District 24 GNT Standings So Far For 2020

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Lee Lin

We are all sad that the NABCs for 2020 are all cancelled – in particular, that also means the infamous Grand National Teams event will not be taking place this year. As a recap, it’s an amazing experience for all levels of play, from world class pros down to newcomers and non life masters.

District Finals Will Continue

This year shattered many district records in GNT interest, with a full 50 teams competing across all 4 flights (with many players playing in 2 or even 3 flights). All flights had entered the quarter or semi final knockout matches just as the Covid-19 pandemic brought an abrupt halt to face-to-face bridge.

With special thanks to our diligent and creative GNT Coordinator Amy Rhodes and District ACBL Representative David Moss, we are allowed to continue the end of the knock out matches online via moderated BBO tournaments. The winners will still receive the promised masterpoints (48 gold for Championship Flight down to 20 gold/red for Flight C). Alas, there will no travel subsidy as there is no national finals.

Standings So Far

Championship Flight – 12 teams over 4 sessions qualified into 4 semi finalists
Flight A – 10 teams qualified into 4 semi finalists
Flight B – Started with 17 teams qualifying into 8 quarter finalists
Flight C – Started with 11 teams qualifying into 8 quarter finalists

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June 2020 GNYBA Board Meeting Minutes

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Bill Sigward

Link to the full Meeting Minutes.

Agenda

The GNYBA Board of Directors held a regular monthly meeting to discuss and vote on relevant events regarding the District, the Unit, the Treasurer’s Report, the Summer and Fall Tournaments, GNTs for this year and next year, and Other Business.

In Attendance
V. Apter, J. Bayone, D. Garber, B. Gellas, U. Ivatury, P. Lentz, F. Levine, S. Levine, L. Lin, R. Marchione, J. Meyers, G. Miniter, D. Moss, A. Parrish, A. Rhodes, J. Rothstein, W. Sigward, K. Todd, N. Trabulus, G. Wallach, J. Wank, M. Warren, L. Weisbrod.

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One Week Until The Gold Points Online Bridge Tournament

Posted on June 21, 2020 by Lee Lin

If you haven’t filled your schedule yet, time to start asking your partners. We are only 4 days away from the beginning of the Endless Summer Regional.

To recap, you can play 4 sessions per day: morning and afternoon, or evening and late evening. At the very least, you should try to do 2 sessions when you play – that’s the only way to get Gold Points. If you are playing the 99er or 499er, then it doesnt matter. Each session is stand-alone.

Side Game Gambit?

There is one gambit that hasn’t been discussed enough. What if you go for the side game series? It’s designed for people who can’t block off 6 hours in one day (or simply don’t enjoy that much bridge in one day). Instead, you can play the same time two days in a row, and they will count towards an overall series score, awarding you gold points.

If you go this route, take a careful look at the side game schedule:

Most importantly, if you only want to play at say, 2pm each day, then it’s better to pick Thursday and Friday, or Saturday and Sunday. If you pick Friday and Saturday, you won’t get any Gold!

Also, they take the best two sessions out of each series. I think that means playing three or all four session in the series puts you at an advantage – they usually take the best two, not your average.

Strength of the Side Game vs Open Game?

Don’t worry if you can’t play every game in the series. Anyone who has time to play all 4 sessions of a side game would probably opt for the main game each day – unless they are specifically going for the side game gambit. Certainly during the previous Big Apple Regional, there were some specialists who seemed to do very well dominating the side games.

Has anyone tried playing in these side games? What do you think of the field versus the open game? About the same, or is it more of a mid-flight?

Posted in Bridge Thoughts, Events | 2 Comments

ACBL Cancels NABC, Live Regionals and Sectionals Through 2020

Posted on June 20, 2020 by Lee Lin

Bad news for those hoping to return to live face-to-face bridge. ACBL cancelled the Tampa Fall 2020 NABC. Whether or not that was expected, the next move is a big blow to local units and districts who considered pushing forward with their Fall or Winter tournaments.

