From The Vice-President by Ray Yuenger

Dan Turkus! Guess what? You’re still the president of the unit board.

While Dan is on vacation (fishing in Alaska, I hear), I’ll bring you some of the latest news (while saving some exclamation marks for Dan).

George Pledger, Phyllis Vierra, and Art Fonda were elected to the unit board. Dan Turkus, Bill Langlois, and Lynn Yokel were re-elected to the board for 2-year terms. (You’ll find all the officers on page 3 of this newsletter.) Leaving the board are Elaine Erickson and Sabina Siem. Thanks, Elaine for coordinating our sectionals. Thanks, Sabina, for keeping us smiling.

I’m sorry I missed the popular member appreciation unit game on June 25. Dinner and bridge for free! We had a full house, 18 ½ tables. Marshall Yancey & Richard Reitman earned the top score with a 67.65%. Right behind them were Lynn Yokel & Annette Powers with a 67.13%. Top in the other section were Ed Lee & Steve Chen with a 65.97%. Would you agree that Steve is doing alright for someone who just started playing club games?

The unit’s web page is at sjbridge.org. Leila Sink has taken over webmaster duties from Pam Jones. Let Leila know what you’d like to see on our web page. Thanks to Pam for years of selfless service.

If you missed the free dinner, you didn’t hear Marshall Yancey’s reflections on the progress made by our unit board. Here’s a summary of his remarks.

As of June 1, 1999 our unit had $8,129 on hand. As of June 7, 2000, $9,171.

While ACBL membership is declining, our unit has added 15 members over the last year.

The unit supported Mike Abrams in organizing an IMP league with 11 teams. Watch for its return this fall.

The unit supported Lynn Yokel in pioneering Easybridge! for beginning players. This has now become the Thursday night novice game.

One of Lynn’s students, Dana Scott, suggested our present Masonic Temple site for the unit’s sectionals, saving us lots of money.

World champion Rose Meltzer-Johnson persuaded world champion Peter Weichsel to give a lecture at our sectional.

The unit gave a trophy to the 199er who won the most masterpoints at our sectional.

Bob Elliott spent a lot of time and energy drafting suggestions for combating unfriendliness at clubs.

The board started mailing to all unit members a postcard every 3 months, listing upcoming unit games and sectionals.

One of our former board members, Tricia McConnell, received a Goodwill award from District 21.

The board keeps trying to find interesting formats for unit games. Among the most popular have been the holiday party and the May pro-am.

If you have an idea for improving our unit, please contact any board member. You are also welcome at our next meeting, August 2, at 5:30 p.m.

If you want to have an open game available on Thursday nights, come on out and play.

June Winners

Sunday 6:30 p.m. San Jose Bridge Center (SJBC)

6/4 Dorothy Jackson - Erma McCrory

Hiram Sera - Tomie Sera

6/11 Shirley Potter - Gail Meikle (A/B)

Richard Jacobs - Frank Napolitan (A)

Lucy Burke - Beverly Nelson (B)

Monday 11 a.m. SJBC

6/5 Gabriele Pani - R Randolph (A/B/C)

Doris Oelberg - Florence Golden (A)

Geri Colwell - Cheryl Liptak (B)

Margaret Lamey - Jean Bogosian (C)

6/12 Bev Rennie - Florence Switzer (A)

Ted Richmond - Charlie Dorn (A)

Ron Parker - Bert Hsu (B/C)

6/19 Dolores Clinch - Jack Clinch (A)

Ray Lubow - Maxine Lubow (B/C)

Kathy Harper - Carole Dietz (A)

T. H. Yeh - David Chang (B/C)

6/26 Lucille Groshong - Billee Giansiracusa (A/B)

Ron Parker - Bert Hsu (A/B/C)

Monday 7:30 p.m. SJBC

6/5 Stan Batiste - Richard Jacobs

Irv Wentzien - Marion Wentzien

6/12 Ray Crist - Sharon Grandfield 70.35%

6/19 Mike Sullivan - Shirl Roth

6/26 Bob Elliott - Bruce Bajema

Eric Wainright - John Wainright

Tuesday 10:30 a.m. SJBC

6/6 Jyme Schmieder - Charlie Dorn (A)

Katherine Maxfield - Lisbeth Blum (A/B/C)

