S PORTS
Bridge
Convenor: Edith Somogyi | Article by: Charles Macgregor
COVID-19 UPDATE The Bridge Section, like every other Section, ceased physical association in March in line with circuit breaker guidelines. The Section’s activities however, have not been completely thwarted by the virus/fever. Rather than meeting in the Clubhouse on Monday evenings for our regular session, we have now switched to a virtual environment. Thanks to Carl, our Director, we have been able to continue playing on Bridge Base Online. We held our first tournament on Monday, March 30, with 14 pairs. Since then we have had a number of sessions with 22 pairs, something of a record for our Monday evening events. Some Members miss the conversation, camaraderie, and inevitable/interminable post-mortems after each hand. Some are being caught out by the inadvertent clicking (fixed by way of required a two click confirmation of intended bids or plays). Others are delighting in the flexibility and efficiency that comes with the online version.
LEARN-TO-PLAY
Section Convenor Edith Somogyi and Section Treasurer Charles Macgregor playing Bridge Base Online.
The Section will holding a beginners’ bridge course once the coronavirus warning has de-escalated. This will consist of four 3-hour sessions on a Saturday and will likely take place in the Gilmour Room. The Section will send out an information poster once the dates have been finalised. The course will be open to both Section Members and nonSection Members.
WEBSITE
(HTTPS://WWW.BRIDGEWEBS.COM/SCCBRIDGE/) Our website contains past results and will allow players to track their progress. The Club Bridge Section generally meets every Monday evening in either the Gilmour Room or the Victoria Room, and will recommence once the circuit breaker concludes. There is also a calendar on the website for upcoming events and contact details for anyone wishing to play on Mondays and/or join the Section as and when physical meetings are allowed.
Screenshot of the SCC Bridge Section’s website.
BRIDGE ANECDOTE (COURTESY OF EDDIE KANTAR, BERMUDA BOWL WINNER 1977 & 1979) Helen Sobel, probably the greatest woman player of all time, was a chorus girl before taking up bridge. Not forgetting her roots, she used this little ploy when she was missing an important queen in a slam or grand slam contract playing against two men: she raised her skirt a little above her knees before playing. It never failed that the fellow without the queen would look and the one with the queen was so intent on taking a trick with that card that he didn’t. Helen always found the queen. When I tell this story to my classes, I tell the ladies that if they are playing against me in a tournament not to pull that one on me. Whether I have the queen or not, I always look. Helen Sobel Smith (1909 – 1969) was the first woman elected to the Bridge Hall of Fame . Photo from the American Contract Bridge League.
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THE PADANG MAY / JUN 2020
