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

Posted in Events | Tagged | Leave a comment

Last Minute D24 NAP Instructions

Posted on October 22, 2022 by Lee Lin

The list of NAP qualifiers from ACBL can be found at this link, which is also linked from the NAP Flyer emailed out to all qualifiers.

D24 NAP Qualifiers

We are aware of a few cases when an individual may be qualified but are not on this list.

You and your partner are responsible for ensuring you meet the qualifications. You must have played in a NAP Club Qualifying game in June, July, or August 2022 and placed in the top 50% of your field or scored above 50.00%. You must have also been a resident of District 24 as of the cutoff date, and must not have played in any other District NAP this cycle.

How To Pre-register or Register for D24 NAP

Again, the game starts 10:30am on Sunday, 10/23, less than 24 hours from now!

To register, log in to BBO anytime after 8:30am and look in ACBL World to see the event.

Remember, just because you can register does not necessarily mean you are qualified. You and your partner are responsible for ensuring you meet the qualifications.

When Does the 2nd Session Start? Does Everyone Qualify?

The 2nd session begins at 2:30pm. When you register in the morning, you are registering for the two-session event, so everyone who plays in the morning must also play in the afternoon. Your combined score will determine your place for the day. Please do not drop out for the 2nd session. It will be remembered as poor ettiquette (and you never know what might happen)!

Posted in Events | Leave a comment

District NAP Finals Sunday 10/23

Posted on October 18, 2022 by Lee Lin

Block off this Sunday for our District 24 NAP finals, starting at 10:30am ET on Bridge Base Online.

Download the official D24 NAP Tournament Flyer.

What is the NAP Bridge Tournament?

The North American Pairs is the ACBL annual grassroots pairs tournament. Candidates begin their journey at thousands of local club qualifier tournaments, competing for the right to advance to their district finals. Afterward, each district sends their top pairs to compete in the national finals, face-to-face in the same room against each of the other district winners, at the Spring 2023 North America Bridge Championships!

While that might sound a little scary and intimidating, the NAP tournament is actually one of the most accessible and newcomer friendly tournaments at the national level. The NAP includes three brackets – one for pros and exert players (Flight A), one for life masters and strong intermediate players (Flight B, limited to 2500 masterpoints), and one for newer players who are non-life masters and have under 500 masterpoints (Flight C).

Generous Awards and Travel Subsidy

The NAPs also award a very generous amount of gold Masterpoints! Along with GNTs, the NAPs are one of two events each year that allows newer players to compete entirely in a field of non-life masters, all with under 500 points, and still win up to 12 gold/red points in one day of playing.

The top 4 pairs in Flight B and C, as well as the top 3 pairs in Flight A, will be invited to represent New York City and Long Island in the national finals during March 2023 in New Orleans. Last year, the 0-500 Flight C group had 6 pairs competing, with the top 4 invited to represent District 24 at the Reno NABC. The top 2 pairs received a travel subsidy and a Red Ribbon Qualifier, which also allows entry to the Red Ribbon Pairs held during the summer NABC (held in Chicago next July 2023).

District Support

Often times, a pairs game feels like it’s just you and your partner against everyone else. But this year in Reno and prior to that in Memphis, our district bonded together and felt like a united team. We cheered for each other as we worked through the qualifying sessions, genuinely happy to see more New Yorkers advance through four competitive sessions and take top spots in the final rankings.

Historically, the top pair in each flight will receive a $700 travel subsidy per person, and the 2nd place pair will receive a $300 travel subsidy per person.

Bottom Line

The North American Pairs is an excellent event with multiple flights for every level of player, with generous gold Masterpoints and travel subsidies given to the winners. We highly encourage everyone who made it through the club qualifier to give it a shot!

Posted in Events | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

NYC Regional Oct 6-10 2022

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Lee Lin

The upcoming Midtown Manhattan regional on October 6-10, 2022 is less than a week away! For the complete schedule, check the tournament flyer.

