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More Reasons to Travel

Drought, bushfires and now coronavirus... Australia's tourism industry has been hit once again. There are many ways you can help with the recovery efforts. As a congress player, you could get on the road or jump on a plane to a regional or interstate congress … please support the country's tourism.

Thousands of bridge players participated in the Gold Coast Congress over the last ten days. Full results can be viewed on the official website. The next national congress will be the Tasmanian Festival of Bridge from 26-29 March in Launceston. Please note that the event is being held at a new venue: the Grand Chancellor Hotel.

In very exciting news for the Asia Pacific Bridge Congress (APBC) 15-22 April, a world class international team is coming to Perth – this includes Sabine Auken (Germany), Jacek Pszczola (USA) and Reese Milner (USA). All members have won many National and World Open, Senior and Mixed Championships.

This bridge congress is open to EVERYBODY! As at almost all national congresses, there are events for players of different levels of skill and experience. Find yourself a category of event with which you feel comfortable. Plus it's a great travel opportunity!

Sponsored by Tony Bemrose Insurance Brokers (TBIB), NSWBA has launched a Road to Spring Campaign for Novice & Restricted players ONLY. We have selected 19 congresses around the state, including the State Novice & Restricted Pairs Championship on 21-22 March in Orange, for inclusion in this. Participants in each of the selected congresses will receive a TBIB card, which will give you an entry for a lucky draw of prize value up to $1000 including FREE ENTRY to the Sydney Spring Nationals from 14-23 October. The more you travel, the better your chances of winning!

We have introduced something NEW for all players - a State event running in the daytime on a weekday! The State Daytime Pairs Championship will be held over two Fridays on 6 and 20 March. This event is ideal for those for whom it is not practical to attend Monday night State events at NSWBA. Casual players will be accepted into the field on either day, as non-contending pairs. A delicious lunch will be included. If you like the idea of a daytime State event, please support us by entering via the NSWBA online platform.

Every year NSWBA selects four teams (Open, Seniors, Women and Youth) to represent New South Wales in the interstate teams competition at the Australian National Championships. The 2020 ANC will be held in Adelaide in July. Please follow the Open Teams Selection progress and results on the NSWBA website.

The Women's Interstate Teams Selection was held on 7th - 9th February and congratulations to the winners.

Subject to council ratification the team to represent NSW in the ANC Women's Teams in Adelaide in July is:

Lynn Kalmin - Lorna Ichilcik
Susan Humphries - Jessica Brake
Kinga Moses - Nazife Bashar

The Youth Interstate Teams Selection will be held in the evening on Wednesday 6 May 2020. The Seniors' Interstate Teams Selection will be held over 3 days from Friday 15 – Sunday 17 May 2020. Please click on the links to the events for more information.

The WITS Swiss Pairs Congress was run parallel to the Final of the Women's Interstate Teams Selection on 9 February. The Trumps Summer Teams was held the Sunday afterwards. Rakesh Kumar played in both of the congresses:

Congratulations to the winners of WITS Swiss Pairs - Arlene Dalley and Ashley Bach. Hugh Grosvenor and Tania Lloyd came 2nd.

Chris Stead, Chris Dibley, Yumin Li and Peter Jeffery won the Trumps Summer Teams.

Upcoming Events

Events highlights from 1 March to 5 April 2020. Click HERE to view all events for the coming year.

Congress marked with ** are selected congresses for the Road to Spring Campaign.

Please note that there are some late changes of dates for a couple of the NSWBA events, so please check online for the most recent version of the 2020 Tournament Calendar.

