The Season of ITS
Like any other sports, there is an interstate teams competition in bridge. This year, we are sending our teams to the Australia National Competition (ANC) in Canberra in July. To select the best players representing the state of New South Wales, the ITS for Open division has started last Monday as the first stage of selection. Follow the MATCH here. From Stage II (over 3 Monday nights from 27th February to 13th March) on, there will be a Swiss Pairs Congress open to all players run along side the selection. Don't miss the chance to get involved! The Women's ITS will be held this weekend, with Qualifying on Saturday 4th February and Final on Sunday 5th Sunday. To get a chance to represent us in our NSW Women's Teams, please ENTER here. To encourage more players to get involved, a Swiss Pairs competition will be held along side the WITS Final on Sunday. This Swiss Pairs event is open to all players and genders, ENTER here now. The Seniors ITS will be held in April over two weekends, so discuss with your partner now and get ready!
The Gold Coast Congress is around the corner, it is held from 18th – 25th February. There are programs for all different levels from super novice to grand master. Check it out and be a part of it!
Certificates and prizes were sent to the UHMP (Under Hundred Master Points) Championships winners. Photos can be found HERE.
There was a variety of congresses organized by local clubs in the last few months, please find their feature reports here:
Trumps Festival Teams
– part of the annual Trumps Festival of Bridge during Christmas and New Year
Double Bay New Year Swiss Pairs
– Rakesh Kumar showed us how to live on the edge on a flexible 2C
Results and photos of all congresses can be found HERE.
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Congratulations to the winners in NSWBA January Matchpointed Swiss Pairs: (Left) Paul Dalley and Andrew Peake came first. (Middle) 1st Runners-up David Hudson and Paul Lavings. (Right) 2nd Runners-up Terry Bodycote and Wayne Zhu. |
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Upcoming Events
Events highlights from 4th February to 5th March. Click HERE to view congresses in the full year.
Congresses In NSW Local Clubs
Feb 5 (Sun) NSWBA WITS Swiss Pairs Congress
Swiss Pairs
Event Details >
Feb 11 – 12 (Sat – Sun) Great Lakes Bridge Club
Teams
Event Details >
Feb 12 (Sun) Canberra Bridge Club
Valentine's Day Congress
Event Details >
Feb 12 (Sun) Trumps Bridge Centre
Summer Teams
Event Details >
Mar 4 – 5 (Sat – Sun) Griffith Ex-Servicemens Bridge Club
Wine Country Congress – Pairs and Teams
Event Details >
Mar 5 (Sun) Forbes Bridge Club
Swiss Pairs
Event Details >
Mar 5 (Sun) Trumps Bridge Centre
Autumn Teams
Event Details >
State Events
Feb 4 – 5 (Sat – Sun) NSWBA Women's ITS
Qualifying on Sat 4 Feb and Final on Sun 5 Feb
Event Details >
Feb 27 – Mar 13 (over 3 Mon nights) NSWBA Open ITS Stage II
Event Details >
Feb 27 – Mar 13 (over 3 Mon nights) NSWBA ITS Swiss Pairs
A side event open to public
Event Details >
National (ABF) EventsFeb 18 – 25 (Sat – Sat) QBA Gold Coast Congress
Event Details >
Mar 16 – 19 (Thu – Sun) TBA Tasmanian Festival of Bridge
Event Details >
Holidays
Mar 12 – Apr 4 (Sun – Tue) Finesse (Peakhurst) South Africa Tour The Big Five Pairs
Event Details >
World
Feb 7 – 12 (Tue – Sun) Japan Contract Bridge League NEC Bridge Festival
Event Details >
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Featured Articles
Improvement in bridge begins at the end of your comfort zone. So how do you handle those hands with intermediate strength and considerable trick-taking power? Rakesh Kumar shares his views in handling "Those 'not quite game forcing' hands".
Read the full article >
There is a treasure in Matthew McManus' archive of articles! Review one of his articles at your choice.
Read Matthew's articles >
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Congress Player
of the Year
Congratulations to the Congress Players of 2016, keep up your good play! The competition for the Congress Player of 2017 has just started, good luck to you all. There will be four categories:
• Open
• Intermediate < 750 MPs
• Restricted < 300 MPs
• Novice < 100 MPs
Click HERE for our current "interim" list, as at 31st December 2016.
This award is based on masterpoints earned at NSW Congresses held under the auspices of NSWBA during the year.
So how are masterpoints updated? Why haven't they been processed yet? Julian Foster, the Chairman of NSWBA, answers players' common question "Why haven't I got my masterpoints yet?"
Read the full article >
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Congress Psyche Register
The NSWBA has decided to establish a central psyche register for all congresses held in NSW.
The laws permit players to deviate from their systemic agreements so long as the partner of the player who does so has no greater reason to be aware of this deviation than the opponents. Once your partnership has a history of deviating from its agreements in a certain situation you are required to inform your opponents of this tendency.
If you feel that your opponents have psyched against you, please email details of the hand to the psyche register – no action will be taken against players who are reported to the psyche register but once a pair has multiple entries in the psyche register, congress directors will be informed so that they are aware of this history when making their rulings.
A form which can be used for submissions is available HERE.
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About the eCongress
The eCongress is a monthly newsletter published by the NSW Bridge Association. It updates you with the latest congresses in the month, interesting hands and analysis from events, and tips regarding the bridge laws.
Subscribe Now >
NSW Bridge Association
+61 2 9264 8111
office@nswba.com.au
www.nswba.com.au
1/F, 162 Goulburn Street,
East Sydney 2010
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Send us your stories
Do you have a story to tell or a photo to share after playing in a congress? Let us know, we will be pleased to publish them.
Submit your stories / photos >
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Feedback
It is important for us to know your feedback. Write to us and let us know what kind of topic you would like to know more about.
Write to the Editor >
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