skorchev

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Excellent, excellent, EXCELLENT!

I told you not to open your present until Christmas. nickf sydney LOL I hope you will not forget to log in for the tounament! :ph34r:

1. NickF 2. Vincenzo 3. Georgi 4. Inquiry 5. cascade

To Roland: since I don't use the 'log chat' option, I can't paste the conversation here, but it was like this: Roland: Hi, do you want to commentate? Stefan: No, thanks, Rado [he was commenting on that moment, and one more too, I don't remembered who] is doing pretty well ... Roland: OK Stefan: did you read my thread about the VG commentators? I'm interested to see your answer ... and you didn't respond. That makes me feel that you had read the thread already. Further more I don't know how you chosed exactly me, since there were several other bulgarian stars around. The most sensible is that you read the article, found my name in the kibitzers list and so on. One more thing is that this is the very first time you invite me to comment, in the past I always asked someone to join, nobody has invited me. Of course, it could be just a fortuity, but who knows ... To Hedy: I'm thinking the same way like Adam Meyerson. From what I have seen, at the end of every vugraph broadcast there is exchange of compliments between commentators, operators and kibitzers and this is the first time I see any kind of criticism and I'm sure that every commentator who already wrote this thread will become at least 1% better in doing this. :) Regards, Stefan

Hi again! Let's take first the operators "problem". I haven't wrote anything about it and you jumped against me. :) The problems are not the ones you mention Jan and Adam. I opened this thread to "comment" the commentators and when we "finish" with it I think to open another one for the operators. Both threads have many differences, so I didn't want to combine them in one. In the meantime if someone wants - he/she can start it. As Peter said probably I'm some kind of idealist, but I can't find anything wrong in discussing the problems and trying to find solutions to make the things work better. I have wrote my opinion, so in this post I'm just going to defend myself. :) First of all I want to apologize for my tone in the first post, obviously I was affected. On the question whether I have tried to help on the last day of the trials: the organizers paid to the vugraph operators and to the directing team, so the only thing I could do there is to obstruct. "Have I ever been commentator or/and operator?": commentator, yes. The others can evaluate me, it's stupid to say: "I'm good", "I'm decent" or I'm bad". Operator, no. But just to mention that one of the two operators on our national team trials was a junior who do this work just for second time and I can say that he did it great, so I don't think the experience is so important when it comes to the operators. But please let's not discuss the operator's work here. The matter is different. About Peter's suggestion for creating a database with convention cards: in the first moment the idea is good, but I was thinking how to realize it? The pairs in Bulgaria who play serious bridge and play together constantly are no more than 20-25. On the page you have visited there are posted 15 of them. Another thing is that the pairs change some of their bids so it will be very difficult to have the systems up-to-date. I see some of you write about the boards I have mentioned. I have to say many things about them, but this is not the purpose of this thread. If I missed some question - it is not intentionally. You can ask again, I will answer. The funny thing and it is not intended like a compliment is that one of the best commentators (Peter Gill) and one the best operators (Jan Martel) are writing here and not these who do the things "bad". Regards, Stefan

Just what I expected. The examples I gave are aiming to show the general point, not the particular case. I told you, this happens everytime. And to answer to Roland: The tourney I watched all the Sunday was the final of the qualification for national team, where I played the previous day on the semifinals, so I had a personnel reasons to watch. I know that you wanted to provoke me, when you asked me to comment ... this I find like act of 14-years old boy. Very weird. I'm getting on with the life very much. My post is inspired by 2 years watching at dumb comments. The thing I wanted to tell is just some advice to improve. Not to feel that it is the perfect world. The truth is just that 75% of the comms are far away from doing a decent job. Is it so difficult to make some giude on 2 or 3 pages? To the one who mentioned Kit Woolsey: we all know he is a great comm, there are 10-15 more like him, but the others doesn't cost. However I have written 2-3 times some ideas, all the time you are all jumping against them. I had in mind to right some things about the operators, but why to do it, you will jump again ...

