to their cheat sheet. At the end of the game, the director can answer questions regarding the boards played. Come and try it!
If you are new to the club and buy an entry to the Newcomer game, we’ll give you a free play to be used at another time!
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 10:57 EDT |
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BEGINNERS BRIDGE CLASS Tuesday Afternoon Course Starting in October: Bridge Basics 1 |
Tuesdays, 14:30–16:30
The class will start in October if there is enough interest, please contact Lisa ASAP if you are interested
Teacher: Lisa Procter
Course fee: $175 for seven classes, payable at the first class (book is an additional $10)
Please register by emailing lprocter@verizon.net
This course is the perfect introduction to the game of bridge. It’s based on the Basics 1 book by Audrey Grant. In the first lesson, we will learn about the basics and provide you with all the essential information about the fundamental mechanics of the game, and is intended for people who have never encountered bridge. The following lessons have information that will also be of value to people who may know the basic mechanics but have not learned the principles of modern bidding. We will cover notrump opening bids and responses, major suit opening bids and responses, and minor suit opening bids and responses. This class provides everything you need to establish a solid foundation. The approach is hands-on, you will start playing hands at the first class.
Everyone is welcome! Our emphasis is on having a good time while learning the most fascinating card game in the world! Come and try it!
Lisa is a silver life master and has been playing bridge for 10 years. She is an ACBL certified teacher. Currently, she is the membership chair of the Eastern Massachusetts Bridge Association (EMBA). She conceived of and manages the "Introduction to Bridge" programs sponsored by EMBA. These programs have become a very important way to introduce newcomers to bridge and attract new members to EMBA.
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 10:56 EDT |
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Fridays, 9:45: Shark’s Pointers |
Most Fridays, September–June, 9:45–10:15
Teacher: Mark “Shark” Aquino
Please join us for the Shark’s excellent free talks before most Friday games. Everyone is welcome, adapted to all levels of play.
Mark is a Grand Life Master. He won the 2015 North American Pairs (with Shome Mukherjee), finished second in the 2004 Nail Life Master Pairs (with Jonathan Green), and won numerous regional events. He’s served as District Director (representing the New England Bridge Conference on the ACBL’s Board of Directors), President of the New England Bridge Conference, and President of the Eastern Massachusetts Bridge Association.
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 10:54 EDT |
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Thursday Afternoon Supervised Play |
Every Thursday, 14:30–16:30
Teacher: Marty Cohen
Fee: $15/player
Supervised Play is the ideal setting to consolidate learnings, increase confidence, and improve your understanding and expertise. It is suitable for all levels and essential for beginners. Like any activity, bridge requires practice of learned conventions. This is a real-time game experience without the real-time game pressure. Play random pre-dealt hands with an ACBL certified bridge instructor and tournament expert supervising and discussing how to perfect the bidding, declare play, defense between partnership, and learning the way of “bridge thinking”.
Come with or without a partner and you will be placed with players of similar levels. Walk-ins are welcome but it is very helpful to plan the tables ahead if we know you are coming. Please email the club at Marty if you have special interests you would like to cover during supervised play.
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 10:54 EDT |
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Dupliclass with Kim Gilman |
Postponed
Fee: $15 per person if registered in advance ($20 at the door).
Have you been wondering what Duplicate Bridge is?
Players with little or no duplicate experience are all welcome to join this introductory class. Winners can earn masterpoints!
Kim Gilman will give a mini-lesson at the beginning of the class on duplicate strategy, and will be available to answer questions during the game if you get "stuck."
Each player will receive a hand record at the end.
Refreshments and lunch are included. You don’t need a partner to come, please register in advance, it helps us with planning.
Email Nathalie at baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com to register.
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 10:53 EDT |
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Declare these Hands with Zach Grossack and Kim Gilman! |
Tuesdays, July 7, 14, and 21, 15:00–17:00 (3 classes)
Teachers: Zach Grossack & Kim Gilman
Course fee: $45 for all three classes + $5 on BBO for each game
Level: Intermediate players and up
Click here for the flyer.
Multi-time national champion Zach Grossack is known as one of the best declarers in the bridge world. Would you like to know how he plans his strategy for making 90% of his contracts…with overtricks?
Zach & Kim will use a special BBO tournament option to conduct a “Learning Game.” You’ll hear Zach present useful bridge techniques on Zoom, then you will play hands to practice the lesson. Between rounds, Zach will comment on how he would form a plan for the play. You’ll have a chance to ask questions, and receive his write-ups after class.
Partners are needed for the Learning Games; you can bring your own, or find one at the Partnership Desk. We guarantee a partner! These lessons are best for intermediate players & up.
Zach Grossack became a Life Master at age 12 and has won gold and silver medals in world youth bridge competitions. He has won multiple national championships, including the 2017 open Pairs in Kansas City, MO. He and his brother Adam are fast becoming one of the most formidable pairs in the U.S. Zach graduated from Tufts University last year and teaches and plays bridge professionally.
Kim Gilman has been playing tournament bridge for 17 years and has won several sectional and regional championships. She is a Gold Life Master and an ACBL certified instructor whose students love her interactive and easy-to-understand lessons.
If interested in Zach & Kim’s Learning Games, please e-mail ZKbridge52@gmail.com to receive registration and payment info.
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 10:53 EDT |
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RealBridge Prize Schedule |
It’s less expensive to run games on RealBridge than on Bridge Base Online, and and when we run RealBridge games at the same price as BBO games we give the savings to players in prize money. Here’s our prize schedule for $6/player games:
|
prize $ / player (overall) |
tables |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
2.0 |
4.87 |
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2.5 |
6.09 |
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3.0 |
7.31 |
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3.5 |
8.53 |
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4.0 |
9.74 |
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4.5 |
10.96 |
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5.0 |
12.18 |
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5.5 |
13.40 |
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6.0 |
8.35 |
6.26 |
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6.5 |
9.05 |
6.79 |
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7.0 |
9.74 |
7.31 |
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7.5 |
10.44 |
7.83 |
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8.0 |
11.14 |
8.35 |
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8.5 |
11.83 |
8.87 |
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9.0 |
12.53 |
9.40 |
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9.5 |
13.22 |
9.92 |
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10.0 |
13.92 |
10.44 |
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10.5 |
11.06 |
8.30 |
6.22 |
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11.0 |
11.59 |
8.69 |
6.52 |
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11.5 |
12.11 |
9.09 |
6.81 |
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12.0 |
12.64 |
9.48 |
7.11 |
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12.5 |
13.17 |
9.88 |
7.41 |
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13.0 |
13.69 |
10.27 |
7.70 |
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13.5 |
14.22 |
10.67 |
8.00 |
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14.0 |
14.75 |
11.06 |
8.30 |
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14.5 |
15.27 |
11.46 |
8.59 |
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15.0 |
15.80 |
11.85 |
8.89 |
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15.5 |
16.33 |
12.25 |
9.18 |
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16.0 |
14.25 |
10.69 |
8.02 |
6.01 |
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16.5 |
14.70 |
11.02 |
8.27 |
6.20 |
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17.0 |
15.14 |
11.36 |
8.52 |
6.39 |
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17.5 |
15.59 |
11.69 |
8.77 |
6.58 |
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18.0 |
16.04 |
12.03 |
9.02 |
6.77 |
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18.5 |
16.48 |
12.36 |
9.27 |
6.95 |
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19.0 |
16.93 |
12.70 |
9.52 |
7.14 |
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19.5 |
17.37 |
13.03 |
9.77 |
7.33 |
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20.0 |
17.82 |
13.36 |
10.02 |
7.52 |
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20.5 |
18.26 |
13.70 |
10.27 |
7.70 |
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21.0 |
18.71 |
14.03 |
10.52 |
7.89 |
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21.5 |
19.15 |
14.37 |
10.77 |
8.08 |
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22.0 |
19.60 |
14.70 |
11.02 |
8.27 |
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22.5 |
20.04 |
15.03 |
11.28 |
8.46 |
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23.0 |
20.49 |
15.37 |
11.53 |
8.64 |
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23.5 |
20.94 |
15.70 |
11.78 |
8.83 |
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24.0 |
19.16 |
14.37 |
10.78 |
8.08 |
6.06 |
24.5 |
19.56 |
14.67 |
11.00 |
8.25 |
6.19 |
25.0 |
19.96 |
14.97 |
11.23 |
8.42 |
6.32 |
25.5 |
20.36 |
15.27 |
11.45 |
8.59 |
6.44 |
26.0 |
20.76 |
15.57 |
11.68 |
8.76 |
6.57 |
..... see less
It’s less expensive to run games on RealBridge than on Bridge Base Online, and and when we run RealBridge games at the same price as BBO games we give the savings to players in prize money. ..........
..... see more |
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 08:42 EDT |
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Frequently Asked Questions |
What do I put in the ID number field?
Your email address.
Are ACBL masterpoints awarded?
Short answer: No 😤. (We can award cash prizes.)
Long answer: Early in the covid era, the ACBL contracted exclusively with BBO to run Virtual Club Games, Support Your Club Games, and Online “Regional” and “North American” Tournaments. That contract prohibits awarding ACBL masterpoints for play on any other online platform (except for the grandfathered “unpigmented” masterpoint games on Funbridge, OKbridge, and Swan).
(If you don’t like this policy, you might write to your representatives on the ACBL Board of Directors and Board of Governors.)
Even without masterpoints, we think RealBridge has so many advantages over BBO that many of us will want to play on RealBridge, at least occasionally!
How do I use convention cards?
RealBridge doesn’t support convention cards at present. It’s courteous to give your opponents a one-sentence system summary at the start of a round, and of course you should make the normal alerts and announcements (see the next question).
How do I alert?
That depends on the alert mode chosen by the director.
Normal mode: Alert (or announce) as you do in face-to-face play: when your partner makes an alertable (or announceable) call, click ALERT and either say “Alert” or make the appropriate announcement.
Self-alert mode: As on BBO, silently click ALERT and, if asked, silently type an explanation. (Alerts and explanations are visible to both your opponents but not to your partner.)
Screen mode: Imagine a sound-proof screen placed diagonally across the table so that North and East can see and hear each other but can’t see or hear South or West (and vice-versa). Alert both your own bids and your partner’s. Only your screenmate sees and hears your alerts.
Screen mode with self-alerts: You can only see and hear your screenmate, but you alert your own bids and type explanations as in self-alert mode.
Can I kibitz?
Not yet. (RealBridge does now support delayed kibitzing for major events.)
What if my device stops displaying what it should or stops responding to clicks?
First, try leaving the table and returning (by clicking Leave and then clicking the appropriate Sit button).
If that doesn’t work, try reloading or closing your browser window (or quitting your browser altogether) and then logging back into our RealBridge room (via the link you used in the first place).
How do I find a partner?
Meet others looking for partners at high-numbered tables. Log in at least 15 minutes before game time. Click a Sit button at a high-numbered table and talk with the others at that table. To move to a different table, click Leave, and then Sit. When you’ve found a partner, Leave the high-numbered table and Sit opposite each other at a low-numbered table.
(Players in the “lobby” can communicate by typing “chat,” but you can actually see and speak to each other if you Sit at a table together.)
Do I have to be a Westwood, Puritan, Midcape, or Dennis-Yarmouth member to play? Do I need permission to bring a guest?
No and no. Our club-organized RealBridge games are open to anyone. Our player-organized invitational games are open to any invited players.
I thought STOP cards were banned. Why do I see STOP cards on RealBridge?
The ACBL gave up on STOP cards because they were often abused and ignored. On RealBridge, players can’t abuse STOP cards because they’re automatically shown for ten seconds with every skip bid, and players can’t ignore STOP cards because they can’t call while the STOP card is showing. It’s all good!
What do you charge for RealBridge sessions?
Typically $5 without cash prizes or $6 with cash prizes. (We charge $6 on BBO. RealBridge charges us less than BBO, and the ACBL doesn’t get table fees for games without masterpoints, so when we charge $6 we return our cost savings to players as prizes.)
How do you collect table fees?
We bill you monthly by email. You can pay with a check or via an electronic payment system.
I’m having audio and/or video problems.
Click the “redial” icon to the right of your name to restart your embedded audio and video (see “Audio and video controls” in the RealBridge Player Guide).
Why am I hearing voices or noise?
Probably because a player’s microphone is picking up background conversation, radio, television, or other noise. You can figure out which player’s microphone it’s coming from by selectively turning down their volume—click the speaker icon to the left of a player’s name (see “Audio and video controls” in the RealBridge Player Guide).
Why am I hearing echos?
Probably because a player’s microphone isn’t suppressing echos from his speaker. You can figure out which player the echos are coming from by selectively turning down their volume—click the speaker icon to the left of a player’s name (see “Audio and video controls” in the RealBridge Player Guide). A player whose system isn’t suppressing echos should use a headset or adjust the volume and placement of microphone and speakers.
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 08:41 EDT |
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RealBridge Instructions |
Preliminaries: Please take a few minutes to check your setup before your first RealBridge session.
- Use almost any computer or large-screen tablet with camera, microphone, and speaker(s).
- Phones don’t work well.
- iPads that are more than five years old don’t work.
- Don’t have a camera? Click here. If you want to use your phone or tablet as a web camera while playing on your computer, see this article. (While you can play without a camera and microphone, we’d rather you didn’t—the experience is much better for you and other players if you do have them.)
- Use a modern browser that supports camera and microphone input, such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari. A couple restrictions:
- Internet Explorer doesn’t work. Use Chrome, Edge, or Firefox
- On iPads, only Safari works.
- (Up-to-date macOS version 11—“Big Sur”—and Safari now work. The “issues” reported earlier have been resolved.)
- Be sure your browser is up-to-date:
- Chrome on macOS: On the Chrome menu, choose About Google Chrome
- Chrome on Windows: In the upper-right corner, click ︙, choose Settings, and click About Chrome; or go to chrome://settings/help
- Edge on Windows: In the upper-right corner, click ⋯, choose Settings, and click About Microsoft Edge; or go to edge://settings/help
- Firefox on macOS: On the Firefox menu, choose About Firefox
- Firefox on Windows: In the upper-right corner, click ☰, choose Help, and choose About Firefox
- Safari on macOS: On the Apple menu, choose System Preferences, and click Software Update
- Test your camera and microphone:
- Please use a headset if other players hear echos or background noise from your system.
Log Into RealBridge
- Arrive 15-30 minutes early the first few times
- Close any other video conversation apps (FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, etc.)
- Click on the provided link. The link is different for each session. The link takes you to the session login form.
- Name: your full real name (e.g., “Tim Hill”—not just “Tim” or “Hill” or a BBO-like cryptic handle)
- ID number: your email address
- Click Login.
- After you log in, you’ll be in the “lobby.” You’ll see the tables with the names of the players sitting at them. The empty seats have Sit buttons.
- If you have a partner, Sit at a low-numbered table (by clicking Sit E, for example). Partners should sit opposite each other 🙄.
- If you don’t have a partner, Sit at a high-numbered table. If there are others sitting at high-numbered tables, Sit with them, talk to them, and decide if you want to play together. (To move to a different table, click Leave.)
At the table
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 08:37 EDT |
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Real Bridge with Real People |
RealBridge takes online bridge to the next level, with built-in video and sound, bringing the true face-to-face experience online. Please click here to learn about RealBridge. Most of us who’ve had the opportunity to try RealBridge have loved it! After seven long months of cryptic user names, cryptic typed chat, no faces, and no voices, it’s great to see and talk to your opponents and partner, and the user interface is excellent—more like, well, real bridge. Comments from our players: - ♠️ “It was wonderful to see and speak with opponents. It was so up-lifting. The format is easy to use. So very cleverly designed.”
- ♥️ “Lots of fun.”
- ♦️ “I thought it was awesome as a playing experience!! … My prediction is that you will be ‘wowed.’”
- ♣️ “It’s great to play on RealBridge. Truly love it. Hope it will become a regular thing.”
- ♠️ “It’s 10x more clever and interesting than BBO. The social piece is really valuable. And … the graphics are very well done, including the stop card that flies in.”
- ♥️ “All the opponents were great, so I really enjoyed myself.”
- ♦️ “Congratulations on your efforts to get RealBridge introduced to the US Bridge players. I think it has some wonderful aspects and I want to support it every way I can.”
- ♣️ “I loved RB... I’d shift all my playing to it if my partners will do it or if I can get other partners to play.”
- ♠️ “Like the social aspect of this game and the ease of playing!”
More about RealBridge:
..... see less
RealBridge takes online bridge to the next level, with built-in video and sound, bringing the true face-to-face experience online. Please click here to learn about RealBridge. Most of us who’ve had the opportunity to try RealBridge have loved it! After seven long months of cryptic user names, cryptic typed chat, no faces, and no voices, it’s great to see and talk to your opponents and partner, and the user interface is excellent—more like, well, real bridge. ..........
..... see more |
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 08:36 EDT |
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Shark’s Pointers Live Online |
Mark Aquino’s “Shark’s Pointers” pregame talks are live and online Fridays at 9:00 a.m. Mark’s talks last about 30–45 minutes, so we’re done in plenty of time for our 10:30 online game.
To attend, click here: https://zoom.us/j/7819297673. (If you haven’t used Zoom before, you may be prompted to download and install an app.)
Video recordings and handouts from previous Shark’s Pointers talks are on our Bridge Tales page.
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Mark Aquino’s “Shark’s Pointers” pregame talks are live and online Fridays at 9:00 a.m. ..........
..... see more |
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 08:36 EDT |
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Monday Evening Zoom Socials |
Please join us after our Monday evening games to see and hear and chat with your friends. The game starts at 7:00 and end about 8:50. The social starts after the game and ends whenever. The Zoom link is https://zoom.us/j/7819297673. BYO. Masks not required. (We hope you’ll join us on Zoom whether or not you play in the game, but, of course, we hope you’ll play too. If you don’t have a partner, you can usually find one by going to the registration and clicking Partnership Desk at the right end of the line above the registration form.)
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 08:35 EDT |
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Westwood/Puritan/Cape Online |
Westwood/Puritan/Cape Online runs six games a week on Bridge Base Online, with open and 499er flights Monday mornings. We also offer a wrapup after our Monday morning 499er games, a postgame social on Monday evenings, and “Shark’s Pointers” pregame talks by Mark Aquino on Friday mornings.
Our BBO games award ACBL masterpoints (black points at 50% more than regular club games). They are open to anyone who’s played at one of our clubs plus visitors and guests (see ACBL’s revised visitor policy). (If you or your partner haven’t played in our BBO games before, BBO might tell you you’re not eligible. That’s easily fixed in minutes—just send a BBO chat message to “vacb119172” 15–30 minutes before game time.) See our Bridge Base Online page for details.
We are happy to run games on request on the new RealBridge system. RealBridge takes online bridge to the next level, with built-in video and sound, bringing the true face-to-face experience online. Unfortunately, the ACBL does not allow us to award masterpoints on RealBridge (their contract with BBO is exclusive 😤). We’ve suspended regularly scheduled RealBridge games because, despite your positive comments, you’ve demonstrated your lack of interest in playing without masterpoints 😢. See our RealBridge page for details.
Please see our Weekly Schedule page for our normal schedule and our Calendar List or Calendar Month page for special events.
— Tim Hill (Westwood), Chris Gorton (Puritan), Joe Brouillard (Midcape), and Rita Baudo (Dennis-Yarmouth)
..... see less
Westwood/Puritan/Cape Online runs six games a week on Bridge Base Online, with open and 499er flights Monday mornings. We also offer a wrapup after our Monday morning 499er games, a postgame social on Monday evenings, and “Shark’s Pointers” pregame talks by Mark Aquino on Friday mornings. ..........
..... see more |
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 08:35 EDT |
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🎈🎈 Grand Reopening in Wellesley Tuesday, June 1 🎈🎈
We are delighted to invite you to our Grand Reopening in Wellesley on Tuesday, June 1! We’re joining forces with the Newton Bridge Club to provide a better bridge experience for all of our players.
It’s 14½ long months since our last games, and 12 months since we moved out of the American Legion Post with the promise that “This is a new beginning for our club! We will open in a better facility as soon as it is safe and reasonable to do so.” We have a better facility, and that time has finally come.
We are reopening in an excellent venue near route 9 in Wellesley, six minutes from 128, and 0.6 mile from the Wellesley Square Station. The Italo American Educational Club has pleasant and comfortable space for up to 33 tables and ample off-street parking. For many of you, travel time to this site will be about the same as to Newton and shorter than to Westwood. If you drove north on 128 to Westwood, the drive is longer (sorry!), but only by about seven minutes (according to Google Maps).
For everyone’s safety and peace of mind, we require proof of full vaccination,* and there will be no eating in the playing area for now. Water and soda will be available, and you may bring your own beverages. You might want to have a snack or a light lunch before the game to tide you over to 3:00. Masks are optional per the new CDC guidelines and Massachusetts regulations.
We have two games next week.
When: Tuesday and Friday, June 1 and 4, 12:00–3:00
Where: Italo American Educational Club, 75 Pleasant Street, Wellesley†
What: Club Championship pairs (extra masterpoints), 24 boards
RSVP: Not required, but please help us plan by responding below. Thank you!
Pre-game talk: “Shark’s Pointers” by Mark Aquino, Friday, June 4, 11:15
Our schedule is a work in progress. We’ll offer more games, multiple flights, classes, etc., as soon as interest warrants, but we want to hear from you. When and how often are you ready to participate? The best way to vote for expanded offerings is by showing up for our first two games!
Thank you very much for hanging in there and for playing in our Virtual Club Games and the ACBL’s Support-Your-Club games! (Our online games will continue for now, except for the Tuesday morning Westwood/Puritan/Cape game.)
Tim Hill
Westwood Duplicate Bridge Club |
David Metcalf
Newton Bridge Club |
* To provide a COVID-safe environment, you must have received the recommended one or two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine 14 days before playing. So we can assure you that everyone is fully vaccinated, please show us your CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or some other proof of vaccination. (We’ll keep a list—we’ll only ask to see your card the first time.)
† The Italo American Educational Club, 75 Pleasant Street, Wellesley, is just off route 9, six minutes from route 128. From route 9, turn south on Oak Street, bear right on Ivy Road, turn left on Pleasant Street, and the club is on your left. (A GPS might guide you to the Oak Street entrance, which is normally closed, rather than the Pleasant Street entrance.) Click for directions from 128 or from points west. See “ALERT: Possible Construction Detour” above.
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Last updated : Jun 6, 2021 08:34 EDT |
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All of our games Monday, May 24, through Friday, May 28, are part of “Silver Linings Week” and award “double points.”* Please join us!
*“Double points” compared to regular club game awards. Since virtual club games all award 50% more than regular club games, “double points” are 33% more than other virtual club games. 🤔
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Last updated : May 31, 2021 08:16 EDT |
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Reopening Survey I (2020 December 14) |
Our last club game was nine long months ago, and the COVID epidemic is still getting worse in the US (averaging over 2400 deaths a day for the last week, including two days with more deaths than 9/11, and there’ve been a dozen days with more deaths than D Day). However, with vaccine deliveries beginning Monday, December 14, and Massachusetts’ plan (mass.gov web page, Boston Globe article) that includes anyone 65 or older who wants the vaccine getting it by the end of April, we can finally see light at the end of the tunnel. If the plan succeeds (still a big “if”—one concern is that Massachusetts might not get enough vaccine in time), we may be able to reopen for vaccinated players as early as May! 😀 Don’t get me wrong—we might well not be able to reopen before autumn—but there’s cause for hope.
In any case, we’re making plans. When we do reopen, it will be in a new and better site!
Please help us plan by answering the questions below. Thank you!
Tim
Please note:
- Massachusetts plans to vaccinate residents in three phases:
- December–February: health care workers, police, fire, and workers and residents in long-term care, rest homes, and assisted living
- February–April: high-risk, workers in early and K-12 education, transit, grocery, food, agriculture, sanitation, public works, and public health, and anyone 65 or older
- April and beyond: everyone
- When we reopen, expect us to require vaccination (two shots, 21–28 days apart) and to follow regulations and guidelines concerning number of people, masks, etc.
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Last updated : May 26, 2021 14:21 EDT |
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Reopening Survey II (2021 May 18) |
If we start daytime games the week on Tuesday, June 1, and we require vaccination, and the location is just off Route 9 in Wellesley, 5 minutes from Route 128:
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Last updated : May 26, 2021 14:20 EDT |
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Leaving the American Legion Post |
Friday, May 29, was bittersweet. After more than 50 years in the Westwood American Legion Post (anybody remember when Joe Vaas started holding games there?), we moved a truckload of furniture, equipment, and supplies into storage. (We left because the Post refused to honor the rent-abatement provisions in our lease.)
This is a new beginning for our club! We will open in a better facility as soon as it is safe and reasonable to do so.
Of course, none of us know when it will be “safe and reasonable”—the ACBL has canceled all turnaments through 2021 February—but we’re starting to plan right now. We’d love to hear your thoughts. Please tell us all about your dream bridge club!
Meanwhile, “see” you online!
Many thanks to our packing and cleaning crew, Tom Caragliano, Andrew Hanes, Stephanie Homolko, Christine Riviere-Homolko, Jan Schwaner, and Nathalie Tabor.
