Disaster! Or maybe we are all relieved. Hundreds of people flying in from all over the world, playing in close proximity for a week, then flying back home seemed like a bad idea. Add to that the demographics of the typical NABC attendee. The ACBL has likely done their part in stopping any further health hazards.
Even if they wanted to continue, it seems there was no choice. Enough government authorities have already banned events like NABC.
How About NYC and Long Island Events?
Stay tuned – we expect to have updates as they come. At the moment, there is no change to the Unit events. GNT knockouts in all flights are progressing through their quarterfinal or semifinal rounds.
Summer NABC in Montreal?
So far, it’s on. No changes.
Fall And Beyond?
Some tentative dates for NAP: Flight A and Flight C on October 11th, at Sagamore Bridge Club. Flight B on November 1st, also at Sagamore.
But the most exciting thing happening has yet to be announced. However, there are clues lurking around for those who know where to look. And lo and behold, we have been outed by ACBL’s own sanction calendar. Some people have already asked about it, so the cat is semi-out of the bag.
What is this mysterious non-STAC event among all the STaCs?
I know most people don’t use the online ACBL calendar to find tournaments. You can just rely on Bridge Finesse, the back of the monthly Bridge Bulletin, or flyers at your favorite club (or this website).
Save The Date – June 20, 21
Truth is, the GNYBA board must first finalize all the ins and outs of the first standalone sectional we will be holding in over a decade. It is not 100% happening, but if it does, it will not be considered a “Sectional Tournament at the Club” event. As a full sectional, it will pay 11/9 as much as a regular STaC (22.2% more).
We also hope to hold a Grass Roots Fund for one of the days, which will pay even more silver points. It will be regionally rated, as they say, paying 14/9 as much as a STaC (55.5% more). And as you all should know by now, STaC week pays a bonus beyond the usual club masterpoints award.
Here is the classification factor for various events – note that Club Championship at a club is 7.00, so even STaC pays more than club championship.
Enough Math? What’s the Format?
I will confess, I was at Honors today and someone pleasantly surprised me by complimenting the various masterpoint formula posts. So for now, these types of posts are here to stay! One of my long-time partners once predicted that someday I will end up on the ACBL masterpoint formula committee – I’m not sure about that, but I’m glad we fixed the Freaky Masterpoint KOs in time for the Big Apple Spring Regional. There are more quirks to be patched up, but we will pick our battles for now.
As for the sectional, much more will be revealed later – but with the creative minds here at GNYBA, we hope to host North America’s highest paying silver point team event here in New York. So save the date – June 20th and 21st!
In December, we first heard that the Woodbridge days were numbered. Rumor is the next Unit 140 sectional will move to Edison, just a little bit further for New York drivers. Possibly easier by public transit. They also recently upgraded the Sunday lunch, so perhaps the new venue with retain said upgrades.
About The Tournament
Here is a link to the Woodbridge March 2020 Tournament Flyer. As usual, there will be pairs Friday and Saturday, and teams Sunday. It’s actually a refreshing break. We’ve been talking nonstop about things both Grand and National – I could definitely use a break, relaxing away in a friendly team event that is both minor and local. Keep in mind, Woodbridge Sunday starts at 10:30am, so it’s not the later 12:30pm Allendale schedule (that one is in April, and they are doing some new GrassRoots sessions).
More Silver Point Chances
For those who can’t make Woodbridge, next week right here in District 24 is STaC week! This isn’t the weekend-only silver points we saw in early February. It’s the full-fledged, twice a year week long Sectional Tournament at the Club. And for those who are too busy to make it to a live club, you have a chance to get online silver for the first time ever. But you need to do it today.
Be careful what you wish for! We surpassed our goal of 20+ teams. In total 50 teams competed in the opening rounds of GNT-Championship, GNT-A, GNT-B, and GNT-C. Last year there were only 32, a nice 56% increase, mostly coming from B and C. We have reached a golden age of Mid-Flight intermediate players in the district, and the coming KO matches should be very close!
Most Frequent Players?
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean 200 unique people gave up their weekends. Some people played in two different flights, and the true fanatics played in THREE flights (you must be under 2500 MP to hit this achievement). Perhaps there should be a frequent player drawing for GNT’s next year (while we are at it, 3 NAP flights for 3 different days)?
GNT Hat-Trick: Players who gave up 3 weekend days in a row:
Played: Champ, A, B Allison Rudary Matthew Rudary
Played: Champ, B, C Wendy Wen Qun Yang Luke Robison Nikki Hudak Adam Siegal Frank Dinoff Katherine Todd Lee Lin
Correlation or Causality?
