newsletter april 2019 - internodebbclub/newsletters/2019/2019-04.pdf · 2019-04-02 · b grade...
TRANSCRIPT
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 1
Message from the President
Newsletter April 2019
List and sell your property with Harcourts and Ballina Bridge Club will receive $500 in sponsorship and you will receive $500
Call Scott Vincent
Ph 0450 022 023
Welcome New membersHome members
Toni Collins
Margaret McNeill
Social member
Alison Kelly
- Chris McDowell
Ballina Bridge Club is proudly sponsored by -
Dancerrsquos Car Care
Harcourts Northern Rivers
Harvey Norman
Jetts Ballina
Windrose Travel
Hello all
There have been and continue to be lots of things happening at the Club The March Congress was successful and Marjorie will provide lots of details
The new format for the teams championships is working well but will be done by the time you read this The Wednesday once a month graded pairs would work better if people took note that it was happening Thursday open session is populated by a small number of party faithful except on championship day when we take almost half the room Bridge lessons progress despite the teacher going away for a week or so and I look forward to seeing yet another happy snap of graduates Mondays are huge
A change has happened on the management committee Nick Humphry decided he no longer wished to perform the task of Assistant Treasurer Nick completed his part for the membership renewals as well as all of the entries for the Congress Thank you to Nick
for his contribution to the Club Now is a quiet time for a while on that front The Management Committee voted to invite Wendy Doyle to fill the casual vacancy as Assistant Treasurer I am very pleased to say Wendy accepted that invitation Wendy brings plenty of valuable business management experience and a healthy deal of common sense
We received the sad news last week that our long-time member Shirley Mazzer passed away after some time of illness Shirley will be very much missed from our ranks It is planned for Shirleyrsquos life to be remembered at the Ramada restaurant on Friday 12th April from 2-5 pm
I mentioned in the last newsletter that Beth Martin was stepping down as coordinator of the house committee Nobody has yet stepped up to volunteer to take on that role There are no big events coming along for a while so I trust that all will be well and that the usual collection of happy volunteer workers will keep on doing what
needs to be done every day in the clubhouse I am sure that all of these happy volunteers would be very pleased to be led by a good communicator and delegator So if anyone feels like having a go have a chat to Beth and see what is involved
It seems that building additions to our clubhouse will be more difficult than I first thought Judy Forsyth has visited the Council and obtained some details which she will report to the next Management Committee meeting for us to consider The short story is that though we are delighted to own our own land it is land somewhat (a great lot actually) restricted because of underground pipes which are closer than we all thought So some creative solutions may need to be found if Mondays get bigger and bigger Upstairs
We are still waiting for official Council approval to put a second carpark entry crossing from North Creek Road When approval is official I would hope something will happen soon after
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 2
continued on P3
Play Committee Chair Report ndash March 2019
by Chair of Play - Marjorie Askew
Newsletter April 2019
Rank Promotions
Congratulations to the following who have achieved rank promotions at end March
Graduate Gay WarburtonClub Aida Kennedy Local Kevin ThorntonRegional Don Cox Geoffrey DavisRegional Jill CoxState Damien Kennedy Helen PearceLife Carol Hocking(I note the lsquoCoxsrsquo and the lsquoKennedysrsquo receive promotions at the same time)
Events Gone
1 Ballina Congress
Saturday March 16 amp Sunday March 17
We welcomed players from as far away as Deniliquin and Hawks Nest as well as those from Northern Rivers and Gold Coast clubs All ran smoothly and feedback indicated all had a good time
Thanks and Well Done to everyone who participated andor helped in the running of the event
Cheryrsquos report as Event Organiser is on Page 4 This year we tried 2 new things
1 We awarded equal prize money per each GradeDivision
2 We trialled Cross Imps scoring for the Pairs event
I was encouraged to write about these initiatives in the NSWBA ECongress News Some of our members may receive this newsletter by email or you can view this and read my submission at httpwwwnswbacomauenewscongressdocs19Mar201903_Ballina_Swiss_Cross-IMP_Pairs_and_Teamspdf Feedback from players was generally positive on both
However numbers participating in the Congress were down on last year Digging deeper this seemed to be 1) a drop-off in support from our members rather than visitors as well as 2) a fall-off in Teams entries not Pairs
Play Committee will of course review this further If anyone has any feedback or suggestions please pass these on to a member of Play Committee
PS An extra thank-you to Lyn Graham and Stephen Doherty who were lsquocalled-in-to actionrsquo 5 mins before the start of play in the Saturday Pairs event when a visiting pair lsquono-showedrsquo
2 Ballina Teams Championships
(Open amp B Grade) This 2-week event concluded on Saturday March 30 6 teams competed in each grade which was good in that we could have the same movement in both grades
There were some good tussles In B grade the Maley team (Jenny Maley Greg Maley Jenny McDowell
and Chris McDowell) snatched victory in the very last round defeating the Humphry team (Lola Humphry Nick Humphry Cally Mail Vicki Ivosevac and Elizabeth Fletcher) In the Open my team (Marjorie Askew Bill Powell Eric Hurley and Gary Lynn) held off the Jeffery Team (Liz Jeffery Howard Jeffery Jean Lowe and Ellen Watson) For more resultsscores go to the Results page on the Club website
Shared duties seemed to work well in conducting the event ie Chris McDowell oversaw Directorrsquos calls with Lorraine Bryant Ngaire Wills and Eric Hurley (I only counted 6 calls across the 2 weeks) and Bill Powell undertook the computer scoring
It was a trial this year to hold the Teams Championships (Open and B Grade) on Saturdays Irsquod have liked to have seen more lsquoregularrsquo Saturday players joining in As I said last month according to those-in-the know lsquoTeams is arguably the best format of the gamersquo but or maybe itrsquos too hard organising a team rather than just a partner
Again please forward any feedback or suggestions on the event to a member of Play Committee
Thanks to Harcourts Ballina for sponsoring our Teams Championships
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 3
Events Coming Up
1 Easter Pairs Monday 22 April amp Anzac Pairs Thursday 25 April With Easterrsquos timing this year these come up in the same week Essentially lsquonormalrsquo club sessions (ie start time and table money) but both are red point sessions If this is not your regular session why not lsquogive-it-a-gorsquo
2 Bridge for Brain Challenge
Wednesday May 1 Our Club is again supporting this initiative (endorsed by the Australian Bridge Federation) with proceeds going to Alzheimerrsquos research At the Wednesday session on May 1 we will play the Bridge for Brain Challenge hands
3 Restricted Teams Championship
Thursdays May 9 amp 16 Tis the turn of our Restricted Players (lt 100 masterpoints at 112019) for their Teams Championship A nomination sheet is on the noticeboard pay on the day (normal $5 table money) This event is also sponsored by Harcourts Ballina
NB For players with gt100 masterpoints there will also be an Open Pairs section on these days this may also result in help with directing
4 Fall into Winter Graded Pairs
Wednesdays May 15 June 19 amp July 17 With the 3rd Wednesday of the event being Graded this is a 3-week event over 3 months where best 2 scores determine the winners Furthermore as the event is scored as an lsquoeclecticrsquo there are more masterpoints available No
pre-nomination just turn up and play ndash and for 12 or 3 rounds
5 McDermott Cup
Sunday May 19 Lismore This is an inter-club event hosted annually by Lismore Notably and as per the Invitation we are advised this is the 26th year of the event Red masterpoints are awarded
We are invited to send one Open Team and one Restricted Team (lt 150 masterpoints at 3132019) Please nominate in pairs on the noticeboard for club selection
As always lots of bridge ndash and hopefully something for everyone
PS I am away from April 3-17 so no phone calls please email will probably get a response
continued from page 2
- Marjorie Askew
Play Committee Chair Report ndash March 2019
Newsletter April 2019
Ballina Congress Swiss Cross-IMP Pairs and Teams ResultsA Grade Pairs Bill Powell and Marjorie Askew
B Grade Pairs Peter McGruer and John Sheean
C Grade Pairs Dianne Hillman and Connie Cassar
A Grade Teams Gary Lynn Bill Powell Eric Hurley and Marjorie Askew
B Grade Teams Paul Buck Peter McGruer Deb McLay John Sheean
C Grade Teams Stephen Doherty Lorraine Bryant Damien Kennedy Ken Jones
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 4
Ballina Congress 2019 The Ballina Bridge Club recently held itrsquos annual 2-day Congress We played Swiss Cross Imp Pairs on Saturday and Swiss Teams on Sunday all running smoothly thanks to our Director Chris Snook Players from as far away as Victoria and the Gold Coast as well as many local clubs visited for our Congress
Prizes were awarded in 3 divisionsgrades on both Saturday and Sunday In the Saturday Pairs a C grade pair of Dianne Hillman and Connie Cassar took the overall honours The Sunday Teams was won by the home club team of Eric Hurley Gary Lynn Marjorie Askew and Bill Powell A full list of winners is on the noticeboard and on the Club website
Our House Committee provided an enjoyable lunch on both days and made sure that the nibblies were kept coming for those who liked to graze on the cakes and slices Many thanks to Beth Martinrsquos team Beth Jenny Maley Lesley Burford Jill and Don Cox and Denice Richards
Indeed it was a wonderful effort by all who volunteered their time on the day andor in planning and set-up I would also like to thank June and Carmel for their help in setting up the Club House each afternoon and Marjorie for her ongoing support
Overall Pairs Winners
(photo right)
Dianne Hillman and Connie
Cassar ndash with Chery McCallum
left (Event Convenor) and
Chris McDowell (Club
President)
Thanks go to the Director of
the Day for the 2019 Ballina
Congress event Chris Snook
who successfully enabled
smooth running of the event
(Photo on left with BBC President
Chris McDowell )
Chery McCallum - Event Organiser
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 5
Ballina Congress 2019 Photo Gallery
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 6
Earlier articles looked at a number of common misunderstandings This article presents more cases of common misunderstandings ndash the article is based largely on the writings of Matthew McManus Chief Director of the NSWBA [permission given]
Just because an opponent concedes one more trick to you it does not mean that you will get it if there is no possible way that you could win it For example declarer claims saying ldquoI have got the rest apart from your high trumprdquo Declarer has forgotten that neither you nor you partner has any more trumps It is unethical to accept this trick which you could not possibly win
Just because the opponents gave you the wrong information about the meaning of one of their calls it does not mean that the director will adjust the final score in your favour For the director to award an adjusted score first he has to
- Howard Jeffery
Just because Part 3
Newsletter April 2019
establish that the explanation you were given was not according to their system and then you have to demonstrate how the wrong information adversely affected your side Only then will the director consider changing the score
Just because everyone has turned over the cards it is not too late to correct a revoke In fact a member of the non-offending side may even have led to the next trick and it can still be corrected
Just because a player hesitates it does not mean that his partner must pass This is one of the most misunderstood and misquoted aspects of the Law There is a responsibility on the partner to not take advantage of any information they get from the hesitation but there is definitely no requirement to pass
Just because a defender leads a card after you tell them it doesnrsquot matter what they play it doesnrsquot
mean that you will benefit if it turns out there is a better lead Your statement that it doesnrsquot matter constitutes a claim under the Laws When a claim is made there is no more play
Just because the opponents revoke it does not mean that you will do better than you would have normally done Again there is a set of rules which the director applies In many cases (and ideally) this will mean that the result which should have happened is also the final result There is no automatic penalty simply because there has been a revoke Telling the director ldquobut thatrsquos what we would have got anywayrdquo is not going to get you anywhere The directorrsquos primary responsibility is to ensure that the opponents do not benefit when they revoke against you
Mathewrsquos full articles are available Part 1 and Part 2
Janet Brownrsquos quick tip - Are you missing an important Queen
While the expression lsquo Eight ever Nine neverrdquo is grammatically flawed the advice is sound This rhyming couplet refers to a missing Queen and tells you whether you should finesse or not and is easy to follow
With nine cards between your two hands - lsquoNeverrsquo take the finesse Just plonk the Ace and King on the table and watch for the Queen to appear You hope the four cards held by the opponents will drop 22
With eight cards between your hands - lsquoEverrsquo (always) take the finesse
AKJ54 10976 - 9 cards - Play the Ace and King and hope the Queen falls
AKJ54 1096 - 8 cards - Take the finesse and hope South holds the Queen Image - Nicolas-Marie Gatteaux [Public domain]
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 7
On March 1 fifteen of us headed out from Brisbane Airport and joined a further five from Sydney and two from Darwin for a little over two weeks in Thailand Of the 22 in the group 20 were bridge players with eight coming from the Ballina Club
We spent six nights in Bangkok and enjoyed a dinner river cruise and a tour to the main Floating Market and a magical Woodland Museum Our hotel was close to the first bridge venue the British Club The Club is very much as you would expect a colonial British club to be ndash elegant furnishings British beer on tap and fabulous Thai cooking They celebrate UK Motherrsquos Day of course Most players had regular partners but six of us swapped round to play with each other Our performance here was not strong which we put down to travel the British beer and jetlag
The Club invited us to be Visiting Members with no joining fee Being visiting members of the British Club we were able to charge our meals and drinks to our own individual accounts Very pucker and good till you had
the evening of reckoning when the credit card had to be produced Bills of over 3000 baht are scary even if manageable after conversion
Our second bridge experience in Bangkok was at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club This Club is both exclusive and elegant It has a golf course and a horse racing track round the golf course They have a dedicated bridge room that could probably handle 20+ tables Their banquet was unbelievable Director rulings were a little at variance with ours where a revoke cost you two tricks at all times No argument Again our performance
was mediocre but we put that down to not being accustomed to such sophistication ndash wersquore not used to clubrsquos having their own horse racing track
The Thai Playing Cards Act prevents any person from owning more than 120 cards that have not been registered with the Excise Department This link describes the arrest of 32 who were playing bridge in Pattaya Despite the
The (very) British Club
Jack and Eileen Pierce confusing all at the table in the RBSC
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 8
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
risks involved games of ldquoOh Hellrdquo were played on multiple occasions with multiple packs of cards in the hotel restaurant
Our next stop was Chiang Mai (CM) in the north of Thailand Itrsquos a bit more elevated thus cooler at night and less frenetic It was idyllic weather apart from the pollution caused by fires on the last few days We spent about 10 days here with trips to the Tiger Kingdom Elephant Sanctuary Doi Suthep a most holy temple a Thai Cooking class and lots more Most evenings a group of us would walk to one of the nearby markets and experience delightful Thai street food plus buy trinkets clothing and elephant pants which will be displayed en masse at a future time
We played bridge at the CM Bridge Club which is located next to a Thai restaurant where we had a couple of great meals The CM Club were the most hospitable people you could imagine They even set up a special
one-off game for us on one of their non-playing days which several of their members also attended For those who like more information displayed on Bridgemates the rolling display of how you are performing projected onto a screen visible round the room would have been heaven Most thought it was closer to hell
The standard of bridge at all clubs was quite high At each club we had between 14 and 20 tables in play In CM we had some limited success with two pairs taking out first place in different events The rest of us attributed our poor performance to the ever so moderately priced Tiger beer and caramel popcorn that melted before it got to your mouth
Our lasting memory of the trip is the friendship and enjoyment of the group that travelled the generosity of our hosts and the kindness and thoughtfulness of our guides and the Thai people
Green Curry sous chefs Hilary Lewis Sophie Davis Howard Jeffrey Liz Jeffrey and Judy Weir
George Connell Tiger Whisperer in his very fast running shoes
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 9
Strike by Paul Smith
Newsletter April 2019
There is no denying that the opening lead is one of the more difficult parts of our game When you make the opening lead you can only see your own 13 cards and the auction At every other point in the play of the hand you can see more than half the pack
Often a good approach is to choose a lead which you hope will take or at least develop tricks for your side Leading high cards or leading long suits are both good choices Leading a short suit may develop a trick by receiving a ruff
A different approach is to make a lead which prevents declarer from taking a trick This is the principle behind leading trumps As declarer you will often try to make extra tricks by using dummyrsquos side-suit shortage to ruff your losers As a defender you can try to remove the trumps from dummy to prevent those ruffs taking place
Every rule has exceptions but a good guiding principle is
Lead a trump when the bidding indicates that declarer will lean heavily on dummyrsquos ruffing value to fulfil their contract
When does the bidding indicate that declarer will want to use dummyrsquos ruffing power There are several sorts of auctions which may alert you
What is happening when the bidding goes like this 1spades3spades 4spades Presumably dummy is going to have good trump support four cards or
more and some sort of shortage The auction does not indicate great high card strength but rather distributional values A trump lead is indicated to remove some of the ruffing power
A very different auction is 1spades2diams 2heartsPass What does responder have to pass the 2hearts rebid Obviously short Spades and longer Hearts If you hold good Spades say spadesKJ95 you should be very concerned that declarer will try to ruff their losing Spades Consider leading trumps
What about 1diams2diams 2NT3diams Responder has been offered a No Trump contract but turned it down for the poorer scoring Diamond contract Why They almost certainly have ruffing power because of a shortage You should consider trying to take that power away
You are thinking about a trump lead Which card should you choose Firstly a suit with the Queen would not be a good idea as there is a good chance that you would be
giving a trick away With only small trumps there is little to think about
What about something juicy like A84 or K73 Think about what might happen If you lead the Ace (or King) you may be dismayed to see partnerrsquos King (or Ace) come crashing down If declarer has nine trumps then partner has a singleton Of course partner could have two in which case leading the Ace and another trump gets rid of two trumps from dummy straight way but what happens next Either partner wins and will be unable to lead a third round or declarer will win and goes about setting up their ruff in dummy Even if partner gains the lead they will not have a third trump to lead
Instead lead a small trump If partner wins great They may be able to return the suit and you can remove three trumps before declarer even gets started If partner does not win then declarer will start work on getting a ruff If they need to lose a trick first and partner wins it then they may have a second trump which you will win and then draw the third round mission accomplished This is one of the times when underleading an Ace is OK - you are always going to make a trick with the Ace of trumps
Trump leads can feel lsquoscaryrsquo after all trumps are supposed to be declarerrsquos best suit Listen think carefully and you may be able to take away some of the value of their best suit
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 10
Bill is currently the Clubrsquos Harvey Norman Menrsquos Pairs Champion (with Paul Smith) and the Harvey Norman Mixed Pairs Champion (with Marjorie Askew) He is also a member of the Clubrsquos Champion Team
Bill was also a member of the Ballina team which recently won the NSW Country Teams Championship
Bill quietly makes a significant contribution to the Club as Masterpoint Secretary Chair Technology Sub Committee and as a mentor to newer players
Member Profile - William (lsquoBillrsquo) Powell (Silver Grand Master)
by Robert Eldridge
Where were you born
A womenrsquos hospital
Do you have family
Minimal
What led you to move to Australia
I was made an offer I couldnrsquot (well didnrsquot) refuse
What iswas your occupation
I was a computer programmer
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement at work
Fixing most of the bugs I created
You are the Clubrsquos Masterpoint Secretary Please describe what this involves
The role of the MPS is to submit Masterpoints earned at BBC to the ABF Masterpoint Centre In days of yore this would have been quite time consuming but nowadays computers handle
most of the tedium
Why did you to take up Bridge and when
In school (sixth form) as a change from other card games
What is your most embarrassing experience at Bridge
Avoiding a trump endplay by ruffing and exiting in the suit just ruffed (itrsquos happened more than once)
And most satisfying
Reaching the final of the State Teams (and leading after one session)
You are also head of the Clubrsquos Technology Sub Committee What does that involve
Mostly maintenance of the computer systems
What other interests do you have apart from Bridge
I am a keen (but hopeless) golfer
If you had to choose would it be Marjorie Bridge Golf or Cooking and why
Marjorie No contest
What advice do you have for other couples who play Bridge together
For lots of good advice read ldquoHow to Play Bridge With Your Spouse and Surviverdquo by Roselyn Teukolsky
A tip of my own when your other half tables a dummy that you believe should have been bid very differently DO NOT ask ldquoWhere is the hand you had in the auctionrdquo
What are your 3 favourite meals to cook and why