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Last updated : May 24, 2021 18:32 EDT |
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Reopening Survey |
Our last club game was nine long months ago, and the COVID epidemic is still getting worse in the US (averaging over 2400 deaths a day for the last week, including two days with more deaths than 9/11, and there’ve been a dozen days with more deaths than D Day). However, with vaccine deliveries beginning Monday, December 14, and Massachusetts’ plan (mass.gov web page, Boston Globe article) that includes anyone 65 or older who wants the vaccine getting it by the end of April, we can finally see light at the end of the tunnel. If the plan succeeds (still a big “if”—one concern is that Massachusetts might not get enough vaccine in time), we may be able to reopen for vaccinated players as early as May! 😀 Don’t get me wrong—we might well not be able to reopen before autumn—but there’s cause for hope.
In any case, we’re making plans. When we do reopen, it will be in a new and better site!
Please help us plan by clicking here and answering a few questions. Thank you.
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Last updated : May 24, 2021 18:06 EDT |
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All of our games Monday, April 12, through Friday, April 16, are part of “Charity Week,” benefit the ACBL Charity Foundation, and pay “double points.”* Please join us!
*“Double points” means double the regular club game awards. Since regular virtual club games pay 50% more than regular club games, “double points” means 33% more than regular virtual club games. 🤔
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Last updated : May 5, 2021 07:24 EDT |
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All of our games Monday, March 22, through Friday, March 26, are part of “STARDUST WEEK” and pay “double points,”* 25% gold. Please join us!
*“Double points” means double the regular club game awards. Since regular virtual club games pay 50% more than regular club games, “double points” means 33% more than regular virtual club games. 🤔
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Last updated : Mar 29, 2021 09:34 EDT |
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RealBridge is Back—Saturday Mornings at 10:00 |
Thanks to Stan Piltch for recruiting a bunch of his friends to play RealBridge on Saturday mornings at 10:00! All are welcome to join us for “Real Bridge with Real People—Taking online bridge to the next level, with built-in video and sound, bringing the true face-to-face experience online.” See our RealBridge page for details.
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Last updated : Mar 7, 2021 08:17 EST |
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All of our games Monday, February 22, through Friday, February 26, benefit the ACBL Educational Foundation and pay “double points.”* Please join us!
*“Double points” means double the regular club game awards. Since regular virtual club games pay 50% more than regular club games, “double points” means 33% more than regular virtual club games. 🤔
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Last updated : Mar 7, 2021 07:55 EST |
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Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Westwood players who advanced in masterpoint rank in the second half of 2020, including life masters Paul Adler, Ann Keegan, and Judi Zucker, gold life masters (2,500) Marty Cohen, Alan Godes, and Jim Keegan, diamond life masters (5,000) Bob Carvin and Sandy Nyman, and emerald life masters (7,500) Jack Maselli and Eric Schwartz.
Congratulations also to Westwood players in the top 25 in district masterpoint races for 2020, including district winners Stan Piltch, Ethan Wood, Muggsie Rocco, Barbara Murphy, Dan Jablonski, John Urciuoli, John Hrones, Terry Byrne, and Stephen Gladyszak. Stan, Ethan, Barbara, Terry, and Stephen were also in the top ten ACBL-wide, as were Jeff Xiao, Eric Xiao, and Rita Vachani.
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Last updated : Feb 7, 2021 17:55 EST |
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Please join us for the next Silver Linings Week Monday–Friday, January 18–22. All masterpoints are double* silver.
Our games are all at their usual times during Silver Linings Week:
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
10:30 open |
10:30 |
10:30 |
10:30 |
10:30 |
10:30 499er |
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7:00 |
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*Virtual Club Games award 50% more than regular club games, so the “double” points for Silver Linings Week work out to ⅓ more than Virtual Club Games. 🤔
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Last updated : Jan 28, 2021 15:40 EST |
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Over-My-Shoulder with the Grossacks |
Yesterday afternoon (Thursday, January 7) Adam and Zach Grossack teamed with Adam Wildavsky and Kit Woolsey in a match against experts from Sweden and Poland. Over 100 people watched live “over Adam Grossack’s shoulder” while he played and commented. If you missed it, click here to view the recording.
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Last updated : Jan 13, 2021 08:31 EST |
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RealBridge Survey |
Would you please take a couple minutes to help us figure out how we can serve you with RealBridge games?
Note that the contract between ACBL and BBO does not allow us to award masterpoints for online play that isn’t on BBO. 😤 We want to gauge your interest in playing on RealBridge without masterpoints.
Thank you!
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Last updated : Dec 5, 2020 11:45 EST |
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RealBridge Survey |
RealBridge takes online bridge to the next level, with built-in video and sound, bringing the true face-to-face experience online. We ran a week of free introductory games, and the feedback was almost all positive. There’s more information on our RealBridge page.
We’d like to run RealBridge games regularly, but we need your help understanding what times and game types you desire. Would you please click here and answer a few questions? Thank you.
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Last updated : Dec 5, 2020 11:08 EST |
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STARDUST WEEK November 23–27 |
Please join us November 23–27 for STARDUST WEEK. All games award twice as many masterpoints as regular club games, and all awards are ¼ gold.
We will not have a game on Thanksgiving Day, so we’ll have STARDUST games Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:30 and on Monday evening at 7:00. Our Monday 10:30 game has two flights: open and 499er.
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Last updated : Dec 5, 2020 11:08 EST |
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Wednesday Morning Learning Games |
Please join us for our “Learning Games” on Wednesdays at 10:30. You’ll play twelve boards and review them via Zoom with the teacher after each round. Each session is about two hours. Masterpoints are awarded. No preregistration required — just register for the Learning Game (not the Open game) on BBO and join us on Zoom after each round. The Zoom link is https://zoom.us/j/7819297673.
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Last updated : Nov 17, 2020 10:06 EST |
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Free RealBridge Introductory Sessions November 2–6, 2:00 |
We’re holding free RealBridge introductory games Monday–Friday afternoons, November 2–6, at 2:00. Please join us. Details on our RealBridge page.
RealBridge takes online bridge to the next level, with built-in video and sound, bringing the true face-to-face experience online.
- ♣ See and speak to other players—just like face-to-face bridge.
- ♣ Bid and play using a modern, intuitive interface.
- ♣ No installation required—click a link, sit down and play.
Most of us who’ve had the opportunity to try RealBridge have loved it! After seven long months of cryptic user names, cryptic typed chat, no faces, and no voices, it’s great to see and talk to your opponents and partner, and the user interface is excellent—more like, well, real bridge.
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Last updated : Nov 17, 2020 10:05 EST |
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RealBridge Monday, November 2, 2:00 |
Please join us for our second RealBridge session on Monday, November 2. Arrive after 1:30 for a 2:00 start. Before the game, review the instructions below.
Please register below. (This isn’t strictly necessary, but we’d like to have an idea who’s coming.)
A bit before the game (say between 1:30 and 1:45), follow this link to log into our room at RealBridge:
https://play.realbridge.online/ac.html?p=23837&q=CoastRoadBendtySnow
No charge for this game. Future RealBridge games will cost less than our Virtual Club Games on BBO. Alas, the ACBL’s contract with BBO prohibits masterpoints for club games played on platforms other than BBO, OKbridge, and Swan Games. Nevertheless, we expect you’ll enjoy the superior features of RealBridge, especially seeing and talking normally with the other people at your table. We also look forward to running team and Swiss pairs games soon.
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Last updated : Nov 3, 2020 07:19 EST |
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Inaugural RealBridge Game Friday, October 30, at 2:00 |
We are excited to announce our first RealBridge game Friday afternoon, October 30, at 2:00. Please join us at no charge for the first game. Details on our RealBridge page.
RealBridge <https://RealBridge.online> takes online bridge to the next level, with built-in video and sound, bringing the true face-to-face experience online.
- ♣ See and speak to other players—just like face-to-face bridge.
- ♣ Bid and play using a modern, intuitive interface.
- ♣ No installation required—click a link, sit down and play.
A few of us have had the opportunity to try RealBridge, and we loved it! After seven long months of cryptic user names, typed chat, no faces, and no voices, it’s great to see and talk to your opponents and partner, and the user interface is indeed clean and intuitive.
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Last updated : Nov 1, 2020 19:04 EST |
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Inaugural Session Friday, October 30, 2:00 |
Please join us for our inaugural RealBridge session on Friday, October 30. Arrive after 1:30 for a 2:00 start. Before the game, review the instructions below.
Please register below. (This isn’t strictly necessary, but we’d like to have an idea who’s coming.)
A bit before the game (say between 1:30 and 1:45), follow this link to log into our room at RealBridge:
https://play.realbridge.online/aa.html?p=23700&q=FireAndStone
No charge for the first game. Future RealBridge games will cost less than our Virtual Club Games on BBO. Alas, the ACBL’s contract with BBO prohibits masterpoints for club games played on platforms other than BBO, OKbridge, and Swan Games. Nevertheless, we expect you’ll enjoy the superior features of RealBridge, especially seeing and talking normally with the other people at your table. We also look forward to running team and Swiss pairs games soon.
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Last updated : Nov 1, 2020 11:04 EST |
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EXTENDED Through Tuesday, September 29 |
Monday through Sunday Tuesday, September 21 through 27 29, all Virtual Club Games award extra masterpoints, ¼ of them gold. Please join us!
(Stardust Week was extended due to a BBO problem that affected some games, not including ours, on Tuesday, September 22.)
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Last updated : Sep 29, 2020 13:40 EDT |
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Learning Games Start September 23 |
We’re running “Learning Games” on Wednesdays at 10:30 and on the last Sunday of each month at 15:30, starting this week. You’ll play six to twelve boards and review them via Zoom with the teachers after each round. Each session is about two hours. Masterpoints are awarded (including extra “STARDUST” points, ¼ gold, this Wednesday and Sunday). Tim Hill is the teacher for the Wednesday games; Zach Grossack and Kim Gilman are the teachers for the last-Sunday games. No preregistration required. Just register for the Learning Game (not the Open game) on BBO and join us on Zoom a few minutes before game time. The Zoom link is https://zoom.us/j/7819297673.
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Last updated : Sep 29, 2020 13:40 EDT |
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PARTY (on Zoom) Monday Evening, August 17 |
Please join us for our Monday evening game on August 17 and a party on Zoom before and after the game. The game starts at 7:00 and ends about 8:50. The party starts at 6:45 and ends whenever. The Zoom link is https://zoom.us/j/7819297673. Hope you’ll enjoy this opportunity to see and hear old friends.
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Last updated : Aug 19, 2020 12:31 EDT |
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Luba Team Advances to MontreAlt Finals |
Show Detail |
In the qualifying phase of the international MontreAlt team competition, the “Amateurs,” including Harrison Luba, stood 15th of 24 with four rounds to go. The Swiss qualifier, played on BBO July 20–23, was twelve rounds of fourteen boards, with eight teams qualifying for the finals. The Amateurs pulled up to tenth place with a 19-IMP win. In round ten they faced the European “Remembering Roland” team.
On board 13, British expert David Burn (author of the hilarious Larry Who?—Burn’s Law of Total Trumps) declared 6♥️ in the open room. Ira Chorush led the ♣️A, and Burn disposed of his club losers with three ruffs and a pitch on the ♠️A, but on that line he didn’t discover the trump break in time to pick them up, and when the diamonds also misbehaved he had to go down one.
Harrison declared 6♥️ in the closed room, and Peter Lund led the ♠️9. Dummy’s ten drove out Martin Cantor’s king, and Harrison had a route home that needed just three diamonds and just two club ruffs (with two spades and five hearts). He ruffed the ♠️K, ruffed a club, and pulled a round of trump. When Lund showed out, Harrison still had time to pick up the trumps and also a clue that the ♦️Q was on his left. He played a diamond to the jack, a diamond back to the king (Cantor pitched a spade—if he’d ruffed, that would have been the defense’s only trick), ruffed a second club, pulled Cantor’s last three trumps with the marked finesse, and made an overtrick when the spades broke. 17 IMPs to the Amateurs, capping a 52-IMP victory and lifting them to sixth place.
The Amateurs went on to win their last two matches by 15 and 43 IMPs, earning the third seed for the finals on August 3–7.
..... see less
In the qualifying phase of the international MontreAlt team competition, the “Amateurs,” including Harrison Luba, stood 15th of 24 with four rounds to go. The Swiss qualifier, played on BBO July 20–23, was twelve rounds of fourteen boards, with eight teams qualifying for the finals. The Amateurs pulled up to tenth place with a 19-IMP win. ..........
..... see more |
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Last updated : Aug 17, 2020 14:08 EDT |
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Westwood/Puritan/Cape Online—EVENING TIME CHANGE |
Please join us for our Monday and Wednesday evening games, now at 7:00.
Westwood/Puritan/Cape Online runs nine open “Virtual Club Games” and one 499er game every week:
Monday |
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12:30 open |
7:00 |
12:30 499er |
Tuesday |
10:30 |
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Wednesday |
10:30 |
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7:00 |
Thursday |
10:30 |
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Friday |
10:30 |
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Saturday |
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12:30 |
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Sunday |
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12:30 |
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These games are for players who played at Westwood, Puritan, Midcape, or Dennis-Yarmouth at least once in 2019 or 2020 and their guests. They’re 18 boards and take about two hours. Masterpoint awards (black) are 50% higher than regular club games.
We’ll be happy to run additional afternoon games if there’s enough interest. Please let us know.
If you’re not familiar with Bridge Base Online, there’s more information below to help you get started.
If you do know the basics of navigating and playing on BBO, here’s how to get into our game:
- Registration opens two hours before game time. Best to register early, especially the first time. Both partners must be logged into BBO. One registers, inviting the other. The other accepts the invitation.
- On the BBO Home page, click Virtual Clubs and then ACBL—North America. (Alternatively, click Competitive and then ACBL Virtual Clubs.) It should now show you just the games you’re eligible to play in.
- If you don’t see our game, go Back to Virtual Clubs, click All clubs, and find the Westwood/Puritan/Cape game (the Search box might help).
- Click Westwood/Puritan/Cape. Type your partner’s BBO user name. Optionally tick “I will pay for both myself and partner.” Click Invite.
- If told you or your partner isn’t eligible, please contact the director by going Back to the list of pending ACBL Virtual Club games, clicking on the “Host” BBO name to the left of our game’s title, and sending a BBO message. (The host for our games is “vacb119172”.) Include your partner’s BBO name in your message. If game time is more than 30 minutes away, the director might not get your message immediately, but will get your message and respond at least 30 minutes before game time.
- You should see “Invitation in progress. Please wait…” Your partner should see “… Do you accept?” and should click Accept. The game title should turn yellow.
- (The invitation will go away if it isn’t accepted in about 30 seconds. Try again.)
- Be sure you’re back logged into BBO and not in the Casual Play area a few minutes before game time.
- (Casual Play is now on a separate system that is not completely tied into the main system, so if you’re in the Casual Play area at game time, the main server thinks you’re offline. 🤔)
- The game won’t start on time if anybody is offline. If we can’t find an offline player within a couple minutes of the scheduled start, we have to unregister offline players so the game can start for everybody else.
Need a partner? Go to the registration page for our game (see above) and click Partnership Desk. If you don’t hook up with someone immediately, then put your name on the list, stay logged into BBO, not in the Casual Play area, and watch for an invitation or a message.
If you’re brand new to BBO, this tutorial may help. Jim Negro wrote it for his winter club in Albuquerque (thank you, Jim!), so substitute “Westwood/Puritan/Cape” for “Duke City.”
When you’re ready to dive in, first register on BBO:
- Go to bridgebase.com
- click Login / Register
- click Become a member (free!)
- be sure to enter your ACBL number
Play is quite intuitive, but you might benefit from some other tutorials and/or some “Solitaire” or “Casual” play to learn the ropes.
If you’d like more help getting started, please contact Tim Hill by phone (781-929-7673) or email (thill75@wesleyan.edu).
The online alert procedure works very well if you know how to use it efficiently, but it’s radically different from the face-to-face procedure. The basic idea is that you alert and explain your own bids. Never alert or explain your partner’s bids—that’s her job. Your alerts and explanations are shown only to your opponents, never to your partner. With self-alerts, you can fully inform your opponents about your agreements (as required by Law) without making unauthorized information available to your partner. Here are the details:
- Alert by clicking Alert in your bidding box before clicking your bid, Type a concise explanation in the space provided. (As in face-to-face play, it’s better to say what a bid means, not name a convention.)
- “Alert” anything that requires an alert or an announcement in face-to-face play. Feel free to “over-alert.”
- If you forgot to alert, then, as soon as you remember, click on your bid (in the bidding diagram) and type a brief explanation.
- To request further information about an opponent’s bid (alerted or not), click on the bid.
- If asked about your bid, please answer promptly.
- If you need to explain something with a message, chat →Opponents, not →Table.
Warning: Buy BB$ via a browser, not an app (unless you like paying outrageous surcharges to Apple or Google).
— Tim Hill (Westwood), Chris Gorton (Puritan), Joe Brouillard (Midcape), and Rita Baudo (Dennis-Yarmouth)
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Please join us for our Monday and Wednesday evening games, now at 7:00.
Westwood/Puritan/Cape Online runs nine open “Virtual Club Games” and one 499er game every week:
Monday |
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12:30 open |
7:00 |
12:30 499er |
Tuesday |
10:30 |
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Wednesday |
10:30 |
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7:00 |
Thursday |
10:30 |
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Friday |
10:30 |
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Saturday |
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12:30 |
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Sunday |
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12:30 |
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These games are for players who played at Westwood, Puritan, Midcape, or Dennis-Yarmouth at least once in 2019 or 2020 and their guests. They’re 18 boards and take about two hours. Masterpoint awards (black) are 50% higher than regular club games.
We’ll be happy to run additional afternoon games if there’s enough interest. ..........
..... see more |
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Last updated : Aug 7, 2020 13:10 EDT |
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Carvin Makes Diamond Life Master |
Congratulations to Bob Carvin who became a Diamond Life Master when he earned his 5,000th masterpoint on Tuesday, 2020 July 14.
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Last updated : Aug 7, 2020 13:09 EDT |
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Please join us for the ACBL’s second Silver Linings Week Monday–Sunday, July 27–August 2. All masterpoints are double* silver.
Our nine open and two 499er games are all at their usual times during Silver Linings Week:
Monday |
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12:30 open |
7:00 |
12:30 499er |
Tuesday |
10:30 |
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Wednesday |
10:30 |
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7:00 |
Thursday |
10:30 |
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Friday |
10:30 |
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Saturday |
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12:30 |
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Sunday |
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12:30 |
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*Virtual Club Games award 50% more than regular club games, so the “double” points for Silver Linings Week work out to ⅓ more than Virtual Club Games. 🤔
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Last updated : Aug 7, 2020 13:08 EDT |
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A Special Online Bridge Lesson Series with Zach Grossack and Kim Gilman |
Declare These Hands with Us!
Tuesdays, 15:00–17:00, July 7, 14, and 21
Multi-time national champion Zach Grossack is known as one of the best declarers in the bridge world. Would you like to know how he plans his strategy for making 90% of his contracts … with overtricks?
Zach and Kim will use a special BBO tournament option to conduct a “Learning Game.” You’ll hear Zach present useful bridge techniques on Zoom, then you will play hands to practice the lesson. Between rounds, Zach will comment on how he would form a plan for the play. You’ll have a chance to ask questions, and receive his write-ups after class.
For more information, please click here.
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Last updated : Jul 23, 2020 08:43 EDT |
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Bridge in the Time of Covid |
I was delighted to see that Covid ActNow’s excellent reporting on four indicators of covid risk put Massachusetts (which was hit hard in the early months) and four other states, all in New England, in the lowest risk category, “on track to contain covid.” Alas, Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island have slipped back into the “controlled disease growth” category. The Massachusetts infection rate (number of people infected by each person with covid), which had been below the target 0.90 threshold from May 1 through June 23 and was down to 0.73 from June 4–11, is back up to 1.01 (±0.10) as of July 4.
We can do this folks! For all of us, keep up the social distancing and hygiene!
I’m afraid we still have to wait until next year for the return of club and tournament bridge as we knew them. Meanwhile, please keep enjoying our nine open and two 499er “Virtual Club Games” each week, as well as the ACBL’s “Support Your Club” games. If you still feel technically challenged by online bridge, please take a deep breath and give me a call (781-929-7673) or drop me a note (thill75@wesleyan.edu). I’ll be happy to help you get started.
Watch for a couple online bridge improvements coming soon:
- Masterpoint awards for open Virtual Club Games will include proper credit for lower flights. For example, a 10-table open game awards 1.5 and 1.05 masterpoints for first and second place in each direction, with no overall awards, but if there’s a concurrent 10-table 499er game, the open game should award 3 and 2.25 for first and second overall, and at least 2.25 and 1.7 for first and second in each direction. Many thanks to the wonderfully impatient Jay Whipple (of The Common Game) for writing stopgap code to fix this. I’ve had the privilege of helping him get the code (which seems simple but is shockingly difficult with all the corner cases) right and testing it, and it’s now on the verge of deployment (perhaps as soon as today).
- Swiss team games.
Any interest in trying some Zoom games, so you can see and talk to your table while you play?
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Last updated : Jul 20, 2020 08:44 EDT |
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Endless Summer Online Regional |
Thank you for making the Endless Summer Online Regional a success. In just four days the tournament drew 13,007 tables—more than many North American Bridge Championships—with five or six events each in 16 sessions. The income is greatly appreciated by the ACBL and 66 Tournament Directors. It was a pleasure to see and talk with many of my colleagues, if only via Zoom, while working the tournament.
Congratulations to Westwood players Marley Cedrone, Robin Hillyard, Sally Matthews, Robert Micone, Paul Wacks, and John Yin, who won events or strata, and John Yin, Ethan Wood, Harrison Luba, Dan Jabonski, and Marley Cedrone, who were among the top 100 masterpoint winners.
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Last updated : Jul 20, 2020 08:43 EDT |
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Masterpoint Achievements |
Congratulations to Westwood players who advanced in masterpoint rank in June, including new life masters Fizza Adamjee, Barbara Blauer, Joseph Shulman, Beverly Titzel, and Ethan Wood!
Congratulations also to Westwood players in the top 25 in their district masterpoint races, including Joanne Tulimieri, Stan Piltch, Ethan Wood, Barbara Murphy, Dan Jablonski, and Cilla Borras, who lead their brackets in the New England Helen Shanbrom Ace of Clubs or Mini McKenney races.
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Last updated : Jul 20, 2020 08:43 EDT |
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Westwood/Puritan/Cape Online |
Westwood/Puritan/Cape Online runs nine open “Virtual Club Games” and two 499er games every week:
Monday |
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12:30 open |
7:30 |
12:30 499er |
Tuesday |
10:30 |
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Wednesday |
10:30 |
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7:30 |
Thursday |
10:30 open |
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10:30 499er |
Friday |
10:30 |
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Saturday |
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12:30 |
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Sunday |
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12:30 |
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These games are for players who played at Westwood, Puritan, Midcape, or Dennis-Yarmouth at least once in 2019 or 2020 and their guests. They’re 18 boards and take about two hours. Masterpoint awards (black) are 50% higher than regular club games.
We’ll be happy to run additional afternoon games if there’s enough interest. Please let us know.
If you’re not familiar with Bridge Base Online, there’s more information below to help you get started.
If you do know the basics of navigating and playing on BBO, here’s how to get into our game:
- Registration opens two hours before game time. Best to register early, especially the first time. Both partners must be logged into BBO. One registers, inviting the other. The other accepts the invitation.
- On the BBO Home page, click Virtual Clubs and then ACBL—North America. (Alternatively, click Competitive and then ACBL Virtual Clubs.) It should now show you just the games you’re eligible to play in.
- If you don’t see our game, go Back to Virtual Clubs, click All clubs, and find the Westwood/Puritan/Cape game (the Search box might help).
- Click Westwood/Puritan/Cape. Type your partner’s BBO user name. Optionally tick “I will pay for both myself and partner.” Click Invite.
- If told you or your partner isn’t eligible, please contact the director by going Back to the list of pending ACBL Virtual Club games, clicking on the “Host” BBO name to the left of our game’s title, and sending a BBO message. (The host for our games is “vacb119172”.) Include your partner’s BBO name in your message. If game time is more than 30 minutes away, the director might not get your message immediately, but will get your message and respond at least 30 minutes before game time.
- You should see “Invitation in progress. Please wait…” Your partner should see “… Do you accept?” and should click Accept. The game title should turn yellow.
- (The invitation will go away if it isn’t accepted in about 30 seconds. Try again.)
- Be sure you’re back logged into BBO and not in the Casual Play area a few minutes before game time.
- (Casual Play is now on a separate system that is not completely tied into the main system, so if you’re in the Casual Play area at game time, the main server thinks you’re offline. 🤔)
- The game won’t start on time if anybody is offline. If we can’t find an offline player within a couple minutes of the scheduled start, we have to unregister offline players so the game can start for everybody else.
Need a partner? Go to the registration page for our game (see above) and click Partnership Desk. If you don’t hook up with someone immediately, then put your name on the list, stay logged into BBO, not in the Casual Play area, and watch for an invitation or a message.
