Newsletter 17 June 2022

In this week’s newsletter...

  • New Signage! CBC refreshes its external image!
  • Mentoring Round -Up
  • Free RealBridge Seminars continue... Splinter bids next Wednesday
  • Winter Butler Pairs
  • Southern Tablelands Restricted, Novice Butler Pairs and Open Teams - 25 June 
  • BFACT Interclub Teams - 3 July
  • Results - VCC and Wollongong
  • Bridge Tips by Joan Butts
  • Lighter Moments
  • World Premiere: Twenty Minutes with the Devil
  • Good luck Brad Coles: Mastermind Final - 7.30pm SBS tonight!

From the President

The Club’s AGM will be held on Wednesday, 5 October at 5.30 pm. All CBC members are most welcome to attend this meeting . With the date of the meeting now finalised, please consider whether you would like to join the Club’s Committee. A list of existing members is on the Club’s website and also at the Club. If you are interested in joining the Committee, and wish to find out more about it,  please speak to anyone of its existing members .

Please remember not to come to the Club if you have a cold or feel unwell. If you still wish to play bridge, the Club offers several sessions of RealBridge per week.

Please enjoy your bridge and stay safe.

Margaret

 

 New Signage on Carpark

Please take a nanosecond to admire the new signs outside the club and thanks to Tim Mather for orchestrating with the help of John Hempenstall, our facility manager.  We all appreciate your efforts.  

Beginner's Classes

We will be testing everyone's knowledge of the following information:  Rain, hail or shine, our next beginner’s classes start in August on 17 and 19 August.  We have two sets of classes -  Wednesday – 7pm to 9pm (generally for people who can't commit during the day) and Friday 10am to 12 noon.  The classes run for 6 weeks. If you know someone who would like to learn to play bridge please tell them about our classes.  They can register interest on the club website or by talking to the managers. The cost is $69. 

Encouraging a younger cohort of players is beneficial and will ensure succession planning for our great game.  So if you know someone that you think may be interested in learning please consider a gift of lessons or just plant the seed that face-to-face lessons kickoff in the middle of next month.  

 

Mentoring in May Round Up

A big thank you to everyone who participated in the program in the five weeks of May especially the mentees who contributed so much of their time to assist club members wanting to improve their game. We hope you all gained something from the program whether you mentored or were a mentee. It was heartening to see some of our newer members volunteering to be a mentor this year which was particularly difficult given the large number of Covid cases experienced in the club during this Omicron wave. 

A special thank you to the hard-working managers and directors who supported the program and to all who played during this season with the extra dialogue taking place at the table during mentoring sessions.

We have received some feedback for the program and will be glad to hear more for feeding into next year’s program, positive or negative. Feel free to talk to me, the Mentor Coordinator or drop an email to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cheers

Anne Fleming

 

A big thanks to Anne for volunteering for this role!  

 

 

Free teaching seminar by international expert on RealBridge

CBC members have been provided with the opportunity to take part in 4 free hour long event over the next four weeks on a Wednesday afternoon at 2.30pm arranged by Andrew Robson in conjunction with RealBridge. Andrew Robson is an international player who regularly represents England, a highly regarded author and the Bridge correspondent for The Times (of London).

The dates for this are 15,22,29 June and 6 July 2022.  

We will be playing four boards selected by Andrew to cover a specific topic (week 2: Splinter Bids, week 3: Fourth Suit Forcing week 4: Counting and Card Placement), followed by viewing a video of Andrew giving his insight into one of the boards, and access to his detailed analysis of all four boards.

Put these dates in your diary, grab a cup of coffee on the day and join us for the hour to have some fun and learn from an expert. Enter via the RealBridge button on our homepage and the link.You can come with a partner or without and the director will match you up in the lobby.  

If you've not used RealBridge below please try the troubleshooting advice on the website to make sure your computer has its camera and microphone setting sorted or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  for practical assistance.  Rob will generally respond within 24 hours.  Please don't leave it until the last day!

 

Sessions in the Club and on RealBridge are outlined below

Upcoming Sessions

Our weekly sessions are the same as last week with one vital change:

  • Monday morning 10.00am at the club
  • Monday 2.00 pm (24 boards) RealBridge
  • Monday 7.00 pm RealBridge
  • Tuesday afternoon 1.00pm at the club
  • Tuesday 7.15pm event RealBridge
  • Wednesday morning 10.00am at the club
  • Wednesday morning 10.15am RealBridge
  • Wednesday 2.30pm RealBridge Lesson on Splinters - FREE
  • Wednesday evening supervised at the club 7pm (18 boards following lesson) 
  • Wednesday evening 7.15pm at the club
  • Thursday morning 10.00am at the club - Butler and walk in duplicate
  • Thursday afternoon 2.00pm (24 boards) RealBridge
  • Friday morning supervised 9.30am at the club (18 boards following lesson) 
  • Friday morning walk-in session 9.30am
  • Friday afternoon 1.00pm at the club
  • Friday afternoon 1.15pm RealBridge
  • Saturday afternoon 1.15pm RealBridge

Watch the newsletters and website for advice on face-to-face sessions at the club, and RealBridge sessions as these are fluid, depending on COVID developments and demand.  At this stage it is intended that the Monday and Thursday afternoon RealBridge sessions will continue indefinitely.  

Member table money will be deducted from players CBCPay accounts. Visitors' fees will be paid for by their member-partner, or via prior arrangement by emailing the office.

Cost: face-to-face $10 members/ $13 visitors, concession $9.  RealBridge $8 members and $7 concession (including event) $10 visitors

Links to sessions are on our RealBridge page.

CBC Pay low balance reminders will go out later today or early next week.  If you don't receive one, you are still in the black.  

