bridgeacademyofnorthdallas.com Blog

Well, yesterday was USA II’s toughest day and they came through with flying colors.  As you remember, we play Germany, Netherlands and China.  All in the hunt to qualify.  The team got off to a great start against Germany bidding two slams that were not bid at the other table.  Unfortunately, our end game was not so good and the Germans won the match 25-36 giving us only13 Victory Points (out of a possible 25).  This result tied for the worst match to date with the match against Chile.

After the lunch break, USA II rebouded and headed into matches two and three (against tougher opponents).  The team shined in these two match beating Netherlands 40-30 for 17 Victory Points and China 33-11 for 20 victory points.  Ending the day in fourth position up from 7th.  Team USA II is not 26 Victory Points out of 9th place.  Remember only eight teams qualify for the Knock Out Rounds. 

All-in-all, the pairs are playing their “A” games and phyched to pull up a spot or two in today’s matches against Pakistan, Chinese Taipei and Italy.  Even thought the initial goal is to be in the top eight teams on Saturday night, strategy wise, USA II would rather be any position other than fourth.  The way the seading works for the Knock Out Rounds is that the top four finishers get to pick from among the bottom four finishers.  So the team in first place gets first choice, then second, then third…which means the team in fourth position has a default position.  Now if USA II ends up in the bottom four, we will be the last picked since noone wants to play the Mighty Team USA!   

USA II’s first two matches will not be on BBO so you will have to follow the running scores.  The last match of the day against Italy, however, will be on BBO starting at 3:20 Dallas Time.  Cancel your appointments and be in front of your computer ready to cheer the team to victory!  All matches are important, but the match against Italy is particular important because we are likely to meet Italy in the Knock Out Round and there is carry over from the match today.

FYI: It is much easier to watch the BBO matches is you use the Web version of BBO to watch vugraph.  Go to www.bridgebase.com and click on “Play Bridge Now”.  This will take you to the webbased version of BBO (Mac Users you are already doing this) and you can see the ongoing match and also see what is happening in the other room and other matches much easier than on the PC version of BBO.

Some of you may have noticed a new link under the “Cross Table By Rank” link which is called “Butler Scores.”  These scores are a ranking of how each pair compares to all of the other pairs in the individual matches.  Since everyone is playing the same boards, the organizers prepare a cross match comparison of each pair.  After 9 matches, our pairs are 7th (Hamman & Zia), 12th (Meckstroth & Rodwell) and 39th (Katz & Nickell).  Not much weight can be put on the Butler Score since it does not take into account the strength of the opposition when comparing results.  However, it is a fun to follow and makes for good dinner conversation.

 Other USA Team Results

In the Bermuda Bowl USA I is currently in 16th place and will need to win 20 out of 25 Victory Points in their remaining matches to qualify.  This task is virtually impossible for even the best of teams.  The team members are playing hard but looking ahead to the Transnational Teams which begin next week. 

In both the Venice Cup and the Senior Bowl, all four teams are in qualifying positions – although our senior teams are right on the cusp.  They are in good spirits and have medium to soft teams remaining on their schedules so they should be in good shape.

Have a great day and remember to log onto BBO at 3:20 Dallas time to watch the match of the day – USA II vs. Italy! 

What a day!  USA II swept their opponents and are still in 7th place.  This is a tough field.  You will notice that the competitive teams are starting to ascend to the top of the group.  At this point, the bottom half have no chance of qualifying.  Today begins the jockeying for seeding in the Knockout Stage.  Mind you, there are still four days with 12 matches left so there are no quarantees of qualifying.  Every match is important!

USA II got off to a roaring start beating Quadeloupe 69-12 to collect 25 victory points (that’s all you can get from a match).  Then game Bulgaria.  For those of you who watched this match on BBO, this was a sad match to watch…The match started off slow but then USA II blew open a 23-6 lead until board 30 (10)…when we lost 17 imps in two boards to tie the match going into the last board.  USA II picked up one imp on board 32 to win the match.  This resulted in a gain of only 15 victory points but still a mental victory.  USA II’s last match was a dangerous one – India plays their cards exceptionally which makes up for their crazy bidding style.  Luck is a big factor against a team like India.  This match was a similar sad ending in that we led 40-9 which is 22 victory points until the last board when Zia and Hamman went down in 6H on a ruff and the other team bid to only 3NT.  Lose 13 and win only 19 victory points.  Unlucky finish but still above average for the day.

