Day

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you've resolved not to trump too many of partner's aces, and to play more bridge. The larger the games, the higher number of points you can win.

C PLAYERS: They have extended the date to enroll a GNT (Grand National Team) to February 1, 2004. Flight C is defined as a Non-Life Master with less than 500 master points as of September 1, 2003. So put a team together (4 or more people) and either call Bill McIntosh at (408)842-4886 or email him at mailto://WmCMc@Earthlink.net

Is our C team that beat Palo Alto still a C group? Sign up, and try to win the free trip...I think it is to the Nationals in New York City!

Would you like to receive this publication on line? We can email it to you and also notify you of all Unit games or you can go to our Web site and find the newest and past copies in the archives. Most of the games are also posting the results on line as well. That address is: http://www.SJBridge.org

Congratulations to all our winners down at the Monterey Regional. Due to my limited space, and the number of people who won, I'll let Ray Yuenger recognize all of them in his column in the FORUM. This should definitely take up a lot of room. We seemed to have several people in the overalls in every event! Good job!

Mark your calendars for our next two Unit games. January 31st is a Wine and Cheese Party and February 29 we have a Pro/Am.

Our book exchange is starting to look a little anemic. Think about bringing more books to the club for our avid readers.

Just a friendly reminder to all: The dishwasher is not intended to wash stir sticks, candy wrappers, and the various other things I rescued from the filter. If you break a glass, mug or something else in the dishwasher, please let the Director in charge know, so we can keep the machine working as it was intended. Thanks.

See ya at the tables!

Santa Clara Valley NAOP Qualifers

Flight B

Stephen Tu - Steve Chen

Tien-Chun Yang - Fang Wu

Flight C

Gabriele Pani - Judith Clark

Top Ten Games of 2003
by Michael Angelo Ravera

In compiling the list of the ten best games of 2003, I tried to get comments from the principals or remember something about the game. In some cases I couldn’t reach the principals in time or they had nothing much to say (in at least one case due to modesty). Of those people whom I did reach for comment, the usual comment was something like “We played our game that day and our nemesis either had a bad day or didn’t play”.

Eric Yang and Leon Lee turned in three Top Ten performances over the course of the year including the best game of the year. It’s not as if they just got hot for one week and then cooled off. Their top game was last January and their two performances that tied for eighth with Linda and Bob Caren were in the spring and at the end of summer, respectively.

Ben and Fia Bosklopper managed to turn in the second best game of the year. This game occurred only a short time after Ben returned to California from a visit to Netherlands for his mother’s birthday.

Al Becker and Billie Mechanic had the seventh best game of the year despite conceding a bottom board on their last round. Al also commented that he and his partner inadvertently gave away two tricks to KP and Daren in their December game to help catapult them into fourth position.

Of course, it will come as no surprise to anyone who has ever played with them or against them that KP Cheng and Daren Kuo, Missy Coy and Bill Yetter, and Ed Barlow and Gemma Min would have games in the top ten. All of these pairs also had a number of games that narrowly missed the top ten.

So, here is the list of the top ten percentage games of 2003. Scores in games in which some participants played less than 18 boards, team games, and scores made in limited games by ineligible participants have been excluded from this list.

1	76.88%	Eric Yang – Leon W. Lee	1/13 Eve
2	76.19%	Ben & Fia Bosklopper	10/12 Eve
3	75.30%	Missy Coy - Bill Yetter	10/21 AM
4	74.77%	Kou-Ping Cheng - Daren Kuo	12/22 AM
5	74.30%	Edward Barlow - Gemma Min	6/3 AM
6	74.24%	Kou-Ping Cheng - Daren Kuo	3/30 PM
7	73.88%	Alan Becker - Billie Mechanic	8/11 AM
8	72.92%	Eric Yang - Leon W. Lee	3/13 Eve
	Tie	Eric Yang - Leon W. Lee	9/14 Eve
	Tie	Linda & Robert Caren	2/1 PM

Wednesday Morning at the Club

Rita Tingley has taken over the Wednesday morning game and will now be providing hand records. Game time is 10:30 AM.