 

June Supervised Sessions happening Wednesday nights and Friday Mornings at the Club

We run supervised duplicates on Wednesday evenings starting at 7.00pm and Friday mornings starting at 9.30 am.  

Each duplicate is preceded by a short lesson. 

Supervised lessons in June

  • 22 and 24 June:  Responses and Rebids
  • 29 June and 1 July:  Rule of 20

If you are interested please come along.  There is no need to book.  If you want to know more get in touch with Morag Lokan.  Morag’s email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Master the Basics

 Master the Basics virtual lessons are onThursdays at 9.00am. The topic next week is Bidding - Responses and Rebids.  Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you want to be added to the Zoom class. $6 for members and $8 for non-members. This is almost the cheapest training on the planet at the moment!

The lessons run for 30 minutes.  

 

Upcoming Events

 

Would you like to be a Director?  

 If you are interested in becoming a Director, or if you are a Director and you would like to brush up your skills, the Bridge Federation of the ACT  (BFACT) is conducting a workshop on June 18 and 19 at the Canberra Bridge Club. The course will run from 10.00am to 5.00 pm each day. On Saturday you should arrive around 9.30am tocomplete registration. The course will be presented by Sebastian Yuen (recently internationally accredited), and Bruce Crossman. If you would like to attend please email Keith Huggan (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

To foster bridge in the ACT, BFACT is offering the course free to its members. Those from non affiliated clubs are welcome, but would be charged a fee of $50 for 2 days, or $25 for 1 day. Everyone will need to provide their own lunch or nip out to Deakin shops.  

 There is an optional open book exam post course to determine suitability.

 

Winter Butler Pairs

Starting on Tuesday evening 28 June (also 5 July and 12 July) this three competition will have Butler scoring.  Entries close on Monday 27 June.  Enter here or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Southern Tablelands Butler Pairs - 25 June

The Southern Tablelands Teams (Open division) and Restricted (<300 Masterpoints) and Novice Pairs is on Saturday 25 June 2022 with a 10am start.  This is the fundraiser for Beyond Blue (50% profit) and flood victims (50%) plus raffle.  Bring your own lunch.  Nibbles and prizes awarded at the conclusion of play.  Entries $30 per person. 

Enter here or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 BFACT Interclub Teams - 3 July

The InterClub Teams (https://www.bridge-club.org/clientdocs/4484.pdf)  is being planned for Sunday 3 July at the Southern Cross Club in Woden with details on the hyperlink.  

 

Results

 

Melbourne hosted the annual Victor Champion Cup on the weekend. 

  • Club members performed admirably with Neil Ewart and Ian Robinson taking out the Wally Scott Swiss Pairs.  George Kozakos and partner came third. 
  • Stephen Fischer and partner came third in the Mixed Pairs
  • In the Teams Andrew Spooner defended the title and came in second with teammates.  Christy Geromboux and Sebastian Yuen with teammates came fourth.   
  • Ruitian Lang, Joshua Tomlin and teammates took out the Charlie Snashall Restricted Teams.

For full results see this link.  

 

The Illawarra Bridge Association in Wollongong hosted the Chris Diment Memorial Pairs with Helen Little and Geoff Hutchins coming in second.  Together with Chris and Morag Lokan, Helen and Geoff came 5th in the Open teams.  Figtree dreaming!

 

Congratulations to all!

 

 

High Level Preempts with Joan Butts

Quick tips

  • Some hands don't need partner's opinion in the bidding, because you already know where you want to play
  • These are preemptive hands where you have a long strong suit and little else  
  • Open as high a level as you choose, depending on how many cards in your suit  
  • To open at the four level, you usually hold eight cards of your suit 
  • To open at the five level, you usually hold nine cards of your suit 
  • It forces your opponents to judge what to do at a high level 
  • Do they bid over you or do they double? it's a dilemma for them
  • Sometimes they judge correctly...sometimes the opposite
  • Look at your short suits as well as your long suit when deciding to make a high level preempt

Lighter Moments

 

  • What is a solar panel's favorite drink? Sunny-D
  • Why was the solar panel anxious? It was all hot & bothered
  • What is a solar panel's favorite song? Here comes the sun
  • Why is Elton John's solar farm the most efficient in the world? He won't let the sun go down on them
  • Why do solar panels and coal plant never talk about policy? It’s a hot button issue
  • What do you call a dishevelled solar panel? A hot mess
  • Why are solar panels always optimistic? They keep their sunny side up
  • Why did the solar panel sign up for the Bake Sale? Because they’re selling like hot cakes
  • How do solar panels like their eggs? Sunny-side up

 

World Premiere Tomorrow Night

 Twenty Minutes With The Devil is part black comedy and part thriller.

With a current net worth of $3 billion, El Chapo is one of the richest persons in Mexico.  The real-life story of El Chapo’s capture provided the writers Luis Gómez Romero and Desmond Manderson with a fantastic canvas. After the powerful drug lord escaped from Mexican federal security forces and military, his get-away plans were foiled when he was pulled over by a highway patrol team in the middle of the night and taken to a seedy highway motel. They were told to sit tight. What happened in that room? That is the story.

By Luis Gómez Romero & Desmond Manderson.  World Premiere opens June 18 at The Street, Childers Street, Canberra.   Trailer here

 

Mastermind

Anyone who watched SBS television on Wednesday night would have seen a familiar face rise to the fore in the Mastermind semifinals. Brad Cole, Publisher of the Australian Bridge Magazine and long time member of the club, features again on the Mastermind Final on SBS at 7.30pm tonight.  There's background on each of the contestants and even some footage of Brad at our club. Good luck Brad!  You're a winner with us!

 

Be kind to each other.    

 

Tamara (for Kerry and Tamara)