BridgeHouse Spectator 2014

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2 Table of Contents Mission... 1 Tournament Fee BridgeHouse Information... 2 BridgeHouse Policies New Victory Point Policy... 3 Pre-registration Policy... 3 Free Game Policy... 3 Free Game Policy for Secondary School Students... 3 Discount Policy for University Students... 3 Free Game Policy for Seniors... 3 Tournament Registration Procedure... 4 Online Pre-registration... 5 Pre-registration Procedure... 6 Cup Format 2014 Single Cup Events... 7 Chiu Ming Cup (1-session MP Pairs Event)... 7 SP Chan Cup (3-session Teams Event)... 7 SK Luk Cup (2-session MP Pairs Event)... 7 Cup Format Year-round Events... 8 Ladder Team (Bridge Friends Cup)... 8 Ladderette Team (TK Lum Memorial Cup) Ladder Pairs (SC Kan Cup) IMP Pairs (Andy Chiu Cup) All-rounded Pairs (LT Cup) Cup Format Non-tournament Master Point Calculation MP4.9 Cup Peter Chun Cup Simon Hui Cup (Best of the Best) Bridge House University Cup (Best University Student) Bridge House Student Cup (Best Secondary School Student). 15 BridgeHouse Schedule BridgeHouse Performance Ladder Team i

3 Ladderette Team IMP Pairs Ladder Pairs All-rounded Pairs Honor Board LT Cup (All-rounded Pairs) SC Kan Cup (Ladder Pairs) Andy Chiu Cup (IMP Pairs) Bridge Friends Cup (Ladder Teams) TK Lum Memorial Cup (Ladderette Teams) Chiu Ming Cup SK Luk Cup SP Chan Cup MP 4.9 Cup BridgeHouse Student Cup BridgeHouse University Cup Peter Chun Cup Simon Hui Cup Other Bridge Club Area 香 港 橋 牌 協 會 有 限 公 司 HKCBA Co. Ltd 康 橋 社 Kornhill Bridge Club 週 一 橋 牌 會 Monday Bridge Club 恆 毅 橋 牌 社 WBF Victory Point Scales Be A Good Sport from ABF Alert & Announcement from ACBL All About Announcement Alert Chart from ACBL Announcing & Alerting Summary from EBU Sponsors Committee Members ii

4 MISSION BridgeHouse BridgeHouse is a simple community. We have no privileged membership, no high-sounding targets, no politics, no brawls and no unnecessary formalities. Our missions are: To explore and experience the profound joys of bridge at a friendly atmosphere; To improve and enhance bridge techniques through tournaments and social interactions among peers; To make more bridge friends regardless of age, gender, race, religion etc; To recommend this game of wisdom and excitement to people around. You and I, certainly had experienced frustrations and helplessness when still being a novice player. Therefore, we decide to conduct courses and offer assistance to newcomers of bridge. This could not succeed without the enthusiastic support, of whatever forms, from YOU! 1 / 41

5 TOURNAMENT FEE 2014 BridgeHouse Regular Entry Full Time University Students Secondary Students Senior Entry (65 years old or above) $60 per head $40 per head Free-Of-Charge Free-Of-Charge BRIDGEHOUSE INFORMATION Main Hall, 3th Floor, The Mariners Club, 11 Middle Road, Kowloon Venue Contact Ivan Hu JC / 41

6 BRIDGEHOUSE POLICIES 2014 BridgeHouse The following policies are in force in the bridge year 2014 only. New Victory Point Policy WBF Continuous Victory Point Scales 2014 has been adopted at BridgeHouse with immediate effect from 1 January 2014 for all team events (Ladder Team, Ladderette Team, SP Chan Cup). tions/wbfvpscales.pdf Pre-registration Policy Players are encouraged to do pre-registration. The players in Ladder A and B of Ladder Team, Ladderette A of Ladderette Team and Ladder A of Ladder Pairs are obligated to pre-register. Failure to pre-register may result in losing the rights. Free Game Policy Players who win a year-round event are entitled to claim a free game in the next year-round event (except Qualifying sessions). The year-round events include Ladder Team (Bridge Friends Cup), Ladderette Team (TK Lum Memorial Cup), IMP Pairs (Andy Chiu Cup), Ladder Pairs (SC Kan Cup) and All-rounded Pairs (LT Cup). Free Game Policy for Secondary School Students We believe children are our future. In order to promote bridge and foster the interest among the young generation, full-time secondary school students are Free-Of-Charge in the events in the Main Hall. Discount Policy for University Students Full-time university students are offered a $20-discount for the events in the Main Hall. Free Game Policy for Seniors As a return to the support from our seniors, players who are aged 65 or above are Free-Of-Charge in the events in the Main Hall. The privilege will be valid until the end of / 41

7 TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION PROCEDURE Online Pre-Registration 5 weeks in advance to Thursday 12:00 Online pre-registration starts 5 weeks in advance and ends at 12:00 on the tournament day. Registration is deemed to be succeeded if payment is made before 18:45 on the tournament day. Otherwise, the preregistration will be cancelled. The reserved seat(s) will be released. Walk-in Registration Thursday 18:00 to Thursday 19:00 Walk-in registration starts at 18:00 provided that there are still vacancies. Payment is collected and drawing is made. Tournament Starts Thursday 19:00 Tournaments start at 19:00. Should you have any enquiries regarding registration, please do not hesitate to us at [email protected] or contact IvanHu at * All registrations are on first-come-first-serve basis. 4 / 41