Perhaps it’s just correlation and we are fooled by randomness. Or maybe it takes a certain self-selected kind of person to do it. But it’s also possible that getting beaten up by world class pros actually helps us get better! All of the players who played three flights have qualified into the knockout rounds!
Allison Rudary, Stephannie Culbertson, Rachel Moller, and Matthew Rudary narrowly missed qualifying in the Championship Flight quarterfinals by 2 Victory Points. No problem, they are now Top Seed in the GNT-A Semi-Finals. If anything about this photo looks familiar, Allison and Matthew were also winners in their Group of 9 for GNT-B.
A Multi-Flight Problem?
So for the people who are entering Knockouts , please try to be extra accommodating to the other team and each other. It’s just very hard to find a weeknight or weekend for 8 busy people. For those in multiple flights, you have it extra rough. And of course, be sure to talk things out with your teammates over the various scenarios – you can only go to Montreal and play in one flight, but the remaining teammates can potentially augment the team and swap in eligible players, including those eliminated from other teams.
District 24 GNT-C Results
With 13 teams showing up, the seeding committee used the age old “sort-by-masterpoints” method. The only hiccup was a team of 5 provided their total without notifying the director they had 5 (you are supposed to report the total normalized to four players, and if that is too complicated just give the sum and the number of players to the director).
As with GNT-B, there was one Group of 6, and then a Group of 7, each with four survivors.
Team Yang wins the Group of 6
Team Suden Wins the Group of 7
District 24 GNT-A Results
Team Rudary Wins Top Seed in the GNT-A Round Robin
Team Photos? Bios?
If anyone knows anything about any of the GNT-A or GNT-C Teams, please let us know. We are actively seeking team photos and short bios! For now, we can only briefly discuss a few of the familiar faces.
Today is the opening round for GNT-A and GNT-C flights. Last weekend we did GNT-Championship and GNT-B. Soon we enter the knock-out phase of the GNTs, where surviving teams schedule a match on their own time and report results to the Unit and District GNT Coordinators. By end of May, we will know which teams will be representing New York City and Long Island in the 2020 Montreal NABC.
Timing and Logistics?
But it’s not too soon to think about future years. While the experience is fresh in all our minds, let’s try to get an open discussion about things we could have done better. Was it fair? Is the 11am start time too awkward if it means a late lunch? Remember, some teams are travelling more than an hour to come to Midtown Manhattan, so there are some limits to the start time.
Overall Format?
How about the followup format with 4 or 8 surviving teams into a knockout? We are one of the few districts that have such a complex followup process in ALL four flights. Many districts decide the eventual NABC representatives after only 2 sessions (and in some cases, no one goes because there are no flight C teams that show up). It’s obviously painful to find a day that works for an entire group of 8 or 12 busy people.
However, having some knockout practice is extremely valuable. It feels very different from a swiss and round robin, it is more similar to the eventual GNT experience, and it should reduce the level of randomness. Would it be better to schedule specific dates for the followup semi finals and finals? Or is the “schedule youself” system the best?
Seeding? Anything Else?
The conditions of contest had some provisions for seeding, but in most cases seeding wouldn’t matter because not enough teams showed up to require it. Once 10 teams or more show up, however, seeding suddenly becomes an issue because the teams must be split into 2 groups. We did it this time primarily by defending champions, a seeding committee, and ultimately good ole masterpoint averages in the lower flights. Would it help to encourage say a 1-day advance pregistration in order to ensure favorable seeding (walk-ins still welcome)?
Last Sunday was a great showing of 17 teams for GNT-B. There are some logistics we could do better. Maybe we can figure out seeding and groups without such a long delay (sorry). Maybe lunch doesn’t need to be at 3pm. But overall, it was our most successful GNT-B event ever.
GNT-A and GNT-C Next Sunday!
Ok, let’s try to hit 20 teams next Sunday. All of the 8 teams who survived to the quarter finals of B are also eligible to play in GNT-A. You can’t go to Montreal for multiple flights if you end up winning the District A and B, but that’s a good problem to have. Plus, the runners up who get promoted will love you for dropping out and giving them the chance. Either way, it’s a great field to practice as you work through your KO matches.
How about the 9 teams that didn’t survive? If your team consists entirely of 0-500 NLMs, then you should definitely try GNT-C. And if not, you are eligible for GNT-A. The results were so tight, might as well give it a shot? Is there really such a big difference between a field with all players 0-2500 vs 0-6000? Do people learn great new superpowers in those last 3000 points that they didn’t have in the first 2500?
Some Key Numbers To Hit
For the GNT-A, there will most likely be a round robin unless we hit 10 teams. Then we default to our favorite CoC to get the format. Unfortunately, only one team will represent in Montreal.
