The ANC (Australia National Championship) will be held in Melbourne on 14-18 July this year. Each state will send 4 teams (Open, Women, Seniors and Youth) to compete in this national level interstate competition. NSW chooses its representatives by running the Interstate Teams Selections in the first half of the year. After two stages of qualifying, the Open Interstate Teams Selection (OITS) came to the Final on the weekend of 23-24 March 2019. Congratulations to the 2019 OITS winners - Julian Foster - David Weston, Peter Buchen - Matthew Thomson and Lynn Kalmin - Lorna Ichilcik. Players who are on our Facebook page immediately shared this exciting news once the winners' photo was posted. Join us now and drop a congratulations note to them! Follow the results HERE.
Subject to council ratification the team to represent NSW in the ANC Open Teams in Melbourne in July is pictured above: Lynn Kalmin, Julian Foster, David Weston, Matthew Thomson and Peter Buchen. With Lorna Ichilcik (insert).
The ITS Swiss Pairs ran alongside the Open Interstate Teams Selection Qualifying Stage II over 3 Monday nights on 25 Feb, 4 & 11 March. Martin Bloom (pictured left) and Dennis Zines came first, Robbie Feyder and Peter Gill (pictured right) came second. Well done!
The Women's Interstate Teams Selection will be held on 12-14 April (Fri - Sun), with a one-day qualifying on Friday and a two-day Final on Saturday and Sunday. The Seniors ITS will also be held over one single weekend on 17-19 May (Fri - Sun) with the same structure. TheYouth ITS will be held over two Wednesday nights on 8 & 15 May. We can't wait to see who are going to represent NSW in the ANC!
A one day congress WITS Swiss Pairs will be run alongside the Women's Interstate Teams Selection Final on Sunday 14 April. Challenge yourself with a battle of wits. The congress is open to all, men, women or mixed. Enter now.
The State Novice and Restricted Pairs Championship received a lot of positive feedback. Congratulations to all! (Leftmost) Winners in the Restricted division - Sue and Ken McMahon. (Left) Runners up in the Restricted division - Kit Meyers and Kerry Rymer. (Right) Champions in the Novice division - Maeve Doyle and Di McAuliffe. (Rightmost) Gayle King and Sarah Young came 2nd in Novice Pairs.
The State Novice and Restricted Pairs Championship was held in Orange on 23 - 24 March. The State Restricted Pairs was won by Sue and Ken McMahon, and the State Novice Pairs went to Di McAuliffe and Maeve Doyle. Well done! More results and photos can be found here.
Four decent wins put (Left) Witold Chylewski (Jun) and Warren Dobes in 1st place in the NSBC@East Lindfield Swiss Pairs. (Right) Ashley Bach and Ervin Otvoski settled for 2nd.
The Trumps March Teams was won by Arthur Ramer, Axel Johannsson, Kate McCallum, and Kevin Davies.
There is never the same hand in bridge, hence it's always exciting at the table. A 6S Redoubled contract was bid at the Trumps March Teams! There was a close win in the Inverell Annual Congress. Also Ballina Bridge Club introduced a Cross-IMP format to their congress. Read on by clicking on the name of the congress:
May 5 (Sun) Trumps Bridge Centre Autumn Teams Event Details >
NSWBA EVENTS Apr 12-14 (Fri-Sun) NSWBA Women's ITS
Friday Qualifying, Saturday and Sunday Final Event Details >
Apr 23-May 7 (over 3 Tuesdays) NSWBA Masters Teams
YES, it's Tuesday NOT Monday. Try it out. Event Details >
Apr 29-May 6 (over 2 Mondays) NSWBA State Mixed Pairs Qualifying Event Details >
STATE EVENTS May 25-26 (Sat-Sun) State Mixed Pairs Championships
Saturday Qualifying and Sunday Final Event Details >
NATIONAL (ABF) EVENTS May 2-6 (Thu-Mon) Autumn Nationals
Adelaide Event Details >
May 3-6 (Fri-Mon) Barrier Reef Congress
Cairns Event Details >
BRIDGE HOLIDAYS Apr 18-May 5 (Thu-Sun) Central Coast Leagues Club Bridge Club
Radiance of the Seas Cruise Holiday Details >
FEATURED ARTICLES
Congress Stories by Rakesh Kumar Rakesh's articles are often humorous. The East Lindfield Swiss Pairs provided him quite a bit of entertaining material. Plus there are some good questions about bridge - do you know the answers? Please click on the link to the full story:
Understanding Scoring Butler Pairs Scoring
Different tactics should be applied to different scoring methods - this is part of a winning strategy. You may have a personal preferences to some types of scoring but there is no right / wrong in the different systems - they all have their pros and cons. Have you taken advantage of the scoring in your game? To understand Butler Pairs Scoring, please click on the following link:
Ask a Director
by John McIlrath Q: "Do you acknowledge there is a hesitation?" Has this occurred to you at your table, either during or at the end of auction? A: A couple of things to remember! Firstly, it is not a crime to “hesitate”. Secondly, all the opponents are trying to do is – “protect their rights!”.
The question I ask is “what should I do?”... Read the full answer here >
To understand situations better where a director is called, Matthew McManus has explained them in detail and the reasons behind the rulings in his articles. They are written from the angle of players. Review his columns to be a better congress player. Review his columns here >
Interested in becoming a director? Or interested in understanding the Law better as a player? The next Director's Course for Club Directors (D-grade) will be held at NSWBA on Sat 11 May by Tony Howes, the Head of Accredited Directors NSW. Click on the image and find out more.
Book Reviews Under the Table
by Avon Wilsmore
"Recently, with the help of BBO videos, many stars of the game have been found to be cheating, using all sorts of elaborate and involved methods..."
Click on the image for a full book review by Paul Lavings:
CONGRESS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Your Association is pleased to acknowledge this 2019 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 31 December 2018. This award is based on masterpoints earned at NSW Congresses held under the auspices of NSWBA during the year.
Winners of Congress Players of the Year 2018
Congratulations! A voucher of free entry to a congress of the winner's choice will be sent to the following players:
Open Vicky Lisle
Intermediate Yumin Li
Restricted Rachel Rich
Novice Wei Zhang
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 >