8 ONLINE PRE-REGISTRATION BridgeHouse The online pre-registration system is now applicable to all events. Pre-registration starts 5 weeks in advance and ends at 12:00 on the tournament day. Registration is deemed to be completed if payment is made before 18:45 on the tournament day. Otherwise, the pre-registration will be cancelled. The reserved seat(s) will be released. In order to promote the good use of the pre-registration system, we suggest cancellation, if any, shall be done as soon as possible. For the obvious reason, other registrations may be blocked. Furthermore, tournaments may start late. Cancellation can be done online until 18:00 on the tournament day or by phone to IvanHu at Please be considerate! Repeated offenders will be subject to punishments such as suspension of using the system. The pre-registration system offers a range of advantages. One of the advantages is that participants can secure their seats in advance. The system also gives accurate estimate of participants. The venue can be arranged and organized accordingly so that players can enjoy more comfortable environment. In addition, movements can be finalized early. Hence, tournaments can start and finish on schedule. We are all benefited by the system. We, therefore, invite and encourage you to pre-register BridgeHouse tournaments. Help yourself, help us. Should you have any enquiries, please read the manual, to [email protected], or call IvanHu at Thank you for your co-operation! 5 / 41

9 Step 1 PRE-REGISTRATION PROCEDURE Search the tournament in the schedule page. Click the tournament. icon in front of the Step 2 Check the match date and the tournament name. Fill in player names separated by comma (,). Optional. Enter a secret code for cancellation if necessary. Press the Register button. Successful entry will be printed in the player list. Cancellation Procedure Select the entry. Input the secret code entered in step 2(c). Press the Confirm button. The entry will be removed from the player list if cancellation is completed. 6 / 41

10 CUP FORMAT 2014 SINGLE CUP EVENTS The formats and procedures of the Single Cup Events are in force in the bridge year 2014 only. Chiu Ming Cup (1-session MP Pairs Event) For more than 16 teams, 2 or more sections are formed. Mitchell movement is used for all sections with more than 7 tables. The pair accumulating the highest match-points (across all sections if any) is the winner. Trophies are awarded to the top 3 pairs in each direction. The trophy presentation is scheduled at the end of the event. The result is finalized upon the trophy presentation. SP Chan Cup (3-session Teams Event) Direct matches or multiple team movement are used over 3 sessions without a final. The team accumulating the most victory points (VPs) is the winner. Trophies are awarded to the top 3 teams. Participating teams shall be committed to all 3 sessions. SK Luk Cup (2-session MP Pairs Event) A 2-session pair movement (probably 2 sections of Mitchell, whenever appropriate) is used. The pair accumulating the highest match-points (or percentage, if necessary) is the winner. Trophies are awarded to the top 3 pairs in each direction. Participating pairs shall be committed to all 2 sessions. 7 / 41

11 CUP FORMAT YEAR-ROUND EVENTS The formats and procedures of the Year-round Events are in force in the bridge year 2014 only. Ladder Team (Bridge Friends Cup) ONE qualifying session will be played. For 16 teams or more, 4 sections are formed. The top 4 teams in the previous year are deemed as seed teams and are allocated in each section. Direct matches or multiple team movement is used in each section. The winning and first-runner-up teams in each section are qualified to the Ladders A and B respectively. For 15 teams or less, only 2 sections are formed. The top 4 teams in the previous year are deemed as seed teams and are allocated in each section. Direct matches or multiple team movement is used in each section. The 2 winning teams and the 2 runner-up teams in each section are qualified to the Ladders A and B respectively. The Ladders A and B maintain a quartet (4 teams) throughout the year, if possible. They play in direct matches of 9 boards per round. All teams playing in Ladders A and B are required to pre-register. Other teams or new teams play in Ladder C. The number of Ladders depends on the number of entries: Number of Ladder A Ladder B Ladder C Teams Nil Nil 5-7 Ladder A & B will be combined Nil Nil Ladder B & C will be combined Subdivide into C1 & C2 8 / 41

12 In Ladder C(s) and combined sections, the format depends on the number of entries: Number of Teams Format Number of Boards 4 Direct Matches 27 (9 boards/round) 5 Multiple Teams 24 (6 boards/round) 6 Multiple Teams 25 (5 boards/round) 7 Multiple Teams 24 (4 boards/round) 8 Multiple Teams 28 (4 boards/round) 9 Multiple Teams 24 (3 boards/round) The last 2 teams in Ladder A will be demoted to B while the top 2 teams in Ladder B will be promoted to A. Similarly, the last 2 teams in Ladder B will be demoted to C (or to C1 and C2 separately) and the top 2 teams in Ladder C (or the winning team in C1 and the one in C2) will be promoted to B. Every team must have a Team name and a Team captain as an anchor player. Ranking point will be awarded to each team in the following basis: Ladder A: 20, 17, 14, 12 Ladder B: 14, 11, 9, 7 Ladder C(s): 9, 7, 5, 3, 1, 1, 1 The overall winner is the team accumulating the most ranking points from the best 5 out of 7 Ladder Team events, excluding the qualifying rounds. Trophies are awarded to the top 3 teams. For ties, all Ladder Teams events will be taken into account. 9 / 41