Sunday 12/14 Campbell Community Center (CCC)

Holiday Party Unit Game

Gigi Spinazze - Wayne Stuart A 67.33%
Dan Turkus - Kenneth Kenfield A 65.47%
Dick Pitzer - Bill Garfield A
Rajeev Gupta - Vandana Vidwans B
Gail Meikle - Donna Webb A/B
Billie Mechanic - Helen Mitchell B
Sherry Waki - Eileen Edwards C
Patricia Yelvington - Jan Kiernan C
Randy Rice - Mary Harvel B/C
Gabriele Pani - Judith Clark C

Sunday 5:20 PM San Jose Bridge Center (SJBC)

12/21	Joan & Robert Rouse A Frank Napolitan - Ursula Gueldner A Kat Wesolowska - Nadia Nilsson B/C Ben & Fia Bosklopper B/C
12/28	Ray & Maxine Lubow A Tom &Nancy Cadwell A/B Ben & Fia Bosklopper B/C Maralyn Smith - Marilyn Bliss C
1/4	Kat Wesolowska - Nadia Nilsson A/B/C Mike Cailean - Rodica Cailean A Joe Chui - Agneta Robertson B
12/21	Joan & Robert Rouse A Frank Napolitan - Ursula Gueldner A Kat Wesolowska - Nadia Nilsson B/C Ben & Fia Bosklopper B/C

Monday 11:00 AM SJBC

12/15	Edward Barlow - Gigi Spinazze A 66.08% Dolores Clinch - Jack Clinch A Maxine & Ray Lubow B/C Bill Yetter - David Gambelin B
12/22	Kou-Ping Cheng - Daren Kuo A 74.77% Kit Humphrey - Susan Cook A/B Richard Jacobs - Malcolm Stewart B Maxine & Ray Lubow C Andrew & Jim Wulfhorst C
12/29	Bill Traver - Peter Chen A/B 66.67% Maxine & Ray Lubow A/B/C
1/5	Dolores Clinch - Jack Clinch A Bill Yetter - David Gambelin A/B Susan Cook - Kit Humphrey B

Monday 7:30 PM SJBC

12/15	Judy Travis - Marilyn Bliss Kat Wesolowska - Erin Gove
12/22	Leon W. Lee - Eric Yang 66.67% Dan Rappaport - Matt Moore
12/29	Jewel Schimke - Shirley Foreman Leon W. Lee - Ron Baron
1/5	Celso & Consorcia/Ching Ravelo Shirley Foreman - Jewel Schimke

Tuesday 10:30 AM SJBC

12/16	Bill Yetter - Missy Coy A/B Norma Black - Consorcia/Ching Ravelo A
12/23	Norman Wang - Y.E. Chen A/B/C 65.59%
12/30	Tania Moalem - Barbara Harkleroad A Gary Yang - Norman Wang A/B Ivy Chueh - Cassandra Leung C Sidney Safir - Malcolm Stewart B/C
1/6	Lynn Yokel - Gigi Spinazze A Harry Cuzner - Doris Oelberg A/B Bernard Hoyt - Julie Joyce B
12/16	Bill Yetter - Missy Coy A/B Norma Black - Consorcia/Ching Ravelo A

Tuesday 7:30 PM SJBC

12/16	Kit Humphrey - Henri Farhi A Stephen Tu - Steve Chen A/B Thomas Scharf - Suresh Sane B Ellen Hsi - Kai Hsi C Leslie Durkee - Z Kadah C
12/23	Panette Talia - Harriel Shea A Kou-Ping Cheng - Daren Kuo A Z Kadah - Leslie Durkee B John Oswalt - Cindy Gilbert B Gary Ratts - H Zoellner C
12/30	Don Nemiro - Frances Dickman A Robert Ritz - Stuart Goodgold A Z Kadah - Walid Baroudi B/C Richard Jacobs - Hiram Shen B
1/6	Bernard Bertonis - Rita Tingley A Mike Cailean - Robert Ritz A Z Kadah - Leslie Durkee B/C
12/16	Kit Humphrey - Henri Farhi A Stephen Tu - Steve Chen A/B Thomas Scharf - Suresh Sane B Ellen Hsi - Kai Hsi C Leslie Durkee - Z Kadah C

Wednesday 10:30 AM SJBC

12/17	Dolores Clinch - Barbara Barlow A Victor Rivkin - Malcolm Stewart B/C
12/24	Yen Shen - Bernard Bertonis A Gary Yang - Boyer Chu B Jack Clinch - Timothy White C
12/31	Ted Ujifusa - Richard Sarsfield A/B

Wednesday 7:00 PM SJBC

12/17	Robert Ritz - Mike Cailean A 68.29% Will Watson - Leila Sink A Lynn Yokel - Annette Powers B
1/7	Marshall Yancey - Jack Verson A Derek & Teddi Fiero B

Wednesday 7:30 PM Oakwood

12/17

Steve Bosma - Kenneth Kenfield A
Joseph Poppo- Matt Moore A/B/C
Suresh Same - Dan Turkus B
Anne Dudman - Val Abid C