I suspect my culinary skills have been exaggerated My preference is for recipes of the form ldquo combine all ingredients and cook rdquo
A message from our Assistant Secretary
It would be appreciated if all members please advise the Club if there is a change of address phone number or email We want to be able to contact you easily and make sure our emails to you do not bounce back Thanks very much - Linda Maslen
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 11
Ballina Mah Jong Club News
From her sister Elaine Skimmings- Born Shirley Joan Stoy in Lismore the middle child of 5 We enjoyed a happy unblemished childhood with loving happy parents After schooling Shirley started on a long line of careers retraining many times Her first job was as a telephonist at Bonalbo and Casino Moving to Sydney with her husband Bill she undertook secretarial studies and took up positions in that field After the birth of her daughter Louise she moved back to Lismore and continued this line of work She was offered the CEOrsquos position at the then Ex Sevicemens Home and stayed there for many years No matter what the position was she always rose to the top and was highly respected by her co-workers and employers
Shirley was an avid reader and spent time discussing the current book with many fellow membersShe had a keen interest in horse racing and with her 2nd husband Henry owned and raced many horses Indeed every Easter would see them in Sydney enjoying a day out at Randwick On losing Henry she found our wonderful game of Bridge and John so Irsquoll let him go on from here
Vale to Shirley Mazzer
From John Dennis- I met Shirley when she moved to the Gold Coast and signed up for a course of bridge lessons I was conducting at the GC TAFE (around 1990) When the course finished Shirley was offered a job that was too good to refuse and worked at that for some time - so Bridge took a back seat for a few years I next met Shirley in 1994 at Tweed Bridge Club and we started keeping company Shirley and I shared a house soon after as her second husband had passed awayAt this time we lived at Tweed Heads and Shirley put her secretary skills to work at the Banora Bridge Club With my help we moved the club from a social bridge group to an affiliated club with the ABF We put in place club championships presidents cup competitions and congresses Shirley was a very loyal bridge partner and played with a friend for a long time I played as a team member with Shirley and her partner Anne - I played with David Read with some success We returned to this area in 2005 and joined Ballina Bridge Club Shirleyrsquos partners were Dorothy Brumley Pat Preston Cally Mail and Pin Sultas
Shirley passed away at home 2232019 and was cremated 2732019 with a private family Service A celebration of her life will be held at the Point restaurant Ramada Friday 12th April 2 pm to 5pm
The Ballina Mah Jong Club is happy to welcome back Jenny Lang after her successful surgeries
First Place getters for March were
1st March J Small8th March M Brearley15th March V Heinritz and V Reynolds22nd March L Simpson29th March B Lasater
Photo above from the 2018 Ballina Bridge Club Annual awards - shows Shirley Mazzer with one of her Bridge partners Cally Mail receiving the Somerville Laundry Lomax Shield
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 12
NeuRA is an independent not-for-profit research institute based in Sydney As a leader in brain and nervous system research their goal is to prevent treat and cure brain and nervous system diseases disorders and injuries through medical research The Bridge for Brain Research Challenge promotes the benefits of playing bridge whilst helping raise crucial funds to support this research Whatrsquos new in brain and mind research at NeuRA NeuRA researchers are calling upon Bridge Players to use their brain in the name of medical research The Challenge has raised almost half a million dollars since 2004 With this contribution from bridge players to Alzheimerrsquos research NeuRA has 1 Identified a small part at the back of the brain which
degenerates only in people with Alzheimerrsquos disease 2 Developed a guide to genetic testing for dementia and
identified some genes that are modified by factors such as diet and strenuous mental activity
3 Identified changes in growth factors and inflammation occurring in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimerrsquos
For more information on the Challenge go to httpsfoundationneuraeduaubridge and on NeuRA go to wwwneuraeduau
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 13
Nationwide May 1 ndash 7 2019
Play a hand in changing lives
Ballina Bridge Club is supporting this event throughout the week
Please come along
on Wednesday May 1 and play the Bridge for Brain
Challenge Hands
At the end of the session all players will receive a Commentary on the hands and our scores will be
submitted for comparison Australia wide with red points then awarded for the top half of the field
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 14
RESTRICTEDcopy TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
to be held on
Thursdays May 9 amp 16
sponsored by
Please nominate below
sect Pay on the day - normal $5 uml Start-time 1230 for 1245 copy All players lt100mpts at 112019 ordf All players must be members of the Ballina Bridge Club
Event Organiser Marjorie Askew Nominations close Saturday May 4
PS For players with gt100mpts there will be a Pairs Section on these days
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 2
continued on P3
Play Committee Chair Report ndash March 2019
by Chair of Play - Marjorie Askew
Newsletter April 2019
Rank Promotions
Congratulations to the following who have achieved rank promotions at end March
Graduate Gay WarburtonClub Aida Kennedy Local Kevin ThorntonRegional Don Cox Geoffrey DavisRegional Jill CoxState Damien Kennedy Helen PearceLife Carol Hocking(I note the lsquoCoxsrsquo and the lsquoKennedysrsquo receive promotions at the same time)
Events Gone
1 Ballina Congress
Saturday March 16 amp Sunday March 17
We welcomed players from as far away as Deniliquin and Hawks Nest as well as those from Northern Rivers and Gold Coast clubs All ran smoothly and feedback indicated all had a good time
Thanks and Well Done to everyone who participated andor helped in the running of the event
Cheryrsquos report as Event Organiser is on Page 4 This year we tried 2 new things
1 We awarded equal prize money per each GradeDivision
2 We trialled Cross Imps scoring for the Pairs event
I was encouraged to write about these initiatives in the NSWBA ECongress News Some of our members may receive this newsletter by email or you can view this and read my submission at httpwwwnswbacomauenewscongressdocs19Mar201903_Ballina_Swiss_Cross-IMP_Pairs_and_Teamspdf Feedback from players was generally positive on both
However numbers participating in the Congress were down on last year Digging deeper this seemed to be 1) a drop-off in support from our members rather than visitors as well as 2) a fall-off in Teams entries not Pairs
Play Committee will of course review this further If anyone has any feedback or suggestions please pass these on to a member of Play Committee
PS An extra thank-you to Lyn Graham and Stephen Doherty who were lsquocalled-in-to actionrsquo 5 mins before the start of play in the Saturday Pairs event when a visiting pair lsquono-showedrsquo
2 Ballina Teams Championships
(Open amp B Grade) This 2-week event concluded on Saturday March 30 6 teams competed in each grade which was good in that we could have the same movement in both grades
There were some good tussles In B grade the Maley team (Jenny Maley Greg Maley Jenny McDowell
and Chris McDowell) snatched victory in the very last round defeating the Humphry team (Lola Humphry Nick Humphry Cally Mail Vicki Ivosevac and Elizabeth Fletcher) In the Open my team (Marjorie Askew Bill Powell Eric Hurley and Gary Lynn) held off the Jeffery Team (Liz Jeffery Howard Jeffery Jean Lowe and Ellen Watson) For more resultsscores go to the Results page on the Club website
Shared duties seemed to work well in conducting the event ie Chris McDowell oversaw Directorrsquos calls with Lorraine Bryant Ngaire Wills and Eric Hurley (I only counted 6 calls across the 2 weeks) and Bill Powell undertook the computer scoring
It was a trial this year to hold the Teams Championships (Open and B Grade) on Saturdays Irsquod have liked to have seen more lsquoregularrsquo Saturday players joining in As I said last month according to those-in-the know lsquoTeams is arguably the best format of the gamersquo but or maybe itrsquos too hard organising a team rather than just a partner
Again please forward any feedback or suggestions on the event to a member of Play Committee
Thanks to Harcourts Ballina for sponsoring our Teams Championships
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 3
Events Coming Up
1 Easter Pairs Monday 22 April amp Anzac Pairs Thursday 25 April With Easterrsquos timing this year these come up in the same week Essentially lsquonormalrsquo club sessions (ie start time and table money) but both are red point sessions If this is not your regular session why not lsquogive-it-a-gorsquo
2 Bridge for Brain Challenge
Wednesday May 1 Our Club is again supporting this initiative (endorsed by the Australian Bridge Federation) with proceeds going to Alzheimerrsquos research At the Wednesday session on May 1 we will play the Bridge for Brain Challenge hands
3 Restricted Teams Championship
Thursdays May 9 amp 16 Tis the turn of our Restricted Players (lt 100 masterpoints at 112019) for their Teams Championship A nomination sheet is on the noticeboard pay on the day (normal $5 table money) This event is also sponsored by Harcourts Ballina
NB For players with gt100 masterpoints there will also be an Open Pairs section on these days this may also result in help with directing
4 Fall into Winter Graded Pairs
Wednesdays May 15 June 19 amp July 17 With the 3rd Wednesday of the event being Graded this is a 3-week event over 3 months where best 2 scores determine the winners Furthermore as the event is scored as an lsquoeclecticrsquo there are more masterpoints available No
pre-nomination just turn up and play ndash and for 12 or 3 rounds
5 McDermott Cup
Sunday May 19 Lismore This is an inter-club event hosted annually by Lismore Notably and as per the Invitation we are advised this is the 26th year of the event Red masterpoints are awarded
We are invited to send one Open Team and one Restricted Team (lt 150 masterpoints at 3132019) Please nominate in pairs on the noticeboard for club selection
As always lots of bridge ndash and hopefully something for everyone
PS I am away from April 3-17 so no phone calls please email will probably get a response
continued from page 2
- Marjorie Askew
Play Committee Chair Report ndash March 2019
Newsletter April 2019
Ballina Congress Swiss Cross-IMP Pairs and Teams ResultsA Grade Pairs Bill Powell and Marjorie Askew
B Grade Pairs Peter McGruer and John Sheean
C Grade Pairs Dianne Hillman and Connie Cassar
A Grade Teams Gary Lynn Bill Powell Eric Hurley and Marjorie Askew
B Grade Teams Paul Buck Peter McGruer Deb McLay John Sheean
C Grade Teams Stephen Doherty Lorraine Bryant Damien Kennedy Ken Jones
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 4
Ballina Congress 2019 The Ballina Bridge Club recently held itrsquos annual 2-day Congress We played Swiss Cross Imp Pairs on Saturday and Swiss Teams on Sunday all running smoothly thanks to our Director Chris Snook Players from as far away as Victoria and the Gold Coast as well as many local clubs visited for our Congress
Prizes were awarded in 3 divisionsgrades on both Saturday and Sunday In the Saturday Pairs a C grade pair of Dianne Hillman and Connie Cassar took the overall honours The Sunday Teams was won by the home club team of Eric Hurley Gary Lynn Marjorie Askew and Bill Powell A full list of winners is on the noticeboard and on the Club website
Our House Committee provided an enjoyable lunch on both days and made sure that the nibblies were kept coming for those who liked to graze on the cakes and slices Many thanks to Beth Martinrsquos team Beth Jenny Maley Lesley Burford Jill and Don Cox and Denice Richards
Indeed it was a wonderful effort by all who volunteered their time on the day andor in planning and set-up I would also like to thank June and Carmel for their help in setting up the Club House each afternoon and Marjorie for her ongoing support
Overall Pairs Winners
(photo right)
Dianne Hillman and Connie
Cassar ndash with Chery McCallum
left (Event Convenor) and
Chris McDowell (Club
President)
Thanks go to the Director of
the Day for the 2019 Ballina
Congress event Chris Snook
who successfully enabled
smooth running of the event
(Photo on left with BBC President
Chris McDowell )
Chery McCallum - Event Organiser
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 5
Ballina Congress 2019 Photo Gallery
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 6
Earlier articles looked at a number of common misunderstandings This article presents more cases of common misunderstandings ndash the article is based largely on the writings of Matthew McManus Chief Director of the NSWBA [permission given]
Just because an opponent concedes one more trick to you it does not mean that you will get it if there is no possible way that you could win it For example declarer claims saying ldquoI have got the rest apart from your high trumprdquo Declarer has forgotten that neither you nor you partner has any more trumps It is unethical to accept this trick which you could not possibly win
Just because the opponents gave you the wrong information about the meaning of one of their calls it does not mean that the director will adjust the final score in your favour For the director to award an adjusted score first he has to
- Howard Jeffery
Just because Part 3
Newsletter April 2019
establish that the explanation you were given was not according to their system and then you have to demonstrate how the wrong information adversely affected your side Only then will the director consider changing the score
Just because everyone has turned over the cards it is not too late to correct a revoke In fact a member of the non-offending side may even have led to the next trick and it can still be corrected
Just because a player hesitates it does not mean that his partner must pass This is one of the most misunderstood and misquoted aspects of the Law There is a responsibility on the partner to not take advantage of any information they get from the hesitation but there is definitely no requirement to pass
Just because a defender leads a card after you tell them it doesnrsquot matter what they play it doesnrsquot
mean that you will benefit if it turns out there is a better lead Your statement that it doesnrsquot matter constitutes a claim under the Laws When a claim is made there is no more play
Just because the opponents revoke it does not mean that you will do better than you would have normally done Again there is a set of rules which the director applies In many cases (and ideally) this will mean that the result which should have happened is also the final result There is no automatic penalty simply because there has been a revoke Telling the director ldquobut thatrsquos what we would have got anywayrdquo is not going to get you anywhere The directorrsquos primary responsibility is to ensure that the opponents do not benefit when they revoke against you
Mathewrsquos full articles are available Part 1 and Part 2
Janet Brownrsquos quick tip - Are you missing an important Queen
While the expression lsquo Eight ever Nine neverrdquo is grammatically flawed the advice is sound This rhyming couplet refers to a missing Queen and tells you whether you should finesse or not and is easy to follow
With nine cards between your two hands - lsquoNeverrsquo take the finesse Just plonk the Ace and King on the table and watch for the Queen to appear You hope the four cards held by the opponents will drop 22
With eight cards between your hands - lsquoEverrsquo (always) take the finesse
AKJ54 10976 - 9 cards - Play the Ace and King and hope the Queen falls
AKJ54 1096 - 8 cards - Take the finesse and hope South holds the Queen Image - Nicolas-Marie Gatteaux [Public domain]
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 7
On March 1 fifteen of us headed out from Brisbane Airport and joined a further five from Sydney and two from Darwin for a little over two weeks in Thailand Of the 22 in the group 20 were bridge players with eight coming from the Ballina Club
We spent six nights in Bangkok and enjoyed a dinner river cruise and a tour to the main Floating Market and a magical Woodland Museum Our hotel was close to the first bridge venue the British Club The Club is very much as you would expect a colonial British club to be ndash elegant furnishings British beer on tap and fabulous Thai cooking They celebrate UK Motherrsquos Day of course Most players had regular partners but six of us swapped round to play with each other Our performance here was not strong which we put down to travel the British beer and jetlag
The Club invited us to be Visiting Members with no joining fee Being visiting members of the British Club we were able to charge our meals and drinks to our own individual accounts Very pucker and good till you had
the evening of reckoning when the credit card had to be produced Bills of over 3000 baht are scary even if manageable after conversion
Our second bridge experience in Bangkok was at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club This Club is both exclusive and elegant It has a golf course and a horse racing track round the golf course They have a dedicated bridge room that could probably handle 20+ tables Their banquet was unbelievable Director rulings were a little at variance with ours where a revoke cost you two tricks at all times No argument Again our performance
was mediocre but we put that down to not being accustomed to such sophistication ndash wersquore not used to clubrsquos having their own horse racing track
The Thai Playing Cards Act prevents any person from owning more than 120 cards that have not been registered with the Excise Department This link describes the arrest of 32 who were playing bridge in Pattaya Despite the
The (very) British Club
Jack and Eileen Pierce confusing all at the table in the RBSC
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 8
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
risks involved games of ldquoOh Hellrdquo were played on multiple occasions with multiple packs of cards in the hotel restaurant
Our next stop was Chiang Mai (CM) in the north of Thailand Itrsquos a bit more elevated thus cooler at night and less frenetic It was idyllic weather apart from the pollution caused by fires on the last few days We spent about 10 days here with trips to the Tiger Kingdom Elephant Sanctuary Doi Suthep a most holy temple a Thai Cooking class and lots more Most evenings a group of us would walk to one of the nearby markets and experience delightful Thai street food plus buy trinkets clothing and elephant pants which will be displayed en masse at a future time
We played bridge at the CM Bridge Club which is located next to a Thai restaurant where we had a couple of great meals The CM Club were the most hospitable people you could imagine They even set up a special
one-off game for us on one of their non-playing days which several of their members also attended For those who like more information displayed on Bridgemates the rolling display of how you are performing projected onto a screen visible round the room would have been heaven Most thought it was closer to hell
The standard of bridge at all clubs was quite high At each club we had between 14 and 20 tables in play In CM we had some limited success with two pairs taking out first place in different events The rest of us attributed our poor performance to the ever so moderately priced Tiger beer and caramel popcorn that melted before it got to your mouth
Our lasting memory of the trip is the friendship and enjoyment of the group that travelled the generosity of our hosts and the kindness and thoughtfulness of our guides and the Thai people
Green Curry sous chefs Hilary Lewis Sophie Davis Howard Jeffrey Liz Jeffrey and Judy Weir
George Connell Tiger Whisperer in his very fast running shoes
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 9
Strike by Paul Smith
Newsletter April 2019
There is no denying that the opening lead is one of the more difficult parts of our game When you make the opening lead you can only see your own 13 cards and the auction At every other point in the play of the hand you can see more than half the pack
Often a good approach is to choose a lead which you hope will take or at least develop tricks for your side Leading high cards or leading long suits are both good choices Leading a short suit may develop a trick by receiving a ruff
A different approach is to make a lead which prevents declarer from taking a trick This is the principle behind leading trumps As declarer you will often try to make extra tricks by using dummyrsquos side-suit shortage to ruff your losers As a defender you can try to remove the trumps from dummy to prevent those ruffs taking place
Every rule has exceptions but a good guiding principle is
Lead a trump when the bidding indicates that declarer will lean heavily on dummyrsquos ruffing value to fulfil their contract
When does the bidding indicate that declarer will want to use dummyrsquos ruffing power There are several sorts of auctions which may alert you
What is happening when the bidding goes like this 1spades3spades 4spades Presumably dummy is going to have good trump support four cards or
more and some sort of shortage The auction does not indicate great high card strength but rather distributional values A trump lead is indicated to remove some of the ruffing power
A very different auction is 1spades2diams 2heartsPass What does responder have to pass the 2hearts rebid Obviously short Spades and longer Hearts If you hold good Spades say spadesKJ95 you should be very concerned that declarer will try to ruff their losing Spades Consider leading trumps
What about 1diams2diams 2NT3diams Responder has been offered a No Trump contract but turned it down for the poorer scoring Diamond contract Why They almost certainly have ruffing power because of a shortage You should consider trying to take that power away
You are thinking about a trump lead Which card should you choose Firstly a suit with the Queen would not be a good idea as there is a good chance that you would be
giving a trick away With only small trumps there is little to think about
What about something juicy like A84 or K73 Think about what might happen If you lead the Ace (or King) you may be dismayed to see partnerrsquos King (or Ace) come crashing down If declarer has nine trumps then partner has a singleton Of course partner could have two in which case leading the Ace and another trump gets rid of two trumps from dummy straight way but what happens next Either partner wins and will be unable to lead a third round or declarer will win and goes about setting up their ruff in dummy Even if partner gains the lead they will not have a third trump to lead
Instead lead a small trump If partner wins great They may be able to return the suit and you can remove three trumps before declarer even gets started If partner does not win then declarer will start work on getting a ruff If they need to lose a trick first and partner wins it then they may have a second trump which you will win and then draw the third round mission accomplished This is one of the times when underleading an Ace is OK - you are always going to make a trick with the Ace of trumps
Trump leads can feel lsquoscaryrsquo after all trumps are supposed to be declarerrsquos best suit Listen think carefully and you may be able to take away some of the value of their best suit
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 10
Bill is currently the Clubrsquos Harvey Norman Menrsquos Pairs Champion (with Paul Smith) and the Harvey Norman Mixed Pairs Champion (with Marjorie Askew) He is also a member of the Clubrsquos Champion Team