13 Ladderette Team (TK Lum Memorial Cup) ONE qualifying session will be played. For 20 teams or more, 5 sections are formed. The top 5 teams in the previous year are deemed as seed teams and are allocated in each section. Direct matches or multiple team movement is used in each section. The winning team in each section is qualified to the Ladderette A. For 19 teams or less, 2 sections are formed. Direct matches or multiple team movement is used in each section. The 2 winning teams in each section together with the 3rd placed team with the higher VP average are qualified to the Ladderette A. The Ladderette A maintains a quintet (5 teams) throughout the year, if possible. They play in a 4-round multiple-team format with 6 boards per round. All teams playing in Ladderette A are required to pre-register. Other teams or new teams play in the Ladderette B. If there are 10 teams or more in Ladderette B, 2 subsections, namely B1 and B2, are formed. If there are 21 teams or more in Ladderette B, 3 subsections, namely B1, B2 and B3, are formed. The format of each Ladderette B depends on the number of entries: Number of Teams Format Number of Boards 1-3 Ladderette A & B will be combined 4 Direct Matches 27 (9 boards/round) 5 Multiple Teams 24 (6 boards/round) 6 Multiple Teams 25 (5 boards/round) 7 Multiple Teams 24 (4 boards/round) 8 Multiple Teams 28 (4 boards/round) 9 Multiple Teams 24 (3 boards/round) 10 Multiple Teams 27 (3 boards/round) 10 / 41

14 In general, the last 2 teams in Ladderette A together teams having below-average scores will be demoted to B (or to B1 and B2 separately). However, if there are Ladderettes B1, B2 and B3, at least the last 3 teams in Ladderette A will be demoted to B (For 3 teams demoted to 2 Ladderettes B1 and B2, the 3rd placed team will go to B1 while the last 2 teams go to the B2). The number of teams in Ladderette B promoting to A will depend on the number of vacancies in A. In general, the top team in each Ladderette B will be promoted to A. If there are still having vacancies in A, the 2ndplaced team with higher average VP among all Ladderette B(s) will be promoted to A. Every team must have a Team name and a Team captain as an anchor player. Ranking point will be awarded to the each team in the following basis: Ladderette A: 20, 17, 14, 12, 10 Ladderette B: 14, 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1, 1, 1 The overall winner is the team accumulating the most ranking points from the best 4 out of 6 Ladderette Team events, excluding the qualifying round. Trophies are awarded to the top 3 teams. For ties, all Ladderette Teams events will be taken into account. Ladder Pairs (SC Kan Cup) ONE qualifying session will be played. Simple Mitchell movement is used for all sections. Match-Points scoring (across all sections if any) is used. Top 5 pairs from each direction are qualified into Ladder A. The Ladder A maintains 14 pairs (7 tables) throughout the year, if possible. They play in a 13-round Howard movement with 2 boards per round in match-point scoring. All pairs playing in the Ladder A are required to pre-register. Other pairs or new pairs play in the Ladder B. The movement of Ladder B depends on the number of entries. If there are 4 tables or less in Ladder B, Ladder A and Ladder B will be combined. Howell movement is used with 7 tables or less while Simple Scrambled Mitchell movement for 8 to 15 tables. For 16 to 32 tables, 2 sections of Simple Mitchell movement are played. Winners in each direction are produced. Total comparison of Match Points (across all sections if any) is used. 11 / 41

15 Same partnership is a necessary condition to keep the Ladder status. Ranking point will be awarded to the each pair in the following basis: Ladder A: 20, 17, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 Ladder B: 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1, 1, 1, Last 6 pairs in Ladder A together with the below-average pairs will be demoted to Ladder B. The number of pairs in Ladder B promoting to A depends on vacancies in Ladder A. In case of 2 or more sections in Ladder B, top pairs from each direction will be promoted to A (For examples, 6 pairs vacancies allow 3 pairs from each direction; 7 pairs vacancies allow 3 pairs from each direction together with the best 4th placed pair). The overall winner is the pair accumulating the most ranking points from the best 4 out of 6 Ladder Pairs events. Trophies will be awarded to the top 3 pairs. For ties, all Ladder Pairs events will be taken into account. IMP Pairs (Andy Chiu Cup) Howell movement is used with 7 tables or less while Simple Scrambled Mitchell movement for 8 to 15 tables. For 16 to 32 tables, if possible, 2 sections of Simple Mitchell movement are played. Winners in each direction will be produced. Total comparison of International Match Points (across all sections if any) with maximum of 17 is used. Ranking point will be awarded to the each pair in the following basis: 20, 17, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1, 1, 1, The overall winner is the pair accumulating the most ranking points from the best 4 out of 6 IMP Pairs events. Trophies will be awarded to the top 3 pairs. For ties, all IMP Pairs events will be taken into account. 12 / 41

16 All-rounded Pairs (LT Cup) Howell movement is used with 7 tables or less while Simple Scrambled Mitchell movement for 8 to 15 tables. For 16 to 32 tables, if possible, 2 sections of Simple Mitchell movement are played. Winners in each direction will be produced. Both Match Point scoring (MP) and total comparison of International Match Points (total IMP) with maximum of 17 are calculated (across all sections if any). In order to balance between the two scoring methods, the re-scaled MP score (by percentage) and IMP scores (by total IMPs) are weighed in 55% and 45% respectively to the final score. The results are mathematically re-scaled into 0 (lowest) to 100 (highest). Ranking point will be awarded to the each player in the following basis: 20, 17, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1, 1, 1, The overall winner is the player accumulating the most ranking points from the best 4 out of 6 All-rounded Pairs events. Trophies will be awarded to the top 3 players. For ties, all All-rounded Pairs events will be taken into account. 13 / 41

