May 19, 2010
Math Made Fun?
Yes, math can be fun! School Bridge LEAGUE will be hosting a “Math Made Fun” event at Science Park High School in Newark, NJ on Monday, June 21.
The day will be filled with games, activities, strategies and mini-bridge lessons. The event will be capped off with a mini-bridge tournament with awards and trophies. Its sure to be an enriching and rewarding experience for all who attend!
If you are in the Newark area and are interesting in participating, please email rachel.warner [at] leagueworldwide [dot] org. If you are interested in hosting your own Math Made Fun Event with bridge activities, please email Rachel or leave a comment below!
May 5, 2010
What We’re Reading: The Cardturner, a new novel from Louis Sachar
We’ve been able to get our hands on an advance copy of The Cardturner, a new novel by Louis Sachar and I must say that while the concept of a young adult novel about the game of bridge sounds, um, challenging, at the hands of Louis Sachar, it definitely works.
Louis Sachar, of course, is the man who brought us the Marvin Redpost and Wayside School series, and the palindromically-named Stanley Yelnats of the award-winning and highly entertaining Holes. Given this delightful background, I had no doubt the story would be entertaining; what did surprise me is that my 13 year-old son actually read the bridge parts!
Seventeen year-old Alton Richards has a job to do: drive his rich old Uncle Lester to his bridge club four times a week. The only problem is that “Trapp”, as Lester is known to his bridge friends, is blind. So Alton has to learn to read each hand dealt to his uncle, then play the cards his uncle tells him to. And he has to remember to never say “are you sure”?
Alton doesn’t know how to play bridge in the least, but he gradually catches on throughout the story. Sachar employs a nice technique here: whenever he starts getting all “bridgey”, he signals the reader with a whale, (an allusion to all the long, descriptive narrative passages in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick), then gives them a quick summary of the passage before jumping back into the action, thus allowing the reader to skip over these parts if they wanted. Which, I assumed, my son would do. Which is why I was completely taken aback when he started asking me about IMPs! The passages aren’t that long, and they really do provide a good introduction to not just how bridge is played, but a little bit of why. I could see the wheels starting to turn in my son’s head.
They eventually make their way to a North American Bridge Championship. Some familiar names pop up, including ACBL and Sachar’s vivid descriptions (though not nearly as lengthy as Melville’s) will immediate transport anyone who has ever attended right back to an NABC.
Engaging characters, an interesting storyline and Sachar’s gift for true youth voice and humor all combine to bring together a story for both adults and teens, whether they play bridge or not. And who knows, after reading this book, the “not” might just change!
The Cardturner, by Louis Sachar
Will be available in bookstores and libraries everywhere May 11.
Check it out!
March 14, 2010
Karen Allison – From Vegas to the Top of the Word
Another top woman bridge player is Karen Allison. A member of the American Contract Bridge League (ABCL), Karen has traveled the world and participated in bridge tournaments across the globe. She even met actor Omar Sharif, who belonged to her bridge club when she lived in Paris. She gained much knowledge about bridge from the top players in the world.
For Karen, it all started when her mother suggested she play bridge for social reasons. In a recent interview she stated, “I walked into a bridge club in high school, and they told me about it. An Ace was four points; a King was three. I stunk up the joint, but it was fun. I bought a BridgeMate – a metal holder that you put prepared cards into. I tore up my fingers on the metal sliders.”
She continued playing through college as it became a passion for her. Although she has never taken a bridge lesson, she maintains her knowledge of the game. She recently donated all of her books to UNLV’s Gaming Department. After graduating college in 1961, Karen went to a bridge club on a date. This was the beginning of her competitive play. She recalls that time stating:
“First there are sectionals – local tournaments. Then, there are regionals, and the nationals. The Nationals are sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League, comprised of the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Bermuda. The Nationals are usually held in the U.S., with a few in Canada.” “Once, at a regional in New York City, we won. This was my first win at a regional. It qualified me to play at a national, called Blue Ribbon, Pairs. There was a player called Paul Heitner. He has since died. I knew him when I was in college. He played at a level I hadn’t yet aspired to. When I won, I contacted him and asked him to play with me. It was unusual in that a lot of the top people won’t do that. He and I started to play together. This introduced me to a crowd of much better players.”
