2010 - Blog 4

I am on my way to Port Elizabeth to play in the SAWBA Congress but wanted to share the news that Dr Magdy Mesdary the Chief Tournament Director for Africa will definitely be joining us at Congress. Besides directing he will run a seminar on the Monday night for all interested parties who wish to know a little more about the laws and convention control that pertains to us in South Africa. So make sure that you can be there.

Furthermore, he will be running a T.D. course in Johannesburg on the Saturday and Sunday following congress before he returns home. He will also advise us on the accreditation of our T.D.’s. So anyone wishing to do this course must please let me know ASAP so that we can make arrangements to accommodate any players from out of town to avoid any unnecessary expense.


I will be away until the 22nd March and will only be able to keep you in the loop with any further announcements when I get back.


The dates for Congress are on the web, but please note that there is a travel indaba in Durban the same week, so book your accommodation as soon as possible.
We will start the teams on Friday the 7th at 14.00 and the pairs will start on Tuesday the 11th at 14.00. We can only publish the times of play once we have all the entries as everything is depends on the numbers of pairs and teams that enter.


Warm wishes

Helen

2010 - Blog 3

I have had many queries regarding the times for Congress this year.

• We are having a ‘congress’ meeting on the 14th Feb and I will be able to give you more details thereafter, although everything depends on how many teams and pairs actually enter.
  
• The entry form will be on the web soon after the 14th.
  What is certainly disconcerting is that accommodation is at a premium in Durban due to the fact that there is a ‘travel indaba’ the same week, so I strongly urge you to do your bookings early.
  
• I estimate that the teams will start at 14h00 on the 7th and the pairs are planned to begin on Tuesday the 11th at 14h00 and finish at 12h00 midday on the 14th followed by a prize-giving lunch.
  
• But the very, very good news is that The Chief Tournament Director of Africa, Dr Magdy Mesdary will be our chief T.D. for congress. I am trying to arrange a T.D. course or seminar whilst he is here. For me to do this, I urgently need to know who would be interested in such a course so that we can plan his itinerary and whether to hold it in Durban or Johannesburg depending on the number of serious participants that would like to direct in the future. We have a serious lack of T.D.’s in this country and this is a wonderful opportunity for all.

A very big ‘thank you’ to Tim Cope for running a bridge clinic in East London over the last weekend in January. Barbara Brown has written to me lauding Tim and stating what a successful weekend it was and that there were 68 members attending including 5 from Port Alfred. Her most telling statement was that it made the players of the area ‘feel not so isolated’.



Wishing you all a very good week and I will keep you posted.

Helen

2010 - Blog 2

There has been much discussion regarding opening 1nt with a singleton and players are getting very agitated, as all clubs seem to have a different take on the subject.

I felt we needed greater clarification and wrote to our Chief Tournament Director of Africa Dr Magdy Mesdary and I am printing his reply verbatim:

If 1NT is opened occasionally with a singleton, then it is not a convention, as
long as partner is not aware of.
Ref. Law 40C - C1: A player may deviate from his side's announced understanding always provided that his partner has no more reason to be aware of the deviation than have the opponents. REPEATED DEVIATIONS LEAD TO IMPLICIT UNDERSTANDINGS, WHICH THEN FORM PART OF THE PARTNERSHIP'S METHODS AND MUST BE DISCLOSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REGULATIONS GOVERNING DISCLOSURE OF SYSTEM. C2: Other than the above no player has any obligation to disclose to opponents that he has deviated from his announced methods".

So if it is a convention and partner is aware of and they have means to discover it , then it is a convention and has to be disclosed to the opponents; you may also disallow such convention if you decide to. However, if it is made occasionally without prior agreement then it can fire both ways, however, repeated deviation lead to implicit understandings which then form part of their methods.

I believe this certainly clarifies the use of 1nt with a singleton and as it is acceptable all over the world, I wish to confirm that we will continue to open such hands accordingly, without prejudice. However, I must reiterate that if it is used as part of your system it must be disclosed on your convention card and alerted at the table.

Commonwealth Games
We will not longer be holding trials for the commonwealth Games as we have had a pair withdraw. Therefore the team that will represent South Africa is:

Larry Chemaly and Joe Israeli-Zindel
Krishna Malani and Ashok Samjee
Desiree Pieters and Nelonia Vorster


We wish them a great tournament and a safe journey to and from New Delhi,

Best wishes

Helen