Stealing the bid: Is there a bridge burglarette in town?

Although I played twice last week at the Bridge Studio of Delaware with different partners and teammates and got some additional MasterPoints, I couldn’t find a good hand on the “bridge burglar” theme of stealing a bid or a contract. There was no clever trickery – if we got a good board, our … [Read more...]

What’s better – a bridge cruise or just doing nothing?

Joan "Not Miss Timid Anymore" Rightnour took a long hiatus from bridge and hadn't played since before Christmas when she sat down at the table for the Wednesday luncheon meeting of the PBP Bridge Club. Jason "Sailorman" Cohen, on the other hand, went on a week-long bridge cruise through the … [Read more...]

Forced to bid with only 3 points! Aaaarrrggghhh

BALA CYNWYD, PA - The Philadelphia Contract Bridge Association (PCBA) showed off its new site for all area Sectional tournaments this past weekend with a well-attended Sectional at the Bala Golf Club in Bala Cynwyd, PA off City Line Avenue, and despite a couple of glitches, people generally liked … [Read more...]

On the road: Doing the Charleston

CHARLESTON, SC - My partner Christine Matus and I “did the Charleston” in the week between Christmas and New Year’s, combining lots of bridge at the Mid-Atlantic Winter Regional duplicate tournament  (an ACBL-sanctioned event) in the cavernous Charleston Convention Center with some interesting … [Read more...]

10-card trump suit: Stolen slam that should not have made

One of my regular partners, Christine Matus, and I wound up on different teams for last week’s mid-week  Swiss Sectional duplicate bridge tournament at the Bridge Studio of Delaware Thursday night and since neither one of us is very competitive (haha!) we were happy that each one of us walked away … [Read more...]

Snow doesn’t show, but ‘burglar’ does

The threatened first snow storm of the season (which never materialized) didn’t do much to hold down attendance at this week’s Wednesday night open pairs game at the Bridge Studio of Delaware (sanctioned by the ACBL) -- we had five full tables. Steve Blomstedt and Jane Malloy were the overall and … [Read more...]

Snookering the bridge pros with four little hearts

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA - A week after my partner Christine Matus got her Life Master ranking in bridge at a Regional tournament in Rhode Island, I got all the silver points I need to achieve the same distinction at this past weekend’s Sectional tournament in Conshohocken. I’m within about 40 … [Read more...]

God bless America – and the odd Dutchman, too

BETHESDA, MD - Before leaving on a brief vacation to Holland for a family reunion, my partner Christine Matus the math professor convinced me to have one more try at getting some of the gold MasterPoints we both need to get our Life Master designation. That meant going to the National Capital … [Read more...]