In 1963 Karen moved to Paris, continuing her career as a computer programmer. It was there when she met the actor unbeknownst to her – Omar Sharif. They played bridge together. Upon a visit from her mother, she noticed Sharif in a movie and was shocked to realized who he was. It was also at this time when she met her first husband, Frank Allison, with whom she has since parted ways.
By 1969, Allison was an accomplished bridge player. Many of her accomplishments include playing world championship bridge in Stockholm, Sweden; being captain of the team that went to Bermuda, and representing the United States in a tournament in the Canary Islands. She has also played in Falkenberg, Netherlands, representing Canada. Her most cherished tournament was in Monte Carlo, where she was the first woman ever to represent Canada on an Open Team.
Her awards include an ABCL Life and Gold Master, additionally, she is also a World Life Master in the World Bridge Federation. She enjoys bridge because it is a constant challenge and a mental challenge. She states, “How to play your thirteen cards to best advantage. It’s a fabulous game. It has mathematics. It’s a microcosm of life…It’s an amazing game and continues to teach me lessons. I enjoy watching it. I spent as much time watching as playing at first”.
In an International League of Her Own
In wanting to keep with the theme of Women’s History Month – relative to the game of bridge – I did some research on prominent women in the game. A player whom I came across was Rixi Markus (1910-1992). Coined as the best women bridge-player in all of Europe. Born Erika Scharfstein in what is now called Romania, she began playing whist at the age of 10. Around the age of 12, she learned bridge while on vacation visiting her uncle in the Netherlands.
At 18 she married Salomon Markus who was also an avid bridge player, as well as twice her age. They had a daughter named Margo but the marriage soon became disastrous, as Salomon (also known as “Salo”) became jealous of Riki’s bridge playing skills; accusing her of flirting with every one with whom she played bridge. In 1935, she joined the Austrian Women’s team for the first European Women’s Team. That year Austria won and saw themselves victorious at the first Women’s World Championships, held in Budapest (1937).
On March 11 1938, Hitler’s troops entered Austria and a few days later, he entered Vienna. Rixi, holding on to her young daughter, some bridge trophies and 200 shillings, escaped on a train and fooled the authorities by going through Germany, Belgium and lastly London where her parents had settled in 1936. After a few months her husband joined but they separated soon after the outbreak of war.
In lieu of the war, Rixi worked as a translator for the Red Cross; supplementing her winnings at the bridge table. She also endured more than her fair share of tragedy; first with her elder sister perishing in a concentration camp, her father being killed in a car crash, and a love affair with Walter Carr, a member of a famous British newspaper dynasty, ended with his death from a brain haemorrhage.
In 1950 Rixi became a citizen of Britain and joined the British women’s team. She won the Europeans seven times starting in 1951 in Venice. Outside of bridge, Rixi was known as the most loveable and endearing of characters, a loyal friend always ready to leap to the aid of someone in trouble. In 1962 she and her partner, Fritzi Gordon, won both the World Women’s Pairs and World Mixed Teams and followed two years later by winning the Olympiad in New York. Rixi also became the first Woman World Grandmaster.
In 1975 Rixi received an honor from the Queen, MBE (Member of the British Empire ) “for services to bridge”. The next year, after the 1976 another tragedy struck when Rixi’s daughter, who lived in the USA , died of cancer. Rixi did not play international bridge again, but she continued to be a familiar figure at Congresses throughout Europe.
Additionally, Rixi had a 13-year romance with Harold, later Lord, Lever, a minister in the Wilson government. Both were bridge players. Upon this affair, she launched the annual bridge match between the House of Lords and House of Commons that is still ongoing, with 15 wins for each this year.
Towards the latter part of her life, Rixi became a bridge columnist for the Guardian newspaper (1955- 1992). During this time, she also authored seven books. One to include an autobiography, “The Vulnerable Game”.