17 CUP FORMAT NON-TOURNAMENT The formats and procedures of the non-tournament events are in force in the bridge year 2014 only. Master Point Calculation The calculation of the master points and Special Ranking Points are as follows: Calculation of master points: MP = (N x F) / R Parameters: N = No. of teams / 10 N = No. of pairs / 20 for teams event for pairs event F = 6 for Ladder Team A / Ladderette A / Ladder Pairs A F = 4 for Ladder Team B F = 3 for Ladder Team C / Ladderette B / Ladder Pairs B / general event R = Ranking in that event Master points are only awarded to the upper half of the field of the event. All master points will be rounded to the nearest one decimal place. Only 50% of the master points accumulated in the previous years can be brought forward to the current year. Special Ranking Points will be awarded to each player who ranked in top 6 in each tournament of the 5 year-round tournaments (Ladder Team, Ladderette Team, IMP pairs, Ladder Pairs and Allrounded Pairs) in the following basis: 10, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 14 / 41

18 MP4.9 Cup This trophy is awarded to the student players (including both fulltime secondary school and university students) accumulated at least 4.9 master points in the current year. Each awardee can get once only throughout his/her life. Peter Chun Cup This trophy is awarded to the player getting the most master points at the end of the current year. Simon Hui Cup (Best of the Best) This trophy is awarded to the player getting the most Special Ranking Points during the current year. Bridge House University Cup (Best University Student) This trophy is awarded to the full-time university student (according to the status at the beginning of the bridge year) getting the most master points during the current year. Bridge House Student Cup (Best Secondary School Student) This trophy is awarded to the full-time secondary student (according to the status at the beginning of the bridge year) getting the most master points during the current year. 15 / 41

19 BRIDGEHOUSE SCHEDULE 2014 BridgeHouse Date Event 2-Jan-14 (Thur) No Tournament - winter break 9-Jan-14 (Thur) No Tournament - winter break 16-Jan-14 (Thur) No Tournament - winter break 23-Jan-14 (Thur) No Tournament - winter break 30-Jan-14 (Thur) No Tournament - winter break 6-Feb-14 (Thur) No Tournament - seventh day of Lunar New 13-Feb-14 (Thur) Ladder Team Qualifying 20-Feb-14 (Thur) IMP Pairs 1 27-Feb-14 (Thur) All-rounded Pairs 1 6-Mar-14 (Thur) Ladder Team 1 13-Mar-14 (Thur) Ladder Pairs Qualifying 20-Mar-14 (Thur) IMP Pairs 2 27-Mar-14 (Thur) All-rounded Pairs 2 3-Apr-14 (Thur) Ladder Team 2 10-Apr-14 (Thur) Ladder Pairs 1 17-Apr-14 (Thur) No Tournament - Easter Holiday 24-Apr-14 (Thur) All-rounded Pairs 3 1-May-14 (Thur) No Tournament - Labour Day 8-May-14 (Thur) Ladder Team 3 15-May-14 (Thur) Ladder Pairs 2 22-May-14 (Thur) IMP Pairs 3 29-May-14 (Thur) Ladderette Team Qualifying 5-Jun-14 (Thur) Ladder Team 4 12-Jun-14 (Thur) Ladder Pairs 3 19-Jun-14 (Thur) IMP Pairs 4 26-Jun-14 (Thur) SP Chan Cup 2014 #1 16 / 41

20 Date Event 3-Jul-14 (Thur) SP Chan Cup 2014 #2 10-Jul-14 (Thur) SP Chan Cup 2014 #3 17-Jul-14 (Thur) AGM 2014 & Chiu Ming Cup Jul-14 (Thur) Ladderette Team 1 31-Jul-14 (Thur) No Tournament - Hong Kong Inter-city Aug-14 (Thur) SK Luk Cup 2014 #1 14-Aug-14 (Thur) SK Luk Cup 2014 #2 21-Aug-14 (Thur) Ladderette Team 2 28-Aug-14 (Thur) IMP Pairs 5 4-Sep-14 (Thur) Ladder Team 5 11-Sep-14 (Thur) Ladder Pairs 4 18-Sep-14 (Thur) Ladderette Team 3 25-Sep-14 (Thur) IMP Pairs 6 2-Oct-14 (Thur) No Tournament - Chung Yeung Festival 9-Oct-14 (Thur) Ladder Team 6 16-Oct-14 (Thur) Ladder Pairs 5 23-Oct-14 (Thur) Ladderette Team 4 30-Oct-14 (Thur) All-rounded Pairs 4 6-Nov-14 (Thur) Ladder Team 7 13-Nov-14 (Thur) Ladder Pairs 6 20-Nov-14 (Thur) Ladderette Team 5 27-Nov-14 (Thur) All-rounded Pairs 5 4-Dec-14 (Thur) Ladderette Team 6 11-Dec-14 (Thur) All-rounded Pairs 6 18-Dec-14 (Thur) No Tournament - winter break 25-Dec-14 (Thur) No Tournament - winter break 17 / 41

