Last week on StepBridge, Annegrete and I had this interesting hand which highlighted several bidding issues when possibly searching for slam.
Annegrete opened 2D (multi), I followed with 2NT (strong enquiry), then 3D from Annegrete (8-10 pts with 6 Spades). This was followed by a lead directing double from the opponents which worried me as I had 3 quick diamond losers in my hand.
At this stage I bailed into 4S knowing there was a good chance we should be higher but that we had no agreement in place about which further bids would show agreement of suit and be showing controls rather than be natural.
Grace's daughter, Robyn Berry, sent us the following: "I hope this message gets to you okay. Mum had lots of friends at the bridge club and it would be nice if you could put it in the newsletter that she turned 100 today as I am sure they would love to know . She still lives in her own unit in Bayview Gardens and keeps okay."
Member and neighbour, Linda Westphal, reported: "She wasn't 100% and waved to us from her window. She was meant to take a ride through part of the Village where she lives but about twenty of us and staff waved to her from across the street. We had great fun waving to her and singing Happy Birthday. The staff had dressed in very bright tutus making it a colourful event."
What are Bridge Base Dollars?
Bridge Base Dollars (BB$) are like pre-paid entry fees for use on BBO (BridgeBase.com).
They are added to your account primarily when you purchase BB$. They are deducted from your account when you purchase entry to tournaments, as well as when you rent a robot, and so on.
Note - BB$ are not cash. They are not refundable, nor can they be withdrawn as cash. BB$ purchased on the site expire three years after your username becomes inactive (no logins to BBO).
Following ABF negotiations with BBO, we are now able to host our own online bridge sessions for Peninsula members and their friends. Hosting these events will allow us to avoid the recent trial game incidents of members being blocked and strangers joining our games.
Our club hosted tournaments will also earn masterpoints, even if only 12 boards long.
To make this happen and to sustain the club there will be a table money cost payable on BBO, with this shared between BBO and Peninsula. BBO allows you to establish a credit balance of BB$ and use this for tournaments like ours. For a standard 18 board match the table money would be BB$2.50 (or slightly less than $4), cheaper than most club tournaments on BBO.
If you are looking for online bridge in the same format as a regular club session, with rounds with different opponents, then StepBridge is an excellent platform. I am happy to help any member get started on StepBridge - contact me on
If we can get a number of Peninsula players booking in to the same StepBridge session it might almost seem like a Peninsula game online.
Please welcome new member Pat O’Connor.
We currently have 610 members. 481 have PBC as their home club and the rest are alternates. Cassandra Mitchell and Robin Ho have done a lot of work to get people to renew and contacting and checking with non-renewing people. They have just sent to the ABF a list of 113 former members who have not renewed, to update their records. Only 24 of these were members last year.
Having just completed my first game in StepBridge I'm very impressed with how it compares to BBO.
Regular masterpoint tournaments are run 3-4 times a day - 1pm, 4pm, 8pm and sometimes 10am. A couple of times a month there are red masterpoint events. Each tournament has 3 board rounds, 8 rounds and 24 hands. All up it takes just under 2 1/2 hours.
On Sunday 8 March, Peninsula Bridge Club hosted the Margaret Smale North Metro Interclub Teams Challenge.
The event is named in honour of Margaret Smale, who played at bridge clubs across northern Sydney from the early 1990s. Margaret served on the Peninsula Bridge Club committee and as a director for many years. She was also one of the driving forces behind PBC acquiring a dedicated facility – the spacious, airy room which PBC bridge players are lucky enough to enjoy every day. An excellent bridge player herself, Margaret was always a very encouraging mentor to new and upcoming players.
Sunday’s event drew teams from Trumps, Manly Leagues Bridge Club, Balgowlah/Dee Why RSL Bridge Club, North Shore/East Lindfield Bridge Club and Peninsula Bridge Club. The day belonged to North Shore/East Lindfield Bridge Club who were the overall winners.
