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Have a safe Christmas

During these unusual times, most congresses are still running online, with a few being (very cautiously) held face to face.

The Sydney Spring Nationals moved online this year, as a matchpoint pairs event held on RealBridge on 12-13 December. There were 54 pairs competing in the Open division and 15 pairs in the Restricted section. NSW players topped this national event – could this be because of the "home" advantage? Congratulations to:
OPEN
1st Nicky Strasser - George Bilski (SBC)
2nd Arjuna De Livera - George Kozakos (Bridge at Beaumont and Canberra)
3rd Julian Foster - Jenna Gibbons (SBC and NZ)

RESTRICTED
1st Jay Novak - Richard Carter (SBC and BWBC)
2nd John Russell - Judith Parsons (SBC)
3rd Mary Poynten - Tony White (SBC)

The State and Country Open Pairs also moved online and was played on RealBridge in mid-November – it was hoped that this would make it possible for more country players in remote areas to join a truly state-wide competition. Well done to:
STATE OPEN PAIRS
1st Kate McCallum - Axel Johannsson (SBC)
2nd Liz Adams - Andrew Peake (SBC)
3rd Tony Nunn - Paul Dalley (SBC)

COUNTRY OPEN PAIRS
1st Sally Clarke - Garry Clarke (CCLCBC)
2nd Chris Williams - Jan Clarke (CCLCBC)
3rd Rakesh Kumar - Jenny Michael (SHBC and Berry Bridge Club)

The Under Hundred Masterpoints Pairs Championship (based on masterpoints at the end of November) offered players with less tournament experience an opportunity to compete with their peers. We were pleased to see participants from Illawarra, Cowra, Wellington, Woolgoolga, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Central Coast and even Victoria! Applause to:
1st Ngaire Meehan - Elizabeth Cusack (IBA)
2nd Jane Glowrey - Meredith Landale (Deniliquin Bridge Club)
3rd Jenni Fagan - Barbara Proctor (Cowra & District Bridge Club)

Congratulations to the winners of recent congresses and events:
Griffith Ex-Servicemens Bridge Club Online Swiss Pairs (BBO) on 14 November:
Margaret Foster - Colin Clifford

NSWBA Online Spring Swiss Matchpoint Pairs (RealBridge) on 22 November:
Tony Nunn - Paul Dalley

Wollstonecraft Bridge Club Online Swiss Pairs (BBO) on 29 November:
Steven Bock - Kevin Davies

Central Coast Bridge Club Online Swiss Pairs (BBO) on 6 December:
Lavy Libman - Tomer Libman (Open)
Pauline Caust - Alan Bustany (Restricted)

Derrick Browne from Trumps Bridge Centre has written an analysis of some interesting deals from their F2F congress last month:
Trumps Spring Teams (F2F) on 8 November

Keep updated with the latest restriction in NSW

The Australian Government is monitoring the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and restrictions are currently in place regarding travel and public gatherings.
For the latest information about restrictions in NSW, please refer to the NSW Government COVID-19 website.
Please also take note of NSWBA Insight for bridge during COVID-19.

Upcoming Events

Forthcoming NSW events: note that planned events that have not (yet) been cancelled are shown HERE.

For face-to-face events, please double-check with the host to confirm whether it is proceeding as planned.

ONLINE EVENTS ON RealBridge
Jan 4 - 18 (over 3 Monday nights) NSWBA
New Year Online Teams

Jan 10 (Sun) NSWBA
Summer Online Swiss Pairs

ONLINE EVENTS ON BBO
Jan 3 (Sun) MasterBridge
Online January Online Swiss Pairs

Every Friday, 7.30pm start. ABF
National Online Pairs (Open, Restricted and Novice)

Every Sunday, 2.30pm start. ABF
National Online Pairs (Open, Restricted and Novice)

F2F CONGRESSES IN NSW
Dec 26 - Jan 3 (Sat-Sun) Trumps Bridge Centre
Festival of Bridge

Jan 31 (Sun) NSWBA
Summer Teams

FEATURED ARTICLES

Online Congress Stories by
Rakesh Kumar

Rakesh continues to "travel" around and play online at different locations, on platforms including BBO and RealBridge. Join him online for some interesting tales.

Griffith Online IMP Swiss Pairs
Recursive... but not the same outcome

NSWBA Online Spring Matchpoint Swiss Pairs
Irresistible force

Book Review
Bridge Entry Techniques
by David Bird

This book features hand after hand in which declarer or the defence is confronted with a problem. Paul Lavings highly recommends it as the perfect book for improving your game.

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

Be a Director
The Director's Courses have been put on hold for the moment. However our service of marking exam papers is still available. If you would like to make use of this unexpected free time to complete your examination, please feel free to email the paper to office@nswba.com.au.

We will keep you informed about when we will be able to resume the Director's Courses. In the meantime, please express your interest in hosting Director's Courses (if you represent a club) or in taking the Director's Course (if you're a player).

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 PSYCHE REGISTER

The NSWBA has established 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 reviewing newly published bridge books.

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.
Submit your stories / photos>

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