6/13 Stanford Field - Norma Black (A)

Svea McKay - Geri Colwell (B)

6/20 Judy Fisher - Bonnie Beardsley (A)

Anne Boboricken - Charlie Dorn (A)

Tania Moalem - Sidney Safir (B)

6/27 Sidney Safir - Barbara Harkleroad (A)

N Hatfield - Olive Tangney (A)

Norman Riley - R Kershner (B)

Tuesday 7:30 p.m. SJBC

6/6 Tim Sturge - Jonathan Atkins (A/B/C)

Robert Ritz - Mike Cailean (A)

Tony Staw - Nelson Lu (B/C)

6/13 Andrea James - Charley James (A)

Mike Roney - Nagraj Alur (A)

Ray Yuenger - Hamid Navid (B)

Bassam Baroudi - Walid Baroudi (B/C)

6/20 Michael Abrams - June McCullough (A/B/C)

Andy Andrews - Kenneth Yip (A/B/C)

6/27 Irene Shibuya - Pamela Drew A/B)

Mike Roney - Nagraj Alur (A)

Steve Chen - Gigi Spinazze (B/C)

Wednesday 10:30 a.m. SJBC

6/7 Tanya Moalem - Kit Humphrey

6/14 Timothy White - Steve Bosma (A)

Tania Moalem - Kit Humphrey (B)

6/21 Barbara Thurnher - Jean Bogosian (A/B)

6/28 Gopal - Victor Rivkin (A/B)

Sidney Safir - Jack Clinch

Wednesday 7:00 p.m. SJBC

6/7 Robert Ritz - Stuart Goodgold (A)

Anne Boboricken - Edward Barlow (A)

John Harley - Ruth Froeberg (B)

6/14 Edward Lee - Robert Ritz (A)

Anne Boboricken - Marolyn Imaoka-Yancey (A)

Mike Roney - George Humphrey (B)

6/21 Robert Ritz - Edward Lee (A)

Tim Sturge - Jonathan Atkins (A/B/C)

John Oswalt - Cindy Gilbert (B)

6/28 Marshall Yancey - Jack Verson

Don Nemiro - Jeanne Becht (A)

Stuart Goodgold - Mansoor Gowani (B)

Wednesday 7:30 p.m. Oakwood

6/7 Bill Yetter - Bob Steiger

Leo Freiberg - Isabelle Freiberg

6/14 Mostafa Hafezi - Bill Aherns

Leo Freiberg - Isabelle Freiberg

6/21 Florence Golden - Don Hayden

Abby Aldecoa - Larry Miller

6/28 David Gambelin - Helen Mitchell

Mostafa Hafezi - Tim White

Thursday 10:30 a.m. SJBC

6/1 Ted Richmond - Charlie Dorn

6/8 Barbara Farmer - Barbara Harkleroad

Sreedhar - P.S. Santhanam

6/15 Ivan Rose - Susan Furchtenicht 66.2%

Sidney Safir - Carole Dietz

6/22 Barbara Farmer - Olive Tangney 67.87% (A)

Dolores Clinch - Jack Clinch (A)

C.H. Wang - S.Y Wang (B/C)

6/29 Dolores Clinch - Jack Clinch

Cackalani Krishnamurthi - Vasanth Krishnamurthi

Thursday 7:30 p.m. Open SJBC

6/15 Gary Soules - Jan Soules (A)

Joyce Keckler - Melinda Foos (B/C)

6/22 Andrea James - Will Watson

6/29 Gary Porter - Leila Sink (A)

Ray Yuenger - Lynn Yokel (B)

Thursday 7:30 p.m. Novice SJBC

6/15 Charles Reinthaler - Bruce Berwald 69.44% (A)

Judy Clink - Larry Clink (A/B)

6/22 Everet Jones - Kit Frush (A/B)

Joy Baker - Jane Casciano (A/B)

6/29 Shirl Roth - Bruce Krawetz (A)

Richard Jacobs - Doris Cummins (A) (tie)

Irv Wentzien - Marion Wentzien (A) (tie)

Donna Webb - Gail Meikle (B)

Friday 11 a.m. SJBC

6/2 Bob Elliott - Ron Laffen 66.67%

6/9 Glenn Hudson - Joyce Sogg 65%

Irv Wentzien - Marion Wentzien (tie)