Source: World Bridge Federation – www.worldbridge.org/bios/markus.asp
March 7, 2010
Tournament Annoucement
For you ladies who are avid bridge players, here is a festival for you that I am quite sure you will enjoy.
The International Women’s Online Club is hosting the World Women’s Bridge Online Festival. General information can be found online at http://www.wbfwomensbridgeclub.org/informationfestival.html. The webpage with the information was created by Anna Maria Torlontano, Chairman of the WBF Women’s Committee, with the technical organization by Vincenzo Delle Cave BBO Italy and Galy Ivanova Manager of Sky Club.
Some specs from the tournament include:
| 4 daily tournaments: 2 individual tournaments followed by 2 pairs tournaments. It is allowed to play in pairs tournaments with different partners.
The Festival will last one week, from 12th – 18th April 2010 and will include a total of 28 tournaments at the following times: |
| Individual Tournament 11.00 hours Individual Tournament 16.10 hours Pairs Tournament 20.00 hours Pairs Tournament 0.40 hours |
| This schedule is based on Italian local-time and so times will vary in other time-zones. A list of the times of the tournaments in different places can be found on the website listed above. |
This can be an exciting opportunity for women bridge players to network with other players, which is a relevant component in playing bridge.
Best of luck for those of you who decide to attend and PLAY ON!
Women and This Game Called Bridge
March is Women’s History Month, so in honor of this celebratory time, the next couple of posts will present the correlation of women and bridge. In doing research, I found that women – much like with any male dominated sport – have had to fight to get the respect as logical thinkers, strategists and equal players in the game.
Women have made precedent strides in this game and although it is associated as an “older person’s sport”, the women in this field (young and old) have moves to incorporate the game into the community and give back in ways which encourage the game among the younger generation and offer incentives for those who take part in the game and spend their time, shaping and molding the organizations that make it possible to localize and nationalize the game.
February 26, 2010
Reinforcing the Cause
So we’re nearing the end of Black History month and this time is always used to reflect the contributions made by African Americans and those of African decent. The earlier posts gave an account of how African Americans have made contributions to the game of bridge and its predecessor bid whist.
What we can take from this time is the motivation to use the game of bridge to make connections with others, start a movement of bridge players in the community and even give back and raise awareness much like the Trump AIDS tournament in LA.
The School Bridge LEAGUE is the perfect for honoring those who have contributed to the progression of the card game bridge. As mentioned in earlier posts, the organization’s curriculum provides a holistic avenue for instructing students on the elements of math, logic and critical thinking, in addition to, building the social skills needed for success in their academic and professional lives.
For more information on The School Bridge LEAGUE or just simply how to help the youth in your community become trendsetter and inventors, check out the website at www.schoolbridgeleague.org
Bridge – A Social Affair
In a 1999 Black Enterprise article, the current Vice President of Standards for Fox – Roland MacFarland – talks about how bid whist, the predecessor of bridge, always becomes a game of request at any of his social gatherings. In the article he states, “Whenever I have a social affair at the house, there is always a contingent of people who say, ‘Let’s play whist’, and there are probably eight people waiting to play the winners.”
According to Angel Beck, author of How to Play Bridge, she says that much like golf, striking up a game of bid whist is where most networking and business transactions take place. MacFarland also confirms that in his profession, he has made deals and established contact over a fun game of bid whist. Bid whist has been played among African Americans, at such prestigious events as the Black Film Festival, where MacFarland ran a Boston on actor and director, Bill Duke. MacFarland also claims as a result of playing bid whist, that he has been able to establish genuine and long-lasting relationships.
This testimony about the social connections with bid whist, speaks volumes for the game of bridge, as it provides those same opportunities for its players.
