October 2021 - 61

TEST
YOUR
PLAY
BY EDDIE KANTAR
kantarbridge.com
1
Dlr: South  A 6 5
Vul: Both k K J 9 4
IMPs l A 7 6 3
' 4 3
 K Q
k A Q 10 7 6 3
l Q 8 2
' A Q
You wind up in 6k as South against
silent opponents, facing the lead of
the J. Plan the play.
2
Dlr: East  A 8 4
Vul: N-S k K 10 7 2
IMPs l 8 6 3
' 8 7 4
 K J 10 9 6 3
k A 6 4
l 4
' A K 5
West North East
Pass
Pass 2 Pass
South
1
4
All Pass
Opening lead: l5 (fourth best).
East plays the lK A, West following
with the 7. Plan the play.
(Solutions are on page 63.)
BridgeWhiz soars
We are pumped! Registration
has now been open for a full month
for " BridgeWhiz, " a program of the
ACBL Educational Foundation.
As of Aug. 31, we already had 250
young people across North America
registered for the course. And 1000
BridgeWhiz fliers were posted to
PeachJar, an online school-subscription
bulletin board for middle school
districts (more than 2600 of them)
across America. Gone are the days
of crumpled paper fliers in your kid's
backpack!
BridgeWhiz is a free, online beginning
bridge course for grades 4
through 12 using a combination of
Shark Bridge and Zoom. The ACBL
Educational Foundation has focused
its recruitment on middle schoolers,
knowing that high school presents
many more extracurricular activities
which compete for older kids' attentions.
Students
who graduate from the
course receive a free, one-year Junior
membership in the ACBL. Participation
is not limited by geography and
includes urban and rural areas, with
a slight emphasis in recruitment in
areas that have bridge clubs where
kids can continue their play.
The course will be offered once
weekly, Monday through Thursday,
over 20 weeks in four American time
zones.
Eighty teachers applied to teach
the courses, and 32 of them - whom
we will compensate - were chosen for
the first year because of their current
experience teaching digital bridge to
kids. Thirty-two teaching assistants,
some who wish to be teachers in Year
II, will monitor the students in each
class, making sure no kids lag behind
just because they don't understand a
concept.
A proven syllabus, starting first
with play of the hand and ultimately
moving through to bidding, allows
for teacher latitude in presentation,
as long as the students learn key
concepts each lesson. Ten percent
of children will be eligible to win up
to $25 in Amazon bucks by lottery if
they complete the course.
Seventy-five percent of each lesson
features hands-on play versus
friendly computers, with all children
playing the same hand independently
on their devices. Drills (with re-do
opportunities) follow each lesson,
and minimal lecturing is required of
teachers. Classes will not occur on
national holidays.
Don't wait too long! Registration
closes Oct. 23, and we're on track to
expect more than 1000 applicants.
Register now at
acblef.org/BridgeWhiz.
You, our fellow ACBL members, are
some of our most dedicated bridge
players and financial supporters.
You, over these past 18 months, told
us loudly, clearly, and repeatedly with
your emails and contributions, that
you wanted our efforts to focus on
kids to perpetuate this great game in
subsequent generations. You already
know that bridge helps create young
people who exhibit better focus, reasoning
and understanding of strategy,
which will follow them the rest of
their lives.
In 2021, the Hawaii Bridge Club
made a major investment in this
Continued on page 68
61
October 2021 | Bridge Bulletin |
Advanced Players
BridgeWhiz
By E. Kristen Frederick
Executive Director
ACBL Educational
Foundation
http://www.kantarbridge.com http://www.acblef.org/BridgeWhiz
October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2021
