Galway Virtual Bridge has been established for players from Galway and environs, and friends, who would like to play bridge online, in particular while the threat posed by Covid-19 remains strong and deters many from resuming face to face bridge.

We like our competitions to be environments where players can enjoy a good game in a friendly atmosphere and we have found that the following guidlines can help to achieve that objective.

PRE-START:

1) Where possible, please complete registration as early as is practicable. This allows the TD to jetter judge, in a timely manner, what type of movement to use.. A heavy load of last-minute registrations gives the TD less wriggle room in this respec!

2) Check that your partner is Online! This is a regular issue that TD's have to cope with and can be easily solved as follows; Locate your partner's Profile and select 'Follow' from the drop-down Relationshp menu (just below Proflie image). This now defines your partner as a BBO 'Friend'. Wheneveer you login into BBO you can use the 'People' feature on right hand side of screen and this will list all 'Friends and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, their current BBO statuis! Friends that are not currently online will be listed with a RED cirlce to right of their name. Friends currently playing online are identified by a Yellow circle, and Friends that are Online are indicated by a Green circle. Thus, if you are waiting fo a competition to start you should check that your patner is listed under Friends with a Green circle to the right of their name. In all other instances contact your parner immediately and let them know that they are not showing as being Online. Note that a competition may start without the partnership if either player is not showing as Online.. [Yes, a TD can use a feature called +allavail+ whcih will delay the start of a competition until all players are showing as being 'online' but time is then wasted trying to contact the errant player and this delays the start time for everyone else!]

AT START OF EACH ROUND

1) PLEASE greet your opponents in a courteous manner, espcially those that may be new to playing online or generally inexperienced.

2) PLEASE be civil in your communicaitions especially if difficulties arise re absence of an Alert or lack of bidding explanation. 

2) PLEASE provide a brief System Summary at start of each round which should include reference to strength of 1NT opening, whether 1♠ /1♥ openings are 4 or 5 card, minmmum length of 1♣ opening and whetther a 1♦ response is negative or natural (3+ cards). NOTE that BBO offers a Chat Manager feature where you can store a System Summary (a separate one for each of your regular partners) which means that you don't have to re-type a system sumamary at start of each round. This feature is accessed by clicking in the chat window and selecting Chat Manager from the pop-up list. Youi can create your System Sumamry(ies) offline and just be sure to save each one under a unique name, e.g. partner's name. In competition, at start of each round, simply access Chat Manager and then select the summary you wish to use and click on 'Chat. BE SURE that the destination of the Chat is set to Table and not to Tournament or any other inappropriate target!

ALERTING

The major difference re online bridge on BBO compared to Face2Face bridge is that each players alerts THEIR own bids. 

3) PLEASE ALERT all conventional bids or bids that have spcial meaning/agreemtn for you and partner and of which your opponents would nto be aware. NOTE: An alert description shoudl be entered BEFORE the bid is made. If a player forgets to enter the Alert BEFORE the bid is made then a player can 'clcil' on thier bid and enter a delayed' alert. Alternatively a player can message both opponents PRIVATELY re the meaning of the bid BUT shouold NOT send a chat message to the Table whIch would also alert partner!

Galway Virtual Bridge has been established for players from Galway and environs, and friends, who would like to play bridge online, in particular while the threat posed by Covid-19 remains strong and deters many from resuming face to face bridge.

We like our competitions to be environments where players can enjoy a good game in a friendly atmosphere and we have found that the following guidlines can help to achieve that objective.

PRE-START:

1) Where possible, please complete registration as early as is practicable. ..........

Although online bridge differs in several respects to Face2Face bridge one aspect that is common to both is the requirement to ALERT. Note that whereas online bridge eliminates several of the situations that can bedevil face to Face2Face, e.g. bid out of turn, lead out of turn, insufficient bid, etc. one aspect of the game that remains the same is the requirement to ALERT bids that have a special meaning, especially when the bid is not natural.

What should be Alerted? Any artificial, conventional, or non-natural bid should be alerted or any bid that carries a special meaning or understanding which may not be available to the opponents except via an Alert.

