The State Open Pairs Championship was held over the weekend 24th - 25th November and we are pleased to see a record high entries of 71 pairs. 46 of the entrants entered the State Open Pairs Qualifying via affiliated clubs and included pairs from as far away as Armidale and Wagga Wagga. The State Open Pairs was won by Kim Morrison and Avon Wilsmore and the Country Open Pairs by Liz and Steve Hurley. Players who did not qualify to a Sunday Final were entitled to free entry to the Spring Swiss Pairs Congress. It was won by Alexandra Bradley and Simon Stancu.
(Left) The State Open Pairs was won by Kim Morrison and Avon Wilsmore. (Middle) The Country Open Pairs was won by Steve and Liz Hurley. (Right) Spring Swiss Pairs was won by Alexandra Bradley and Simon Stancu.
The State Open Teams Finals will be held on 14th - 16th December. This is actually a year long event - 6 country teams progress to the State Open Teams Finals via club qualifying events, Regional Finals and Zonal Finals, 2 via the Metropolitan Teams and 2 more directly from the NSWBA direct qualifying Monday nights and Metro Finals. These 10 teams play a round robin on 14th & 15th December with the top 2 progressing to the State Final and the top 2 country teams progressing to the Country Final on Sunday. The Sunday Final will be broadcast live on BBO. Follow the event here.
Following up from the previous issue, the 22 New South Wales teams are now set and ready to go to Tweed Heads for the ABF Grand National Open Teams Finals on 30th November - 3rd December. We wish our NSW Teams the best of luck! Follow the event here.
NSWBA EVENTS Nov 26 - Dec 17 (over 4 Mon nights) NSWBA Schaufelberger Teams Event Details >
STATE EVENTS Nov 26 - Dec 2 (statewide) Under Hundred Masterpoints Pairs Final Event Details >
NATIONAL (ABF) EVENTS Nov 30 - Dec 3 (Fri - Sun) Grand National Open Teams Finals Event Details >
Dec 8 - 13 (Sat - Thu) 2019 Australian Seniors’ and Women’s Teams Playoffs Event Details >
Jan 5 - 11 (Sat - Fri) Australian Youth Championship Event Details >
Jan 9 - 20 (Wed - Sun) Summer Festival of Bridge Event Details >
BRIDGE HOLIDAYS Dec 30 - Jan 3 (Sun - Thu) Finesse New Years Eve Pairs Holiday Holiday Details >
FEATURED ARTICLES
Different hand evaluations lead to different decision at the table. It is always fansinating to see so many different contracts for the same hand. Rakesh Kumar shares with you his experience and observations "All about hand evaluation" in the Southern Highlands Teams.
Thank you for sending us the topics you are interested in. We appreciate your passion and Matthew McManus will filter these queries and answer them in his column from time to time. In the meantime, please follow Matthew McManus' column here >
CONGRESS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Your Association is pleased to acknowledge this 2018 Award. There will be four categories:
Open
Intermediate <750 MPs
Restricted <300 MPs
Novice <100 MPs
Click HERE for our current "interim" list, as at 31st August 2018. This award is based on masterpoints earned at NSW Congresses held under the auspices of NSWBA during the year.
So how are masterpoints updated? Why haven't they been processed yet? Julian Foster, the former Chairman and current Treasurer of NSWBA, answers players' common question "Why haven't I got my masterpoints yet?" Read the full article >
CONGRESS PSYCHE REGISTER
The NSWBA has decided to establish a central psyche register for all congresses held in NSW.
The laws permit players to deviate from their systemic agreements so long as the partner of the player who does so has no greater reason to be aware of this deviation than the opponents. Once your partnership has a history of deviating from its agreements in a certain situation you are required to inform your opponents of this tendency.
If you feel that your opponents have psyched against you, please email details of the hand to the psyche register – no action will be taken against players who are reported to the psyche register but once a pair has multiple entries in the psyche register, congress directors will be informed so that they are aware of this history when making their rulings.
A form which can be used for submissions is available HERE.
ABOUT eCONGRESS
The eCongress is a monthly newsletter published by the NSW Bridge Association. It updates you with the latest congresses in the month, interesting hands and analysis from events, and tips regarding the bridge laws. Subscribe now>
Do you have a story to tell or a photo to share after playing in a congress? Let us know, we will be pleased to publish them. Submit your stories / photos >