21 BRIDGEHOUSE PERFORMANCE 2013 BridgeHouse Total Average Max Min It is so exciting that we have been continuously growing. The average participation reaches 80.6 headcount from 79 in A wrong conclusion may be resulted by looking at the overall participation only. The tiny drop in the overall participation is due to the fact that there was one tournament fewer in 2013 than in Thank you for your enthusiastic participation and continuous support to make BridgeHouse Full House! 18 / 41

22 Ladder Team 2013 BridgeHouse Ladderette Team 2013 Total 776 Average 86.2 Max 104 Min 76 Total 456 Average 65.1 Max 88 Min / 41

23 IMP Pairs 2013 BridgeHouse Total 496 Average 82.7 Max 104 Min 68 Ladder Pairs 2013 Total 508 Average 72.6 Max 84 Min / 41

24 All-rounded Pairs 2013 BridgeHouse Total 516 Average 86.0 Max 112 Min / 41

25 HONOR BOARD 2013 LT Cup (All-rounded Pairs) Title Winners Champion Arthur Lau 1st Runner-up Joyce Tung 1st Runner-up KF Mak BridgeHouse SC Kan Cup (Ladder Pairs) Title Champion 1st Runner-up 2nd Runner-up Winners Frederick Mak, HL Hau CH Ko, WH Hok Andy Chiu Cup (IMP Pairs) Title Champion 1st Runner-up 2nd Runner-up Shadow Khu, Vincent Hon Winners Andy KO Leung, Wong Kon Jason Chu, Tai Yau Benjamin Yip, Terence Chan Bridge Friends Cup (Ladder Teams) Title Champion Winners Arthur Lau, Barney Lui, Gordon Ho, Kam Wing Kei, Kongo Kong, Rocky Tam, Vinci Wan 1st Runner-up 2nd Runner-up CH Ko, KL Fung, LT Pang, Ricky Lai, Terence Chan, WC Li, WH Fok Antony Au, Billy Szeto, CC Hon, Dave Pang, Johnson Wong, Kelvin Ko, Ray Cheung, Tai Yau, YK Leung 22 / 41

26 TK Lum Memorial Cup (Ladderette Teams) Title Winners BridgeHouse Champion Antony Au, Baron Ng, David Ip, Dominic Lee, LH Chin, York Kwan 1st Runner-up 2nd Runner-up Charlie Lee, Francis Chan, Mark Ng, Philip Chan, Zia Wai Albert Hsu, Bacon Lam, Ella Graca, Fu Cheung, Jason Chu, KW Tam, Norris Wong, SY Ho, Victor Cheng Chiu Ming Cup Title Winners Champion (NS) David Ip, Dave Pang Champion (EW) Baron Ng, Gordon Ho 1st Runner-up (NS) Rajan Gupta, Kishin Chainani 1st Runner-up (EW) Jim Lee, Bubble Ho 2nd Runner-up (NS) Dominic Lee, YK Leung 2nd Runner-up (EW) Louis CM Chan, Dora Lee SK Luk Cup Title Winners Champion (NS) HL Hau, HL Chung Champion (EW) Emma Cheung, William Chan 1st Runner-up (NS) Andy KO Leung, Michael Lam 1st Runner-up (EW) Tai Yau, Jason Chu 2nd Runner-up (NS) Charlie Lee, Alfred Lam 2nd Runner-up (EW) Billy Szeto, Joanna Chu 23 / 41

27 SP Chan Cup Title Champion 1st Runner-Up 2nd Runner-up Winners BridgeHouse John Tsang, Sing Leung, Kingsley Koon, Leo Lam, Wilson Leung, Angus Lee FH Chow, Dora Lee, Wong Wing Kong, Louis CM Chan, JC, Helen Yeung KW Tam, KF Tung, WN Au, SP Chan MP 4.9 Cup Title Winners Winners Andy Chow, Crystal Tang, Gordon Ho, Kam Wing Kei, Oscar Chan, Sam Tseng BridgeHouse Student Cup Title Winner Sam Tseng BridgeHouse University Cup Title Winner York Kwan Winners Winners Peter Chun Cup Title Winner David Ip Winners Simon Hui Cup Title Winner Antony Au Winners 24 / 41

28 OTHER BRIDGE CLUB AREA 香 港 橋 牌 協 會 有 限 公 司 HKCBA Co. Ltd 時 間 地 點 報 名 費 用 星 期 二 五 晚 上 7 時 至 11 時 或 星 期 六 日 尖 沙 咀 中 間 道 海 員 俱 樂 部 三 樓 禮 堂 會 議 室 25 歲 或 以 上 每 晚 每 人 60 元 ( 會 費 每 年 每 人 400 元 ) 25 歲 或 以 下 每 晚 每 人 30 元 ( 會 費 每 年 每 人 100 元 ) 65 歲 或 以 上 長 者 每 晚 每 人 30 元 ( 會 費 每 年 每 人 100 元 ) 網 頁 電 郵 [email protected] 熱 線 電 話 康 橋 社 Kornhill Bridge Club 時 間 地 點 報 名 費 用 電 郵 星 期 三 晚 上 7 時 至 9 時 45 分 香 港 中 華 基 督 教 青 年 會 康 怡 會 所 會 員 年 登 記 費 HK$30 會 員 季 費 HK$50.00 ( 每 一 季 為 :1-3 月 4-6 月 7-9 月 月 ) 非 會 員 每 人 每 場 例 賽 HK$10 [email protected] 週 一 橋 牌 會 Monday Bridge Club 時 間 地 點 報 名 費 用 網 頁 電 郵 熱 線 電 話 逢 星 期 一 7:15 10:30 ( 公 眾 假 期 ; 黑 雨 或 八 號 風 球 縣 掛 九 龍 尖 沙 咀 中 間 道 20 號 海 員 俱 樂 部 三 樓 會 議 室 或 二 樓 七 海 廳 ( 以 當 天 布 告 板 發 佈 為 準 ) 港 幣 40 元 [email protected] 譚 先 生 / 41

