Grandslam #37

THE GRANDSLAM
SRC BRIDGE SECTION NEWSLETTER
June/July 06 ISSUE #37

1. Message from the Convenor – Shamim Moledina
It has been an exciting 2 years as your convenor and I want to acknowledge all the wonderful voluntary work my Committee, SRC staff and Section Members have put to organise so many activities and projects.

I am extremely pleased to report that our SRC Management Committee Social representatives – Mr. Richard Yong and Mr. Deepak Singapuri – have both been re-elected with comfortable margins in the recent SRC elections.
I would also like to congratulate my committee for meeting the quality and quantity objectives we had set 2 years ago. Our membership has more than doubled and we continue to do very well in those tournaments we participate in – including a gold medal at the Pesta Sukan.
Our thanks and goodbyes also go to our excellent bridge co-ordinator, Sheryn Lim, whose shoes will now be filled by Syqin Edwards.
Our Bridge AGM and our Team Tournament is on Sunday July 16. I hope all of you will be there to vote and welcome in the new committee and, of course, play in the tournament. I will NOT be seeking re-election as your Convenor as I feel it is important to have transparency and bring in new ideas for our section. Please do come forward and volunteer if you would like to serve in the committee. I feel confident that we will be in very good hands.
It has been my pleasure and privilege to serve you all and I look forward to your on-going support and participation.

2. 6th Bridge AGM – 16th July at 12.00pm

Calling all SRC Bridge Section Members!
Mark out this important date in your calendar to attend our Annual General Meeting in the 1883 Lounge. We will be electing office bearers and it will be an excellent chance to meet other members and voice your concerns. As lunch is also provided, you cannot go wrong!

3. SRC 6th Annual Open Teams Tournament – 16th July at 2pm
SRC will be holding this annual event in the 1883 Lounge from 2pm to 9pm. There will be attractive prizes and a full dinner will be provided.
Each team must have exactly 4 players and no change in the pairing is allowed once the match starts. There will be 2 categories of “teams – SRC and non-SRC teams. SRC teams are those that have at least 2 SRC Bridge Section members There is no participation charge for these teams. Non-SRC teams will be charged either $10 or $20 per player, depending whether the player is a regular supporter of SRC Tuesday games. Please email Shamim at zaris@pacific.net.sg to verify your player’s eligibility for the discount if you are uncertain.
Please form your teams early as registration will close once 10 teams are confirmed.
Please send your team’s name, captain’s name and contact number, players’ name and full payment (if applicable) made out to “Singapore Recreation Club”, B Connought Drive, Singapore . Attn : Syqin Edwards. Please write “Bridge Section Fund” on the back of the cheque. Or you may hand over the money/details to any committee member.
For more information, please contact Syqin at syqin.pr@src.org.sg

4. Special Bridge Training for SRC Members – June 5th
Informal brainstorming sessions for experienced SRC bridge players will begin on Monday, 5th June in the Karaoke Room. If you have more than 2 years of regular playing experience, you are welcome to attend these sessions free of charge. Note down some interesting or puzzling hands you have encountered and we will discuss and analyse them. The sessions will be facilitated by Zain.

5. Bridgette Class – August 25
 Are you nervous about playing bridge because it is too tough? Or you don’t have 4 people available for a game? Fear not. The Bridge Section will introduce training for a simplified 2-person version of bridge called Bridgette.  The trainer is none other than the inventor himself - Joli Quentin Kansil, creator of some 36 card games, word games, and board games.  He has been living in Singapore since 2003 where he continues to design and market games, all of which are made in Asia.
This game is one of the 22 games in the ‘Games Magazine’ Hall of Fame.  (Among the
other games in the Hall of Fame are Monopoly, Scrabble, Clue, Sorry, Diplomacy, and Trivial Pursuit.) 
Bridgette will tentatively be taught at SRC on Friday August 25 (Theory) and Friday September 1 (Practice) from 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm. Watch out for details in August. 
 
