LIBRARY CORNER

How You Can Play Like an Expert (Without Having to Be One) Mel Colchamiro

The author is a full time teacher and bridge professional from New York, and the book's cover notes that he is a National Swiss Team Champion. The book seller at Gatlinburg said that this book is his (the book seller's) best selling book by far.

There are a lot of "Mel's Rules" listed in the Table of Contents, as well as other bridge tips, but perhaps the most interesting items are those the author mentions in the Acknowledgments. "And that's the way I play: unafraid and brave, sometimes humbled, and hopefully not too stupidly too often." "When playing the cards understand that 'things are exactly as they appear to be.' Do normal things, because things are usually normal." "...never forget to enjoy playing the game we love. ..." Apply those tips along with the many related to the game itself in this helpful book.

UNIT 206 CHIT CHAT Volume 4 Issue 5 Monthly Publication of ACBL Unit 206 May 2013

Editor: Sandy Cervantes Features Editor: Marcia Lanphear

Assistant Editor: Cheryl Whitfield Staff: Charise Ovalle

BRIDGE TIP FOR MAY

Count your side-suit winners plus your trump-suit winners before em-barking on a crossruff. Eddie Kantar

BRIDGE ETIQUETTE

When a hand is over, make sure you do not pick

up and mix your cards until you, your partner, and

the opponents agree on the results.

We’ve Gotta Crow!

Join Us for the New Life Master Party

Saturday, May 11, 2013 Lunch at 12:00 Noon/Game at 1:00

Sign up at the Bridge Center if you plan to come. Meat and beverages will be provided by the CBC. Members will

provide appetizers, side dishes, and desserts.

HONOREES

Suzanne Atchley David Brown Johnny Burns Linda Burns Kathy Ellis

Joyce Feher Ian Madden Pat Whitaker

Spotlight on ...

THE NICHOLS

Just when we think we've suffered too many losses in membership at our Bridge Center, along came Grady and Suzanne Nichols, like a breath of fresh air. They, and couples like them, are the life-blood for our continuing bridge clubs. Always cheerful and friendly to us and kind to each other —not always a trait in mar-ried couples —they are a pleasure to have around. Grady and Suzanne Nichols met over 50 years ago at what is now Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Grady, just out of the Navy, tried Auburn, but they were full of G.I.s so Samford was the next step. Suzanne’s parents wanted her to go to her Mother’s alma mater, leaving their KY horse farms, and marry a Baptist minister. Yes, she re-belled and married Grady instead.

Grady learned bridge at Suzanne’s sorority house. Samford’s ministerial students called sorority houses “The Dens of Sin.” Suzanne had bor-ingly watched her parents play bridge with friends, but it was much more fun at the sorority.

When Grady took Suzanne to meet his parents just south of Birmingham where his Dad was a house contractor and farmed, she thought, “I did come to college to get my MRS degree.” After their wedding at Oakland Baptist Church just north of Bowling Green, they headed to Boston to complete their educations. Grady received his Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from M.I.T., and Suzanne got a 2-year degree from Boston University and a baby girl. No time for Bridge.

General Motors Proving Ground was Grady’s first job. While in Michigan their second daughter was born. Then, he was on to Goddard Space Flight Center, just north of Washington D.C., where he worked on the satellites Nimbus and Tyros. They now had time to play party bridge.

The South was calling, so back to Birmingham where Grady eventually became Vice President of Southern Research Institutes’ Environ-ment Department, and Suzanne finally got her Bachelor’s and M.B.A. at Samford. Two years as a Municipal Analysis Officer at Regions Bank was all Suzanne could take, so back to college to eventually become an Assistant Professor at the University of Montevallo. Again they played party bridge in the small University town of Montevallo, where they lived for about 20 years.

Grady was introduced to dirt while hoeing in the cotton fields in Alabama, never realizing how important dirt would be in his career. His specialty is controlling the amount of dirt that is emitted from coal burning power plants. In reality, dirt has allowed Grady to receive his Ph.D. from Tokyo University and consult in many countries. Yes, Grady failed retirement, and after three weeks started his own dirt-control consulting company.

In 2001, Grady and Suzanne started learning and playing duplicate. They moved to Chattanooga in 2012 from the Gulf Coast of Mississippi to live half-way between their two daughters, sons-in-law, and four grandchildren. The Knoxville daughter Patti is the Attending Veterinarian at U.T. Knoxville, and the Atlanta daughter Pam retired from being an electrical engineer for Southern Company to have their grandchildren.

When not playing bridge, Suzanne takes art lessons. Her favorite medium is watercolor, and she tries to be an impressionist but also likes to do abstracts. She serves on the Social Committee of the Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club and is a member of her neighborhood book club.

