April 2013 - 7

Letters to the Editor

Guidelines

Exercise the brain

To the Editor:
The first Q & A under Ruling the
Game in January (page 38) omits an
important point. Many beginners and
intermediate players believe that the
high-card point range they have been
taught for weak two-bids - typically
5 to 10 - is a law of the game rather
than a guideline.
The person calling the director
should have examined the convention card of the preempting pair. The
General Convention Chart restricts
only the width of the range, not where
it lies. Some pairs play 0-6 HCP weak
twos. It is legal (if risky) to do so.
MATT LAHUT
Rockville MD

To the Editor:
In February (page 7), Barry Rogoff
suggests leaving played cards face up
to help the players keep track of what
has been played. I believe this is a
very bad idea.
I manage a small club on the Oregon coast. The average age of our
members is probably near 70. I'm
just a few months shy of 80. One of
our members was a top player when
she was younger. In recent years, she
has had two strokes and has suffered
partial paralysis and some memory
problems. She loves bridge and is still
a regular club player. She has to work
at it now, but she is also still a regular
winner!
A wise person said, "The mind is
like a muscle. It needs exercise." For
us older players with possible memory issues, bridge is not just our favorite game, it also can be our therapy!
JOHN WEATHERWAX
Florence OR

Hotbed of bridge
To the Editor:
As an active player in District 9, I
was delighted to see Michelle Golden
recognized in the cover story of the
January issue. Michelle is one of the
many outstanding bridge teachers and
club managers throughout the Sunshine State.
In the article, Michelle mentioned
that another great member of District
9, Jay Whipple III, helped her come
into the 21st Century, technologically.
Many clubs throughout the state have
wonderful websites and email contact
with their members, and District 9 has
its own Online Partnership Desk and
Fast Results for pairs games, as well
as a fun Common Game.
District 9, at this writing, has more
than 20,000 ACBL members, and
more than 5000 of them live in Palm
Beach County, which includes Boca
Raton. Jay Whipple is not one of the
5000-plus. He lives in Boca Grande, an
island town that has only 1200 permanent residents. Here's another great
statistic: The Boca Grande Duplicate
Bridge Club counts 600 on its roster
of active bridge players.
The game is thriving in the Sunshine
State!
MURIEL ALTUS
Tampa FL

Small lapse
To the Editor:
Mr. Rogoff suggests leaving played
cards face up so that older players
can spend less effort on memorization
and more on analysis and technique.
As with most transgressive ideas, this
one does not go far enough.
I suggest all four hands be placed
face up on the table before the bidding begins. After all, if you cannot remember what was played, you surely
will have trouble trying to construct
closed hands from bidding and play
hints. This will allow less effort to be
expended on analysis and technique,
and more on ... well, I forget.
GLEN HOFFING
Shamong NJ

No way!
To the Editor:
In response to the Rogoff letter, I
have to say he must be kidding. Does
he realize how much more time it will
take to finish a game if one has to

look at all the "face up" cards before
deciding what card to play next? As
the play progresses, the game will
grow slower and slower as the as the
number of cards to look at grows.
That doesn't even account for the failing eyesight of many older players!
The beauty of playing bridge is
that it develops many of our skills,
including logic, reasoning and memorization. Why take away one of the
benefits of playing bridge? Why play
bridge at all if you don't want to exercise your brain?
Thumbs down on this idea.
B.D. LIM
Palos Verdes Estates CA

Helping hands
To the Editor:
It was mid-week at the recent Albuquerque Regional and my husband,
Jack, and I had earned only a few red
points toward becoming Life Masters. We decided to try the knockout
teams.
Hong Hai DuBroff and Lillian Fesler - local players with nearly 1400
combined masterpoints - picked
our cards from the partnership table.
They had decided to dedicate their regional, their time and their money to
helping others earn their gold cards.
Lucky for us, these strangers picked
us, noting that we needed two gold
points.
The team played well, and we made
it with more than 10 gold points. We
are now Life Masters. How wonderful
it was - strangers helping strangers.
What a game.
JUDY REVARE
Leawood,KS

Letters to the editor are welcome
by regular mail, email editor@acbl.
org or fax 662-253-3187. Brevity is considered a virtue, as is subject matter with
relevance to a majority of ACBL members.
Unsigned letters are not considered for
publication, so please include your name
and hometown. Letters may be edited.
All letters will receive a response.
April 2013 Bridge Bulletin

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2013