Hi all, in the area I live (eastern europe) and because of some junior events I have the opportunity to play often at vugraph. A bad opportunity. The last time I played it was yesterday and when I came back home I downloaded the files from the broadcast just to see some boards and like every time I was amazed by the very poor comments from the commentators. Let's see just one of the boards, where a star-player is showing a brain surgery. I have the following hand: AQ9 10xx AKxxx xx The bidding starts from me - 1♦(precision), 1♥ by LHO, now my partner bids 2♣ which originally shows exactly 4 spades and 5+ cards in a minor or 4♠(441), RHO bids 2nt - fit and invitational or better hand, I'm double, showing better hand, LHO bids 3♥- fast arrival (min hand) and it finishes the bidding. First of all the commentator says "the Precision problem - 1♦ does not show ♦", if he was a commentator who didn't log in bbo after the salad and before the dinner, he should enter the tournament web-site and download our convention card and to read that 1♦ is showing 2+ cards. at least if he is lazy to do that, he can ask the operator. However this is just notihng compared to the great "thoughts" which are coming. The vugraph operator normally alerts the 2♣ bid and now one of the other commentators says: "I think 2♣ shows ♦s". When the bidding finishes the mentioned above "star-player" comments: "this is ludicrous" ... "South [this is my partner] showed a ♦ raise. N knows S is short in ♥ and he cannot bridg himshelf to bid 4♦". In one of the previous boards I hold: Jx 109xx AKxxxx A I open 1♦, my partner bids one 1♠, I'm 2♦, my partner bid 2nt=invitational and I consider myself to raise to 3nt because 2♦ shows 11-13 and 5+ ♦, I have 12 good points with 6 cards. The bid of 3nt should be just automatical. The commentator mentioned before comments "and I have no understanding as to why North [this is me] would raise to 3N". There are many many boards that I can write from this or previous broadcasts where the commentators are commenting bullshits, but my point is that not everybody can be VG commentator, no matter how good player he is. The biggest mistakes maden by the commentators are: 1. they are commenting on 52 cards, they use GIB and they know everything ... they don't take the point of the players who see just 13 cards on the bidding and just 26 on the play. 2. they are commenting the bidding like everybody is playing their systems and/or conventions and judge "this is good", "this is bad". 3. they don't assume that sometimes the operators are playing a wrong card and blame some player for doing some stupidity or blame the wrong person because his partner give the wrong signal in defence - once I had in one suit AJ10xx, my partner had xxxx, dummy had Qx and declarer - Kx. my partner leads the forth (we play second or forth leads, so from 4 cards the conventional card is the smallest, so his card is the right one), after that I finesse with the 10, declarer takes it with the king, make some elimination and put me in hand on my ace where I give the contract. Now some smart commentator says that probolaly the best is if my partner lead the 2nd from four smalls, because this might help me. If he play the second this will means that he has 3 cards so then he will really lie me. So I make the stupidity, the commentator credit it to my partner. Personally myself I don't watch vugprahs because of 2 reasosn: bad commentators and bad operators. It will be good if not everybody titled hisself like world class or everyone who has a star is nominated for commentator. This is a very very difficult thing to do and I think there should be a huge restrictions about this who is commentating even more I think there should be an article "How to comment" with some useful tips for the new commentators. And before you tell me "they are all volunteers, don't want from them too much", I will tell you that they are there to help the kibitzers to understand what is happening on table, not make their own systems, to say to the players how they should play the hand, seeing 52 cards. The job of commentator is not for everyone ...

Hampson - Rodwell Bessis - Bessis Levin - Weinstein Welland - Willenken Multon - Zimmerman

Yeah, I agree, it is strong - sorry, I was very affected. I hope in a few days you will set everything.

This is terrible! Yesterday we were terrorized by an ad of screen savers, which slows down the computers. Today these talking emoticons - I even stopped the sound of BBO and they continued talking. BBO is great project with wonderful features, but these two things meantioned above can make me stop playing BBO. This is terrorism.