Bill was also a member of the Ballina team which recently won the NSW Country Teams Championship
Bill quietly makes a significant contribution to the Club as Masterpoint Secretary Chair Technology Sub Committee and as a mentor to newer players
Member Profile - William (lsquoBillrsquo) Powell (Silver Grand Master)
by Robert Eldridge
Where were you born
A womenrsquos hospital
Do you have family
Minimal
What led you to move to Australia
I was made an offer I couldnrsquot (well didnrsquot) refuse
What iswas your occupation
I was a computer programmer
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement at work
Fixing most of the bugs I created
You are the Clubrsquos Masterpoint Secretary Please describe what this involves
The role of the MPS is to submit Masterpoints earned at BBC to the ABF Masterpoint Centre In days of yore this would have been quite time consuming but nowadays computers handle
most of the tedium
Why did you to take up Bridge and when
In school (sixth form) as a change from other card games
What is your most embarrassing experience at Bridge
Avoiding a trump endplay by ruffing and exiting in the suit just ruffed (itrsquos happened more than once)
And most satisfying
Reaching the final of the State Teams (and leading after one session)
You are also head of the Clubrsquos Technology Sub Committee What does that involve
Mostly maintenance of the computer systems
What other interests do you have apart from Bridge
I am a keen (but hopeless) golfer
If you had to choose would it be Marjorie Bridge Golf or Cooking and why
Marjorie No contest
What advice do you have for other couples who play Bridge together
For lots of good advice read ldquoHow to Play Bridge With Your Spouse and Surviverdquo by Roselyn Teukolsky
A tip of my own when your other half tables a dummy that you believe should have been bid very differently DO NOT ask ldquoWhere is the hand you had in the auctionrdquo
What are your 3 favourite meals to cook and why
I suspect my culinary skills have been exaggerated My preference is for recipes of the form ldquo combine all ingredients and cook rdquo
A message from our Assistant Secretary
It would be appreciated if all members please advise the Club if there is a change of address phone number or email We want to be able to contact you easily and make sure our emails to you do not bounce back Thanks very much - Linda Maslen
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 11
Ballina Mah Jong Club News
From her sister Elaine Skimmings- Born Shirley Joan Stoy in Lismore the middle child of 5 We enjoyed a happy unblemished childhood with loving happy parents After schooling Shirley started on a long line of careers retraining many times Her first job was as a telephonist at Bonalbo and Casino Moving to Sydney with her husband Bill she undertook secretarial studies and took up positions in that field After the birth of her daughter Louise she moved back to Lismore and continued this line of work She was offered the CEOrsquos position at the then Ex Sevicemens Home and stayed there for many years No matter what the position was she always rose to the top and was highly respected by her co-workers and employers
Shirley was an avid reader and spent time discussing the current book with many fellow membersShe had a keen interest in horse racing and with her 2nd husband Henry owned and raced many horses Indeed every Easter would see them in Sydney enjoying a day out at Randwick On losing Henry she found our wonderful game of Bridge and John so Irsquoll let him go on from here
Vale to Shirley Mazzer
From John Dennis- I met Shirley when she moved to the Gold Coast and signed up for a course of bridge lessons I was conducting at the GC TAFE (around 1990) When the course finished Shirley was offered a job that was too good to refuse and worked at that for some time - so Bridge took a back seat for a few years I next met Shirley in 1994 at Tweed Bridge Club and we started keeping company Shirley and I shared a house soon after as her second husband had passed awayAt this time we lived at Tweed Heads and Shirley put her secretary skills to work at the Banora Bridge Club With my help we moved the club from a social bridge group to an affiliated club with the ABF We put in place club championships presidents cup competitions and congresses Shirley was a very loyal bridge partner and played with a friend for a long time I played as a team member with Shirley and her partner Anne - I played with David Read with some success We returned to this area in 2005 and joined Ballina Bridge Club Shirleyrsquos partners were Dorothy Brumley Pat Preston Cally Mail and Pin Sultas
Shirley passed away at home 2232019 and was cremated 2732019 with a private family Service A celebration of her life will be held at the Point restaurant Ramada Friday 12th April 2 pm to 5pm
The Ballina Mah Jong Club is happy to welcome back Jenny Lang after her successful surgeries
First Place getters for March were
1st March J Small8th March M Brearley15th March V Heinritz and V Reynolds22nd March L Simpson29th March B Lasater
Photo above from the 2018 Ballina Bridge Club Annual awards - shows Shirley Mazzer with one of her Bridge partners Cally Mail receiving the Somerville Laundry Lomax Shield
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 12
NeuRA is an independent not-for-profit research institute based in Sydney As a leader in brain and nervous system research their goal is to prevent treat and cure brain and nervous system diseases disorders and injuries through medical research The Bridge for Brain Research Challenge promotes the benefits of playing bridge whilst helping raise crucial funds to support this research Whatrsquos new in brain and mind research at NeuRA NeuRA researchers are calling upon Bridge Players to use their brain in the name of medical research The Challenge has raised almost half a million dollars since 2004 With this contribution from bridge players to Alzheimerrsquos research NeuRA has 1 Identified a small part at the back of the brain which
degenerates only in people with Alzheimerrsquos disease 2 Developed a guide to genetic testing for dementia and
identified some genes that are modified by factors such as diet and strenuous mental activity
3 Identified changes in growth factors and inflammation occurring in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimerrsquos
For more information on the Challenge go to httpsfoundationneuraeduaubridge and on NeuRA go to wwwneuraeduau
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 13
Nationwide May 1 ndash 7 2019
Play a hand in changing lives
Ballina Bridge Club is supporting this event throughout the week
Please come along
on Wednesday May 1 and play the Bridge for Brain
Challenge Hands
At the end of the session all players will receive a Commentary on the hands and our scores will be
submitted for comparison Australia wide with red points then awarded for the top half of the field
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 14
RESTRICTEDcopy TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
to be held on
Thursdays May 9 amp 16
sponsored by
Please nominate below
sect Pay on the day - normal $5 uml Start-time 1230 for 1245 copy All players lt100mpts at 112019 ordf All players must be members of the Ballina Bridge Club
Event Organiser Marjorie Askew Nominations close Saturday May 4
PS For players with gt100mpts there will be a Pairs Section on these days
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 3
Events Coming Up
1 Easter Pairs Monday 22 April amp Anzac Pairs Thursday 25 April With Easterrsquos timing this year these come up in the same week Essentially lsquonormalrsquo club sessions (ie start time and table money) but both are red point sessions If this is not your regular session why not lsquogive-it-a-gorsquo
2 Bridge for Brain Challenge
Wednesday May 1 Our Club is again supporting this initiative (endorsed by the Australian Bridge Federation) with proceeds going to Alzheimerrsquos research At the Wednesday session on May 1 we will play the Bridge for Brain Challenge hands
3 Restricted Teams Championship
Thursdays May 9 amp 16 Tis the turn of our Restricted Players (lt 100 masterpoints at 112019) for their Teams Championship A nomination sheet is on the noticeboard pay on the day (normal $5 table money) This event is also sponsored by Harcourts Ballina
NB For players with gt100 masterpoints there will also be an Open Pairs section on these days this may also result in help with directing
4 Fall into Winter Graded Pairs
Wednesdays May 15 June 19 amp July 17 With the 3rd Wednesday of the event being Graded this is a 3-week event over 3 months where best 2 scores determine the winners Furthermore as the event is scored as an lsquoeclecticrsquo there are more masterpoints available No
pre-nomination just turn up and play ndash and for 12 or 3 rounds
5 McDermott Cup
Sunday May 19 Lismore This is an inter-club event hosted annually by Lismore Notably and as per the Invitation we are advised this is the 26th year of the event Red masterpoints are awarded
We are invited to send one Open Team and one Restricted Team (lt 150 masterpoints at 3132019) Please nominate in pairs on the noticeboard for club selection
As always lots of bridge ndash and hopefully something for everyone
PS I am away from April 3-17 so no phone calls please email will probably get a response
continued from page 2
- Marjorie Askew
Play Committee Chair Report ndash March 2019
Newsletter April 2019
Ballina Congress Swiss Cross-IMP Pairs and Teams ResultsA Grade Pairs Bill Powell and Marjorie Askew
B Grade Pairs Peter McGruer and John Sheean
C Grade Pairs Dianne Hillman and Connie Cassar
A Grade Teams Gary Lynn Bill Powell Eric Hurley and Marjorie Askew
B Grade Teams Paul Buck Peter McGruer Deb McLay John Sheean
C Grade Teams Stephen Doherty Lorraine Bryant Damien Kennedy Ken Jones
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 4
Ballina Congress 2019 The Ballina Bridge Club recently held itrsquos annual 2-day Congress We played Swiss Cross Imp Pairs on Saturday and Swiss Teams on Sunday all running smoothly thanks to our Director Chris Snook Players from as far away as Victoria and the Gold Coast as well as many local clubs visited for our Congress
Prizes were awarded in 3 divisionsgrades on both Saturday and Sunday In the Saturday Pairs a C grade pair of Dianne Hillman and Connie Cassar took the overall honours The Sunday Teams was won by the home club team of Eric Hurley Gary Lynn Marjorie Askew and Bill Powell A full list of winners is on the noticeboard and on the Club website
Our House Committee provided an enjoyable lunch on both days and made sure that the nibblies were kept coming for those who liked to graze on the cakes and slices Many thanks to Beth Martinrsquos team Beth Jenny Maley Lesley Burford Jill and Don Cox and Denice Richards
Indeed it was a wonderful effort by all who volunteered their time on the day andor in planning and set-up I would also like to thank June and Carmel for their help in setting up the Club House each afternoon and Marjorie for her ongoing support
Overall Pairs Winners
(photo right)
Dianne Hillman and Connie
Cassar ndash with Chery McCallum
left (Event Convenor) and
Chris McDowell (Club
President)
Thanks go to the Director of
the Day for the 2019 Ballina
Congress event Chris Snook
who successfully enabled
smooth running of the event
(Photo on left with BBC President
Chris McDowell )
Chery McCallum - Event Organiser
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 5
Ballina Congress 2019 Photo Gallery
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 6
Earlier articles looked at a number of common misunderstandings This article presents more cases of common misunderstandings ndash the article is based largely on the writings of Matthew McManus Chief Director of the NSWBA [permission given]
Just because an opponent concedes one more trick to you it does not mean that you will get it if there is no possible way that you could win it For example declarer claims saying ldquoI have got the rest apart from your high trumprdquo Declarer has forgotten that neither you nor you partner has any more trumps It is unethical to accept this trick which you could not possibly win
Just because the opponents gave you the wrong information about the meaning of one of their calls it does not mean that the director will adjust the final score in your favour For the director to award an adjusted score first he has to
- Howard Jeffery
Just because Part 3
Newsletter April 2019
establish that the explanation you were given was not according to their system and then you have to demonstrate how the wrong information adversely affected your side Only then will the director consider changing the score
Just because everyone has turned over the cards it is not too late to correct a revoke In fact a member of the non-offending side may even have led to the next trick and it can still be corrected
Just because a player hesitates it does not mean that his partner must pass This is one of the most misunderstood and misquoted aspects of the Law There is a responsibility on the partner to not take advantage of any information they get from the hesitation but there is definitely no requirement to pass
Just because a defender leads a card after you tell them it doesnrsquot matter what they play it doesnrsquot
mean that you will benefit if it turns out there is a better lead Your statement that it doesnrsquot matter constitutes a claim under the Laws When a claim is made there is no more play
Just because the opponents revoke it does not mean that you will do better than you would have normally done Again there is a set of rules which the director applies In many cases (and ideally) this will mean that the result which should have happened is also the final result There is no automatic penalty simply because there has been a revoke Telling the director ldquobut thatrsquos what we would have got anywayrdquo is not going to get you anywhere The directorrsquos primary responsibility is to ensure that the opponents do not benefit when they revoke against you
Mathewrsquos full articles are available Part 1 and Part 2
Janet Brownrsquos quick tip - Are you missing an important Queen
While the expression lsquo Eight ever Nine neverrdquo is grammatically flawed the advice is sound This rhyming couplet refers to a missing Queen and tells you whether you should finesse or not and is easy to follow
With nine cards between your two hands - lsquoNeverrsquo take the finesse Just plonk the Ace and King on the table and watch for the Queen to appear You hope the four cards held by the opponents will drop 22
With eight cards between your hands - lsquoEverrsquo (always) take the finesse
AKJ54 10976 - 9 cards - Play the Ace and King and hope the Queen falls
AKJ54 1096 - 8 cards - Take the finesse and hope South holds the Queen Image - Nicolas-Marie Gatteaux [Public domain]
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 7
On March 1 fifteen of us headed out from Brisbane Airport and joined a further five from Sydney and two from Darwin for a little over two weeks in Thailand Of the 22 in the group 20 were bridge players with eight coming from the Ballina Club
We spent six nights in Bangkok and enjoyed a dinner river cruise and a tour to the main Floating Market and a magical Woodland Museum Our hotel was close to the first bridge venue the British Club The Club is very much as you would expect a colonial British club to be ndash elegant furnishings British beer on tap and fabulous Thai cooking They celebrate UK Motherrsquos Day of course Most players had regular partners but six of us swapped round to play with each other Our performance here was not strong which we put down to travel the British beer and jetlag
The Club invited us to be Visiting Members with no joining fee Being visiting members of the British Club we were able to charge our meals and drinks to our own individual accounts Very pucker and good till you had
the evening of reckoning when the credit card had to be produced Bills of over 3000 baht are scary even if manageable after conversion
Our second bridge experience in Bangkok was at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club This Club is both exclusive and elegant It has a golf course and a horse racing track round the golf course They have a dedicated bridge room that could probably handle 20+ tables Their banquet was unbelievable Director rulings were a little at variance with ours where a revoke cost you two tricks at all times No argument Again our performance
was mediocre but we put that down to not being accustomed to such sophistication ndash wersquore not used to clubrsquos having their own horse racing track
The Thai Playing Cards Act prevents any person from owning more than 120 cards that have not been registered with the Excise Department This link describes the arrest of 32 who were playing bridge in Pattaya Despite the
The (very) British Club
Jack and Eileen Pierce confusing all at the table in the RBSC
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 8
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
risks involved games of ldquoOh Hellrdquo were played on multiple occasions with multiple packs of cards in the hotel restaurant
Our next stop was Chiang Mai (CM) in the north of Thailand Itrsquos a bit more elevated thus cooler at night and less frenetic It was idyllic weather apart from the pollution caused by fires on the last few days We spent about 10 days here with trips to the Tiger Kingdom Elephant Sanctuary Doi Suthep a most holy temple a Thai Cooking class and lots more Most evenings a group of us would walk to one of the nearby markets and experience delightful Thai street food plus buy trinkets clothing and elephant pants which will be displayed en masse at a future time
We played bridge at the CM Bridge Club which is located next to a Thai restaurant where we had a couple of great meals The CM Club were the most hospitable people you could imagine They even set up a special
one-off game for us on one of their non-playing days which several of their members also attended For those who like more information displayed on Bridgemates the rolling display of how you are performing projected onto a screen visible round the room would have been heaven Most thought it was closer to hell
The standard of bridge at all clubs was quite high At each club we had between 14 and 20 tables in play In CM we had some limited success with two pairs taking out first place in different events The rest of us attributed our poor performance to the ever so moderately priced Tiger beer and caramel popcorn that melted before it got to your mouth
Our lasting memory of the trip is the friendship and enjoyment of the group that travelled the generosity of our hosts and the kindness and thoughtfulness of our guides and the Thai people
Green Curry sous chefs Hilary Lewis Sophie Davis Howard Jeffrey Liz Jeffrey and Judy Weir
George Connell Tiger Whisperer in his very fast running shoes
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 9
Strike by Paul Smith
Newsletter April 2019
There is no denying that the opening lead is one of the more difficult parts of our game When you make the opening lead you can only see your own 13 cards and the auction At every other point in the play of the hand you can see more than half the pack
Often a good approach is to choose a lead which you hope will take or at least develop tricks for your side Leading high cards or leading long suits are both good choices Leading a short suit may develop a trick by receiving a ruff
A different approach is to make a lead which prevents declarer from taking a trick This is the principle behind leading trumps As declarer you will often try to make extra tricks by using dummyrsquos side-suit shortage to ruff your losers As a defender you can try to remove the trumps from dummy to prevent those ruffs taking place
Every rule has exceptions but a good guiding principle is
Lead a trump when the bidding indicates that declarer will lean heavily on dummyrsquos ruffing value to fulfil their contract
When does the bidding indicate that declarer will want to use dummyrsquos ruffing power There are several sorts of auctions which may alert you
What is happening when the bidding goes like this 1spades3spades 4spades Presumably dummy is going to have good trump support four cards or
more and some sort of shortage The auction does not indicate great high card strength but rather distributional values A trump lead is indicated to remove some of the ruffing power
A very different auction is 1spades2diams 2heartsPass What does responder have to pass the 2hearts rebid Obviously short Spades and longer Hearts If you hold good Spades say spadesKJ95 you should be very concerned that declarer will try to ruff their losing Spades Consider leading trumps
What about 1diams2diams 2NT3diams Responder has been offered a No Trump contract but turned it down for the poorer scoring Diamond contract Why They almost certainly have ruffing power because of a shortage You should consider trying to take that power away
You are thinking about a trump lead Which card should you choose Firstly a suit with the Queen would not be a good idea as there is a good chance that you would be
giving a trick away With only small trumps there is little to think about
What about something juicy like A84 or K73 Think about what might happen If you lead the Ace (or King) you may be dismayed to see partnerrsquos King (or Ace) come crashing down If declarer has nine trumps then partner has a singleton Of course partner could have two in which case leading the Ace and another trump gets rid of two trumps from dummy straight way but what happens next Either partner wins and will be unable to lead a third round or declarer will win and goes about setting up their ruff in dummy Even if partner gains the lead they will not have a third trump to lead
Instead lead a small trump If partner wins great They may be able to return the suit and you can remove three trumps before declarer even gets started If partner does not win then declarer will start work on getting a ruff If they need to lose a trick first and partner wins it then they may have a second trump which you will win and then draw the third round mission accomplished This is one of the times when underleading an Ace is OK - you are always going to make a trick with the Ace of trumps
Trump leads can feel lsquoscaryrsquo after all trumps are supposed to be declarerrsquos best suit Listen think carefully and you may be able to take away some of the value of their best suit
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 10
Bill is currently the Clubrsquos Harvey Norman Menrsquos Pairs Champion (with Paul Smith) and the Harvey Norman Mixed Pairs Champion (with Marjorie Askew) He is also a member of the Clubrsquos Champion Team
Bill was also a member of the Ballina team which recently won the NSW Country Teams Championship
Bill quietly makes a significant contribution to the Club as Masterpoint Secretary Chair Technology Sub Committee and as a mentor to newer players
Member Profile - William (lsquoBillrsquo) Powell (Silver Grand Master)
by Robert Eldridge
Where were you born
A womenrsquos hospital
Do you have family
Minimal
What led you to move to Australia
I was made an offer I couldnrsquot (well didnrsquot) refuse
What iswas your occupation
I was a computer programmer
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement at work
Fixing most of the bugs I created
You are the Clubrsquos Masterpoint Secretary Please describe what this involves
The role of the MPS is to submit Masterpoints earned at BBC to the ABF Masterpoint Centre In days of yore this would have been quite time consuming but nowadays computers handle
most of the tedium
Why did you to take up Bridge and when
In school (sixth form) as a change from other card games
What is your most embarrassing experience at Bridge
Avoiding a trump endplay by ruffing and exiting in the suit just ruffed (itrsquos happened more than once)
And most satisfying
Reaching the final of the State Teams (and leading after one session)
