GNT Flights A and C Attracts 14 Tables

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Lee Lin

The opening round of the D24 Grand National Teams, Flights A and C, attracted 14 teams! This is far more than last year when New York bridge players were still easing into a “return to face-to-face” mentality.

Team Lampe and Team Trabulus Lead GNT-A

One thing hasn’t changed from pre-pandemic: we have definitely seen Team Lampe and Trabulus face off in the District GNTs. Previously it was in Fight B, limited to 0-2500, but now both teams have graduated to the 0-6000 Flight A group.

With 6 teams in the opening round, Director Alan Miller and the GNT Committee opted for a round robin with 10 rounds, each round consisting of only 5 boards. Shorter rounds create many more cases where the a single IMP decides the match, and indeed we saw pushes and many “win by 1” / “lose by 1” rounds. One interesting tidbit, the team with the most victory points leads with 146 VPs and 8 wins, but their two losses were both against the second place team. The knockouts should be very interesting!

Qualifying GNT-A Teams

After 10 rounds, the following teams qualified into the semi-final KOs

Team Lampe:  146.99.    (8 wins)
Team Trabulus: 130.24. (8 wins)
Team Dziekanski:  94.48 (5 wins)
Team Port:  84.25 (3.5 wins)

Team Latta and Team Boge Lead GNT-C

It’s great to see a new wave of Flight C players. Last Sunday we full spectrum of seasoned tournament players nearing the end of their non-life master and Flight C days, as well as players participating in their first regionally-rated tournament. At least one qualifying winner had previously only played team games in the Sherry Ann Kavaler Pro-Am-Am-Am at Honors! It would have been amazing to see a team switch partners each round, but we will save that for mid-Summer when the new Midtown club opens.

In the lead is the team that represented District 24 in the national finals for GNT-C last year, ultimately taking first position after the Day 1 qualifying swiss in Phoenix. Another noteworthy team is captained by Jack Boge, with potentially the youngest average age in the history of our District’s GNTs.

Qualifying GNT-C Teams

After 7 rounds, the following teams qualified into the semi-final KOs

Team Mandel:  114.64 (7 wins)
Team Boge:      96.60 (5 wins)
Team Romeo:   80.28 (5 wins)
Team Tormey:   67.63 (3 wins)

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The 2022-2023 D24 Grand National Teams

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Lee Lin

There is still plenty of time to form a team for the District 24 GNTs coming up next month. For the latest information, head to gnyba.org/gnt

Reasons to Play

As a recap, this is one of the best events all year for players who enjoy team games. You play all day against players who have roughly the same masterpoints as you, and the prizes include lots of gold pigmented masterpoints. Best of all, if you have any interest in traveling for tournaments, winning teams are also invited to represent New York City and Long Island in the national finals in Chicago.

Of course, maybe you don’t care much for masterpoints or national tournaments. That’s also ok. The District GNT is the most unique team game format each year. The first day is a round robin tournament, meaning you will play against all of the other teams in your group (similar to a swiss, but more fair). Teams that qualify beyond the first day enter a knockout tournament, where you play an entire session or entire day against the same opponents. This is a once-per-year chance to play using the same format as national high-level players, while restricting the field to local opponents with similar experience.

Give it a shot and register your team.

Schedule

Championship (Open) Flight – Unlimited Masterpoints
Opening Weekend – Saturday, May 20 + Sunday, May 21
Flight A
Opening Round
May 7th  

1st Place:
40 Gold Points		Flight B
Opening Round     
May 21st   

1st Place:  
33.50 Gold
$1000 travel subsidy  		Flight C
Opening Round
May 7th  

1st Place:  
20 Gold/Red Points
$1000 travel subsidy
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Edison Sectional May 19-21st 2023

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Lee Lin

Our neighbors in nearby District 3 are holding another sectional in Edison, NJ, from Fri-Sun May 19th-21st 2023. For those just getting back to the local tournament scene, Edison is the new Woodbridge.

Here is the Edison May 2023 tournament flyer.

