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Stay at Home &
Play Online
The COVID outbreak in the Greater Sydney area has once again tested our agility and flexibility. Just when we felt like life was getting back on track with face-to-face State events and congresses packed in the beginning of June, the new coronavirus Delta strain hit us hard in the second half of the month. Please see this message from the chair of the NSWBA State Committee.
 
Unfortunately it has been necessary to re-schedule the Australian National Championships (ANC) in Perth from mid-July to November. Many local congresses have been forced to move online, starting with the North Shore Bridge Club's Festival of Bridge at the end of June. There are some exceptions in regional NSW, where congresses are still going to run face-to-face. 
 
With the Stay-at-Home Order very likely to be extended, online congresses will probably be the norm for a while. Some upcoming congresses are trying to provide bridge activities for our players but have had very limited opportunity to promote what they are doing – please support them if you can:
The next state event will be the State Veterans Online Pairs to be held on 23rd - 25th July on RealBridge. This state event is taking entries via MyABF, the new online entry & payment platform of the Australian Bridge Federation. The list of entries will be displayed on MyABF instead of the NSWBA website. 

For those interested in a higher level game, the NSWBA Monday Night Championships on RealBridge have provided an opportunity for players across the state. The NSWBA State Open Teams Qualifying event will be held over 4 Monday nights from 26th July - 16th August. Please find the details and enter on the NSWBA website.

Updated NSWBA Website

The NSWBA website has recently been thoroughly updated. Among the many useful improvements, you will find a one-click link to the calendar of events (congresses and other tournaments) at the top right of the home page. All of the menus have been simplified and enhanced.

There is also more information about the NSWBA and its committees accessible from the About Us menu. Perhaps you would like to get involved with one of the committees?

Upcoming Events

The NSWBA Tournament Calendar now allows you to filter the list of congresses so that you can see which are face-to-face and which are online – the online congresses can be filtered by platform.

!! Please be sure you are up to date with the latest Covid restrictions before you travel to a congress. Please contact the event convenor if in doubt. !!

STATE EVENTS
Online Jul 23-25 (Fri-Sun) RealBridge
State Online Veterans Pairs

Jul 31 (Sat) NSWBA - venue to be announced
State Individual


NSWBA EVENTS
Online Jul 26-Aug16 (over 4 Mondays) NSWBA on RealBridge
State Open Teams Qualifying


ONLINE EVENTS
Jul 17 (Sat) Sydney Bridge Centre on BBO
Online Charity Swiss Pairs

Jul 25 (Sun) Peninsula Bridge Club on BBO
Online Swiss Pairs

Aug 1 (Sun) MasterBridge Online on BBO
August Swiss Pairs

Aug 13-15 (Fri-Sun) Coffs Harbour Bridge Club
Online Super Congress on RealBridge

Every Sunday, 2.30pm start. ABF on BBO
National Online Pairs (Open, Restricted and Novice)


F2F CONGRESSES IN NSW
Jul 31-Aug 1 (Sat-Sun) Tamworth Bridge Club
Swiss Pairs

Aug 7-8 (Sat-Sun) Orange Bridge Club
Swiss Pairs and Teams
FEATURED ARTICLES
Congress Stories by
Rakesh Kumar


The NSBC Festival of Bridge was a victim of the COVID outbreak, so the organisers had to move all face-to-face events online. It was pleasing to see a total of 82 pairs and 56 teams competing in two pairs events and two teams events.

The distributional hands that featured in the TBIB Teams are the basis of Rakesh Kumar's congress story:

NSBC Festival TBIB Teams
Chickens get plucked...
Book Review
Winning At The Club
by Matthew Thomson

Matthew Thomson noticed that some club players were bound by rules based on point count rather than judgement and imagination. Over 120 selected deals plus two extra chapters the author reports not only what happened but also what could happen by thinking “tricks’ and not “points”.

Click on the image for a full book review by Paul Lavings:
Directors Course
For club administrators
If you represent a club and would like to host Directors Course, please contact NSWBA for further details. 

For players
To better understand situations that arise when a director is called, Matthew McManus has explained several of them in detail, together with the reasons behind the rulings. His articles are written from the perspective of players – you may find them helpful in your quest to be a better congress player. Review his columns here >
CONGRESS PSYCHE REGISTER
The NSWBA has established a central psyche register for all congresses held in NSW.

The laws permit players to deviate from their systemic agreements so long as the partner of the player who does so has no greater reason to be aware of this deviation than the opponents. Once your partnership has a history of deviating from its agreements in a certain situation you are required to inform your opponents of this tendency.

If you feel that your opponents have psyched against you, please email details of the hand to the psyche register – no action will be taken against players who are reported to the psyche register but once a pair has multiple entries in the psyche register, congress directors will be informed so that they are aware of this history when making their rulings.

A form which can be used for submissions is available HERE.
ABOUT eCONGRESS
The eCongress News is a monthly newsletter published by the NSW Bridge Association. It updates you with the latest congress info, interesting hands and analysis from events, and reviewing newly published bridge books.

Subscribe now >
NSW Bridge Association
+61 2 9264 8111
office@nswba.com.au
www.nswba.com.au
Level 1, 162 Goulburn Street,
East Sydney 2010
SEND US YOUR STORIES
Do you have a story to tell or a photo to share after playing in a congress? Let us know, we will be pleased to publish it. 
Submit your stories / photos>

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