Need a Partner? No Problem

We are committed to find partners for all levels of players, in particular our newer and intermediate players. If you need a partner, let us know at tournament@gnyba.org and find out about our guaranteed partnership program!

Again, we will have a partnership desk on-site, but to pre-arrange a partnership, let us know your ACBL number, contact info, days requested, and masterpoint total at tournament@gnyba.org

NOTE: You will be expected to play either Standard American or 2/1 with most pickup partners. You may be able to convince your new partner to try more complex conventions, but our advice is to keep things simple and fun on your “first date” together.

You will need to provide us ample time for a guaranteed partner (at least 48 hours before game time). However, in almost all cases we will be able to find you someone for a two-session 0-750 game, pairs or teams. For the single-session newcomer games, try to provide at least 72 hours notice before game time.

For truly last minute partnerships, stop by our physical partnership desk at the playing site.

Pro Speakers Sessions

We have an exciting lineup of professional and world class players ready to share some of their knowledge free of charge! Each day from Thu-Sun, in between the morning and afternoon sessions, stop by the guest speaker session and brush up the highlighted topic of the day. Whether you enjoy bidding, defense, hand analysis, or declarer play, there should be something for everyone.

The latest schedule is subject to change, but so far speakers include the all-star lineup of:

Jeff Hand
Dan Lev
Adam Parrish
Adam Wildavsky

Broadway Show Tickets

What better than a Broadway musical to cap a full-day bridge session? We are gathering players interested in catching a Broadway show during their trip to New York. Hang out with friends old and new while enjoying world-class performances in and around Times Square. 

So far, we have heard from a wide variety of interested individuals. There are those who love musicals, and those who will watch anything but a musical. Our hospitality staff will guide you through the choices of discounted Broadway tickets and help gather interested groups.

For more information, please email tournament@gnyba.org

Dress in Layers! Bring Proof of Vaccination

It is impossible to find one temperature that keeps everyone happy. In practice, the hotels usually keep the conference areas COLD (there are also new ventilation requirements). 

We highly recommend dressing in layered attire such as pullovers, hoodies, or multiple shirts, so you can be prepared to adapt and maintain your own comfortable playing temperature.

Also, remember to bring proof of Covid-19 vaccination.

Hotel Discount Block Sold Out

The reserved hotel block is completely SOLD OUT, faster than expected with no way to get more. Check our unit website gnyba.org for the latest accommodations options.

NAP Finals October 23rd Online (Gold and Red Points)

The District 24 NAP Finals will be held on Sunday, October 23rd online on BBO. As usual, it will be a 2-session pairs game, broken into Flight A (Open), Flight B (0-2500), and Flight C (non-life masters with 0-500). 

Game Time: 10:30am for all flights on BBO

The top 3 pairs in each flight and the top 4 pairs in Flights B and C will be invited to represent New York City and Long Island in the upcoming Spring 2023 North American Bridge Championships.  As usual, the ACBL grass roots events pay generous gold and red point awards, and the top 2 pairs in each flight receive travel subsidies.

Note: you and your partner must have qualified in either an online or face-to-face NAP ACBL club qualifier event for your appropriate flight during June, July, or August this past summer. ACBL maintains a list online of qualified individuals, and if you are unsure of your qualification status, feel free to ask your Unit officers.

Posted in Events | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Updates to NYC Regional Oct 6-10 2022

Posted on September 14, 2022 by Lee Lin

We have some important updates about upcoming Midtown Manhattan regional on October 6-10, 2022.

Swiss Teams Event Added on October 10th

Our original schedule did not have a team game on one of the days. However, given significant interest, we are adding a 2-session stratified swiss on Monday, Oct 10th. That means for those who love team games and IMPs, you will have a daily 2-session event available at 10:30am.

For Oct 6th, 7th, and 8th, it is the popular bracketed team format, hoping for many brackets of roughly 8 teams each. Ideally, every team in your bracket has a similar masterpoint total, and you will play against all of them exactly once throughout the day. Top 3 spots in each bracket pay lots of gold points (top 4 spots if your bracket has 9 or more teams).