6. CSC Premier League
After losing the opener against Chinese Swimming Club, we beat National University of Singapore and Serangoon Gardens CC followed by a loss to Tanglin CC. We then beat Siglap CC but lost the last match to Keppel Club to end up in 4th place. CSC romped to an easy victory.
It was unfortunate that the league started a month late and “overflowed” into the month of May when several of our players were out of town. Nevertheless, there was excellent feedback from the clubs that indicated that the game SRC hosted on April 16 with dinner and snacks well surpassed their expectations. For this, our thanks must go to Mr. Richard Yong and Mr. Deepak Singapuri.

7. SCBA Mayday Special – 1st May
The early start time of 9.30am did not deter 24 pairs from contesting this annual tournament at the Singapore Contract Bridge Association at Bishan.
1st Wong Chee Wai & Franciska Ho
2nd Ron Savage & Zain Moledina (SRC)
3rd Greta Chai & S S Chang
4th Paul Tan & Selene Tan
5th Jane Choo & Emily Hee
A special mention must go to Helen Tham and Adelene Sheperdson of SRC for a credible 52.6% in this strong field.

8. CSC Good Friday Special -14th April
A special game was organised on Good Friday at the Chinese Swimming Club.
1st Shawn Tham/ Zain Moledina (SRC)
2nd David Chew / Tina Hui
3rd KH Wong/Capt. Ho
4th Chew Ai Leng/Richard Lim (SRC)
9. Kids’ Club Bridge Workshop – 29th May
Yes!! This year we were more prepared to handle 17 excited kids from the SRC Kids’ Club!
Although bridge is supposed to be an intellectual game, a casual observer would have deemed it otherwise! As the kids laughed and jiggled and juggled and screamed and tumbled, it was also clear that the basic elements of bridge had gone into their heads.
“Penalty!” one kid shouted as another peeped at his cards. “Unfair!” another screamed as the instructor gave out a hint to the opponents. “I win! I win!” was frequently head over the din.
Learning from our past experience, we kept the format of the workshop very simple and play-oriented with the focus on “Highest card wins” and “Trumps”. Congratulations go to our volunteers BK, Helen, Shamim and Zain for surviving the 3-hour ordea ... oops .... class!

10. Bridge Rules of Thumb
We continue with another 5 pointers in this issue of Grandslam. As usual, do not follow the list blindly.
1. Take your losses early.
2. Bid your 4-card suits "up-the-line."
3. When declaring a hand, make a plan BEFORE you play to the first trick.
4. Play the high card from the short side of the suit first.
5. Every time you bid, ask yourself "What level and what suit”

11. SRC Tuesday Bridge Results from April 4th to May 30th
DATE FIRST SECOND THIRD
Apr 4 Yu/Ping Nancy/Evelyn Lucy/SohHong
Apr 11 Nancy/Evelyn PeterArnett/Zain Pat/Leong
Apr 18 Florence/Shamim* Shawn/Zain Nancy/EngChoo
Apr 25 Yu/Ping Dorothy/RonS Molly/Richard
May 2 Yu/Ping PengHuat/Jessie Dorothy/RonS
May 9 EngChoo/RonOh RonS/Shamim Zain/Shawn
May 16 Leong/Pat Alan/BK Molly/Richard
May 23 Yu/Ping Richard/Molly BK/Helen=Dot/RonS
May 30 Alan/RonO Molly/Richard Yu/Ping
*Special congratulations go to Florence for her victory over the favorites! Well done!

12. Key Date in Bridge
1925: Harold S. Vanderbilt, American multi-millionaire and three-time America's Cup winner, changed the course of bridge while on a cruise. He suggested that only tricks bid and made count toward game and any extra tricks be only given small bonuses. These revised rules turned auction bridge into contract bridge.

