Party with Bridge at Palo Alto's Firecracker Sectional-June 30 to July 4
As you plan your Fourth of July celebrations, be sure to include
Palo Alto's
annual Firecracker Sectional! Come to the Elks Lodge and spend
your fun time
at the table with your bridge friends from Saturday afternoon,
June 30
through Wednesday evening, July 4. Don't worry--you'll be able
to attend the
fireworks too!
The Unit has arranged a program with something for everyone, with
events of
a wide variety --knockout teams, Swiss teams, flighted pairs and
stratified
pairs. The intermediate and novice pair games are on the program
at every
session on every day. Plus, those lucky players will win door
prizes. To
allow players to enjoy barbecues, fireworks and other traditional
diversions, the Sunday and Wednesday bridge games will conclude
early, with
11:00 AM and 4:30 PM session starts. More details are in the official
Sectional flyer on page 4.
Start off with the Prime Time Bracketed Knockout team event,
which takes
place on Saturday and Sunday, or play in one of the single-session
pair
events running opposite each session of the Knockout Teams. On
Monday and
Tuesday, there will be single-session pair events to play in,
including a
flighted open pairs Monday afternoon. Wednesday features the Stratified
Swiss Teams, which will end early to allow you to celebrate the
holiday in
the traditional manner.
Intermediate and novice players should make a special effort
to attend
because they will have their own playing area, with a host to
welcome them.
Their events include separate games for players with 0-5, 0-20,
0-50, 0-100
and 0-200 points. The Unit will award trophies to the players
who win the
most points in the 199er, 99er and 49er strata. A photographer
will be at
hand to take pictures of the winners.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the efforts
of the special
committees. Mary Ann Larkin will head hospitality, Ethel Worcester
is in
charge of partnerships and the caddy chief is Lorna Corbetta.
Kevin O'Leary
is responsible for the intermediate and novice events.
Make this July 4th holiday a special one with bridge at the
Palo Alto
Firecracker Sectional!
---
Robichek Team Does it Again in District GNT
For the second year in a row, Palo Alto Unit players will represent
District
21 in the Flight B Grand National Teams at the Nationals in July
in Toronto.
The team led by Unit member Mark Robichek, with two other Unit
players,
Frank Lanzinger and Floyd McWilliams and Len Vishenvsky of San
Francisco
finished first in the District final.
--
It Seems to Me,
by Gersh Wheeler
Here is a hand that looks very simple, bit it has several subtle points.
North South
S 64 S AK3
H KQJ7 H 654
D KJ76 D Q32
C AQ2 C KJ53
Bidding: S W N E
1C P 1H P
1NT P 3NT all pass
West leads the SQ, East follows with the S2. Declarer ducks
and West
continues with the SJ and East plays the S7. South wins in his
hand. How
should South play to make 3NT?
If South makes the "obvious" play of a small heart,
he will make the
contract more than 50% of the time. Declarer will go down, if
East holds the
HA and the suit is divided 4-2, or worse. The problem is to make
the hand
100% of the time.
First, analyze the bidding. If West, who holds five spades
to the QJT, also
holds both red aces, he would have bid 1S over the 1C. Therefore,
East holds
at least one ace. South would like to lose a trick to West's ace
before
letting East in.
The winning play is to lead a small club to dummy's A and return
a small
diamond. If East has the DA and takes it, South now has three
diamond tricks
to go with six tricks in the black suits. If East ducks, the DQ
will win.
Now, a shift to hearts will guarantee two more tricks. If West
has the DA
and wins the trick, he will clear the spades. But, now Declarer
can play
hearts, confident that East has the HA and has no more spades.
One defensive point - If West wins the DQ with the ace, declarer
will make
4NT. Therefore, East should duck and because South doesn't know
who has the
DA, he will shift to hearts and only make 3NT.
--
Sponsor a Walker?
Jody Williams is bidding to raise money for breast cancer research
by doing
the Avon 3-Day Walk at the end of July to raise money for breast
cancer.
This is a 60-mile walk from San Jose to San
Francisco. One of the reasons has been passing up some bridge
hands lately,
is that she's been training by walking 9 hours a week for
the last three months. She'll be providing food at the Saturday,
June 16
One-Club game. She hopes that you like the food and the cause
enough to
sponsor her. You can reach Jody at jwilliams@agile.tv or 650-654-0520.