29 恆 毅 橋 牌 社 時 間 地 點 報 名 費 用 星 期 三 晚 上 7 時 30 分 至 10 時 佐 敦 道 2 號 地 下 會 員 $20 非 會 員 $25 會 員 年 費 $60 交 通 熱 線 電 話 二 零 一 四 年 佐 敦 港 鐵 站 B 出 口, 女 拔 萃 斜 對 面 邵 慰 慈 先 生 (Office) (Home) May 7, 14, 21 June 11, 18 July 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 Aug 6, 13, 20, 27 Sept 3, 17 Oct 8, 15, 22, 29 Nov 5, 12, 26 Dec 3, 10, / 41

30 WBF VICTORY POINT SCALES 2014 BridgeHouse As announced at the 2012 World Championships in Lille a Scoring Committee was set up by the WBF President in January After careful analysis, the committee proposed and the WBF Executive Committee accepted the following (VP scale): 1. The adoption of a 20-point victory point scale with the following features: a. The scales are continuous and given to two decimal places. b. Subject to a cap, each IMP margin translates to a specific VP award. c. Each additional IMP in the winner s margin is worth no more than the previous one. d. Relative to the current WBF VP scales, the blitz margins in the new scale will be approximately equivalent to the 25-2 in the old scales. There is no reduction of VPs for the loser when the margin exceeds the blitz margin. 2. The new scales correct perceived weaknesses and anomalies in the old scales. 3. It is recommended that the new scales be used in all future World Bridge Championship (including Youth tournaments) and are made available to all NBOs. NBOs are encouraged to adopt the new scales, although they are under no obligation to do so. 4. Also, the Committee will prepare new discrete scales (whole numbers) to be used by NBOs if they wish to during the transition from the old to the new VP scales. VP Scale Rationale: -documents/vpscalerationale.pdf The new VP Scales tions/wbfvpscales.pdf Technical Report tions/wbfalgorithms.pdf Cited from World Bridge Federation 27 / 41

31 BE A GOOD SPORT FROM ABF BridgeHouse We all play bridge because we love it. Help make the game fun for everyone by observing the few simple proprieties that make bridge fair and enjoyable. PLAY TOUGH BUT FAIR Play tough, be competitive, but be a good sport. Be pleasant to the opponents (and your partner). Welcome new opponents to your table. Don t conduct lengthy postmortems. Don t stare at opponents, their cards or where in their hand they play a card from. If you think an experienced opponent may have done something inappropriate, speak privately to the official recorder. Slow players make the effort to catch up; it s not fair to use more than your share of the clock, and finishing late disrupts the schedule. Claim if it is clear. MAKE BEGINNERS WELCOME Make a special effort to explain your bidding fully to less experienced players and remember they may not know the methods and conventions you are using. When claiming, state your line clearly and explain it if required. Less experienced players may not see it as quickly as you. If opponents don t yet know the bridge code of behavior, explain (politely) even better, refer them to this code. TELL OPPONENTS WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR SYSTEM Your opponents are entitled to know as much about your system and style as your partner does. The only secret in bridge is what cards you hold. Provide two fully completed system cards Make every effort through alerts and explanations to tell your opponents what they need to know about your system. 28 / 41

32 NO TRICKERY, NO TIP-OFFS You must not try to help your partner or fool your opponents by anything but the bids you make and cards you play. Bridge is NOT poker. Don t tip partner off and ignore partner s tips. Ethical players will try to avoid revealing mannerisms, and make a point of ignoring any information they accidentally get from partners hesitations or mannerisms. Don t deceive the opponents by hesitations or mannerisms. If you accidentally hesitate without a problem, apologise: Sorry I didn t have any reason to hesitate. I was asleep! CORRECT MIS-EXPLANATIONS AS SOON AS YOU CAN If partner accidentally mis-informs the opponents, you can t give a correction during the bidding (because you mustn t tell partner the correct explanation). If your side becomes declarer, you must give the correct explanation before the opponents make their opening lead. If your side ends up defending, apologise and give the correct explanation at the end of the hand. Call the director if opponents may have been damaged that s why the Director is there! HESITATIONS You are allowed to think! But, if you do take a long time over something, it shows you had other choices. Your partner must not use that information to influence what they do later. If partner hesitates, you can still pass, double or bid whatever you want (but without even subconsciously using the knowledge that partner apparently had other options). Cited from Australian Bridge Federation 29 / 41