Note that it is not sufficient to Alert a Conventional bid by referring to it by it's name/title, e.g. Lucas, Benji, Multi, etc. The Alert should incorporate reference to the shape and strength and whether it is forcing or not. For example a two suited overcall should indicate which two suits (if known) as well as their respective lengths and the overall strength of the hand or an indication as to whether the bid is forcing or not.  

Who should Alert? One of the major differences re online bridge is the fact that each player alerts his/her own bids unlike Face2Face bridge where you Alert partner's bids. DO NOT alert any of partner's bids.

When should you Alert? You should Alert BEFORE you make your bid!  Many players fail to alert BEFORE making their bid and as a consequence of which the next player may make a bid without the essential benefit of being alerted to the nature of his right hand opponent's bid. This can lead to a situation where the non-offending side may have been damaged by the lack of an Alert and the TD may be required to take corrective action, e.g. adjust the result after the hand has been played.

How do I Alert? This is done by entering the text that will describe your bid in the Alert Description box that appears in the bidding window. You simply type the text FIRST and then click on your bid. This means that your bid will be displayed on your opponents screen with an accompanying Alert message. Note that your partner will NOT see the Alert and will not be aware that you have Alerted your bid. This is proper.  Note that you should NOT type Alert descriptions via the Chat window which would provide Unauthorised Information to partner and might even give a reminder to an otherwise forgetful partner about the nature of your bid!

Also, when you issue an Alert your description should reflect the partnership agreement re the bid that you make irrespective of what is in your hand! Deviating from an agreed system is not an infraction of the rules as long as partner is not aware of your deviation.

What if I forget to Alert before I make my bid? The first thing to note is that it may cause a complication in the subsequent auction and your opponents may claim that they were 'damaged' by your failure to Alert and the TD may resort to applying an adjusted result to the board!  HOWEVER, you may be able to redeem the situation by Alerting after you have made your bid by 'clicking' on your bid and then entering an 'explanation/description' which clarifies your bid. NOTE, that the Alert in this instance will only appear after a slight delay and the bidding may have progressed without the opponents having the benefit of the delayed Alert in sufficient time and they may claim that they were 'damaged' by the tardiness of your Alert. Better to get into the good habit of Alerting BEFORE you make your bid. 

What should I do if my opponents fail to Alert? Call the Tournament Director.

What should NOT be done re Alerting? At NO stage should a player provide an Alert description via the chat window as this may provide UI (Unauthorised Information) to the partner of the player giving the Alert. Any communication to the opponents re an Alert should be provided via Private Chat to both opponents or a specific opponent if so requested by that opponent.

Can I seek clarification re a bid (Alerted or otherwise) made by an opponent? Yes. At any stage during the auction you may click on an opponent's bid and a popup box will appear on their screen with the word 'Explain'. The opponent witll then enter a brief description that further clarifies his bid. NOTE: Sometimes this 'Explain' box may remain on the screen and prove to be a distraction to you. Simply click on the box and it should vanish! 

Click this link to view a short video made by the Andrew Robson Bridge Club that explains and illustrates Alerting on BBO

Click this link to view a short video made by the Scottish Bridge Union that explains and illustrates Alerting on BBO

Paul J Scannell, 30th April 2022

Although online bridge differs in several respects to Face2Face bridge one aspect that is common to both is the requirement to ALERT. Note that whereas online bridge eliminates several of the situations that can bedevil face to Face2Face, e. ..........

One feature that BBO provides is the means for Declarer OR an Opponent to make a claim before the play of the hand has been completed. This is a useful feature which can speed up the play and is particularly beneficial where time is short!

What should I claim? You should only claim the remaining tricks to which you are entitled. This may seem to be an unnecessary statement but given the fact that BBO will allow you to claim ANY number of remaining tricks it is important that you neither OVER claim nor UNDER claim. And it is easy to do either!  When you use the Claim feature a pop-up box will appear in which you select the number of additional tricks to add to those that you have already won. In that respect it is IMPORTANT to check how many tricks have been completed (note the number creedited to your side as well as the opponents) and pay particular attention as to whether the current trick has been completed or not! You then claim the number of remaining tricks to which you are entitled, being sure that you have identified assured winners and the total number. Then select the appropriate number and click on the 'Claim' button.

