Taradale Bridge Club Incorporated P O Box 7051 Taradale, Napier 4141 Chris Stack (President) 844 9983 Jan Davis (Secretary) 843 7066 September 2017 Newsletter Hi Taradale Bridge Players Fiona Edwards & Almarie Sohnge - Winners of the Taradale Novice Tournament great smiles! This monthly newsletter is a week earlier to accommodate the scribe being out of town so the committee meeting update is not available. Many of you have a partial understanding of the Masterpoints system run by NZ Bridge. With so many new members recently joining I have tried to explain the system for all. With spring arriving, the countdown towards the club AGM is not that far away. If you are approached to consider joining the committee, please give it serious thought as we do have a number of longstanding members coming off, leaving a significant gap to be filled. I can report that our Bridge Club did have a team in the Taradale Club Trivia Quiz night. We anchored the table however, and the team members did have a spot of bother identifying all the artists in the music and film questions. The strategy of answering the many unknown music artists as being Adele unfortunately did not reap the required outcome! New members We welcome Ann Herbert back to our club. Chris Stack - President From the President s Table It looks like Spring has come with beautiful days and the wonderful blossom - we are so lucky to live in the Bay. We had a successful Members only tournament enjoyed by many of our loyal members. It was lovely to see you all and thankyou to all who helped make the tournament successful. Weren't the flowers beautiful? Thankyou Margaret for doing a great job. We are sad to farewell Mavis Steel who is moving to Kapiti, to be near her niece. Mavis turns 90 next month and a card has been brought to be sent to her. Phillida, Viv, and I went to see her before she left and took her flowers and a card from the club. We are looking for a Wednesday convener for next year and some more committee members please get in touch if you are interested. A club is only as good as its helpers and volunteers of which we are lucky happy bridging. Upcoming tournaments, being run by Taradale Bridge or local Clubs - 17 September Haverdale Interclub between Taradale and Havelock North Also 16 September Hastings Open Pairs 30 September / 7 October National Congress in Hamilton Page 1 of 5
Haverdale Interclub this is a friendly interclub competition between the Havelock North and Taradale Clubs. Fourteen teams, mainly comprising of helpers, committee members, and friends of Taradale Club compete yearly for the Arthur Willoughby Trophy, which our club was successful in winning last year. Club Bridge Results as you are no doubt aware several bridge sessions have the winners accumulated over the whole year i.e. Monday morning; Tuesday afternoon, and Thursday afternoon. The other bridge sessions are accumulated over a month and the recent results for those have the following winners of the month. Competition Lady Dowling Pairs (Wednesday Evening) Novice Tournament (A well attended and run tournament) Napier Open Teams (Against a very strong field full with Grand Masters!!) Mahine Creagh Winners Jo Hayes & Wayne Burney. 1 st Fiona Edwards & Almarie Sohnge 2 nd Jane Garland & Bruce Levett 3 rd Ellie Straka & Les Dunnett 2 nd Megan Eddy, Bridget Willcox, Chris Hagen, & Julian Herbert Alison Hucker and Chris Stack The Flower Arrangement for the Mahine Creagh by Margaret Pattullo Alison Hucker & Chris Stack - winners of the Mahine Creagh Tournament Mahine Creagh Tournament Mahine Creagh was well known to our longstanding members as a very very keen and competitive bridge player. When she finally moved into a retirement facility at the age of 90, her main stipulation was that it had to be within walking distance from the Taradale Bridge Club then located at Devonshire Place! She continued playing bridge actively until passing away after a short illness. Mahine Creagh bequeathed a sum of money to the club which was in part used for the setting up of the Honours Board that presently adorn the walls within the club rooms. It is fitting that our club remembers Mahine through our yearly tournament held for its members. American Contract Bridge League I mentioned this website some months ago where they send out a weekly quiz if you wish. The answers are from many experts and show that not every expert agrees, as well as their thinking behind what they would bid. All very interesting. Have a look at a recent quiz, make up your bid answer for South. I will post the experts opinion at the bottom of this newsletter. Page 2 of 5