You are also head of the Clubrsquos Technology Sub Committee What does that involve
Mostly maintenance of the computer systems
What other interests do you have apart from Bridge
I am a keen (but hopeless) golfer
If you had to choose would it be Marjorie Bridge Golf or Cooking and why
Marjorie No contest
What advice do you have for other couples who play Bridge together
For lots of good advice read ldquoHow to Play Bridge With Your Spouse and Surviverdquo by Roselyn Teukolsky
A tip of my own when your other half tables a dummy that you believe should have been bid very differently DO NOT ask ldquoWhere is the hand you had in the auctionrdquo
What are your 3 favourite meals to cook and why
I suspect my culinary skills have been exaggerated My preference is for recipes of the form ldquo combine all ingredients and cook rdquo
A message from our Assistant Secretary
It would be appreciated if all members please advise the Club if there is a change of address phone number or email We want to be able to contact you easily and make sure our emails to you do not bounce back Thanks very much - Linda Maslen
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 11
Ballina Mah Jong Club News
From her sister Elaine Skimmings- Born Shirley Joan Stoy in Lismore the middle child of 5 We enjoyed a happy unblemished childhood with loving happy parents After schooling Shirley started on a long line of careers retraining many times Her first job was as a telephonist at Bonalbo and Casino Moving to Sydney with her husband Bill she undertook secretarial studies and took up positions in that field After the birth of her daughter Louise she moved back to Lismore and continued this line of work She was offered the CEOrsquos position at the then Ex Sevicemens Home and stayed there for many years No matter what the position was she always rose to the top and was highly respected by her co-workers and employers
Shirley was an avid reader and spent time discussing the current book with many fellow membersShe had a keen interest in horse racing and with her 2nd husband Henry owned and raced many horses Indeed every Easter would see them in Sydney enjoying a day out at Randwick On losing Henry she found our wonderful game of Bridge and John so Irsquoll let him go on from here
Vale to Shirley Mazzer
From John Dennis- I met Shirley when she moved to the Gold Coast and signed up for a course of bridge lessons I was conducting at the GC TAFE (around 1990) When the course finished Shirley was offered a job that was too good to refuse and worked at that for some time - so Bridge took a back seat for a few years I next met Shirley in 1994 at Tweed Bridge Club and we started keeping company Shirley and I shared a house soon after as her second husband had passed awayAt this time we lived at Tweed Heads and Shirley put her secretary skills to work at the Banora Bridge Club With my help we moved the club from a social bridge group to an affiliated club with the ABF We put in place club championships presidents cup competitions and congresses Shirley was a very loyal bridge partner and played with a friend for a long time I played as a team member with Shirley and her partner Anne - I played with David Read with some success We returned to this area in 2005 and joined Ballina Bridge Club Shirleyrsquos partners were Dorothy Brumley Pat Preston Cally Mail and Pin Sultas
Shirley passed away at home 2232019 and was cremated 2732019 with a private family Service A celebration of her life will be held at the Point restaurant Ramada Friday 12th April 2 pm to 5pm
The Ballina Mah Jong Club is happy to welcome back Jenny Lang after her successful surgeries
First Place getters for March were
1st March J Small8th March M Brearley15th March V Heinritz and V Reynolds22nd March L Simpson29th March B Lasater
Photo above from the 2018 Ballina Bridge Club Annual awards - shows Shirley Mazzer with one of her Bridge partners Cally Mail receiving the Somerville Laundry Lomax Shield
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 12
NeuRA is an independent not-for-profit research institute based in Sydney As a leader in brain and nervous system research their goal is to prevent treat and cure brain and nervous system diseases disorders and injuries through medical research The Bridge for Brain Research Challenge promotes the benefits of playing bridge whilst helping raise crucial funds to support this research Whatrsquos new in brain and mind research at NeuRA NeuRA researchers are calling upon Bridge Players to use their brain in the name of medical research The Challenge has raised almost half a million dollars since 2004 With this contribution from bridge players to Alzheimerrsquos research NeuRA has 1 Identified a small part at the back of the brain which
degenerates only in people with Alzheimerrsquos disease 2 Developed a guide to genetic testing for dementia and
identified some genes that are modified by factors such as diet and strenuous mental activity
3 Identified changes in growth factors and inflammation occurring in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimerrsquos
For more information on the Challenge go to httpsfoundationneuraeduaubridge and on NeuRA go to wwwneuraeduau
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 13
Nationwide May 1 ndash 7 2019
Play a hand in changing lives
Ballina Bridge Club is supporting this event throughout the week
Please come along
on Wednesday May 1 and play the Bridge for Brain
Challenge Hands
At the end of the session all players will receive a Commentary on the hands and our scores will be
submitted for comparison Australia wide with red points then awarded for the top half of the field
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 14
RESTRICTEDcopy TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
to be held on
Thursdays May 9 amp 16
sponsored by
Please nominate below
sect Pay on the day - normal $5 uml Start-time 1230 for 1245 copy All players lt100mpts at 112019 ordf All players must be members of the Ballina Bridge Club
Event Organiser Marjorie Askew Nominations close Saturday May 4
PS For players with gt100mpts there will be a Pairs Section on these days
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 4
Ballina Congress 2019 The Ballina Bridge Club recently held itrsquos annual 2-day Congress We played Swiss Cross Imp Pairs on Saturday and Swiss Teams on Sunday all running smoothly thanks to our Director Chris Snook Players from as far away as Victoria and the Gold Coast as well as many local clubs visited for our Congress
Prizes were awarded in 3 divisionsgrades on both Saturday and Sunday In the Saturday Pairs a C grade pair of Dianne Hillman and Connie Cassar took the overall honours The Sunday Teams was won by the home club team of Eric Hurley Gary Lynn Marjorie Askew and Bill Powell A full list of winners is on the noticeboard and on the Club website
Our House Committee provided an enjoyable lunch on both days and made sure that the nibblies were kept coming for those who liked to graze on the cakes and slices Many thanks to Beth Martinrsquos team Beth Jenny Maley Lesley Burford Jill and Don Cox and Denice Richards
Indeed it was a wonderful effort by all who volunteered their time on the day andor in planning and set-up I would also like to thank June and Carmel for their help in setting up the Club House each afternoon and Marjorie for her ongoing support
Overall Pairs Winners
(photo right)
Dianne Hillman and Connie
Cassar ndash with Chery McCallum
left (Event Convenor) and
Chris McDowell (Club
President)
Thanks go to the Director of
the Day for the 2019 Ballina
Congress event Chris Snook
who successfully enabled
smooth running of the event
(Photo on left with BBC President
Chris McDowell )
Chery McCallum - Event Organiser
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 5
Ballina Congress 2019 Photo Gallery
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 6
Earlier articles looked at a number of common misunderstandings This article presents more cases of common misunderstandings ndash the article is based largely on the writings of Matthew McManus Chief Director of the NSWBA [permission given]
Just because an opponent concedes one more trick to you it does not mean that you will get it if there is no possible way that you could win it For example declarer claims saying ldquoI have got the rest apart from your high trumprdquo Declarer has forgotten that neither you nor you partner has any more trumps It is unethical to accept this trick which you could not possibly win
Just because the opponents gave you the wrong information about the meaning of one of their calls it does not mean that the director will adjust the final score in your favour For the director to award an adjusted score first he has to
- Howard Jeffery
Just because Part 3
Newsletter April 2019
establish that the explanation you were given was not according to their system and then you have to demonstrate how the wrong information adversely affected your side Only then will the director consider changing the score
Just because everyone has turned over the cards it is not too late to correct a revoke In fact a member of the non-offending side may even have led to the next trick and it can still be corrected
Just because a player hesitates it does not mean that his partner must pass This is one of the most misunderstood and misquoted aspects of the Law There is a responsibility on the partner to not take advantage of any information they get from the hesitation but there is definitely no requirement to pass
Just because a defender leads a card after you tell them it doesnrsquot matter what they play it doesnrsquot
mean that you will benefit if it turns out there is a better lead Your statement that it doesnrsquot matter constitutes a claim under the Laws When a claim is made there is no more play
Just because the opponents revoke it does not mean that you will do better than you would have normally done Again there is a set of rules which the director applies In many cases (and ideally) this will mean that the result which should have happened is also the final result There is no automatic penalty simply because there has been a revoke Telling the director ldquobut thatrsquos what we would have got anywayrdquo is not going to get you anywhere The directorrsquos primary responsibility is to ensure that the opponents do not benefit when they revoke against you
Mathewrsquos full articles are available Part 1 and Part 2
Janet Brownrsquos quick tip - Are you missing an important Queen
While the expression lsquo Eight ever Nine neverrdquo is grammatically flawed the advice is sound This rhyming couplet refers to a missing Queen and tells you whether you should finesse or not and is easy to follow
With nine cards between your two hands - lsquoNeverrsquo take the finesse Just plonk the Ace and King on the table and watch for the Queen to appear You hope the four cards held by the opponents will drop 22
With eight cards between your hands - lsquoEverrsquo (always) take the finesse
AKJ54 10976 - 9 cards - Play the Ace and King and hope the Queen falls
AKJ54 1096 - 8 cards - Take the finesse and hope South holds the Queen Image - Nicolas-Marie Gatteaux [Public domain]
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 7
On March 1 fifteen of us headed out from Brisbane Airport and joined a further five from Sydney and two from Darwin for a little over two weeks in Thailand Of the 22 in the group 20 were bridge players with eight coming from the Ballina Club
We spent six nights in Bangkok and enjoyed a dinner river cruise and a tour to the main Floating Market and a magical Woodland Museum Our hotel was close to the first bridge venue the British Club The Club is very much as you would expect a colonial British club to be ndash elegant furnishings British beer on tap and fabulous Thai cooking They celebrate UK Motherrsquos Day of course Most players had regular partners but six of us swapped round to play with each other Our performance here was not strong which we put down to travel the British beer and jetlag
The Club invited us to be Visiting Members with no joining fee Being visiting members of the British Club we were able to charge our meals and drinks to our own individual accounts Very pucker and good till you had
the evening of reckoning when the credit card had to be produced Bills of over 3000 baht are scary even if manageable after conversion
Our second bridge experience in Bangkok was at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club This Club is both exclusive and elegant It has a golf course and a horse racing track round the golf course They have a dedicated bridge room that could probably handle 20+ tables Their banquet was unbelievable Director rulings were a little at variance with ours where a revoke cost you two tricks at all times No argument Again our performance
was mediocre but we put that down to not being accustomed to such sophistication ndash wersquore not used to clubrsquos having their own horse racing track
The Thai Playing Cards Act prevents any person from owning more than 120 cards that have not been registered with the Excise Department This link describes the arrest of 32 who were playing bridge in Pattaya Despite the
The (very) British Club
Jack and Eileen Pierce confusing all at the table in the RBSC
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 8
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
risks involved games of ldquoOh Hellrdquo were played on multiple occasions with multiple packs of cards in the hotel restaurant
Our next stop was Chiang Mai (CM) in the north of Thailand Itrsquos a bit more elevated thus cooler at night and less frenetic It was idyllic weather apart from the pollution caused by fires on the last few days We spent about 10 days here with trips to the Tiger Kingdom Elephant Sanctuary Doi Suthep a most holy temple a Thai Cooking class and lots more Most evenings a group of us would walk to one of the nearby markets and experience delightful Thai street food plus buy trinkets clothing and elephant pants which will be displayed en masse at a future time
We played bridge at the CM Bridge Club which is located next to a Thai restaurant where we had a couple of great meals The CM Club were the most hospitable people you could imagine They even set up a special
one-off game for us on one of their non-playing days which several of their members also attended For those who like more information displayed on Bridgemates the rolling display of how you are performing projected onto a screen visible round the room would have been heaven Most thought it was closer to hell
The standard of bridge at all clubs was quite high At each club we had between 14 and 20 tables in play In CM we had some limited success with two pairs taking out first place in different events The rest of us attributed our poor performance to the ever so moderately priced Tiger beer and caramel popcorn that melted before it got to your mouth
Our lasting memory of the trip is the friendship and enjoyment of the group that travelled the generosity of our hosts and the kindness and thoughtfulness of our guides and the Thai people
Green Curry sous chefs Hilary Lewis Sophie Davis Howard Jeffrey Liz Jeffrey and Judy Weir
George Connell Tiger Whisperer in his very fast running shoes
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 9
Strike by Paul Smith
Newsletter April 2019
There is no denying that the opening lead is one of the more difficult parts of our game When you make the opening lead you can only see your own 13 cards and the auction At every other point in the play of the hand you can see more than half the pack
Often a good approach is to choose a lead which you hope will take or at least develop tricks for your side Leading high cards or leading long suits are both good choices Leading a short suit may develop a trick by receiving a ruff
A different approach is to make a lead which prevents declarer from taking a trick This is the principle behind leading trumps As declarer you will often try to make extra tricks by using dummyrsquos side-suit shortage to ruff your losers As a defender you can try to remove the trumps from dummy to prevent those ruffs taking place
Every rule has exceptions but a good guiding principle is
Lead a trump when the bidding indicates that declarer will lean heavily on dummyrsquos ruffing value to fulfil their contract
When does the bidding indicate that declarer will want to use dummyrsquos ruffing power There are several sorts of auctions which may alert you
What is happening when the bidding goes like this 1spades3spades 4spades Presumably dummy is going to have good trump support four cards or
more and some sort of shortage The auction does not indicate great high card strength but rather distributional values A trump lead is indicated to remove some of the ruffing power
A very different auction is 1spades2diams 2heartsPass What does responder have to pass the 2hearts rebid Obviously short Spades and longer Hearts If you hold good Spades say spadesKJ95 you should be very concerned that declarer will try to ruff their losing Spades Consider leading trumps
What about 1diams2diams 2NT3diams Responder has been offered a No Trump contract but turned it down for the poorer scoring Diamond contract Why They almost certainly have ruffing power because of a shortage You should consider trying to take that power away
You are thinking about a trump lead Which card should you choose Firstly a suit with the Queen would not be a good idea as there is a good chance that you would be
giving a trick away With only small trumps there is little to think about
What about something juicy like A84 or K73 Think about what might happen If you lead the Ace (or King) you may be dismayed to see partnerrsquos King (or Ace) come crashing down If declarer has nine trumps then partner has a singleton Of course partner could have two in which case leading the Ace and another trump gets rid of two trumps from dummy straight way but what happens next Either partner wins and will be unable to lead a third round or declarer will win and goes about setting up their ruff in dummy Even if partner gains the lead they will not have a third trump to lead
Instead lead a small trump If partner wins great They may be able to return the suit and you can remove three trumps before declarer even gets started If partner does not win then declarer will start work on getting a ruff If they need to lose a trick first and partner wins it then they may have a second trump which you will win and then draw the third round mission accomplished This is one of the times when underleading an Ace is OK - you are always going to make a trick with the Ace of trumps
Trump leads can feel lsquoscaryrsquo after all trumps are supposed to be declarerrsquos best suit Listen think carefully and you may be able to take away some of the value of their best suit
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 10
Bill is currently the Clubrsquos Harvey Norman Menrsquos Pairs Champion (with Paul Smith) and the Harvey Norman Mixed Pairs Champion (with Marjorie Askew) He is also a member of the Clubrsquos Champion Team
Bill was also a member of the Ballina team which recently won the NSW Country Teams Championship
Bill quietly makes a significant contribution to the Club as Masterpoint Secretary Chair Technology Sub Committee and as a mentor to newer players
Member Profile - William (lsquoBillrsquo) Powell (Silver Grand Master)
by Robert Eldridge
Where were you born
A womenrsquos hospital
Do you have family
Minimal
What led you to move to Australia
I was made an offer I couldnrsquot (well didnrsquot) refuse
What iswas your occupation
I was a computer programmer
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement at work
Fixing most of the bugs I created
You are the Clubrsquos Masterpoint Secretary Please describe what this involves
The role of the MPS is to submit Masterpoints earned at BBC to the ABF Masterpoint Centre In days of yore this would have been quite time consuming but nowadays computers handle
most of the tedium
Why did you to take up Bridge and when
In school (sixth form) as a change from other card games
What is your most embarrassing experience at Bridge
Avoiding a trump endplay by ruffing and exiting in the suit just ruffed (itrsquos happened more than once)
And most satisfying
Reaching the final of the State Teams (and leading after one session)
You are also head of the Clubrsquos Technology Sub Committee What does that involve
Mostly maintenance of the computer systems
What other interests do you have apart from Bridge
I am a keen (but hopeless) golfer
If you had to choose would it be Marjorie Bridge Golf or Cooking and why
Marjorie No contest
What advice do you have for other couples who play Bridge together
For lots of good advice read ldquoHow to Play Bridge With Your Spouse and Surviverdquo by Roselyn Teukolsky
A tip of my own when your other half tables a dummy that you believe should have been bid very differently DO NOT ask ldquoWhere is the hand you had in the auctionrdquo
What are your 3 favourite meals to cook and why
I suspect my culinary skills have been exaggerated My preference is for recipes of the form ldquo combine all ingredients and cook rdquo
A message from our Assistant Secretary
It would be appreciated if all members please advise the Club if there is a change of address phone number or email We want to be able to contact you easily and make sure our emails to you do not bounce back Thanks very much - Linda Maslen
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 11
Ballina Mah Jong Club News
From her sister Elaine Skimmings- Born Shirley Joan Stoy in Lismore the middle child of 5 We enjoyed a happy unblemished childhood with loving happy parents After schooling Shirley started on a long line of careers retraining many times Her first job was as a telephonist at Bonalbo and Casino Moving to Sydney with her husband Bill she undertook secretarial studies and took up positions in that field After the birth of her daughter Louise she moved back to Lismore and continued this line of work She was offered the CEOrsquos position at the then Ex Sevicemens Home and stayed there for many years No matter what the position was she always rose to the top and was highly respected by her co-workers and employers
Shirley was an avid reader and spent time discussing the current book with many fellow membersShe had a keen interest in horse racing and with her 2nd husband Henry owned and raced many horses Indeed every Easter would see them in Sydney enjoying a day out at Randwick On losing Henry she found our wonderful game of Bridge and John so Irsquoll let him go on from here
Vale to Shirley Mazzer
From John Dennis- I met Shirley when she moved to the Gold Coast and signed up for a course of bridge lessons I was conducting at the GC TAFE (around 1990) When the course finished Shirley was offered a job that was too good to refuse and worked at that for some time - so Bridge took a back seat for a few years I next met Shirley in 1994 at Tweed Bridge Club and we started keeping company Shirley and I shared a house soon after as her second husband had passed awayAt this time we lived at Tweed Heads and Shirley put her secretary skills to work at the Banora Bridge Club With my help we moved the club from a social bridge group to an affiliated club with the ABF We put in place club championships presidents cup competitions and congresses Shirley was a very loyal bridge partner and played with a friend for a long time I played as a team member with Shirley and her partner Anne - I played with David Read with some success We returned to this area in 2005 and joined Ballina Bridge Club Shirleyrsquos partners were Dorothy Brumley Pat Preston Cally Mail and Pin Sultas
Shirley passed away at home 2232019 and was cremated 2732019 with a private family Service A celebration of her life will be held at the Point restaurant Ramada Friday 12th April 2 pm to 5pm
The Ballina Mah Jong Club is happy to welcome back Jenny Lang after her successful surgeries
First Place getters for March were
1st March J Small8th March M Brearley15th March V Heinritz and V Reynolds22nd March L Simpson29th March B Lasater
