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| Meet Your Friends and Neighbors |
 
The 0-750 game on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 had eight tables not counting our new neighbor Cooper — because he's a German Short Haired Pointer. We continue to adjust to our members' comfort levels with mask wearing: many do, others don't. All players have had their Covid shots. Everyone practices social distancing and hand sanitizing.
We have made some changes in the schedule. The Tuesday morning bridge game at 9:30 a.m. has been permanently canceled. Games at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays continue to be popular. Open games on Tuesdays and Thursdays need to grow more. Come back to live bridge. You won't get to enjoy a real puppy on line folks.
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| Partnership Registry Now Available |
We have set up a partnership register for those members who do not have a regular partner or whose regular partner is unavailable. This register is designed specifically for face-to-face games at the Bridge Center in Del Rey Oaks. If you would like to be included in the register, please send a message to Mano Singham ( mano.singham@case.edu) with the following information:
- your name
- email address
- phone number
- approximate number of ACBL masterpoints
Also, please specify the sessions held at the Bridge Center you are available for:
- Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. - Open Game (Doug)
- Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. - Up to 750 master points (Lyde)
- Thursday at 12:30 p.m. - Open Game (Maja)
- Friday at 10:00 a.m. - Up to 750 master points (Lyde)
We are currently updating the list and will send it to everyone who responds. The most efficient use of the list would be for people to contact each other directly when they need a partner and over time build up a personal network. We don't want you to not play because you don't have a partner.
Thanks for helping us rebuild our face-to-face games at the Center.
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| Shuffle and Play - Refresher Class Starts August 9 |
 
Are you ready to get back to Face-to Face bridge? Do you think you might have forgotten a few things about bridge and how to communicate with your partner?
REFRESHER BRIDGE
The Monterey Bridge Center will offer refresher lessons for anyone who has played bridge in the past. Attendees will have one hour of instruction and two hours of playing time. This is a wonderful opportunity to see old friends and make new ones. Please join us to relearn a wonderful card game where every hand of cards is a new adventure.
Refresher classes will start at 10 a.m. on Monday, August 9, 2021 and continue on the following three Mondays, August 16, 23, and 30 at the Monterey Bridge Center, 201 Calle Del Oaks, Del Rey Oaks, north of the Stone Creek Shopping area.
BEGINNER BRIDGE
Beginner bridge classes will start on Monday, September 13 at 10 a.m. Shuffle and play will follow these lessons at 11 a.m. All beginners are also welcome to join the refresher course as observers. It will be a good opportunity to observe the game.
COVID PROTOCOLS ENFORCED
We will follow the club and state protocols for health and safety. At your first visit, proof of a covid vaccination will be mandatory. Social distancing will be observed and there will be anti-bacterial gel on each table for your use. Please bring your own refreshments.
Hetty Eddy is a certificated ACBL instructor who has taught bridge for several years. If you have questions or are interested in joining us, please call or text Hetty at 831-262-1420.
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| Monterey Bridge Center Open for Business |
After sixteen months of shuttered doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Monterey Bridge Center is now offering duplicate bridge players games Monday to Friday with additional games expected to be added soon. The Center is located at 201B Calle Del Oaks in Del Rey Oaks, just north of the Stone Creek Shopping Area, If you are feeling unwell, please stay home.
Listed below are the Rules put in place to adhere to the State health guidelines which allow for the Center's re-opening. These rules will be strictly enforced. No proof of vaccination = no entry.
RULES FOR PLAYING IN PERSON GAMES AT THE BRIDGE CENTER
All players must arrive well before the start of the game and show their Proof of Vaccination Card. A cell phone photograph of the card is acceptable. The game director or a Monterey Bridge Center board member will initial the Official Membership Roster. A Liability Waiver will be available for review at the check-in desk. Each player must sign the Roster that they agree to the waiver. This only needs to be done once as the Roster will remain at the Center.
Face masks are available and encourged but not required. Social distancing practices should be followed whenever feasible. Hands should be washed frequently and thoroughly. Each table has a bottle of hand sanitizer. Please use it.
Coffee and drinking water are availabe. Some directors provide snacks but these need to be eaten away from the playing tables.
We are open for business according to the following schedule.
IN PERSON GAME SCHEDULE AT THE BRIDGE CENTER IN DEL REY OAKS
- Tuesdays, 9:00 a.m.: EZ Bridge, Lyde McReynolds, director, The Oaks Bridge Club
- Tuesdays, 12:30 p.m.: Open Game, Doug Halleen, director, Fair Play Bridge Club
- Wednesdays, 10:00 a.m.: 0-750, Lyde McReynolds, director, The Oaks Bridge Club
- Thursdays, 12:30 p.m.: Open Game, Maja, director, The Cypress Bridge Club
- Fridays, 10:00 a.m.: 0-750, Lyde McReynolds, director, The Oaks Bridge Club
- Look for the scores from these games under the club listing in the left column
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ONLINE GAMES RUN BY LOCAL DIRECTORS WILL CONTINUE AS SCHEDULED
Please check the left column of the individual games on the website for details.
Thank you for being part of us.
