Changes to the Upcoming NYC Regionals

Posted on December 22, 2019 by Lee Lin

The Big Apple Winter Regional is only 4 days away! Last week, the board met and discussed a few minor adjustments and improvements over prior years. You can read the full minutes if you are curious.

Name Change

Previously we called it the Edgar Kaplan Winter Regional. This is the first year we are calling it the Big Apple Winter Regional. There must be a story there – but I don’t know it. The Spring regional has always been called the Eastern States Regional.

Coffee Vouchers

The host hotel unfortunately does not allow the hospitality committee to supply our own vats of coffee to players. Instead, we provide some hidden coffee vouchers throughout the sessions. In the past, we had a randomization algorithm that tries to give everyone in attendance an even chance at winning a voucher. For this tournament, only players playing in the active session are eligible to win – the vouchers might even be hidden in certain random boards – another reason to double check you have 13 cards!

Picking a Newcomer Gift

Deciding on an appropriate welcome gift for Intermediate / Newcomer players is always challenge. The budget is very limited and spans a wide range of playing skill: 0-100 masterpoints include those who have never played an ACBL sanctioned duplicate game! At the other end of the spectrum are “up-and-coming” intermediate players with over 200 sessions under their belt.

The board decided on a practical gift of $3 in entry fee credits, given to the first wave of newcomers to play in the regional.

Somewhere in this 0-100 band we will also crown the eventual winners of the Countess Cup on Friday Dec 27th (the budget for the Countess Cup trophy is an order of magnitude more than the I/N gift).

Winners of the inaugural 2018 Countess Cup, Jeffrey Marino (middle) and James Axente (right), each won the fancy trophies along with 2.80 red points. Glenn Eisenstein (left) presented the award.

Stratification Averaging vs Higher Player

We all know that in a Gold Rush event, no player may have over 750 masterpoints. But when you determine A/B/C stratifications within the event, do you use the average of the pair of the higher player of each pair?

For the Winter 2019 regional, we are making no changes (average of the pair).

Starting the Spring 2020 regional, stratification for pairs events will be based on the player with the most Masterpoints in the pair. For example, if a pro player with 3000 Masterpoints partners with a student having 800 Masterpoints, whether they end up in A/B/C is based on the 3000. Not the average of 1900.

How about in A/X and B/C team swiss events? For Bracketed Teams, there are no strats, so nothing to discuss. But for the larger swiss events, will the strats still be team average, or highest player of the 4 (or 6)? We shall clarify next time!

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Final 2019 STaC Weekend Dec 20-22nd

Posted on December 20, 2019 by Lee Lin

Good news, the Big Apple Winter Regional is only 6 days away! Until then, we do have one more STaC weekend for those who avoided the bridges, tunnels, and tolls required for Allendale and Woodbridge.

Remember, even if you don’t care about silver points, almost all silver point games this weekend will pay the special STaC bonus for overall scores (and they compute the overall across clubs for concurrent games). There are a few of the usual special events – on Friday Dec 20th morning, Honors is hosting another one-session 0-750 Swiss teams with pre-duplicated boards.

But best of all, those planning to play might not even realize it is a special weekend, and that’s fine as well. The extra points will just be a pleasant surprise, because thankfully all of the NYC clubs charge the same card fees as a normal weekend. Clubs pay a small STaC surcharge per table to ACBL (via the sponsoring organization, GNYBA). In many other Districts and Units, the clubs will pass some or all of the fees on to the players.

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Youth Bridge at Woodbridge

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Lee Lin

On Saturday, December 14, 2019, the New Jersey Bridge League sponsored the Holiday Bridge Sectional in Woodbridge, NJ, at the Hungarian-American Citizens Club. The Orange Education Foundation organized transportation from Park and Oakwood Avenue Schools for 32 students. In all, 48 students were in attendance at the tournament. The schools had eight new students that also attended for supervised play .

The new students experienced what tournament play is like so they are prepared for the next tournament in March when they will compete. The competing 10 tables of students played seven rounds for a total of 14 boards. 

Hometown Winners

Chris Chen and Joey Shi from Livingston, NJ were the overall winners with a 80.95% game. Partners Kevin Li and Ryan Xu took second, also from Livingston. GNYBA members Avery Silverstein and Jack Boge won 3rd with a 66.87%. Avery and Jack regularly participate in the Cavendish Youth Bridge program.

GNYBA members Avery Silverstein and Jack Boge won 3rd place at the New Jersey Youth Sectional

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Woodbridge at Risk! Hungarian American Citizens Club Closing?

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Lee Lin

What a strange twist of fate. Just as the GNYBA Board was discussing whether New York should host a non-STaC sectional, we learned today another major source of silver points is in jeopardy.

Tournament Chair Brett Kunin announced the much beloved Hungarian American Citizens Club is closing next year, and March 8th, 2020 would be the final Woodbridge sectional. As they scramble to find a replacement, the requirements seem to be:

  • 2500 square feet of playing space
  • A location within the Unit, within budget of their $14 per session card fees
  • Parking space for about 100 cars

The last requirement is “the bugaboo.”