33 ALERT & ANNOUNCEMENT FROM ACBL BridgeHouse INTRODUCTION The objective of the Alert system is for both pairs at the table to have equal access to all information contained in any auction. In order to meet this goal, it is necessary that all players understand and practice the principles of Full Disclosure and Active Ethics. Ethical bridge players will recognize the obligation to give complete explanations. They will accept the fact that any such information is entirely for the benefit of the opponents, and may not be used to assist their own partnership. This procedure uses the admittedly "fuzzy" terminology of "highly unusual and unexpected" as the best practical solution to simplifying the Alert Procedure. "Highly unusual and unexpected" should be determined in light of historical usage rather than local geographical usage. To ensure full disclosure, however, at the end of the auction and before the opening lead declarers are encouraged to volunteer to explain the auction (including available inferences). According to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge: Law 40.B. Concealed Partnership Understandings Prohibited A player may not make a call or play based on a special partnership understanding unless an opposing pair may reasonably be expected to understand its meaning, or unless his side discloses the use of such call or play in accordance with the regulations of the sponsoring organization. Bridge is not a game of secret messages; the auction belongs to everyone at the table. Remember that the opponents are entitled to know the agreed meaning of all calls. The bidding side has an obligation to disclose its agreements according to the procedures established by ACBL. When asked, the bidding side must give a full explanation of the agreement. Stating the common or popular name of the convention is not sufficient. The opponents need not ask exactly the "right" question. Any request for information should be the trigger. Opponents need only indicate the desire for information - all relevant disclosure should be given automatically. 30 / 41

34 The proper way to ask for information is "please explain." Players who remember that a call requires an Alert but cannot remember the meaning must still Alert. In all Alert situations, Tournament Directors should rule with the spirit of the Alert procedure in mind and not simply by the letter of the law. Players who, by experience or expertise, recognize that their opponents have neglected to Alert a special agreement will be expected to protect themselves. Adjustments for violations are not automatic. There must have been misinformation. An adjustment will be made only when the misinformation was a direct cause of the damage. Note also that an opponent who actually knows or suspects what is happening, even though not properly informed, may not be entitled to redress if he or she chooses to proceed without clarifying the situation. When an Alert is given, ASK, do not ASSUME. ANNOUNCEMENTS An announcement is one word or a short phrase which tells the opponents directly the meaning of partner's call. When bidding boxes are used, the "Alert" strip is tapped also. Announcements are required in the following instances: 1. After a natural one notrump opening bid. EXAMPLE: A NT opening bid is made. The partner of the bidder will say aloud, "fifteen to seventeen." 2. After a or transfer response at any level to any level natural notrump opening, overcall or rebid. An Announcement also is used for those methods that initially treat the bid as a transfer even though rarely the bidder will have a strong hand without the next higher suit. When the message is sent that the transfer was not a transfer, just the first step in showing another type of game-going hand, the call that sends that message must be Alerted. EXAMPLES: 1NT-P-2 and 1-1NT-2-4 The 1NT bidder will say aloud, "Transfer." 31 / 41

35 3. After a 1NT forcing or semi-forcing response to a 1 or 1 opening bid with no interference. EXAMPLE: 1 -P-1NT The opening bidder will say aloud, "Forcing" or "Semi-forcing," if there was no other meaning attached to the agreement (such as showing four or more spades). 4. After a non-forcing opening 1 or 1 for which the opener could have fewer than three cards in the suit opened. After the opening bid, the opening bidder's partner says, "May be short." Cited from American Contract Bridge League 32 / 41

36 ALL ABOUT ANNOUNCEMENT 33 / 41 BridgeHouse The new Orange Book will apply in England and Wales as from 1st August 2006 and players will find several changes. Many of the differences may not matter for example, the wording of some obscure rules has been tidied up. The most important changes affect the conventions and systems that are permitted to be played, an area which is wider than before, and alerting, which has had its first major change for more than a dozen years. Bridge has changed, and in some ways alerting has not kept up. While some clubs still have a majority of players playing Acol Twos, there are also many clubs where nearly everyone plays Weak Twos either as part of Benjaminised Acol, or Three Weak Twos, or some other, more esoteric arrangement. Currently all Weak Twos are to be alerted, which is pretty meaningless in such clubs, because all the two-bids seem to be alerted! Announcements what are they? A successful idea is that of Announcements, first tried in North America, but nowadays also used in some other countries. Instead of alerting partner s call, the partner makes a short statement which gives a minimum of information to the opponents, but which often tells them all they need to know. This is not done indiscriminately, but only in one or two specified areas. It is now going to be brought in to England and Wales. Announcements apply to natural opening two-of-a-suit bids, natural opening 1NT bids, and Stayman and Red-suit Transfer responses to a natural opening 1NT bid. Let us see how it works with the natural opening two-of-a-suit bids. Suppose your partner opens 2, which is a Weak Two. Instead of alerting, you say: Weak. What about if you do not play Weak Twos but Acol Twos? Then, when partner opens 2, you say: Strong, forcing. Some players play Strong Twos which responder is allowed to pass with a bust: if you play them, when partner opens 2, you say: Strong, not forcing. Finally, there are some Medium Twos around, like a Precision 2 opener which is natural, but shows ordinary opening values, maybe 11 to 15. If you play this, and your partner opens 2, you say: Intermediate. Intermediate is anything between Weak and Strong.