Grady's other interests include vegetable gardening in a tiny little plot in their yard, but there are so many trees that the amount of sun available is limited. Grady is also an avid crossword puzzle worker and every year goes pheasant hunting in Kansas and South Dakota with their Knoxville son-in-law Jerry. He did shoot competitively until Suzanne accidentally threw his pistols away. It takes a strong marriage to survive an incident like that. The Nichols love to dance, doing the swing, fox-trot, and the oldies from the Frank Sinatra days.

Grady calls Suzanne a "Professional Grandmother," and she tries to live up to that name. Her favorite thing to do, even better than playing bridge, is to take the grandchildren on trips and show them this wonderful world. They even have to take tests that she writes about their travels together. They only complete these tests because she rewards them with money.

The Nichols grandchildren are: Ashley, who graduated from the University of Georgia and then went to Simmons College in Boston for her R. N. degree. She works in Labor and Delivery at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. If she has a medical question, she just calls her dad, Dr. Don. She even talks to "Gran Gran" Suzanne about her love-life. Trey, the oldest grandson, will graduate from Auburn in May as an electrical engineer. Grady is especially proud of this accomplishment because this will be the third generation of electrical engineers—Grady the first, Pam the second, and now Trey. Trey has a job in Atlanta. Sixteen-year-old Jason is now driving. NO, his grandparents have not ridden with him yet. He is a basketball player and a drummer in the Farragut High School Band. The band was fortunate enough to play in London's New Year's 1912 parade. Twelve-year-old James Patrick, Jason's brother, is a scout, plays baseball, plays the sax, likes to shoot competitively, and still makes excellent grades. The Knoxville family owns dogs and guinea pigs, and it is the wish that one boy will choose to be a veterinarian like their mom Patti.

So—although you can see that it's hard for our Bridge Center to hold a candle to the grandchildren in the Nichols' affection, it's good to know they like us well enough to become "regulars.” Welcome!

Do you know….

What ’s a Sandwich No Trump? The Sandwich NT is a conventional bid (alertable) of 1NT after opponents have bid different suits. It is cousin to the Unusual NT in that it shows a weak, 2-suited hand with at least 5-5 shape (although some will play 5-4 shape at favorable vulnerability). The purpose of this bid is to compete with weaker hands at a lower level. The Sandwich NT bid gives up the meaning of a full, natural NT bid, but most experts agree that this bid rarely occurs when both opponents have bid. The name is derived from the position of the advancer—he is “sandwiched” between the two opponents.

Look at the following example:

You hold: ♠ 3 North East South You ♥ AT762 1C Pass 1S ? ♦ KT943 ♣ 93

Here, you would bid 1NT (Sandwich NT) telling partner that you have a 2-suited hand with diamonds and hearts (the 2 unbid suits). With only 7 points, you would be most comfortable playing at the 2 level. Bidding the UNT would show better values since partner must bid at the 3 level and a TOX would show more strength and less distribution.

With the following examples, you may choose different approaches:

Hand 1 Hand 2 North East South You ♠ 3 ♠ 3 1C Pass 1S ? ♥ AK632 ♥ KJT982 ♦ AQ874 ♦ KQT87 ♣ 93 ♣ 9

With Hand 1, you have opening values and can make a TOX to show a hand this strong. With Hand 2, your hearts and diamonds are better ( 6/5 distribution with 9 HCP versus 7 and good intermediates). You may want to make a preemp-tive 2NT bid to make life difficult for the opponents.

In response to the Sandwich NT, partner is expected to bid one of your two suits if LHO passes. A jump raise is preemptive, non-forcing and shows at least 4-card support.

God could not be everywhere, and

therefore he made mothers.

Rudyard Kipling

Happy Mother’s Day

May 12th

MEMORIAL DAY

MAY 27th

Hey, Listen Up! Every Tuesday and every second Friday, there is a game at the Brad-ley County Senior Center in Cleveland. Everyone is welcome, and there’s always a nice array of treats provided by the players. The game starts at 1:00 pm. Seats are assigned, so please make reserva-

tions with Teresa Moore by calling her at 706-861-7105 or emailing her at moretea42@gmail.com. Please plan to arrive at the Senior Center by 12:45pm. This month’s Friday game is on May 10th.

CLEVELAND NEWS

In Memoriam

GOOD-BYE SWEET SUE

On April 4th, we lost a dear friend when Sue Jones succumbed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She fought the good fight and up until the end, Sue was sweet, cheerful ,and smiling. Sweet is the perfect adjective for Sue—she was a sweet lady with a sweet disposition and sweet smile. She loved bridge and sharing her passion for the game with others. Always in good spirits, even when times were ex-tremely tough, Sue was the epitome of a good partner. She praised and com-plimented her partners even when they didn’t deserve the accolades and always was humble in accepting any credit for her play. Sue was a fighter—on the tennis courts, at the bridge table, and in life, and she would not let obstacles get in her way. It was because of her positive

attitude that we thought she would be able to defeat the ravages of COPD. Unfortunately, the disease proved stronger than Sue. We will miss her enthusiasm, her optimism, her sunny disposition, and her spirit. We will miss her charming personality and kind words. And, perhaps most of all, we will miss her sweet smile and twinkling eyes. We send our most heartfelt condolences to her family and close friends. She will truly be missed.

