leggi in italiano »

2011 Reisinger Trophy, Seattle: the Reign of the Board a Match (BAM)The Reisinger Memorial Trophy was so called in 1966, in memory of the bridge philanthropist Curt H. Reisinger (1891-1964, breweries owner). In the Friday bulletin there are the stories of the tourney and of the man. The format of the tourney is a knock-out Teams played in the Board A Match (BAM) scoring. As already written in the preceding article about the topic, the BAM is the simplest way to compare a result in a team of four match: any board is worth one point, and the best result wins it; a zero result gives half point to each team.

In many aspects it looks as a MP formula, where an overtrick could make the difference between the top and the zero (then safety playing is off as well), but there are more subtle implications that call for a brief description. For example, if in MP pair tourneys you bid a slam instead of a grand slam – then making 6+1 – you still could get a result not too bad: even in a good tourney always there are timids.

In BAM, on the contrary, rarely 6+1 is less than a disaster. Why? – you reasonably hope – Maybe at the other table the opponents stopped in six as well, so the point will be parted in 0,5 each team. And being this still bridge – you reasonably think – to bid a grand needs the certainty! This is a wrong guess: the odd is not 1430 to 2210 or to -100, but always zero to one; the ratio doesn’t takes care of how high is the result, just suffices that it’s higher.

Another example: playing Precision – that is, playing strong club from 16 points – your Partner opens 1♠; you have a balanced or semi-balanced eleven point hand with three card support. In MP or IMP, your response is any forcing one. In BAM, let’s first calculate the percentages: the Partner has 13-15 points (or the equivalent by distributional strength), so your line has 24 to 26 points. With 26 points the percentage to make a game is 50%, then the overall percentage to have game is much less because the partner have 13 or 14 points more often than 15. Then it could be erroneous going to game or even try for it: bid no more than 2♠.

Last BAM example, another board: your RHO (Right Hand Opponent) opens 1♠, you pass, LHO raises to 2♠, your Partner passes, the Opener passes. Do you balance?

Looking back: Sally Young, the slender tigress.

Sally was one of the four great American women of the first half of the past century; she is less known in Europe than Josephine Culbertson, Helen Sobel and Margaret Wagar, nevertheless Sally won four Reisinger Trophy, an open event! and three of which consecutively: 1937, 1938, 1939, and 1947. For comparison, Bob Hamman won sixth times.

On the same days of forty-one years ago – November 1970 – Sally Young passed away; so Charles Goren wrote in Sports Illustrated about her Partner.

***

Paolo Enrico Garrisi (December 03, 2011)

 

 

Print Friendly

Related posts:

  1. 2011 Reisinger Trophy, Seattle: Il Regno del Board a Match (BAM)english version » 2011 Reisinger Trophy, Seattle: Il Regno del Board a Match (BAM). Il Reisinger Memorial Trophy fu così chiamato nel 1966, in memoria del filantropo del bridge Curt H. Reisinger (1891-1964, proprietario di una fabbrica di birra). Nel...
  2. Fall 2011 NABC: Four Italian win the Mitchell Trophy in Seattleleggi in italiano » Fall 2011 NABC -  The team captained by James Cayne wins the Mitchell Open Board- a- Match Teams: Cayne, Michael Seamon, Lorenzo Lauria, Alfredo Versace, Giorgio Duboin and Antonio Sementa. The other two Italian champions participating in...
  3. Fall 2011 NABC: Italians win the Reisinger Trophyleggi in italiano» Fall 2011 NABC -   The Reisinger BAM Teams tournament has been completed.  The Cayne’s team wins the Reisinger Trophy in Seattle: James Cayne, Michael Seamon, Alfredo Versace, Lorenzo Lauria, Giorgio Duboin and Antonio Sementa. Second place goes to...
  4. Fall 2011 NABC: All the winners in Seattleleggi in italiano » The Fall 2011 National American Bridge Championships were held in Seattle from November 24 to December 4. The Usa Nationals comprise more than thirty events including team and pairs tournaments and there is the participation of...
  5. Reisinger 2011 – Sensational Six No by Alfredo Versaceleggi in italiano » Fall 2011 NABC - Seattle -  Reisinger BAM Teams tournament. Sensational Six No by Alfredo Versace. In an interview in the Daily Bulletin here in Seattle Jimmy Cayne stated that his favorite bridge player is Alfredo Versace....
  6. Fall 2011 NABC: The Italians are playing a leading role in Seattleleggi in italiano » Fall 2011 NABC – The team captained by George Jacobs leads the Mitchell Open B-A-M Teams: Jacobs, Steve Beatty, Walid Elahmady, Tarek Sadek, Agustin Madala and Norberto Bocchi. In the provisional ranking in second place there...
  7. Fall 2011 NABC: Reisinger BAM Teams is underwayleggi in italiano » Fall 2011 NABC. The Reisinger BAM Teams is a six-session open team event scored by board-a-match with two qualifying sessions, two semifinal sessions and two final sessions. The two qualifying rounds have been just completed. There were...
  8. 2011 Toronto Spingold 2011 – Round of 32: A close matchleggi in italiano » 2011 Toronto Spingold – Round of 32. This year the Spingold 2011, received two South American teams, one of them was an Argentine-Brazilian Team, the Ventin Team: Juan Carlos Ventin, Pablo Lambardi, Joaopaulo Campos; Miguel Villas-Boas;...
  9. Wales wins 2011′s Camrose Trophyleggi in italiano » Paul Denning & Patrick Shields, Dafydd Jones & Gary Jones, Peter Goodman & Adrian Thomas,  Mike Tedd & John Salisbury, NPC Alan Stephenson (Wales Team)  are the winners of 2011′s Camrose Trophy. Before the last round,...
  10. 2010′s Europeans: France vs Italy reported by Gluck (9th match)leggi in italiano »  Apologises for being late in reporting the match against Slovakia, I didn’t arrive until board 8, and the theory of hitting the smaller teams hard was be prosecuted with extreme prejudice!   It would be remiss of...