For more information on how to connect your community and your youth with the game of bridge, check out The School Bridge LEAGUE website, www.schoolbridgeleague.org
Source: Monique R. Brown, Are you game for bid whist? – Brief Article. Black Enterprise. FindArticles.com. 26 Feb, 2010. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_4_30/ai_57388715/
Ace are High
In this game of bridge, the ace is the highest trump card in a suit, but…do you know the history behind the ace? Technically, the ace represents the number 1, making it the lowest card in the deck; however, in most card games, such as bridge and the commonly played spades, the ace is higher than the king. Although it holds the same characteristics as the other cards, having one card to represent each suit, the ace is the only card that has the option of being played as the lowest or the highest card.
In some interesting background information given by The-Playing-Card.com, the ace was deliberately created that way and includes some political undertones. According to the history, during the French Revolution, the ace – which represented the lone man – was placed above a king in many of the card games during that time. Theoretically, even if “the lone man” was considered nothing to the king, at least he could “overthrow” him in his card game.
These genres of games that placed the ace above the king became popular during the 1500’s in France.
Another interest history fact about the ace is the ace of spades. Have you ever noticed that the design on the spades is considerably larger than the other aces? There’s an old saying that the only two things you can be certain of in life are death and taxes….what does this have to do with ace of spades? Well…in centuries earlier, the European government placed heavy taxes or tariffs on packs of cards. During this time, a deck of cards could not be sold unless it had an official tax stamp. This should that the duty had already been paid. Because of this tax, playing card manufacturers would place the stamp on the ace of spades which was the highest available card in a deck.
Although the tax on cards ceased, manufacturers continued to design the ace of spades larger and different from the other cards, since players had become use to the larger size, indicating its high value within the deck.
So when you get ready to shuffle and deal those cards, take a look at the ace spades, as well as the other ace. Remember its value and never lose the chance to cease the opportunity to “overthrow” that king who may be lurking in the shadows to trump your books…
February 11, 2010
Bridge/Bid Whist Fun Facts for Black History
Here are some more fun black history tidbits relating to bridge and bid whist….
The Entre Nous Bridge Club (from the French phrase “between us”) was founded May 27, 1924 in Charleston, SC by sixteen women who were members of Charleston’s black elite. The original purpose of the club’s foundation was to play a card game known as Five Hundred. Prior, the organization was known as The Entre Nous Five Hundred Club. In the mid-1930’s they switched to playing contract bridge. Limiting its membership to its original founding number of sixteen, the women met monthly in each other’s homes and rotated officers annually. They also hosted annual celebrations and special parties highlighting their 40th, 50th, 60th, and 70th anniversaries. The last known account of the club was 2006.
In a 2005 interview, Ed Gordon – radio personality of NPR (National Public Radio), speaks with Greg Morrison, author of Rise and Fly: The Story of Bid Whist. Morrison, talks about the evolution of bid whist within the African American community and the concept behind the term “rise and fly”. In a basic sense, when a player loses in the game, there are people waiting around to play, so the losing player is told to “rise and fly”. In the interview, both Morrison and Gordon both talk about the degree of strategy and card counting that are coupled with the elements of math, cogitation and logic. They also speak about how bid whist connects African Americans between class and cultures. As Greg Morrison says it, “…everybody from the guy in the three-piece suit to the homeboy or homegirl can sit down and play whist and sit across the table and talk to each other and sometimes talk about each other…”
Another book on bid whist was written by Herman Johnson. The book is entitled, Bid Whist: The Making of a Great American Pastime. This book covers both ends of the spectrum: the first, the card playing tradition of African-Americans, beginning from the days of slavery and the other, how a medieval European gambling game evolved into a modern day American social event. Additionally, the book talks about the evolution of how bid whist is played today among the African Americans since the late 1930’s- early 1940’s and what is known underground as “The Bid Whist Movement” that is quietly taking over other places outside America.
Two evolvers of bid whist in the African American community include Angel Beck, who writes the only syndicated bid whist column in the nation, conducted research on bid whist in the black community and wrote the book, How to Play Bid Whist; along with R. Wesley Agee who created the first bid whist CD rom, and has a blog entitled BidWhist Partners.
Sources:
Entre Nous Bridge Club – http://avery.cofc.edu/entreNous.htm
“Rise and Fly: The Story of Bid Whist” – http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5069913