Local Tournaments Effectively Cancelled

ACBL will not supply tournament directors for any sectionals and regionals for the rest of 2020! That effectively stops almost all changes for a unit or district to hold sanctioned gold, red, or silver point tournaments. You can still earn gold and red online next week in the Endless Summer Regional.

What Is Actually Allowed?

Local clubs will begin to reopen depending on the rules governing business in the local area. As with all reopenings, there is plenty of uncertainty and risk, weighed against pressures to keep the business alive, meet financial obligations, and service loyal and new customers.

Silver Points Possible via STaC?

When the clubs reopen, they could in theory run STaCs, our favorite sectional tournaments at the club, without any ACBL tournament directors or staff. There is another exception where units can hold 499er sectionals without ACBL staff. For our unit, we still have sanctions for the following upcoming STaCs – but stay tuned to see whether these are still on.

GNYBA Sectional – Never Announced But Postponed

The not-so-secret NYC Sectional would have been Fathers’ Day Weekend – basically this weekend. We were looking forward to finally playing 2-session Swiss Teams in the city, both paying lots of silver points and avoiding the painful commute. Don’t worry, we will be back.

To BBO For Now!

For the rest of the year, your best source of gold, red, and silver points will likely come from online bridge. ACBL has moved quickly to create monthly special events accessible to all, with more stratification levels than ever before and more sessions per day for for the true fanatics.

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Special ACBL June 2020 Meeting: Motions To Reduce Online Awarded Masterpoints

Posted on June 17, 2020 by Lee Lin

Anyone who has made the migration to BBO knows there are more opportunities than ever to earn masterpoints of all colors. The online regional in particular can award a massive amount, up to 50 gold in a day to the top overall pair.

Should We Reduce The Points Awarded?

When ACBL created the General Masterpoint Formula for regionals, they were not imagining an online tournament with 400 entries in the open game, and two concurrent limited games each with their own 400 entries.

Perhaps it doesn’t make sense for these online games to award the full amount?

Anyway, the national ACBL Board of Directors is voting very soon on two motions that heavily impact online points.

Item 20S2-02: Reducing Masterpoint Awards to reflect non Face to Face Play

In all events conducted online in which ACBL gold, 
silver or red points are awarded, all masterpoint
awards shall be 80% of the amount that would be 
awarded in a face-to-face game of the same
structure, as calculated by the applicable formulas.

Basically, online regionals and silver events will see a 20% reduction. As it reads, it’s unclear whether it would impact the ACBL Online Individual tournaments – because it has its own formula and is not based on a face-to-face game of the same structure.

Anyway, if you feel strongly either way, let your District Rep know.

Item 20S2-03: Reducing Masterpoint Awards in Shortened Games

The second important vote would reduce 18-board online games to only 3/4 of the full payment, because 18 is only considered 3/4 of a session. For club games, most clubs try to put in a good faith effort to play 24 boards, except for special cases like 20 Boards for $20 Bucks.

But for many online games, the virtual private clubs have discovered many players prefer 18 boards. It also allows people to squeeze in the extra afternoon session between the noon and evening game (for GNYBA members, the most relevant is the 3:45pm Mid-Flight 0-3500 game at All For One).

Full text of the proposal below:

In all events in which ACBL gold, silver, or 
red points are awarded and in which LIFE MASTERS
are eligible to participate (i.e. all events 
that are not limited to NON LIFE MASTERS only, whether
explicitly or by virtue of a masterpoint limitation),
 and in which the scheduled movement is to play
fewer than 24 deals per session (not including sitouts,
byes, and other deals not played for unanticipated 
reasons), all masterpoint awards shall be multiplied,
relative to the otherwise applicable formulas, by a
factor of the number of deals scheduled divided by 24.

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ACBL Summer Regional – Which Convention Chart Applies?

Posted on June 14, 2020 by Lee Lin

The upcoming June 25th to June 28th Summer 2020 Regional is exciting news, building on the successful Support Your Regional event from May. As discussed, there are more granular stratification levels than ever offered in any regional or NABC event.

