One of the most prestigious NABC+ pairs events at Fall NABC is the Blue Ribbon Pairs, a 3-day, 6-session pairs event with half the field cut each day, and partial carry-over each day. On the same exact days and times, there is the mini-blue ribbon pairs, limited to players with 0-6000 masterpoints. Both events also require each participant to have a Blue Ribbon Qualifier, most commonly obtained by winning 1st or 2nd in a 2-session or longer regional event (Bracketed Teams being the easiest way).
Everyone expects Mini-Blue Ribbon to have a significantly easier field than the pro-laden Blue Ribbon. But how different is the difficulty divide? And how does it compare to Red Ribbon Pairs, which are limited to 0-2500 and held in Summer (possibly changing to Spring).
Power Ratings as a Difficulty Estimator
Measuring the strength of any field would require a rating system, which the October 2019 Bridge Bulletin discussed at some length. Unfortunately, several unofficial rating systems exist, but no one agrees which one is most accurate, or even that we need one. While we don’t endorse any particular system, the most widely available data comes from BridgePowerRatings.com, which analyzes club results from TheCommonGame and ACBL tournament results.
Difficulty on Day 1
A total of 205 pairs entered Day 1 of the Blue Ribbon Pairs in Honolulu NABC 2018. The average Power Rating of the pair was a 61.4%. Roughly speaking, a typical Blue Ribbon participant entering an average single-session club game would expect to score a 61.4%. The data also shows that players with 10,000 masterpoints on average have a Power Rating of 61%.
In the Mini-Blue Ribbon, 106 pairs entered with an average Power Rating of 56.0%, the strength of a typical player with 3000 masterpoints. As a comparison, a typical Open Pairs session during NABC ranges from 54%-58%, depending on the other events that day. A Gold Rush pairs event during NABC ranges from 48%-50%. The I/N events such as 299ers are 44% and below.
Does the Field Get Harder on Day 2 and Day 3?
In both events, about half the field qualifies to move on to Day 2. Then, half of THAT field moves on to Day 3. Does the field become noticeably harder each day, as predicted by this rating system? If not, we might have reasons to be suspicious (or we could conclude luck plays a large part in any 2-session event).
On Day 2, the number of pairs in Blue Ribbon average power rating increases to 63.3%, skyrocketing to the typical 20,000 masterpoint player. For Mini-Blue, the average rating also increases to 57.4%, approaching the upper end of the 0-6000 limitations required for entry.
By Day 3, the field strength increases yet again. Blue Ribbon is down to the final 51 pairs, with an average Power Rating of 65.1%, aka 35,000+ masterpoint quality (the datapoints get few and far between when you surpass 65%, so the masterpoint conversion also gets more silly). Day 3 of the Mini-Blue, the remaining 28 pairs have an average of 58.2%.
Numbers In Summary from Honolulu Fall 2018 NABC
| Blue Ribbon | PR | Mini-Blue | PR | |
| Day 1 | 205 | 61.4% | 106 | 56.0% |
| Day 2 | 103 | 63.3% | 56 | 57.4% |
| Day 3 | 51 | 65.1% | 28 | 58.2% |