Perhaps it isnt so bad as it sounds, as it seems it isnt no World pairs but European Pairs. The swedish delegate Melander did said so earlier, it seems he has right. What happens with World Pairs I dunno. World Pairs will be played in Beijing.

I thought not to write here anymore, coz I said whatever I had to say, but there are too much people trying to explain to ME what I want to say. :) So, you play/watch in BBO and in the same time you listen music, for example. You can set how loud to be the music from your music program and to hear better the sounds from BBO. But when you want to listen the music and want to hear SOFTLY the sounds from BBO, you can't do that. Yes, I know I can stop some of them, but I don't want that. Also I know I can install some program to control the mastervolume of BBO. But I just suggested that such implement inside BBO will be a good option, coz "the 60-70 yo ladies" are not so educated in internet downloading, installing and working with such programs (sorry if underestimate someone, no offence intended). Regards, Stefan

As was mentioned earlier "Pass is losing bridge". With 2♦ you show diamonds, with DBL you try to show ♥+♦, with pass you show nothing. If pass firstly, what to bid after that, something balancing? DBL is a good option, if 2(3)♦ after that over 2(3)♣ means offshape t/o dbl with ♦+♥, which I doubt is the case. So my bid is 2♦, a perfect suit, passed partner. Even my partner is non-passed, I will bid 2♦ also, I have missed too much high cards. Actually it is more interesting to me what I (you) will bid if bidding goes (1♠)-2♦-(pass)-2♠ - with partner passed and non-passed. Are you going to bid your stopper or the 4 cards in ♥?

OK, tnx, I appreciate your advices, but I can find them in any softwer forum. I just suggest that implementing of sound control option will be a good thing. Maybe I can make this things and change the volume of sound for bbo, but I doubt one 60-70 yo lady (which is the main target in BBO) can make it. Almost every program with sound has control option, I doubt it is so difficult to be created.

It will be great if there is an option for sound volume. It's too noisy now when you listen music in the same time you are in BBO.

Play, play and play. Practice is everything. Look at your mistakes, remember them and don't repeat them.

OK. Thanks to everyone for his/her opinion.

If there is such discussion anywhere just give me a link. I'm spending a lot of time playing bridge both live and in BBO for the last several years. I have played handly dealt boards, pre-dealt boards from live tourneys and boards dealt by the BBO generator. Some experienced friends have told me that this is not the same bridge and the hands are different. I can say the same. Handly dealt boards in average are more balanced. In BBO you feel like they are constructed for action, we play more unbalanced hands here (imho). At the other side those of you who have participated or watched on VuGraph hands from World and European Championships (maybe Aussie, Asian etc. too) maybe has determined that there the boards are stimulating good players, I mean if you play good (theoretically) bridge you will have better results. Also there the boards for MP (pairs) scoring and IMP (teams) scoring are different. However, the aim of this post is to hear your opinions whether hands from BBO are different, then the handly dealt ones. What do you think?

To double? If the bidding goes 1H-1S-2H-2NT-3NT, then maybe, but opps may have 30 hcp now. And AKJ10xx isn't so dangeraous (partner will has Q9xxx).

Looks like declarer has something like 4144 or 51(43) with weak spades, void ♥ is a possibility too. I think to start passive. Lead ♥.

That's true. The only opputunity is to be European Pairs Championship, but it's not decided yet.

"Copy chat message" and "Clear chat window" are 2 opposite functions, which are "neighbours" in the "right-button menu". I just tried to copy something and without purpose I cleared the screen. "Clear chat window" is a "pay-attention" gadget which must be used carefully, as the "Delete" function in Windows. As a solution I think it will be nice when we click over "Clear chat window" to appear some request "Are you sure?" and answers "Yes/No", or maybe just to separate it with borderline. Edit: typo

The official web-site: Pula 2007

I tried the experimental link and it didn't work, but when saved the "orginal" file it logged in. Tnx.