July 2020 - 8

Letters to the Editor
Arkansas adventures

I play bridge out of Little Rock, and
I thought it would be a fun goal to play
in every bridge club in Arkansas. My
regular partner is Dr. Kathy Gates,
and she thought it would be fun to do
also. We researched the ACBL club
information and found that there were
23 clubs in Arkansas that have regular
ACBL-sanctioned games each week.
There are clubs in Dumas, Monticello,
Jonesboro, Little Rock, Hot Springs,
Hot Springs Village, Conway,
Jacksonville, Pine Bluff (three clubs),
Heber Springs, Fort Smith, Mountain
Home (two clubs), Harrison, Eureka
Springs (two clubs), Rogers (two
clubs), Springdale, Bella Vista, and
Bentonville. We added one more club
from Texarkana. That is technically a
Texas club because the city is partially
in Texas and partially in Arkansas.
Because they play in Arkansas, we
added it to our list.
We tried to play at one club each
week, schedule permitting. We finished playing after about seven months
and played in every club.
We met so many wonderful people
on our adventure. We were well received, and people were excited about
our goal. It was well worth the time and
expense. Bridge players in Arkansas
are, with very few exceptions, gracious
and supportive. I gained a renewed appreciation for this wonderful game and
the people who play it. I also gained a
special appreciation for the directors
at each club who make their games
possible. Without them, few of these
clubs would survive.
I owe a special thanks to a guy we
met at a game in Eureka Springs. Josh
Young is a writer and published author,
and he shared our excitement about
this goal. He encouraged me to write

8 Bridge Bulletin July 2020

this piece for the Bridge Bulletin. His
words were, "Either you write it or I
will." Thanks, Josh.
DAN GRAHAM
Redfield AR

Dexterity exercise

I have been playing in some of the
new ACBL Virtual Club games on BBO,
and I like being able to still compete
with my friends. I do seem to have one
new problem, though, that I don't have
with "regular" bridge, namely, I have a
keying error on average of about once
per session. I should use my computer
with a mouse to be more precise, but
my little tablet (and my fat fingers) are
my devices of choice most of the time.
Recently, I was in a contract where I
led low towards the A-9-4 in dummy,
intending to finesse the 9. So I played
the 3 from my hand, and left-hand
opponent played the 2. I tried to strike
the 9, but I hit the 4 instead. I gasped,
but just then my right-hand opponent
showed out in the suit! My 4 won the
trick! I couldn't see the ugly looks from
the other three people at the "table,"
but I assumed that they were there!
BILL LANDRUM
Detroit MI

Surveillance needed

We have received many emails about
the threat that online cheating presents.
Two are presented here. Readers should
check out this month's editorial, as well
as "A Message from the President" on
pg. 9, "Ruling the Game" on pg. 26 and
"For the Record" on pg. 27.
I am a regular user of BBO, and I
enjoy the service very much, but your
article about online play (May, pg. 24)

fails to mention a critical problem
when playing in ACBL-sanctioned
games on BBO: widespread cheating.
When I first began using BBO several
years ago, it seemed obvious to me
that two people who know each other
could sign up as a pair and then communicate with each other as they play.
The temptation to do this is especially
great for persons living in the same
household. I accepted this as a small
downside of the system, but this defect
is totally unacceptable when the stakes
include the ability to earn masterpoints in an ACBL-sanctioned game.
It seems to me that it is the obligation of ACBL to police the games that
it sanctions on BBO just as it does
national, regional, sectional and local
competitions. Points earned are supposed to be a reflection of skill, not
chicanery.
DONALD ZACHARY
Glendale CA
The lawless culture of online bridge
supports the cheating shysters. The
value of ACBL points is worthless in
such an environment.
This is an opportunity, however.
The ACBL and BBO can data-mine to
expose individuals routinely achieving high scores or arriving in extreme
contracts. Corrections and monitoring
would clean up the culture and improve the sportsmanship, goodwill and
fairness of all bridge events.
CLIFF BRYANTON
Vernon BC
July 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2020
