Mexican Adventures

Playing in the San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Regional was a bit of a schizophrenic experience. Here we were, my partner Christine and I, in the heart of Mexico, on the Central Highlands plateau, in a beautiful Mexican town with well-preserved Spanish colonial architecture and cobblestone … [Read more...]

Bridge with the Billionaires

My partner Christine and I decided to check out the Nebraska Regional bridge tournament this year (August 2019) because we had heard good things about it. Here are three reasons why it’s such a unique tournament. First, the tournament is actually held in Iowa, in Council Bluffs across the … [Read more...]

Crossing Borders

Crossing international borders for bridge events can result in some odd conversations with customs and immigration officials since they rarely play bridge and don’t know much about the game. A case in point was my partner Christine’s and my recent attendance at the Penticton, British Columbia, … [Read more...]

The Partnership Desk

At last week’s Orlando Winter Regional, as a member of the board of the Central Florida Unit (240) that stages the tournament, I felt it was my duty to volunteer any needed services and I was asked, along with my partner Christine, to staff the Partnership Desk for the last three days, which gave us … [Read more...]

The best PASS I ever made

Various clubs in Florida, which probably has more bridge tournaments than any other part of the country, are experimenting with different formats to combat declining tournament attendance. To be sure, total tournament attendance is still up because there are more tournaments, and Regionals at Sea … [Read more...]

In Praise of Pre-empts

Personally I hate moving – I’ve done way too much of it during my life and don’t plan on ever moving again – but it must be said that a change of venue is good for some things. Take the Jacksonville bridge tournament, traditionally held just before or around the 4th of July holiday and the smallest … [Read more...]

No-Trump Country

As is our custom during our travels, my partner Christine and I mixed bridge and sightseeing at the New England Monster Mountain Regional bridge tournament in Nashua, NH, in late June, but this time we encountered some glitches in both our bridge and in the touristy things we like to do. For … [Read more...]

Down for the Count

In keeping with our tradition of trying to play bridge in foreign venues during our overseas travels, my partner Christine and I dropped in on the Eurobridge Club in Madrid, Spain on Monday evening (5-28-2018), and had a decent showing, coming in third overall — second among the East-West pairs — … [Read more...]

Director, please!

In a month or so I’ll get a letter in the mail from the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) telling me if I’ve passed the test to become a club director. I took it this past Monday (1/29/2018) just before the start of the Lone Star Regional bridge tournament in Houston, TX, and I guess I can say … [Read more...]

Planet of the Bots

Anyone playing bridge in South Florida beware: The St. Cat’s club in West Palm Beach has a couple of new players named B.B. O’Saint and B.B. O’Catherine who always come in first. They’re not very sociable; they never say anything, never smile or growl, and they don’t even partake of the quite decent … [Read more...]