View this email in your browser

Hopped from Congress to Congress

We hope you had a great Easter break! We have prepared a small gift for you, please read on and download a complimentary movie ticket at the bottom of the newsletter.

The Women's Interstate Teams Selection (WITS) was held on 12-14 April 2019 and congratulations to the winners Helene Pitt - Ruth Tobin, Susan Humphries - Sophie Ashton and Cathryn Herden - Judy Mott. More results can be found HERE. Subject to the council ratification, these top three pairs will represent NSW to compete in the ANC (Australia National Championship) in Melbourne on 14-18 July this year.

Subject to council ratification the team to represent NSW in the ANC Women's Teams in Melbourne in July is pictured above: Judy Mott, Cathryn Herden, Ruth Tobin, Helene Pitt, Susan Humphries and Sophie Ashton. The team has chosen Marcia Scudder to be their NPC (non-playing captain).

The WITS Swiss Pairs was held as a side congress to the Women's Teams Selection Final on Sunday 14 April 2019. (Left) Michael Cartmell and David Fryda came first. (Right) Wayne Zhu and Cevat Emul achieved second.

More photos and news can be expected on our ANC Teams Facebook Group once the Seniors' Team and the Youth Team are selected later in May. The young ones this year would like to have an "adult-free" environment for their teams selection, so the Youth Interstate Teams Selection will be held over two Wednesday nights at NSWBA on 8 & 15 May. The Senior's ITS will follow the tradition to be held on 17-19 May - with Friday a one-day qualifying event, and a two-day Finals on Saturday & Sunday. We can't wait to see all 4 teams representing us!

The next upcoming State event will be the State Mixed Pairs Championship on 25-26 May. This event will bring the state and the country players together - they are the best mixed pairs selected from their club qualifying events or nominated by their own clubs. If you have missed out your clubs' qualifying event, direct entry are welcome as long as you're a mixed pairs! Please click HERE to find out more.

No need to get disappointed if you and your partner are not a mixed pair. The Autumn Swiss Pairs on Sunday 26 May is a one-day congress, which will be open to all and will offer you a chance to enjoy a great game in a challenging field! The entry list will only reflect those who have entered directly, you will find more players in the field that day. Most of these players will come from those who have dropped out from the State Mixed Pairs Qualifying the day before. We had 50 pairs in total last year, will we see you this year? Enter HERE now.

Coming up in June is the most popular event Teams of Three! Form a team of three to this fun event on Sunday 2 June 2019. A captain (a state, a national or an international representative) will be assigned to your team and will partner with each of the team member for at least 2 matches. What a fantastic way to play to learn and improve your game! Check here for details and enter now to avoid disappointment.

By coincidence some of the local congresses matched the theme of Easter! High flying bunnies were seen in the Central Coast Super Congress, a new congress player had a great first time experience in the Tilligerry Swiss Pairs, and Trumps Bridge Centre held a 4-day Easter bridge festival.

Central Coast Congress by Rakesh Kumar
Tilligerry Swiss Pairs by Pat Healey
Trumps Good Friday Pairs by Julian Foster
Trumps Easter Swiss Pairs by Patrick Neary
Trumps Swiss Teams story provided by Fraser Rew and reported by Derrick Browne

An excellent bridge weekend for (Left middle) Tony Burke and Nigel Rosendorff who won the Swiss Pairs on the Saturday, then also won in the Teams with Mathew Vadas and George Fleischer. (Right) Restricted Teams winner Michael Hogan with organiser Stephanie Mathews. Jay Novak, Michael Choueifate and Andrew Refshauge absent

Congratulations to the winners in the Sapphire Coast Congress - (Left) Robert van der Hoek and Sue Neill won the Swiss Pairs. (Right) Teams winners John & Val Brockwell and Elizabeth Havas and Chris Stead.

The Tilligerry Swiss Pairs had winners in both directions. Pat Healey, President, congratulated the NS winners Paul McGrath - Chris Dibley and EW winners Ian McKinnon - Virginia Dressler.

These players chose to celebrate their Easter by having a bridge game with their friends and family! (Left) Jenna Gibbons and Julian Foster came first in the Good Friday Pairs. (Middle) Axel Johannsson and Kate McCallum won the Easter Swiss Pairs. (Right) Teams winners - Fraser Rew, Julian Foster, Jenna Gibbons and Nick Rodwell.

Colin Baker, Sartaj Hans, Helena Dawson and Fraser Rew were pleased with their achievement in the Peninsula Teams.