1/7

Dan Oneal - Bill Traver A/B

David Gambelin - Helen Mitchell A

Don Hayden - Ruthann Critchfield B

Anne Dudman - Val Abid C

Thursday 10:30 AM SJBC

12/11	Frank Warzek - Richard Sarsfield A Art Fonda - Susan Cook A/B
12/18	Kit Humphrey - Bill Langlois Missy Coy - Bill Yetter
1/8	Carole Dietz - Tina Pearson A Jean Bogosian - Barbara Thurnher B

Thursday 7:00 PM SJBC

12/11	Hemant &- Shaila Mandpe A/B Leon W. Lee - Eric Yang A Joel Koransky - Stan Batiste B
12/18	Eric Yang - Leon W. Lee A Jay &- Shubbi Jain B/C Celso & Consorcia/Ching Ravelo A Kai Hsi - Ellen Hsi B/C
1/8	Ron Baron - Richard Jacobs A Hemant & Shaila Mandpe A/B Pete Read - Bill Garfield C Ray Crist - Martin Anding B

Friday 11:00 AM SJBC

12/12	George Pledger - Ruthann Critchfield A Molly Kaufman - Janice Scott A John Swindlehurst - Stan Batiste B Barbara Oshman - Shirley Liebhaber B Erin Gove - Jan Adamiak C
12/19	Adeline Suares - Nancy Cadwell Erin Gove - Jan Adamiak
12/26	Norman Wang - Yen Shen Chris & Matt Moore
1/2	Rita Randolph - Wesley Woo Elizabeth Moley - Judi Carollo
1/9	Rita Gujral - Jhoti Khurana Carol Woodward - Wesley Woo

Friday 7:00 PM SJBC

12/12	Shirley Foreman - Rekha Nirula A/B Bob Elliott - Judy Travis A
12/19	Jo Ann Rogers - Judy Travis A/B/C Maralyn Smith - Fia Bosklopper A/B
12/26	Jane Casciano - Phyllis Reinhardt A Ed Sutton - Martha Sutton A/B/C
1/2	Jane Casciano - Phyllis Reinhardt A 70.15% Tom & Nancy Cadwell A/B
1/9	Maralyn Smith - Fia Bosklopper A/B Colette Babin - Art Quaife A/B/C

Saturday 12:45 PM SJBC

12/13	Edwin & Teresa Seputis A/B Richard Jacobs - Hiram Shen A Glenn Hudson - Molly Kaufman B Jewel Schimke - Janice Scott C
12/20	Leon W. Lee - Ron Baron Robert Freitas - James Burlingame
12/27	Albert Lyew - Carol Woodward Mike Sullivan - Behrooz Tofighrad
1/3	Jeffrey Hack - Louis Martin, Jr 67.90% Ann Mollard - Doreen Hornback
1/10	Richard Jacobs - Ron Baron 67.30% Jewel Schimke - Janice Scott

Special Unit STaC Saturday 12/13 7:00 PM SJBC

Vandana Vidwans - Paul Cornelius A/B 65.81%
Maxine & Ray Lubow A/B/C

Top Ten Games

December 11 - January 10

1	74.77%	Kou-Ping Cheng - Daren Kuo	12/22 AM
2	70.15%	Jane Casciano - Phyllis Reinhardt	1/2 Eve
3	68.29%	Robert Ritz - Mike Cailean	12/17 Eve
4	67.90%	Jeffrey Hack - Louis Martin, Jr	1/3 PM
5	67.33%	Gigi Spinazze - Wayne Stuart	12/14 Eve
6	67.30%	Richard Jacobs - Ron Baron	1/10 PM
7	66.67%	Leon W. Lee - Eric Yang	12/22 Eve
	Tie	Bill Traver - Peter Chen	12/29 AM
9	66.08%	Edward Barlow - Gigi Spinazze	12/15 AM
10	65.81%	Vandana Vidwans - Paul Cornelius	12/13 Eve

Idioter’s Corner

It was reported that President Richard Nixon occasionally said, “If two wrongs don’t make a right, try three!” It is a common consensus among those to whom I have spoken that this little bit of advice could be the marching orders of hotel staff at the Monterey Hyatt. I don’t often use this space to be directly critical of particular people or companies, but sometimes someone must be. I have already contacted Roger Smith of the District 21 Board and the Hyatt about this. Those of you who are likewise disposed should know that several people managed to find nearby accommodations at the Quality Inn for three or four people at a price even below the ACBL rate for two people at the Hyatt. This price included a cold breakfast and a refrigerator and microwave in the room.

While the ACBL doesn’t deserve much blame for the problems at the Hyatt, I can’t be as generous in my praise for their conduct of the NAOP qualifying in Oakland as I have been in the past. Both the location of and facility at Merrit College left a lot to be desired. The arrival of bidding boxes in the middle of the third round and the installation of space heaters after the first session gave some bit of comfort, but I would think that these problems could reasonably have been anticipated. When one holds an event at the top of a hill in January, some attention to creature comforts should be paid. At least they had reasonably priced snacks.

