Unit 207 Newsletter

June/July 07

The Unit 207 Newsletter editor is Larry Davis. The board member supervising the unit newsletter is Mary Anne Laier. The newsletter will be available on or about the first day of the months of February, April, June, August, October and December. Please let the editor know about newsworthy items so that they may be included in the newsletter.

Upcoming Unit 207 Events

2 June (Sat) - Bridge Center - Ice Cream Social - Stratified Open Pairs

23 June (Sat) - Bridge Center - IMP Pairs

Upcoming Special Games at Clubs

4 June (Mon) - Senior Center - Club Championship

5 June (Tues) - Bridge Center - NAP game

8 June (Fri) - Senior Center - Charity game

9 June (Sat eve) - Bridge Center - Club Championship

10 June (Sun) - Bridge Center - Club Championship

11 June (Mon) - Bridge Center - NAP game

14 June (Thurs) - Bridge Center - Club Championship

16 June (Sat day) - Bridge Center - NAP game

17 June (Sun) - Bridge Center - Upgraded Club Championship

19 June (Tues) - Senior Center - Membership game

20 June (Weds eve) - Bridge Center - Club Championship

22 June (Fri) - Bridge Center - NAP game

6 - 8 July (Fri-Sun) - Bridge Center - no day games (Sat. night team game is held)

10 July (Tues) - Senior Center - Club Championship

11 July (Weds eve) - Bridge Center - Junior Fund game

12 July (Thurs) - Bridge Center - NAP game

13 July (Fri) - Bridge Center - Club Championship

18 July (Weds day) - Bridge Center - NAP game

20 July (Fri) - Senior Center - Membership game

21 July (Sat day) - Bridge Center - Club Championship

23 July (Mon) - Bridge Center - Club Championship

25 July (Weds eve) - Bridge Center - NAP game

29 July (Sun) - Bridge Center - NAP game

Future Austin Tournaments

July 07 (14^th - 15^th) - Bridge Center - NLM Sectional

Sep 07 (20^th - 23^rd) - Clarion Inn

Nov 07 (17^th - 18^th) - Bridge Center - NLM Sectional

Jan 08 (3^rd - 6^th) - DoubleTree

May 08 (1^st - 4^th) - TBD (probably Clarion Inn)

July 07 (30^th - 6^th) - Austin Regional - DoubleTree

Congratulations!

New Bronze Life Masters (500): David Farris, Jo Graves

New Silver Life Masters (1000): Linda Bishop, Chris Hull, Lee Ann Merrifield

New Emerald Life Masters (7500): Paul Kelley

Others: (4,000) Marilou Powell; (750) Robert Whitcher

(200) Linda Bush; (100) Sandra Harris

Unit Goodwill Award: Orpha Gips and Madeline Randolph

May Sectional

The tournament chairmen were Karen Snyder and Phyllis Tate. Other chairmen were: Laura Delfeld - Caddies, Larry Davis - Contracts, Brenda Tranchon - Partnerships, Nancy Joe - Photography and Jim Wueste (assisted by Larry Davis and Mark McAllister) - Supplies. The tournament chairmen wish to thank the many individuals who brought goodies for the hospitality table. An outstanding meal was catered by Mike Stout, Unit 207 master chef. One does not have to be on the Unit 207 Board in order to be a tournament chairman (sectional, regional or NLM). If you are interested in being a tournament chairman, please contact the Unit 207 president (Mary Anne Laier).

NAP Games

Club-level qualification begins in June. There are 12 NAP games scheduled (4 each month at the Bridge Center, spread among the various days of the week). The strats are: C - less than 500 masterpoints and not a Life Master, B - 500 to 1999 and A - 2000+. June dates are: 5^th (Tues), 11^th (Mon), 16^th (Sat day) and 22^nd (Fri). July dates are: 12^th (Thurs), 18^th (Weds day), 25^th (Weds eve) and 29^th (Sun). August dates are: 11^th (Sat), 13^th (Mon), 22^nd (Weds eve), and 26^th (Sun). The unit final (for those qualifying at the club-level) will be October 20^th (Sat) at the Bridge Center. It will be a two-session event. For those qualifying at the unit-level (about 50% of each strat), the District 16 NAP final will be held at the San Antonio sectional in January 2008. District-level winners (3 or 4 in each strat) advance to the national-level, played at the Spring Nationals (Detroit).

Dummy Don’ts

The dummy may not comment on the number of tricks won or lost or the number of tricks still needed to fulfill the contract. That is the declarer's job. Do not inform the declarer if he has a trick turned wrong (unless it is the trick just completed). Do not say things like: "Only one more trick needed, partner" or "You've taken eight tricks so far" or "You won the third trick." The dummy may not play, touch or otherwise indicate which card in the dummy is to be played. Wait until the declarer calls for a card, even if it seems clear to you what declarer is going to do (such as play the lowest card to a trick the opponents are going to win or ruff a suit in which the dummy is void or discard what seems to you like a useless card). Penalties may be assessed if the director believes that the declarer may have been influenced in the play of the hand by comments or gestures made by the dummy. (Remember that doubtful issues are awarded to the non-offending side (the defenders in this case).)

Played Card

A card is played if it touches or nearly touches the table or is designated from the dummy by the declarer. The laws do not specify precisely what "nearly touches" means. Simply detaching a card from ones hand does not, in and of itself, constitute a played card. However, if a defender detaches his card in such a way that his partner COULD have seen the card, the card is played (if it was that defender's turn to play, otherwise it is an exposed card). It does not matter if an opponent sees the card. The director will not try to determine if the defender's partner did see the card, only if the card could have been seen. The declarer does not have a penalty card, but he can have a played card. If the declarer plays (as above) a legal card (does not revoke), the declarer may not change that card even if he made a mistake, was inattentive or simply decides that another card would have been better (even if the next hand has not played). If the declarer played a card that was illegal (revoked), he may, if the revoke has not been established, correct the illegal play by playing a legal card and returning the illegally played card back to his hand. The illegally played card is not a penalty card. A defender, however, does have a penalty card if he corrects a revoke prior to the establishment thereof. (A revoke is established when the revoking side plays to the next trick.)

If the declarer calls for a specific card that is not in the dummy, there is no played card. If the declarer specifies a suit but not a rank ("play a heart" or "heart") and there is a card of that suit in the dummy, the lowest ranking card of that suit is played. (The dummy is prohibited from asking "which one".) If there are no cards in the dummy of the suit specified, there is no played card. If the dummy is on lead and the declarer calls for a rank but not a suit, the suit is presumed to be the suit in which the dummy won the previous trick and that card, if there be such, is played. (The dummy is prohibited from asking "which one" if there happen to be other cards in the dummy of the rank named.) If there is no card of the rank named in the suit previously played, and there is one card of that rank elsewhere in the dummy, that card is played. If there is no card of the rank named in the suit previously played, and there is more than one card of the rank named elsewhere in the dummy, the dummy must ask "which one" and the declarer must play one of those cards of the rank named. If there are no cards in the dummy of the rank named, there is no played card.

Deaths and Departures

Mozelle Carr - Bronze Life Master

Charles Strawn - Sectional Master

Adam Ruprecht - moving to Seattle