For those who haven’t been, the playing location is a reasonably short drive from Manhattan, about 35 miles driving and 45 minutes away from most of Manhattan. In all the years of playing in Woodbridge and Allendale, the drive is quite smooth. There is absolutely no traffic on the way there, especially on Saturday and Sunday morning, and surprisingly a reasonably smooth drive back, even with light tunnel traffic.

An Unintentional Conflict

Unfortunately, there is a conflict on Sunday with our own District 24 Flight B GNT opening round, and potentially for the final qualifying teams of other GNT flights. It’s particularly sad for two reasons. First, we want to do our best to avoid scheduling conflicts with nearby tournaments, and secondly, the Edison team game on Sunday would have been an excellent final practice for many Flight B GNT teams. Next year we will do a better job coordinating, which might include moving GNTs back to early Feb. The past three years of holding them in May has its own pros and cons (the biggest downside being not enough time to plan Summer NABC travel).

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Royal STaC Week Feb 20th to Feb 26th

Posted on February 20, 2023 by Lee Lin

This week gives everyone a rare chance to win gold, silver, red, and black points all from the comfort of your favorite New York City face-to-face club. It is Royal STaC week, which means all games pay more points, and the game at your club will be combined with the same game at many other clubs in other units and districts to form a huge prize pool. All points awarded, whether overall or just in your section, will be paid as 25% gold, 25% silver, 25% red, and 25% black. The payout amount also uses the tournament formula, which is more generous than a normal club game.

Where and When to Play?

In Unit 155, you can officially play at any of these clubs and sessions to gain the benefits of the gold, red, silver, and black point special payouts. In practice, the largest game for Manhattan-based players will be at the 177 East 87th Street club (Bridge and Games, formerly Cavendish). There is a daily afternoon game at 1pm (Mon-Sat), a 0-750 game on Monday and Thursday evening at 6:30pm, and a Wed evening open game.

Technically, you may also play at any club in any of the participating 4 districts nearby. But we hope to see you in New York City!

Origins of the Royal STaC

As a recap, in year 2022 ACBL began experimenting with creative ways to celebrate the re-opening of our face-to-face clubs. There wasn’t as much excitement around the normal silver-point STaCs, aka Sectional Tournaments at Clubs. Some blame it on the pandemic. Others say silver points became less rare thanks to the various source of online silver point weeks. Regardless, despite all of the new online bridge tournaments, most people agree gold points are still not easy for newer players to obtain.

Originally, the name was going to be the “Rainbow STaC”, given the four different pigments of colors awarded. However, in the end the name Royal STaC prevailed.

More Royal STaCs Coming

How did it go? We know the first few Royal STaCs went quite well. Almost exactly a year ago, our own Unit 155 pair Mindy Fleder and Florin Neamtu scored a 70% game to win over 16 Masterpoints in a game of 110 tables during the Royal STaC.

Other units reported similar surges in face-to-face club attendance, and ACBL decided to continue and expand the experiment. In fact, in the upcoming New Orleans Spring 2023 NABC board of directors meeting, the board will vote on a motion to expand the Royal STaC allocation to 4 times per year, up from 2 times per year.

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Edison Sectional March 3rd to 5th 2023

Posted on February 9, 2023 by Lee Lin

Our neighbors in New Jersey are having another sectional next month. As usual, it is a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from March 3rd to 5th.

Download the latest Edison Sectional Tournament Flyer.

10:30 AM Sunday Swiss

In the previous Edison sectional, all 3 days started at 10am. However, the Sunday Swiss this time is a different!.

Food service is back, just as in the good old Woodbridge days. While the Friday and Saturday pairs sessions begin at 10am (which allows the afternoon to begin at 2:30, giving everyone time to head over for dinner). However, the Sunday Swiss starts a little bit later at 10:30am. If you forget, that’s not a problem. You and your team can just enjoy the bagel breakfast that begins at 9:30am.

Grassroots Afternoons

As in the past, the Friday and Saturday afternoon sessions have the special Grassroots bonus. These sessions pay about 30% more silver points than the morning session. However, our advice is to block off the entire day and just play both sessions regardless. If you have a lackluster morning session, you can regroup in the afternoon knowing that the Masterpoint stakes are higher!