If you’re brand new to BBO, this tutorial may help. Jim Negro wrote it for his winter club in Albuquerque (thank you, Jim!), so substitute “Westwood/Puritan/Cape” for “Duke City.”
When you’re ready to dive in, first register on BBO:
- Go to bridgebase.com
- click Login / Register
- click Become a member (free!)
- be sure to enter your ACBL number
Play is quite intuitive, but you might benefit from some other tutorials and/or some “Solitaire” or “Casual” play to learn the ropes.
If you’d like more help getting started, please contact Tim Hill by phone (781-929-7673) or email (thill75@wesleyan.edu).
The online alert procedure works very well if you know how to use it efficiently, but it’s radically different from the face-to-face procedure. The basic idea is that you alert and explain your own bids. Never alert or explain your partner’s bids—that’s her job. Your alerts and explanations are shown only to your opponents, never to your partner. With self-alerts, you can fully inform your opponents about your agreements (as required by Law) without making unauthorized information available to your partner. Here are the details:
- Alert by clicking Alert in your bidding box before clicking your bid, Type a concise explanation in the space provided. (As in face-to-face play, it’s better to say what a bid means, not name a convention.)
- “Alert” anything that requires an alert or an announcement in face-to-face play. Feel free to “over-alert.”
- If you forgot to alert, then, as soon as you remember, click on your bid (in the bidding diagram) and type a brief explanation.
- To request further information about an opponent’s bid (alerted or not), click on the bid.
- If asked about your bid, please answer promptly.
- If you need to explain something with a message, chat →Opponents, not →Table.
Warning: Buy BB$ via a browser, not an app (unless you like paying outrageous surcharges to Apple or Google).
— Tim Hill (Westwood), Chris Gorton (Puritan), Joe Brouillard (Midcape), and Rita Baudo (Dennis-Yarmouth)
..... see less
Westwood/Puritan/Cape Online runs nine open “Virtual Club Games” and two 499er games every week:
Monday |
|
12:30 open |
7:30 |
12:30 499er |
Tuesday |
10:30 |
|
|
Wednesday |
10:30 |
|
7:30 |
Thursday |
10:30 open |
|
|
10:30 499er |
Friday |
10:30 |
|
|
Saturday |
|
12:30 |
|
Sunday |
|
12:30 |
|
These games are for players who played at Westwood, Puritan, Midcape, or Dennis-Yarmouth at least once in 2019 or 2020 and their guests. They’re 18 boards and take about two hours. Masterpoint awards (black) are 50% higher than regular club games.
We’ll be happy to run additional afternoon games if there’s enough interest. ..........
..... see more |
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Last updated : Jul 13, 2020 08:07 EDT |
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Saturday Morning Classes with Kim Gilman - Spring 2020 - Postponed |
Saturday morning with Kim: "Practice Makes Perfect"
This 4-part series is intended to take you deeper into bridge tactics you may already know, and make you a better player when you solidify your expertise in these common situations.
Saturday mornings 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
April 18 — Manage Your Entries
Understanding and planning transportation between your hand and dummy is important. Being locked in the wrong hand can result in taking fewer tricks than you deserve! Practice making a plan for how you will cross back and forth.
April 25 — Good and Bad Overcalls
We all want to enter the auction with our 5+ card suits, but there are other criteria for overcalls. Learn the difference between good and bad overcalls, and practice when to bid and when to pass.
May 9 — Playing a No-trump Contract
Many consider no-trump to be most challenging aspect of declarer play. This class will contain lots of practice hands and reinforce the most important principles of playing in no-trump.
May 16 — Practice with Signals
Advice in training yourself to always signal your partner; how to become a keen observer of your partner’s signals; and using the information to set a contract.
Course fee: Sign up for individual classes or all four. $25 per class if registered in advance or $30 at the door. Register for all four classes for $90 if paid on April 18.
Saturday morning with Kim: "Bidding to Win"
This course will cover a few expert bidding techniques that will get you to the optimal contract more often. You too can use these bids!
Saturday mornings 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
May 30 — Should I Open this Hand?
Many experts open certain hands with 10 points, yet will pass a hand with 12 points! Go beyond the basics of an opening bid, and see what other features should play into your decision.
June 6 —Answering a Takeout Double
Life gets complicated when the opponents have opened the bidding, but with the correct answers to a takeout double, your side can still get to the best contract. Explore such responses as jumps, cue bids, and even passing!
June 13 — Cue Bids
Explore the various meanings and situations of bidding the enemy suit.
June 20 — Cue Bids, Part 2
Practice with cue bids, including how they can help you bid slams even in a competitive auction.
Course fee: Sign up for individual classes or all four. $25 per class if registered in advance or $30 at the door. Register for all four classes for $90 if paid on May 30.
Register for all eight classes for $160 if paid on April 18.
Please register by emailing Nathalie at baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com
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Last updated : Jun 30, 2020 12:00 EDT |
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Can’t Find Our Game on BBO? |
ACBL Virtual Clubs now shows only those games that BBO thinks you’re eligible for (and start within two hours). Alas, it might not show you a game that you are eligible for. If you can’t find our game, go Back to Virtual Clubs, click All clubs, and search for Westwood/Puritan/Cape.
(Any usability testing experts out there? BBO needs you!)
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Last updated : Jun 18, 2020 14:45 EDT |
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Wood Makes LM, Tops District Silver Linings |
Ethan Wood had a couple busy weeks. During Silver Linings Week, May 25–31, he played 26 games, earned 49 silver points—the highest total in New England and sixth highest ACBL-wide—and became a life master. On June 4 he graduated from Dover-Sherborn High School. Congratulations, Ethan!
Congratulations also to four other Westwood players who were among the top ten in New England on the Silver Linings masterpoint list: Carole Weinstein, Barbara Murphy, Stephen Gladyszak, and Marley Cedrone.
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Last updated : Jun 18, 2020 14:45 EDT |
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Welcome to Westwood Bridge |
Welcome to the Westwood Bridge Club, where it’s our mission to provide you with a friendly and fun place to play duplicate bridge.
For our complete schedule and directions to the club, please click Information.
Our telephone number is 781-329-2476 781-929-7673.
We strongly support the ACBL-sanctioned "Zero Tolerance" policy. Proper behavior is expected at all times.
We use random pre-dealt hands using thecommongame.com.
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Last updated : May 31, 2020 17:08 EDT |
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Special Game Times for Silver Linings Week |
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Monday–Sunday, May 25–31, is Silver Linings Week: Behind Every Board are Silver Points! Westwood/Puritan/Cape Online is joining forces with OneWorld to bring all of our players more and larger games that award up to 12 silver points for overall tops and 4.5 silver points for section tops.
Special game times for Silver Linings week:
Monday, May 25 |
10:10 open |
1:10 open & 499er |
4:10 speedball |
7:10 open |
Tuesday, May 26 |
10:10 open & 49er |
1:10 open |
4:10 speedball |
7:10 open |
Wednesday, May 27 |
10:10 open |
1:10 open & 499er |
4:10 speedball |
7:10 open |
Thursday, May 28 |
10:10 open |
1:10 open |
4:10 speedball |
7:10 open |
Friday, May 29 |
10:10 open & 49er |
1:10 open & 499er |
4:10 speedball |
|
Saturday, May 30 |
10:10 open & 499er |
1:10 open |
4:10 speedball |
7:10 open |
Sunday, May 31 |
10:10 open & 499er |
1:10 open |
4:10 speedball |
|
These games are for players who played at any of our clubs at least once in 2019 or 2020 and their guests. Most games are 18 boards and last under two hours. 49er games are 12 boards and are followed by a postgame talk on Zoom. Speedball games are 12 boards and last an hour. Triple masterpoints, all silver.
If you’re not familiar with Bridge Base Online, there’s more information below to help you get started.
If you do know the basics of navigating and playing on BBO, here’s how to get into our game:
- Registration opens two hours before game time. Best to register early, especially the first time. Both partners must be logged into BBO. One registers, inviting the other. The other accepts the invitation.
- On the BBO Home page, click Virtual Clubs then ACBL—North America. (Alternatively, click Competitive and then ACBL Virtual Clubs.)
- Find the Boston OneWorld/Westwood/Puritan game (the Search box might help) and click its title.
- Type your partner’s BBO user name. Optionally tick “I will pay for both myself and partner.” Click Invite.
- If told you or your partner isn’t eligible, please contact the director by BBO message to “VACB277178”.
- You should see “Invitation in progress. Please wait…” Your partner should see “… Do you accept?” and should click Accept. The game title should turn yellow.
- (The invitation will go away if it isn’t accepted in about 30 seconds. Try again.)
- Be sure you’re back logged into BBO and not in the Casual Play area a few minutes before game time.
- (The Casual Play area is now on a separate system that is not completely tied into the main system, so if you’re in the Casual Play area at game time, the main server thinks you’re offline. 🤔)
- The game won’t start on time if anybody is offline. If we can’t find an offline player within a couple minutes of the scheduled start, we have to unregister offline players so the game can start for everybody else.
Need a partner? Go to the registration page for our game (see above) and click Partnership Desk. If you don’t hook up with someone immediately, then put your name on the list, stay logged into BBO, not in the Casual Play area, and watch for an invitation or a message.
If you’re brand new to BBO, this tutorial may help. Jim Negro wrote it for his winter club in Albuquerque (thank you, Jim!), so substitute “Westwood/Puritan/Cape” for “Duke City.”
When you’re ready to dive in, first register on BBO:
- Go to bridgebase.com
- click Login / Register
- click Become a member (free!)
- be sure to enter your ACBL number
Play is quite intuitive, but you might benefit from some other tutorials and/or some “Solitaire” or “Casual” play to learn the ropes.
If you’d like more help getting started, please contact Tim Hill by phone (781-929-7673) or email (thill75@wesleyan.edu).
The online alert procedure works very well if you know how to use it efficiently, but it’s radically different from the face-to-face procedure. The basic idea is that you alert and explain your own bids. Never alert or explain your partner’s bids—that’s her job. Your alerts and explanations are shown only to your opponents, never to your partner. With self-alerts, you can fully inform your opponents about your agreements (as required by Law) without making unauthorized information available to your partner. Here are the details:
- Alert by clicking Alert in your bidding box before clicking your bid, Type a brief explanation in the space provided. (As in face-to-face play, it’s better to say what a bid means, not name a convention.)
- “Alert” anything that requires an alert or an announcement in face-to-face play. Feel free to “over-alert.”
- If you forgot to alert, then, as soon as you remember, click on your bid (in the bidding diagram) and type a brief explanation.
- To request further information about an opponent’s bid (alerted or not), click on the bid.
- If asked about your bid, please answer promptly.
- If you need to explain something with a message, chat →Opponents, not →Table.
Warning: Buy BB$ via a browser, not an app (unless you like paying outrageous surcharges to Apple or Google).
— Tim Hill (Westwood), Chris Gorton (Puritan), Joe Brouilliard (Midcape), Flora Hall (Monomoy), and Rita Baudo (Dennis-Yarmouth)
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Last updated : May 31, 2020 17:07 EDT |
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Westwood/Puritan/Cape Online |
We know playing bridge on a computer isn’t nearly as fun as playing at a club, but for now it’s all we can do. The Westwood, Puritan, Midcape, Monomoy, and Dennis-Yarmouth clubs now run 9 open “Virtual Club Games” and two 499er games every week:
Monday |
|
12:30 open |
7:30 |
12:30 499er |
Tuesday |
10:30 |
|
|
Wednesday |
10:30 |
|
7:30 |
Thursday |
10:30 open |
|
|
10:30 499er |
Friday |
10:30 |
|
|
Saturday |
|
12:30 |
|
Sunday |
|
12:30 |
|
These games are just for players who played at any of our clubs at least once in 2019 or 2020. They’re 18 boards and take about two hours. Masterpoint awards (black) are now 50% higher than regular club games.
If you’re not familiar with Bridge Base Online, there’s more information below to help you get started.
If you do know the basics of navigating and playing on BBO, here’s how to get into our game:
- Registration opens two hours before game time. Best to register early, especially the first time. Both partners must be logged into BBO. One registers, inviting the other. The other accepts the invitation.
- On the BBO Home page, click Virtual Clubs then ACBL—North America. (Alternatively, click Competitive and then ACBL Virtual Clubs.)
- Find the Westwood/Puritan/Cape game (the Search box might help) and click its title.
- Type your partner’s BBO user name. Optionally tick “I will pay for both myself and partner.” Click Invite.
- If told you or your partner isn’t eligible, please contact the director by BBO message to “VACB119172”. (Plan B: contact Tim Hill by text or voice at 781-929-7673). (Anyone who played at least once at Westwood, Puritan, Midcape, Monomoy, or D-Y in 2019 or 2020 is eligible, but some names may be missing from the eligibility list.)
- You should see “Invitation in progress. Please wait…” Your partner should see “… Do you accept?” and should click Accept. The game title should turn yellow.
- (The invitation will go away if it isn’t accepted in about 30 seconds. Try again.)
- Be sure you’re back logged into BBO and not in the Casual Play area a few minutes before game time.
- (The Casual Play area is now on a separate system that is not completely tied into the main system, so if you’re in the Casual Play area at game time, the main server thinks you’re offline. 🤔)
- The game won’t start on time if anybody is offline. If we can’t find an offline player within a couple minutes of the scheduled start, we have to unregister offline players so the game can start for everybody else.
Need a partner? Go to the registration page for our game (see above) and click Partnership Desk. If you don’t hook up with someone immediately, then put your name on the list, stay logged into BBO, not in the Casual Play area, and watch for an invitation or a message.
If you’re brand new to BBO, this tutorial may help. Jim Negro wrote it for his winter club in Albuquerque (thank you, Jim!), so substitute “Westwood/Puritan/Cape” for “Duke City.”
When you’re ready to dive in, first register on BBO:
- Go to bridgebase.com
- click Login / Register
- click Become a member (free!)
- be sure to enter your ACBL number
Play is quite intuitive, but you might benefit from some other tutorials and/or some “Solitaire” or “Casual” play to learn the ropes.
If you’d like more help getting started, please contact Tim Hill by phone (781-929-7673) or email (thill75@wesleyan.edu).
The online alert procedure works very well if you know how to use it efficiently, but it’s radically different from the face-to-face procedure. The basic idea is that you alert and explain your own bids. Never alert or explain your partner’s bids—that’s her job. Your alerts and explanations are shown only to your opponents, never to your partner. With self-alerts, you can fully inform your opponents about your agreements (as required by Law) without passing unauthorized information to your partner. Here are the details:
- Alert by clicking Alert in your bidding box before clicking your bid, Type a brief explanation in the space provided. (As in face-to-face play, it’s better to say what a bid means, not name a convention.)
- “Alert” anything that requires an alert or an announcement in face-to-face play. Feel free to “over-alert.”
- If you forgot to alert, then, as soon as you remember, click on your bid (in the bidding diagram) and type a brief explanation.
- To request further information about an opponent’s bid (alerted or not), click on the bid.
- If asked about your bid, please answer promptly.
- If you need to explain something with a message, send it →Opponents, not →Table.
Warning: Buy BB$ via a browser, not an app (unless you like paying outrageous surcharges to Apple or Google).
— Tim Hill, Chris Gorton, Joe Brouilliard, Flora Hall, and Rita Baudo
..... see less
We know playing bridge on a computer isn’t nearly as fun as playing at a club, but for now it’s all we can do. The Westwood, Puritan, Midcape, Monomoy, and Dennis-Yarmouth clubs now run 9 open “Virtual Club Games” and two 499er games every week:
Monday |
|
12:30 open |
7:30 |
12:30 499er |
Tuesday |
10:30 |
|
|
Wednesday |
10:30 |
|
7:30 |
Thursday |
10:30 open |
|
|
10:30 499er |
Friday |
10:30 |
|
|
Saturday |
|
12:30 |
|
Sunday |
|
12:30 |
|
These games are just for players who played at any of our clubs at least once in 2019 or 2020. They’re 18 boards and take about two hours. ..........
..... see more |
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Last updated : May 24, 2020 17:57 EDT |
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Kenneth S. Anderson, 1944–2020 |
Kenneth S. Anderson of West Roxbury, at age 76. Beloved son of the late Karl and Katherine (Thornton) Anderson. Born January 19, 1944, dear brother of Gerald Anderson and his wife Hannah of Plymouth, and Lawrence Anderson and his wife Sharon of Carlsbad, Ken also leaves several nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. He was a graduate of Roxbury Latin School, MIT and a member of Westwood Bridge Club. At this time burial will be private. Memorial services to be held at a later date. Donations in Ken's memory may be made to Shriners Hospital for Children or a charity of your choice.
Published in The Boston Globe on Apr. 14, 2020
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Last updated : May 13, 2020 09:21 EDT |
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Westwood and Puritan Online: New Weekend and 499er games. |
We know playing bridge on a computer isn’t nearly as fun as playing at a club, but for now it’s all we can do. We are delighted that our club and the Puritan Bridge Club are jointly hosting online bridge games so you can play among friends from both clubs.
Westwood/Puritan “Virtual Club Games” are now seven days a week:
- open games Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10:30
- open games Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays at 12:30
- 499er games Mondays at 12:30
These games are just for players who played at one or both of our clubs at least once in 2019 or 2020. They’re 18 boards and take about two hours. Masterpoint awards (black) are now 50% higher than regular club games.
If you’re not familiar with Bridge Base Online, there’s more information below to help you get started.
If you do know your way around BBO, here’s how to get into our game:
- Registration opens two hours before game time. Best to register early, especially the first time.
- On the BBO Home page, click Competitive then ACBL Virtual Clubs.
- Find the Westwood/Puritan game (the Search box might help) and click its title.
- Anyone who played at least once at Westwood or Puritan in 2019 or 2020 is eligible, but some names may be missing from the eligibility list. If you have trouble registering, please contact Tim Hill by text or voice (781-929-7673), by email <thill75@wesleyan.edu>, or by BBO message to “VACB119172”.
- Be sure you’re back logged into BBO a few minutes before game time.
Need a partner? Go to the registration page for our game (see above) and click Partnership Desk. If you don’t hook up with someone immediately, then put your name on the list, and stay logged into BBO and watch your “Chat.”
If you’re brand new to BBO, a video tutorial might help:
When you’re ready to dive in, first register on BBO:
- Go to bridgebase.com
- click Login / Register
- click Become a member (free!)
- be sure to enter your ACBL number
Play is quite intuitive, but you might benefit from these tutorials and a little “Solitaire” or “Casual” play to learn the ropes.
If you’d like more help getting started, please contact Tim Hill by phone (781-929-7673) or email.
— Chris Gorton and Tim Hill
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Last updated : May 13, 2020 09:21 EDT |
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Jonathan A. Guttmacher 1930–2020 |
Jonathan A. Guttmacher died from complications of Covid-19 on April 15, 2020 at the age of 89. Born in Baltimore, Jonathan attended the Park School and got his undergraduate degree from Haverford College in Pennsylvania. He served in the Army from 1952 to 1954, stationed at Ft. Meade, MD. He earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1958 and went to work as an attorney with the Federal Power Commission in Washington DC. After three years in Washington, he decided to become a doctor, and attended Western Reserve Medical School, specializing in psychiatry. He interned at Boston Medical Center and did his residency at Boston Psychopathic Hospital before working as a psychiatrist at Cambridge City Hospital. In 1972, he went into private practice, which he continued until retirement. An avid music lover and an accomplished classical pianist, he frequently hosted chamber music sessions at home in Brookline and later at his homes in Boston's South End and in Dorchester. He enjoyed tennis, swimming and bridge and will be much missed at his bridge club in Braintree where he and his longtime life partner Rudolf Brautigam regularly played as a team. He is survived by his partner Rudy, his former wife Ilene, his son Chris, his daughter Betsy, his son-in-law Joe Dore, and his grandchildren Ruby Dore and Dexter Dore. A celebration of his life is being planned for later in the year.
Published in The Boston Globe on Apr. 19, 2020
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Last updated : May 13, 2020 09:20 EDT |
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Don Carow 1933–2020 |
Donald William Carow, age 86, passed away peacefully at Care Dimensions in Lincoln, Massachusetts on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020, with his wife by his side. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 10th, 1933, he was the son of the late Herbert and Anita (Keuther) Carow. He was raised in Milwaukee and graduated from Rufus King High School with the Class of 1951. Donald continued his education at the General Motors Institute (now Kettering) in Flint, Michigan, earning his bachelor’s degree in 1955. During his years at the GM Institute, Donald participated in a work/study program with A.C. Spark Plug.
Donald married his wife, Barbara Mayne, on June 14, 1958. The following year, the couple moved to the east coast, initially making their home in Watertown, Massachusetts before settling in Lynn, Massachusetts. Donald continued his career with A.C. Electronics in Wakefield, while pursuing his master’s degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which he earned in 1960. Ten years later, Donald moved his family to Walpole, Massachusetts and took a position with the Northrup Corporation, where he worked until his retirement in 1995. Donald continued to work part time at both Fibersense and Analog Devices.
Donald was a dedicated duplicate bridge player and he and his wife enjoyed traveling the world with Road Scholar.
Beloved husband of Barbara (Mayne) Carow. Loving father of Leslie Ossoff and her husband, David, of Concord, New Hampshire, Bethany Frederick and her husband, Stephen, of Medford, Matthew Carow of East Walpole, and the late Daniel Carow and his surviving wife, Sharon, of Greenfield. Cherished grandfather of Sarah Jordan and her husband, Josh, of Ashfield, James Whitney and his partner, Bry Nadeau, of Montague, Jonathan Carow of Bernardston, Rachel Carow and her partner, Mario Machado, of Charlton, Hannah Ossoff of Burlington, Vermont, Joseph Ossoff and his partner, Peter Newland, of Burlington, Vermont, Samantha Ossoff of Concord, New Hampshire, Jennifer Frederick and her partner, Michael Ruiz, of Melbourne, Florida, and Elizabeth Frederick of Medford; and great-grandfather of Dylan Jordan, Cole Jordan, and Preston Whitney.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 24 Berwick Street, Norwood, MA 02062.
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Last updated : May 13, 2020 09:20 EDT |
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Westwood/Puritan Online Adds 499er and Evening Games |
We know playing bridge on a computer isn’t nearly as fun as playing at a club, but for now it’s all we can do. We are delighted that our club and the Puritan Bridge Club are jointly hosting online bridge games so you can play among friends from both clubs.
With the addition of two evening games and a 499er game, our “Virtual Club Game” schedule is now:
Monday |
|
12:30 open |
7:30 |
12:30 499er |
Tuesday |
10:30 |
|
|
Wednesday |
10:30 |
|
7:30 |
Thursday |
10:30 |
|
|
Friday |
10:30 |
|
|
Saturday |
|
12:30 |
|
Sunday |
|
12:30 |
|
These games are just for players who played at one or both of our clubs at least once in 2019 or 2020. They’re 18 boards and take about two hours. Masterpoint awards (black) are now 50% higher than regular club games.
If you’re not familiar with Bridge Base Online, there’s more information below to help you get started.
If you do know your way around BBO, here’s how to get into our game:
- Registration opens two hours before game time. Best to register early, especially the first time.
- On the BBO Home page, click Competitive then ACBL Virtual Clubs.
- Find the Westwood/Puritan game (the Search box might help) and click its title.
- Anyone who played at least once at Westwood or Puritan in 2019 or 2020 is eligible, but some names may be missing from the eligibility list. If you have trouble registering, please contact Tim Hill by text or voice (781-929-7673), by email <thill75@wesleyan.edu>, or by BBO message to “VACB119172”.
- Be sure you’re back logged into BBO a few minutes before game time.
Need a partner? Go to the registration page for our game (see above) and click Partnership Desk. If you don’t hook up with someone immediately, then put your name on the list, and stay logged into BBO and watch your “Chat.”
If you’re brand new to BBO, a video tutorial might help:
When you’re ready to dive in, first register on BBO:
- Go to bridgebase.com
- click Login / Register
- click Become a member (free!)
- be sure to enter your ACBL number
Play is quite intuitive, but you might benefit from these tutorials and a little “Solitaire” or “Casual” play to learn the ropes.
If you’d like more help getting started, please contact Tim Hill by phone (781-929-7673) or email.
— Chris Gorton and Tim Hill
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Last updated : May 13, 2020 09:19 EDT |
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Club Closed |
Our club is closed starting Friday morning, March 13, until further notice. 😢
I’m sure you understand that this was a difficult decision that I made after much research and consultation. I look forward to seeing everyone back at the club as soon as possible.
March 15 update: Many of you have kindly told me that I did the right thing. Thank you for understanding!
I know some think I overreacted. Ultimately three thoughts persuaded me:
- Until we have adequate testing, we have no idea how much the virus is spreading in our area.
- I’d feel miserable if anyone became seriously ill after being infected at our club.
- We all should do our share to protect public health.
We are eager to welcome everybody back just as soon as reasonable! Alas I don’t know whether that will be next week or next month or later.
March 15 evening update: I guess we’re now closed at least through April 5 by order of Gov. Baker.