While looking through the various discussions on the rulings on the ACBL Member’s Forum at http://acblinfo.forumexperts.com/bforum.php, I discovered a little phrase that many people would be wise to include on their convention cards. This handy little phrase is “Unbalanced defenseless hand OK”. The WBF approved abbreviation for this is “UNB NONDEF OK” This should be included in the description of your strong forcing opening bid (often 2♣), if you often use it with much less than the indicated number of high card points. You see, is illegal to psych a strong forcing opener. In a recent tournament, it was ruled that people had psyched when they opened a wildly distributional hand that contained only 10 HCP if their convention cards mentioned only a number of points and no indication that they would use this bid for such a hand. Those people whose convention cards included some indication that they counted playing tricks or losing tricks or that a wildly unbalanced hand with little defense was a possibility were ruled not to have psyched. You have been warned.

The Di-Rek’Tor

The Di-Rek’Tor is published monthly by Unit 507 of the American Contract Bridge League, Campbell Community Center, One West Campbell Avenue, Building J-68, Campbell, CA 95008. Opinions in articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Unit Board.

Unit 507 Board Officers

President

Dan Turkus

Vice President

Ray Yuenger

Secretary

Marshall Yancey

Treasurer

Neal Webb

Sgt. at Arms

Art Fonda

Membership

George Pledger

Ethics

Bill Langlois

Unit Recorder

Carole Dietz

Forum columnist

Ray Yuenger

Unit Game Coordinator

Gigi Spinazze

Tournament Coordinator

Tania Moalem

The Di-Rek'Tor Editor

Michael Angelo Ravera

Education/NAOP

Lynn Yokel

D21 Representative

Jeff Hack

Stu Goodgold

New Player Representive

Mich Ravera

Unit 507 Club Games

Day	Time	Game Type	Photo	Directors	Phone (408)
Sunday	5:20 pm	0-499 Stratified (Lesson: 5:00 pm) Monthly Potluck: 4:30 pm		Faye Parsons	378-4719
Monday	11:00 am	Open Stratified Hand records		Bill Traver	379-4490
Monday	7:30 pm	0-499 Handicapped (Lesson: 7:10 pm)		Al Becker	252-1426
Tuesday	10:30 am	Open Stratified Hand Records Super Chart		Judy Fisher / Carole Dietz	395-0032 / 395-6360
Tuesday	7:30 pm	Open Stratified Hand Records		Neal Webb / Ray Yuenger	243-9132 / 379-7717
Wednesday	10:30 am	Open Stratified Hand Records		Rita Tingley	261-0268
Wednesday	6:30 pm	Open (in Sunnyvale)		Janet McDonald	262-2378
Wednesday	7:30 pm	Open Stratified Hand Records At Oakwood		Bill Traver	379-4490
Wednesday	7:00 pm	Open Stratified Hand Records Super Chart		Jim Hayashi / Anne Boboricken	292-2370 / 379-2805
Thursday	10:30 am	Open Hand Records Super Chart		Jim Hayashi / Anne Boboricken	292-2370 / 379-2805
Thursday	7:00 pm	0-999 Stratified (Topics: 6:40 pm)	See Sunday	Faye Parsons	378-4719
Friday	11:00 am	0-999 Handicapped (Review: 2:30 pm)	See Monday	Al Becker	252-1426
Friday	7:00 pm	0-200 Stratified (Lesson: 6:30 pm) One “Teacher Lifeline” Hand Records		George Pledger / Carole Dietz	249-2674 / 395-6360
Saturday	12:45 pm	0-2000 Handicapped	See Monday	Al Becker	252-1426

All games are held at the San Jose Bridge Center (408-871-1232) at one W. Campbell Ave, Room J-68, except those identified as “in Sunnyvale” and “at Oakwood”. The Sunnyvale game is held at 1085 Tasman (2^nd Clubhouse), Sunnyvale. The Oakwood game is held at the Oakwood Garden Apartments, 700 Saratoga Ave., San Jose.

All games allow ACBL General Convention Chart methods. Those identified as “MidChart” or “Super Chart” allow those methods with proper disclosure.

Check club postings, visit our web site at http://www.SJBridge.org or call for the exact dates and times of the Special STaC and Special Unit games, and of the 499er Potluck.

Games are often reduced, relaxed, or cancelled during local tournaments.

Charlie Dorn Champs

Wine & Cheese Game

Pro-Am Game

MiniMcKinney-AoC

Unit 507 Club Games

Time

Game Type

Photo

Directors