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Multi-Session Classes

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Unit 499 Discussion Groups

Sectional Flyer ThumbnailSummer Sectional Coming

Please plan to attend our June 21-23 Summer Solstice Sectional. This is the first of two sectionals we will conduct in 2013. It's also the first day of Summer.

Next Unit Game Sunday, July 7, 2013 at Rossmoor, 1pm

Rossmoor will host the next Unit Game on July 7th, after the sectional. Start time is 1pm and there will be a big turnout, awarding lots of master points. No Unit Games have been scheduled for June, the month of our Summer Sectional.

May, 2013 eDeclarer Available

The May, 2013 edition of our great eDeclarer newsletter is now available. Catch up on news from all the bridge clubs, several articles about hands, President's column, Editors column, Iris Libby column, advances in rank, tournament winners and of course, much more. Back issues are available in our Newsletter Archives.

STaC Results Available

See if you scored in the overalls at the STaC Web Site. It accumulates all the scores and reports the top scores in this Western Conference just-completed STaC.

Web Site Launch Update

You may have noticed our new website launch date message has been taken down. It is not gone forever, just delayed while we refine the finished product. We will update this message as soon as we have new information. Thanks for your patience.

Trisha

Intermediate/Newcomer Area added to Web Site

An I/N area has been added to the web site and it will hopefully be a resource for the newer duplicate player. We're defining I/N as a duplicate player having between zero and 300 master points. Thanks to Bill King for his help with this.

Other Limited Games in our Unit

For players between 0 - 499 master points, there is a game every Tuesday afternoon from 1pm to 4pm at the Orinda Community Center, 26 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA Tel (925) 254 2445. Doors open at 12:30. The C strat players are allowed 2 questions per session on difficult bidding or play issues. No need for a partner. And there is always a warm welcome to newcomers. See more on Carol Griffin's web site http://caroltgriffin.bridgeforyou.com. There are also two under-999 master point games in our unit. Judy Lowe's 999'er J & B Bridge Game at DVBC and David Sterling's (Friday morning) 999'er Danville Bridge Club.

DVBC Open for Business

Heavy rain and an auto incident caused DVBC to have to move their game temporarily. However, they moved back to 2920 Camino Diablo, Suite 100, as of Feb. 26th. See the DVBC web site and Chris Pisarra's Blog for photos and details.

GNT and NAP Information

Please see Grand National Teams and North American Pairs Information on the District 21 Web Site and on the front page of the latest Forum

Find Bridge Partners or Discuss Unit Business

If you would like to visit one of our Google Discussion Groups below please click on "Visit this group" on one of the links below. You need to subscribe before you can visit or post messages to these groups. Read more about them in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) web page. To stop receiving Google Group Emails do the following for each group (below) you joined: Click on "Visit the group", then click on "My membership" and choose "Don't send email updates" or "Leave Group".

BridgePartner499
Email:
FAQ | Visit this group
Join this group to invite others in the unit to play a single game or when looking for a long term partner.
Unit 499
Email:
FAQ | Visit this group
Join this group to keep informed of all the local events which occur in our unit.
DVSPartnerships
Email:
FAQ | Visit this group
Join this group if you are from another unit and are looking for partners for our units' sectionals. Your information will be sent to the members of our unit who are subscribed to BridgePartner499 as well as on this site for other non unit members to respond.
 

 

Unit Calendar Tip

If you click on the "Calendar" link above, you have a choice of three different views to use: A WEEKLY view which shows all appointments this week, A MONTHLY view with the whole month displayed and an AGENDA View, which lists all upcoming events in detail. The AGENDA view can be very handy, as it displays more information that may be missed in the MONTHLY view.

Chris Pisarra's Personal Blog

Chris Pisarra is an excellent and long-time bridge player who writes the unit's monthly Unitscope article for the Contract Forum. While his blog is not the unit's official blog, it includes occasional posts about bridge and unit 499's goings on. You will find a link to Chris's blog on our Bridge Links page. Thanks, Chris!

Get Forum Newsletter Online

Did you know District 21 puts their monthly newsletter, the "Contract Bridge Forum" on-line? See the current issue and back issues at their Western Conference web Site. It's also in living color.

Join the ACBL

The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) keeps track of masterpoints (MP) when you win or place at bridge clubs or tournaments. ACBL sends an MP report embedded in the excellent publication, the "Bridge Bulletin" to every member, every month. They actually print your personal masterpoint total, and what you won the previous month. You can also look up your personal masterpoint history online and compare yourself to your peers in Mini-McKenney contests. You need to know what unit you're in (499 - Diablo Valley). This is just one benefit of joining the ACBL. Almost everyone in the U.S. who plays duplicate is a member of the ACBL. Tournaments will charge as much as $2 more if tournament entrants don't belong to the ACBL. Check out the ACBL Login page to review your masterpoint totals or click on " Join" from the ACBL home page to find out more.

Bridge in our Unit

Unit 499 covers the Diablo Valley in the East Bay of Northern California. It belongs to the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). Its mission is to promote the game of Bridge. We have small business owners and Bridge teachers that conduct weekly duplicate games and teach Bridge. Almost all of our tournaments use a style of Bridge called "Duplicate" where the same hands are played by multiple contestants and the results compared to determine winners. This means success is due to skill rather than receiving good cards. Rubber bridge players are encouraged to attend a weekly duplicate game and see how enjoyable it is. One interesting thing about duplicate tournament bridge is that (if you choose to) you can play against the best players in the world in big tournaments. You may also want to join the ACBL for a nominal annual fee and have the time of your life.

Units, Districts, Western Conference, ACBL

The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) uses a bridge volunteer organization to promote Bridge. It divided North America into "Districts" and "Units". We are in District 21 (Northern California) and Unit 499 (Diablo Valley of Contra Costa County) with a Board of Directors. There is also an association of Districts 17, 21 and 22 called the Western Conference that combine forces to produce the monthly Forum newsletter, mailed to all ACBL members in these districts. The ACBL mails an excellent monthly publication to all its members.

Results are Uploaded for all Games

A service provided by our unit is online duplicate bridge game results created by each club. To see them, find "Weekly Results" in the upper left hand corner of our home page, then select the city, game and date of the game. Another way is to go to the competition web page where all games in the unit are displayed, and click on a game and date. We also have a list of games by day the week of the game, Please allow a few hours for the games to be uploaded. The directors create the game reports and upload the reports to the web site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have questions about Rubber Bridge, Intermediate/Novice Games, Weekly Duplicate Games or ACBL Tournaments? We have answers for you on our FAQ page.

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