March 16 update: The ACBL suggests canceling or postponing all tournaments and club games through May 11. I hope we’ll be able to open sooner than that, but I fear it may be later than that. No way to know. In any case, we don’t need much advance notice. We’ll reopen as soon as reasonable.
Tim
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Last updated : May 13, 2020 09:19 EDT |
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Cape Cod Clubs Join Westwood/Puritan Online |
We know playing bridge on a computer isn’t nearly as fun as playing at a club, but for now it’s all we can do. We are delighted that three Cape Cod clubs, Midcape, Monomoy, and Dennis-Yarmouth are joining Westwood and Puritan Online. Now you can play “Virtual Club Games” among friends nine times a week:
Monday |
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12:30 open |
7:30 |
12:30 499er |
Tuesday |
10:30 |
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Wednesday |
10:30 |
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7:30 |
Thursday |
10:30 |
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Friday |
10:30 |
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Saturday |
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12:30 |
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Sunday |
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12:30 |
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These games are just for players who played at any of our clubs at least once in 2019 or 2020. They’re 18 boards and take about two hours. Masterpoint awards (black) are now 50% higher than regular club games.
If you’re not familiar with Bridge Base Online, there’s more information below to help you get started.
If you do know your way around BBO, here’s how to get into our game:
- Registration opens two hours before game time. Best to register early, especially the first time. Both partners must be logged into BBO. One registers, inviting the other. The other accepts the invitation.
- On the BBO Home page, click Competitive then ACBL Virtual Clubs.
- Find the Westwood/Puritan game (the Search box might help) and click its title.
- Type your partner’s BBO user name. Optionally tick “I will pay for both myself and partner.” Click Invite.
- (If told you or your partner isn’t eligible, please contact Tim Hill by text or voice (781-929-7673), by email <thill75@wesleyan.edu>, or by BBO message to “VACB119172”. Anyone who played at least once at Westwood, Puritan, Midcape, Monomoy, or D-Y in 2019 or 2020 is eligible, but some names may be missing from the eligibility list.)
- You should see “Invitation in progress. Please wait…” Your partner should see “… Do you accept?” and should click Accept. The game title should turn yellow.
- (The invitation will go away if it isn’t accepted in about 30 seconds. Try again.)
- Be sure you’re back logged into BBO a few minutes before game time.
Need a partner? Go to the registration page for our game (see above) and click Partnership Desk. If you don’t hook up with someone immediately, then put your name on the list, and stay logged into BBO and watch your “Chat.”
If you’re brand new to BBO, a video tutorial might help. Here’s a recorded comprehensive tutorial by Silvana Morici (38 minutes).
When you’re ready to dive in, first register on BBO:
- Go to bridgebase.com
- click Login / Register
- click Become a member (free!)
- be sure to enter your ACBL number
Play is quite intuitive, but you might benefit from these tutorials and a little “Solitaire” or “Casual” play to learn the ropes.
If you’d like more help getting started, please contact Tim Hill by phone (781-929-7673) or email.
— Tim Hill, Chris Gorton, Joe Brouilliard, Flora Hall, and Rita Baudo
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Last updated : May 13, 2020 09:18 EDT |
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Pamela W. Miller 1968–2020 |
New England Journal of Medicine Chief of Staff Pamela W. Miller died on April 29 surrounded by her loving husband, Jim Rasmussen, and beloved mother, Phyllis Miller. Pam spent her early childhood in Hong Kong and Malaysia before moving to Ridgewood, NJ at age 13. She graduated from Wellesley College with a double major in math and music. At Wellesley, she played and taught carillon and was a member of the college choir. Pam began her professional life running Margun Music, the musical publishing company of the composer and conductor Gunther Schuller. Six years later she left to become the grants administrator of the Pulmonary Division at Brigham and Woman's Hospital. When Dr. Jeffrey Drazen, the Division chief, became editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine in 2000, he asked Pam to join as special assistant to the Editor-in-Chief, his “de facto” chief of staff. For the next 20 years she was an integral part of the Editorial Office staff in Boston – assisting Jeff Drazen, Eric Rubin, and the Deputy Editors with the preparation of a library of papers, lectures, and presentations and leading the coordination of nearly every event sponsored by the Journal. Pam changed the Journal from a predominantly paper-driven organization to one that took full advantage of the power of the internet. In addition, through the skill with which she implemented ideas proposed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, she impacted not only the New England Journal of Medicine, but virtually every medical journal in the world. Pam was an extraordinarily capable person known for her down-to-earth intelligence, her commitment to excellence, and her dedication to the Journal and its mission. She will long be remembered at the Journal not only for her many contributions but also for her fun-loving, inclusive nature that made everyone feel like an important member of the team. Pam loved to sing, read, travel, play golf and she was one of the top bridge players in New England, representing the region in numerous national events and playing in many world championships with her husband. She loved good food, wine, and the Boston Red Sox. For many years she and her husband were season ticket holders of the New England Patriots, and heads always turned in her section to see who was singing the beautiful rendition of the national anthem. Throughout her 12-year battle with breast cancer Pam was an inspiration to many. She showed how it was possible to live a full life despite serious health problems. Pam will be sorely missed by her family, colleagues, and many friends, all of whom loved her dearly. Pam is survived by her loving husband and soulmate, James Rasmussen, her mother Phyllis Miller, brother Eric, and stepson Jeffrey Rasmussen and his family. She was predeceased by her father Richard Miller. Due to the current health crisis, a Service to Celebrate her Life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in Pam’s memory may be made to the Greater Boston Food Bank.
Published in The Boston Globe on May 3, 2020
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Last updated : May 13, 2020 09:17 EDT |
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The Common Game Online |
The Common Game is back online, and we started playing Common Game boards on Saturday, April 27. To see how your game stacked up against hundreds of tables from other ACBL Virtual Clubs, click here.
I know this is a little confusing, but there are now four ways to view the results of Westwood/Puritan Online games: on Bridge Base Online, on Westwood’s BridgeWebs site, on ACBLLive For Clubs, and on The Common Game site. You’ll see that each has its pluses and minuses while their programmers scramble to adapt to changing times. We look forward to improvements.
Note that Masterpoint awards for Virtual Club Games were increased 50% on April 15. Right now only ACBLLive and The Common Game display the increased awards.
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Last updated : May 13, 2020 09:17 EDT |
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Thrice-daily “Support Your Club” Black-point Games Online |
“Support Your Club” games are now running three times every day on Bridge Base Online. Game times are 10:00 a.m., 5:10 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. EDT. (These games have been selling out, so register early. Registration opens two hours before game time.)
When you play in a “Support Your Club” game, $4 of your $6 entry fee goes back to the club(s) where you played last year. All revenue our club receives from these games will be given to our cook, Christine, and our other regular directors, Andrew, Marty, Norm, Sally, and Tony. Many thanks to the pairs including at least one Westwood player who played in these games 433 times through April 14.
Please click here for more information and instructions.
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Last updated : May 13, 2020 09:16 EDT |
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Bertram Star, 1934–2020 |
Bertram Star, a longtime resident of Needham, MA, died on April 11, 2020 from COVID-19. He was 86 years old. In 1954, Bert graduated from Boston University School of Business. He then entered his family's hardware wholesale business and ultimately became the president and co-owner of Star Sales & Distributing Co. After retiring, he volunteered for many worthwhile causes including the Big Brother Organization and the Jewish Community Center of Newton. In later years, Bert was passionate about his bridge groups and reading historical fiction. He also loved spending time with his daughters, Karen Star Barbaresi and Laurie Star as well as his late son, Robert Star. And, he enjoyed his grandchildren, Ben and Justin March, Jared and Rachael Barbaresi, and Jordan and Hannah Star. His good humor, kind heart and generous spirit will be missed by all who loved him. His family is extremely grateful for the excellent care he received at the Armenian Nursing & Rehab Center (ANRC), 431 Pond St., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to this wonderful facility. A private burial was held.
Published in The Boston Globe on Apr. 14, 2020
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Last updated : May 13, 2020 09:15 EDT |
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Westwood and Puritan Online |
We know playing bridge on a computer isn’t nearly as fun as playing at a club, but for now it’s all we can do. We are therefore delighted to announce that our club and the Puritan Bridge Club are jointly hosting online bridge games so you can play among friends from both clubs.
Westwood/Puritan “Virtual Club Games” are just for players who played at one or both of our clubs at least once in 2019 or 2020.
Our initial schedule, starting April 20, is:
- Mondays at 12:30
- Tuesdays at 10:30
- Wednesdays at 10:30
- Thursdays at 10:30
- Fridays at 10:30
These games are 18 boards and take about two hours. Masterpoint awards (black) are now 50% higher than regular club games.
If you’re not familiar with Bridge Base Online, there’s more information below to help you get started.
If you do know your way around BBO, here’s how to get into our game:
- Registration opens two hours before game time. Best to register early, especially the first time.
- On the BBO Home page, click Competitive then ACBL Virtual Clubs.
- Find the Westwood/Puritan game (the Search box might help) and click its title.
- Anyone who played at least once at Westwood or Puritan in 2019 or 2020 is eligible, but some names may be missing from the eligibility list. If you have trouble registering, please contact Tim Hill by text or voice (781-929-7673), by email <thill75@wesleyan.edu>, or by BBO message to “VACB119172”.
- Be sure you’re back logged into BBO a few minutes before game time.
Need a partner? Go to the registration page for our game (see above) and click Partnership Desk. If you don’t hook up with someone immediately, then put your name on the list, and stay logged into BBO and watch your “Chat.”
If you’re brand new to BBO, this 38-minute comprehensive tutorial by Silvana Morici is a good starting place.
When you’re ready to dive in, first register on BBO:
- Go to bridgebase.com
- click Login / Register
- click Become a member (free!)
- be sure to enter your ACBL number
Play is quite intuitive, but you might benefit from these tutorials and a little Solitaire or Casual play to learn the ropes.
We look forward to “seeing” everyone Monday afternoon in the cloud! Stay well.
— Chris Gorton and Tim Hill
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Last updated : Apr 23, 2020 13:04 EDT |
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Westwood and Puritan Online Starting Monday |
We know playing bridge on a computer isn’t nearly as fun as playing at a club, but for now it’s all we can do. We are therefore delighted to announce that our club and the Puritan Bridge Club are jointly hosting online bridge games so you can play among friends from both clubs.
Westwood/Puritan “Virtual Club Games” are just for players who played at one or both of our clubs at least once in 2019 or 2020.
Help get us off to a great start by playing in our first game on Monday, April 20, at 12:30! Special introductory price: $4/player.
Our initial schedule is:
- Mondays at 12:30
- Tuesdays at 10:30
- Wednesdays at 10:30
- Thursdays at 10:30
- Fridays at 10:30
These games are 18 boards and take about two hours. Masterpoint awards (black) are now 50% higher than regular club games.
If you’re not familiar with Bridge Base Online, there’s more information below to help you get started.
If you do know your way around BBO, here’s how to get into our game:
- Registration opens two hours before game time. Best to register early, especially the first time.
- On the BBO Home page, click Competitive then ACBL Virtual Clubs.
- Find the Westwood/Puritan game (the Search box might help) and click its title.
- Anyone who played at least once at Westwood or Puritan in 2019 or 2020 is eligible, but some names may be missing from the eligibility list. If you have trouble registering, please contact Tim Hill by text or voice (781-929-7673), by email <thill75@wesleyan.edu>, or by BBO message to “VACB119172”.
- Be sure you’re back logged into BBO a few minutes before game time.
Need a partner? Go to the registration page for our game (see above) and click Partnership Desk.
If you’re brand new to BBO, this 38-minute comprehensive tutorial by Silvana Morici is a good starting place.
We’ll present our own introduction to BBO live-via-Zoom Monday morning, April 18, at 10:00. Here’s the link: https://zoom.us/j/7819297673.
When you’re ready to dive in, first register:
- Go to bridgebase.com
- click Login / Register
- click Become a member (free!)
- be sure to enter your ACBL number
Play is quite intuitive, but you might benefit from these tutorials and a little Solitaire or Casual play to learn the ropes.
We look forward to “seeing” everyone Monday afternoon in the cloud! Stay well.
— Chris Gorton and Tim Hill
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Last updated : Apr 20, 2020 17:03 EDT |
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Virtual Westwood Club Games |
No Westwood “Virtual Club Games” until further notice. 🙁
I'm grateful to those of you who played—or tried to play—regularly in our first week of VCGs. I’m sad to report that only our first VCG had the minimum 11 pairs needed to play three-board rounds against six different opponents. (Testing is underway for Howell movements that allow three-board rounds against six different opponents with as few as 7 pairs, but we’re told that’s still about two weeks from rolling out.)
We are making arrangements to run VCGs starting, I hope, in a few days, in combination with other local clubs. Check back here. Please tell us what times are best for you. Thank you.
Meanwhile, “Support Your Club” games continue at 10:00 a.m., 5:10 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. EDT. These are regularly selling out, so register early. Registration opens two hours before game time.
Stay well.
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Last updated : Apr 18, 2020 19:34 EDT |
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Virtual Westwood Club Game Instructions |
Virtual Club Games are played on Bridge Base Online. If you haven’t registered on BBO, go to bridgebase.com, click Login / Register, and click Become a member (free!). Be sure to enter your ACBL number.
Registration for VCGs opens two hours before game time. On the BBO Home page, click Competitive then ACBL Virtual Clubs. Find the Westwood game (the Search box might help) and click its title. You’ll need 5 “BB$” each, which you can obtain by clicking BB$ in the upper-right corner.
Need a partner? Go to the registration for our game (see above) and click Partnership Desk.
Anyone who played at Westwood in 2019 or 2020 is eligible for our VCGs. (Sorry, ACBL’s current policy is no “guests.”) If you have trouble registering, contact me by text or voice (781-929-7673), by email <thill75@wesleyan.edu>, or by BBO message to VACB119172.
VCGs are 18 boards and last a little under two hours.
Play is quite intuitive, but if you’re new to BBO you might benefit from these tutorials and a little Solitaire or Casual play to learn the ropes.
If you’re on BBO and available to fill in at a half table or substitute for someone who gets disconnected, then right at game time go to ACBL Virtual Clubs, click Running, click Westwood, and click Substitutes.
Hope to “see” you at our VCGs.
You can see results here on BridgeWebs and on ACBLLive. The results here have BBO user names and a Link to BBO Results that you can click to see details and review play. The results on ACBLLive have players’ real names.
Stay well.
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Last updated : Apr 15, 2020 08:12 EDT |
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Virtual Westwood Club Games start April 8 |
Monday the ACBL kicked off “Virtual Club Games.” Westwood’s first three VCGs are
- Wednesday morning, April 8, 10:00
- Thursday morning, April 9, 10:00
- Friday morning, April 10, 10:00 (preceded by Shark’s Pointers—see below)
Yes, we’ll schedule lots more. Check back here. Please tell us what times are best for you.
VCGs are played on Bridge Base Online. If you haven’t registered on BBO, go to bridgebase.com, click Login / Register, and click Become a member (free!). Be sure to enter your ACBL number.
Registration for VCGs opens two hours before game time. On the BBO Home page, click Competitive then ACBL Virtual Clubs. Find the Westwood game (the Search box might help) and click its title. You’ll need 5 “BB$” each, which you can obtain by clicking BB$ in the upper-right corner.
Need a partner? Go to the registration for our game (see above) and click Partnership Desk.
Anyone who played at Westwood in 2019 or 2020 is eligible for our VCGs. (Sorry, ACBL’s current policy is no “guests.”) If you have trouble registering, contact me by text or voice (781-929-7673), by email <thill75@wesleyan.edu>, or by BBO message to VACB119172.
VCGs are 18 boards and last a little under two hours.
Play is quite intuitive, but if you’re new to BBO you might benefit from these tutorials and a little Solitaire or Casual play to learn the ropes.
If you’re on BBO and available to fill in if we have a half table or someone gets disconnected, then right at game time go to ACBL Virtual Clubs, click Running, click Westwood, and click Substitutes.
Hope to “see” you at our VCGs.
You can see results here on BridgeWebs and on ACBLLive. The results here have BBO user names and a Link to BBO Results that you can click to see details and review play. The results on ACBLLive have players’ real names.
Stay well.
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Last updated : Apr 10, 2020 11:45 EDT |
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Support Your Club Online and Earn Black Points! |
“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.”
Please click here for more information.
All revenue our club receives from these games will be given to our cook, Christine, and our regular directors, Andrew, Marty, Norm, and Sally.
Thank you.
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Last updated : Mar 22, 2020 09:08 EDT |
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Masterpoint Ranks and Races |
Congratulations to Westwood players who advanced in masterpoint rank in January.
The 2019 masterpoint race results are now final. Congratulations to Westwood players who won New England or Eastern Massachusetts brackets in the Mini-McKenney or Helen-Shanbrom-Ace-of-Clubs races: Natalie Bassil, Liv Carroll, Bob Carvin, Phyllis Chase, David Cohen, Marty Cohen, Sandra Drum, Sheila Gabay, Bob Gervis, Chuck Greenslit, Adam Grossack, Harrison Luba, Chris Parker, Stan Piltch, Stewart Rubenstein, Eric Schwartz, and Ulla Winkler.
Adam Grossack’s 1894 points rank tenth ACBL-wide and first in New England. Zach Grossack and Harrison Luba are first and fourth ACBL-wide in the <26 age group. Harrison Luba is second ACBL-wide and first in New England in the <20 age group.
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Last updated : Mar 11, 2020 15:18 EDT |
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Masterpoint Ranks and Races |
Congratulations to Westwood players who advanced in masterpoint rank in December, including new life master Beverly Keats.
Congratulations to Sheila Gabay, who earned her 30,000th masterpoint in December. She is the 49th player, the third New Englander, and the second woman to pass this milestone. Save the date: we’ll have a party in Sheila’s honor on Sunday afternoon, February 9.
Almost all masterpoints earned in 2019 are now in the ACBL’s database, so the masterpoint race results are almost final. Congratulations to Westwood players who are leading New England brackets in the Mini-McKenney and Helen-Shanbrom-Ace-of-Clubs races: David Cohen, Stan Piltch, Ulla Winkler, Liv Carroll, Marty Cohen, Harrison Luba, Chris Parker, Bob Carvin, Stewart Rubenstein, Phyllis Chase, Adam Grossack, and Sheila Gabay.
Adam Grossack’s 1894 points rank tenth ACBL-wide and first in New England. Zach Grossack and Harrison Luba are first and fourth ACBL-wide in the <26 age group. Harrison Luba is second ACBL-wide and first in New England in the <20 age group.
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Last updated : Feb 7, 2020 17:43 EST |
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Super Bowl Squares |
Our 2020 Super Bowl Squares have all been sold and we’ve randomly labeled the rows and columns. Click here for a high-resolution image.
And the winners are:
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SF |
KC |
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first quarter |
3 |
7 |
Sandra Drum & Marina Polestra |
$50 |
halftime |
10 |
10 |
Sandra Drum & Marina Polestra |
$150 |
third quarter |
20 |
10 |
Sandra Drum & Marina Polestra |
$50 |
final |
20 |
31 |
Charlie Struzzieri |
$250 |
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Last updated : Feb 7, 2020 17:43 EST |
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Sectional Tournament at Clubs January 6–12 |
All nine of our games from Monday, January 6, through Sunday, January 12, are part of the Eastern Massachusetts Bridge Association’s semiannual Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC). Masterpoint awards are much higher than regular games, and all points are silver.
Our Monday through Saturday games are all pair games. In addition to the increased masterpoint awards at our club, the highest overall scores across all of the clubs participating in the STaC receive substantial extra awards.
Our Sunday game will be Swiss Teams (also with increased all-silver masterpoint awards).
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Last updated : Jan 15, 2020 10:00 EST |
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Masterpoint Ranks and Races |
On the sixth of each month ACBL headquarters posts all masterpoints reported from the previous month and updates masterpoint ranks and races. The Common Game supplies us with lists of our club’s players whose masterpoint ranks have changed or who rank in the top 25 in their district masterpoint races. These lists are now posted on our website. Click “Masterpoint Achievements” in the menu on the left side of our home page.
Congratulations are particularly in order for players who became Life Masters in the last year—Paul Durda, Lisa Muir, Trey Hyer, Sharon Stanfill, Diana Lam, Paul Tierney, Cecil Chan, Ulla Winkler, Dan Rice, May Mok, Yumi Hough, Nathalie Tabor, and Hank Shulman—new Gold Life Masters (2,500 points) Arnold Berman, Paul Truesdale, Paul Harris, Charlie McLain, Ellen Oasis, Rob Baum, and Len Aberbach—new Diamond Life Master (5,000 points) Saul Agranoff—new Emerald Life Master (7,500 points) Rena Lieberman—new Platinum Life Masters (10,000 points) Phyllis Chase and Joyce Regan—and new Grand Life Masters (10,000 points plus a major championship) Adam Grossack and Zach Grossack.
Congratulations also to New England leaders in their brackets of the Mini-McKenney and Helen Shanbrom Ace of Clubs masterpoint races: David Cohen, Ethan Wood, Ulla Winkler, Liv Carroll, Marty Cohen, Harrison Luba, Chris Parker, Bob Carvin, Stewart Rubenstein, Phyllis Chase, Adam Grossack, and Sheila Gabay. Adam’s 1,482 points so far this year (not including the San Francisco NABC) rank first in New England and 17th in the ACBL.
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Last updated : Jan 7, 2020 11:57 EST |
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Eighth Simpson Charity Club Championships |
Our eighth annual Charity Club Championships in memory of Bob Simpson were held Friday–Sunday, October 11–13. The winners are:
A |
B |
C |
Barometer Pairs (Friday) |
1 |
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Jim Keegan and Sabrina Miles |
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1 |
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Elaine Blaustein and Ruth Steinberg |
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1 |
Tim and Perry Hill |
A |
B |
C |
Pro-Am Pairs (Friday) |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Tim Hill and David Rosnick |
A |
B |
C |
Pairs (Saturday, first session, second session, overalls) |
1 |
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Harrison Luba and Lew Gamerman |
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1 |
1 |
Eva and Matt Muir |
A |
B |
C |
Teams (Sunday, first session, second session, overalls) |
1 |
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Sheila Gabay, Bill Irvine, Rick Binder, and Alan Watson |
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1 |
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Grace Charron, Jan Smola, Paul Simon, and Al Votolato |
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1 |
Sabrina Miles, Victor and Eric Xiao, and Jim Keegan |
Players contributed $172 to The Boston Foundation, which the club is matching, making the total contribution $344.
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Last updated : Dec 7, 2019 18:02 EST |
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BRIDGE BASIC 2 CLASS Wednesday Afternoon Course Starting September 11 |
Wednesdays, September 11 , September 18, September 25, October 2, October 9, and October 16, 14:30–16:30
Teacher: Lisa Procter
Course fee: $150 for six classes, payable at the first class. The book can be purchased at the first class for an additional $10.
Please register by emailing lprocter@verizon.net
This is a second course for players who have taken the bridge for beginners’ class based on the Audrey Grant Bridge Basics 1 textbook. We will continue using Audrey Grant’s excellent text, Bridge Basics 2 – Competitive Bidding. In this class, we will be learning the overcalls, advancing overcalls, doubles, preemptive bids, and how to handle the interferences. The approach is hands-on, we will be playing many hands throughout the course.
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Last updated : Nov 12, 2019 09:12 EST |
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Saturday Morning with Kim: Bidding Brush-up, Part 2 |
This class will you review opening bids and responses, and what to do at your second and third turns as well!
Get help finding out “Where?” and “How High?” to place your contracts. Bring your bidding problems to class!
Saturday mornings 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
October 19 - Bidding to Slam
October 26 - Advanced Takeout Doubles
November 2 - Help Suit Game Tries
Course fee: Sign up for individual classes or all three. Cost is $25 per class if registered in advance; $30 if you drop in. Register for all three classes for $70 if paid on October 19.
Please register by emailing Nathalie at baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com
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Last updated : Nov 12, 2019 09:12 EST |
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North American Pairs |
In June, July, and August, about half of our games are club-level qualifying games for the North American Pairs. All of these games award half-red, half-black masterpoints at about triple the level of regular games (82% sectional rating).
Players who qualify in at least one of these games (look for a “Q” next to your name on the results) may play in the New England District Finals on November 9–10 in Mansfield. The top three or four pairs in each flight will qualify for the North American Finals at the 2020 Spring North American Bridge Championships in Columbus and receive subsidies to help with their travel expenses.
(Note that most of our non-NAP games in June, July, and August are Club Championship or Special Fund games, which award masterpoints at 64% sectional rating—about 2½ times the level of regular games.)
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Last updated : Oct 13, 2019 15:19 EST |
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BEGINNERS BRIDGE CLASS Tuesday Afternoon Course Starting October 9: Bridge Basics 1 |
Tuesdays, October 9, October 16, October 23, October 30, November 20, November 27, December 4 and December 11, 14:30–16:30
(No classes November 6 and 13)
Teacher: Lisa Procter
Course fee: $218 for eight classes, payable at the first class (book included)
Please register by emailing baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com
This course is the perfect introduction to the game of bridge. It’s based on the Basics 1 book by Audrey Grant. In the first lesson, we will learn about the basics and provide you with all the essential information about the fundamental mechanics of the game, and is intended for people who have never encountered bridge. The following lessons have information that will also be of value to people who may know the basic mechanics but have not learned the principles of modern bidding. We will cover notrump opening bids and responses, major suit opening bids and responses, and minor suit opening bids and responses. This class provides everything you need to establish a solid foundation. The approach is hands-on, you will start playing hands at the first class.
