I trust this Blog finds you all in good health and managing to keep your spirits up. How are you getting on with Barry’s cryptic quiz and/or lockdown anecdote?
On-line Bridge goes from strength to strength and several providers, including BBO, BCL and Real Bridge are experimenting with audio and/or video capability at the on-line Bridge table. This could be particularly useful for teaching/learning/improving.
Talking about improving. For those (currently 49 of you) using BridgeClubLive, how much use do you and your partner make of the results? It is probably the single most beneficial way to improve your game. All the best players review their results, with their partner, as a matter of course. It’s not a matter of blame or fault, just a process of continuous improvement. In case you haven’t figured out how to use your results in this way, here’s a quick step-by-step guide.
From the home page, follow your usual route for a Thursday (BASSHM) or Monday (HEIGHN) evening. Members – Clubs – Enter your Club. Then scroll down to “Results & Info”. Click on “See ALL Club Results”. Choose your date/session e.g. BASSHM 4-A-3. This is where it gets interesting. Click on your pair, choose a board and click on “Play”. You are now in a very useful teaching/learning environment called “Bridge Solver Online”. You can review how the bidding/play/defence went. You can see the optimum contract, you can see what other pairs bid, what effect a different lead had and much, much more. Warning – using this facility could seriously improve your (Partnership’s) scores!
How many of you have tried playing in the daily individual tourney? Low key, friendly Bridge and ideal if you don’t have a partner. You play 18 boards, 3 boards each with 6 different partners. It usually takes a couple of hours. The only slight difficulty is quickly agreeing a bidding system with each partner – it pays to be flexible. These tourneys are at different times each day – check the “What’s On” on the homepage.
Although our F2F sessions next week (Monday 9th and Thursday 12th) will operate exactly as they always do, they will also be part of a national simultaneous pairs event in aid of Children in Need. As you know, Bassingham Bridge Club has a distinguished record in raising money for worthy causes and this is an opportunity for us to continue this tradition. All we would ask is that members who participate, make a small, personal, donation to the Children in Need Appeal. Please check the BCL website for more details.
Finally, a couple of reminders. It’s useful if you are registered to the appropriate club for the appropriate evening. So, if you play both Thursdays and Mondays please remember to switch your allegiance. Also, the “find a partner” facility is up and running on the Bassingham Bridge Club website. Do please use it. If you haven’t yet “dipped your toe in the water” with on-line Bridge and want to give it a try, do get in touch. There are lots of members who will be more than happy to help. Stay safe and stay sane. Andy