On October 9th and 10th, we switch to a swiss format (Sunday the 9th is split into two groups: an open AXY game and a BCD limited to 0-2500 players). It’s true that a lot of players enjoy the comfort in bracketed round robin. However, a larger swiss event can add a huge amount of excitement and fun. Your team competes against the whole field, each round matching you with a similar cumulative scoring team, with the day ending in higher and deeper payouts.

Hotel Discount Block Sold Out

First – the reserved hotel block is completely SOLD OUT, faster than expected with no way to get more. However, there are still rooms available at the host hotel at the regular rates, and plenty of alternative housing and hotel options in the area. For those with Chase, Marriott, Hyatt, or Amex points, there are quite few “points and miles” solutions to save on paying $300 and up per night.

For 240,000 Marriott points, you can stay for 5 nights at a variety of hotels just a few minutes walking distance from the playing area, Central park, Times Square, 5th Avenue, and various other NYC landmarks.

Newcomer Game – More Friendly Limits

For newcomers, we have a special newcomer pairs at 10:30am Saturday and Sunday mornings, October 8th and 9th. We also lowered the masterpoint limit to allow only players with at most 99 masterpoints. An earlier version of the tournament allowed for 0-500 players, ensuring a more friendly and balanced game. For those in the 100-499 window, sorry and congrats: you have graduated to the gold rush!

For the latest details and schedule, check out the latest GNYBA tournament information.

Download the Tournament Flyer

Posted in Events | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Team Overdeck Victory in Edison

Posted on August 23, 2022 by Lee Lin

The team of four consisting of John Overdeck, Ralph Buchalter, Jacqueline Chang, and Jordan Lampe took first place in the Edison sectional swiss this past weekend. Each player wins 7.59 silver points in the first face-to-face Unit NJ sectional in over 2 years.  

Strong Showing from Yoon, Amer, McDermott

Team Overdeck initially lost their first round by 2 IMPs, but in no way can we label it a swiss gambit. Their 2nd match was against the eventual 2nd place expert team captained by Jiang Gu and NYC’s own David Yoon! A victory in round 3 put Overdeck in 5th place by cumulative Victory Points, trailing the halftime-leading team by 12 (which happened to be another NYC team: Susie Davison, Cynnie Ogden, Sam Amer, and Dan Lev).

Things turned around in a big way during the final 2nd half with three strong rounds of +18, +23, and +8 IMPs totaling 49 VPs — enough to secure 1st place. Recall that the Edison swiss plays 6 rounds of 6 boards, which all else being equal makes extreme rounds slightly harder to achieve (the blitz threshold is still 28 IMPs). 

Also noteworthy, another all-NYC team consisting of Scott McDermott, Alan Davidson, Maya Jonas-Silver, and Jack Latta took first place among the C Stratification teams, winning 2.54 silver points. Because the tournament is an open, stratified swiss, along the way the team faced off against the eventual 1st place and two of the tied 3rd place teams.

NYC Midtown Regional October 6-10 2022

The NYC regionals are back! Mark your calendar to play and win gold points in Midtown Manhattan, conveniently located at the 53rd street and 6th Avenue Hilton Midtown. All events feature a 20% bonus paid to winners of any overall award.

Two-session open pairs, gold rush pairs, and bracketed teams begin at 10:30am each day on the 6th, 7th, and 8th.

For faster players, there is a horizontal evening fast pairs at 7:15pm on the 6th and 7th (it is a two-session event held at 7:15pm two nights in a row).

October 9th is a special all day flighted swiss team event starting at 10:30am (two separate swiss events, open AXY and 0-2500 BCD). While we all love bracketed round robin, the swiss events add an extra layer of fun when your team competes in a large field with higher and deeper payouts.

For newcomers, we have a special newcomer pairs at 10:30am Saturday morning, October 8th (working on another session depending on interest).

For the latest details and schedule, check out the latest GNYBA tournament information.