Everyone is welcome! Our emphasis is on having a good time while learning the most fascinating card game in the world! Come and try it!
Lisa is a silver life master and has been playing bridge for 10 years. She is an ACBL certified teacher. Currently, she is the membership chair of the Eastern Massachusetts Bridge Association (EMBA). She conceived of and manages the "Introduction to Bridge" programs sponsored by EMBA. These programs have become a very important way to introduce newcomers to bridge and attract new members to EMBA.
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Last updated : Oct 2, 2019 16:25 EST |
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Saturday Morning with Kim: Bidding Brush-up |
This class will you review opening bids and responses, and what to do at your second and third turns as well!
Get help finding out “Where?” and “How High?” to place your contracts. Bring your bidding problems to class!
Saturday mornings 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Stay for the noon game and get $5 off your entry fee.
September 7 - Major Suit Openings and Responses
September 14 - Minor Suit Openings and Responses
September 21 - REBIDS by Opener and Responder; Forcing and Non-Forcing Bids
September 28 - No Trump Bidding (and Play Tips)
Course fee: Sign up for individual classes or all four. $25 per class if registered in advance or $30 at the door. Register for all four classes for $90 if paid on September 7.
Please register by emailing Nathalie at baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com
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Last updated : Oct 2, 2019 10:39 EST |
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BRIDGE BASIC 2 CLASS Tuesday Afternoon Course Starting June 25, 2019 |
Tuesdays, June 25, July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23, July 30 and August 6, 14:30–16:45
Teacher: Ru Terajewicz
Course fee: $200 for eight classes, payable at the first class. The Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding book can be purchased on-line.
Please register by emailing baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com
This is a second course for players who have taken the bridge for beginners’ class based on the Audrey Grant Bridge Basics 1 textbook. We will continue using Audrey Grant’s excellent text, Bridge Basics 2 – Competitive Bidding. In this class, we will be learning the overcalls, advancing overcalls, doubles, preemptive bids, and how to handle the interferences. The approach is hands-on, we will be playing many hands throughout the course.
She is an ACBL accredited bridge teacher and club director, and a mentor to several novice players. Among her many bridge successes, Ru achieved top 100 Richmond Trophy rank for two consecutive years, has won several ACBL Mini-McKenney races at unit and district level, and has won multiple sectional and regional championships in open events.
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Last updated : Aug 28, 2019 12:58 EST |
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Mini-Course with Ru |
Tuesday August 13, and Tuesday, August 20, 14:30-16:30
Teacher: Ru Terajewicz
Course fee: $30 per class, payable at class
Please register as soon as you can.
August 13: Strong Openings
August 20: Slam Bidding
We will be playing several practice deals including learning bridge thinking.
To register, please email ru.terajewicz@gmail.com.
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Last updated : Aug 28, 2019 12:57 EST |
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Saturday morning classes with Kim |
Kim Gilman will teach an ongoing series on Declarer Play this summer and fall. She'll show you specific techniques to make your contracts, and will also help you develop the skills to make a plan each time dummy hits the table.
Join us in June for her 3-part series on "Wait to Draw Trumps?" Normally, in a suit contract, Declarer draws trumps immediately so the defenders can't ruff their good tricks. This is a good rule — draw trumps UNLESS you have a reason not to. Sometimes, these "reasons" override the need to draw trumps right away. Learn how to recognize each situation and get some great practice playing hands in class.
Sign up for all three classes or for individual classes.
Class time is 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Stay for the noon game and get $5 off your entry fee.)
June 8: Reason #1 — Ruff in the Short Hand First
June 15: Reason #2 — Eliminate Losers First
June 29: Reason #3 — Use Trumps as Entries
Each class is $25 if registered in advance, or $30 at the door. Or, pay for all three on June 8 for one price of $65.
Please register by emailing Nathalie at baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com
Stay tuned for upcoming topics and dates in August and September.
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Last updated : Jul 23, 2019 15:51 EST |
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US Bridge Team Championships |
The United States Bridge Federation is conducting Open, Women’s, Mixed, and Senior Team Championships in Chicago from May 10 through June 9. Each of these eight-day events selects two teams to represent the U.S.A. at the World Team Championships in Wuhan, China, in September. Six Westwood regulars were in the star-studded field, including Mark Aquino, Bart Bussink, and Selen Hotamisligil. The most successful were on the DONNER mixed team: Gary Donner–Yoko Sobel, Giorgia Botta–Zach Grossack, and Sheila Gabay–Adam Grossack.
DONNER was fourth in the two-day round-robin phase. While the top two from the round-robin faced off for the USA1 spot, the other teams started a six-day competition for USA2. DONNER jumped ahead of RADIN by 50 IMPs in the first 30 boards of their 120-board quarterfinal match and held on to win by 10.
For their USA2 semifinal match, DONNER drew the loser of the USA1 final. KOLESNIK took the lead on the fourth board, and were up 63 IMPs after 45 boards and 60 IMPs after 75 boards. DONNER fought back in the next 43 boards. On the penultimate board, Zach scored up 630 against 120 at the other table to take the lead by 1 IMP. Final score: DONNER 293, KOLESNIK 291.
In the USA2 final, DONNER faced the powerful ROSENTHAL team (Andrew Rosenthal, Debbie and Michael Rosenberg, Chris Willenken, and Migry Zur Campanile). Most of the first day was a seesaw battle, but ROSENTHAL went ahead to stay on the 48th board, winning 271 to 212.
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Last updated : Jul 16, 2019 08:23 EST |
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World Wide Bridge Contests June 7 & 8 |
The 34th annual World Wide Bridge Contests will be held on Friday, June 7, and Saturday, June 8, at clubs around the world, including Westwood. Our game times are 10:30 a.m. Friday and noon Saturday. Extra red and gold masterpoints at the club. Extra ACBL masterpoints for the top pairs in New England. World Bridge Federation masterpoints for high finishers world-wide. Top pairs world-wide win a subsidized trip to the 2020 World Bridge Games (location TBA—probably Istanbul).
Click below for more information:
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Last updated : Jun 10, 2019 12:43 EST |
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Richard Burns Patriots’ Day Marathon Winners |
Our annual Richard Burns Memorial Patriots’ Day Bridge Marathon on 2019 April 15 raised $320 for The Boston Foundation.
Adam Grossack won the Marathon with a 62.27% average. Adam scored 64.12% with Ann Jenkins and 60.42% with Steve Diamond.
Marley Cedrone had the second-best two-session average, 58.30%, successfully defending his B stratum (0–1500 masterpoints average) title. Marley played all three sessions. His best two were 59.65% with Sally Matthews (his grandmother) and 56.94% with Peter Matthews.
Jeff Vendetti and Jerry Smith won the C stratum (0-500 masterpoints average) with a 49.53% average.
Adam, Marley, Jeff, and Jerry will be commemorated on the perpetual plaque for the event.
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Last updated : Jun 2, 2019 15:21 EST |
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Falmouth and Gatlinburg |
Congratulations to Westood players who did well in the Falmouth and Gatlinburg tournaments last week.
In the Falmouth senior regional:
- Sheila Gabay and Natalie Bassil won the Wednesday pairs. Katy Love and Don Smith won the B stratum.
- Joyce Regan and Terry Byrne won the Thursday pairs. Diana Chirita and Alan Silver were second and won the B and C strata.
- Arnold Berman, Pete Matthews, Jr., Bob Bertoni, and Andrew Hanes won the Friday Swiss. Ken Bloom, John Hrones, Steve Rzewski, and Margie Sullivan were second. Bob Carvin, Ruth Weston, James Vierra, and Richard Palmer were third. Christine Halkiotis, Diogo Teixeira, Frank Caine, and Becky Ames were fourth and won the C stratum.
- In the semifinals of the top knockout bracket, Geoff Brod, Rich DeMartino, Sheila Gabay and Pat McDevitt and John Malley, Jack Maselli, Natalie Bassil, and Marina Polestra were tied after 24 boards. Brod won the four-board playoff and went on to finish second. Malley was third.
- Paul Durda, Vic Khaitan, Ron Williams, and Pam Jerskey won the fourth knockout bracket.
- Jack Maselli and John Malley won the Saturday pairs.
- Geoff Brod, Rich DeMartino, Sheila Gabay and Pat McDevitt won the Sunday Swiss. Rena Lieberman, Charlie Polay, Amnon Gabay, and Marina Polestra and Bob Carvin, Fred Magnus, Saul Agranoff, and Stuart Whittle tied for second. Carvin won the B stratum.
In the Falmouth open sectional:
- Sol Hartman and Ginny O'Toole won the Wednesday afternoon pairs.
- Barbara Perkins and Pat Houston won the Friday morning pairs.
- Ginny O'Toole, Sol Hartman, Tom Seder, and Steve Diamond won the Saturday Swiss.
In the Gatlinburg regional:
- James and Anne Hawkes, Adam Grossack, Eric Rodwell, and Jeff Meckstroth won the top bracket of the Monday-Tuesday knockouts. Sabrina Miles, Ann Pozdol, Bob McCaw, and Sarah Sykes were second in the second bracket.
- Bart Bussink, Arjun Dhir, Chris Parker, and Stewart Rubenstein won the third bracket of the Friday-Saturday knockouts.
- Bob McCaw, Sarah Sykes, Sabrina Miles, and Brenda Glaze won the third bracket of the Sunday bracketed Swiss.
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Last updated : Jun 2, 2019 15:21 EST |
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Richard Burns Patriots’ Day Bridge Marathon |
If you’re not running in the other marathon, please join us on Monday, April 15, for our annual Richard Burns Memorial Patriots’ Day Bridge Marathon. Here are the details:
- Pair games at 10:00, 2:00, and 7:15 (no noon game)
- All three games are charity games benefiting The Boston Foundation, with increased masterpoint awards.
- Lunch about 1:15 for those playing in the 10:00 and/or 2:00 games.
- The top player(s) in each stratum will be named on the perpetual plaque and win free plays. (To be eligible, you must play in at least two of the three games. If you play in all three games, throw out your lowest score. Strata limits for this purpose are 1500 and 500. Stratum determined by partnership average. If you play with multiple partners, your masterpoints are averaged with the average of your partners’ masterpoints.)
- The defending champions are:
- Mark Aquino (A)
- Marley Cedrone (B)
- Ann Keegan and Lanny Starr (C)
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Last updated : Apr 20, 2019 09:01 EST |
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Super Bowl Squares |
Friday we drew the numbers for the Super Bowl squares. Click here for the final chart.
And the winners are:
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Patriots |
Rams |
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1st quarter |
0 |
0 |
Charlie Struzzieri |
$50 |
halftime |
3 |
0 |
Sheila Gabay and Selen Hotamisligil |
$100 |
3rd quarter |
3 |
3 |
Charlie Drum |
$50 |
4th quarter |
13 |
3 |
Charlie Drum |
$100 |
final |
13 |
3 |
Charlie Drum |
$200 |
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Last updated : Feb 9, 2019 12:05 EST |
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Defense with Kim On Saturday morning |
Fun with Defense
Kim Gilman will teach a series of Saturday morning classes this fall, all designed to help you win more at bridge when you're on defense. Bad cards? No problem! Learn how to set the opponent's contracts and get the plus score for your side! You'll play hands in class to reinforce the concepts.
Sign up for individual classes or all five. Each class will help you decide which cards to play on defense in different situations. Bring your partner if you can, as expert defense is based on good partnership communication. Singles are welcome and will be paired up in class.
September 29 - Third Hand High?
October 13 - Second Hand Low?
October 27 - Signaling your partner: Attitude
November 17 - Signaling your partner: Suit Preference
December 1 - Killer Opening Leads
The class starts at 9:30 a.m. and ends at 11:30 a.m. Our Saturday noon game will follow as usual. Please plan on arriving a few minutes early, the class will start promptly at 9:30 a.m.
Cost is $25 if preregistered and $30 at the door. Register for all five classes for $100 if paid on the first class.
Please register by emailing baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com
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Last updated : Dec 29, 2018 17:50 EST |
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Monday morning Two-Over-One Course starting October 15 |
Mondays, October 15, October 22, October 29, November 5, and November 19, 9:30 A.M. - 11:30 A.M.
(no classes on November 5 and 12)
Teacher: Lisa Procter
Course fee: $135 for five classes (book included)
Please register by emailing baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com
This class covers the basics of two-over-one game force, a popular variation of Standard American bidding methods. This system makes easier for the partnership to get to the best game contract and explore the possibility of Slam. 1 NT forcing bid and responses will be covered to get the partnership to the best partscore.
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Last updated : Nov 22, 2018 14:38 EST |
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BEGINNERS BRIDGE CLASS Tuesday Afternoon Course Starting October 9: Bridge Basics 1 |
Tuesdays, October 9, October 16, October 23, October 30, November 20, November 27, December 4 and December 11, 14:30–16:30
(No classes November 6 and 13)
Teacher: Lisa Procter
Course fee: $218 for eight classes, payable at the first class (book included). Also included is a one-month membership to the American Contract Bridge League.
Please register by emailing baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com
This course is the perfect introduction to the game of bridge. It’s based on the Basics 1 book by Audrey Grant. In the first lesson, we will learn about the basics and provide you with all the essential information about the fundamental mechanics of the game, and is intended for people who have never encountered bridge. The following lessons have information that will also be of value to people who may know the basic mechanics but have not learned the principles of modern bidding. We will cover notrump opening bids and responses, major suit opening bids and responses, and minor suit opening bids and responses. This class provides everything you need to establish a solid foundation. The approach is hands-on, you will start playing hands at the first class.
Everyone is welcome! Our emphasis is on having a good time while learning the most fascinating card game in the world! Come and try it!
Lisa is a silver life master and has been playing bridge for 10 years. She is an ACBL certified teacher. Currently, she is the membership chair of the Eastern Massachusetts Bridge Association (EMBA). She conceived of and manages the "Introduction to Bridge" programs sponsored by EMBA. These programs have become a very important way to introduce newcomers to bridge and attract new members to EMBA.
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Last updated : Nov 22, 2018 14:38 EST |
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ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game Wednesday, October 31, 2018 at NOON |
Earn Gold at the Club
Get treats for taking tricks! You can win gold from the comfort of your local club in the ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game. Play Wednesday afternoon on October 31 and have the chance to earn one gold point when you win a section top at the club.
See your face on the cover of the Rolling Stone
Not really, but the winners of the ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game will be recognized in the ACBL Bridge Bulletin and on the ACBL website.
Complete Analysis of the Deals
Each player receives a printed booklet with detailed analysis of each hand from Larry Cohen
Special Game Time
Note that the game time is 12:00 noon.
Click here for more information.
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Last updated : Oct 31, 2018 15:44 EST |
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Jane Johnson Club Appreciation Month |
October is the ACBL’s annual Jane Johnson Club Appreciation Month. Club Appreciation Pair Games are special games run during the month of October at clubs. They offer masterpoint awards calculated at 82% sectional-rated black (29% more than Club Championships and special fund games). Club Appreciation Team Games are special games run during the month of October at clubs and offer masterpoint awards calculated at 82% of sectional-rated black, but overall awards are 5% gold (not to exceed .25 gold points). The games run during this month recognize the contributions of Jane Johnson, longtime manager of ACBL’s Club Membership Department, to the ACBL.
We’ve scheduled ten Club Appreciation Pair Games and seven Club Appreciation Team Games. The ACBL does not charge clubs extra table fees for Club Appreciation games, so we don’t charge you extra (unlike some clubs). Entry fees are the same as regular games ($10 per player for Monday–Saturday daytime games; $9 per player for evening games and Sunday afternoon games).
Swiss team games are a fun break from matchpoint scoring. Many think team games are more like “real bridge.” Team games have the nice feature that almost everybody earns masterpoints (if you don’t place in your stratum, you get masterpoints for every match you win). For more about team games, see this page on the ACBL web site. We run Swiss team games with predealt hands and electronic scoring, so we’re able to play 24 boards in about 3¼ hours—about the same time as a pairs game—and you get hand records at the end, and you can view complete results on the web after the game.
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Last updated : Oct 31, 2018 09:41 EST |
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Bob Simpson Memorial Charity Club Championships October 19–21 |
Please join us Friday–Sunday, October 19–21, for our seventh annual weekend of charity club championships in memory of Bob Simpson. The schedule is:
Individuals* |
Friday, 10:30 |
one session, lunch in mid-session |
Pairs |
Saturday, 10:00 and 2:00 |
two-session event, single-session entries available, lunch between sessions |
Teams |
Sunday, 10:00 |
two-session Swiss, lunch between sessions |
This year’s Simpson Charity Club Championships will be Club-Appreciation-rated, awarding black points (5% gold on Sunday) at 82% sectional rating. Your contributions of $2 per player per session (or more, if you like) will benefit One Family, Inc. Winners in each stratum are commemorated on a perpetual plaque at the club.
All events are stratified by average. Entries limited to 24 tables. Reservations available at the club. Reservations will be held until ten minutes before game time.
The defending champions are:
A |
B |
C |
Individuals* |
1 |
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Timothy Hill |
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1 |
1 |
Diane Carr Staton |
A |
B |
C |
Pairs |
1 |
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Rena Lieberman—Shome Mukherjee |
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1 |
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Elaine Blaustein—Richard Simolari |
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1 |
Nancy Dowd—Fiorella Triaca |
A |
B |
C |
Teams |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Stewart Rubenstein—Diogo Teixeira—Christine Halkiotis—Nathalie Tabor |
*Individual events are rare these days, but are a lot of fun! Two tips to enhance your enjoyment:
- As in cut-around rubber bridge, you’ll have some partners who are more skilled than you and some who are less. So will everybody else! Seek the best results possible with every partner and bring your sense of humor.
- In an individual event, you are allowed to refer to your own convention card. If you take a few minutes before the game to fill out a relatively simple convention card (or two), then you can hand a card to each partner and greatly reduce bidding misunderstandings.
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Last updated : Oct 23, 2018 11:14 EST |
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Mini-Course: Drury |
Wednesday September 19, 14:30–16:30
Teacher: Ru Terajewicz
Course fee: $25, payable at the class
Please register as soon as you can.
This is a 2-hour mini course which will be focusing on third and fourth seat opening with sub-opening hands and learning the Drury convention to handle partner's light openings. We will be playing several practice deals including learning bridge thinking.
To register, please email ru.terajewicz@gmail.com.
PLEASE NOTE THE DATE CHANGE
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Last updated : Oct 12, 2018 10:40 EST |
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September is International Fund Month |
September is International Fund Month, and all of our games are International Fund games. The ACBL’s International Fund supports North American participation in international competitions. All masterpoint awards are 64% sectional black points (about twice the awards for regular club games).
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Last updated : Oct 1, 2018 08:04 EST |
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North American Pairs |
In June, July, and August, about half of our games are club-level qualifying games for the North American Pairs. All of these games award half-red, half-black masterpoints at about triple the level of regular games (82% sectional rating).
Players who qualify in at least one of these games (look for a “Q” next to your name on the results) may play in the New England District Finals on November 10–12 in Mansfield. The top three or four pairs in each flight will qualify for the North American Finals at the 2019 Spring North American Bridge Championships in Memphis. The top two pairs in each flight will receive subsidies to attend the NABC.
(Note that most of our non-NAP games in June, July, and August are Club Championship or Special Fund games, which award masterpoints at 64% sectional rating—about 2½ times the level of regular games.)
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Last updated : Sep 1, 2018 04:52 EST |
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Diane Carr Staton 1936-2018 |
Diane Carr Staton, 82, of Medway, MA passed away peacefully on August 14th 2018 surrounded by loved ones. She is the daughter of the late Helen and Mickey Sulich of Merrillville, IN. Wife of the late Ronald Carr, Diane is survived by her sister Jeanne Hart and her husband Clyde Hart of Merrillville, IN, daughter, Julie Kim of Phoenix, AZ, her son Jeff Carr and his wife Maureen of Quincy, MA. Diane was very social and enjoyed line dancing with friends, was an avid reader and enjoyed traveling, especially with her family. Diane was an accomplished bridge player earning the prestigious status of Life Master. Her greatest source of pride and joy was her devotion to her grandchildren, Hadrian Kim of Tuscan, AZ, Byron Kim of Bridgeport, CT and Olivia, Gwenyth and Juliet Carr of Boston, MA. She enjoyed laughing with them, cooking and baking their favorite dishes and most of all spending time together. Diane will be remembered by her family in a celebration of life to be held in Glastonbury, CT.
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Last updated : Sep 1, 2018 04:50 EST |
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Tuesday Course Starting March 20: Bridge Basics 2—Competitive Bidding |
Tuesdays, March 20, March 27, April 3, April 10, April 24, and May 1, 14:30–16:30
(note no class on 04/17)
Teacher: Ru Terajewicz
Course fee: $160 for six classes, book included, payable at the first class
There are no refunds for days missed. Please register as soon as you can.
This is a second course for players who have taken a beginner class the Basics 1 class based on the Audrey Grant textbook.
In a typical session of duplicate bridge, the majority of auctions are competitive, so more matchpoints are won and lost in competitive auctions than in uncontested auctions. This course covers the concepts needed when both sides are bidding for the contract. It introduces the basic competitive bidding tools—preemptive opening bids, overcalls, and takeout doubles—as used in today’s game. It uses Audrey Grant’s excellent text, Bridge Basics 2—Competitive bidding. We’ll play several practice deals in each session.
To register, please email ru.terajewicz@gmail.com.
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Last updated : Aug 13, 2018 14:08 EST |
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Mini-Course: Jacoby 2NT & Hand Evaluation |
Tuesday July 10th, 14:30–16:30
Teacher: Ru Terajewicz
Course fee: $25, payable at the first class
Please register as soon as you can.
This is a 2-hour mini course which will be focusing on what happens after the Major Suit openings. We will take a close look at hand evaluation, opener and responder's rebids, and follow-up bids after using Jacoby 2NT convention. We will be playing several practice deals including learning bridge thinking during slam biddings.
To register, please email ru.terajewicz@gmail.com.
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Last updated : Aug 13, 2018 14:07 EST |
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ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game Monday Noon |
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Please join us on Monday, July 9, for the first Summer ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game. Earn one gold point when you finish at the top of a section (both directions)! You’ll also see your score instantly after each deal.
Bridge power couple Daniel Korbel and Sylvia Shi will discuss their 10 favorite deals in special videos after the game. Tune in to see them analyze the hands and sometimes spar over tricks.
A full written analysis of all 36 deals will be available. Don’t miss the in-depth coverage from Daniel and Sylvia in this report.
For more details, click here.
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Last updated : Jul 9, 2018 14:58 EST |
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Saturday morning Seminars for Intermediate and Advanced Players 9:15 AM to 11:15 AM |
We are proud to announce our New Saturday morning Seminars for intermediate and advanced players. These seminars will be proposed once or twice a month on a Saturday morning when no local tournaments are being held. Our first seminar for 2018 will be presented by Kim Gilman on Saturday, February 10 at 9:15 AM. Kim will discuss "Should I Sacrifice?". Seminar ends at about 11:15 AM.
Our Saturday noon game will follow as usual. Cost is $25 if pre-registered, $30 at the door. To register please email us at baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com. Click here for more information.
02/10 Kim Gilman Should I Sacrifice?
My partner and I have a big trump fit, but the opponents bid a game. Should we outbid them? Even if we go down, will it be a better score? But what if they can't even make their game?
These are some of the toughest questions to answer at the bridge table. The experts know when to pass and when to bid on. Join this class to learn some helpful guidelines on deciding whether to sacrifice, and practice playing some fun hands in class!
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Last updated : Jul 6, 2018 15:48 EST |
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Independence Day Barbecue |
Please join us Wednesday Morning, July 4, at 10:30 for a North American Pairs game and charcoal-grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and bratwurst. We’ll have a longer-than-usual lunch break, so expect to finish between 2:00 and 2:15.
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Last updated : Jul 6, 2018 15:37 EST |
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Sectional Tournament at Clubs June 25–July 1 |
All ten of our games from Monday, June 25, through Sunday, July 1, are part of the Eastern Massachusetts Bridge Association’s semiannual Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC). Masterpoint awards are much higher than regular games, and all points are silver.
Our Monday through Saturday games are all pair games. In addition to the increased masterpoint awards at our club, the highest overall scores across all of the clubs participating in the STaC receive substantial extra awards.
Our Sunday game will be Swiss Teams (also with increased all-silver masterpoint awards).
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Last updated : Jul 3, 2018 08:55 EST |
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Granite State Getaway Regional |
Zach Grossack and Shome Mukherjee topped the list of masterpoint winners at the Granite State Getaway regional tournament in Nashua. Adam Grossack, Pete Matthews, Jr., Sheila Gabay, Mark Aquino, and Stewart Rubenstein were also in the top 20.