37 Note that you do not give much detail with these Announcements. If opponents need to know the range of a Weak Two, or the minimum number of cards in the suit, or whether an Intermediate 2 is played as six clubs except when the hand also contains a fourcard major, or any other details, they can ask, or look at your convention card. The Announcements should just be what is stated above: Weak, Intermediate, Strong, not forcing or Strong, forcing. How about Lucas Twos? The Multi? An Acol 2 opening? Benjamin 2 or 2? None of these are natural, so they are alerted. Note that this does apply to Lucas Twos, which show the suit bid and another suit: when a second suit is guaranteed, then it no longer counts as natural. In fact, all opening two-of-a-suit bids will be either alerted or announced. That will help, because if there is a 2 opening, and there is no alert or Announcement, you know that your opponent has forgotten the new rules (or does not understand them), so you can remind him politely, of course! Does this sound confusing? Of course, new ideas often are. But once you get used to it you will find it works very well, and after a few months you will wonder how we ever managed without Announcements. Announcements of 1NT opening bids Now let us consider Announcements as regards a natural opening 1NT bid. Your partner opens 1NT, which you play as 12-14: what do you do? Immediately, without waiting for a question, you say: Twelve to fourteen. If you play some other range, like 15 to 18 or 10 to 12, then you say that: Fifteen to eighteen, or Ten to twelve. These days it is permitted to have a singleton by agreement in your 1NT opening, but the opponents have a right to know, so if your agreement includes the possibility of a singleton, then you add... may have a singleton. So you might say: Twelve to fourteen, may have a singleton. 34 / 41

38 Note that you do not go into any further detail: if you often have a five-card major (or never), if six-card suits are possibly included, if a singleton honour always carries its full weight, or only in the minors, or only in hands, or any other details, and the opponents need to know, they can ask, or look at your convention card. How about artificial 1NT openings, like the strong ones Romex, Vienna or Dynamic or even the medium ones like Aveyard, Stoker or Bowles? Since none of these is natural, they are alerted. As with the two-level openings described earlier, if there is no alert or announcement for a 1NT opening, you know that your opponent has got the new rules wrong, so you can politely remind him. Announcements of responses to a 1NT opening bid Now we consider the responses to natural 1NT openings. A response of 2 is usually Stayman: if it is, then it is not alerted, but announced: Stayman. Does it matter whether it guarantees a four-card major or not? No, not at all, it is still Stayman: if an opponent needs to know whether a four-card major is guaranteed or not, he can ask or look at your convention card. You only announce Stayman if the responses are normal: 2 without a four-card major, 2 or 2 to show one. It is Stayman, whichever response is made with both majors. If you play Five-card Stayman or Puppet Stayman, or more esoteric responses like Keri or Gladiator, then you alert. No announcement or alert means that the bid is a weak take-out. Note that after an announced 2 response, the 2 reply needs no announcement or alert. Red-suit transfers to the majors are also announced. If a 2 response to 1NT shows at least five hearts, you say: Hearts ; similarly: Spades if a 2 response shows five spades. Transfers that could be made on four-card suits, or relays which are usually transfers but occasionally show some other sort of hand, must be alerted. As with a Stayman 2, no announcement or alert for a 2 or 2 response means a weak take-out. 35 / 41

39 All of these announcements of responses only apply in the simplest positions. They do not apply to 2NT, or 1NT overcalls, or 1NT openings when the next hand bids a suit or doubles. Possibly their use will be extended if they prove popular, but not yet! Let us just go through an example to compare the future with the present. Suppose your left-hand opponent opens 1NT. Maybe you remember what it is, maybe you just do not know, or maybe you ask or look at the card, which are often bad ideas. From August, however, the other opponent will say: Twelve to Fourteen (or whichever range is applicable), saving you all the trouble. In response, there might be a 2 bid and the inevitable alert. I expect you assume it is a Transfer, so you pass without asking. After all, if you were to ask every time... But from August the opener will say: Hearts, saving you the trouble or, more interestingly, he will alert. Perhaps it will be worth asking this time! You might find they play two-way Stayman, so you might double to ask for the diamond lead that eventually will beat the contract. Give Announcements a chance! As with all new ideas, this probably looks confusing, but players will get used to it easily because Announcements only apply in common positions. I am sure you will learn to like Announcements and wonder why we did not use them before. Please leave it a few months to see them work before you write to complain or, more probably, to say how good they are. I expect Mr. Bridge will receive plenty of comments on Announcements in the months ahead! Cited from David Stevenson 36 / 41

40 ALERT CHART FROM ACBL BridgeHouse Cited from ACBL 37 / 41

41 ANNOUNCING & ALERTING SUMMARY FROM EBU 38 / 41

42 Cited from English Bridge Union 39 / 41

43 SPONSORS BridgeHouse We would like to express our gratitude to the honorable sponsors. Mr. Karic CHIU Ms. Irene HO Mr. Samuel CHOW Mr. C C WONG Mr. Peter CHUN Mr. Seneca KWAN Dr. C I FUNG Prof. Peter YUM Ms. Shirley CHANG Ms. Flora WONG Mr. S C KAN Mr. Simon HUI Dr. S P CHAN Mr. Steve WONG 40 / 41

44 COMMITTEE MEMBERS Name Address Phone Ivan Hu Ronald Hui JC Charlie Lee CK Wong David Ip Dicky Lai Dominic Lee Emesa Lee Jason Ho Kelvin Ko LT Pang Martin Poon Philip Tam SK Luk Sophia Sin YK Leung Cover photo is shared from 41 / 41