Daily Schedule In A Nutshell

There are four daily newcomer events (99er),four super newcomer events (499er). Other strats have a daily two-session event: Gold Rush in the evening (750), a daytime Super Gold Rush (1250), evening mid-flight (2500), morning super mid-flight (3500). Then there are two 2-session Open games, one daytime and one evening. We shall see whether all these games are considered concurrent for the purposes of awarding tons of gold points.

Should you need a reference as the date approaches, the complete schedule is linked on the right side of the GNYBA page.

Convention Charts: Basic vs Basic+ vs Open vs Open+

Most people don’t realize how much the ACBL “rules” have changed in the last few years. From the STOP card disappearing to various unauthorized information ruling changes, the convention chart overhaul in November 2018 was a big one and impacts these non-standard strats.

Good Old Days: GCC For Everything

Back in the day, the General Convention Chart governed almost every club game, sectional, regional, and NABC – whether it was gold rush or open, and almost all flights of GNT and NAP other than the very top. Only NABC+ Platinum events had modified charts allowing more conventions for international pros.

In theory there was a weird Limited Chart for 0-20 players, but no one used it (forcing 1NT, drury, and 2/1 GF was not allowed). For nostalgia, the old charts are still online.

The New Confusion – Four Different Charts

The new charts do a much better job defining precisely all of the rules – for example what it means to have an opening a hand with Average Strength, and what it means to be Strong or Weak. There is a huge glossary at the beginning that defines almost all terms, much like a legal document.

However, the new Basic Chart that applies to all events with an upper range of 750 master points. Basic+ applies to events topping out at 3000 (or bracketed teams through 1500). Then there is Open for 0-6000 and Open+ for the Platinum events.

Wow! Four different charts to know, and it is very likely you will play the same day in events with different charts.

Super Gold Rush and Super Mid-Flight Confusion

If you aren’t yet confused, the new strats will make life even more strange. The Super Gold Rush happens to use Basic+, while Gold Rush uses Basic. Then the Mid-Flight uses Basic+, but Super Mid-Flight uses Open. Perhaps it’s better to call the 1250 event Baby Mid-Flight, and the 3500 event Baby-Open?

We will dive in next time on the actual differences between the charts, and the common ways it gets people in trouble. Hint: Woolsey, Multi-Landy, Strong Club, Polish Club, transfer responses, and many conventional 2-level openings are impacted.

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Gold Points! Endless Summer Regional June 25-28

Posted on June 12, 2020 by Lee Lin

For those who missed the previous online gold point regional, there is another chance two weeks from now!

Update 6/26/2020: For More Information on the Endless Summer Regional
Gold Point Awards Reduced 20% for this regional
Make sure you know which ACBL Convention Chart applies to your event
Understand the rules of the Side Game Series

Here is the ACBL Endless Summer Regional June 2020 schedule.

Tons of Stratification ! (99/499/750/1250/2500/3500/Open)

Looking at the schedule, they have created many more granular stratified events. In fact, there are more stratification levels than any regional ever held by ACBL – including at NABCs. In addition to the usual suspects: 99er, Gold Rush, Mid-Flight and Open, there are three ‘in-between” stratifications. There is a 499er, a super gold rush (up to 1250), and a super midflight (up to 3500). Strangely, there is no 299er.

Load Balancing Plus Skill Balancing

Part of the benefits for all these strats is the load balancing. Hopefully each tournament is equally popular, and given the different starting times, most people could play in two different two-session events on the same day. That is, if you are a Mid-Flight type of player, you would play the 10:30am and 2pm schedule for 0-3500, then play the 5:30pm and 9pm sechedule for 0-2500.

If you are a Gold Rush player, you can do a similar four-session schedule starting at 10:45am and 2:15pm for 0-1250, then again at 5:45pm and 9:15pm.

All Pairs, No Teams. All Matchpoints, No IMPs

For those who like teams, sorry. It seems this regional is still all pairs, as BBO and ACBL work furiously to make team play and swiss work in a mass tournament setting. You can always set up your own team games among friends for free on BBO.