If anyone has leads, I am sure they would love to hear suggestions (and for locations in Manhattan, jump in on the NYC sectional discussions).

Woodbridge Memories

I have fond memories of both Woodbridge and Brett. My very first game on ACBL Live is exactly two years ago at the Dec 2017 Woodbridge Winter Sectional. The crowd was smaller than usual as the weather forecasted snow and icy roads. There was also a concurrent STaC weekend in New York City, which shouldn’t be allowed if it is within 150 miles of a sectional.

Brett and his partner were the last pair we played in the morning session, and I distinctly remember his friendly and warm introduction, welcoming me to my first sectional in his district (I didn’t mention it was my first anywhere). Both pairs at that table came in nearly last place, but I was encouraged enough by the hospitality to come back many times!

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Big Apple Winter Regional Daily Bulletins

Posted on December 13, 2019 by Jin Hu

Full Regional Tournament Schedule (Big Apple Dec 26-30, 2019)
Intermediate / Newcomer Schedule (with Countess Cup information)
Cash Prizes and Hospitality

Daily Bulletins for the Big Apple Winter Regional
Pre-Tournament Bulletin – 12/13/2019
Day 1 Bulletin – 12/26/2019
Day 2 Bulletin – 12/27/2109
Day 3 Bulletin – 12/28/2019
Day 4 Bulletin – 12/29/2019
ACBL Live Full Results

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Sectional in New York City?!

Posted on December 13, 2019 by Lee Lin

As we prepare our carpools and mass transit plans for the Woodbridge Sectional, we can reflect on why silver points are so difficult to obtain for residents of District 24 (that’s anyone in the 5 boroughs of NYC plus all of Long Island). ACBL limits the number of STaC days that allow our favorite clubs to host silver point events (the last one for the year is Dec 20-22, 2019, then after that Feb 7th 2020). Why don’t we have our version of Allendale and Woodbridge?

The good old days

Apparently, GNYBA used to host sectionals at the iconic New Yorker hotel, at 481 8th Avenue (not just tri-club sectionals that sound a lot like STaCs). When did we have our last one? It was certainly prior to my very short time on the NYC bridge scene!

Of course, we did some online digging. In Feb 2011, the unit held a GNYBA Newcomer Sectional just for 0-199ers, and it averaged 30 tables per day. The next year in Feb 2012, the 199er sectional was at the Manhattan Bridge Club. The most recent ACBL hosted retro tournament flyer pops up in 2014.

But how about a full-fledged, not-at-a-club open sectional complete with knockouts, Swiss teams, charity games, and pairs? Possibly October 2007, with a full 70 teams in the A/X and BC Swiss on Sunday, and 270 session tables for just the weekend.

Venue Ideas?

At the GNYBA board meeting today, the members discussed whether it could be feasible to ever host an ACBL sectional. We would invite all of the folks we normally meet in Tarrytown, Poughkeepsie, NJ, and PA to come here instead!

But it starts with finding a venue, and the budget is always going to be tight. A recent Allendale sectional averaged 50 tables per day, with card fees of $14 per session, 4 people a table for 2 sessions each ($14 * 50 * 4 * 2 = $5600). Players could probably tolerate a moderate Manhattan premium, but even at $22 a session, an optimistic scenario is $8800 a day, and that needs to pay for everything (venue, directors, hospitality, signage, etc).

Anyone have ideas??

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Countess Cup Pairs for 99ers

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Lee Lin

During the upcoming Big Apple Winter Regional, there are plenty of prestigious events for the pros. But equally important are games that attract newer players of all skill levels. The grass roots events such as Grand National Teams and North American Pairs cater to advanced and intermediate players. But how about true newcomers with under 100 masterpoints? Come play in the Countess Cup!

The Countess Cup is an all day event held annually during the New York winter regional. Both players in the pair must have under 100 masterpoints, and you play two sessions. Once at 10:30am, then lunch break, then again at 3pm. Winners will obtain red pigmented Masterpoints, signifying a victory at a regionally rated tournament. Last year the winning pair received 2.80 points. They also got a cool trophy!

For new players, this might be the best way to get a taste of 2-session events, meaning your score from the morning carries over to the afternoon. The intention is to reduce some of the luck factor in the game of duplicate bridge. With two sessions, the impact of any single board is lower. It also allows more pairs to face off against each other, reducing the chance of an imbalanced field (you tend to play against different people in the 2nd session). And as we all know, bridge can be very tiring and requires great stamina. Even the best players will see their game degrade after 48 straight boards.

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Grand National Teams 2020

Posted on December 10, 2019 by Katherine

(Edit: 2/19/2020: More information about the format, what to expect, and forming teams posted in postings tagged GNT)
https://gnyba.org/tag/gnt/

With the Fall NABC now behind us, it’s not too early to begin thinking about next year’s nationals. You can officially mark your calendars and start working on your team: the opening rounds of the 2020 Grand National Teams (GNT) event for District 24 have been scheduled!

Winners of each flight go on to represent District 24 (New York City and Long Island) at the ACBL 2020 Summer Nationals in Montreal next July.