Upcoming Events

Events highlights from 1 May to 9 June. Click HERE to view all congresses in the whole year.

CONGRESSES IN NSW LOCAL CLUBS
May 4-5 (Sat-Sun) Bathurst and District Bridge Club
Pairs and Teams
Event Details >

May 5 (Sun) Maitland Bridge Club
Teams
Event Details >

May 5 (Sun) Trumps Bridge Centre
Autumn Teams
Event Details >

May 18-19 (Sat-Sun) Coffs Harbour Bridge Club
Teams
Event Details >

May 25-26 (Sat-Sun) Leeton Soldiers Bridge Club
Swiss Pairs and Teams
Event Details >

May 26 (Sun) NSWBA Autumn Swiss Pairs
A side event of the State Mixed Pairs Championship Final
Event Details >

Jun 2 (Sun) NSWBA Teams of Three
Improve your game by playing with a captain!
Event Details >

Jun 8-9 (Sat-Sun) Nambucca Valley Bridge Club
Swiss Pairs and Teams
Event Details >

Jun 9 (Sun) Trumps Bridge Centre
Friendly Pairs
Event Details >

NSWBA EVENTS
May 6 (Mon) NSWBA State Mixed Pairs Qualifying
Yes you have missed the first half of the event to qualify for the State Mixed Pairs Championship as NSWBA representatives, however casual pairs and walk-ins are welcome to play just one night. So why not?
Event Details >

May 8-15 (over 2 Wednesdays) NSWBA Youth ITS
Contending and non-contending are both welcome! youth only will be at the place and the event, isn't that cool?
Event Details >

May 13-Jun 3 (over 4 Monday nights) NSWBA ANC Butler Pairs
Great opportunity to practise for VCC
Event Details >

May 17-19 (Fri-Sun) NSWBA Seniors ITS
Event Details >

STATE EVENTS
May 25-26 (Sat-Sun) State Mixed Pairs Championships
Saturday Qualifying and Sunday Final
Event Details >

NATIONAL (ABF) EVENTS
May 2-6 (Thu-Mon) Autumn Nationals
Adelaide
Event Details >

May 3-6 (Fri-Mon) Barrier Reef Congress
Cairns
Event Details >

May 18-19 (Sat-Sun) Western Senior Pairs
Perth
Event Details >

Jun 6-10 (Thu-Mon) Victor Champion Cup
Melbourne
Event Details >

Jul 13-25 (Sat-Thu) Australian National Championships
Melbourne
Event Details >

BRIDGE HOLIDAYS
Jun 4-16 (Tue-Sun) Finesse Thailand-Krabi Pairs
Holiday Details >

Jun 23-28 (Sun-Fri) Trumps Bridge Centre Gilbraltar Hotel Bowral
Holiday Details >

FEATURED ARTICLES

Congress Stories by Rakesh Kumar
A bunny will tell you that every failed hop is one hop closer to success. Let Rakesh tell you the story of the "high-flying bunnies" this Easter.

Central Coast Congress 2019
- Featuring the high-flying bunnies...

Ask a Director
by John McIlrath
Q: "Ohhhh you REVOKED, director!"
A: Revoke is a “mechanical” mistake, put simply a failure to follow suit. we all have done it. So, when should I call the Director? Read the full answer here >

To understand situations better where a director is called, Matthew McManus has explained them in detail and the reasons behind the rulings in his articles. They are written from the angle of players. Review his columns to be a better congress player. Review his columns here >

Book Reviews
On The Other Hand
by David Bird & Larry Cohen

"Again and again the authors make the point that you must never ever play a hand without a plan."

Click on the image for a full book review by Paul Lavings:

Understanding Scoring
Published every two months
We have received a lot of good feedback on this new column from the previous issue. More explanatiion on different scoring methods will be published here, approximately every 2 issues.

Next issue:
Matchpoint Vs IMPs

CONGRESS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Your Association is pleased to acknowledge this 2019 Award. There will be four categories:

Open
Intermediate <750 MPs
Restricted <300 MPs
Novice <100 MPs

Click HERE for our current "interim" list, as at 31 March 2019. This award is based on masterpoints earned at NSW Congresses held under the auspices of NSWBA during the year.

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.

ABOUT 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 bridge laws.

Subscribe now >

NSW Bridge Association
+61 2 9264 8111
office@nswba.com.au
www.nswba.com.au
Level 1, 162 Goulburn Street,
East Sydney 2010

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 it.
Submit your stories / photos>

Thanks for Subscribing

Forward