Download the Tournament Flyer

Posted in Events, Results | Tagged , | Leave a comment

NAP Qualifiers: Last Chance for 2022

Posted on August 1, 2022 by Lee Lin

Don’t worry, there is still plenty of time to qualify for NAPs this year. The NYC face-to-face club has over half a dozen dates for NAP qualifier games. Here they are:

August Bridge and Games NAP Club Qualifier Dates:

1:00 pm times:
Friday, August 5th
Thursday, August 11th
Wednesday, August 17th
Saturday, August 20th
Tuesday, August 23rd
Saturday, August 27th
Monday, August 29th

All NAP Club Qualifiers pay bonus masterpoints using the more generous tournament formula, with half red half black pigmentation.

Online Alliance Bridge Club Qualifier Dates:

If you played at either Honors or Sagamore pre-pandemic, you are almost certainly a member of the Alliance Bridge Club. They are holding NAP qualifiers online from August 18th to August 31st. In fact, almost all of their games during those dates are club qualifiers — you only need to qualify once to be eligible to compete in the district NAP finals.

Qualification Complexities

Qualifying requires placing in the top 50% of the field for your eligible flight. For example, a pair of Flight C eligible players who are overall in the top half would qualifier for NAP Flight A, B, and C. A pair that is only 45% overall but still in the top half of Flight B and C pairs would qualify for Flights B and C.

When a pair qualifies for an NAP Flight, both individuals are qualified but may play in the district finals with a different qualified partner. In other words, you do not have to play in the district finals with the same partner as your club qualifier.

When a partnership includes players from different flights (say a Flight B and Flight C player), then that pair may only qualify for the higher flights during that game (Flight A or B). There are also special club qualifier games for 0-500 players (check the online schedule), which can be helpful for Flight C pairs attempting to qualify. You may also qualify in a different district’s NAP club qualifier game, both face-to-face or online, if the Bridge and Games and Alliance schedules do not align with yours.

NAP Club Qualification is always a complicated and confusing process, but fortunately, there are a still lots of chances to qualify.

District 24 NAP Finals October 2022

The D24 NAP finals for all flights will be held in late October, most likely online. Check back soon for the final and official announcement.

Posted in Events | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Another NJ Sectional Update

Posted on July 31, 2022 by Lee Lin

With so much attention focused on district NAPs and club qualifiers, let’s not forget about the NJLB sectional coming up in less than 3 weeks.

Our neighbors in Unit 140 have another update to their sectional. Directly from the source, here is the latest:

Now that both NYC and almost all of NJ counties are deemed “High” Covid transmissibility by the CDC, we have changed the Flyer to reflect that Masking will probably be required under ACBL Protocols. – Brett

Download the latest flyer for more information.

Posted in Events | Tagged | Leave a comment

Edison Sectional, August 19-21 (Woodbridge 2.0)

Posted on July 6, 2022 by Lee Lin

Almost an eternity ago in late 2019, we announced the Woodbridge sectionals were at risk, with the very last Woodbridge sectional held in March 2020. Our neighbors in the New Jersey Bridge League had long used the Hungarian American Citizens Club for sectional tournaments, and along with Allendale, these sectionals were a crucial source of silver points for New York players.

Tournament Flyer with All Relevant Info:
New Jersey Bridge League Edison Sectional August 19 to 21, 2022

Good news, Unit 140 is back with their summer sectional, this time hosted at the Edison Elks Club in Edison, NJ.

New Venue Notes

Good news, Unit 140 is back with their summer sectional, this time hosted at the Edison Elks Club in Edison, NJ. It is still driving distance from NYC and Long Island, with some parking provided. They will have free coffee and tea, with sodas and bottled water on sale for $1. Due to Covid restrictions, there will be no food or snacks provided, proof of vaccination required.

One Woodbridge staple seems to be gone, which is the “backroom” $1 pizza slices and $1 salads. The upgraded swiss teams lunch buffet is also no go. It’s ok, safety first!

