Edison Sectional, July 28-30 2023

Posted on June 22, 2023 by Lee Lin

It’s time again for the quarterly Edison sectional from our neighbors in District 3. For those who know the drill, here is the latest July 2023 Edison sectional tournament flyer.

Edison Schedule Set Through October 2024!

Unit 140 is a bit more organized than we are, and they actually have their next 3 sectionals already approved on the ACBL calendar. In addition to the July 28-30, 2023 sectional, there will be at least two Edison sectionals next year:

May 17-19, 2024
October 18-20, 2024

I certainly don’t plan my silver point runs more than 6 months in advance, let alone a whole year, but good to know it’s there. Another important point, we can ensure our NAP 2024 dates do not collide with our neighbors (for example, in 2024, perhaps NAP should be Flight B on October 13th and Flight A/C on October 27th).

Changes This Time?

We last ventured to Edison on May 20th. Other than the butterflies turning into mermaids, the schedule looks identical. Pairs on Fri/Sat begin at 10am and 2:30pm, with a relatively quick pizza and soda lunch in between. Sunday is the Swiss Teams beginning at 10:30am. Again, note the time difference: Fri/Sat starts at 10:00. Sunday at 10:30. There have been some carpool close calls if only one person thinks the pairs day is 10:30 as well. My advice: treat every day like a 10am start — you’ll be able to better enjoy the Sunday bagel breakfast.

As usual, each pairs session is an independent single-session. If you only want to play for 3 hours, then it’s best to go for the afternoon 2:30pm; those have the GrassRoots bonus, paying a regionally rated amount (27.27% more than a normal sectional).

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Team Verrier Advances to GNT-B Finals

Posted on June 15, 2023 by Lee Lin

Team Verrier defeated Team Petsch in a 36 board semifinal KO on Saturday, June 10th. After some negotiations over the time, length, and venue, the captains settled on the secret 4th floor room at 177 East 87th Street. Most of us have never personally entered this room; but apparently mahjong, canasta, and bridge knockouts take place there.

The teams split the first two quarters with Verrier leading 18-9 in Q1, followed by Petsch closing the gap to 37-32 by the halfway mark. In a very IMPs-heavy second half, Verrier’s team scored 60 IMPs vs 36 IMPs across the final 18 boards, closing out the match with a 97-68 lead.

18-9
37-32
68-50
97-68 (Verrier wins)

What’s Next For GNT-B and the National Finals?

Team Verrier will take on Team Latta, sometime after the Battle of the Jacks, to see who receives the GNT-B District title and the 33.5 gold points. However, Team Latta has already decided to play in the Flight C national finals, leaving the 2nd Chicago slot to our remaining semifinalist teams.

The Team of Melanie Petsch, James Beha, Daniel Lev, and Linda Einhorn-Ihde, as well as Team Schwartz consisting of Michael Schwartz, Janie Woo, Barbara Schwartz, and Christopher Rivera will each receive 16.75 gold points for coming in tied 3rd/4th. They will also be merging teams to form a roster for the nationals finals in Chicago next month.

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Team Trabulus Wins GNT Flight A

Posted on June 13, 2023 by Lee Lin

The team of Norman Trabulus, Joseph Byrnes, David Joseph, Dina Schechter, Charles Bilich, and Michael Krevor won the District 24 GNT Flight A with each player taking 40 gold points.

The Trabulus team used one of the most unique 6-player configurations during the semi-final and final KO matches. Instead of the two more common anchor-pair or 3-pair configurations, the Trabulus team operates two troikas (the Russian 3-horse carriage). Each group of three has 3 established partnerships, allowing for a North-South troika and an East-West troika. With seating rights, the Trabulus team can send in 18 different viable configurations!

The 2nd place team of Jordan Lampe, David Marker, Jacqueline Chang, David Yoon, and Christopher Moh each win 30 gold points and an invitation to the Blue Ribbon pairs.

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GNT-B and GNT-C 2022-2023 Knockouts

Posted on June 9, 2023 by Lee Lin

In Flights B and C, defending Flight C champions Jack Latta and Maya Jonas-Silver have qualified into the finals in BOTH flights. Each player will win at least 40 Masterpoints (32.5 gold and 7.5 red), and up to 53 points if they win both finals. Each player also receives an invitation to both the Red Ribbon Pairs during the summer NABC and the Blue Ribbon Pairs in the fall NABC.

A player may only represent the district in one flight of the GNTs, leaving them with an interesting choice of which flight to play (the B and C rosters happen to not be an exact overlap due to unforeseen circumstances). What would you do if you qualified for both B and C and had to choose? Do you go for the glory in B, or perhaps play one last time with the NLMs in Flight C? What if you would only receive the travel subsidy for one flight and not the other?

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NYC Silver Point Sectional June 24-25

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Lee Lin

Big news for intermediate and newer players! We are bringing back the Countess Cup, the award created in honor of New York world champion Margie Gwozdzinsky. The Countess was a major presence in the local bridge scene, where she volunteered many times to mentor newcomers in Pro-Am-Am-Am events (also making a comeback, stay tuned).