Same Pricing: $14 per person per session

While inflation seems to be impacting goods and services of all sorts, the Edison sectional is still charging the same very affordable card fee of $28 per pair per session ($14 per person). The team game is the same, quoted as $112 per team for the two-session swiss, and includes breakfast and lunch.

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D24 GNT Dates 2023 and Conditions

Posted on January 10, 2023 by GNYBA

These are the dates for District 24 GNTs for the 2023 season, while we await the final approval, sanction, and director assignments (Edit: sanction granted!).

Download the D24 GNT Conditions of Contest

Qualification is no longer required for any flight, so feel free to form teams and mark your calendars. Individual players may play in multiple flights during the District GNTs, subject to the conditions of contest requirements for participation eligibility and approval from the GNT committee.

Location will be at the New York City club for all opening rounds and KO phases. Playing time begins at 11:00am ET.

Championship Flight:

Round 1: Saturday May 20th
KO Phase 1: Sunday May 21st
KO Phase 2: Sunday June 11th

If there are enough teams for a 3rd KO Phase, it must be played by June 18th.

GNT Flight A (0-6000 Masterpoints):

Round 1: Sunday, May 7th
KO Phase 1: Sunday, May 21st

If there are enough teams for a 2nd or 3rd KO Phase, it must be played by June 18th.

GNT Flight B (0-2500 Masterpoints):

Round 1: Sunday, May 21st
KO Phase 1: Sunday, June 11th

If there are enough teams for a 2nd or 3rd KO Phase, it must be played by June 18th.

GNT Flight C (0-500 Masterpoints, Non-Life Masters only):

Round 1: Sunday, May 7th
KO Phase 1: Sunday, May 21st

If there are enough teams for a 2nd or 3rd KO Phase, it must be played by June 18th.

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District 24 NAP Winners 2022-2023

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Lee Lin

Congratulations to the District NAP Winners. The top pairs in each flight will receive a $700 travel subsidy per individual to represent New York City and Long Island in the national finals during Spring 2023. The 2nd place pair in each flight will receive $300 per individual.

In addition to a generous amount of gold masterpoints, the first and second place pairs for Flight A and B each receive a Blue Ribbon Qualifier, gaining entry to the prestigious Blue Ribbon and mini Blue Ribbon Pairs during the Fall 2023 NABC. The first and second place pairs in Flight C each receive a Red Ribbon Qualifier, gaining entry to the Bean Red Ribbon Pairs during the Summer 2023 NABC.

Flight A

  1. David Gurvich and Michael Lipkin
  2. Andrew Stark and Franco Baseggio
  3. Mel Colchamiro and Jack Lipson

Flight B

  1. Amit Duvshani and Vladimir Kolbun
  2. Howard Maier and Lloyd Mandell
  3. Barry Port and Susan Port
  4. Hong Ding and Leon Yu

Flight C

  1. Sujessada Udomsrirungrung and Jingyang Ng
  2. Kenneth Mandel and Andrew Jeanguenat
  3. Maya Jonas-Silver and Jack Latta
  4. Melanie Petsch and Erika Hennings
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GNYBA Annual Meeting Dec 15th, 8:30am online

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Lee Lin

The Greater New York Bridge Association will hold our annual membership meeting tomorrow morning, 12/15 at 8:30am via Zoom. We welcome all active members of ACBL Unit 155 to join.

If you receive your Bridge Bulletin in New York City, you are likely qualified to participate. By attending, you may vote approve our latest incoming board of directors and officers.

Although not required, you are also welcome to stay and listen to the latest updates for 2023, including the upcoming sectional and regional tournament schedule, GNTs, and local clubs.

Topic: GNYBA annual member meeting and board meeting
Time: Dec 15, 2022 08:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87010817645?pwd=eHRueFpJU2tPMS9qTWJTQk9NSnRMQT09

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Edison Sectional Dec 16-18 2022

Posted on November 20, 2022 by Lee Lin

The Edison Elks Club is hosting another sectional from December 16th to 18th, 2022. The first one had a strong showing of New York City teams, especially during the Sunday swiss teams tournament. Here is the tournament flyer:

Edison Sectional December 2022 Tournament Flyer

Pizza Is Back!