New Playing Schedule

On the docket is a new 10am and 3pm style pairs schedule, with a slightly longer lunch break than the pre-pandemic 10am / 2:30pm schedule. The Sunday swiss begins at 10am sharp now, instead of the prior 10:30am start. I once nearly delayed our car pool thinking the Saturday pairs game also started at 10:30 — fortunately the Holland and Lincoln tunnels are very empty on Saturday mornings.

GrassRoots Afternoons on Fri and Sat

One tradition they are keeping: the afternoon sessions on Friday and Saturday are designated as Grassroots events. That means they pay 27.27% more masterpoints with no additional cost to the players. The bonus applies to both the open and 499er game.

New Symmetrical Morning and Afternoon Stratifications

Another major change for the Friday and Saturday schedule: the morning and afternoon pairs sessions are exactly identical. In previous years, the morning section had an Open and 299er section, while the afternoon had an open section (A/X), a mid-flight section (B/C/D), and a section for intermediate and newcomer players (299er). Now, both morning and afternoon will be Open and 0-500.

To be honest, I didn’t mind the old schedule, because in practice in forced mid-flight players to play-up in the morning, then decide in the afternoon if they wanted to continue playing up or slide back down to the B/C/D. However, it caused some confusion and partnership disagreements. It also meant that players in the 250-750 range felt extra intimidated in the morning. So we welcome the symmetry!

Six Round Swiss on Sunday

The swiss on Sunday is only 36 boards, consisting of six rounds of 6 boards. That is an interesting departure from 7 times 7, but it seems their director in charge has approved the change. One nice benefit is the NYC crowd will likely be home in time well before dinner, as opposed to the prior 7pm and beyond after accounting for tunnel traffic.

New 20% Bonus

This is one of the first nearby sectionals to receive the new 20% bonus in overall awards for face-to-face tournaments. The bonus applies to the event-wide overall awards of each stratum, but not to the section awards in the event there are multiple sections. It also applies to the overall awards in the swiss, but not to match awards.

Posted in Events | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

NAP Club Qualifiers 2022-2023

Posted on June 13, 2022 by Lee Lin

I know we just finished District GNTs for 2022, but it’s already time to prepare for the next season of NAPs. Again, the North American Pairs will be played during Spring 2023 NABCs, which had a great NYC showing in Reno a few months back.

Club Qualifiers for NAP

The club qualifier process is a bit complicated. First, you need to find a club holding an NAP qualifier game. They are help somewhat randomly through June, July, and August 2022, both at face-to-face clubs and online virtual clubs. For example, June 6th to 12th was a set of NAP qualifiers (sorry if you missed it). Don’t worry, there will be plenty more.

How Do I Qualify In a Qualifier Game?

The rule is, you need to be in the top 50% of your flight. For example, if your partnership is in Flight C that day in an open game and you end up below average for Flight A but above 50% in Flight B and C, then you will have qualified for NAP Flights B and C.

Do I Need to Qualify with my Regular Partner?

No! Amazingly, there is a lot of flexibility here. You may qualify with any partner during any of the many club qualifier games. However, the partner you choose might impact your eligibility for Flight C and B. This part causes a lot of confusion – if your partner is Flight B and you are Flight C, presumably you should not be eligible to qualify for Flight C during that game, only A or B.

How Do I Know That I Qualified?

Unfortunately, there isn’t a great way for players to check in real time. ACBL tends to release tools to help you check throughout the summer. However, between online games and face-to-face games, it isn’t really updated in real-time and has been known to have a few bugs. If you have doubts, ask your district NAP coordinator.

District Finals

District Finals are usually held during late October or early November. This year should be the same, but stay tuned for final dates. Likely dates are October 16th, 23rd, or October 30th to avoid conflicts with the regional.

Other News:

We will announce GNT winners once the official ACBL results are up.

More news about the Fall 2022 NYC Hilton Regional is also coming soon! The dates are October 6th to October 11th.

Posted in Events | 2 Comments