On Saturday, June 24th, join us and compete for the 3rd annual Countess Cup. The top 99er pair and 499er pair will receive trophies, silver pigmented Masterpoints, and potentially long-lasting fame. For newer players, this is a rare chance to experience the excitement of a two-session pairs event while still winning a generous amount of silver points for each independent session.

If you are looking for a partner or wish to reserve a spot, email us at tournaments@gnyba.org.

Register for the Countess Cup and Rising Stars Cup.

Prior Countess Cup Winners:

Karen Jenkins and Eileen Serwer (2019)
Jeffrey Marino and James Axente (2018)
[Also pictured, former GNYBA president Bonnie Gellas]

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Bracketed Teams June 25th, Silver Points


For those itching to play more teams, especially for anyone practicing for GNTs, mark Sunday, June 25th on your calendars. The final Sunday of the June sectional is a two-session bracketed teams event starting at 10:30am at 177 East 87th Street. Win silver points playing IMPs without venturing outside of NYC.


If you are a pair looking to for a team with another pair, email us at tournaments@gnyba.org.

Register for either event:
https://bridgewinners.com/tournament/view/gnyba-2023/

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GNT-C Finals: Battle of the Jacks

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Lee Lin

The GNT-C Semifinal match between Team Romeo and Team Boge took place today. After some haggling over the date, time, and venue, the teams ultimately agreed to play their knockout at the Regency Whist Club! Known for their invite-only money game and classy bartenders, the club regulars might have been surprised to spot two teams of extremely young players locked in an intense competition to determine who goes to the Chicago nationals.

Finals: Latta vs Boge

Congrats to Jack Boge, Avery Silverstein, Jingyang Ng, Jessica U, and Yanlai Yang, who won the match 65-46, recovering from a 26-29 deficit in the first half of the match. They will face off against defending champions Jack Latta, Kenneth Mandel, Andrew Jeanguenat, and Maya Jonas-Silver in the anticipated Battle of the Jacks GNT-C finals (Boge vs Latta).

Each finalist team will receive an invitation to represent New York City and Long Island during the Chicago 2023 summer NABC. They will also each receive a red ribbon qualifier, which allows entry to the Bean Red Ribbon pairs held annually during the summer NABCs.

The two teams will face off to see who wins the top prize of 20 Masterpoints, a $1000 travel subsidy, and some very limited fame in the GNYBA archives.

Congrats to Semi-finalists

For winning 3rd/4th in the District, the team of Tom Romeo, Puja Chadha, Sara Bayone, and Danielle Tawil, as well as the team of Lori Rosen, Deborah Tormey, Richard Vella, and Alan Davidson, will receive 10 Masterpoints, half red half gold.

Prior Year GNT-C Winners

(Won Top Seed after the National Finals Round Robin)
2022: Jack Latta, Kenneth Mandel, Andrew Jeanguenat, and Maya Jonas-Silver

(Team Xing won the National Finals held online)
2021 – 1st : Margot Wagner, Ben Weisgal, Anthony Chiocchi, Damon Suden, Mo Oehlerking
2021 – 2nd: Hengrui Xing, Tingran Wang, Jiaheng Hu, Yang Xu

2020: Aaron Liebhaber, Adam Siegel, Lee Lin, and Frank Dinoff

2019: Lee Lin, Matthew Gordon, Siqing Yu, Nicole Hudak, and Frank Dinoff

2018: James Keiger, Jing Zhang, Lee Lin, and Christopher Moh

2017: Yoko Glubok Sobel, Alan Davidson, Scott McDermott, Daniel Lev

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Petsch Leads GNT Flight B Opening Round

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Lee Lin

The Team of Melanie Petsch, James Beha, Daniel Lev, and Linda Einhorn-Ihde emerged as the winners in the GNT-B opening round robin. Melanie originally faced off against Linda and Daniel during the GNT-A round robin two weeks ago on May 7th. This time, they joined forces to take 99.32 Victory Points after 8 rounds with 5 wins and one push.

The other three advancing teams are Latta, Schwartz, and Verrier.

The Dilemma of Choice

A long-standing GNT ritual is the winners choice of opponents in the KO round. The leading team must choose either the 3rd or 4th place team as their semi-final match, which leaves the 2nd place team to play against the opponents they did not choose. Adding to the fun and stress, the team captain has a very limited time to decide — usually about 5 minutes after the director updates the final scoreboard!

Put yourself in the captain’s shoes as your team huddles in a corner to discuss. How would you make your choice? To minimize second-guessing yourselves, picking the 4th place team seems to be a safe choice. But you could attempt some rapid ACBL Live results stalking (or Power Ratings if anyone still uses that). Perhaps you consult the limited 6 boards of datapoints you have from the day’s round robin match. Maybe pick the more friendly team (less annoying team?), because win or lose you are spending half the day together.

Who Did They Pick?

Team Petsch ultimately opted to play against Team Verrier, consisting of Celia Verrier, Carole Pasquarelli, Lore Monnig, and Joann Goodspeed. One of the main factors was actually finding which opponents have the most compatible schedule for actually choosing a date and time to play. On that front, we can apologize on behalf of GNYBA for holding the GNTs so late in the season. Next year we will move them back to February.

