You can be creative in your spare time and even support the royal family.
Ann Kuperberg
Congratulations again to Mike Levy for making the Barry Crane Top 500 list of players who achieved the most master points for the year.
Some of us were so stir-crazy that we resorted to playing bridge online. The American Contract Bridge League suggested checking with online games for master points or casual games at BridgeBaseOnline/BBO. You can also play online just for fun or to support our club. BridgeBase Online gives instructions.
Of course, when you play online, you should know how to control your mouse and know the abbreviations on the chat line. My mouse decided I wanted to double a bid, because it was too close to that box instead of the “pass” box. Messages such as “gjp” are translated to “good job partner.” I’m not advanced enough to know many others, although my partner informed me after one game that the opponents were messaging in German.
The monthly Bridge Bulletin had an article by Lynn Berg where she advises, “One of the major objectives we learn about bidding is the importance of a major-suit fit.”
She goes on to ask, “Is there anything I need to do before I draw trump? And is there any way to use three trump on the short side separately before they disappear as I lead trump from my hand?”
Of course, playing online limits the conversations you can have with your partner, but, if you keep notes as you play, you can go over them afterwards.
Let’s hope the MountainView game will open soon.
Check our website, www.Bridgewebs.com/mountainview, for opening days and times.
Meanwhile, keep well. You always can resort to redesigning hats or face masks to reflect your interest in bridge.
It also was a good time to review bridge conventions and read the Bridge Bulletin. There are articles for people of all levels.
Karen Walker gave some advice on bidding over an opponent’s weak notrump (12-14 hcps) opener. She says you can double for penalty when you have 15+ points, you can overcall with an unbalanced hand (6+card suit or at least 5-4 in two suits) with a good 10-16 points. She also says a jump overcall should show a long suit with no more than five losers.
The hardest bid to make when an opponent bids that weak notrump is to pass.
Check our website to see when our club opens again. Go to www.bridgewebs.com/mountainview. The games will be every Tuesday and Friday from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.