Photo above from the 2018 Ballina Bridge Club Annual awards - shows Shirley Mazzer with one of her Bridge partners Cally Mail receiving the Somerville Laundry Lomax Shield
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 12
NeuRA is an independent not-for-profit research institute based in Sydney As a leader in brain and nervous system research their goal is to prevent treat and cure brain and nervous system diseases disorders and injuries through medical research The Bridge for Brain Research Challenge promotes the benefits of playing bridge whilst helping raise crucial funds to support this research Whatrsquos new in brain and mind research at NeuRA NeuRA researchers are calling upon Bridge Players to use their brain in the name of medical research The Challenge has raised almost half a million dollars since 2004 With this contribution from bridge players to Alzheimerrsquos research NeuRA has 1 Identified a small part at the back of the brain which
degenerates only in people with Alzheimerrsquos disease 2 Developed a guide to genetic testing for dementia and
identified some genes that are modified by factors such as diet and strenuous mental activity
3 Identified changes in growth factors and inflammation occurring in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimerrsquos
For more information on the Challenge go to httpsfoundationneuraeduaubridge and on NeuRA go to wwwneuraeduau
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 13
Nationwide May 1 ndash 7 2019
Play a hand in changing lives
Ballina Bridge Club is supporting this event throughout the week
Please come along
on Wednesday May 1 and play the Bridge for Brain
Challenge Hands
At the end of the session all players will receive a Commentary on the hands and our scores will be
submitted for comparison Australia wide with red points then awarded for the top half of the field
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 14
RESTRICTEDcopy TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
to be held on
Thursdays May 9 amp 16
sponsored by
Please nominate below
sect Pay on the day - normal $5 uml Start-time 1230 for 1245 copy All players lt100mpts at 112019 ordf All players must be members of the Ballina Bridge Club
Event Organiser Marjorie Askew Nominations close Saturday May 4
PS For players with gt100mpts there will be a Pairs Section on these days
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 5
Ballina Congress 2019 Photo Gallery
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 6
Earlier articles looked at a number of common misunderstandings This article presents more cases of common misunderstandings ndash the article is based largely on the writings of Matthew McManus Chief Director of the NSWBA [permission given]
Just because an opponent concedes one more trick to you it does not mean that you will get it if there is no possible way that you could win it For example declarer claims saying ldquoI have got the rest apart from your high trumprdquo Declarer has forgotten that neither you nor you partner has any more trumps It is unethical to accept this trick which you could not possibly win
Just because the opponents gave you the wrong information about the meaning of one of their calls it does not mean that the director will adjust the final score in your favour For the director to award an adjusted score first he has to
- Howard Jeffery
Just because Part 3
Newsletter April 2019
establish that the explanation you were given was not according to their system and then you have to demonstrate how the wrong information adversely affected your side Only then will the director consider changing the score
Just because everyone has turned over the cards it is not too late to correct a revoke In fact a member of the non-offending side may even have led to the next trick and it can still be corrected
Just because a player hesitates it does not mean that his partner must pass This is one of the most misunderstood and misquoted aspects of the Law There is a responsibility on the partner to not take advantage of any information they get from the hesitation but there is definitely no requirement to pass
Just because a defender leads a card after you tell them it doesnrsquot matter what they play it doesnrsquot
mean that you will benefit if it turns out there is a better lead Your statement that it doesnrsquot matter constitutes a claim under the Laws When a claim is made there is no more play
Just because the opponents revoke it does not mean that you will do better than you would have normally done Again there is a set of rules which the director applies In many cases (and ideally) this will mean that the result which should have happened is also the final result There is no automatic penalty simply because there has been a revoke Telling the director ldquobut thatrsquos what we would have got anywayrdquo is not going to get you anywhere The directorrsquos primary responsibility is to ensure that the opponents do not benefit when they revoke against you
Mathewrsquos full articles are available Part 1 and Part 2
Janet Brownrsquos quick tip - Are you missing an important Queen
While the expression lsquo Eight ever Nine neverrdquo is grammatically flawed the advice is sound This rhyming couplet refers to a missing Queen and tells you whether you should finesse or not and is easy to follow
With nine cards between your two hands - lsquoNeverrsquo take the finesse Just plonk the Ace and King on the table and watch for the Queen to appear You hope the four cards held by the opponents will drop 22
With eight cards between your hands - lsquoEverrsquo (always) take the finesse
AKJ54 10976 - 9 cards - Play the Ace and King and hope the Queen falls
AKJ54 1096 - 8 cards - Take the finesse and hope South holds the Queen Image - Nicolas-Marie Gatteaux [Public domain]
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 7
On March 1 fifteen of us headed out from Brisbane Airport and joined a further five from Sydney and two from Darwin for a little over two weeks in Thailand Of the 22 in the group 20 were bridge players with eight coming from the Ballina Club
We spent six nights in Bangkok and enjoyed a dinner river cruise and a tour to the main Floating Market and a magical Woodland Museum Our hotel was close to the first bridge venue the British Club The Club is very much as you would expect a colonial British club to be ndash elegant furnishings British beer on tap and fabulous Thai cooking They celebrate UK Motherrsquos Day of course Most players had regular partners but six of us swapped round to play with each other Our performance here was not strong which we put down to travel the British beer and jetlag
The Club invited us to be Visiting Members with no joining fee Being visiting members of the British Club we were able to charge our meals and drinks to our own individual accounts Very pucker and good till you had
the evening of reckoning when the credit card had to be produced Bills of over 3000 baht are scary even if manageable after conversion
Our second bridge experience in Bangkok was at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club This Club is both exclusive and elegant It has a golf course and a horse racing track round the golf course They have a dedicated bridge room that could probably handle 20+ tables Their banquet was unbelievable Director rulings were a little at variance with ours where a revoke cost you two tricks at all times No argument Again our performance
was mediocre but we put that down to not being accustomed to such sophistication ndash wersquore not used to clubrsquos having their own horse racing track
The Thai Playing Cards Act prevents any person from owning more than 120 cards that have not been registered with the Excise Department This link describes the arrest of 32 who were playing bridge in Pattaya Despite the
The (very) British Club
Jack and Eileen Pierce confusing all at the table in the RBSC
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 8
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
risks involved games of ldquoOh Hellrdquo were played on multiple occasions with multiple packs of cards in the hotel restaurant
Our next stop was Chiang Mai (CM) in the north of Thailand Itrsquos a bit more elevated thus cooler at night and less frenetic It was idyllic weather apart from the pollution caused by fires on the last few days We spent about 10 days here with trips to the Tiger Kingdom Elephant Sanctuary Doi Suthep a most holy temple a Thai Cooking class and lots more Most evenings a group of us would walk to one of the nearby markets and experience delightful Thai street food plus buy trinkets clothing and elephant pants which will be displayed en masse at a future time
We played bridge at the CM Bridge Club which is located next to a Thai restaurant where we had a couple of great meals The CM Club were the most hospitable people you could imagine They even set up a special
one-off game for us on one of their non-playing days which several of their members also attended For those who like more information displayed on Bridgemates the rolling display of how you are performing projected onto a screen visible round the room would have been heaven Most thought it was closer to hell
The standard of bridge at all clubs was quite high At each club we had between 14 and 20 tables in play In CM we had some limited success with two pairs taking out first place in different events The rest of us attributed our poor performance to the ever so moderately priced Tiger beer and caramel popcorn that melted before it got to your mouth
Our lasting memory of the trip is the friendship and enjoyment of the group that travelled the generosity of our hosts and the kindness and thoughtfulness of our guides and the Thai people
Green Curry sous chefs Hilary Lewis Sophie Davis Howard Jeffrey Liz Jeffrey and Judy Weir
George Connell Tiger Whisperer in his very fast running shoes
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 9
Strike by Paul Smith
Newsletter April 2019
There is no denying that the opening lead is one of the more difficult parts of our game When you make the opening lead you can only see your own 13 cards and the auction At every other point in the play of the hand you can see more than half the pack
Often a good approach is to choose a lead which you hope will take or at least develop tricks for your side Leading high cards or leading long suits are both good choices Leading a short suit may develop a trick by receiving a ruff
A different approach is to make a lead which prevents declarer from taking a trick This is the principle behind leading trumps As declarer you will often try to make extra tricks by using dummyrsquos side-suit shortage to ruff your losers As a defender you can try to remove the trumps from dummy to prevent those ruffs taking place
Every rule has exceptions but a good guiding principle is
Lead a trump when the bidding indicates that declarer will lean heavily on dummyrsquos ruffing value to fulfil their contract
When does the bidding indicate that declarer will want to use dummyrsquos ruffing power There are several sorts of auctions which may alert you
What is happening when the bidding goes like this 1spades3spades 4spades Presumably dummy is going to have good trump support four cards or
more and some sort of shortage The auction does not indicate great high card strength but rather distributional values A trump lead is indicated to remove some of the ruffing power
A very different auction is 1spades2diams 2heartsPass What does responder have to pass the 2hearts rebid Obviously short Spades and longer Hearts If you hold good Spades say spadesKJ95 you should be very concerned that declarer will try to ruff their losing Spades Consider leading trumps
What about 1diams2diams 2NT3diams Responder has been offered a No Trump contract but turned it down for the poorer scoring Diamond contract Why They almost certainly have ruffing power because of a shortage You should consider trying to take that power away
You are thinking about a trump lead Which card should you choose Firstly a suit with the Queen would not be a good idea as there is a good chance that you would be
giving a trick away With only small trumps there is little to think about
What about something juicy like A84 or K73 Think about what might happen If you lead the Ace (or King) you may be dismayed to see partnerrsquos King (or Ace) come crashing down If declarer has nine trumps then partner has a singleton Of course partner could have two in which case leading the Ace and another trump gets rid of two trumps from dummy straight way but what happens next Either partner wins and will be unable to lead a third round or declarer will win and goes about setting up their ruff in dummy Even if partner gains the lead they will not have a third trump to lead
Instead lead a small trump If partner wins great They may be able to return the suit and you can remove three trumps before declarer even gets started If partner does not win then declarer will start work on getting a ruff If they need to lose a trick first and partner wins it then they may have a second trump which you will win and then draw the third round mission accomplished This is one of the times when underleading an Ace is OK - you are always going to make a trick with the Ace of trumps
Trump leads can feel lsquoscaryrsquo after all trumps are supposed to be declarerrsquos best suit Listen think carefully and you may be able to take away some of the value of their best suit
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 10
Bill is currently the Clubrsquos Harvey Norman Menrsquos Pairs Champion (with Paul Smith) and the Harvey Norman Mixed Pairs Champion (with Marjorie Askew) He is also a member of the Clubrsquos Champion Team
Bill was also a member of the Ballina team which recently won the NSW Country Teams Championship
Bill quietly makes a significant contribution to the Club as Masterpoint Secretary Chair Technology Sub Committee and as a mentor to newer players
Member Profile - William (lsquoBillrsquo) Powell (Silver Grand Master)
by Robert Eldridge
Where were you born
A womenrsquos hospital
Do you have family
Minimal
What led you to move to Australia
I was made an offer I couldnrsquot (well didnrsquot) refuse
What iswas your occupation
I was a computer programmer
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement at work
Fixing most of the bugs I created
You are the Clubrsquos Masterpoint Secretary Please describe what this involves
The role of the MPS is to submit Masterpoints earned at BBC to the ABF Masterpoint Centre In days of yore this would have been quite time consuming but nowadays computers handle
most of the tedium
Why did you to take up Bridge and when
In school (sixth form) as a change from other card games
What is your most embarrassing experience at Bridge
Avoiding a trump endplay by ruffing and exiting in the suit just ruffed (itrsquos happened more than once)
And most satisfying
Reaching the final of the State Teams (and leading after one session)
You are also head of the Clubrsquos Technology Sub Committee What does that involve
Mostly maintenance of the computer systems
What other interests do you have apart from Bridge
I am a keen (but hopeless) golfer
If you had to choose would it be Marjorie Bridge Golf or Cooking and why
Marjorie No contest
What advice do you have for other couples who play Bridge together
For lots of good advice read ldquoHow to Play Bridge With Your Spouse and Surviverdquo by Roselyn Teukolsky
A tip of my own when your other half tables a dummy that you believe should have been bid very differently DO NOT ask ldquoWhere is the hand you had in the auctionrdquo
What are your 3 favourite meals to cook and why
I suspect my culinary skills have been exaggerated My preference is for recipes of the form ldquo combine all ingredients and cook rdquo
A message from our Assistant Secretary
It would be appreciated if all members please advise the Club if there is a change of address phone number or email We want to be able to contact you easily and make sure our emails to you do not bounce back Thanks very much - Linda Maslen
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 11
Ballina Mah Jong Club News
From her sister Elaine Skimmings- Born Shirley Joan Stoy in Lismore the middle child of 5 We enjoyed a happy unblemished childhood with loving happy parents After schooling Shirley started on a long line of careers retraining many times Her first job was as a telephonist at Bonalbo and Casino Moving to Sydney with her husband Bill she undertook secretarial studies and took up positions in that field After the birth of her daughter Louise she moved back to Lismore and continued this line of work She was offered the CEOrsquos position at the then Ex Sevicemens Home and stayed there for many years No matter what the position was she always rose to the top and was highly respected by her co-workers and employers
Shirley was an avid reader and spent time discussing the current book with many fellow membersShe had a keen interest in horse racing and with her 2nd husband Henry owned and raced many horses Indeed every Easter would see them in Sydney enjoying a day out at Randwick On losing Henry she found our wonderful game of Bridge and John so Irsquoll let him go on from here
Vale to Shirley Mazzer
From John Dennis- I met Shirley when she moved to the Gold Coast and signed up for a course of bridge lessons I was conducting at the GC TAFE (around 1990) When the course finished Shirley was offered a job that was too good to refuse and worked at that for some time - so Bridge took a back seat for a few years I next met Shirley in 1994 at Tweed Bridge Club and we started keeping company Shirley and I shared a house soon after as her second husband had passed awayAt this time we lived at Tweed Heads and Shirley put her secretary skills to work at the Banora Bridge Club With my help we moved the club from a social bridge group to an affiliated club with the ABF We put in place club championships presidents cup competitions and congresses Shirley was a very loyal bridge partner and played with a friend for a long time I played as a team member with Shirley and her partner Anne - I played with David Read with some success We returned to this area in 2005 and joined Ballina Bridge Club Shirleyrsquos partners were Dorothy Brumley Pat Preston Cally Mail and Pin Sultas
Shirley passed away at home 2232019 and was cremated 2732019 with a private family Service A celebration of her life will be held at the Point restaurant Ramada Friday 12th April 2 pm to 5pm
The Ballina Mah Jong Club is happy to welcome back Jenny Lang after her successful surgeries
First Place getters for March were
1st March J Small8th March M Brearley15th March V Heinritz and V Reynolds22nd March L Simpson29th March B Lasater
Photo above from the 2018 Ballina Bridge Club Annual awards - shows Shirley Mazzer with one of her Bridge partners Cally Mail receiving the Somerville Laundry Lomax Shield
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 12
NeuRA is an independent not-for-profit research institute based in Sydney As a leader in brain and nervous system research their goal is to prevent treat and cure brain and nervous system diseases disorders and injuries through medical research The Bridge for Brain Research Challenge promotes the benefits of playing bridge whilst helping raise crucial funds to support this research Whatrsquos new in brain and mind research at NeuRA NeuRA researchers are calling upon Bridge Players to use their brain in the name of medical research The Challenge has raised almost half a million dollars since 2004 With this contribution from bridge players to Alzheimerrsquos research NeuRA has 1 Identified a small part at the back of the brain which
degenerates only in people with Alzheimerrsquos disease 2 Developed a guide to genetic testing for dementia and
identified some genes that are modified by factors such as diet and strenuous mental activity
3 Identified changes in growth factors and inflammation occurring in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimerrsquos
For more information on the Challenge go to httpsfoundationneuraeduaubridge and on NeuRA go to wwwneuraeduau
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 13
Nationwide May 1 ndash 7 2019
Play a hand in changing lives
Ballina Bridge Club is supporting this event throughout the week
Please come along
on Wednesday May 1 and play the Bridge for Brain
Challenge Hands
At the end of the session all players will receive a Commentary on the hands and our scores will be
submitted for comparison Australia wide with red points then awarded for the top half of the field
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 14
RESTRICTEDcopy TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
to be held on
Thursdays May 9 amp 16
sponsored by
Please nominate below
sect Pay on the day - normal $5 uml Start-time 1230 for 1245 copy All players lt100mpts at 112019 ordf All players must be members of the Ballina Bridge Club
Event Organiser Marjorie Askew Nominations close Saturday May 4
PS For players with gt100mpts there will be a Pairs Section on these days
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 6
Earlier articles looked at a number of common misunderstandings This article presents more cases of common misunderstandings ndash the article is based largely on the writings of Matthew McManus Chief Director of the NSWBA [permission given]
Just because an opponent concedes one more trick to you it does not mean that you will get it if there is no possible way that you could win it For example declarer claims saying ldquoI have got the rest apart from your high trumprdquo Declarer has forgotten that neither you nor you partner has any more trumps It is unethical to accept this trick which you could not possibly win
Just because the opponents gave you the wrong information about the meaning of one of their calls it does not mean that the director will adjust the final score in your favour For the director to award an adjusted score first he has to
- Howard Jeffery
Just because Part 3
Newsletter April 2019
establish that the explanation you were given was not according to their system and then you have to demonstrate how the wrong information adversely affected your side Only then will the director consider changing the score
Just because everyone has turned over the cards it is not too late to correct a revoke In fact a member of the non-offending side may even have led to the next trick and it can still be corrected
Just because a player hesitates it does not mean that his partner must pass This is one of the most misunderstood and misquoted aspects of the Law There is a responsibility on the partner to not take advantage of any information they get from the hesitation but there is definitely no requirement to pass
Just because a defender leads a card after you tell them it doesnrsquot matter what they play it doesnrsquot
mean that you will benefit if it turns out there is a better lead Your statement that it doesnrsquot matter constitutes a claim under the Laws When a claim is made there is no more play
Just because the opponents revoke it does not mean that you will do better than you would have normally done Again there is a set of rules which the director applies In many cases (and ideally) this will mean that the result which should have happened is also the final result There is no automatic penalty simply because there has been a revoke Telling the director ldquobut thatrsquos what we would have got anywayrdquo is not going to get you anywhere The directorrsquos primary responsibility is to ensure that the opponents do not benefit when they revoke against you
Mathewrsquos full articles are available Part 1 and Part 2
Janet Brownrsquos quick tip - Are you missing an important Queen
While the expression lsquo Eight ever Nine neverrdquo is grammatically flawed the advice is sound This rhyming couplet refers to a missing Queen and tells you whether you should finesse or not and is easy to follow