How can a mistake be made?  Easy... See the screen dump below from a table which included two current Irish international players one of whom was declarer on this hand: 

At this point in the play of the hand eight tricks have been completed, including the curernt trick. N/S (the declaring side) have scored SIX tricks while E/W (defenders) have scored TWO tricks. FIVE tricks remain to be played BUT declarer has claimed a total of ELEVEN tricks!!!  In addition to the SIX tricks already won declarer can add ♠ 9 and ♥ KQ10 which only gives a total of TEN tricks. Declarer has inadvertently, and innocently in this case, claimed a trick to which she is not entiltled...East will score the last trick with ♣ Q. BUT, what happened was that the defenders accepted declarer's claim and the result was reoorded as 3NT+2. Neither declarer nor the defense spotted the mistake and so the result stood with the error only being discovered long after the game had finished.

The moral of the story is as follows:

1) If you're decalrer and make a claim be sure that you claim the correct number of tricks.

2) If you're a defender and declarer claims be sure that you, and partner, verify that the claim is correct BEFORE accepting it. N.B. Both defenders must accept the claim for it to be accepetd. If one player does not then the claim is automatically rejected and play continues.

3) If you're a defender and unsure about the claim then reject it and let declarer play out the remaining tricks.

Some declarers can become irritated when a claim is not accepted especially when playing against experienced players. In order to avoid any acrimony it is best for declarer simply to play the hand to its conclusion rather than get embroiled in an angry exhange with the opponents who often will be less experienced than declarer and may not be so quick to ascertain whether the claim is valid or not!  Declarer should take the easy route and just play the hand out.

What should I do if a misclaim has been made and the opponents accepted it?

1) If you were declarer then call the TD and explain the situation. The TD will adjust the result in accordance with the applicable Laws.   

2) If you were a defender and only realised the misclaim after the hand was completed than inform the TD who again will examine the hand and ensure the declarer is only credited with those tricks to which he is entitled accordign to the applicable Laws.

Note also that if you make a claim as declarer then you should include a brief description of how the play will proceed, specifically referring to the need to draw any outstanding trumps BEFORE cashing other winners. Again failure to outline the plan of play for the remaining tricks could lead to a result other than what would apply if a plan of play was included with the claim!   

Can a defender make a claim during the play? Yes, a defender can make a claim although it really constitutes a 'concession', i.e. the defender concedes all remaing tricks bar the number for which he is making a claim.

Click this link to view a short video clip, courtesy of the Essex Bridgr Center which explains and illustrates Claiming on BBO.

Paul J Scannell, 30th April 2022

One feature that BBO provides is the means for Declarer OR an Opponent to make a claim before the play of the hand has been completed. ..........

At some point during a game on BBO you may find it helpful to Call the Tournament Director. This could be as a result of a player becoming unrepsonsive during the bidding or play...they may have lost their connection or their deveice may have frozen. In this type of situation it is important to alert the TD as qucikly as possible so that they can take corrective action, e.g. install a substitute until the original player can return. Or it may be because of an incident arising during the bidding or play of the hand and you deem it appropriate to Call the Director.

The following short video explains and illustrates how to Call the Director on BBO.

Click this link to see how to Call the Director on BBO. Video courtesy of the Essex Bridge Center

Paul J Scannell, 30th April 2022

At some point during a game on BBO you may find it helpful to Call the Tournament Director. ..........

Chat Manager is a simple and easy to use feature offered by BBO which can be used to speedily communicate with opponents at the Table and is especially useful in terms of presenting your System Summary at start of each round WITHOUT having to type the summary each time.

Note that there is a provision for storing a different System Summary in respect of each partner with whom you regularly (or even occasionally) play. And other regularly used chat messages can also be stored using Chat Manager.

When using Chat Manager it is important to verify that the mesage is directed to the correct recipient(s) whcih in most cases will be 'Table'. Note that if you have been using Chat Maager and directing messages elsewehere, e.g. partner in between boards or rounds, kibitzers, Tournament , etc. the default destination for the next Chat Manager message will be the last destination that you used for Chat!  Always check the 'destination' before clicking on 'chat'!

Click this link to view a video explanation and demonstration by Paul Gipson.

Paul J Scannell, 30th April 2022

Chat Manager is a simple and easy to use feature offered by BBO which can be used to speedily communicate with opponents at the Table and is especially useful in terms of presenting your System Summary at start of each round WITHOUT having to type the summary each time. ..........