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
June 26, 2018 By Leave a Comment
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
June 4, 2018 By Leave a Comment
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...]
Good Garbage
April 1, 2018 By Leave a Comment
To find the best contract after a One No-Trump opening bid, most duplicate bridge players play transfers with five-card Heart or Spade holdings to keep the big hand hidden from the opponents. They also use the 2 Clubs Stayman convention bid to ask for a four-card major and possibly find a 4-4 fit in … [Read more...]
Director, please!
February 6, 2018 By Leave a Comment
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...]
2-Day Monkey Business
December 9, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Our home club, the Vero Beach Bridge Center, this past weekend experimented with a two-day Sectional tournament, instead of the usual three-day format. According to the club’s managers, they made just as much money off a two-day Sectional on Saturday and Sunday only as they used to earn off a … [Read more...]
What a Gem!
November 24, 2017 By Leave a Comment
She did it! My partner Christine made Ruby Life Master in the rankings of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL), going over the 1,500 MasterPoints mark. She did it at the first Sunday (11/5/2017) game of the winter season at our home club, the Vero Beach Bridge Center. In Vero, where we have … [Read more...]
Remember the Alamo
August 6, 2017 By Leave a Comment
T.J. Singer, one of the regular tournament directors in South Florida employed by the American Contract Bridge League, had told us that he was going to the 4th of July Regional in San Antonio, TX, under a new ACBL “directors exchange” program to let them see how things are done in different parts of … [Read more...]
North of the Border
August 6, 2017 By Leave a Comment
There are two major impressions my partner Christine and I took away from spending almost a week at the 2017 summer North American Bridge Championships in Toronto, Canada. On one hand, it was great to see so many friends from Florida, Canada, as well as from our former haunts in the … [Read more...]
My Blue Suede Shoes
April 27, 2017 By Leave a Comment
My partner Christine and I had just finished touring Graceland and we had not yet been able to clear our heads of all the Elvis songs when it was time to play bridge in the afternoon game of the M.A. Lightman club in Memphis. Elvis recorded over 600 songs, and he never played bridge, but at least … [Read more...]