Master Points Explained Many of you will have either looked at NZ Bridge website for their Master Points (which has very recently been updated to a new easier to use format) or listened to fellow players being awarded certificates such as local master two stars. What on earth does this all mean? Below I have attempted to clarify how the A/B/C points you accumulate through doing well at a bridge session are added together to determine your current grading. It is important to remember that any A/B/C points you gather never get cancelled. One thing I never understood was the Rating Points you get given each year, so read below about that also! Those who are successful at club sessions plus the occasional tournament can readily attain 100 Rating Points thus putting them into the Open grade for the next year. The majority of games, both club and tournament level, at affiliated clubs are played for Master Points. If you finish in the top one third of your field, you will receive Master Points. There are three categories of Master Point awards: A POINTS Awarded to players who finish in the top placings of approved tournaments, and to all session winners of Pairs Tournaments approved for the award of A Points. Fractional A points are awarded to the winners of each match in approved A Point Match-Play (teams). B POINTS Awarded to players who finish in the top placings of approved tournaments which do not qualify for the award of A Points, and to all session winners of Pairs Tournaments approved for the award of B Points. C POINTS Awarded to players who are successful in any one session of play organised by a licensed club, Region, or the NZ Bridge. B Points are not convertible to A Points. C Points are converted to B Points in the ratio of 100 C Points to one B Point. RATING POINTS Rating Points are calculated as previous Rating Points x 0.8 plus the total of "A" and "B" Points earned in the immediate past year. Example Previous Rating Points 80. 80 x 0.8 = 64 points Total of "A" and "B" Points earned in past year, e.g. 3 A + 17 B = 20 points New Rating Points = 64 + 20 = 84. GRADINGS The grading you have is assessed from the A and B points you accumulate Open Local Master 0*- 4* AND 100+ Rating Points or Local Master 5* and above or Provincial Master or higher Rank Intermediate Club Master or lower Rank and 30 or less Rating Points but 5 or more A Points or Club Master or lower Rank with more than 30 Rating Points or Local Master 0* to 4* and 0-100 Rating Points Junior Club Master or lower Rank and 30 or less Rating Points and less than 5 A Points Rank Aggregate of A & B Points When stars are added Certificate of Proficiency 5 NA Club Master 20 NA Local Master 50 1* = 100 to 149, 2* = 150 to 199 etc Provincial Master 100 (including at least 50 A 1* = 200 to 299, 2* = 300 to 399 etc Master 200 (including at least 100 A 1* = 400 to 599, 2* = 600 to 799 etc National Master 350 (including at least 175 A 1* = 700 to 1049, 2* = 1050 to 1400 etc Page 3 of 5
Life Master 500 (including at least 250 A 1* = 1000 to 1499, 2* = 1500 to 1999 etc Grand Master 1000 (including at least 500 A 1* = 2000 to 3999, 2* = 4000 to 5999 etc Silver Grand Master 2500 (including at least 1250 A 1* = 5000 to 7499, 2* = 7500 to 9999 et Gold Grand Master 4000 (including at least 2500 A 1* = 8000 to 11999, 2* = 12000 to 15999 etc A player with less than 5 A & B Points is classified as Novice. On reaching an aggregate of 100 Master Points, a Local Master who has not earned 50 A Points is accorded the status of Local Master - 1 Star. At 150 Master Points, he becomes Local Master - 2 Star, with an additional Star for each additional 50 Master Points if he has not attained sufficient A Points. Similarly, stars are awarded to masters of other ranks who have not attained sufficient A points for promotion to a higher rank. e.g. A one-star National Master will have acquired 700 plus total Points but not yet attained 250 A Points to move to the rank of Life Master. Monthly Humor with many members now bringing their cell phones to a bridge session it is appropriate to ensure you have the phone on silent mode during play - or something may happen if a fellow player gets hold of it. Several men are in the locker room of a golf club. A cellular phone on a bench rings and a man engages the hands-free speaker function and begins to talk. Everyone else in the room stops to listen. MAN: "Hello" WOMAN: "Hi Honey, it's me. Are you at the club?" MAN: "Yes." WOMAN: "I'm at the shops now and found this beautiful leather coat. It's only $2,000. Is it OK if I buy it?" MAN: "Sure, go ahead if you like it that much." WOMAN: "I also stopped by the Lexus dealership and saw the new models. I saw one I really liked." MAN: "How much?" WOMAN: "$90,000." MAN: "OK, but for that price I want it with all the options." WOMAN: "Great! Oh, and one more thing. I was just talking to Janie and found out that the house I wanted last year is back on the market. They're asking $980,000 for it." MAN: "Well, then go ahead and make an offer of $900,000. They'll probably take it. If not, we can go the extra eighty-thousand if it's what you really want." WOMAN: "OK. I'll see you later! I love you so much!" MAN: "Bye! I love you, too." The man hangs up. The other men in the locker room are staring at him in astonishment, mouths wide open. He turns and asks, "Anyone know whose phone this is?" American Contract Bridge Quiz Expert s Answer Bid Score 3NT 100 4NT 90 5NT 80 Pass 70 6NT 70 4 20 6 10 5 0 Page 4 of 5
Ngaire Bright Memorial Cup - Please get your nominations in for this trophy. It will be presented, at the AGM in November, to a deserving member who contributes as an awesome Club member. We know Taradale Bridge Club has many such people, which is why our Club functions so well. Please either send your nomination via the Suggestions Box, or directly to the Committee secretary or president. Can the nominations be in by the 15 October? Reminders Hastings Open Pairs Prepare for Nominations to the Committee Ngaire Bright Memorial Cup nominations in by 15 October Ash Ash Fitchett (Newsletter Scribe) Page 5 of 5