USA II has a touch threesome to play today – Germany, Netherlands, and China – all in the top 9!  As a result of the tough matches, USA II will be on BBO for all three matches.  If you get a chance, log on and cheer for USA II!

Other Matches 

Unfortunately in the Bermuda Bowl, USA I is out of the event.  However, in the Venice Cup and Senior Bowl, all four USA teams are still in the hunt!  In the Venice Cup, USA I is in second place and USA II is in 4th.  In the Senior Bowl, USA II is in fourth position while USA I two victory points back in 5th.

If you don’t have a chance to follow the matches on BBO today, be sure to check the scores for updates at

http://www.worldbridge.org/tourn/SaoPaulo.09/Results.htm.

Enjoy your day!

USA II got off to a great start beating Brazil 23-2 for 20 (out of 25) victory points.  The hands were “flat” so the team was very happy with the result.  Then came Morocco which as you can see is at the bottom of the list…so our expectations were high to score another 20+ victory points.  Unfortunately, there was a 16 imp swing on ONE board which narrowed USA II’s win to 31-25 which gave us only 16 victory points.  

Our toughest match of the day was against Norway who is currently leading the field.  Overall the match was even with some very good bridge played by both sides.  There was one board that both teams would like to forget … see if you can figure out which one by looking at the match archives on BBO.  Go to “Other Bridge Activities” then “Bridge Library” then “Vugraph Archives” then “Aug 31 BB Segment 716″.  Here’s a hint – it was early in the match!

The end result…a virtual tie – Norway won 24-22 which gives each teach 15 victory points.  At the end of the day USA II collected 51 victory points and are positioned 7th in the field.  Remember eight teams qualify at the end of this 21 match round robin.  So the key is to be in the top 8!

Todays matches include Guadeloupe, Bulgaria and India.  Lots of imps will swing back and forth with these three teams.  You can watch USA II live on BBO during the second match against Bulgaria. This will be the match of the day because Bulgaria is high in the standings.  The other two matches you will have to follow on the ”Running Scores” at the following link:

http://www.worldbridge.org/tourn/SaoPaulo.09/Results.htm

Other USA Results

In the Venice Cup, our women’s teams are performing as expected.  USA I is leading the field while USA II is in fifth position.  In the Senior Bowl, USA II is in fourth position while USA I is sitting in the last qualifying position (8th).  Unfortunately, in the Bermuda Bowl, USA I is deep in the field and have a long way back up to a qualifying position.  However, remember there are 21 matchs and we have only completed six.  

Enjoy your day!   

Day One has come and gone and the horses are out of the gates.  Strategy wise, all of the teams want to have a good first day to build confidence but in reality Day One is all about the draws (for most teams).  It is amazing the wide-span of talent in the field even at this level.  There are the countries who are proven favorites and have already gone through a difficult qualifying process to arrive at the World Championships.  And then there are those teams that are here because their zone needed a representative. Therefore, if your Day One draw is “soft” then you will most likely be near the top of the field.  On the other hand, if you draw the well-seasoned teams…well you can figure out how your Day One will go.

USA II has gotten off to a fine start.  Our goal for the day was 55 Victory Points and we achieved that goal.  We are currently sixth in the field.  At the end of the seven day round robin, eight teams will qualify to go into the KO stage of the Bermuda Bowl. Ultimately, our goal is to win the round robin because all sorts of strategic perks come with winning.  However, qualifying for the KO stage is a very close second!  Obviously if you don’t qualify, you can’t win the event!

As for the other USA teams:  Unfortunately, in the Bermuda Bowl, USA I did not have a good day and are currently 18th.  In the Venice Cup (Women) USA I is leading the field and USA II is sitting in tenth position.  In order to qualify for the KO round, you have to be in the top 8.  In the Senior Bowl, USA II is in second while USA I is in sixth place.  To look at all of the standings and see the team rosters go to

 http://www.worldbridge.org/tourn/SaoPaulo.09/Results.hA

To get up-to-date scores as the match unfolds, click on “Running Scores”.  There are three columns for Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup and Senior Bowl. 

For overall rankings, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “Cross Table by Rank.”  You can then click on the team name and view the rosters.

USA II plays Brazil, Morroco and Norway today.  You can watch on BBO for matches one and three.  For match two, click on the running scores and follow along!

Have a great day of bridge!