--
Winning Players Smile at Unit STAC
Players of all strata came out for the Unit STAC held Friday
evening, May 11
at the YWCA. Both winners in the 9-table event were A players
(surprise!)
with Helga Solleder and Hansa Narasimhan capturing first NS and
Donald
Rothschild and Diane Shannon topping EW. The winners in B were
Kevin O'
Leary-Juri Konizchii and Martie Moore-Patricia McFerren. The best
finishers
in C were Anne Merolla with Ann Bingham and Chandler Flickinger
with Neil
Robinson. The list below shows how the other pairs who earned
master points
fared in the overalls.
N/SA1 Helga Solleder-Hansa Harasimhan
A2 Hamish Benett-Vandana Vidwans
A3B1 Kevin O'Leary-Juri Klonizchii
A4B2 Ralph Haines-Fred Herzer
C1 Anne Merolla-Ann Bingham
E/WA1 Donald Rothschild-Diane Shannon
A2B1 Patricia McFerren-Martie Moore
A3B2C1Chandler Flickinger-Neil Robinson
A4B3 Albert Pagin-Ethel Worcester
--
Cotton Club Introduces Flighted Games
Whenever there is a sufficient number of tables, the Cotton
Club will have
two sections, one for A players and another for B. Players will
have their
choice in which flight they wish to participate. Cameron Cotton
the owner of
the club, which meets Wednesday evenings at the JCC, hopes the
new
arrangement will appeal to players of all ability levels.
--
NAOP Season to Begin in June
Three clubs will hold NAOP games in June. This will give players
a chance to
qualify for the next level and to earn extra master points. For
further
information about the games, take a look at the back page calendar.
During
the coming summer months, other clubs will schedule NAOP games.
Watch the
Kibitzer for these opportunities to pile up the points.
Players who place in the overalls earn sectional-rated half
red and half
black master points. Any player who scores average or in the upper
half will
be eligible to play in a two-session Unit final scheduled in the
fall.
--
Newcomers
A warm welcome to new Palo Alto Unit 503 members: Rhea Friend,
Joann
Goelzer, Chalice Lamb, Nancy Lenberger, Robert McNeil, Allene
Nattrass and
Ernest Pope. Hello, to Irene Price, William Price and Chizuko
Sato who have
transferred into our Unit.
--
Player Advancements
The ACBL April 3 printout shows that the following players
have moved up.
Congratulations!
Junior Master Karen Cano, Cecile Near
5 MP
Club Master Nancy Aderhold
20 MP
Sectional Master Irene Price, Theodore Hwa
50 MP
Regional Master Elaine Ehrman
100 MP
NABC Master Paul Robinson, Kurt Siedenburg
200 MP
Life Master Marilyn Slater, Vandana Vidwans
300 MP
Bronze LM Marilyn Slater, Peter Kamas
500 MP
--
Upcoming Events:
Regional, Monday, May 27 at Sacramento, Doubletree Hotel
NAOP, Monday, June 4 at 10 a.m., Palo Alto BC
NAOP, Wednesday, June 6 at 12 p.m., Bridge 'n Brunch
NAOP, Thursday, June 7 at 1 p.m., Sherie & Kathy's BC
Upgraded club championship, Tuesday, June 12 at 12:15 p.m., Alpine
BC
Club championship, Wednesday, June 13 at 1:30 p.m., Wed Aft.49er
BC
Charity game, Monday, June 18 at 10 a.m., Palo Alto BC
Club championship, Tuesday, June 19 at 12:15 p.m., Under "200"
Club
Charity game, Wednesday, June 20 at 12 p.m., Bridge 'n Brunch
Charity game, Thursday, June 21 at 1 p.m., Sherie & Kathy's
BC
Sectional, Saturday, June 23 at Hollister, IOOF
Club championship, Tuesday, June 26 at 12 p.m., Tuesday Noon BC
All clubs closed Saturday, June 3-Wednesday, July 4
Firecracker Sectional- Saturday, June 30- Wednesday, July 4, Elks Lodge
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*Includes lesson and hand records with analysis. Lessons are no longer offered before the Cotton Club on Wednesday nights. |
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