Joe Truskot, membership chair, Unit 530
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| Charles Messenger Column |
 The Unwritten Rule
How often has this happened to you? You open 1H vulnerable, LHO bids 2S not vulnerable. Your partner makes a game forcing raise (3S is my choice). RHO bids 4S. Now what do you do?
The action in the immediate seat over the game-level preempt is the key.
The general rule is this: With 1st round control of the opponent's suit, bid 5H. With 2 fast losers in their suit, double. With 1 fast loser (singleton or Kx), PASS. This pass is forcing. This tells partner you are unclear whether it is better to defend (double) or to try and make 5 hearts. The same issues apply for your partner. Over a double, partner can still bid 5, for example, with a spade void herself. The double is not unilateral. It just tells partner your hand looks better for the defense. This is all pretty straightforward. But you should definitely talk to your partner about this so that you are both on the same page about the forcing pass.
This is standard in expert circles. It is assumed in this situation that a pass would be forcing. So what makes the pass forcing? When you have opened and partner has shown strength (not preemption herself) and the opponents have made at least 1 preemptive bid. The principle is the same as I have used in my previous column. When you have more trump and more shape, keep bidding. When you have strength but are more balanced, doubling is better. The part of this that is new in this situation is the forcing pass, so it's important to be clear when that is in play.
Here is another example where it wouldn’t be in play: You open 1H, opponent overcalls 1 spade, your partner bids 3H (preemptive) and RHO bids 4S. It is not clear here who has the balance of the strength and so the pass would not be forcing — even if you are vulnerable and they are not. It must be clear that you and your partner were in a game invitational or game forcing auction based on strength.
Here are a couple of sample hands to illustrate the point:
You have: Qxx AKxx Kxx Kxx.
Partner opens 1H, your RHO overcalls 2S. This hand would have bid a Jacoby 2NT (or whatever your game forcing raise is), if the opponents had not interfered. You need to let partner know that this hand belongs to your side and you have a heart fit. The way I do that is by bidding 3S. Your LHO now bids 4S and you have been pre-empted out of your normal game contract. Say now your partner passes. What do you do? With this hand, I would double. Perfectly balanced, lots of defense, and may not be enough tricks to make 5.
Say partner opened with: X QJxxx AQx Qxxx.
Making 5 will be a struggle, but you almost certainly can defeat 4S unless someone on their side has a void. Partner’s forcing pass told you that you had 1 loser for sure in spades, if you have 2 more losers you cant make 5, and doubling is your best option.
Now say partner had: QJxxxx AQx Qxxx.
Even though partner has a minimum in high card strength, she will bid 5 with this hand because of the void, and because of the void, 5 will almost certainly make.
Now say opener had: Jx QJxxx AQx Axx.
This is a double. No need to make a forcing pass here. Clearly let your partner know your hand suggests defending. With a void, partner will certainly bid 5 herself, and with a singleton will evaluate the rest of the hand for offense vs. defense and choose to pass or bid on based on knowing you have 2 fast losers in spades.
To re-iterate, the important part is being able to trust partner to take some action in passout seat if you pass. You must either get your vulnerable game or get the maximum penalty if they have sacrificed. The unwritten rule allows partner in direct seat to indicate they are not sure about doubling or bidding on without worrying that partner will take no action. I have seen this not work about 1 in 100 times, and I will take those odds.
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| Play Bridge Solitaire for Free on BBO |
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| Larson, Maja, Singham elected to Bridge Center Board |
  
Congratulations to Sharon Larson, Maja and Mano Singham for being elected to the Monterey Bridge Center Board of Directors on Sunday, June 13, 2021. Each will serve a three-year term.
Sharon is a life master who has been playing bridge at the Center for years. She was an appointed member of the board filling out a term that just ended.
Maja is our newest game director. She was elected last year to complete a one-year term which also ended.
Mano Singham is our most "gung ho" bridge player. His professional life interrupted his bridge playing for many years. About 18 months ago, he moved to Monterey and began playing at the Center quickly learning the latest conventions and winning master points.
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| Survey Says . . . |
What a motivated membership!
Thank you to all who completed the survey. We heard from half of our membership and got results which will help us all make decisions about playing bridge this year. For example, we heard loud and clear that members prefer morning games that start at 10 a.m. We know now that members with fewer than 500 masterpoints would like more educational opportunities. We know that most members will play both online and face-to-face bridge and a large number just haven't yet made up their minds what they'll do.
Here are the complete survey results with great thanks to Ray Mok who organized the raw data.
Unit 520 Membership Survey 2021.pdf
Looking forward to seeing you at a bridge table soon.
Joe Truskot, membership chair
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| Important Message from ACBL |
Dear Member,
The road back to face-to-face bridge has been a long one, but we do see a light at the end of the tunnel.
While more areas across the continent are “reopening” as the COVID-19 vaccine gains traction, there is still quite a way to go to reach security for member and staff health. With that in mind, we want to give you an update on what the rest of 2021 looks like.
First, the Providence North American Bridge Championships (NABC) set for Summer 2021 has been moved to Summer 2022. Staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to ensure that this event will be held in Providence RI next year at the same location.