With nine cards between your two hands - lsquoNeverrsquo take the finesse Just plonk the Ace and King on the table and watch for the Queen to appear You hope the four cards held by the opponents will drop 22
With eight cards between your hands - lsquoEverrsquo (always) take the finesse
AKJ54 10976 - 9 cards - Play the Ace and King and hope the Queen falls
AKJ54 1096 - 8 cards - Take the finesse and hope South holds the Queen Image - Nicolas-Marie Gatteaux [Public domain]
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 7
On March 1 fifteen of us headed out from Brisbane Airport and joined a further five from Sydney and two from Darwin for a little over two weeks in Thailand Of the 22 in the group 20 were bridge players with eight coming from the Ballina Club
We spent six nights in Bangkok and enjoyed a dinner river cruise and a tour to the main Floating Market and a magical Woodland Museum Our hotel was close to the first bridge venue the British Club The Club is very much as you would expect a colonial British club to be ndash elegant furnishings British beer on tap and fabulous Thai cooking They celebrate UK Motherrsquos Day of course Most players had regular partners but six of us swapped round to play with each other Our performance here was not strong which we put down to travel the British beer and jetlag
The Club invited us to be Visiting Members with no joining fee Being visiting members of the British Club we were able to charge our meals and drinks to our own individual accounts Very pucker and good till you had
the evening of reckoning when the credit card had to be produced Bills of over 3000 baht are scary even if manageable after conversion
Our second bridge experience in Bangkok was at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club This Club is both exclusive and elegant It has a golf course and a horse racing track round the golf course They have a dedicated bridge room that could probably handle 20+ tables Their banquet was unbelievable Director rulings were a little at variance with ours where a revoke cost you two tricks at all times No argument Again our performance
was mediocre but we put that down to not being accustomed to such sophistication ndash wersquore not used to clubrsquos having their own horse racing track
The Thai Playing Cards Act prevents any person from owning more than 120 cards that have not been registered with the Excise Department This link describes the arrest of 32 who were playing bridge in Pattaya Despite the
The (very) British Club
Jack and Eileen Pierce confusing all at the table in the RBSC
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 8
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
risks involved games of ldquoOh Hellrdquo were played on multiple occasions with multiple packs of cards in the hotel restaurant
Our next stop was Chiang Mai (CM) in the north of Thailand Itrsquos a bit more elevated thus cooler at night and less frenetic It was idyllic weather apart from the pollution caused by fires on the last few days We spent about 10 days here with trips to the Tiger Kingdom Elephant Sanctuary Doi Suthep a most holy temple a Thai Cooking class and lots more Most evenings a group of us would walk to one of the nearby markets and experience delightful Thai street food plus buy trinkets clothing and elephant pants which will be displayed en masse at a future time
We played bridge at the CM Bridge Club which is located next to a Thai restaurant where we had a couple of great meals The CM Club were the most hospitable people you could imagine They even set up a special
one-off game for us on one of their non-playing days which several of their members also attended For those who like more information displayed on Bridgemates the rolling display of how you are performing projected onto a screen visible round the room would have been heaven Most thought it was closer to hell
The standard of bridge at all clubs was quite high At each club we had between 14 and 20 tables in play In CM we had some limited success with two pairs taking out first place in different events The rest of us attributed our poor performance to the ever so moderately priced Tiger beer and caramel popcorn that melted before it got to your mouth
Our lasting memory of the trip is the friendship and enjoyment of the group that travelled the generosity of our hosts and the kindness and thoughtfulness of our guides and the Thai people
Green Curry sous chefs Hilary Lewis Sophie Davis Howard Jeffrey Liz Jeffrey and Judy Weir
George Connell Tiger Whisperer in his very fast running shoes
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 9
Strike by Paul Smith
Newsletter April 2019
There is no denying that the opening lead is one of the more difficult parts of our game When you make the opening lead you can only see your own 13 cards and the auction At every other point in the play of the hand you can see more than half the pack
Often a good approach is to choose a lead which you hope will take or at least develop tricks for your side Leading high cards or leading long suits are both good choices Leading a short suit may develop a trick by receiving a ruff
A different approach is to make a lead which prevents declarer from taking a trick This is the principle behind leading trumps As declarer you will often try to make extra tricks by using dummyrsquos side-suit shortage to ruff your losers As a defender you can try to remove the trumps from dummy to prevent those ruffs taking place
Every rule has exceptions but a good guiding principle is
Lead a trump when the bidding indicates that declarer will lean heavily on dummyrsquos ruffing value to fulfil their contract
When does the bidding indicate that declarer will want to use dummyrsquos ruffing power There are several sorts of auctions which may alert you
What is happening when the bidding goes like this 1spades3spades 4spades Presumably dummy is going to have good trump support four cards or
more and some sort of shortage The auction does not indicate great high card strength but rather distributional values A trump lead is indicated to remove some of the ruffing power
A very different auction is 1spades2diams 2heartsPass What does responder have to pass the 2hearts rebid Obviously short Spades and longer Hearts If you hold good Spades say spadesKJ95 you should be very concerned that declarer will try to ruff their losing Spades Consider leading trumps
What about 1diams2diams 2NT3diams Responder has been offered a No Trump contract but turned it down for the poorer scoring Diamond contract Why They almost certainly have ruffing power because of a shortage You should consider trying to take that power away
You are thinking about a trump lead Which card should you choose Firstly a suit with the Queen would not be a good idea as there is a good chance that you would be
giving a trick away With only small trumps there is little to think about
What about something juicy like A84 or K73 Think about what might happen If you lead the Ace (or King) you may be dismayed to see partnerrsquos King (or Ace) come crashing down If declarer has nine trumps then partner has a singleton Of course partner could have two in which case leading the Ace and another trump gets rid of two trumps from dummy straight way but what happens next Either partner wins and will be unable to lead a third round or declarer will win and goes about setting up their ruff in dummy Even if partner gains the lead they will not have a third trump to lead
Instead lead a small trump If partner wins great They may be able to return the suit and you can remove three trumps before declarer even gets started If partner does not win then declarer will start work on getting a ruff If they need to lose a trick first and partner wins it then they may have a second trump which you will win and then draw the third round mission accomplished This is one of the times when underleading an Ace is OK - you are always going to make a trick with the Ace of trumps
Trump leads can feel lsquoscaryrsquo after all trumps are supposed to be declarerrsquos best suit Listen think carefully and you may be able to take away some of the value of their best suit
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 10
Bill is currently the Clubrsquos Harvey Norman Menrsquos Pairs Champion (with Paul Smith) and the Harvey Norman Mixed Pairs Champion (with Marjorie Askew) He is also a member of the Clubrsquos Champion Team
Bill was also a member of the Ballina team which recently won the NSW Country Teams Championship
Bill quietly makes a significant contribution to the Club as Masterpoint Secretary Chair Technology Sub Committee and as a mentor to newer players
Member Profile - William (lsquoBillrsquo) Powell (Silver Grand Master)
by Robert Eldridge
Where were you born
A womenrsquos hospital
Do you have family
Minimal
What led you to move to Australia
I was made an offer I couldnrsquot (well didnrsquot) refuse
What iswas your occupation
I was a computer programmer
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement at work
Fixing most of the bugs I created
You are the Clubrsquos Masterpoint Secretary Please describe what this involves
The role of the MPS is to submit Masterpoints earned at BBC to the ABF Masterpoint Centre In days of yore this would have been quite time consuming but nowadays computers handle
most of the tedium
Why did you to take up Bridge and when
In school (sixth form) as a change from other card games
What is your most embarrassing experience at Bridge
Avoiding a trump endplay by ruffing and exiting in the suit just ruffed (itrsquos happened more than once)
And most satisfying
Reaching the final of the State Teams (and leading after one session)
You are also head of the Clubrsquos Technology Sub Committee What does that involve
Mostly maintenance of the computer systems
What other interests do you have apart from Bridge
I am a keen (but hopeless) golfer
If you had to choose would it be Marjorie Bridge Golf or Cooking and why
Marjorie No contest
What advice do you have for other couples who play Bridge together
For lots of good advice read ldquoHow to Play Bridge With Your Spouse and Surviverdquo by Roselyn Teukolsky
A tip of my own when your other half tables a dummy that you believe should have been bid very differently DO NOT ask ldquoWhere is the hand you had in the auctionrdquo
What are your 3 favourite meals to cook and why
I suspect my culinary skills have been exaggerated My preference is for recipes of the form ldquo combine all ingredients and cook rdquo
A message from our Assistant Secretary
It would be appreciated if all members please advise the Club if there is a change of address phone number or email We want to be able to contact you easily and make sure our emails to you do not bounce back Thanks very much - Linda Maslen
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 11
Ballina Mah Jong Club News
From her sister Elaine Skimmings- Born Shirley Joan Stoy in Lismore the middle child of 5 We enjoyed a happy unblemished childhood with loving happy parents After schooling Shirley started on a long line of careers retraining many times Her first job was as a telephonist at Bonalbo and Casino Moving to Sydney with her husband Bill she undertook secretarial studies and took up positions in that field After the birth of her daughter Louise she moved back to Lismore and continued this line of work She was offered the CEOrsquos position at the then Ex Sevicemens Home and stayed there for many years No matter what the position was she always rose to the top and was highly respected by her co-workers and employers
Shirley was an avid reader and spent time discussing the current book with many fellow membersShe had a keen interest in horse racing and with her 2nd husband Henry owned and raced many horses Indeed every Easter would see them in Sydney enjoying a day out at Randwick On losing Henry she found our wonderful game of Bridge and John so Irsquoll let him go on from here
Vale to Shirley Mazzer
From John Dennis- I met Shirley when she moved to the Gold Coast and signed up for a course of bridge lessons I was conducting at the GC TAFE (around 1990) When the course finished Shirley was offered a job that was too good to refuse and worked at that for some time - so Bridge took a back seat for a few years I next met Shirley in 1994 at Tweed Bridge Club and we started keeping company Shirley and I shared a house soon after as her second husband had passed awayAt this time we lived at Tweed Heads and Shirley put her secretary skills to work at the Banora Bridge Club With my help we moved the club from a social bridge group to an affiliated club with the ABF We put in place club championships presidents cup competitions and congresses Shirley was a very loyal bridge partner and played with a friend for a long time I played as a team member with Shirley and her partner Anne - I played with David Read with some success We returned to this area in 2005 and joined Ballina Bridge Club Shirleyrsquos partners were Dorothy Brumley Pat Preston Cally Mail and Pin Sultas
Shirley passed away at home 2232019 and was cremated 2732019 with a private family Service A celebration of her life will be held at the Point restaurant Ramada Friday 12th April 2 pm to 5pm
The Ballina Mah Jong Club is happy to welcome back Jenny Lang after her successful surgeries
First Place getters for March were
1st March J Small8th March M Brearley15th March V Heinritz and V Reynolds22nd March L Simpson29th March B Lasater
Photo above from the 2018 Ballina Bridge Club Annual awards - shows Shirley Mazzer with one of her Bridge partners Cally Mail receiving the Somerville Laundry Lomax Shield
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 12
NeuRA is an independent not-for-profit research institute based in Sydney As a leader in brain and nervous system research their goal is to prevent treat and cure brain and nervous system diseases disorders and injuries through medical research The Bridge for Brain Research Challenge promotes the benefits of playing bridge whilst helping raise crucial funds to support this research Whatrsquos new in brain and mind research at NeuRA NeuRA researchers are calling upon Bridge Players to use their brain in the name of medical research The Challenge has raised almost half a million dollars since 2004 With this contribution from bridge players to Alzheimerrsquos research NeuRA has 1 Identified a small part at the back of the brain which
degenerates only in people with Alzheimerrsquos disease 2 Developed a guide to genetic testing for dementia and
identified some genes that are modified by factors such as diet and strenuous mental activity
3 Identified changes in growth factors and inflammation occurring in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimerrsquos
For more information on the Challenge go to httpsfoundationneuraeduaubridge and on NeuRA go to wwwneuraeduau
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 13
Nationwide May 1 ndash 7 2019
Play a hand in changing lives
Ballina Bridge Club is supporting this event throughout the week
Please come along
on Wednesday May 1 and play the Bridge for Brain
Challenge Hands
At the end of the session all players will receive a Commentary on the hands and our scores will be
submitted for comparison Australia wide with red points then awarded for the top half of the field
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 14
RESTRICTEDcopy TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
to be held on
Thursdays May 9 amp 16
sponsored by
Please nominate below
sect Pay on the day - normal $5 uml Start-time 1230 for 1245 copy All players lt100mpts at 112019 ordf All players must be members of the Ballina Bridge Club
Event Organiser Marjorie Askew Nominations close Saturday May 4
PS For players with gt100mpts there will be a Pairs Section on these days
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 7
On March 1 fifteen of us headed out from Brisbane Airport and joined a further five from Sydney and two from Darwin for a little over two weeks in Thailand Of the 22 in the group 20 were bridge players with eight coming from the Ballina Club
We spent six nights in Bangkok and enjoyed a dinner river cruise and a tour to the main Floating Market and a magical Woodland Museum Our hotel was close to the first bridge venue the British Club The Club is very much as you would expect a colonial British club to be ndash elegant furnishings British beer on tap and fabulous Thai cooking They celebrate UK Motherrsquos Day of course Most players had regular partners but six of us swapped round to play with each other Our performance here was not strong which we put down to travel the British beer and jetlag
The Club invited us to be Visiting Members with no joining fee Being visiting members of the British Club we were able to charge our meals and drinks to our own individual accounts Very pucker and good till you had
the evening of reckoning when the credit card had to be produced Bills of over 3000 baht are scary even if manageable after conversion
Our second bridge experience in Bangkok was at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club This Club is both exclusive and elegant It has a golf course and a horse racing track round the golf course They have a dedicated bridge room that could probably handle 20+ tables Their banquet was unbelievable Director rulings were a little at variance with ours where a revoke cost you two tricks at all times No argument Again our performance
was mediocre but we put that down to not being accustomed to such sophistication ndash wersquore not used to clubrsquos having their own horse racing track
The Thai Playing Cards Act prevents any person from owning more than 120 cards that have not been registered with the Excise Department This link describes the arrest of 32 who were playing bridge in Pattaya Despite the
The (very) British Club
Jack and Eileen Pierce confusing all at the table in the RBSC
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 8
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
risks involved games of ldquoOh Hellrdquo were played on multiple occasions with multiple packs of cards in the hotel restaurant
Our next stop was Chiang Mai (CM) in the north of Thailand Itrsquos a bit more elevated thus cooler at night and less frenetic It was idyllic weather apart from the pollution caused by fires on the last few days We spent about 10 days here with trips to the Tiger Kingdom Elephant Sanctuary Doi Suthep a most holy temple a Thai Cooking class and lots more Most evenings a group of us would walk to one of the nearby markets and experience delightful Thai street food plus buy trinkets clothing and elephant pants which will be displayed en masse at a future time
We played bridge at the CM Bridge Club which is located next to a Thai restaurant where we had a couple of great meals The CM Club were the most hospitable people you could imagine They even set up a special
one-off game for us on one of their non-playing days which several of their members also attended For those who like more information displayed on Bridgemates the rolling display of how you are performing projected onto a screen visible round the room would have been heaven Most thought it was closer to hell
The standard of bridge at all clubs was quite high At each club we had between 14 and 20 tables in play In CM we had some limited success with two pairs taking out first place in different events The rest of us attributed our poor performance to the ever so moderately priced Tiger beer and caramel popcorn that melted before it got to your mouth
Our lasting memory of the trip is the friendship and enjoyment of the group that travelled the generosity of our hosts and the kindness and thoughtfulness of our guides and the Thai people
Green Curry sous chefs Hilary Lewis Sophie Davis Howard Jeffrey Liz Jeffrey and Judy Weir
George Connell Tiger Whisperer in his very fast running shoes
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 9
Strike by Paul Smith
Newsletter April 2019
There is no denying that the opening lead is one of the more difficult parts of our game When you make the opening lead you can only see your own 13 cards and the auction At every other point in the play of the hand you can see more than half the pack
Often a good approach is to choose a lead which you hope will take or at least develop tricks for your side Leading high cards or leading long suits are both good choices Leading a short suit may develop a trick by receiving a ruff
A different approach is to make a lead which prevents declarer from taking a trick This is the principle behind leading trumps As declarer you will often try to make extra tricks by using dummyrsquos side-suit shortage to ruff your losers As a defender you can try to remove the trumps from dummy to prevent those ruffs taking place
Every rule has exceptions but a good guiding principle is
Lead a trump when the bidding indicates that declarer will lean heavily on dummyrsquos ruffing value to fulfil their contract
When does the bidding indicate that declarer will want to use dummyrsquos ruffing power There are several sorts of auctions which may alert you
What is happening when the bidding goes like this 1spades3spades 4spades Presumably dummy is going to have good trump support four cards or
more and some sort of shortage The auction does not indicate great high card strength but rather distributional values A trump lead is indicated to remove some of the ruffing power
A very different auction is 1spades2diams 2heartsPass What does responder have to pass the 2hearts rebid Obviously short Spades and longer Hearts If you hold good Spades say spadesKJ95 you should be very concerned that declarer will try to ruff their losing Spades Consider leading trumps
What about 1diams2diams 2NT3diams Responder has been offered a No Trump contract but turned it down for the poorer scoring Diamond contract Why They almost certainly have ruffing power because of a shortage You should consider trying to take that power away
You are thinking about a trump lead Which card should you choose Firstly a suit with the Queen would not be a good idea as there is a good chance that you would be
giving a trick away With only small trumps there is little to think about
What about something juicy like A84 or K73 Think about what might happen If you lead the Ace (or King) you may be dismayed to see partnerrsquos King (or Ace) come crashing down If declarer has nine trumps then partner has a singleton Of course partner could have two in which case leading the Ace and another trump gets rid of two trumps from dummy straight way but what happens next Either partner wins and will be unable to lead a third round or declarer will win and goes about setting up their ruff in dummy Even if partner gains the lead they will not have a third trump to lead
Instead lead a small trump If partner wins great They may be able to return the suit and you can remove three trumps before declarer even gets started If partner does not win then declarer will start work on getting a ruff If they need to lose a trick first and partner wins it then they may have a second trump which you will win and then draw the third round mission accomplished This is one of the times when underleading an Ace is OK - you are always going to make a trick with the Ace of trumps
Trump leads can feel lsquoscaryrsquo after all trumps are supposed to be declarerrsquos best suit Listen think carefully and you may be able to take away some of the value of their best suit
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 10
Bill is currently the Clubrsquos Harvey Norman Menrsquos Pairs Champion (with Paul Smith) and the Harvey Norman Mixed Pairs Champion (with Marjorie Askew) He is also a member of the Clubrsquos Champion Team
Bill was also a member of the Ballina team which recently won the NSW Country Teams Championship
Bill quietly makes a significant contribution to the Club as Masterpoint Secretary Chair Technology Sub Committee and as a mentor to newer players
Member Profile - William (lsquoBillrsquo) Powell (Silver Grand Master)
by Robert Eldridge
Where were you born
A womenrsquos hospital
Do you have family
Minimal
What led you to move to Australia