The Captains meeting was uneventful for the most part.  The newbys asked a lot of questions and the oldies rolled their eyes…I did ask for a clarification of the conditions of contest as to whether a particular clause would be enforced and to further define the word “convention.”  At the World Championship level, it is much more important that the convention card clearly disclose all partnership conventions.  The convention card itself is two pages with very tiny print and then the partnership can add supplemental pages.  Our team realized that several of the pairs were not fully disclosing their system.  According to the conditions of contest, violators are subject to a 2 Victory Point penalty.  My question was sort of answered but I was left with a lot of ambiguity.  So when we play these pairs and the convention comes up – we will call the director and see if they enforce the conditions of contest.

The Opening Ceremony was held in the Teatro Apha.  The ceremony (although extremely long) was very well presented.  They started with opening remarks by the various organization presidents followed by the introduction of the teams.  After the World Championship was officialy “Opened” the local talent groups entertained us for 2 1/2 hours!  Music, song, dance – all of Brazilian heritage.

Enough about the side show – DAY 1 has begun! There are three 16-board matches a day.  Today, USA II plays Mexico, Chile and USA I.  Nick Nickell-Ralph Katz and Bob Hamman-Zia Mahmood are in the first match against Mexico.  The line ups are posted 15 minutes prior to each match so I can’t let you in on who will be playing the second or third match as that is TOP SECRET!  Once the match begins, you will see the line up for the last two matches today.

Occassionally you can watch USA II on Bridge Base Online which will carry 9 different matches each session. If USA II is not live on BBO, you can follow their running scores at www.swangames.com.  On this site, you can follow ALL of the teams on a board by board bases.  Personally, it is too nerve racking for me to watch this way…but very exciting none the less.

If you prefer to see just the end results of each match, go to

 http://www.worldbridge.org/tourn/SaoPaulo.09/Results.htm.

If you want to read about the players and actual hands played, go to

 http://www.worldbridge.org/tourn/SaoPaulo.09/Bulletins.htm.

Enjoy your day of bridge!

USA II’s dinner last night was delicious.  We went to Figueira Rubayat which I highly recommend.  The menu had an assortment of seafood and steak but the bread was the highlight of the meal.  They used a wood-burning oven to bake the bread and it really makes a difference in the taste and texture of the bread.  USA II now has the carbohydrates it needs to keep up their stamena the next two weeks! Thanks to Cynthia Kung and Lara Coser (Sharon Shapiro’s friends) for recommending Rubayat!

Enough about food … Today’s agenda for USA II has a practice match at 1pm against the German team.  Interestingly, the USA is the only country that has two teams in each event.  This is determined by the bridge-population base of the Zones.  Our Zone (Zone 2) has enough members to grant us two teams.  Thus USA I and USA II.  The other Zones include several countries; and, therefore you might notice that among the 22 teams there are a lot of countries missing!  Every other Zone only sends one country.  This doesn’t make us very popular amongst the other countries…

This evening USA II will attend the Opening Ceremony and musical show at 7:30pm.  During the opening Ceremony, all of the teams walk across a stage dressed in their team uniforms led by someone carrying their country flag.  It is quite a scene.  Our uniform is tan pants, blue shirt, blue jacket and red tie (scarf for me).

Meanwhile, check out the Brazilian home page for the tournament.  There are lots of interesting facts about Sao Paulo and the history of Brazilian Bridge.  http://www.brazilbridge2009.com.br/index-i.php

Wow!  What a trip…most of our team (and other USA Team members) were scheduled to land in Sao Paulo between 5am and 8am this (Friday) morning.  Due to bad weather (fog) in Sao Paulo, ALL of the planes were diverted to different cities around Brazil.  Six hours later…our last team member landed at the International airport. 

We all stuffed our bags and ourselves into our respective ground transportation and the race was on to see who could reach the hotel in less than 1 1/2 hours!  Our car (Bob Hamman, Betty Ann Kennedy (USA Womens) and me) won the race with a time of 1 hour and 20 minutes!

The afternoon was spent unpacking, finding our way around the hotel and generally settling in for our two week adventure. 

Tonight is the night for all BIG Team dinners.  Once play starts – big dinners are a big no-no!  Our team is scheduled for a 9pm dinner which will last through mid-night if I know my team (which I do!).  Tomorrow morning I will tell you all about our meal and how long it took us to get from our hotel to the restaurant.  All I know is that the restaurant is 15 miles away and we are leaving the hotel at 8:20 for a 9pm reservation.  Looks like another long car ride is in our near future…

In the mean time…check out the rosters for the 2009 World Championships at the following link:    

 http://www.worldbridge.org/tourn/SaoPaulo.09/Participants.htm.