The other side of the bracket is Michael Schwartz, Janie Woo, Barbara Z Schwartz, and Christopher Rivera, playing against the GNT-C finalists Team Latta.

Bracketed Teams June 25th, 2023, Silver Points

For those itching to play more teams, especially for anyone practicing for GNTs, mark Sunday, June 25th on your calendars. GNYBA is holding a silver point sectional from June 22nd to June 25th, with the final Sunday event consisting on a two-session bracketed teams event. Win silver points without venturing outside of NYC.

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Grue and Lipkin Advance to GNT Finals

Posted on May 20, 2023 by Lee Lin

While some of us played in the Edison Sectional today, many of the strongest players in our district competed in the Grand National Teams Championship Flight.

You can see the latest brackets at https://gnyba.org/gnt

The two teams advancing to the finals tomorrow are:

Team Grue
Joe Grue, Gillian Miniter, John Hurd, Joel Wooldridge, and Kent Mignocchi

Team Lipkin
Mike Lipkin, David Gurvich, Erez Hendelman, and Mustafa Cem Tokay

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Bidding like it’s IMPs in a Matchpoints game?

Posted on May 20, 2023 by Lee Lin

Serious question. Have you ever played in a matchpoints game but agreed with your partner you will bid as if you are playing IMPs?

Mini Bridge Adventures: Edison Sectional

Today is my first time participating in the Edison Sectionals, which is the new version of the pre-Covid Woodbridge sectionals. Why are we going? Mostly, because we have a very fun crew of four that hopes to practice prior to tomorrow’s GNT Flight B opening round.

Of course, we could simply go to the convenient Bridge and Games Saturday session or play online, but somehow I found fellow addicts willing to wake up at 7am on a Saturday in order to squeeze in two face-to-face sessions. Truth be told, the commute is quite convenient – only a 45 minute drive from Midtown given there is no Saturday morning traffic; but as the designated driver, I like to to add plenty of buffer time.

Bid Like It’s IMPs!

Here is the problem. The neighboring NJ sectionals previously had IMPs pairs. However, the schedule today is entirely matchpoints. So my partner and I have agree to “bid as if it were IMPs.” That means invites aren’t really invites, they are just sheepish game forcing bids. If the opponents do some crazy part-score interference, we probably won’t be doubling them. Maybe we should even play like it’s IMPs to get the maximum amount of practice — a chance to use all of the crazy safety plays we learn on BridgeMaster, or defend hoping partner has the longshot holding that can set a contract. Overtricks don’t matter in IMPs, right?

Ok ok, maybe we won’t go entirely crazy, but for all of our conventions and agreements, we are using the IMPs version of them. Get ready for more minor part scores or seven-card major fits in lieu of 1NT. At least I know I won’t be declaring 4 of a minor. Btw, of course Edison has swiss teams – it is on Sunday instead of Friday and Saturday.

How about everyone else? Have you ever agreed with your partner to bid like it’s IMPs in a Matchpoints game?

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Partnerships for GNT Flight B on May 21st

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Lee Lin

To all ACBL bridge players in New York City and Long Island with under 2500 masterpoints, we’re thrilled to invite you to participate in the Grand National Teams tournament (GNT-B).

Need a Team or Partner?
If you’re eager to participate but need teammates or a partner, we’re here to help! Send us an email at gnt@gnyba.org with the subject “Partnership Desk GNT Flight B,” and include your ACBL number and current roster. This is a great opportunity to find new local players and forge potential face-to-face partnerships that can last for years to come.

Why Participate in GNT Flight B?
The GNT tournament is the most exciting event on our annual District 24 bridge calendar. It offers a unique format that includes a round robin on the first day, ensuring a fair competition where you’ll square off against all other teams in your group. Qualifying teams continue into a knockout round.

The rewards? A winning team can earn 33.50 gold pigmented masterpoints and, if you emerge as the champion, a $1000 travel subsidy along with the honor of representing New York City and Long Island at the national finals in Chicago.

Even if masterpoints or national tournaments aren’t your prime motivations, the District GNT offers the fun of playing in a competition that mirrors the format of high-level national tournaments, with the added advantage of competing against local opponents of similar experience.

Recapping Flights A and C
The recent opening rounds for Flights A and C drew an impressive 14 teams. Team Lampe and Team Trabulus emerged as the frontrunners in GNT-A, while Team Latta and Team Boge led in GNT-C. See the detailed results on gnyba.org.

We look forward to the same level of engagement and competitive spirit in Flight B; it might even be possible to send two teams to Chicago if we can form enough teams by Sunday!

Join the Action!
So, are you ready to take part in this exciting event? Register your team today for a tournament that promises competition, learning, camaraderie, and fun.

Date: May 21st
Location: 177 87th Street, Suite 302
Time: 11 am

Pre-register your team: https://bridgewinners.com/tournament/view/2023-d24-gnt/

For the most recent updates and additional information, please check our website at gnyba.org/gnt.

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