I was made an offer I couldnrsquot (well didnrsquot) refuse
What iswas your occupation
I was a computer programmer
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement at work
Fixing most of the bugs I created
You are the Clubrsquos Masterpoint Secretary Please describe what this involves
The role of the MPS is to submit Masterpoints earned at BBC to the ABF Masterpoint Centre In days of yore this would have been quite time consuming but nowadays computers handle
most of the tedium
Why did you to take up Bridge and when
In school (sixth form) as a change from other card games
What is your most embarrassing experience at Bridge
Avoiding a trump endplay by ruffing and exiting in the suit just ruffed (itrsquos happened more than once)
And most satisfying
Reaching the final of the State Teams (and leading after one session)
You are also head of the Clubrsquos Technology Sub Committee What does that involve
Mostly maintenance of the computer systems
What other interests do you have apart from Bridge
I am a keen (but hopeless) golfer
If you had to choose would it be Marjorie Bridge Golf or Cooking and why
Marjorie No contest
What advice do you have for other couples who play Bridge together
For lots of good advice read ldquoHow to Play Bridge With Your Spouse and Surviverdquo by Roselyn Teukolsky
A tip of my own when your other half tables a dummy that you believe should have been bid very differently DO NOT ask ldquoWhere is the hand you had in the auctionrdquo
What are your 3 favourite meals to cook and why
I suspect my culinary skills have been exaggerated My preference is for recipes of the form ldquo combine all ingredients and cook rdquo
A message from our Assistant Secretary
It would be appreciated if all members please advise the Club if there is a change of address phone number or email We want to be able to contact you easily and make sure our emails to you do not bounce back Thanks very much - Linda Maslen
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 11
Ballina Mah Jong Club News
From her sister Elaine Skimmings- Born Shirley Joan Stoy in Lismore the middle child of 5 We enjoyed a happy unblemished childhood with loving happy parents After schooling Shirley started on a long line of careers retraining many times Her first job was as a telephonist at Bonalbo and Casino Moving to Sydney with her husband Bill she undertook secretarial studies and took up positions in that field After the birth of her daughter Louise she moved back to Lismore and continued this line of work She was offered the CEOrsquos position at the then Ex Sevicemens Home and stayed there for many years No matter what the position was she always rose to the top and was highly respected by her co-workers and employers
Shirley was an avid reader and spent time discussing the current book with many fellow membersShe had a keen interest in horse racing and with her 2nd husband Henry owned and raced many horses Indeed every Easter would see them in Sydney enjoying a day out at Randwick On losing Henry she found our wonderful game of Bridge and John so Irsquoll let him go on from here
Vale to Shirley Mazzer
From John Dennis- I met Shirley when she moved to the Gold Coast and signed up for a course of bridge lessons I was conducting at the GC TAFE (around 1990) When the course finished Shirley was offered a job that was too good to refuse and worked at that for some time - so Bridge took a back seat for a few years I next met Shirley in 1994 at Tweed Bridge Club and we started keeping company Shirley and I shared a house soon after as her second husband had passed awayAt this time we lived at Tweed Heads and Shirley put her secretary skills to work at the Banora Bridge Club With my help we moved the club from a social bridge group to an affiliated club with the ABF We put in place club championships presidents cup competitions and congresses Shirley was a very loyal bridge partner and played with a friend for a long time I played as a team member with Shirley and her partner Anne - I played with David Read with some success We returned to this area in 2005 and joined Ballina Bridge Club Shirleyrsquos partners were Dorothy Brumley Pat Preston Cally Mail and Pin Sultas
Shirley passed away at home 2232019 and was cremated 2732019 with a private family Service A celebration of her life will be held at the Point restaurant Ramada Friday 12th April 2 pm to 5pm
The Ballina Mah Jong Club is happy to welcome back Jenny Lang after her successful surgeries
First Place getters for March were
1st March J Small8th March M Brearley15th March V Heinritz and V Reynolds22nd March L Simpson29th March B Lasater
Photo above from the 2018 Ballina Bridge Club Annual awards - shows Shirley Mazzer with one of her Bridge partners Cally Mail receiving the Somerville Laundry Lomax Shield
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 12
NeuRA is an independent not-for-profit research institute based in Sydney As a leader in brain and nervous system research their goal is to prevent treat and cure brain and nervous system diseases disorders and injuries through medical research The Bridge for Brain Research Challenge promotes the benefits of playing bridge whilst helping raise crucial funds to support this research Whatrsquos new in brain and mind research at NeuRA NeuRA researchers are calling upon Bridge Players to use their brain in the name of medical research The Challenge has raised almost half a million dollars since 2004 With this contribution from bridge players to Alzheimerrsquos research NeuRA has 1 Identified a small part at the back of the brain which
degenerates only in people with Alzheimerrsquos disease 2 Developed a guide to genetic testing for dementia and
identified some genes that are modified by factors such as diet and strenuous mental activity
3 Identified changes in growth factors and inflammation occurring in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimerrsquos
For more information on the Challenge go to httpsfoundationneuraeduaubridge and on NeuRA go to wwwneuraeduau
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 13
Nationwide May 1 ndash 7 2019
Play a hand in changing lives
Ballina Bridge Club is supporting this event throughout the week
Please come along
on Wednesday May 1 and play the Bridge for Brain
Challenge Hands
At the end of the session all players will receive a Commentary on the hands and our scores will be
submitted for comparison Australia wide with red points then awarded for the top half of the field
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 14
RESTRICTEDcopy TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
to be held on
Thursdays May 9 amp 16
sponsored by
Please nominate below
sect Pay on the day - normal $5 uml Start-time 1230 for 1245 copy All players lt100mpts at 112019 ordf All players must be members of the Ballina Bridge Club
Event Organiser Marjorie Askew Nominations close Saturday May 4
PS For players with gt100mpts there will be a Pairs Section on these days
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 8
Bridge in Thailand - by Howard Jeffrey
risks involved games of ldquoOh Hellrdquo were played on multiple occasions with multiple packs of cards in the hotel restaurant
Our next stop was Chiang Mai (CM) in the north of Thailand Itrsquos a bit more elevated thus cooler at night and less frenetic It was idyllic weather apart from the pollution caused by fires on the last few days We spent about 10 days here with trips to the Tiger Kingdom Elephant Sanctuary Doi Suthep a most holy temple a Thai Cooking class and lots more Most evenings a group of us would walk to one of the nearby markets and experience delightful Thai street food plus buy trinkets clothing and elephant pants which will be displayed en masse at a future time
We played bridge at the CM Bridge Club which is located next to a Thai restaurant where we had a couple of great meals The CM Club were the most hospitable people you could imagine They even set up a special
one-off game for us on one of their non-playing days which several of their members also attended For those who like more information displayed on Bridgemates the rolling display of how you are performing projected onto a screen visible round the room would have been heaven Most thought it was closer to hell
The standard of bridge at all clubs was quite high At each club we had between 14 and 20 tables in play In CM we had some limited success with two pairs taking out first place in different events The rest of us attributed our poor performance to the ever so moderately priced Tiger beer and caramel popcorn that melted before it got to your mouth
Our lasting memory of the trip is the friendship and enjoyment of the group that travelled the generosity of our hosts and the kindness and thoughtfulness of our guides and the Thai people
Green Curry sous chefs Hilary Lewis Sophie Davis Howard Jeffrey Liz Jeffrey and Judy Weir
George Connell Tiger Whisperer in his very fast running shoes
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 9
Strike by Paul Smith
Newsletter April 2019
There is no denying that the opening lead is one of the more difficult parts of our game When you make the opening lead you can only see your own 13 cards and the auction At every other point in the play of the hand you can see more than half the pack
Often a good approach is to choose a lead which you hope will take or at least develop tricks for your side Leading high cards or leading long suits are both good choices Leading a short suit may develop a trick by receiving a ruff
A different approach is to make a lead which prevents declarer from taking a trick This is the principle behind leading trumps As declarer you will often try to make extra tricks by using dummyrsquos side-suit shortage to ruff your losers As a defender you can try to remove the trumps from dummy to prevent those ruffs taking place
Every rule has exceptions but a good guiding principle is
Lead a trump when the bidding indicates that declarer will lean heavily on dummyrsquos ruffing value to fulfil their contract
When does the bidding indicate that declarer will want to use dummyrsquos ruffing power There are several sorts of auctions which may alert you
What is happening when the bidding goes like this 1spades3spades 4spades Presumably dummy is going to have good trump support four cards or
more and some sort of shortage The auction does not indicate great high card strength but rather distributional values A trump lead is indicated to remove some of the ruffing power
A very different auction is 1spades2diams 2heartsPass What does responder have to pass the 2hearts rebid Obviously short Spades and longer Hearts If you hold good Spades say spadesKJ95 you should be very concerned that declarer will try to ruff their losing Spades Consider leading trumps
What about 1diams2diams 2NT3diams Responder has been offered a No Trump contract but turned it down for the poorer scoring Diamond contract Why They almost certainly have ruffing power because of a shortage You should consider trying to take that power away
You are thinking about a trump lead Which card should you choose Firstly a suit with the Queen would not be a good idea as there is a good chance that you would be
giving a trick away With only small trumps there is little to think about
What about something juicy like A84 or K73 Think about what might happen If you lead the Ace (or King) you may be dismayed to see partnerrsquos King (or Ace) come crashing down If declarer has nine trumps then partner has a singleton Of course partner could have two in which case leading the Ace and another trump gets rid of two trumps from dummy straight way but what happens next Either partner wins and will be unable to lead a third round or declarer will win and goes about setting up their ruff in dummy Even if partner gains the lead they will not have a third trump to lead
Instead lead a small trump If partner wins great They may be able to return the suit and you can remove three trumps before declarer even gets started If partner does not win then declarer will start work on getting a ruff If they need to lose a trick first and partner wins it then they may have a second trump which you will win and then draw the third round mission accomplished This is one of the times when underleading an Ace is OK - you are always going to make a trick with the Ace of trumps
Trump leads can feel lsquoscaryrsquo after all trumps are supposed to be declarerrsquos best suit Listen think carefully and you may be able to take away some of the value of their best suit
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 10
Bill is currently the Clubrsquos Harvey Norman Menrsquos Pairs Champion (with Paul Smith) and the Harvey Norman Mixed Pairs Champion (with Marjorie Askew) He is also a member of the Clubrsquos Champion Team
Bill was also a member of the Ballina team which recently won the NSW Country Teams Championship
Bill quietly makes a significant contribution to the Club as Masterpoint Secretary Chair Technology Sub Committee and as a mentor to newer players
Member Profile - William (lsquoBillrsquo) Powell (Silver Grand Master)
by Robert Eldridge
Where were you born
A womenrsquos hospital
Do you have family
Minimal
What led you to move to Australia
I was made an offer I couldnrsquot (well didnrsquot) refuse
What iswas your occupation
I was a computer programmer
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement at work
Fixing most of the bugs I created
You are the Clubrsquos Masterpoint Secretary Please describe what this involves
The role of the MPS is to submit Masterpoints earned at BBC to the ABF Masterpoint Centre In days of yore this would have been quite time consuming but nowadays computers handle
most of the tedium
Why did you to take up Bridge and when
In school (sixth form) as a change from other card games
What is your most embarrassing experience at Bridge
Avoiding a trump endplay by ruffing and exiting in the suit just ruffed (itrsquos happened more than once)
And most satisfying
Reaching the final of the State Teams (and leading after one session)
You are also head of the Clubrsquos Technology Sub Committee What does that involve
Mostly maintenance of the computer systems
What other interests do you have apart from Bridge
I am a keen (but hopeless) golfer
If you had to choose would it be Marjorie Bridge Golf or Cooking and why
Marjorie No contest
What advice do you have for other couples who play Bridge together
For lots of good advice read ldquoHow to Play Bridge With Your Spouse and Surviverdquo by Roselyn Teukolsky
A tip of my own when your other half tables a dummy that you believe should have been bid very differently DO NOT ask ldquoWhere is the hand you had in the auctionrdquo
What are your 3 favourite meals to cook and why
I suspect my culinary skills have been exaggerated My preference is for recipes of the form ldquo combine all ingredients and cook rdquo
A message from our Assistant Secretary
It would be appreciated if all members please advise the Club if there is a change of address phone number or email We want to be able to contact you easily and make sure our emails to you do not bounce back Thanks very much - Linda Maslen
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 11
Ballina Mah Jong Club News
From her sister Elaine Skimmings- Born Shirley Joan Stoy in Lismore the middle child of 5 We enjoyed a happy unblemished childhood with loving happy parents After schooling Shirley started on a long line of careers retraining many times Her first job was as a telephonist at Bonalbo and Casino Moving to Sydney with her husband Bill she undertook secretarial studies and took up positions in that field After the birth of her daughter Louise she moved back to Lismore and continued this line of work She was offered the CEOrsquos position at the then Ex Sevicemens Home and stayed there for many years No matter what the position was she always rose to the top and was highly respected by her co-workers and employers
Shirley was an avid reader and spent time discussing the current book with many fellow membersShe had a keen interest in horse racing and with her 2nd husband Henry owned and raced many horses Indeed every Easter would see them in Sydney enjoying a day out at Randwick On losing Henry she found our wonderful game of Bridge and John so Irsquoll let him go on from here
Vale to Shirley Mazzer
From John Dennis- I met Shirley when she moved to the Gold Coast and signed up for a course of bridge lessons I was conducting at the GC TAFE (around 1990) When the course finished Shirley was offered a job that was too good to refuse and worked at that for some time - so Bridge took a back seat for a few years I next met Shirley in 1994 at Tweed Bridge Club and we started keeping company Shirley and I shared a house soon after as her second husband had passed awayAt this time we lived at Tweed Heads and Shirley put her secretary skills to work at the Banora Bridge Club With my help we moved the club from a social bridge group to an affiliated club with the ABF We put in place club championships presidents cup competitions and congresses Shirley was a very loyal bridge partner and played with a friend for a long time I played as a team member with Shirley and her partner Anne - I played with David Read with some success We returned to this area in 2005 and joined Ballina Bridge Club Shirleyrsquos partners were Dorothy Brumley Pat Preston Cally Mail and Pin Sultas
Shirley passed away at home 2232019 and was cremated 2732019 with a private family Service A celebration of her life will be held at the Point restaurant Ramada Friday 12th April 2 pm to 5pm
The Ballina Mah Jong Club is happy to welcome back Jenny Lang after her successful surgeries
First Place getters for March were
1st March J Small8th March M Brearley15th March V Heinritz and V Reynolds22nd March L Simpson29th March B Lasater
Photo above from the 2018 Ballina Bridge Club Annual awards - shows Shirley Mazzer with one of her Bridge partners Cally Mail receiving the Somerville Laundry Lomax Shield
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 12
NeuRA is an independent not-for-profit research institute based in Sydney As a leader in brain and nervous system research their goal is to prevent treat and cure brain and nervous system diseases disorders and injuries through medical research The Bridge for Brain Research Challenge promotes the benefits of playing bridge whilst helping raise crucial funds to support this research Whatrsquos new in brain and mind research at NeuRA NeuRA researchers are calling upon Bridge Players to use their brain in the name of medical research The Challenge has raised almost half a million dollars since 2004 With this contribution from bridge players to Alzheimerrsquos research NeuRA has 1 Identified a small part at the back of the brain which
degenerates only in people with Alzheimerrsquos disease 2 Developed a guide to genetic testing for dementia and
identified some genes that are modified by factors such as diet and strenuous mental activity
3 Identified changes in growth factors and inflammation occurring in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimerrsquos
For more information on the Challenge go to httpsfoundationneuraeduaubridge and on NeuRA go to wwwneuraeduau
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 13
Nationwide May 1 ndash 7 2019
Play a hand in changing lives
Ballina Bridge Club is supporting this event throughout the week
Please come along
on Wednesday May 1 and play the Bridge for Brain
Challenge Hands
At the end of the session all players will receive a Commentary on the hands and our scores will be
submitted for comparison Australia wide with red points then awarded for the top half of the field
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 14
RESTRICTEDcopy TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
to be held on
Thursdays May 9 amp 16
sponsored by
Please nominate below
sect Pay on the day - normal $5 uml Start-time 1230 for 1245 copy All players lt100mpts at 112019 ordf All players must be members of the Ballina Bridge Club
Event Organiser Marjorie Askew Nominations close Saturday May 4
PS For players with gt100mpts there will be a Pairs Section on these days
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 9
Strike by Paul Smith
Newsletter April 2019
There is no denying that the opening lead is one of the more difficult parts of our game When you make the opening lead you can only see your own 13 cards and the auction At every other point in the play of the hand you can see more than half the pack
Often a good approach is to choose a lead which you hope will take or at least develop tricks for your side Leading high cards or leading long suits are both good choices Leading a short suit may develop a trick by receiving a ruff
A different approach is to make a lead which prevents declarer from taking a trick This is the principle behind leading trumps As declarer you will often try to make extra tricks by using dummyrsquos side-suit shortage to ruff your losers As a defender you can try to remove the trumps from dummy to prevent those ruffs taking place
Every rule has exceptions but a good guiding principle is
Lead a trump when the bidding indicates that declarer will lean heavily on dummyrsquos ruffing value to fulfil their contract
When does the bidding indicate that declarer will want to use dummyrsquos ruffing power There are several sorts of auctions which may alert you
What is happening when the bidding goes like this 1spades3spades 4spades Presumably dummy is going to have good trump support four cards or
more and some sort of shortage The auction does not indicate great high card strength but rather distributional values A trump lead is indicated to remove some of the ruffing power
A very different auction is 1spades2diams 2heartsPass What does responder have to pass the 2hearts rebid Obviously short Spades and longer Hearts If you hold good Spades say spadesKJ95 you should be very concerned that declarer will try to ruff their losing Spades Consider leading trumps
What about 1diams2diams 2NT3diams Responder has been offered a No Trump contract but turned it down for the poorer scoring Diamond contract Why They almost certainly have ruffing power because of a shortage You should consider trying to take that power away
You are thinking about a trump lead Which card should you choose Firstly a suit with the Queen would not be a good idea as there is a good chance that you would be
giving a trick away With only small trumps there is little to think about
What about something juicy like A84 or K73 Think about what might happen If you lead the Ace (or King) you may be dismayed to see partnerrsquos King (or Ace) come crashing down If declarer has nine trumps then partner has a singleton Of course partner could have two in which case leading the Ace and another trump gets rid of two trumps from dummy straight way but what happens next Either partner wins and will be unable to lead a third round or declarer will win and goes about setting up their ruff in dummy Even if partner gains the lead they will not have a third trump to lead
Instead lead a small trump If partner wins great They may be able to return the suit and you can remove three trumps before declarer even gets started If partner does not win then declarer will start work on getting a ruff If they need to lose a trick first and partner wins it then they may have a second trump which you will win and then draw the third round mission accomplished This is one of the times when underleading an Ace is OK - you are always going to make a trick with the Ace of trumps
Trump leads can feel lsquoscaryrsquo after all trumps are supposed to be declarerrsquos best suit Listen think carefully and you may be able to take away some of the value of their best suit
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 10
Bill is currently the Clubrsquos Harvey Norman Menrsquos Pairs Champion (with Paul Smith) and the Harvey Norman Mixed Pairs Champion (with Marjorie Askew) He is also a member of the Clubrsquos Champion Team
Bill was also a member of the Ballina team which recently won the NSW Country Teams Championship
