Sue Bush
The New Year begins with the annual Tucson Winter Sectional Jan. 9-12 at the Hotel Tucson City Center (475 N. Granada Avenue). Morning games begin at 9 a.m. and afternoon games at 1:30 p.m. with guest lectures in between on every day except Sunday. And the Sunday game will feature a Swiss team event that includes a free buffet lunch. With each game stratified according to master points, the tournament will be fun and competitive for all players.
In the October Bridge Bulletin, bridge expert Mary Bergen states: “My research strongly indicates that hands with a seven-card suit (very rare, 1 in 26 hands) are more than one point stronger than the same hand with a six-card suit. Hands with seen-card suits have exceptional trick-taking ability. So I add a second point for the seventh card, which means that I immediately add four length points for a seven-card suit. And this has worked out very, very well for both competitive and constructive auctions.
He continues, “This thinking may help you avoid a very common type of error – automatically opening at the three level with a hand containing a seven-card suit but only a modest number of high-card points. Sometimes these hands are strong enough to open at the one level.”
Congratulations to the first place winners in November (through Nov. 22) – Sue Hagerty, Dick Quigg, Steve Maltzman, Donna De Pesa, Jack and Arlene Mayfield, Jane Pendley, Donald Reil, Peter Godfrey, Bob Brussel, Rosemary Marcello, and Sharon Wyles.
The MountainView game is held at the Catalina Room beside the Mesquite Grill on Tuesday and Friday at 1:30 p.m. Check the website at www.bridgewebs.com/mountainview for possible changes. If you need a partner contact Jo Ann Aiken at 520-256-2702 or [email protected].