The No Man’s Land Limited Games?

This is the fun one – you might find yourself in the spot between 750-1250. For the first time in perhaps years, you will once again be eligible for the expanded gold rush up to 1250, and then you can follow up with the lower Mid-Flight 0-2500. The timing will be a little tight but it should work.

Horizontal Side Game Series

For those who don’t want to play 2x or 4x on the same day, you can instead slice your time horizontally across the days. If you want to play at 10am all four days, then the Side Game Series is for you. As usual, they combine your best two session for each series – so if you go this route, make sure you group your sessions wisely.

You either want to do Thursday and Friday, or Saturday and Sunday. The disaster is Friday + Saturday, as you will be playing a separate series each day.

Ribbon Colors for the New Strats?

Most people shouldn’t care much about ribbon qualifiers, but it’s fun to acquire your first few. As usual, the single session 99er and 499er events do not provide gold points and do not provide ribbons.

Most people know that Gold Rush through 750 pays Red Ribbon Qualifiers and open games pay Blue Ribbon Qualifiers if you get overall 1st or 2nd for the day. How about the weird in-between strats? Here is the relevant rule from the ACBL site:

First and second (including ties) in all Gold Point Regionally-Rated Events with no upper masterpoint limit or with an upper masterpoint limit of more than 1500 masterpoints.

Ok, so the expanded Gold Rush to 1250 will still pay Red Ribbon Qualifiers. The Mid-Flight 0-2500 and higher pay Blue Ribbon Qualfiers. Some day we will need a special post on how to use these ribbon qualifiers, and why ACBL needs to seriously revamp the entire ribbon system.

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Fairfield Regional Cancelled

Posted on June 6, 2020 by Lee Lin

As expected, District 3 cancelled the Fairfield Regional originally scheduled for early July. It’s too bad, I always had fond memories of Fairfield, because it is the last regional for New Yorkers prior to Summer NABC. It was the second regional I ever attended following the May 2018 Big Apple Regional, and my first Red Ribbon Qualifier (before I realized spending them is harder than earning them).

Summer Plans?

As for bridge this summer, many of us are taking a small break following a marathon week of silver point games. Some folks got enough points that they will never need to go to Allendale ever again. My performance was lackluster, but tons of fun. I apologize for all the partners I let down! Perhaps all the time with robots made me forget the human elements of the game.

Online Individual NABC?

Even though Montreal NABC is cancelled, I expect an online individual NABC, and possibly something much more elaborate as we approach what would have been the NABCs, GNTs, and Tokyo Olympics. Stay tuned to hear the latest – I have doubts anyone will earn platinum points online, but there will likely be more gold and silver chances soon.

District GNTs Still Going!

One piece of news – previous all GNT flights were in the middle of their District KO matches. Understandably, with no NABC event, there is less at stake for winning the District finals. But there is still a lot of gold points at stake. We will be finishing the KO matches on BBO. Captains can request a Zoom Monitor if there are any security concerns, or if they just want the thrill of at least one kibitzer. Full bracket updates coming soon.

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Honestly It Feels Like NABC Right Now

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Lee Lin

We all missed Columbus and Montreal NABCs, but right now Silver Linings Week is the closest proxy. The turnout has been so successful, even the virtual club operators are surprised. Almost every club has augmented their daily schedule to squeeze in up to 3 sessions per day, possibly 4 if you time things exactly right.

It feels like NABC – you can wake up to begin playing nearly nonstop sessions of bridge for about 8 hours straight. Then rinse and repeat the next day. After a while, you forget which day of the week it is – what does it matter anyway? The only thing missing is the post-bridge hanging out at the hotel bar – but you can replicate the drinking at home if you choose.

How To Chain Your Sessions

It turns out, you need to do some planning to make 8+ hours of bridge work. Being a member of multiple Virtual Private Clubs provides more options, but it’s up to you to work out a consolidated road map and schedule. Yesterday, I tried:

12:30pm Pink Section with All For One (24 board game)
3:45pm Yellow Section: officially 18 boards lasting 126 minutes.
5:45pm Green Section with Sagamore (Amazingly, BBO allowed me to register)

Thankfully, the 3:45pm game JUST in time – had the directors allowed some rounds to drag out to the full time, we likely would have been kicked out of the 5:45pm.