99ER GAME

If you have 99 MPs or fewer, you are eli-

gible to play in our new 99er game held

every 4th and 5th Friday of the month at 1:00 pm.

Our next game is scheduled for May 24. Cost is

$5.00, and although players are encouraged to come

with a partner, don’t let that hold you back. There will

be a guaranteed partner for the first several games.

This game is played in an easy, low-key environment

and at a slower pace. It is the perfect setting for

newcomers to practice and learn. Contact Sandy

Cervantes (423.315.1953) for more information.

♦♣♥♠♦♣♥♠♦♣♥

CHANGE OF RANK

April, 2013

Information was unavailable at the

time of the newsletter publication.

CBC GAME SCHEDULE

Sunday 1:30 Open Game Monday 10:00 1st, 3rd & 5th/ Open Game 6:30 Mini Lesson 7:00 NLM Game Tuesday 12:00 Open Game Wednesday 12:00 Open Game Thursday 6:30 Open Game Friday 1:00 1st, & 3rd/ Play & Practice 1:00 2nd/Novice Lesson 1:00 4th & 5th/ 99’er Game

HIGH GAMES FOR APRIL

Chattanooga

Open Cheryl Whitfield/Sandy Cervantes 75.00 NLM Richard Weems/Mary Rhoden 75.00 99’er Unsanctioned Game

Cleveland

Marcia Lanphear/John Herrmann 65.37

Fairyland

Marcia Lanphear/John Herrmann 72.40

On Wednesday, May 8, at 12 noon, the CBC will hold its second International

Fund Game. There will be hand records with analysis of the hands and 1/2

black and 1/2 red master points will be awarded. Cost is $6.00.

Also, most of the games held the first week in May are club championship

games—that means extra points for no extra money.

Way to Go!

Congratulations to the winning teams in last month’s GNT qualifiers:

Ray Hall, Hank Muftuoglu, Keith Honnold, Rob Berghel

Sophie Field, Jean Watkins, Judy Kemp, Kathy Wasson

Sophie Field, Pat Whitaker, Judy Kemp, Kathy Wasson

New Friday Class

The Education Committee is pleased to announce that Buddy Landis will pre-sent a class on play of the hand on the first Friday of every month. Buddy’s first class will be June 7th. After the summer hiatus, he will resume teaching in September. The class will last 45 minutes to an hour and cover some of Buddy’s favorite hands— hands he has been collecting over years. Class starts at 1:00 pm and costs $5.00. There will be an hour of play and dis-cuss following the class.

From the Education Committee…

As the 2012-2013 year winds down, it is important for us to remem-ber and recognize the contributions that a number of Unit 206 members have made to the success of the continuing education of our bridge players. Bill Adams, Cal Brassfield, Sandy Cervantes,

John Friedl, Janie Hunt, Bob Kemp, Buddy Landis, Earl Rothberger and David Vine have teamed up to offer top-quality educational services to our up-and-coming players.

It is remarkable that a unit our size can provide such an array of educational opportuni-ties spanning a wide variety of skill levels. We are truly blessed. Every Monday prior to the NLM game, we offer a mini lesson designed to help our life master candidates improve their game and develop new skills. On Fridays, we have play-and-discuss sessions, novice classes, and the new 99er game. This past season, we offered both beginner and novice bridge classes on Saturdays, and on Thursday evenings we had a 2/1 class for more experi-enced players. We hosted a mentor-mentee game to introduce our newer players to the fun of duplicate and to raise their comfort level. All of these have combined to make our unit unique in its mission to provide classes to not only help our current players improve, but to grow and attract new players to the game.

Over the summer months, we will wind down some and taper off in our class offerings. Our Monday NLM classes will continue through the summer months, but our Friday group will take a hiatus for the months of July and August. Our plan is to resume in September with new and interesting classes that should stimulate and challenge our participants.

We are grateful for the efforts put forth by our students and salute our more experi-enced players in their contributions to our endeavors. We appreciate the efforts and co-operation of the unit as a whole in helping us achieve our goals. We rely on your support in public relations and advertising in our endeavors to attract new players. We hope that you will continue to help us in our efforts to grow Unit 206 and to improve the quality of bridge in Southeastern Tennessee.

Every 4th (and the occasional 5th) Friday of the month, we have a 99er game—a game de-signed to help our newest players feel comfortable and improve their bridge skills. We de-pend on your support to help us get the word out and attract new players to introduce them to the wonders of duplicate bridge.

We are in the process of developing our new calendar for the upcoming year, and as soon as we have finalized classes and times, we will communicate these to you.

Thanks to all for your help and contributions.