For GNT-C, a key number is 8 teams. That lets the district send TWO teams to Montreal, and ensures the top four teams get 10-20 gold and red points. If we can cross 12 teams, then we will advance 8 survivors, just like in Championship and GNT-B. Please come join the fun. All are welcome (just make sure everyone is a District 24 resident, there was one disqualified team because one team member lived JUST a touch too far upstate).
After a 2-session round robin with 12 teams on Saturday, the championship flight District 24 GNT field continued Sunday with the round of 8. Similar to the Flight B format, a seeding committee created two balanced groups with four survivors each. The winner of each group chooses an opponent from the 3rd / 4th place team of the other group.
The four surviving teams are now 102 boards deep into the 2020 GNT-Championship tournament. Unlike Flights B and C, only one team will represent us in Montreal, and they will need to pay their own way, as they do not get the $1000 Grass Roots Fund subsidy.
Team Miniter
As defending district champions, Team Miniter was automatically given the most favorable seeding (between us, I suspect the seeding committee might have given it to them regardless). Last year they represented New York and Long Island at the Las Vegas NABC, going all the way into the national finals for 2nd place!
Joel Wooldridge, Kent Mignocchi, Joe Grue, Gillian Miniter, and John Hurd
Team Koeppel
Another all-star team. Lynne Koeppel, Max Rotaru, Erez Hendelman, Radu Nistor, and Mustafa Cem Tokay. Sadly, we don’t have a full team photo, but we do have the SF NABC victory shot from the Nail Life Master Pairs. They will face off against Team Miniter in a 52-board match sometime prior to April 25th, at an undisclosed location (probably Honors, backup location the Midnight KOs during Columbus).
Team Trenka vs Team Herman
Peter Trenka, Igor Savchenko, Giorgia Botta, and Ahmed Soliman will face off against Ira Herman, Allen Kahn, Jeffrey Rothstein, and David Rosenberg .
I would try to sad something intelligent about the lineup, but I’ve run into a classic Good Will Hunting problem: I can’t distinguish between Will Hunting and professor Lambo. To me, they are all world class players who can consistently depend on me to gift them cold tops at the club.
Quarter-Final Recap
Team Miniter defeats Team Moss (David Moss, Kerry Kappel, Cathy Nathan, Marc Nathan, Raluca Dobrescu, Jesus Arias)
Team Herman defeats Team Eisenstein (Glenn Eisenstein, Magnus Olafsson, David Gurvich, Michael Radin, John Rengstorff, Michael Lipkin)
Team Trenka defeats Team Rosenthal ( Andrew Rosenthal, Chris Willenken, Aaron Silverstein, Jan Jansma)
Team Koeppel defeats Team Parrish ( Adam Parrish, Dana Berkowitz, Franco Baseggio, Adam Kaplan, Craig Ganzer)
Absolutely amazing. Last year we had 10 teams show up for the GNT-B opening round, but today we broke a district record at 17 teams! The conditions of contest didn’t even account for 12+ teams resulting in 8 survivors. But that’s what we had. Our seeding committee split the 17 teams into a group of 8 and a group of 9, each with 4 survivors. Here are some of the teams moving forward:
Team Warren
Mee Warren, Allison Rudary, Matt Rudary, James Keiger – photo by Erwin Dionisio
The winners of the larger Group of 9 teams is Team Warren. All four members of the team are NABC Grassroots veterans: Allison and Matt represented the GNT-C’s during Summer 2016 in DC, where they reached the quarter finals nationwide. James and Mee were 2018 and 2019 repeat President’s Cup NAP-C District winners, representing us last year in Memphis and next month in Columbus.
Team Merlo
The team of Stefano Merlo, Christopher Moh, Jordan Lampe, and Jin Hu won the Group of 8 teams. Last summer in NABC Las Vegas, Jordan gained more experience playing behind bidding screens than anyone else in the district – he was on the GNT-B team with Stefano that went all the way to semi-finals, then after a short break, entered the micro Spingold with Chris for the eventual win!
Team Trabulus
Norman Trabulus has represented our district during NABCs more than any other Flight B Grassroots player. His GNT-B team took 2nd in the district last year. He also competed in the national finals for either GNT or NAP every year since 2015. If his name sounds familiar, he recently joined the GNYBA Board of Directors, and might be part of the secret committee planning a NYC silver point sectional. It’s only fitting that such a tournament would certainly hold a special Grass Roots Fund game.
More Teams?
If any of the other teams have a team photo or bio to post, please let us know. We’ll be happy to post!