CONGRESSES IN NSW LOCAL CLUBS
Mar 7-8 (Sat-Sun) Armidale Bridge Club
Swiss Pairs

Mar 7-8 (Sat-Sun) Griffith Ex-Servicemens Bridge Club
Wine Country Pairs and Teams

**Mar 7-8 (Sat-Sun) Wellington Bridge Club Annual Congress
Swiss Pairs and Teams

Mar 13-15 (Fri-Sun) Batemans Bay Bridge Club
Welcome Pairs, Swiss Pairs and Teams

Mar 14-15 (Sat-Sun) Ballina Bridge Club
Swiss Pairs

Mar 14-15 (Sat-Sun) Port Macquarie-Hastings Bridge Assoc March Congress
Swiss Pairs and Teams

Mar 15 (Sun) NSBC@Lindfield
Pauline Evans Swiss Pairs

**Mar 21-22 (Sat-Sun) Orange Bridge Club
State Novice and Restricted Pairs

**Mar 29 (Sun) Kiama and District Bridge Club
Novice Swiss Pairs

Apr 4-5 (Sat-Sun) Central Coast Bridge Club Super Congress
Swiss Pairs and Teams

**Apr 4-5 (Sat-Sun) Inverell Delvyn Bridge Club
Swiss Pairs

**Apr 4-5 (Sat-Sun) Sapphire Coast Bridge Club
Swiss Pairs and Teams

NSWBA AND STATE EVENTS
Mar 6 and 20 (over 2 Fridays) State Daytime Pairs
This is the first State event to run in the daytime on a weekday! Perfect for those who would like to keep weekends and evenings free. Casual players accepted into the field on both days.

**Mar 21-22 (Sat-Sun) State Novice and Restricted Pairs
Orange

Mar 23-Apri 6 (over 3 Monday nights) City of Sydney Teams

NATIONAL (ABF) EVENTS
Mar 26-29 (Thu-Sun) Tasmanian Festival of Bridge (TFoB)
Launceston

Apr 15-22 (Wed-Wed) Asia Pacific Bridge Federation Congress (The Joseph Greenfeld Congress)
Perth

Apr 30-May 4 (Thu-Mon) Autumn Nationals
Adelaide

BRIDGE HOLIDAYS
Mar 16-19 (Mon-Thu) Bridge with Beauchamp
Fairmont Resort Leura

Mar 16-31 (Mon-Tue) Holiday Bridge
2020 Crystal Symphony Cruise

Mar 17-20 (Tue-Fri) Central Coast Leagues Club Bridge Club
Holiday in the Hunter

Mar 29-Apr 1 (Sun-Wed) Trumps Bridge Centre
Fairmont Resort Leura

Mar 30-Apr 3 (Mon-Fri) Finesse
Hunter Valley Pairs

FEATURED ARTICLES

Congress Stories by
Rakesh Kumar
We all have heard that at bridge, overthinking is not usually a good idea. Let Rakesh tell you the story of how he forgot that advice at one of the two congresses he played in last month:

NSWBA WITS Swiss Pairs
Why overthinking is bad for you

Trumps Summer Teams
Sometimes you're the bug...

Book Review
Gaining the Mental Edge at Bridge
by Kim Frazer

Gaining the Mental Edge at Bridge solves all those problems relating to psychology and players’ thinking rather than the bidding and play. Not only does the author offer ways to recover from disasters but also recommends ways to completely avoid such situations in the first place.

Click on the image for a full book review by Paul Lavings:

Be a Director
Whether you want to learn more about The Laws as a player or pursue a career as a director, here comes the opportunity! The next two Directors Courses (Club Level) will be held on:

Sun 22 March at Toronto Bridge Club
Please find the details and book online on the event listing on the NSWBA website.

Mon 18 May at Glen Bridge Club
Please find the details and book online on the event listing on the NSWBA website.

To better understand situations that arise when a director is called, Matthew McManus has explained several of them in detail, together with the reasons behind the rulings. His articles are written from the perspective of players – you may find them helpful in your quest to be a better congress player. Review his columns here >

CONGRESS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

The Association is pleased to acknowledge this 2019 Award. There are four categories:

Open
Intermediate <750 MPs
Restricted <300 MPs
Novice <100 MPs

Click HERE for our current list, as at 31 December 2019. This award is based on masterpoints earned at Congresses held under the auspices of the NSWBA during the year.

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 News is a monthly newsletter published by the NSW Bridge Association. It updates you with the latest congress info, interesting hands and analysis from events, and tips regarding bridge laws.

Subscribe now >

NSW Bridge Association
+61 2 9264 8111
office@nswba.com.au
www.nswba.com.au
Level 1, 162 Goulburn Street,
East Sydney 2010

SEND US YOUR STORIES

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 it.
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