April 2021 - 77

A bridge conversation with my Dad:
Gerald S. Kibbey | 1927-2020
By Laura McCabe
I always got good boards against Eddie Kantar, but I got
unfavorable boards against Al Roth.
Dad, I knew that you played against Eddie Kantar
during tournaments in the Southern California area,
but how is it that you played against Al Roth with him
being located on the East Coast?
I had taken a job with the government in Washington
DC doing appraisal work. And if you remember, it was
there that I met your mother.
Well, I'm sure glad you met her!
I started playing while in the military serving with
Gen. MacArthur's honor guard. Some of the other guards
were bored and wanted to teach me so they could have
a foursome. I had played chess since I was a young kid,
even winning three chess tournaments as a teenager,
and thought bridge might be easy to learn. I went on to
win some bridge tournaments after returning home to
San Diego and finishing up at San Diego State College.
Later, I became a Goren bridge instructor. I was part of a
four-man team that defeated a squad from Phoenix in an
intercity match in the early 1950s.
What's your favorite part of bridge, Dad?
Defense! It's 50% of the game, remember? I don't know
why you use that fancy upside-down signaling stuff. I like
the basics, and after a 60-year hiatus from playing, it's
what I returned to.
As I built my real estate appraisal business and raised
a family, I had to forgo the competitive part of bridge for
many years. It wasn't until you went to your first tournament in 2015 (with two masterpoints) and called me to tell

KOLESNIK FAMILY continued from page 29

Emma and partner Lin can be found regularly discussing hands after a session, a key component to developing a
strong partnership. " I think to be a good player, reviewing
every board you play is just critical, " Emma said. " We might
be reviewing for three to four hours after a game. "
" They always go over the hands with their partnership
coach Kevin Rosenberg, " said Finn. " I often help out, but I
end up talking too much. Amber and Emma are very diligent. "
" It's a lot easier now, to go over the bids and plays trick by
trick, " said Alex, " if you're willing to put in the time. I remember the first-time hands I played were on Vugraph. We
were playing 120-board matches. Afterwards, my partner
and I went through trick by trick and asked why each card
was played, and it was so helpful. And now we have that all
the time. Every single play is completely recorded.
" Obviously, we all want to get back to live bridge, " he

me how much fun it was to compete, that
I decided to reenter tournament play and
try to get my Life Master rank. In 2017,
needing 6 gold points, my partner, Patrick
Staley, and I won almost 45 gold points! I
was just a spring chicken at age 90.
Yes, Dad, and here is what Patrick
said about you just recently:
" Jerry was a good friend and my favorite bridge partner. He was fun to play with, and I learned plenty from
him. He was always helpful to newer players. When
playing a hand, I often think to myself, 'How would Jerry
play this one?' "
Your other partner, Dick Hill, said this:
" Jerry was the best bridge player I've ever played with.
He could visualize every hand better than anyone and
play accordingly. He didn't use or need fancy conventions to make the best bids. He was always a gentleman
and never criticized his partner. "
Dad, you had other things that you excelled at. Lots
of tennis trophies, cheerleading, barbershop quartet. In your early seventies, you became a member of
Mensa. You attained the appraiser's highest ranking
of MAI (Member of Appraisal Institute). You also
played ukulele, piano and did a lot of overseas travel.
Did you have a favorite activity?
Not really. I did everything with a gusto, but I always
came back to playing bridge. The last few years, I played
a lot of online bridge (BBO) and really loved the variety
of players, especially the virtual club games. Actually, it
seems to me that my favorite partner got me started on
this BBO stuff.
Yeah, you're welcome Dad ...

continued, " but in a sense, this is really helpful in terms of
developing us as bridge players. "
The online platforms and the recording of hands is especially useful in team matches, where in live bridge, unless
you're playing in a big event with preduplicated boards, you
don't have hand records.
When asked about the Fall 2020 NAOBC knockout where
his team lost the event on the last board, Finn said, " Last
time [the Summer 2020 NAOBC when the same two teams
tied and were declared co-winners], I played pretty badly,
so if we had lost by a little bit, I would have been sad. But
I didn't even blow 10 IMPs in the finals this time, so I felt
better about it. I played my best bridge in the final, so that's
what matters to me. I wasn't too disappointed. These online
events kind of blend together for me. I guess I'm kind of
worn out from online bridge. "
" I think we all are, " agreed Alex.
April 2021 | Bridge Bulletin | 77

April 2021

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