Bill quietly makes a significant contribution to the Club as Masterpoint Secretary Chair Technology Sub Committee and as a mentor to newer players
Member Profile - William (lsquoBillrsquo) Powell (Silver Grand Master)
by Robert Eldridge
Where were you born
A womenrsquos hospital
Do you have family
Minimal
What led you to move to Australia
I was made an offer I couldnrsquot (well didnrsquot) refuse
What iswas your occupation
I was a computer programmer
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement at work
Fixing most of the bugs I created
You are the Clubrsquos Masterpoint Secretary Please describe what this involves
The role of the MPS is to submit Masterpoints earned at BBC to the ABF Masterpoint Centre In days of yore this would have been quite time consuming but nowadays computers handle
most of the tedium
Why did you to take up Bridge and when
In school (sixth form) as a change from other card games
What is your most embarrassing experience at Bridge
Avoiding a trump endplay by ruffing and exiting in the suit just ruffed (itrsquos happened more than once)
And most satisfying
Reaching the final of the State Teams (and leading after one session)
You are also head of the Clubrsquos Technology Sub Committee What does that involve
Mostly maintenance of the computer systems
What other interests do you have apart from Bridge
I am a keen (but hopeless) golfer
If you had to choose would it be Marjorie Bridge Golf or Cooking and why
Marjorie No contest
What advice do you have for other couples who play Bridge together
For lots of good advice read ldquoHow to Play Bridge With Your Spouse and Surviverdquo by Roselyn Teukolsky
A tip of my own when your other half tables a dummy that you believe should have been bid very differently DO NOT ask ldquoWhere is the hand you had in the auctionrdquo
What are your 3 favourite meals to cook and why
I suspect my culinary skills have been exaggerated My preference is for recipes of the form ldquo combine all ingredients and cook rdquo
A message from our Assistant Secretary
It would be appreciated if all members please advise the Club if there is a change of address phone number or email We want to be able to contact you easily and make sure our emails to you do not bounce back Thanks very much - Linda Maslen
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 11
Ballina Mah Jong Club News
From her sister Elaine Skimmings- Born Shirley Joan Stoy in Lismore the middle child of 5 We enjoyed a happy unblemished childhood with loving happy parents After schooling Shirley started on a long line of careers retraining many times Her first job was as a telephonist at Bonalbo and Casino Moving to Sydney with her husband Bill she undertook secretarial studies and took up positions in that field After the birth of her daughter Louise she moved back to Lismore and continued this line of work She was offered the CEOrsquos position at the then Ex Sevicemens Home and stayed there for many years No matter what the position was she always rose to the top and was highly respected by her co-workers and employers
Shirley was an avid reader and spent time discussing the current book with many fellow membersShe had a keen interest in horse racing and with her 2nd husband Henry owned and raced many horses Indeed every Easter would see them in Sydney enjoying a day out at Randwick On losing Henry she found our wonderful game of Bridge and John so Irsquoll let him go on from here
Vale to Shirley Mazzer
From John Dennis- I met Shirley when she moved to the Gold Coast and signed up for a course of bridge lessons I was conducting at the GC TAFE (around 1990) When the course finished Shirley was offered a job that was too good to refuse and worked at that for some time - so Bridge took a back seat for a few years I next met Shirley in 1994 at Tweed Bridge Club and we started keeping company Shirley and I shared a house soon after as her second husband had passed awayAt this time we lived at Tweed Heads and Shirley put her secretary skills to work at the Banora Bridge Club With my help we moved the club from a social bridge group to an affiliated club with the ABF We put in place club championships presidents cup competitions and congresses Shirley was a very loyal bridge partner and played with a friend for a long time I played as a team member with Shirley and her partner Anne - I played with David Read with some success We returned to this area in 2005 and joined Ballina Bridge Club Shirleyrsquos partners were Dorothy Brumley Pat Preston Cally Mail and Pin Sultas
Shirley passed away at home 2232019 and was cremated 2732019 with a private family Service A celebration of her life will be held at the Point restaurant Ramada Friday 12th April 2 pm to 5pm
The Ballina Mah Jong Club is happy to welcome back Jenny Lang after her successful surgeries
First Place getters for March were
1st March J Small8th March M Brearley15th March V Heinritz and V Reynolds22nd March L Simpson29th March B Lasater
Photo above from the 2018 Ballina Bridge Club Annual awards - shows Shirley Mazzer with one of her Bridge partners Cally Mail receiving the Somerville Laundry Lomax Shield
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 12
NeuRA is an independent not-for-profit research institute based in Sydney As a leader in brain and nervous system research their goal is to prevent treat and cure brain and nervous system diseases disorders and injuries through medical research The Bridge for Brain Research Challenge promotes the benefits of playing bridge whilst helping raise crucial funds to support this research Whatrsquos new in brain and mind research at NeuRA NeuRA researchers are calling upon Bridge Players to use their brain in the name of medical research The Challenge has raised almost half a million dollars since 2004 With this contribution from bridge players to Alzheimerrsquos research NeuRA has 1 Identified a small part at the back of the brain which
degenerates only in people with Alzheimerrsquos disease 2 Developed a guide to genetic testing for dementia and
identified some genes that are modified by factors such as diet and strenuous mental activity
3 Identified changes in growth factors and inflammation occurring in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimerrsquos
For more information on the Challenge go to httpsfoundationneuraeduaubridge and on NeuRA go to wwwneuraeduau
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 13
Nationwide May 1 ndash 7 2019
Play a hand in changing lives
Ballina Bridge Club is supporting this event throughout the week
Please come along
on Wednesday May 1 and play the Bridge for Brain
Challenge Hands
At the end of the session all players will receive a Commentary on the hands and our scores will be
submitted for comparison Australia wide with red points then awarded for the top half of the field
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 14
RESTRICTEDcopy TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
to be held on
Thursdays May 9 amp 16
sponsored by
Please nominate below
sect Pay on the day - normal $5 uml Start-time 1230 for 1245 copy All players lt100mpts at 112019 ordf All players must be members of the Ballina Bridge Club
Event Organiser Marjorie Askew Nominations close Saturday May 4
PS For players with gt100mpts there will be a Pairs Section on these days
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 10
Bill is currently the Clubrsquos Harvey Norman Menrsquos Pairs Champion (with Paul Smith) and the Harvey Norman Mixed Pairs Champion (with Marjorie Askew) He is also a member of the Clubrsquos Champion Team
Bill was also a member of the Ballina team which recently won the NSW Country Teams Championship
Bill quietly makes a significant contribution to the Club as Masterpoint Secretary Chair Technology Sub Committee and as a mentor to newer players
Member Profile - William (lsquoBillrsquo) Powell (Silver Grand Master)
by Robert Eldridge
Where were you born
A womenrsquos hospital
Do you have family
Minimal
What led you to move to Australia
I was made an offer I couldnrsquot (well didnrsquot) refuse
What iswas your occupation
I was a computer programmer
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement at work
Fixing most of the bugs I created
You are the Clubrsquos Masterpoint Secretary Please describe what this involves
The role of the MPS is to submit Masterpoints earned at BBC to the ABF Masterpoint Centre In days of yore this would have been quite time consuming but nowadays computers handle
most of the tedium
Why did you to take up Bridge and when
In school (sixth form) as a change from other card games
What is your most embarrassing experience at Bridge
Avoiding a trump endplay by ruffing and exiting in the suit just ruffed (itrsquos happened more than once)
And most satisfying
Reaching the final of the State Teams (and leading after one session)
You are also head of the Clubrsquos Technology Sub Committee What does that involve
Mostly maintenance of the computer systems
What other interests do you have apart from Bridge
I am a keen (but hopeless) golfer
If you had to choose would it be Marjorie Bridge Golf or Cooking and why
Marjorie No contest
What advice do you have for other couples who play Bridge together
For lots of good advice read ldquoHow to Play Bridge With Your Spouse and Surviverdquo by Roselyn Teukolsky
A tip of my own when your other half tables a dummy that you believe should have been bid very differently DO NOT ask ldquoWhere is the hand you had in the auctionrdquo
What are your 3 favourite meals to cook and why
I suspect my culinary skills have been exaggerated My preference is for recipes of the form ldquo combine all ingredients and cook rdquo
A message from our Assistant Secretary
It would be appreciated if all members please advise the Club if there is a change of address phone number or email We want to be able to contact you easily and make sure our emails to you do not bounce back Thanks very much - Linda Maslen
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 11
Ballina Mah Jong Club News
From her sister Elaine Skimmings- Born Shirley Joan Stoy in Lismore the middle child of 5 We enjoyed a happy unblemished childhood with loving happy parents After schooling Shirley started on a long line of careers retraining many times Her first job was as a telephonist at Bonalbo and Casino Moving to Sydney with her husband Bill she undertook secretarial studies and took up positions in that field After the birth of her daughter Louise she moved back to Lismore and continued this line of work She was offered the CEOrsquos position at the then Ex Sevicemens Home and stayed there for many years No matter what the position was she always rose to the top and was highly respected by her co-workers and employers
Shirley was an avid reader and spent time discussing the current book with many fellow membersShe had a keen interest in horse racing and with her 2nd husband Henry owned and raced many horses Indeed every Easter would see them in Sydney enjoying a day out at Randwick On losing Henry she found our wonderful game of Bridge and John so Irsquoll let him go on from here
Vale to Shirley Mazzer
From John Dennis- I met Shirley when she moved to the Gold Coast and signed up for a course of bridge lessons I was conducting at the GC TAFE (around 1990) When the course finished Shirley was offered a job that was too good to refuse and worked at that for some time - so Bridge took a back seat for a few years I next met Shirley in 1994 at Tweed Bridge Club and we started keeping company Shirley and I shared a house soon after as her second husband had passed awayAt this time we lived at Tweed Heads and Shirley put her secretary skills to work at the Banora Bridge Club With my help we moved the club from a social bridge group to an affiliated club with the ABF We put in place club championships presidents cup competitions and congresses Shirley was a very loyal bridge partner and played with a friend for a long time I played as a team member with Shirley and her partner Anne - I played with David Read with some success We returned to this area in 2005 and joined Ballina Bridge Club Shirleyrsquos partners were Dorothy Brumley Pat Preston Cally Mail and Pin Sultas
Shirley passed away at home 2232019 and was cremated 2732019 with a private family Service A celebration of her life will be held at the Point restaurant Ramada Friday 12th April 2 pm to 5pm
The Ballina Mah Jong Club is happy to welcome back Jenny Lang after her successful surgeries
First Place getters for March were
1st March J Small8th March M Brearley15th March V Heinritz and V Reynolds22nd March L Simpson29th March B Lasater
Photo above from the 2018 Ballina Bridge Club Annual awards - shows Shirley Mazzer with one of her Bridge partners Cally Mail receiving the Somerville Laundry Lomax Shield
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 12
NeuRA is an independent not-for-profit research institute based in Sydney As a leader in brain and nervous system research their goal is to prevent treat and cure brain and nervous system diseases disorders and injuries through medical research The Bridge for Brain Research Challenge promotes the benefits of playing bridge whilst helping raise crucial funds to support this research Whatrsquos new in brain and mind research at NeuRA NeuRA researchers are calling upon Bridge Players to use their brain in the name of medical research The Challenge has raised almost half a million dollars since 2004 With this contribution from bridge players to Alzheimerrsquos research NeuRA has 1 Identified a small part at the back of the brain which
degenerates only in people with Alzheimerrsquos disease 2 Developed a guide to genetic testing for dementia and
identified some genes that are modified by factors such as diet and strenuous mental activity
3 Identified changes in growth factors and inflammation occurring in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimerrsquos
For more information on the Challenge go to httpsfoundationneuraeduaubridge and on NeuRA go to wwwneuraeduau
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 13
Nationwide May 1 ndash 7 2019
Play a hand in changing lives
Ballina Bridge Club is supporting this event throughout the week
Please come along
on Wednesday May 1 and play the Bridge for Brain
Challenge Hands
At the end of the session all players will receive a Commentary on the hands and our scores will be
submitted for comparison Australia wide with red points then awarded for the top half of the field
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 14
RESTRICTEDcopy TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
to be held on
Thursdays May 9 amp 16
sponsored by
Please nominate below
sect Pay on the day - normal $5 uml Start-time 1230 for 1245 copy All players lt100mpts at 112019 ordf All players must be members of the Ballina Bridge Club
Event Organiser Marjorie Askew Nominations close Saturday May 4
PS For players with gt100mpts there will be a Pairs Section on these days
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 11
Ballina Mah Jong Club News
From her sister Elaine Skimmings- Born Shirley Joan Stoy in Lismore the middle child of 5 We enjoyed a happy unblemished childhood with loving happy parents After schooling Shirley started on a long line of careers retraining many times Her first job was as a telephonist at Bonalbo and Casino Moving to Sydney with her husband Bill she undertook secretarial studies and took up positions in that field After the birth of her daughter Louise she moved back to Lismore and continued this line of work She was offered the CEOrsquos position at the then Ex Sevicemens Home and stayed there for many years No matter what the position was she always rose to the top and was highly respected by her co-workers and employers
Shirley was an avid reader and spent time discussing the current book with many fellow membersShe had a keen interest in horse racing and with her 2nd husband Henry owned and raced many horses Indeed every Easter would see them in Sydney enjoying a day out at Randwick On losing Henry she found our wonderful game of Bridge and John so Irsquoll let him go on from here
Vale to Shirley Mazzer
From John Dennis- I met Shirley when she moved to the Gold Coast and signed up for a course of bridge lessons I was conducting at the GC TAFE (around 1990) When the course finished Shirley was offered a job that was too good to refuse and worked at that for some time - so Bridge took a back seat for a few years I next met Shirley in 1994 at Tweed Bridge Club and we started keeping company Shirley and I shared a house soon after as her second husband had passed awayAt this time we lived at Tweed Heads and Shirley put her secretary skills to work at the Banora Bridge Club With my help we moved the club from a social bridge group to an affiliated club with the ABF We put in place club championships presidents cup competitions and congresses Shirley was a very loyal bridge partner and played with a friend for a long time I played as a team member with Shirley and her partner Anne - I played with David Read with some success We returned to this area in 2005 and joined Ballina Bridge Club Shirleyrsquos partners were Dorothy Brumley Pat Preston Cally Mail and Pin Sultas
Shirley passed away at home 2232019 and was cremated 2732019 with a private family Service A celebration of her life will be held at the Point restaurant Ramada Friday 12th April 2 pm to 5pm
The Ballina Mah Jong Club is happy to welcome back Jenny Lang after her successful surgeries
First Place getters for March were
1st March J Small8th March M Brearley15th March V Heinritz and V Reynolds22nd March L Simpson29th March B Lasater
Photo above from the 2018 Ballina Bridge Club Annual awards - shows Shirley Mazzer with one of her Bridge partners Cally Mail receiving the Somerville Laundry Lomax Shield
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 12
NeuRA is an independent not-for-profit research institute based in Sydney As a leader in brain and nervous system research their goal is to prevent treat and cure brain and nervous system diseases disorders and injuries through medical research The Bridge for Brain Research Challenge promotes the benefits of playing bridge whilst helping raise crucial funds to support this research Whatrsquos new in brain and mind research at NeuRA NeuRA researchers are calling upon Bridge Players to use their brain in the name of medical research The Challenge has raised almost half a million dollars since 2004 With this contribution from bridge players to Alzheimerrsquos research NeuRA has 1 Identified a small part at the back of the brain which
degenerates only in people with Alzheimerrsquos disease 2 Developed a guide to genetic testing for dementia and
identified some genes that are modified by factors such as diet and strenuous mental activity
3 Identified changes in growth factors and inflammation occurring in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimerrsquos
For more information on the Challenge go to httpsfoundationneuraeduaubridge and on NeuRA go to wwwneuraeduau
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 13
Nationwide May 1 ndash 7 2019
Play a hand in changing lives
Ballina Bridge Club is supporting this event throughout the week
Please come along
on Wednesday May 1 and play the Bridge for Brain
Challenge Hands
At the end of the session all players will receive a Commentary on the hands and our scores will be
submitted for comparison Australia wide with red points then awarded for the top half of the field
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 14
RESTRICTEDcopy TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
to be held on
Thursdays May 9 amp 16
sponsored by
Please nominate below
sect Pay on the day - normal $5 uml Start-time 1230 for 1245 copy All players lt100mpts at 112019 ordf All players must be members of the Ballina Bridge Club
Event Organiser Marjorie Askew Nominations close Saturday May 4
PS For players with gt100mpts there will be a Pairs Section on these days
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 12
NeuRA is an independent not-for-profit research institute based in Sydney As a leader in brain and nervous system research their goal is to prevent treat and cure brain and nervous system diseases disorders and injuries through medical research The Bridge for Brain Research Challenge promotes the benefits of playing bridge whilst helping raise crucial funds to support this research Whatrsquos new in brain and mind research at NeuRA NeuRA researchers are calling upon Bridge Players to use their brain in the name of medical research The Challenge has raised almost half a million dollars since 2004 With this contribution from bridge players to Alzheimerrsquos research NeuRA has 1 Identified a small part at the back of the brain which
degenerates only in people with Alzheimerrsquos disease 2 Developed a guide to genetic testing for dementia and
identified some genes that are modified by factors such as diet and strenuous mental activity
3 Identified changes in growth factors and inflammation occurring in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimerrsquos
For more information on the Challenge go to httpsfoundationneuraeduaubridge and on NeuRA go to wwwneuraeduau
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 13
Nationwide May 1 ndash 7 2019
Play a hand in changing lives
Ballina Bridge Club is supporting this event throughout the week
Please come along
on Wednesday May 1 and play the Bridge for Brain
Challenge Hands
At the end of the session all players will receive a Commentary on the hands and our scores will be
submitted for comparison Australia wide with red points then awarded for the top half of the field
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 14
RESTRICTEDcopy TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
to be held on
Thursdays May 9 amp 16
sponsored by
Please nominate below
sect Pay on the day - normal $5 uml Start-time 1230 for 1245 copy All players lt100mpts at 112019 ordf All players must be members of the Ballina Bridge Club
Event Organiser Marjorie Askew Nominations close Saturday May 4
PS For players with gt100mpts there will be a Pairs Section on these days
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 13
Nationwide May 1 ndash 7 2019
Play a hand in changing lives
Ballina Bridge Club is supporting this event throughout the week
Please come along
on Wednesday May 1 and play the Bridge for Brain
Challenge Hands
At the end of the session all players will receive a Commentary on the hands and our scores will be
submitted for comparison Australia wide with red points then awarded for the top half of the field
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 14
RESTRICTEDcopy TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
to be held on
Thursdays May 9 amp 16
sponsored by
Please nominate below
sect Pay on the day - normal $5 uml Start-time 1230 for 1245 copy All players lt100mpts at 112019 ordf All players must be members of the Ballina Bridge Club
Event Organiser Marjorie Askew Nominations close Saturday May 4
PS For players with gt100mpts there will be a Pairs Section on these days
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 14
RESTRICTEDcopy TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
to be held on
Thursdays May 9 amp 16
sponsored by
Please nominate below
sect Pay on the day - normal $5 uml Start-time 1230 for 1245 copy All players lt100mpts at 112019 ordf All players must be members of the Ballina Bridge Club
Event Organiser Marjorie Askew Nominations close Saturday May 4
PS For players with gt100mpts there will be a Pairs Section on these days
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf
Ballina Bridge Club Newsletter Page| 15
FallintoWinterGradedPairs
WednesdaysMay15June19July17
SectionAOpenSectionBPlayerswithlt300masterpointsasat31March
+Playerswithlessthan300masterpointsmaychoosewhichsectiontheywishtoplayinTheeventwillberunasaneclecticeventwithbest2scorescountingforoverallplacingsYoudonothavetoplayallroundsyoucanplay12or3Nopre-nominationjustturnupandplayPlayCommittee
sect uml copy ordf