16-year-old Ethan Wood added almost 25% to his masterpoints. His tournament total of 35 was the highest among players with less than 1000 masterpoints.
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Last updated : Jul 3, 2018 08:55 EST |
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World Wide Bridge Contest Results |
On Friday and Saturday, June 1 and 2, Westwood joined clubs around the world in the annual World Wide Bridge Contest.
Friday Sheila and Amnon Gabay scored 67.08%, ranking 37th of 3516 pairs who played at 184 clubs in 27 countries.
Saturday three Westwood pairs were in the top 100 among 2527 pairs at 136 clubs in 21 countries. Natalie Bassil and Marina Polestra were 45th at 64.82%, Sheila Gabay and Pat McDevitt were 66th at 63.74%, and Lew Gamerman and Zach Grossack were 74th at 63.44%.
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Last updated : Jun 25, 2018 22:32 EST |
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The Longest Day Monday, June 18 |
Join us for the ACBL’s sixth annual The Longest Day fundraising event supporting Alzheimer’s disease care and research. At Westwood, we’ll celebrate The Longest Day on Monday, June 18. In addition to our usual noon and 7:15 p.m. games, we’ll have a fast pairs game at 3:30 p.m. The fast pairs game will be paced at 16 minutes per three-board round, so we’ll play a full 24-board game in about 2¼ hours.
All three games will be charity games (64% sectional rating), with $1 per player per session going to the Alzheimer’s Association. Additional donations are welcome, either at the game or online.
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Last updated : Jun 25, 2018 22:31 EST |
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Mel Marcus Memorial Game June 3 |
On Sunday, June 3, our game will be dedicated to the memory of Mel Marcus (pictured bottom-left with his teammates after winning the 2015 NABC Senior Swiss). Please bring food and memories of Mel to share. Food at noon, bridge at 1:00. Thanks to Rena Lieberman for hosting this game.
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Last updated : Jun 4, 2018 08:20 EST |
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World Wide Bridge Contests June 1 & 2 |
The 33rd annual World Wide Bridge Contests will be held on Friday, June 1, and Saturday, June 2, at clubs around the world, including Westwood. Our game times are 10:30 a.m. Friday and noon Saturday. Extra red and gold masterpoints at the club. Extra ACBL masterpoints for the top pairs in New England. World Bridge Federation masterpoints for high finishers world-wide. Top pairs world-wide win a subsidized trip to China to compete for a $20,000 prize pool in the WWBC finals.
Last year Mark Aquino and Selen Hotamisligil scored 73.15% in the Friday heat, earning a subsidized trip to play in the WWBC finals in Beijing! Who’s next?
Click below for more information:
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Last updated : Jun 4, 2018 08:19 EST |
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Fireman and Grossacks in USBC Semi-finals |
The 2018 Open United States Bridge Championships started last Friday in Houston. The winning team will be “USA1” in the 2019 Bermuda Bowl in Sanya, China. Paul Fireman’s team and Jeff Juster’s team, including Adam and Zach Grossack, are in the semifinals. After 60 of 120 boards, Fireman trails Lall 104–131, and Juster trails Nickell 133–138. Yesterday the Grossacks played all 60 boards, and their team was +51 IMPs in the 30 boards they played against Jeff Meckstroth and Eric Rodwell. Play resumes at 11:00 EDT this morning (live on Bridge Base Online).
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Last updated : May 19, 2018 05:20 EST |
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Charity Month |
April is the ACBL’s annual Charity Month, and all Westwood games this month are charity games. Masterpoint awards are 64% sectional rated black points. This works out to about ⅔ of a point per player on average—about 2½ times the awards for regular club games.
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Last updated : Apr 30, 2018 13:23 EST |
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ACBL-wide Charity Game Wednesday Morning, April 25 |
Clubs across the ACBL, including Westwood, will be holding the ACBL-wide charity game on Wednesday morning, April 25. Masterpoints are 82% sectional-rated, and players are eligible for ACBL-wide and district-wide awards up to 20 masterpoints. Hand analysis is provided. Game time in Westwood is 10:30.
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Last updated : Apr 30, 2018 13:23 EST |
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Westwood Players Top District in ACBL-wide Senior Pairs |
Three Westwood pairs excelled in the annual ACBL-wide Senior Pairs game on March 19. Barbara Pofcher and Richard Saval were tenth ACBL-wide and first in District 25 (New England) at 70.08%. Pat McDevitt and John Whistler were second in the district at 69.51%. Helen Flanagan and Bernie Garbose were fourth in the district at 67.05%.
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Last updated : Apr 30, 2018 13:23 EST |
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Richard Burns Patriots’ Day Marathon Winners |
Our annual Richard Burns Memorial Patriots’ Day Bridge Marathon on 2018 April 16 raised $286 for The Boston Foundation.
Mark Aquino won the Marathon with a 63.73% average for his best two sessions. Mark played all three sessions with different partners: Sheila Gabay, Selen Hotamisligil, and Susan Aquino (all with the first initial “S,” Mark noted). He was over 60% in every session, with two first-place finishes and a fifth. The next six players were Chuck Greenslit and Barbara McLagan (who won the afternoon session) at 60.89%, Parul Jain and Anand Lele at 60.56%, and Marina Polestra and Jim Rasmussen at 59.02%.
Marley Cedrone won the B stratum (0–1500 average masterpoints) with a 56.44% average for his best two sessions. Marley also played all three sessions with different partners: Sally Matthews (his grandmother), Peter Matthews, and Randy Ray. Marley was eighth overall. He is 12 years old.
Ann Keegan and Lanny Starr won the C stratum (0-500 average masterpoints) with a 49.55% two-session average.
Mark, Marley, Ann, and Lanny will be commemorated on the perpetual plaque for the event.
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Last updated : Apr 30, 2018 13:22 EST |
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Richard Burns Patriots’ Day Bridge Marathon |
If you’re not running in the other marathon, please join us on Monday, April 16, for our annual Richard Burns Memorial Patriots’ Day Bridge Marathon. Here are the details:
- Pair games at 10:00, 2:00, and 7:15 (no noon game)
- All three games are charity games benefiting The Boston Foundation, with increased masterpoint awards.
- Lunch about 1:15 for those playing in the 10:00 and/or 2:00 games.
- The top player(s) in each stratum will be named on the perpetual plaque and win free plays. (To be eligible, you must play in at least two of the three games. If you play in all three games, throw out your lowest score. Strata limits for this purpose are 1500 and 500. Stratum determined by partnership average. If you play with multiple partners, your masterpoints are averaged with the average of your partners’ masterpoints.)
- The defending champions are:
- Shekhar Sengupta (A)
- Adi Chehna and Tony Keats (B)
- Lyne Loomis (C)
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Last updated : Apr 18, 2018 15:45 EST |
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Grossacks Win North American Pairs |
Adam and Zach Grossack won the Baldwin North American Pairs Flight A, the first open North American Bridge Championship at the Spring NABCs in Philadelphia. They started strong with a 60% session Wednesday afternoon, but their 46% Wednesday evening dropped them to 22nd of the 28 pairs who qualified for Thursday’s finals. The brothers caught fire Thursday afternoon, scoring 66.48% in the first final session to take the lead by almost two boards. They held on with a 61.05% Thursday evening, winning the event by a board and a half.
This was Zach’s fourth open national championship and Adam’s third. The Grossacks are the third New England pair to win the Flight A NAPs this decade—Frank Merblum and Doug Doub won in 2010 (they also won in 2001 and were second in 2003 and 2014), and Shome Mukherjee and Mark Aquino won in 2015.
More in the Daily Bulletin.
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Last updated : Apr 16, 2018 15:03 EST |
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McDevitt and Gabay Win Mixed Pairs |
The Daily Bulletin reports “Boston-area players Pat McDevitt and Sheila Gabay tore through the field of finalists in the Rockwell Mixed Pairs to win the contest by almost three boards. McDevitt and Gabay qualified second in Tuesday’s opening round. The final saw them turn in 62.21% and 65.91% performances to convincingly claim the victory. …
“This was the second victory for McDevitt and Gabay. The pair won the event in 2012. McDevitt now has five NABC titles, as well as [a] world championship (the 2010 World Senior Pairs, also played in Philadelphia). This is Gabay’s third NABC title. …”
Zach Grossack and Gillian Miniter were 10th, and Haven Sharaf and Kim Gilman 20th out of 382 pairs.
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Last updated : Apr 16, 2018 15:03 EST |
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Westwood Players Excel in 2017 Masterpoint Races |
We are proud to congratulate Westwood players on their outstanding showing in the 2017 masterpoint races. Adam and Zach Grossack led the pack. They won 2,022 and 1,454 masterpoints respectively—first and second in New England, 14th and 33rd in the ACBL, first and third in the 5000–7500 Mini-McKenney bracket, first and third among juniors (under 26), and Zach was first among youth (under 20).
Westwood players won the Helen Shanbrom Ace of Clubs awards for Eastern Massachusetts in 9 of 15 brackets: Nathalie Tabor, Lisa Muir, Neil Gordon, Bart Bussink, Steve Paxhia, Barbara Murphy, Cilla Borras, Bob Carvin, and Sheila Gabay. Phyllis Chase and John Malley won their Rhode Island brackets. Tabor, Gordon, Paxhia, Carvin, and Gabay also won their New England brackets. In their ACBL-wide brackets, Tabor was 14th, Gordon 12th, and Gabay 4th.
Westwood players won the Eastern Massachusetts Mini-McKenneys in 10 of 15 brackets: Michael Feeney, Nathalie Tabor, Lisa Muir, Bart Bussink, Barbara Murphy, Stewart Rubenstein, Natalie Bassil, Adam Grossack, Lew Gamerman, and Sheila Gabay. Joyce Regan and John Malley won their Rhode Island brackets. Feeney, Tabor, Murphy, Rubenstein, Grossack, Gamerman, and Gabay also won their New England brackets. In their ACBL-wide brackets, Feeney was 8th, Murphy 9th, Grossack 1st, and Gamerman 17th.
The top ten masterpoint winners in Westwood games were Sheila Gabay, Charlie Drum, Sandra Drum, Steve Paxhia, Mark Aquino, Shome Mukherjee, Al Votolato, Don Carow, Lew Gamerman, and Sue Waxman. Paxhia was first among players who started 2017 with 1000–7500 masterpoints. Nathalie Tabor was first 100–1000. Lanny Starr was first 0–100.
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Last updated : Apr 1, 2018 15:24 EST |
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Pro-Am Dinner and Game on Friday, March 23, 6:30 PM |
On Friday evening, March 23, we will host a Pro-Am game. We will have a special buffet dinner at 6:30 PM (delicious French menu by Chef Christine). The game will start at 7:15 PM. The cost is $15 per player.
Pros with more than 500 masterpoints will be playing with Amateurs (non pros) with less than 500 masterpoints. We can pair Ams and Pros. Please register in advance to help us the plan.
Register by calling the club or by emailing us at baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com.
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Last updated : Mar 26, 2018 14:38 EST |
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Saturday Game CANCELED |
We regret that we have to cancel our noon game on Saturday, March 24. Our scheduled director is detained out-of-town due to a family emergency, and all of our other directors will be at the tournament in Johnston, RI, or otherwise unavailable.
We will have a game on Sunday at 1:00.
If you’d like to play Saturday, the Rhode Island Bridge Association Spring Sectional is 45 minutes away. There are two-session open and 299er games at 10:00 and 2:15 (single-session entries available).
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Last updated : Mar 26, 2018 14:38 EST |
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ACBL-wide Senior Pairs Today |
Please join us Monday, March 19, at noon for the annual ACBL-wide Senior Pairs. 65% sectional rating plus ACBL-wide and district-wide awards for the top finishers. Analysis booklets by Barry Rigal. Players born after 1958 aren’t eligible.
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Last updated : Mar 19, 2018 13:27 EST |
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Wednesday Afternoon Course Starting January 10: Bridge Basics 1 |
Wednesdays, January 10, January 17, January 31, February 7, February 14, and February 28, 14:30–16:30
(note: no class January 24 and February 21)
Teacher: Ru Terajewicz
Course fee: $160 for six classes, payable at the first class (book included)
Please register by emailing baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com
This course is the perfect introduction to the game of bridge. It’s based on the Basics 1 book by Audrey Grant. In the first lesson, we will learn about the basics and provide you with all the essential information about the fundamental mechanics of the game, and is intended for people who have never encountered bridge. The following lessons have information that will also be of value to people who may know the basic mechanics but have not learned the principles of modern bidding. We will cover notrump opening bids and responses, major suit opening bids and responses, and minor suit opening bids and responses. This class provides everything you need to establish a solid foundation. The approach is hands-on, you will start playing hands at the first class.
Everyone is welcome! Our emphasis is on having a good time while learning the most fascinating card game in the world! Come and try it!
Never having played card games in her life, Ru started learning to play bridge in 2008. The game soon became a passion and she started playing competitive duplicate bridge the following year. In 2010, Ru opted to concentrate full time on her bridge game and wound down a 25-year engineering career in Aviation. By 2011, Ru attained the rank of Life Master and is now a Ruby Life Master. In the following four years, Ru lived in Canada and was mentored by some Canada’s most outstanding bridge players. During that time, she earned ACBL teaching certificate with Audrey Grant as well as Director’s certificate. While living in Canada, she achieved top 100 Richmond Trophy rank for two consecutive years. Ru has won several Mini-McKenney races in her district, placed top 15 ACBL Mini-McKenney races in her strat multiple times, and has won many Sectional and Regional championship in open events. Ru is passionate about bridge and loves to help others to learn the game.
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Last updated : Feb 28, 2018 11:03 EST |
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Register by February 2 to “REACH for Gold” February 3–9 |
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ACBL’s experimental Regional Event At the Club House (REACH) is an ACBL-wide regional that enables players to compete against each other and earn gold points from the comfort of their local club. The same set of deals are played by members in every participating club, but because it’s a regional event, players can earn gold or red points while playing in their regular club game!
REACH will be held in conjunction with the ACBL-wide International Fund Game on Saturday, February 3, with five additional sessions February 5–9 (Monday through Friday). Westwood will participate in all six sessions (Saturday and Monday at noon, Tuesday through Friday at 10:30).
These games will operate like normal club games, charging entry fees and awarding masterpoints as usual. You can play without signing up for REACH, but to be eligible for the additional overall gold and red masterpoint awards, you must:
- be a paid-up ACBL member,
- register by February 2 and pay the ACBL $30 per player (click here to register), and
- play in at least two of the six sessions (if you play in more than two, your best two results will be used) at any participating club(s) with the same or different partners (who must also be paid-up ACBL members, but do not have to be registered for REACH).
For more information, click here.
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Last updated : Feb 26, 2018 14:29 EST |
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Tuesday Course Starting October 24: Bridge Basics 2—Competitive Bidding |
Tuesdays, October 24, October 31, November 14, November 21, and November 28, 14:30–16:30
(note no class on 11/07)
Teacher: Lisa Procter
Course fee: $135 for five classes, book included, payable at the first class
There are no refunds for days missed.
This is a second course for players who have taken a beginner class the Basics 1 class based on the Audrey Grant textbook.
In a typical session of duplicate bridge, the majority of auctions are competitive, so more matchpoints are won and lost in competitive auctions than in uncontested auctions. This course covers the concepts needed when both sides are bidding for the contract. It introduces the basic competitive bidding tools—preemptive opening bids, overcalls, and takeout doubles—as used in today’s game. It uses Audrey Grant’s excellent text, Bridge Basics 2—Competitive bidding. We’ll play several practice deals in each session.
To register, please email us at baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com.
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Last updated : Nov 30, 2017 08:56 EST |
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Tuesday Afternoon Course Starting September 19: Bridge Basics 1 |
Tuesdays, September 19, September 26, October 3, October 10, and October 17, 14:30–16:30
Teacher: Lisa Procter
Course fee: $135 for five classes, payable at the first class (book included)
Please register by emailing baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com
This course is the perfect introduction to the game of bridge. It’s based on the Basics 1 book by Audrey Grant. In the first lesson, we will learn about the basics and provide you with all the essential information about the fundamental mechanics of the game, and is intended for people who have never encountered bridge. The following lessons have information that will also be of value to people who may know the basic mechanics but have not learned the principles of modern bidding. We will cover notrump opening bids and responses, major suit opening bids and responses, and minor suit opening bids and responses. This class provides everything you need to establish a solid foundation. The approach is hands-on, you will start playing hands at the first class.
Everyone is welcome! Our emphasis is on having a good time while learning the most fascinating card game in the world! Come and try it!
Lisa is a silver life master and has been playing bridge for 10 years. She is an ACBL certified teacher. Currently, she is the membership chair of the Eastern Massachusetts Bridge Association (EMBA). She conceived of and manages the "Introduction to Bridge" programs sponsored by EMBA. These programs have become a very important way to introduce newcomers to bridge and attract new members to EMBA.
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Last updated : Nov 6, 2017 23:26 EST |
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Tuesday Evening Course Starting September 19: Bridge Basics 1 |
Tuesdays, September 19, September 26, October 10, October 17, and October 24, 19:15–21:15
(note: no class on October 3)
Teacher: Ru Terajewicz
Course fee: $135 for five classes, payable at the first class (book included)
Please register by emailing baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com
This course is the perfect introduction to the game of bridge. It’s based on the Basics 1 book by Audrey Grant. In the first lesson, we will learn about the basics and provide you with all the essential information about the fundamental mechanics of the game, and is intended for people who have never encountered bridge. The following lessons have information that will also be of value to people who may know the basic mechanics but have not learned the principles of modern bidding. We will cover notrump opening bids and responses, major suit opening bids and responses, and minor suit opening bids and responses. This class provides everything you need to establish a solid foundation. The approach is hands-on, you will start playing hands at the first class.
Everyone is welcome! Our emphasis is on having a good time while learning the most fascinating card game in the world! Come and try it!
Never having played card games in her life, Ru started learning to play bridge in 2008. The game soon became a passion and she started playing competitive duplicate bridge the following year. In 2010, Ru opted to concentrate full time on her bridge game and wound down a 25-year engineering career in Aviation. By 2011, Ru attained the rank of Life Master and is now a Ruby Life Master. In the following four years, Ru lived in Canada and was mentored by some Canada’s most outstanding bridge players. During that time, she earned ACBL teaching certificate with Audrey Grant as well as Director’s certificate. While living in Canada, she achieved top 100 Richmond Trophy rank for two consecutive years. Ru has won several Mini-McKenney races in her district, placed top 15 ACBL Mini-McKenney races in her strat multiple times, and has won many Sectional and Regional championship in open events. Ru is passionate about bridge and loves to help others to learn the game.
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Last updated : Nov 6, 2017 23:25 EST |
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Jane Johnson Club Appreciation Month |
October is the ACBL’s annual Jane Johnson Club Appreciation Month. Club Appreciation Pair Games are special games run during the month of October at clubs. They offer masterpoint awards calculated at 82% sectional-rated black (29% more than Club Championships and special fund games). Club Appreciation Team Games are special games run during the month of October at clubs and offer masterpoint awards calculated at 82% of sectional-rated black, but overall awards are 5% gold (not to exceed .25 gold points). The games run during this month recognize the contributions of Jane Johnson, longtime manager of ACBL’s Club Membership Department, to the ACBL.
We’ve scheduled ten Club Appreciation Pair Games and seven Club Appreciation Team Games. The ACBL does not charge clubs extra table fees for Club Appreciation games, so we don’t charge you extra (unlike some clubs). Entry fees are the same as regular games ($10 per player for Monday–Saturday daytime games; $9 per player for evening games and Sunday afternoon games).
Swiss team games are a fun break from matchpoint scoring. Many think team games are more like “real bridge.” Team games have the nice feature that almost everybody earns masterpoints (if you don’t place in your stratum, you get masterpoints for every match you win). For more about team games, see this page on the ACBL web site. We run Swiss team games with predealt hands and electronic scoring, so we’re able to play 24 boards in about 3¼ hours—about the same time as a pairs game—and you get hand records at the end, and you can view complete results on the web after the game.
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Last updated : Nov 1, 2017 11:46 EST |
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ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game Wednesday, October 25, 2017 at noon |
One GOLD point is awarded to section winners in each direction.
The remaining points are half red and half black (extra-points).
Each player will receive a booklet with analysis of all 36 deals by Larry Cohen.
For more details, click here.
Lunch is included!
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Last updated : Oct 25, 2017 16:15 EST |
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Bob Simpson Memorial Charity Club Championships October 20–22 |
Please join us Friday–Sunday, October 20–22, for our sixth annual weekend of charity club championships in memory of Bob Simpson. The schedule is:
Individuals* |
Friday, 10:30 |
one session |
Pairs |
Saturday, 10:00 and 2:00 |
two-session event, single-session entries available, lunch between sessions |
Teams |
Sunday, 10:00 |
two-session Swiss, lunch between sessions |
This year’s Simpson Charity Club Championships will be Club-Appreciation-rated, awarding black points (5% gold on Sunday) at 82% sectional rating. Your contributions of $2 per player per session (or more, if you like) will benefit One Family, Inc. Winners in each stratum are commemorated on a perpetual plaque at the club.
All events are stratified by average. Entries limited to 24 tables. Reservations available at the club. Reservations will be held until ten minutes before game time.
The defending champions are:
Individuals* |
A: Sandra Nyman |
B: William Shaffer |
C: Livingston Carroll |
Pairs |
A: Sheila Gabay and Pat McDevitt |
B: Marshall Williams and Roger Zessis |
C: Ellen Brown and Valerie Fleischer |
Teams |
A: Sheila Gabay, Lewis Gamerman, Shome Mukherjee, and Mark Aquino |
B: Saul Agranoff, Stuart Whittle, Carole Weinstein, and Ann Baum |
C: Venky Venkataramani, Sam Shoushtarian, and David and Marguerite Levin |
*Individual events are rare these days, but can be a lot of fun. Two tips:
- As in cut-around rubber bridge, you’ll have some partners who are more skilled than you and some who are less. So will everybody else! Seek the best results possible with every partner and bring your sense of humor.
- In an individual event, you are allowed to refer to your own convention card. If you take a few minutes before the game to fill out a relatively simple convention card (or two), then you can hand a card to each partner and greatly reduce bidding misunderstandings.
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Last updated : Oct 22, 2017 16:43 EST |
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STOP Cards Stopped |
The ACBL will eliminate STOP cards in tournaments on 2018 January 1 and has suggested that clubs eliminate them sooner. We removed the STOP cards on September 25 (coincident with the 2017 Laws coming into effect).
Here’s what’s changed: You may no longer call attention in any way to the fact that you’re making a skip bid. No STOP card. No announcement. The other players at the table should notice that you’ve made a skip bid without any reminder.
Here’s what has not changed: Whenever your right-hand opponent makes a skip bid, you must think for about ten seconds before you make your call. (What you think about is up to you, but you must make it appear to your partner that you’re considering whether to bid or not to bid.)
See Law 16B (pp. 22–23 of the 2017 Laws) for the consequences of “unwonted speed” over a skip bid.
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Last updated : Oct 10, 2017 11:16 EST |
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An Introduction to Bridge, Sunday, September 24 |
Playing a hand of bridge takes no more than a deck of cards, four people, and ten minutes. Bridge has hooked players for close to a century. It is a game both easy to learn and challenging to master.
The Westwood Duplicate Bridge Club is pleased to host an Introduction to Bridge class on Sunday, 2017 September 24, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. This seminar is intended for new players, or for anyone who has been away from the game for years. In a few hours you will learn the basics of bidding, play, and scoring for this fascinating pastime.
The course will be led by Kim Gilman and Lisa Procter. Kim has been playing tournament bridge for 14 years and has won several sectional and regional championships. She is a Gold Life Master and an ACBL-certified instructor whose students love her interactive and easy-to-understand lessons. Lisa is a silver life master and has been playing bridge for 10 years. She is an ACBL certified teacher. Currently, she is the membership chair of the Eastern Massachusetts Bridge Association (EMBA). She conceived of and manages the "Introduction to Bridge" programs sponsored by EMBA. These programs have become a very important way to introduce newcomers to bridge and attract new members to EMBA.
The seminar fee of $65 per student includes the fabulous Audrey Grant Bridge Basics 1 book, refreshments, a one-year membership to the American Contract Bridge League, and subscription to its great monthly magazine. It also includes a FREE supervised play session on Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 2:30 p.m. at the Westwood Bridge Club and a FREE entry to their Newcomer Wednesday morning game. Please contact us to inquire about our newcomer package. Register fast, the class size is limited to 40 students
For more info, email Lisa Procter at membership@acblemba.org or call her at 508-785-0131. To register, please click here to use the registration form on the side of our flyer.
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Last updated : Sep 30, 2017 23:22 EST |
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September is International Fund Month |
September is International Fund Month, and all of our games are International Fund games. The ACBL’s International Fund supports North American participation in international competitions. All masterpoint awards are 64% sectional black points (about twice the awards for regular club games).
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Last updated : Sep 30, 2017 19:41 EST |
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An Introduction to Bridge, Sunday, September 24 |
Playing a hand of bridge takes no more than a deck of cards, four people, and ten minutes. Bridge has hooked players for close to a century. It is a game both easy to learn and challenging to master.
