Newsletter 10 July 2025
In our newsletter this week...
- President's Message
- Dealers for ANC 2026
- Workshop with Will Jenner-O'Shea
- ABF Club Teams Knockout on RealBridge
- New Members
- New Rank Promotions
- Teams of Three
- Upcoming Events
- Results
- She Who Knows, Goes!
- Lighter Moments
President's Message
I would like to congratulate all of our ACT Teams who have been competing at the ANC this week. The Seniors finished 2nd and will start the finals this afternoon so fingers crossed and good luck to - Chris Quail & Richard Brightling, Peter Reynolds & Bernie Waters, Malcolm Carter & Elizabeth Havas. (NPC Bruce Crossman).
Our Open Team finished a credible 4th, and the Women’s Team also did very well ending equal 4th with NSW.
I would also like to thank the NPC (non-playing captains) - Bruce Crossman - Seniors & Women’s Teams and Marianne Bookallil – Open & Youth Teams. I am sure the teams really appreciated all of your help!
Now, I want to make a special mention to our Youth Team who sadly did not get a place, but they were missing two of their very experienced team mates who are currently in Italy! This year the Team was - Dev & Diya Shah, Maxwell Ashurst & Natalee White, Byron French & Jessica He. So the team had three very new players - Natalee (Monaro Bridge Club) and Byron French and Jessica He who have only recently learnt the game!
Well done to everyone, we are very proud of your efforts!
Results from last weekend, and congratulations go to..
Stepbridge Welcome Swiss Butler Pairs - Open
2nd - David Hoffman & Peter Grant
“The Australian National Championships date all the way back to 1933 and have always been a time for plenty of interstate rivalries to be reignited and lifelong friendships to be revisited.”
(Quote from the ANC Bulletin - Richard Ward QBA President)
- Mary
Help requested to deal for the ANC!
The 2026 Australian National Championship will be held in Canberra in July 2026.
Among the many Herculean tasks involved to run this event is the dealing of over 10000 hands using the dealing machines at ABF headquarter in Fyshwick as well as the club’s own machine.
The dealing of the boards is financially very lucrative for the club. We have previously done it for the Summer Festival in January.
Volunteers work together in teams of 4-6 people for a couple of hours at a time with supervision from experienced dealers.
Dealing the boards will NOT interrupt member’s eligibility to play in ANC events, we will structure the dealing to segment so that you will be dealing for categories other than the events that you would qualify to play in.
If you are interested in participating as a volunteer to deal the boards over the period of March-July 2026 please talk to Ian Robinson or email the office.
With 4 months to complete the task there will be plenty of opportunity for members to participate!
Workshop with Will Jenner-O'Shea
Defend Better By Knowing What To Do
© When to Defend Actively, And When to Be Passive
© The Forcing Defence, And How To Use IT
© Recognising From The Auction And The Dummy What to Be Trying
© Other Defence Situations
- 27-07-2025 Sunday - 10am
- $60
- click here to register
This whole day workshop includes morning tea and lunch.
ABF Club Teams Knockout on RealBridge
ABF invites every club in the country to enter a team in the ABF club Teams Knockout 2025! Played on RealBridge, matches will be on a Tuesday night in July, September, October and November.
There are five categories of Club Teams Championship: (i) Open, (ii) Under 750 MPs, (iii) Under 300 MPs, (iv) Under 100 MPs, (v) Under 50 MPs.
The CBC will pay the entry fee for one team in each category, on a "first come, first served" basis.
Please note also that the CBC will endorse all entries but reimbursements will only be paid to the first entered team in each category. (Reimbursements will be given via myABF in due course provided that the team meets the Conditions of Contest.)
To register your team please enter in myABF via the link below:
New Members
Canberra Bridge Club welcomes the following new and returning members to our club:
- Barbara Langeveld
New Rank Promotions
Congratulations to the following members who have achieved a new rank in the month of June:
Graduate
- Martin, David
Club
- Cook, Jane
- Power, Margaret
Local
- Besgrove, Keith
- Digman, Marie
- Townsend, Susanne
Bronze Local
- Appel, Jan
- Jones, Barry
- McKenzie, Caitlyn
- Reis, John
Silver Local
- Campbell, Murray
- Schwartz, Josh
Regional
- Francis, Jayne
State
- Cherbuin, Jacques
Grand
- Hurst, Rob
Teams of Three
Our 2025 Teams of Three event is now open for registration!
