October 2017 - 8

Letters to the Editor

opened. And Goren's count is useful for
more than minimum opening bids.
I think teachers and authors do a disservice to beginners and ordinary players by neglecting many things I have
found useful in Goren's hand valuation
methods. How to account for distribution may be a matter of taste, but surely
the indirection of counting short suits
to value length is not too subtle for
people who can understand finesses.
What is not a matter of bidding fashion
is the accuracy of the result. The long
rebellion against Goren's authority
may not yet have run its course, but we
should agree that, on this point at least,
he got it right.
ALAN PIERCE
Tulsa OK

NABC Online reaction

As an I/N player trying to earn the
gold points needed for Life Master, I
was excited to hear about the NABC
Online event on Bridge Base. Having
now played in the event, I want to offer
a few thoughts.
It was definitely worthwhile to challenge myself against top players in an
open competition, but in the future, I
hope the ACBL will also offer stratified
events that pay gold and red masterpoints online. Additionally, I think it's
fair to say that the masterpoint payouts
were far too stingy. I finished with
58.5% in one of the daily sessions and
above 50% overall. As an I/N player,
I'm proud of that showing, which
would have earned me a scratch at
almost any tournament or club game.
But with the NABC Online paying out
at a minuscule three percent daily and
seven percent overall rate, I finished
nowhere close to those earning points.
I genuinely love playing in local
clubs and at sectionals and regionals. I wouldn't trade the friendships
I've made, and I'll continue to travel
for bridge in the future. But it would

8 Bridge Bulletin October 2017

be great to be able to earn meaningful
masterpoint awards online as well. I
hope that after this experiment, the
ACBL will expand online offerings of
gold and red points. But please do so in
a more equitable fashion in the future.
JOHN WERTMAN
Burke VA
I recently participated in the NABC
Online game. It was enjoyable, however
it is disappointing that the only event
was an open game without stratified
scoring. This format makes it unlikely
for C players to get red or gold points.
If a similar regional is planned for the
future, please consider stratifying
(as BBO does for its everyday games).
Alternatively, please consider adding a
Gold Rush event as is common to other
regionals.
ANDY REMSON
Klein TX
I just finished playing in the inaugural version of this event. Despite living
in the NABC host city of Toronto, when
I heard about this competition, I decided to forgo playing "live" and entered
the online competition. I really enjoyed
it. The convenience can't be beat, and
the technology worked well 95% of
the time. I had never played with the
higher-end GIB robots before, but I did
learn a lot about strategies for playing
with robots through my participation.
Special thanks to Richard Lawson of
Bridge Winners for his very instructive
play-by-play account of his four days in
the tournament.
While playing online means playing
in isolation, the social aspects of bridge
are not lost in this format. I was back
and forth online every day with my
three closest bridge-playing friends to
compare results and tactics. For four
days, I felt more immersed in bridge
than I had in many years.
Kudos to the ACBL and BBO for daring to try something different. I hope

this event will be repeated in conjunction with future NABC tournaments.
PHILIP BAER
North York ON

Active ethics

As we Californians approach another
All Western Regional in Santa Clara,
I am reminded of the exceptionally
ethical demeanor of one of my most
tenacious opponents, Mark Moss.
I competed against Mark last year in
Santa Clara at the All Western Pairs,
a keenly contested regional event that
spans two days and often attracts players of national stature as well.
On the second day of the contest,
Mark and his partner Bob Thomson
showed up at our table; they were having a good game and were amongst the
leaders, as they often are. The second
of the two hands we played against
them was a vulnerable partscore
in diamonds, and I had doubled the
contract. Mark knew that in order for
the contract to be set, I needed to have
a protected trump honor, but he had
caught a glimpse of my cards, and he
knew that the card was actually in my
partner's hand and finessable.
A bit perplexed, Mark called the
director and took a brief moment away
from the table to discuss his dilemma.
Had he not seen my hand, Mark would
have played for down one, doubled and
vulnerable. When done with the director call, Mark returned to the table and
conceded down one, playing for the
drop of an honor that I did not hold.
How often does such scrupulous
behavior present itself ? A truly noble
opponent, I hope that Mark receives
recognition for the integrity he displayed.
Sincerest kudos to an opponent who
is a soft-spoken and humble ambassador of fairness.
DENIS C. RACINE
North Highlands CA

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2017