North Penn Bridge News

Greetings to the

North Penn Bridge Community!

Week of 06/26/2023

From the Club Manager

Dave Dodgson

Vaccination Policy. Effective July 1, 2023, and in accordance with ACBL policy, the NPDBC vaccination requirement will no longer be in effect. If your opponents are masked and request that you wear one too, please comply with the request.

Attention 0-500 Players. The Thursday game has been suspended for now. It will be revisited in the fall and reinstated if there is enough interest.

Summer Instant Matchpoint Game. On July 10, there will be an ACBL-wide IMG game. You will be able to see your score for each hand as soon as you play it. There will also be a video analysis by experts on the most interesting hands and a written analysis on all hands. Section tops will receive GOLD points. Click here for details.

The Longest Day. Thanks to all who played in our Longest Day games on June 21 at the club and on June 24 online. Donations from our players will continue to be credited to North Penn’s fundraiser through August, so if you wish to give, there is still time. 2023 is our club’s 4^th year of participation in The Longest Day and we are excited to share that we have raised just under $5,000 so far, our highest annual amount ever!! And thanks to all our Longest Day supporters...your gifts will make a real difference in the lives of those who live with Alzheimer’s Disease and in the race for a cure.

July Schedule:

The club will be closed on 7/4
There will be NAP Qualifying games the weeks of 7/3 and 7/24
There will be Club Championship games the week of 7/10
The ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game is on 7/10
The Robot Individual is on 7/22

Upcoming Tournaments:

The next NABC is in Chicago from July 13-23.
The Online Regional, Virtual Vacation, is July 27-30. Click here for details.

Editor's Note

When the following was run in last week’s Newsletter, the second part of the title was inadvertently omitted. We are running it again this week so you can see it in its entirety as it is integral to the piece.

From the North Penn Medical Files:

Remedy for Score Bottoms

Have you ever held a hand like AK76 J53 42 KJ83 and doubled a 1H opening bid only to have partner bid 2D leading to a poor result or maybe you held KT7532 Q6 A5 T54 and overcalled 1S and rebid 2S and then competed to 3S to earn your bottom? Try a pass card. These little items are inexpensive and available in the front of all bidding boxes and are a great alternative to the more costly items at the back of the box. They also make great gifts.

Education

Shuffle and Deal Schedule:

Tuesday 6/27:----------7 p.m. – ON

Wednesday 6/28:-----..9:30 a.m. – ON

Tuesday 7/4:-----------OFF (July 4 holiday)

Wednesday 7/5:-------.9:30 a.m. – ON

2/1 Class with Lisa Mita at North Penn Bridge Club. Beginning Saturday September 30^th and running through October 28^th on Saturday mornings. Stay tuned for details.

New Fall Beginner Class with Deb Crisfield. Beginning Sunday September 10^th and running on consecutive Sundays through October 15^th from 12 noon to 2 p.m. Stay tuned for class details and spread the word! The first two classes will be free!

Partnership

To add your name to the player list or to request a partner for a game, please send an email to northpennpartner@gmail.com.

Calendar

Click here to see a file you can enlarge.

We update our Facebook page regularly so be sure to check it out. It’s a great way to stay in touch with all the happenings at North Penn.

Tidbits

“No Time to Prepare – Order Takeout

When you have a tough bidding decision, strive to be flexible. When you would like to be flexible, consider making a takeout double. When you double, you allow partner to assist in the decision-making process. When you do not know what to do, perhaps your partner will.”

From Points Schmoints

by Marty Bergen

Deal of the Week

by Mitch Snyder

When you are the declarer and the dummy comes down and before you play to trick 1; that’s the time to plan. Generally, you should count winners in notrump and then figure out how to create more. In suit contracts it is usually be best to count losers and then figure out how not to lose them.

Here are two notrump examples:

1) Sometimes you have to make, what may seem to be, an illogical play. It often occurs early in the hand. The action could involve discarding an honor or giving away a trick you might not ‘have’ to lose.

975

965

QJT62

AK63

AJT4

A76

South opened 2C and ended in 3NT. West led the Q of spades. How do you play it?

You have 9 top tricks; 2 spades, 1 each in hearts and clubs and 5 diamonds. But the diamonds are blocked, you need a way to get to dummy, an entry.

Do you see it? If you underlead the A of clubs twice (giving up the K) the dummy has to win one of them. Be sure to unblock the AK of diamonds before leading a club. Additionally, you may have an opportunity to score an overtrick or two in a major suit after running the diamonds. Watch the opponents discards in those suits.

2) Not to put any pressure on you, but you can blow the whole hand with a misplay on the first trick. This is why it is so important to count your winners and/or losers and plan the play before calling for a card from dummy.

AK73

AK432

QJ92

Void

T83

AKQJT8

You are South, the contract is 3NT. The opening lead is the diamond Ace (A from AK).

Did you pause to count your tricks? It looks like there are 9 or 10 easy tricks so you confidently toss the 2 of diamonds and West shifts to a major. You win in dummy and lead Q of diamonds to drive out the K and create an entry to your hand. But West ducks. The contract is toast.

Could you have done anything different? Look at those gorgeous diamond spots. Do you see it? Unblock the Q or J at trick 1, then lead the 2 to the 8 and the 9 to the 10, West can only overtake once.

Contract made!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

A judge in Honolulu ruled that bridge 5 nights a week is grounds for divorce. Mrs. X testified that when her husband, Mr. X, was not playing "he talked nothing but bridge."

The judge granted the divorce on grounds of cruel treatment.