YOU -- Gather 3 players of a similar standard, come and have fun, get tips on play.
CLUB -- Provides an experienced player as Captain to help and advise you.
THE PLAY -- Each team member plays 8 or 9 boards with the Captain, who will give tips on play.
AFTER PLAY -- Scrumptious food and fun prizes.
- Cost $20 per person (excluding Captains)
- Date 10 August 2025 12:30 PM
- Click here to Enter
This event is limited to players who individually have fewer than 300 Masterpoints. The organisers will split the field into categories of new and not-so-new players.
Upcoming Events
We will be pausing the Tuesday night competition on 8th and 15th July due to the ANC. Tuesday night competition will resume from the 22nd July.
- No Tuesday night competition on 8 July, 15 July
The next GNOT Qualifier Gold Masterpoint competition will be run on:
- 16 July, 23 July - Wednesday 10 am
The next RED Masterpoints TBIB Pairs will be run on:
- 14 July, 21 July and 28 July - Monday 10 am
Results
The Winners of the Monday 7pm RB GNOT Qualifier are:
1. Paul Birkby - Debra Birkby
2. Trevor Berenger - Ian Dalziell
The Winners of the Friday 9:30am GNOT Qualifier are:
1. Barry Jones - Karen Carlin
2. Jenny Brogan - Susan Hegarty
She Who Knows, Goes!
The following bidding problem came up on a recent Wednesday morning competition. As dealer, the West players picked up the following:
♠ KT
♥ J74
♦ AKQT9874
♣ void
A pretty unusual hand. Some were tempted to open Three No Trumps (known as a “gambling” Three No Trumps), but this shows a long, strong minor and nothing else outside (the King of Spades makes this hand too good).
Consequently, most of the room opened One Diamond, their Left Hand Opponent overcalled Two Clubs and they heard double from partner followed by a raise to Three Clubs by Right Hand Opponent. What would you bid next?
Several players opted for Four Diamonds and some told me they were “leaving it to partner” but the reality is that our partner has shown us everything she has.
Partner’s double will typically show around 8-10 High Card Points and both majors, meaning that we are likely to be well short of the 25-27 HCPs one usually associates with making game. However, we have an extremely strong eight card suit, a void in the suit that both opponents are bidding and minor honours in both majors – suits that your partner has just shown.
Based on all of this, game is quite likely to make. It’s no guarantee for sure, but it is quite likely that you’ll lose only one or two tricks in the majors, nothing in Diamonds and nothing in Clubs.
The winning option was to bid Five Diamonds. This recognises that once one player in a partnership knows that game is likely they should bid it. The intermediate bids all implicitly mean that we need more information, or that we are unsure about the contract.
Here bidding Four Diamonds is suggesting we are unsure of the final contract or uncertain that we have enough tricks. Neither is the case here. For the record, here were the two hands (everyone was in Diamonds, anywhere from the three level up to the five level:
Dummy:
♠ Q863
♥ KT52
♦ J2
♣ K83
Declarer:
♠ KT
♥ J74
♦ AKQT9874
♣ void
Note that game is not guaranteed. We shouldn’t wait until a game is 100% likely before we bid it. We will definitely lose two major suit aces and will probably need to find the Queen of Hearts onside. Thankfully,
given the bidding, it is more than fifty percent likely to be with the overcaller.
The value of bidding a game is so high (turning a +150 into a +600) that it is worth the occasional loss (turning +130 into -100).
If you are in an auction and you discover that game is better than a fifty-fifty chance, remember the old adage: “She Who Knows – Goes!”
If you have any interesting hands that come up (or hands you wish you’d known how to play) we would love to hear about them at:
- Steve Geddes
Lighter Moments
- Julius: Is it raining in Rome, Brutus?
Brutus: Hail, Caesar.
Have a great week everyone!
Elizabeth
