Yet another update

Some weeks take a long time to finish. This was one of them. Off to a July Morning party, and, when I return, will be a happy-puppy again. Meanwhile, enjoy:

Jazzing Summer! :)

Summer is finally here!

Here is a huge lovin' spoonful of wishes for a great many lazy hazy crazy days of summer and lots of fun, on and off bridge.

See you on the roof-top! ;)

Congratulations!!!!!! :)))))))))))))))

BULGARIAN PAIR SWEEP TO VICTORY

A terrific final session saw Bulgaria’s Dessy Popova & Rosen Gunev brush aside the opposition to claim victory in the Mixed Pairs Championship.

They finished just ahead of the Bulgarian/ Turkish partnership of Ahu Zobu& Victor Aronov, their teammates. It may well be the first time two pairs from the same team have finished first and second in any major Championship.

Good luck to all Bulgarian players in Antalya, Turkey - and especially to D. Kapitanski (kapitanski on BBO)!

Recipes, anyone?

Chris's comment about the origin of the word "sandwich" coincided with a rather too extended period of work (or plain sitting) by the computer for me. The nature of the business didn't permit taking long breaks to have proper meals or whatever so I wondered if any of the geeks or mouse-potatoes out there have a recipe or two or three to share. They should be 1) safe for the PC (no messy stuff pls); 2) low-cal, healthy and tasty; 3) require minimum preparation time; 4) any other plus you can think of?
My own suggestions:

• a bottle of mineral water
• two bottles of mineral water
• an apple
• a bottle of mineral water with a slice of lemon in it
• a "multi 2" sandwich: a carrot wrapped in a lettuce leaf, or an egg wrapped in a lettuce leaf, or a lettuce leaf wrapped in a cabbage leaf
  
• .............................
  

yarborough

The original definition of "yarborough" qualifies it as a bridge or whist hand containing no honour cards (10 is also an honour card). It is termed after Charles Anderson Worsley, Second Earl of Yarborough (1809–1897), who was said to have bet 1000 to 1 that noone will ever pick a hand like that. More about this, and other bridge odds in a most interesting article, BRIDGE; BETTING WITH THE ODDS by Alan Truscott in The New York Times (January 18, 1987).

1NT again

Began (again...) reading (and taking notes, but too rough to post yet) Caitlin's "Standard Bidding with SAYC". Here is a deal generated in the BBO partnership bidding room. You hold this hand:



Would you open 1NT, or something else? Here is what I did:



and what Gibbie McGee did:



What is your preference?

Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon

BBO has proven to be a great resource in more than one way again. I had been flirting with the idea of trying to make home-brewn kvas (a traditional Russian beverage made from bread, yeast, water and different spices - sounds yukky but is yummy when chilled enough!) for a long time, and today finally decided to venture. And just when I set out to make the big leap, I realised that the recipe says "a loaf of rye bread". Huh, OK... I haven't been to Russia for more than twenty years now, and I have a very vague recollection just how big the loaf is supposed to be. Googling for the answer brought up a lot of interesting facts and facets to the "loaf of bread" problem - all sorts of recipes, idioms, political implications (eg. top Russian politicians don't even know how much a loaf of bread costs), you name it - I found it - except that there was no definitive answer about the weight of that loaf. So, yes, you guessed correctly, I went to BBO, filtered the users by country, spotted 2 female nicks and asked. I love you, janoo and Problema!

There was a great treat in store, too: the Cayne Team Match. And as usual, the kibs knew better what should be played, how and why. Life is funny! :)


After several unsuccessful attempts during last week to organise the Summer Wine teams (yeah, many friends love it but try to get 8 of us at the same time online, free and willing!), I tried to make a mini-indy under the title "Summer Wine Swinging Singing Singles". Several people wanted to join and I am happy I have added Annette7, Amicale and almo to the friends' list! Welcome and hopefully we'll play again. The winners were almo, followed by Rae123 and bazylc who ruthlessly ruffed and doubled me on his way to the top (and I hate to admit he was right to do it)!

On a positive note, came upon Fred Gitelman's article in BBO's Bridge Library, the Articles section (yes, right, fourth door on the left in the Other Bridge Activities wing) under the title "Expert Errors". I found it very satisfying I make not only newbie errors but expert errors, too! Joking, of course; but I am absolutely serious the article makes great reading matter!

Update (at last!)

There have been some technical issues that had to be resolved so the blog couldn't be updated for some time. Hope I won't miss some very important bit of news that should be handed down from generation to generation! Anyways, if I do miss it - please feel free to leave a comment.

The Summer Wine Series - and I suspect that match #13 is at the bottom of the blog mess! - after a long break we did 2 matches in one evening and for the first time there were more people wishing to play than seats available! That's OK too, cos now we can run it as a swinging party(aka individual) for commitment-freaks like myself, or as a pairs event.
The Hall of Fame screenshots for the latest two matches are below:



and



Gamer's BBO Beginner Tourneys took off nicely (remember Gamer1800?)- we manage to run about 2 events daily, mostly during the European daytime hours, but until there are more TDs available it is hard to commit to any regular schedule. These tourneys are still limited (and will continue to be that way) only to beginner level players so it is funny seeing advanced+ members downgrading their level tag in order to participate. Well, didn't your mum told you lying is bad for you... The only punishment they get, of course, is not being able to yell at their partners for opening with balanced hands with 3 hcp, or having their transfer bids passed. My statistically non-representative impression is most of them never come back, and those who do tend to be beginner-friendly. So if you spot BBO Beginner tourneys in the Free Tournaments list - jump on board, fasten seat-belts and prepare for what may be a bumpy but nethertheless quite enjoyable ride! Even if, as they say, misery loves company, you will be in very good, friendly and compassionate company. :)

The most memorable encounter during a tourney in these last two weeks:

There was nothing we could do to get an explanation; not even the TD could... So if you thought English is enough to get you through your life, it might be time to reconsider!

A funny toy from a huge site with lots of lots of useful bridge-related stuff: the Personal Deal Creator by Richard Pavlicek. Well, at least unsuspecting me found the whole idea hilarious - "Have you ever wondered what your personal bridge deal would be? Well, wonder no more!". You only have to enter your name, the month and the day of your birth, and location. I did, and then got served THIS:

Dull as ditch-water... Since I can't change my name and my birthdate, the only thing that can make the deal more exciting is changing location. Off we go to play - and if it means moving to some uninhabited volcanic archipelago, trust me, I will go there (provided they have a tobacconist and a steady internet connection, of course!).

An interlude: philosophy of bidding ;)

"Aha !" said Pooh. (Rum-tum-tiddle-um-tum.) "If I know
anything about anything, that bid means fit," he said, "and
fit means Game," he said, "and Game means Imps and
Listening-to-Me-Humming and such like. Rum-tum-tum-tiddle-um."