The Westwood Duplicate Bridge Club is pleased to host an Introduction to Bridge class on Sunday, 2017 September 24, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. This seminar is intended for new players, or for anyone who has been away from the game for years. In a few hours you will learn the basics of bidding, play, and scoring for this fascinating pastime.
The course will be led by Kim Gilman and Lisa Procter.
The seminar fee of $65 per student. Register fast, the class size is limited to 40 students.
Check our Newcomer section for more details.
For more info, email Lisa Procter at membership@acblemba.org or call her at 508-785-0131. To register, please click here to use the registration form on the side of our flyer.
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Last updated : Sep 25, 2017 16:12 EST |
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Pro-Am Pairs on Friday, September 15, 6:30 PM |
On Friday evening, September 15, we will host a Pro-Am tournament. We will have a special buffet dinner at 6:30 PM (delicious French menu by Chef Christine). The game will start at 7:15 PM. The cost is $15 per player.
Pros with more than 500 masterpoints will be playing with Amateurs (non pros) with less than 500 masterpoints. We will pair the Ams and the Pros (but will accept pre-paired players). Click here for more information.
Still accepting registrations. Register by calling the club or by emailing us at baystatebridgeclub@gmail.com.
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Last updated : Sep 17, 2017 10:21 EST |
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Tuesdays, 14:30–16:30: Drop-in Lesson - Ends September 5 |
Tuesdays, 14:30–16:30
Teacher: Tim Hill
Fee: $15/player
No advance registration. No predetermined curriculum. Just come any Tuesday afternoon. We address your questions about bidding, about declarer play, about defensive play, about deals you’ve played. We play boards from recent club games and shape the class around the bidding and play issues that come up.
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Last updated : Sep 5, 2017 14:41 EST |
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North American Pairs |
In June, July, and August, about half of our games will be club-level qualifying games for the North American Pairs. All of these games award half-red, half-black masterpoints at about triple the level of regular games (82% sectional rating).
Players who qualify in at least one of these games (look for a “Q” next to your name on the results) may play in the New England District Finals (Flight A: October 7–8, Watertown; Flight B: November 11–12, Mansfield; Flight C: November 11, Mansfield). The top three or four pairs in each flight will qualify for the North American Finals at the 2018 Spring North American Bridge Championships in Philadelphia. The top two pairs in each flight will receive subsidies to attend the NABC.
(Note that most of our non-NAP games in June, July, and August are Club Championship or Special Fund games, which award masterpoints at 64% sectional rating—about 2½ times the level of regular games.)
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Last updated : Sep 1, 2017 21:03 EST |
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Parker and Rubenstein Win 0–10,000 Mixed Swiss |
On Saturday and Sunday at the North American Bridge Championships in Toronto, Christina Parker and Stewart Rubenstein teamed with Michael and Susan Smith of Newington, CT, to win the 0–10,000 Mixed Swiss Teams.
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Last updated : Aug 18, 2017 12:06 EST |
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Tuesdays, August 1 and 8: Modern Preemptive Bidding with Zach & Kim |
Tuesdays, August 1 and 8, 14:30–16:30 (2 classes)
Teachers: Zach Grossack & Kim Gilman
Course fee: $25 for one class or $40 for both
Level: Advanced beginners and up
Would you like to know the experts’ secrets of when and how high to preempt? Hint: They do it every chance they get! Find out how to do the same, and how to defend against your preempting opponents. You’ll learn by playing some great hands, asking questions, and receiving easy-to-remember guidelines.
Class Topics:
- Modern criteria for preemptive bids
- Obstructing your opponents to the max!
- Handling your opponents’ and your partner’s preempts
- When to sacrifice, when to pass, and when to double!
Zach Grossack became a Life Master at age 12 and has won gold and silver medals in world youth bridge competitions. To date, he has won three national championships, including the 2017 open Pairs in Kansas City, MO. He and his brother Adam are fast becoming one of the most formidable pairs in the U.S. Zach is a junior at Tufts University and teaches and plays bridge professionally.
Kim Gilman has been playing tournament bridge for 14 years and has won several sectional and regional championships. She is a Gold Life Master and an ACBL certified instructor whose students love her interactive and easy-to-understand lessons.
To sign up in advance, or for questions, contact Nathalie. While pre-registration is not mandatory to attend, it is helpful for planning purposes.
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Last updated : Aug 14, 2017 21:12 EST |
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July 499er $4.99 Special |
This month our Wednesday 10:30, Thursday 10:30, and Sunday 1:00 games are only $4.99 for 499ers (plus $1 for North American Pairs, Charity, and Educational Foundation games; plus $2 for Sectional Tournament at Clubs games).
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Last updated : Aug 1, 2017 07:27 EST |
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Aquino and Hotamisligil in World Wide Bridge Contest Finals |
On Friday evening, June 2, Westwood was one of 140 clubs in 22 countries participating in the World Wide Bridge Contest. Mark Aquino and Selen Hotamisligil scored 73.15%, ranking third of 2,131 pairs. Mark and Selen and 23 other top finishers in eight WWBC sessions earned an expense-paid trip to the WWBC Finals in Beijing in September, where they’ll compete for a $20,000 prize pool.
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Last updated : Jul 28, 2017 16:49 EST |
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Summer Sectional Tournament at Clubs June 26–July 2 |
Please join us for the New England (except Connecticut) Summer Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC). All Westwood games Monday through Sunday, June 26–July 2, will be STaC games. The Monday–Saturday games will be pairs; the Sunday game (July 2 at 1:00) will be Swiss teams. All masterpoints will be silver at 82% sectional rating (about triple the awards for regular club games) with extra awards for the top scores across all participating clubs.
Click here for overall results.
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Last updated : Jul 5, 2017 16:52 EST |
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June 299er $5 Special |
This month our Wednesday 10:30, Thursday 10:30, and Sunday 1:00 games are only $5 for 299ers (plus $1 for North American Pairs, Charity, and Educational Foundation games; plus $2 for Sectional Tournament at Clubs games).
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Last updated : Jun 30, 2017 05:55 EST |
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Thursday Course Starting May 11: Bridge Basics 2—Competitive Bidding |
Thursdays, May 11, May 18, May 25, June 1, and June 15, 14:30–16:30
Teacher: Tim Hill
Course fee: $100 for five classes, book included, payable at the first class
Single class fee: $25∕class + $12 for the book
This is a second course for players who’ve taken a beginner class such as “Learn Bridge in a Day?®.” In a typical session of duplicate bridge, the majority of auctions are competitive, so more matchpoints are won and lost in competitive auctions than in uncontested auctions. This course covers the concepts needed when both sides are bidding for the contract. It introduces the basic competitive bidding tools—preëmptive opening bids, overcalls, and takeout doubles—as used in today’s game. It uses Audrey Grant’s excellent text, Bridge Basics 2—Competitive bidding. We’ll play several practice deals in each session.
May 11: Preëmptive Opening Bids
May 18: Overcalls and Advances
May 25: Takeout Doubles and Advances
June 1: The Competitive Auction
June 15: Review, More Practice, Unusual Notrump, Michaels Cue Bids
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Last updated : Jun 30, 2017 03:45 EST |
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Worldwide Bridge Contests Friday Evening & Saturday Afternoon, June 2 & 3 |
The annual Worldwide Bridge Contests will be held on Friday evening, June 2, and Saturday afternoon, June 3, at clubs around the world, including Westwood. It’s your chance for a worldwide top and recognition for your big games. These games award sectional rated half red/half black masterpoints at clubs. District-wide winners will earn extra masterpoints. Commentary by Mark Horton will be available after each game.
Westwood’s game times are 7:15 p.m. on Friday, June 2, and noon on Saturday, June 3. We’ll have Pizza Friday at 6:45 p.m. (it will help us know how much pizza to order if you tell us in advance that you’re coming).
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Last updated : Jun 4, 2017 07:20 EST |
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Grass Roots Fund Month |
May is the ACBL’s annual Grass Roots Fund Month, and all Westwood games benefit the Grass Roots Fund.
Masterpoint awards are about 250% of regular games (64% sectional-rated).
The Grass Roots Fund returns all money raised in our New England district to our district to support the two annual “grass roots” events: the Grand National Teams and the North American Pairs. The district uses these funds to run qualifying events and to support district winners in all flights in attending the North American finals.
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Last updated : May 31, 2017 21:13 EST |
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Competitive Bidding Course Starts May 11 |
We’re starting a course for newer players on competitive bidding on Thursday afternoon, May 11, at 2:30 p.m. This course covers the concepts needed when both sides are bidding for the contract. It introduces the basic competitive bidding tools—preëmptive opening bids, overcalls, and takeout doubles—as used in today’s game. For more information, please see our Classes page.
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Last updated : May 24, 2017 11:13 EST |
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Mel Marcus Memorial Game May 20 |
On Saturday, May 20, our noon game will be dedicated to the memory of Mel Marcus. Please bring food and memories of Mel to share. The event is hosted by Rena Lieberman and Barbara Murphy.
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Last updated : May 24, 2017 11:13 EST |
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Richard Burns Patriots’ Day Marathon Winners |
Our annual Richard Burns Memorial Patriots’ Day Bridge Marathon on 2017 April 17 raised $144 for The Boston Foundation.
Shekhar Sengupta won the Marathon with a 64.04% two-session average. Shekhar’s partners were Ken Bloom and Marie Sengupta. Mark Aquino was second with a 61.28% two-session average. Mark’s partners were June Blanco and Susan Aquino.
Adi Chehna and Tony Keats won the B stratum (0–1500 average masterpoints) with a 54.97% two-session average.
Lyne Loomis won the C stratum (0-500 average masterpoints) with a 48.50% two-session average. Lyne’s partners were Anne Farrington and Joanna Gleason. Shirley Samansky and Zita Samuels were second and third in C with a 45.02% two-session average.
These seven players will be commemorated on the perpetual plaque for the event.
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Last updated : May 3, 2017 14:30 EST |
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Zach Grossack Wins Third National Title |
At the Spring North American Bridge Championships in Kansas City, Zachary Grossack and Mikael Remstedt of Sweden scored 69% in the first final session of the Silodor Open Pairs and went on to win the event by 2½ boards. It was Zach’s third national championship. Zach is 19; Mikael is 21. Zach and Mikael’s brothers, Adam Grossack and Ola Remstedt, finished third in the event.
Adam and Zach were fifth in the Kay Platinum Pairs. Zach’s tournament total of 248 masterpoints ranked ninth, trailing only the winners of the Vanderbilt and the Kay. Adam’s 192 ranked 19th.
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Last updated : May 2, 2017 23:05 EST |
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Charity Month |
April is the ACBL’s annual Charity Month, and all Westwood games this month are charity games. Masterpoint awards are 64% sectional rated black points. This works out to about ⅔ of a point per player on average—about 2½ times the awards for regular club games.
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Last updated : May 2, 2017 23:04 EST |
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Richard Burns Patriots’ Day Bridge Marathon |
If you’re not running in the other marathon, please join us on Monday, April 17, for our annual Richard Burns Memorial Patriots’ Day Bridge Marathon. Here are the details:
- Pair games at 10:00, 2:00, and 7:15 (no noon game)
- All three games are charity games benefiting The Boston Foundation, with increased masterpoint awards.
- Lunch at 1:15 for those playing in the 10:00 and/or 2:00 games.
- Six players—two in each stratum—will be named on the perpetual plaque and win free plays. (To be eligible, you must play in at least two of the three games. If you play in all three games, throw out your lowest score. Strata limits for this purpose are 1500 and 500. Stratum determined by partnership average. If you play with multiple partners, your masterpoints are averaged with the average of your partners’ masterpoints.)
- The defending champions are:
- Lisa Procter and Bob Carvin (A)
- Jean Fast and Diane Staton (B and C)
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Last updated : Apr 17, 2017 22:47 EST |
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Basics Course, Drop-in Lessons, and Newcomer Games |
Our Basics course continues on Wednesday afternoons through March 15 from 2:30 to 4:30 (no class on February 15). New students are welcome. We use Audrey Grant’s excellent text Bridge Basics 1: An Introduction. This course is especially suitable for recent participants in the Learn Bridge in a Day?® class, but others are most welcome.
Our drop-in lessons are now on Tuesday afternoons from 2:30 to 4:30. Each day’s topics are chosen based on student requests and the deals we play. Competitive bidding and defense often figure prominently.
We have separate newcomer games for players with less than 20 masterpoints on Wednesday mornings from 10:30 to about 12:45. (Newcomers are also most welcome at any of our stratified open games!)
For more information, please call the club (781-329-2476) or Tim Hill (781-929-7673).
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Last updated : Mar 31, 2017 17:26 EST |
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Super Bowl Squares |
The Super Bowl Squares winners are:
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Patriots |
Falcons |
winner |
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first quarter |
0 |
0 |
Don Carow |
$75 |
halftime |
3 |
21 |
Zach Grossack |
$150 |
third quarter |
9 |
28 |
Marty Shaevel |
$75 |
final |
34 |
28 |
Marty Shaevel |
$200 |
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Last updated : Mar 5, 2017 10:30 EST |
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ACBL-wide International Fund Game Saturday Noon |
Please join us Saturday, February 4, at noon for the semi-annual ACBL-wide International Fund Game. This event raises funds to defray the expense of North American participation in international competition. Masterpoints are half red/half black at 82% sectional tournament rating with extra masterpoints for top finishers in the New England district and ACBL-wide. Analysis booklets by Frank Stewart distributed after the game.
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Last updated : Feb 6, 2017 23:57 EST |
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Super Bowl Squares |
Super Bowl Squares are back this year by popular demand. We’ve sold all 100 squares and randomly labeled the rows, columns, and axes. Click to view large image.
And the winners are:
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Patriots |
Falcons |
winner |
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first quarter |
0 |
0 |
Don Carow |
$75 |
halftime |
3 |
21 |
Zach Grossack |
$150 |
third quarter |
9 |
28 |
Marty Shaevel |
$75 |
final |
34 |
28 |
Marty Shaevel |
$200 |
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Last updated : Feb 5, 2017 22:24 EST |
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Junior Fund Month |
January is the ACBL’s annual Junior Fund Month, and most Westwood games will benefit the ACBL’s Junior Fund and award extra masterpoints (64%-sectional-rated black points). The only non-Junior-fund games this month are the Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC) games January 2–8.
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Last updated : Feb 1, 2017 04:58 EST |
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Winter Sectional Tournament at Clubs January 2–8 |
Please join us for the New England (except Connecticut) Winter Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC). All Westwood games Monday through Sunday, January 2–8, will be STaC games. The Monday–Saturday games will be pairs; the Sunday game (January 8) will be Swiss Teams. All masterpoints will be silver at 82% sectional rating (about triple the awards for regular club games) with extra awards for the top scores across all participating clubs. Overall results will be posted at <http://www.acbl.org/tournaments/schedule.php?tourid=30093#schedule>.
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Last updated : Feb 1, 2017 04:58 EST |
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Saturday Game On |
We will have a STaC pairs game at noon today. Please be aware that the latest Westwood forecast is for an inch or so of snow before the game and about an inch an hour during and after the game. Please make your own informed decision about whether it’s safe to travel to the club.
STaC Swiss teams tomorrow at 1:00.
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Last updated : Jan 7, 2017 15:47 EST |
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Thursday Weather |
Blizzards and nor’easters and a foot of snow, oh my. Not in Westwood! The latest forecast is that the rain/snow line will stay northwest of us. We’ll get perhaps 0–½″ of snow during the game, with the temperature already a few degrees above freezing, and any snow will be washed away by heavy rain before the game ends.
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Last updated : Dec 29, 2016 22:32 EST |
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Emergency Gatlinburg and Great Smoky Mountains Relief Fund STaC |
Eight ACBL districts, including ours, have just scheduled a special Sectional Tournament at Clubs for the benefit of Emergency Gatlinburg and Great Smoky Mountains Relief. This will be the largest STaC in ACBL history.
The Gatlinburg Relief STaC runs from Monday, December 12, through Sunday, December 18, and all Westwood games this week are part of it, including our fifth annual Bob Simpson Memorial Club Championships on Friday (individual game at 10:30), Saturday (two-session pair game at 10:00 and 2:00—single-session entries available), and Sunday (two-session Swiss team game starting at 10:00).
STaCs award silver points at 82% sectional rating with extra awards for overalls across participating clubs. The overall awards will be posted here.
For more information, click here.
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Last updated : Dec 29, 2016 09:28 EST |
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Fixed BridgeWebs App for iPhone/iPad/iPod |
A recent update to Apple’s iOS broke the iPhone/iPad/iPod version of the BridgeWebs app. A fixed BridgeWebs app is now available. If all you can see is the Dundee Bridge Club, please update the BridgeWebs app from the App Store, click Clubs, deselect the Dundee Bridge Club, and reselect the Westwood Duplicate Bridge Club.
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Last updated : Dec 19, 2016 10:32 EST |
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Bob Simpson Memorial Charity Club Championships December 16–18 |
Please join us Friday–Sunday, December 16–18, for our fifth annual weekend of charity club championships in memory of Bob Simpson. The schedule is:
Individuals |
Friday, 10:30 |
one session |
Pairs |
Saturday, 10:00 and 2:00 |
two-session event, single-session entries available, lunch between sessions |
Teams |
Sunday, 10:00 |
two-session Swiss, lunch between sessions |
This year’s Simpson Charity Club Championships will be STaC-rated, awarding silver points at 82% sectional rating. Your contributions of $2 per player per session (or more, if you like) will benefit Gatlinburg Emergency Relief.
All events are stratified by average. Entries limited to 24 tables. Reservations available at the club. Reservations will be held until ten minutes before game time.
The defending champions are:
Individuals |
A and B: Jean Shaffer |
C: Susanne Osberg |
Pairs |
A and B: Christina Parker and Stewart Rubenstein |
C: Dan Rice and Michael Chapman |
Teams |
A: Barbara Burgess, Natalie Bassil, Marina Polestra, and Sandra Drum |
B: Stewart Rubenstein, Alix Taylor, Jori Grossack, and Christina Parker |
C: Jean Shaffer, Barbara Glazerman, William Shaffer, and Eva Milofsky |
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Last updated : Dec 19, 2016 10:31 EST |
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Learn Bridge in a Day?®, Sunday, November 20 |
Playing a hand of bridge takes no more than a deck of cards, four people, and ten minutes. Bridge has hooked players for close to a century. It is a game both easy to learn and challenging to master.
The Westwood Duplicate Bridge Club is pleased to host a Learn Bridge in a Day?® class on Sunday, 2016 November 20, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This seminar is intended for new players, or for anyone who has been away from the game for years. In five hours you will learn the basics of bidding, play, and scoring for this fascinating pastime.
The course will be led by Adam Parrish. Adam lives on Cape Cod. He teaches bridge throughout New England and around the country. He has written two books on bridge. His bridge writing has also been featured in The Bridge World and on Bridge Winners, where he heads the site’s educational initiatives. In addition to his bridge career, Adam is a playwright and screenwriter.
The seminar fee of $55 per student includes one year membership in the American Contract Bridge League and subscription to its great monthly magazine. Each student will receive a workbook and info packet. A pizza lunch will be included. Class limited to 28 students.
For more info, email Lisa Procter at membership@acblemba.org or call her at 508-785-0131. To register, please use the registration form on the back of this flyer.
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Last updated : Nov 28, 2016 17:58 EST |
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Jane Johnson Club Appreciation Month |
October is the ACBL’s annual Jane Johnson Club Appreciation Month. Club Appreciation Pair Games are special games run during the month of October at clubs. They offer masterpoint awards calculated at 82% sectional-rated black (29% more than Club Championships and special fund games). Club Appreciation Team Games are special games run during the month of October at clubs and offer masterpoint awards calculated at 82% of sectional-rated black, but overall awards are 5% gold (not to exceed .25 gold points). The games run during this month recognize the contributions of Jane Johnson, longtime manager of ACBL’s Club Membership Department, to the ACBL.
We’ve scheduled nine Club Appreciation Pair Games and six Club Appreciation Team Games. The ACBL does not charge clubs extra table fees for Club Appreciation games, so we don’t charge you extra (unlike some clubs). Entry fees are the same as regular games ($9 per player for Monday–Saturday daytime games; $8 per player for evening games and Sunday afternoon games).
Swiss team games are a fun break from matchpoint scoring. Many think team games are more like “real bridge.” Team games have the nice feature that almost everybody earns masterpoints (if you don’t place in your stratum, you get masterpoints for every match you win). For more about team games, see this page on the ACBL web site. We run Swiss team games with predealt hands and electronic scoring, so we’re able to play 24 boards in about 3¼ hours—about the same time as a pairs game—and you get hand records at the end, and you can view complete results on the web after the game.
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Last updated : Oct 30, 2016 21:14 EST |
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Party for Gabay and King October 15 |
Sheila Gabay, Victor King, and Paul and Linda Lewis won the Mixed Board-A-Match Teams at the Summer NABC. This was Sheila’s second North American Championship (she became a Grand Life Master in 2012 by winning the Mixed Pairs with Pat McDevitt) and Victor’s first, making Victor a Grand Life Master. Sheila and Victor will be honored with a party at Westwood on Saturday, October 15, hosted by Rena Lieberman.
The party will begin with a pot-luck lunch at 11:00. Please bring food to share. Game time is 12:00. The game may reach our 24-table capacity. Reservations are available at the club.
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Last updated : Oct 17, 2016 00:26 EST |
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By popular request, we’ve added the 30th Annual ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game on Friday afternoon, October 14, to our schedule.
In an instant matchpoint game, you see your matchpoints immediately after playing each deal. The game awards masterpoints at 82% sectional rating, section tops include 1 gold point, other awards are half red, and there are extra masterpoints for the top pairs ACBL-wide and in the New England District. After the game you’ll receive an analysis booklet by Larry Cohen.
Our full schedule for Friday, October 14, is:
9:45 |
“Shark’s Pointers” pre-game talk by Mark Aquino |
10:30–1:45 |
Club Appreciation Swiss Teams |
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(no supervised play) |
2:30–5:30 |
ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game |
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Last updated : Oct 17, 2016 00:26 EST |
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Thursdays, 2:30–4:30: Basic Conventions |
Thursdays, 2016 April 7 through June 2, 2:30–4:30, 8 sessions (extra session in case we need a makeup lesson)
Teacher: Parul Jain, paruljain589 at gmail dot com, 201-739-6649
We plan to focus on 1NT conventions, Stayman, Major and Minor suitTransfers, NT slam bidding, Doubles, Negative Doubles, Takeout Doubles. Topics subject to change based on class request.
You will learn by doing and playing lots of hands each class. We will turn up each hand after play and review it for bidding, play, and defense while it is still fresh in your mind. You will take home handouts with clear explanations and quizzes to reinforce what you just learned. You will receive copies of every hand played in class with written analysis of the suggested bid, play, and defense.
Prerequisite: Must know basic Standard American bidding and basic declarer play
8 sessions for $180 if paid in advance. Individual sessions $30.
Email or call Parul to register—paruljain589 at gmail dot com, 201-739-6649.
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Last updated : Oct 6, 2016 11:34 EST |
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Parties for Aquino, Gabay, King October 1 and 15 |
Mark Aquino earned his 10,000th masterpoint in mid-September. Mark and Shome Mukherjee had won the North American Pairs at the 2015 Spring North American Bridge Championships, so Mark became a Grand Life Master when he crossed the 10,000 threshold. Mark will be honored with a party at Westwood on Saturday, October 1, hosted by Susan Aquino.
Sheila Gabay, Victor King, and Paul and Linda Lewis won the Mixed Board-A-Match Teams at the Summer NABC. This was Sheila’s second North American Championship (she became a Grand Life Master in 2012 by winning the Mixed Pairs with Pat McDevitt) and Victor’s first, making Victor a Grand Life Master. Sheila and Victor will be honored with a party at Westwood on Saturday, October 15, hosted by Rena Lieberman.
Both parties will begin with a pot-luck lunch at 11:00. Please bring food to share. Game time is 12:00. The games may reach our 24-table capacity. Reservations are available at the club.
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Last updated : Oct 2, 2016 02:31 EST |
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September is International Fund Month |
September is International Fund Month, and all of our games are International Fund games. The ACBL’s International Fund supports North American participation in international competitions. All masterpoint awards are 64% sectional black points (about twice the awards for regular club games).
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Last updated : Sep 30, 2016 08:44 EST |
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Sunday, September 25, Game Canceled |
Due to the tournaments in Johnston, RI, and Grantham, NH, we will not have a game on Sunday afternoon, September 25. Sorry for the short notice!
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Last updated : Sep 30, 2016 08:44 EST |
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North American Pairs |
In June, July, and August, about half of our games will be club-level qualifying games for the North American Pairs. All of these games award half-red, half-black masterpoints at about triple the level of regular games (82% sectional rating).
Players who qualify in at least one of these games (look for a “Q” next to your name on the results) may play in the New England District Finals (Flight A: October 8–9, Watertown; Flight B: November 12–13, Mansfield; Flight C: November 12, Mansfield). The top three or four pairs in each flight will qualify for the North American Finals at the 2017 Spring North American Bridge Championships in Kansas City. The top two pairs in each flight will receive subsidies to attend the NABC.