13. PUZZLE -- Punny Players
Fill in the name of famous world bridge players to make the sentence complete. The first name gives you an additional clue. (Answers at the bottom)
Bobby would be a nicer guy if he didn’t _____ down his food.
Bill doesn’t play very often, but he knows which team to ________ for.
Al sinned and incurred the ____ of God.
Eric went fishing and a huge fish pulled fiercely on his line. But he managed to hold his ________.
Bob ordered ________ eggs for breakfast.
L I g h t e r S I d e O f B r I d g e
14. Bridge-napped
Her husband was 2 hours late from work when she found him in the kitchen.
“Where were you?” she screamed
“I was walking home from work when our neighbour caught hold of me as they needed a fourth for bridge. I tried my best to get away but they forced me to stay for 5 hours” he replied.
“But you have only been gone for 2 hours” she queried
He looked at her straight in the eye “Oh, I came here only to collect some beer.”
15. Hearts Forever
Why do cards have hearts on them?
Because spleens would look pretty gross!
16. Daffy-nit-shuns
Bridge : Violence under wraps.
17. Sharp Advice
Trust everybody but cut the cards.
18. Worse than Nothing
“Please don’t tell my mother I am a Professional Bridge Player. She thinks that I am a stripper in a gay bar.”
19. Bridge Sad-vice
The people who give you the most advice are either bridge players or those with whiskey in their breath.
20. High & Low
“I go to bridge tournaments full of confidence… and then the game begins.”
21. A Reason why Bridge is better
If you don’t like your partner, simply get another.
22. Troubled Waters Over Bridge
“I was in love with this wonderful and beautiful girl. We used to play bridge everyday. When she dumped me, I stopped Bridge and was driven to drinking. That's one thing I am indebted to her for.”
23. Bridge Players’ Dilemma
A Discovery Channel mind in an MTV/ESPN world.
24. Finessing Strategies?
Having difficulty finessing for the Queen? Here are some tips.
If you are feeling hungry, finesse towards the kitchen.
Tired? Then do it towards the bedroom.
Too much beer in your bladder? Then the finesse will work if you try it in the bathroom direction.
But romantic players instinctively know that the Queen has to lie over the Jack and under the King.
25. Shades of Grey
If you can't be kind to your partner, at least have the decency to be vague.
26. Painful Game
I think we're all a little masochistic. Otherwise, why would we continue to play bridge?
27. Purpose of Life
“My dear partner, has it ever occurred to you that your sole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others?”

28. Talking Encyclopedia
“I never attend bridge courses. Why should I pay money to a professional when my wife knows bloody everything?”

29. Limited Health
The good thing about bridge is that you only need to be healthy above the neck.

30. Herculean Task
Jack Simpson’s partner bid too aggressively and when dummy came down weaker than expected, he was heard muttering: "My name is Simpson, not Samson."

31. Queen of Hearts
A man who is not married is like playing bridge without the Queen of Hearts. When you finally find the missing card, it is too late.

32. Skimagination
Skill without Imagination is Craftsmanship.
Imagination without Skill is Abstract Art.
Skill with Imagination is Bridge.

33. Jump the Bridge
Nobody claims to be “below average” in Bridge. People, it seems, jump from beginner to average at the speed of light.

34. Bridge Movies
West Side Story — what the appeals committee would not buy as they ruled for North-South.

35. Extreme Bunk
Bridge advice is always given by people least qualified to do so and received by people most likely to ignore it.

36. How Deep is Your Love
“I am not only involved in bridge. I am totally committed. Do you know the difference? When you eat bacon and eggs, the chicken is involved but the pig is committed.”

37. One Step Better
“All that was needed was a simple finesse. But nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.”
38. A Sign that You are a Bridge Addict
Your toilet seat gets covered with a stack of bridge books and magazines.
39. Answer to Puzzle -- Punny Players
1. Wolff 2. Root 3. Roth 4. Rodwell 5. Hamman

Zain Moledina - Editor
zaris@pacific.net.sg