Full Standings
Let’s just say the seeding committee must have done a great job. Both groups came down to an extremely tight finish. The cutoff in the Group of 8 between Team Liebhaber and Team Goodspeed was only ONE VICTORY POINT. To make things more fun, those two teams faced off in the final round. The Group of 9 was amazingly more tight. Team Sigward lost by one victory point. But Team Duvshani lost by 0 victory points – both were tied at 69 after 7 rounds, so the total net imps across all matches became the tiebreaker (simulating what would happen if we used the continuous VP scale).
What Next?
The winners will play 26-board knockout matches for the quarter and semi finals (in March or April). Then the final 52-board match will take place in May. Both teams making the finals will go to Montreal to represent the district – but only the winners will take home the 33.5 Gold Points for first prize and the $1000 travel subsidy.
Today kicked off GNT season with 12 teams showing up for the opening round! By now, everyone should know the preferred format with 12 teams. To recap, a seeding committee nominated by the director, District Representative, and Unit GNT Coordinator must split the 12 teams into two balanced groups of 6.
Each group plays round robin among themselves, and the top four in each group survive to Sunday Feb 23rd. The top finisher in each group chooses from among the 3rd and 4th place finishers of the OTHER group, to play a round of 8 knockout tomorrow. Here are the results of the round robin, with matchups to watch tomorrow:
(Group 1 Winners chooses from Group 2 4th Place) Gillian Miniter, Joe Grue, John Hurd, Joel Wooldridge, Kent Mignocchi vs
David Moss, Kerry Kappel, Cathy Nathan, Marc Nathan, Raluca Dobrescu
(Group 2 Winners chooses Group 1 4th Place) Glenn Eisenstein, Magnus Olafsson, David Gurvich, Michael Radin, John Rengstorff, Michael Lipkin vs
Ira Herman , Allen Kahn, Jeffrey Rothstein, David Rosenberg
(2nd place in each group plays the remaining opponent)
Peter Trenka, Igor Savchenko, Giorgia Botta, Long Island Cit NY; Ahmed Solima vs
Andrew Rosenthal – Chris Willenken – Aaron Silverstein, Jan Jansma
Adam Parrish, Dana Berkowitz, Franco Baseggio, Adam Kaplan, Craig Ganzer vs
Lynne Koeppel, Iulian Rotaru, Erez Hendelman, Radu Nistor, Mustafa Cem Tokay
For The Rest Of Us
Our team had a great time. We are very lucky to have so many resident professionals and world class players in the New York bridge scene. Every player in the four non-qualifying team will continue their GNT 2020 ambitions in the GNT-B opening round tomorrow, or next weekend’s GNT-A and GNT-C event (or both!).
It’s raining silver points these days! We just finished another successful unit STaC weekend with three separate Swiss teams events (two for 0-750, one for open). The winning pair on Friday afternoon netted 13.31 silver points!
The next nearby sectional is in Woodbridge early March (the last time at the location – rumor is Edison will become the new Woodbridge). There might also be a June NYC sectional in the works…
Now you can earn silver points online.
Online ACBL Points?
Decades ago, ACBL raised many eyebrows when they first sanctioned online masterpoints for OK Bridge and Bridge Base Online. Back then, everyone in the tournament was human and present at the same time. They just played from the comfort of their homes. Much more recently, ACBL sanctioned robot tournaments, which would award online masterpoints playing entirely against robots with a robot partner.
Online Gold and Red Points?
In 2017, ACBL began the online individual NABC, an amazingly fun event that lets everyone join the excitement of the 3 annual NABC tournaments. It was also the first time lots of players could win gold and red points playing with robots. Does it also give blue ribbon qualifiers to the top spots?
Online Silver Points!
For the first time ever, there will be an online sectional. Start practicing now, for free if you would like, so you get a feel for playing with bots. Monday and Tuesday March 2nd and 3rd, there will be an all day long sectional. You just need to play 24 boards at your own pace, and each day you start on a clean slate.
Go to ACBL World section after logging in to BBO.
Online Life Master?!?
So now it’s possible to get Gold, Red, Silver, and Online points against robots. It’s only a matter of time – some day, someone somewhere will become the first life master to never step foot in a live game. Currently, there is no way to get the required black points online, so you will still need to visit your local club.
It’s an exciting time to be learning bridge and there are more opportunities than ever to practice and play competitively. There are some naysayers when it comes to playing against bots, but they have been immensely helpful for improving my game. You can also review how other humans played each hand, for the boards that didn’t quite go so well.
NOABC Victories
Katherine Todd (0-5000 Teams Champion)
Zia Mahmood
(Open KO semifinals)
Joe Grue
(Open Pairs 4th)
Team Liebhaber
(0-1500 Teams semifinals)
GNYBA League Nov 2020
Season One Results Team New England
Better Than Ok On A Good Day
Team Sam