The Most Unpopular Game?

For club operators, note that the 5pm starting time games have turned out to be the least popular. For anyone playing the afternoon 12:30 and 1pm sessions, they are looking for a 2nd session right away – making 3:45pm perfect. That can chain into evening games, but 5pm is too early for most.

Late Night Games?

For people waiting for evening sessions, 5:45pm is the earliest it gets, tapering off by 7:15pm for All For One. For those who want the midnight KO experience, the Alliance late night speed ball was the closest proxy – 12 fast boards at 9:15pm, only Mon – Thu.

Anyone Tried Four In A Day?

In theory, it is possible to sneak in 4 sessions, even with no speed balling. Perhaps even 5 if you start with a 10am, followed by an evening 7:30pm.

During the real NABCs, 4 sessions is no longer possible unless you count Midnight Zip Knockouts. You can do the Daylight Schedule (10am + 3pm), then an evening side swiss or side series at 7:30pm. Alternatively, you can opt for a morning side series, while doing the 1pm and 7pm schedule (most Platinum NABC+ events are on the afternoon cycle).

There is no way to sneak in a session during the gap in your 2-session event. Perhaps someday they will invent a half-session side series? Some seasoned veterans tell me there USED to be, long ago, a schedule that allowed 4 legitimate sessions plus midnight knockouts. Can anyone confirm?

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Online Bridge: Field Scouting And Registration Sniping

Posted on May 28, 2020 by Lee Lin

If you are a very strong player reading this, you will have no idea what I’m talking about today, except that it seems like a huge waste of energy.

For the rest, let’s admit at some point in our bridge lives, we’ve scoped out the scene prior to registering. I write this with four different viable Silver Lining games to choose in the next two hours. All same price, paying triple silver, and hosted by friendly clubs we want to support!

What Is Tournament Scouting And Why Do It?

Field scouting has been around for ages. Everyone wants a large field where they will feel competitive – it shouldn’t be stomp, nor do they want to get stomped. But above all, there must be enough tables to avoid the dreaded Howell movement slips of paper – not an issue online.

Stakes are even higher when you travel – who wants to make the trek to Woodbridge and come back empty-handed two days in a row? For those who truly don’t care about their masterpoints, the deciding factor might be playing among friends. As strange as it seems, yes, I enjoy being in the same field as my friends, cherishing those 21 minutes together.

Scouting In The Pre-Covid Era

In a live regional, you can walk up to the registration desk and see where the brackets are falling, complete with the master point totals of anyone who registered. If you are deciding between Gold Rush or Open, you might just look around the room and see who you know from the club. You can greet them and casually ask what game they are playing. For the introverts, just glance at the color of their entry slip.

Scouting In the BBO Virtual Private Club World

On to the virtual world. You can see the purchased entries for any tournament from 2 hours prior to start. Why do people register early? Mostly for convenience – once registered, both of you go about your business until the start time. There is no fear of capacity selling out, or any server crashes robbing you of your last minute entry.

Sometimes you spot a golden member, meaning LOTS of online bridge experience.

You can see which of your friends have registered, including all those people you friended who haven’t friended you back! (Edit: we decided on the game where we know the most people)

Registration Sniping?

Ok, so far everything is normal. But I’ve noticed another practice I’ll call registration sniping, and it is unique to online bridge. In a live game, the directors will be VERY upset if you register at the last minute (people do it anyway).

However, on BBO, I’ve noticed some games see a huge volatile uptick of registrations about 2 minutes prior to the start time. Was everyone waiting until the last minute to find a partner? Or perhaps they were finishing another session and didn’t pre-register?

I’m willing to bet at least some pairs are scouting out two games, deciding last minute which one to join! Will anyone reading confess to some combination of scouting and sniping?

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