Additionally, the previously scheduled 2022 Summer NABC in Washington DC has been canceled due to the playing and lodging site’s bankruptcy and subsequent closing.
Thank you to the NABC committees of both Washington DC and Providence for their incredible efforts!
Second, we have developed a phased plan for the safe return to face-to-face play.
Return to playing in person will begin at the local club level. All tournament sanctions have been canceled through the end of July. This is largely due to access to vaccines and the progressing travel needs to play at the local club, in a Sectional, in a Regional and at an NABC.
Already, some clubs are playing face-to-face with safety protocols in place, and we expect this number to grow. Holding this kind of play at the club level is up to each individual club; however, we urge you to act with caution and in accordance with your local safety requirements.
The next phase of “reopening” face-to-face play will be the return of Sectionals. This will run parallel to increased availability of vaccines, and we estimate these tournaments to begin in August 2021 depending on local conditions (this is subject to change).
The following phase will be the return of Regionals. We estimate this period to begin in early October. However, please note that these dates are subject to change as the year progresses.
Finally, we plan to resume the NABC schedule in Fall 2021 with the Austin NABC in November. The dates for the 2021 Fall NABC are set as November 25-December 5.
Click here to see the full timeline.
We are very excited for the return of face-to-face tournament bridge! In the meantime, there are daily opportunities to play online, along with many special events. We are especially excited to announce improvements to the Summer North American Online Bridge Championships (NAOBC). Click here to see the new schedule of NAOBC events.
Thank you so much for your support this past year. Your loyalty ensures there is a future for bridge. We hope you will continue to bear with us as the plan to return to face-to-face play unfolds in 2021. Please note it is subject to change; however, we will notify you as soon as possible with any potential adjustments.
Sincerely,
Joseph Jones
Executive Director |
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| Sarah Stern Remembered |
We had another loss from our membership last week and this loss was personal to me. She was a bridge partner and a frequent “going out to dinner” partner along with her husband
Jack and Jackie Stewart.
Sarah Stern unexpectedly died last week. Unit 530 had just honored Sarah on this website for obtaining Gold Life Master.
Sarah added a bridge word to my vocabulary years ago at the All Western Tournament in Santa Clara. The Regional had hand records; this was before our Unit obtained a dealing machine and printed hand records for club games. Sarah had done well at the tournament and there were a few of us that had gathered together to go over the hand record. It didn’t take long to find a slam that Sarah had bid and made that the rest of us hadn’t found, nor had we made as many tricks as Sarah.
When I asked Sarah, how did you bid and make this hand? She answered with her typical laugh and smiling face. “I flamboozeled them”. I can’t think of another player that bid and made more slams than Sarah, a great player
that will be missed.
Trulee
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| Just in from ACBL - Interesting Read |
What Will the Rest of 2021 Be Like?
 While we can’t guarantee that 2021 will be better than 2020 (glad that’s behind us!), we’ve come up with an estimated timeline for the return of face-to-face bridge this year. So at least SOME things should be better!
It’s an estimation, so it could change. We’ll let you know if it does. Click here to read the timeline. |
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| Locally Directed Games Everyday |
 NEW ACBL RULES FOR 2021
We can no longer just use the word "transfer." We now must include the suit we are transferring to. For example, "Transfer to Spades."
Traditional Support Doubles and Re-Doubles are no longer alertable.
Direct Cue Bids (with the exception of Michaels) must now be alerted.
Uncontested jump shifts no longer require an alert.
Instead of saying “could be short” when bidding 1 Club, for example, you now must specify the number of cards in that suit: “Could be as short as one” etc.
Check out the January 2021 ACBL Bulletin (page 35) for a complete listing of the changes.
OLD STUFF
When asked what your bid means, never give the name of the convention! (i.e. Cappelletti, DON’T, Precision, etc.) Instead, you must describe your hand. There are NO secrets in the bidding.
Don’t be just a SLUG! Add your full name to your BBO profile. We all like to know who we are playing with at the table, since we can’t see you,
If your BBO rating is "3" or more, you're no longer a "Beginner."
Each pair must have a convention card posted. Unless, of course, you are subs or newly paired. In this case, you must announce your systems at each table.
Please pay attention! If your name is highlighted in YELLOW, it’s your turn to bid or play, unless you are the dummy.
Learn to use the BBO Chat function judiciously.
The "Table" setting is best for greeting your opponents which you should do regularly. Use it for magnanimous congratulations to the opponents especially when you witness a challenging hand well played. If subs are playing, thank them for joining the game.
The "Private" setting is best for discussions with your partner about the bidding or play of a game, or the sorry state of the world. As in Face-to-Face games, no one wants to hear you bickering or gloating. If you make a negative comment about your partner or the opponents, double check to make certain the right chat mode is on. Remember: sarcasm doesn't work well on these chats.
The "Lobby" setting is great for announcements, such as congratulating high point getters and special games,
MOST IMPORTANTLY!
Stay home and play bridge online. We want to SEE ALL OF YOU back at the club when it reopens. Sheltering at home gives you an opportunity to play more and hone your skills.
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