Eiko Nakayasu - Tokiko Kato (tie)

6/16 Albert Lyew - Karel Wong

Ray Crist - Robin Velte

6/23 Mitch Miladinovich - Terri Miladinovich

Stan Batiste - Richard Jacobs

6/30 Karel Wong - Bill Barnes

Saturday 12:45 p.m. SJBC

6/3 Barbara Marleau - Mary Marleau

Richard Jacobs - Bill Barnes

6/10 Bernard Brown - Mildred Brown

Joe Barletta - Sandi Barletta

6/17 Mildred Brewer - Russell Brewer 65.75%

Joe Barletta - Sandi Barletta

6/24 Bob Steiger - Wesley Woo

Joe Barletta - Sandi Barletta

The Hardest Part of the Rules

by Stu Goodgold

The most difficult part of tournament bridge seems to be comprehending and applying the rule about Unauthorized Information (UI). UI is any spoken word or gesture by partner that is not one of the legal calls.

In the past, the standard joke was kicking partner in the shins under the table when he was about to make a bad bid (best done by a spouse). Today it is most likely to be a noticeable hesitation before passing. But it could be something as simple as partner’s subtle grimace when you make a bid she doesn’t like, or even the way he slaps that Double card on the table when it’s supposed to be for penalty and not takeout. We often think we can just ignore these telltale signs but that is not what the laws of bridge tell us.

The notorious Law 16 says in part: "After a player makes available to his partner extraneous information that may suggest a call or play, as by means of a remark, a question, a reply to a question, or by unmistakable hesitation, unwonted speed, special emphasis, tone, gesture, movement, mannerism or the like, the partner may not choose from among logical alternative actions one that could demonstrably have been suggested over another by the extraneous information."

Read this carefully. It doesn’t say that if partner hesitates you must ignore the hesitation. It says you must not make a call that has the slightest hint of making use of it. That is, you must go out of your way to avoid the appearance of using the hesitation, even if in your mind you are convinced it had no bearing on what you were about to bid — even if you had already made up your mind before partner’s hesitation and wrote it down on a piece of paper.

This brings us to the next question: what is a "logical alternative (LA)?" An LA is a bid or call some reasonable number of your peers would make if there were no UI. Judging this condition may prove daunting, but ask yourself if you have any bridge playing friends who might choose another call in a situation where the bidding was all in tempo. If the answer is "yes" and the UI could possibly suggest making that bid, you need to choose another call. On the other hand, if you think all your friends would bid the same thing with your hand, then there are no other reasonable choices, and you are free to make the one obvious bid. In this case, there is no "logical alternative" to choose.

Different areas of the world interpret the phrase "demonstrably have been suggested" somewhat differently. In the ACBL, the guideline is 10%. That is, would 10% or more of your peers have made another call from the one you are considering, provided they did not have UI? If the answer is "yes" then you are required to choose some other call aside from the one(s) the UI suggests.

Let’s take an example. Say you are dealer and you pick up Axx, Axx, Kxxxx, Kx at IMPs, both sides non-vul. After you open 1D, the auction proceeds around the table 1H-1S-2H-2S-3H-P-P-?

If partner made all his calls in tempo without any telltale signs, you are free to do whatever you please. But, now let’s say partner’s pass after 3H took a good 30 seconds. That’s a long time. Clearly, partner was not sure that pass was the right call at this point. So partner must have been also thinking of either doubling or bidding. It is more likely he was thinking of bidding 3S rather than doubling, because a close double is less likely with this form of scoring. So the hesitation suggests that 3S may be a better proposition than normal. Law 16 says you cannot now bid 3S on your own, unless you can convince most everyone than any decent bridge player would always bid 3S with your hand (and you do consider yourself a decent player, right?). On this hand that is unlikely.

By the same reasoning, you are obligated to avoid doubling 3H on your own. Partner’s slow pass also implied some decent values in his hand.

So you are obligated to Pass here, even if you can justify bidding 3S by saying you would have bid it regardless of partner’s hesitation.

Law 16 may seem counterintuitive for a competitive game, and it is certainly one of the most difficult laws to accept and learn. But we all want to play bridge by the rules, and knowing Law 16 is an essential part of that.