(Note that most of our non-NAP games in June, July, and August are Club Championship or Special Fund games, which award masterpoints at 64% sectional rating—about 2½ times the level of regular games.)
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Last updated : Sep 4, 2016 06:04 EST |
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Saturday Ice Cream Social |
Celebrate the end of summer with us on Saturday Sept 3rd.
and enjoy Ice Cream Sundaes and Root Beer Floats
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Last updated : Sep 4, 2016 06:03 EST |
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The Longest Day Monday, June 20 |
Join us for the ACBL’s fourth annual The Longest Day fundraising event supporting Alzheimer’s disease care and research! In the last three years bridge players have donated more than $1 million to help fight Alzheimer’s in both the United States and Canada.
At Westwood, we’ll celebrate The Longest Day on Monday, June 20, with bridge from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. In addition to our usual noon and 7:15 p.m. games, we’ll have fast pairs games at 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The fast pairs games will be paced at 16 minutes per three-board round, so we’ll play a full 24-board game in about 2¼ hours.
All four games will be charity games (64% sectional rating), with $1 per player per session going to the Alzheimer’s Association. Additional donations are welcome, either at the game or online.
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Last updated : Jun 22, 2016 21:54 EST |
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Worldwide Bridge Contests Friday Evening & Saturday Afternoon, June 3 & 4 (Copy) |
The annual Worldwide Bridge Contests will be held on Friday evening, June 3, and Saturday afternoon, June 4, at clubs around the world, including Westwood. It’s your chance for a worldwide top and recognition for your big games. These games award sectional rated half red/half black masterpoints at clubs. District-wide winners will earn extra masterpoints. Commentary by Mark Horton will be available after each game. Westwood’s game times are 7:15 p.m. on Friday, June 3, and noon on Saturday, June 4.
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Last updated : Jun 8, 2016 09:01 EST |
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Worldwide Bridge Contests Friday Evening & Saturday Afternoon, June 3 & 4 |
The annual Worldwide Bridge Contests will be held on Friday evening, June 3, and Saturday afternoon, June 4, at clubs around the world, including Westwood. It’s your chance for a worldwide top and recognition for your big games. These games award sectional rated half red/half black masterpoints at clubs. District-wide winners will earn extra masterpoints. Commentary by Mark Horton will be available after each game. Westwood’s game times are 7:15 p.m. on Friday, June 3, and noon on Saturday, June 4.
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Last updated : Jun 8, 2016 09:00 EST |
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Grass Roots Fund Month |
May is the ACBL’s annual Grass Roots Fund Month, and all Westwood games benefit the Grass Roots Fund.
Masterpoint awards are about 250% of regular games (64% sectional-rated).
The Grass Roots Fund returns all money raised in our New England district to our district to support the two annual “grass roots” events: the Grand National Teams and the North American Pairs. The district uses these funds to run qualifying events and to support district winners in all flights in attending the North American finals.
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Last updated : Jun 1, 2016 08:35 EST |
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Shark’s Pointers |
Mark Aquino’s second year of “Shark’s Pointers” pre-game talks concludes Friday Morning, May 27, at 9:45. Please join us! “Shark’s Pointers” will take a summer break and return in September.
Thank you, Mark, for these excellent talks!
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Last updated : Jun 1, 2016 08:35 EST |
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Parking Update |
Bad news: Last week’s rain delayed paving. The town has asked us to continue parking at the Westwood Masonic Building for our Monday–Friday daytime games through May 13. The Westwood Masonic Building is at 655 High Street (Route 109) opposite the Westwood Public Library. To get there from the Police Station, continue south on High Street (Route 109 West), take the first right on Windsor Road, and turn right immediately into the parking lot. Shuttle vans run continuously starting at 11:00 Monday and 9:30 Tuesday–Friday.
Good news: The van shuttle service between the Masonic lot and the club has received excellent reviews. The drivers are friendly. The service is efficient. Plan on just five extra minutes before and after a game.
Good news: We can still use our parking lot for evening and weekend games and for Wednesday–Friday afternoon classes.
Good news: We look forward to greatly improved parking and access when the project is complete. Our building will have as much parking as it has always had—lost spaces south of the Deerfield Avenue extension will be replaced west of our building. The lot will be safer and simpler. More spaces are being created north of the school and east of the town hall. Deerfield Avenue will be extended to Westwood Glen Road, providing easier and safer access to all four parking areas from High Street via Westwood Glen Road and from Gay Street via Deerfield Avenue. For more information about the construction project, see the status update from the Westwood DPW.
Thank you very much for your continued support while we cope with this inconvenience!
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Last updated : May 16, 2016 09:17 EST |
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New Saturday Competition |
We have a new Saturday competition starting. If you win overall in your stratum three or more games in a row, the Saturday game will be named after you until another pair (or player) wins three times in a row. In addition, you'll win a cash prize of $30.
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Last updated : May 7, 2016 09:49 EST |
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Procter, Carvin, Fast, Staton Win Burns Patriots' Day Marathon |
Our annual Richard Burns Memorial Patriots’ Day Bridge Marathon on 2016 April 18 raised $260 for The Boston Foundation. Lisa Procter and Bob Carvin were first in the morning and third in the afternoon, winning the Marathon with a 62.80% two-session average. Jean Fast and Diane Staton had the best two-session average in the B (0–1500 average masterpoints) and C (0–500) strata: 52.13%. These four players will be commemorated on the perpetual plaque for the event and receive free plays.
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Last updated : May 7, 2016 09:49 EST |
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Charity Month |
April is the ACBL’s annual Charity Month, and all Westwood games this month are charity games. Masterpoint awards are 64% sectional rated black points. This works out to about ⅔ of a point per player on average—about 2½ times the awards for regular club games.
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Last updated : May 7, 2016 09:48 EST |
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Important Parking Information |
Due to construction, the Town has asked us to park for our Monday–Friday daytime games through May 6 at the nearby Westwood Masonic Building. They’re providing continous shuttle van service starting an hour before game time. We can use our parking lot for evening and weekend games.
The Westwood Masonic Building is at 655 High Street (Route 109) opposite the Westwood Public Library. To get there from the Police Station, continue south on High Street (Route 109 West), take the first right on Windsor Road, and turn right immediately into the parking lot.
Thank you very much for your support while we cope with this inconvenience! The town has assured us that it will only last two weeks. We look forward to greatly improved parking and access when the project is complete.
For more information about the construction project, see the status update from the Westwood DPW.
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Last updated : May 7, 2016 09:24 EST |
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Parking Lot Construction |
Construction is underway on a project that includes improving and repaving our parking lot (yeah!). The project also includes tearing down the Girl Scout House east of the Town Hall, extending Deerfield Avenue north between the Legion and Police parking lots to Westwood Glen Road, and expanding and repaving the Town Hall, Police Station, and Deerfield School parking.
The work will be paced to minimize disruption, but the connector between the Police and Legion parking lots will often be closed during our weekday daytime games. To reach our parking lot, continue south on High Street (Route 109 West) 1/4 mile to the third light, turn left on Gay Street, take the first left on Deerfield Avenue (sign points toward the American Legion), and follow Deerfield as it passes the school, turns left between the school and the church, and bears right into the Legion parking lot. Click here for a map.
For more information, see the weekly status update from the Westwood DPW.
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Last updated : Apr 25, 2016 05:10 EST |
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Jason Proman, 1938–2016 |
Jason N. Proman of Norwood entered into rest on April 2, 2016. He was 77. Devoted father of Aaron Proman and his wife Lisa, Neal Proman and his companion Susan McEvoy, and Danielle Perry. Cherished grandfather of Amre, Adam, Brooke, and Zena. Loving companion of Teta DiMartino. Funeral services will be held on Sunday, April 10, 2016, at 11:00 AM at Stanetsky Memorial Chapels, 475 Washington Street, Canton. Interment to follow at Sharon Memorial Park. Expressions of sympathy in his memory may be made to Combined Jewish Philanthropies, 126 High Street, Boston, MA 02110 or online at www.cjp.org. For online condolences visit www.stanetsky.com. Stanetsky Memorial Chapel 781-821-4600.
Published in The Boston Globe on Apr. 6, 2016
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Last updated : Apr 25, 2016 05:09 EST |
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Richard Burns Patriots’ Day Bridge Marathon |
If you’re not running in the other marathon, please join us on Monday, April 18, for our annual Richard Burns Memorial Patriots’ Day Bridge Marathon. Here are the details:
- Pair games at 10:00, 2:00, and 7:15 (no noon game)
- All three games are charity games benefiting The Boston Foundation, with increased masterpoint awards.
- Lunch at 1:15 for those playing in the 10:00 and/or 2:00 games.
- Six players—two in each stratum—will be named on the perpetual plaque and win free plays. (To be eligible, you must play in at least two of the three games. If you play in all three games, throw out your lowest score. Strata limits for this purpose are 1500 and 500. Stratum determined by partnership average. If you play with multiple partners, your masterpoints are averaged with the average of your partners’ masterpoints.)
- The defending champions are:
- Parul Jain and Jim Rasmussen (A)
- Bobbi Arbetter and Marilyn Wolman (B)
- Frank Jenkins and Roger Zessis (C)
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Last updated : Apr 19, 2016 08:43 EST |
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ACBL-wide Charity Game Thursday Morning |
Clubs across the ACBL, including Westwood, will be holding the ACBL-wide charity game on Thursday morning, April 14. Masterpoints are 82% sectional-rated, and players are eligible for ACBL-wide and district-wide awards up to 20 masterpoints. Hand analysis is provided. Game time in Westwood is 10:30.
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Last updated : Apr 16, 2016 16:09 EST |
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Changes to Special Game Schedule |
Two weather-induced changes to our February schedule:
Friday, February 19, 10:30: charity game
Monday, February 22, 12:00: Educational Foundation game
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Last updated : Feb 23, 2016 13:07 EST |
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ACBL-wide International Fund Game Saturday Noon |
Please join us Saturday, February 6, at noon for the semi-annual ACBL-wide International Fund Game. This event raises funds to defray the expense of North American participation in international competition. Masterpoints are half red/half black at 82% sectional tournament rating with extra masterpoints for top finishers in the New England district and ACBL-wide. Analysis booklets by Frank Stewart distributed after the game.
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Last updated : Feb 8, 2016 07:59 EST |
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Winter Sectional Tournament at Clubs January 18–24 |
Please join us for the New England (except Connecticut) Winter Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC). All Westwood games Monday through Sunday, January 18–24, will be STaC games. All masterpoints will be silver at 9/11 sectional rating (about triple the awards for regular club games) with extra awards for the top scores across all participating clubs.
Our eight games Monday through Saturday will all be stratified open pairs. Our Sunday game will be stratified open Fast Swiss teams. Please note that the Sunday STaC Swiss team game will start at 12:00 and end about 2:35—half an hour before the Patriots kickoff.
Overall awards are at <http://www.acbl.org/tournaments/schedule.php?tourid=23065#schedule>.
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Last updated : Jan 24, 2016 17:03 EST |
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Special Game at a Special Time Sunday |
Sunday we’ll start an hour earlier than usual—at 12:00 sharp—and finish about 2:35—half an hour before the Patriots kickoff. The game will be a STaC Fast Swiss Team game (9/11 sectional rating) played at a pace of six minutes per board—a minute faster than usual.
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Last updated : Jan 24, 2016 17:03 EST |
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Fourth Simpson Charity Club Championships |
Our fourth annual Charity Club Championships in memory of Bob Simpson were held Friday–Sunday, December 18–20. The winners were:
The event raised $400 from players for One Family, Inc. The club is matching players’ contributions, bringing the total donation to $800.
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Last updated : Jan 19, 2016 21:14 EST |
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Bob Simpson Memorial Charity Club Championships December 18–20 |
Please join us Friday–Sunday, December 18–20, for our fourth annual weekend of charity club championships in memory of Bob Simpson. The schedule is:
Individuals |
Friday, 10:30 |
one session
winners: Jean Shaffer (A and B), Susanne Osberg (C) |
Pairs |
Saturday, 10:00 and 2:00 |
two-session event, single-session entries available, lunch between sessions |
Teams |
Sunday, 10:00 |
two-session Swiss, lunch between sessions |
Your contributions of $2 per player per session (or more, if you like) will benefit One Family. The club will match your contributions.
All events are stratified by average. Entries limited to 24 tables. Reservations available at the club. Reservations will be held until ten minutes before game time.
The defending champions are:
Individuals |
A, B, and C: Joanna Gleason |
Pairs |
A: Sheila Gabay and Pat McDevitt |
B: Barbara Glazerman and Judith Inker |
C: John Wason and Richard Katz |
Teams |
A: Sheila Gabay, Kevin O’Donnell, Bill Irvine, and Robert McCaw |
B: Saul Agranoff, Stuart Whittle, Joyce Pearson, and Sandra Nyman |
C (tie): Kathy Centorino, Dan Rice, Timothy Pettus, and Greg Chan |
C (tie): Peter and Kathleen Clay and Sharra and Howard Canan |
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Last updated : Dec 23, 2015 12:22 EST |
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Holiday Parties December 10 and 22 |
Please join us for our pot-luck holiday parties on Thursday, December 10, and Tuesday, December 22. Please bring food to share—appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, desserts. Game time is 10:30. We'll take a longer than usual lunch break, so expect the games to finish between 2:00 and 2:15.
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Last updated : Dec 23, 2015 12:21 EST |
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Mario R. Straqualursi (“Strack”), 1921–2015 |
Mario R. Stracqualursi, age 94, of Westwood, former longtime resident of Norwood and Hyde Park, died Monday, October 19. Son of the late Antonio and Elizabeth (Federici) Stracqualursi. Beloved husband of the late Jennie (Bonanno) Stracqualursi. Devoted father of Dr. Roy J. Stracqualursi and his wife Marygrace of Norwood, Richard G. Stracqualursi and his wife Frances of Rapid City SD, and Donna Fletcher and her husband James of Darien CT. Also survived by seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Dear friend of Mary Negrini of Hyde Park. Funeral Saturday, October 24, from the Gillooly Funeral Home, 126 Walpole St. (Rt. 1A), Norwood, at 9, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Timothy Church, 650 Nichols St., Norwood, at 10. Interment, Fairview Cemetery, Hyde Park. Visiting hours Friday 4–8. WWII Army Veteran. Late retired Appeals Hearings Officer, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Late member of Hi-Flyers Club of Hyde Park, life member of DAV, K of C 3049, West Roxbury, and was an avid competitive bridge player. Expressions of sympathy in Mario’s memory may be made to Disabled American Veterans, P.O. Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH 45250, or visit www.dav.org. For guestbook, visit www.gilloolyfuneralhome.com.
—The Boston Globe, 2015 October 22
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Last updated : Nov 2, 2015 15:32 EST |
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Jane Johnson Club Appreciation Month |
October is the ACBL’s annual Jane Johnson Club Appreciation Month. Club Appreciation Pair Games are special games run during the month of October at clubs. They offer masterpoint awards calculated at 82% sectional-rated black. Club Appreciation Team Games are special games run during the month of October at clubs and offer masterpoint awards calculated at 82% of sectional-rated black, but overall awards are 5% gold (not to exceed .25 gold points). The games run during this month recognize the contributions of Jane Johnson, longtime manager of ACBL’s Club Membership Department, to the ACBL.
We’ve scheduled nine Club Appreciation Pair Games and seven Club Appreciation Team Games. The ACBL does not charge clubs extra table fees for Club Appreciation games, so we don’t charge you extra. Entry fees are the same as regular games ($9 per player for Monday–Saturday daytime games; $8 per player for evening games and Sunday afternoon games).
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Last updated : Nov 2, 2015 15:30 EST |
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Sharaf Team Wins NABC Senior Swiss |
Trailing by 2 victory points with a round to play in the Truscott/USPC Senior Swiss Teams [at the Chicago NABC], the all-Massachusetts squad captained by Haven Sharaf [top center] came through with a good last round to pull out the win by 1.53 VPs when the leading team managed only a tie in their final match. The winners finished with 124.14 VPs to 122.61 for the team led by Rick Roeder.
The win was the first North American championship for each member of the team. With the win, Bill Irvine [top right], of Quincy, and Melvin Marcus [bottom left], of Waltham, became Grand Life Masters.
The rest of the team was Sharaf, of Danvers; Rena Lieberman [bottom center], North Easton; Robert Lurie [bottom right], Wayland, and John Hrones Jr. [top left], Needham.
—Daily Bulletin, August 12
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Last updated : Sep 22, 2015 09:14 EST |
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Mark Yesley, 1938–2015 |
Mark Yesley of Newton and Stockbridge, MA, died suddenly on September 10, 2015. Beloved husband of Marlene (Oransky) Yesley. Devoted father of Ellen Silberman and her husband Joel and Susan Yesley. Proud grandfather of Andrew, Benjamin, and Sloan Silberman, William, Ari, and Gabriel Awad. Loving brother of Louise Wasserberg and her husband Dr. Ira and Marjorie Yesley and her husband Claude Dupuy. Also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. Services at Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Ave., Boston 02115 (parking on the Riverway) on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015 at 10 a.m. Following interment at Baker Street, West Roxbury, a memorial observance will be held at his residence until 4:30 p.m. Sunday and continuing Tuesday through Thursday 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. In lieu of flowers remembrances in his memory may be made to Temple Israel. —Boston Globe, September 11
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Last updated : Sep 22, 2015 09:14 EST |
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Westwood Players Ascend the Masterpoint Ladder |
Congratulations to Westwood players who advanced in masterpoint rank in May, June, and July:
Diamond LM (5000) |
Jim Rasmussen |
Gold LM (2500) |
Jori Grossack, Richard Saval, Barbara Tarlin |
Silver LM (1000) |
Marianne Bechet |
Life Master |
Marianne Bechet, Joanna Gleason, Selen Hotamisligil, Diane Staton |
Advanced NABC Master |
Allan Ganem, Roger Zessis |
NABC Master |
Roberta Francis, Sabrina Miles |
Regional Master |
Carol Reymos |
Sectional Master |
Debbie Burwick, Tom Coragliano, Sumner Feldberg, Marilyn Tapper |
Club Master |
Susanne Osberg |
Junior Master |
Lanny Starr |
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Last updated : Sep 11, 2015 07:25 EST |
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North American Pairs |
In June, July, and August, about half of our games will be club-level qualifying games for the North American Pairs. All of these games award half-red, half-black masterpoints at about triple the level of regular games (82% sectional rating).
Players who qualify in at least one of these games (look for a “Q” next to your name on the results) may play in the New England District Finals October 17–18 in Sturbridge. The top two pairs in each flight will receive subsidies to play in the North American Finals at the 2016 Spring North American Bridge Championships in Reno.
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Last updated : Sep 11, 2015 07:25 EST |
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ACBL-wide International Fund Game Wednesday Evening |
Please join us Wednesday, July 15, at 7:15 p.m. for the semi-annual ACBL-wide International Fund Game. This event raises funds to defray the expense of North American participation in international competition. Masterpoints are half red/half black at 82% sectional tournament rating with extra masterpoints for top finishers in the New England district and ACBL-wide. Analysis booklets by Frank Stewart distributed after the game.
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Last updated : Jul 22, 2015 00:00 EST |
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Sectional Tournament at Clubs June 29–July 5 |
Congratulations to Westwood players who ranked overall in the New England (except Connecticut) Summer Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC) on Monday, June 29, through Sunday, July 5:
Session |
MPs |
A |
B |
C |
Names |
Score |
Monday Afternoon |
2.90 |
7 |
6 |
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Eva Milofsky—Jean Shaffer |
64.96% |
1.58 |
19 |
14 |
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Richard Simolari—Annmarie Stanton |
59.85% |
1.13 |
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18 |
10 |
Judy Karp—Theodore Korelitz |
59.28% |
Monday Evening |
2.25 |
1 |
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Paul Weinbaum—Albert Votolato |
46.00 |
Tuesday Morning |
4.85 |
5 |
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Grace Charron—Albert Votolato |
66.03% |
3.64 |
6 |
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Charles Drum—Audrey Frank |
65.91% |
1.70 |
9 |
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Sandra Nyman—Barbara Tarlin |
63.21% |
1.44 |
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7 |
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Ethel Blumenthal—Marian Hoffart |
58.17% |
Wednesday Morning |
1.78 |
13 |
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Sheila Gabay—Christine Halkiotis |
61.05% |
1.78 |
17 |
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Joyce Regan—Terry Byrne |
60.38% |
1.25 |
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8 |
Allan Ganem—Joanna Gleason |
56.76% |
Wednesday Evening |
2.30 |
1/2 |
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Joyce Pearson—Saul Agranoff |
59.52% |
2.30 |
1/2 |
1 |
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Helen Flanagan—Tom Caragliano |
59.52% |
1.48 |
3 |
2 |
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Peter Matthews—Andrew Hanes |
53.97% |
1.11 |
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3 |
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Paul Weinbaum—Timothy Hill |
48.41% |
Thursday Morning |
4.42 |
5 |
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Rena Lieberman—Lewis Gamerman |
64.70% |
4.73 |
7 |
2 |
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Steven Paxhia—John Goldman |
63.72% |
2.60 |
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7 |
2 |
Hank Grossman—Alan Exon |
58.28% |
Friday Morning |
2.53 |
11 |
5 |
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Kathy Aberizk—Emily Gardner |
62.38% |
2.06 |
12 |
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Shome Mukherjee—Lewis Gamerman |
61.99% |
1.44 |
18 |
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Charles Drum—Sandra Drum |
60.76% |
Friday Evening |
2.25 |
1 |
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Sabrina Miles—Lynda Edson |
54.00 |
Saturday Afternoon |
2.61 |
4 |
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Stephen Gladyszak—Ann Borgschulte |
62.50% |
1.96 |
5 |
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Kenneth Kadis—Elayne Kadis |
61.90% |
0.68 |
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6 |
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Diane Carr Staton—Richard Saval |
52.08% |
Sunday Afternoon |
4.13 |
1 |
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Sheila Gabay—Bill Irvine |
77.08% |
1.74 |
4 |
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Sandra Drum—Charles Drum |
58.33% |
0.98 |
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4 |
2 |
Allan Ganem—Joanna Gleason |
53.13% |
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Last updated : Jul 13, 2015 09:31 EST |
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Fourth of July “Picnic” |
Please join us on Saturday the Fourth of July for a special lunch during our noon Sectional Tournament at Clubs game.
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Last updated : Jul 4, 2015 23:30 EST |
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July Birthday Party Wednesday Morning, July 1 |
Please join us for our monthly first-Wednesday birthday party on Wednesday, July 1, at 10:30. July birthdays play free. Joyce-baked birthday cake for all. The game is part of the New England (except Connecticut) Summer Sectional Tournament at Clubs (silver points at 82% sectional rating).
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Last updated : Jul 1, 2015 22:48 EST |
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The Longest Day Monday, June 22 |
Join us for the ACBL’s third annual The Longest Day fundraising event supporting Alzheimer’s disease care and research! In the last two years bridge players have donated more than $1 million to help fight Alzheimer’s in both the United States and Canada.
At Westwood, we’ll celebrate The Longest Day on Monday, June 22, with bridge from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. In addition to our usual noon and 7:15 p.m. games, we’ll have fast pairs games at 9 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. The fast pairs games will be paced at 16 minutes per three-board round, so we’ll play a full 24-board game in about 2¼ hours.
All four games will be charity games (64% sectional rating), with $1 per player per session going to the Alzheimer’s Association. Additional donations are welcome, either at the game or online.
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Last updated : Jun 29, 2015 08:50 EST |
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World Wide Bridge Contests June 1 & 2 |
The 30th annual World Wide Bridge Contests will be held on Friday evening, June 5, and Saturday afternoon, June 6, at clubs around the world, including Westwood. It’s your chance for a worldwide top and recognition for your big games. These games award half red/half black masterpoints at clubs (82% sectional rating). District-wide winners will earn extra masterpoints. At the end of each game, players will receive booklets with commentary by the famous Canadian player, writer, and coach, Eric Kokish. Westwood’s game times are 7:15 p.m. on Friday, June 5, and noon on Saturday, June 6.
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Last updated : Jun 8, 2015 14:46 EST |
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June Birthday Party Wednesday Morning, June 3 |
Please join us for our monthly first-Wednesday birthday party on Wednesday, June 3, at 10:30. June birthdays play free. Joyce-baked birthday cake for all.
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Last updated : Jun 3, 2015 14:44 EST |
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Grass Roots Fund Month |
May is the ACBL’s third annual Grass Roots Fund Month, and all Westwood games will benefit the Grass Roots Fund and award extra masterpoints. This fund returns all money raised in our New England district to our district to support the two annual “grass roots” events: the Grand National Teams and the North American Pairs. The district uses these funds to run qualifying events and to support district winners in all flights in attending the North American finals.
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Last updated : Jun 3, 2015 07:42 EST |
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Charity Month |
During April, the ACBL’s annual Charity Month, we raised $1,730 for charity:
Thank you!
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Last updated : Jun 3, 2015 07:42 EST |
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