See the GNT Event Flyer for details. Opening rounds will take place at 11 AM at Honors Bridge Club, as listed below:

  • Championship Flight:
    Opening Round is Saturday, February 22;
    Semi-Final is Sunday, February 23.
  • Flight A (0-6000 MPs): Opening Round is Sunday, March 1.
  • Flight B (0-2500 MPs): Opening Round is Sunday, February 23.
  • Flight C (Non-LM, less than 500 MPs): Opening Round is Sunday, March 1.

ALERT! In Flights B and C only, the top TWO teams will be eligible to represent District 24 at the Nationals if 8 or more teams participate in the Opening Round.

“But can you show me the money!?” So glad you asked…1st Place in Flights B and C will receive a stipend of $1000 per team.

“I don’t do Canada.” May we point out that July is the perfect time to visit Montreal? But if you can’t make it… just play for the points!


The fine print: To participate you must be a member of District 24 as of June 1, 2019. A “team” consists of four to six players. Please check gnyba.org for the full Conditions of Contest.


Any other questions? Contact GNT Coordinator Amy Rhodes at amrhodes913@gmail.com.

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Pilgrimage to Woodbridge Sectional

Posted on December 8, 2019 by Lee Lin

As Fall 2019 NABC winds down with many excellent GNYBA member results, we set our eyes on the Woodbridge sectional next weekend, Dec 13-15 2019. Just like the Allendale sectionals, our neighboring Unit 140 is the host, but you’ll find New York regulars there. In fact, for months I mistakenly thought some silver-seeking NYC locals were from New Jersey, because Woodbridge and Allendale were the only times I saw them.

For some reason every time I Google for Woodbridge sectional or Allendale sectional, I get a link from 2 years ago and never the upcoming one. So here we go, the tournament flyer for the Woodbridge Dec 2019 sectional.

Rounders: “On the weekends you can’t get a game in the city, because all the New York rounders are taking care of the tourists.”
(disclaimer: Unit 140 and New Jersey is actually home to many world class players and NABC title holders, and you can most certainly get a game at your normal NYC club)

Woodbridge vs Allendale?

Most of us probably consider Woodbridge and Allendale interchangeable – but there are key differences. Allendale is the one where you can find a strip mall walking distance, complete with Blimpie’s sandwiches, a supermarket with a hot food section, and a generic Chinese restaurant with western favorites such as General Tso’s and Beef with Broccoli.

Woodbridge is the other one, with no obvious food establishments walking distance. You can drive to a 7-11 or Starbucks, but the venue always sells pizza and salads at very reasonable prices ($2 a slice?). There is also coffee, tea, and snacks all day long, but it is hidden away in a secret corner of the room (which keeps the coffee hot, I never even found it my first 2 sessions there).

Sunday has the biggest scheduling differences, for those who enjoy team games. Allendale is the sectional that starts later on Sunday, at 12:30pm. Woodbridge starts bright and early, with game time 10:30am. It is also bracketed teams, so they offer breakfast at 9:30am, hoping to reduce the usual 10:28am rush to buy entries (it makes the directors lives a lot more hectic).

Saturday afternoon offers IMP scoring for those playing A/X Open Pairs, but has an afternoon BCD pairs for those 0-3000 and remains matchpoints. There are 299er games both morning and aftenroon, each offering trophies and masterpoints for the winners.

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Cash Prizes for Big Apple Winter Regional

Posted on December 7, 2019 by Lee Lin

GNYBA is happy to announce the daily cash prizes and door prizes for the upcoming NYC Regional tournament, hosted at the Midtown Hilton Hotel (53rd street and 6th Avenue).

(Edit: the Mid-Flight on 12/26 and 12/29 is now 0-3000 instead of 0-2000)

Remember, 12/26 and 12/29 are special “Mid Flight” days for those with 0-3000 masterpoints (no player on the team or pair can have over 3000 points). The cutoff for Mid-Flight is the usual 0-3000, not the earlier reported lower amount for this tournament and should be a perfect stepping stone for those graduating out of Gold Rush. To sweeten the pot even more, cash prizes are offered to the Mid-Flight event winners on both days!

Friday, 12/27 is a Gold Rush day, with $100 given to the winning pair.

Saturday Dec 12/28 gives any pair playing in the Stratified Open Pairs a chance to win $50, by winning top of their stratification (A is unlimited, B is 0-3000, C is 0-1500). What if the same pair happens to win, say, overall B and C, or a C-pair wins the entire thing? It is customary and sporting to still cap the win at $50 per pair, so any remaining $50 prize goes to the next eligible pair of the lower strats.

Monday gives a cash prize to those playing Bracketed Round Robin, but only to the winners of the LOWEST bracket. Remember, the directors will always let you play in the top bracket by choice, but you may not opt to play down – they use the masterpoint total of your team.

Do you receive a check or 1099? Nope! In the past, David Moss tracks you down and counts out cash, but requires that you pose for a photo, such as the one below.

Winners of the Spring 2019 Regional Bracket 4 Swiss Teams cash prize.
Betty Mintz, Stanley Tuhrim (wearing AvenueQ shirts), Tim Archdeacon and Lee Lin.

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