As we mentioned in our prior analysis of Edison vs Woodbridge during August 2022, one of the big differences from the old Woodbridge sectional was the lack of pizza and salads on sale during lunch time. Thankfully, the pizza flow seems to be back! Despite all the inflation that we are seeing for everything, the proposed pricing is still quite generous at $1.50 a slice. It’s unclear whether the salads and sodas will also be on offer.

Seven Round Swiss Is Back!

As last time was the first Edison sectional since the Woodbridge pause, and because bridge in general was still in a cautious return to face-to-face tournament mode, the prior sectional had a 36 board swiss (6 rounds of 6). This time, the plan is to try for one of the more classic 48 or 49 board formats (7 rounds of 7 boards is the most common).

All Starts at 10am

Back in the day, there would be a 10am start time for the Friday and Saturday pairs games, but the Swiss began at 10:30. Now, everything is fully in sync with a 10:00am start time on all days. Although that requires waking up slightly earlier for the NYC car poolers, we easily get a better deal on the return trip. With an almost certain tunnel clog coming back, it’s nice that everything finishes 30 minutes earlier (at least), so that we are home in time at a reasonable dinner hour.

Stay tuned for any new updates, and also another reminder, the GNYBA Annual Membership Meeting, open to all active ACBL members in Unit 155, will be held on December 15th 2022 on Zoom. Link to be revealed the morning of the meeting on this site (or get the link from any board member the day prior).

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Annual Membership Meeting: Dec 15th, 2022

Posted on November 18, 2022 by Lee Lin

The Annual Membership Meeting of the Greater New York Bridge Association (GNYBA) will be held (via ‘Zoom’) on Thursday, December 15th, 2022, at 8:30 am.  We will provide a Zoom link a few days prior to the meeting. All active ACBL members in New York City, Unit 155, are invited to attend and vote on next year’s board of directors and officers.

Zoom Link and Info:

Topic:  GNYBA Annual Meeting

Time: Dec 15, 2022 at 08:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Zoom Link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87010817645?pwd=eHRueFpJU2tPMS9qTWJTQk9NSnRMQT09

Board Meeting as Well

Immediately following the annual meeting, we will have our final board of directors meeting of the 2022 (still with the old board), and everyone is welcome to attend and listen to the discussion. If you have never attended a GNYBA board meeting, this would be a great event to support the board nomination and learn about what we have planned in 2023.

In addition to the nominated officers and directors chosen by our 2022 Nominating Committee, our bylaws allow additional candidates to be added by petition.  If you would like to be added as a candidate for the 2023 Board, you can nominate yourself and provide a petition with 50 signatures supporting your candidacy.  Once received, your name will be added to the roster of new candidates. Please send the petition to William Sigward (wsigward@ix.netcom.com) by December 8, 2022.

In the absence of petition candidates, these new candidates will join the following continuing (completing a 2-year term) and returning (starting a new 2-year term) Directors to comprise the GNYBA Board of Directors for 2023 beginning January 1, 2023: 

Proposed Slate of Officers

Adam Parrish, President

Lee Lin, Vice President

Katherine Todd, Vice President

Marla Lawson, Tournament Chair

Jeffrey Rothstein, Treasurer

William Sigward, Secretary

Proposed Board of Directors Slate

Tom Romeo (*)

Jack Latta (*)

Maya Jonas-Silver (*)

Jeff Bayone (**)

Alan Davidson

Jin Hu (**)

Marla Lawson

Phil Lentz (**)

Francine Levine (**)

Stephen Levine (**)

Lee Lin (**)

Richard Marchione (**)

Mark Mariaschin (**)

Rachel Moller (**)

Adam Parrish (**)

Melanie Petsch (**)

Amy Rhodes (**)

Jeffrey Rothstein (**)

Allison Rudary (**)

William Sigward (**)

Aaron Silverstein (**)

Katherine Todd (**)

Norman Trabulus (**)

Gail Wallach (**)

Mee Warren (**)

Abigail Weinshank

(*) Beginning a new 1-year Term

(**) Beginning new 2-year term

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