GeeGee

Double. nickf sydney Was that a negative double or a support double? :) Geoff

This is one I like for those of us who are computer geeks. http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,...i534467,00.html

The Aubrey/Maturin novels of Patrick O'Brian, except for the last few. The Heliconia trilogy of Brian Aldiss Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle Most of Charles Dickens

I too am surprised at the popularity here of cricket. My choices (watching, I'm way too old and unfit to play most things any more, and some of my partners may say that's true of bridge as well) Cricket, Football, Motor racing, especially the historics, it's wonderful to watch these old Coopers and Lotuses drifting all over the place, Cricket, Golf (only thing I can almost play now) Cricket, American Football when they show the highlights and we don't have all these ad breaks, Cricket, ...... Cricket Last time I played cricket, I was relatively fit and young and worked out regularly at the gym. I scored 10 runs, and couldn't move the next day. Those were muscles I hadn't exercised before.

With you on Fargo and Sixth Sense With everyone on Shawshank Redemption With Elianna on The Producers With Joshs on Casablanca and Dr Strangelove did anyone mention Airplane!? (oh yes, I see Dr Todd did)

Just been watching first episode of 'Planet Earth' on BBC. Incredible, stunning pictures of a great white shark hunting seals. Otherwise, from an Anglo-centric viewpoint: - ER Law and Order, and an absolute classic from the past, Hill Street Blues. It's a cliche that US TV is rubbish, but the best US TV is the best in the world. Geoff

Yes, thank you. :unsure:

Thanks for your help. Are there any other control key or function key actions?

First time I entered a tourney, my mouse 'froze' in the middle of play, and I had to reboot my PC. Fortunately, the table was waiting for me when I got back. Would it be possible to have some functions that are not mouse-based? In my case, it would have helped if I could call up chat to tell the table about my problems, and that I would be back.

Have to agree about Bridgemaster, it taught me so much. I was so grateful to it when I performed my first squeeze, and will be again when I manage my second... B) I think the Mike Lawrence programs are also very good.

I agree. Get a copy and share it between your trainees. We have a copy in the club library, and I try to get promising beginners to read it. Try www.abebooks.com

I'm with Chamaco on this one. I discovered the book a few months after I started learning bridge, and found quite a lot of it a struggle. A couple of years later it all became a lot more comprehensible and helpful, and now I use examples from it on my intermediates' declarer play training course. Very true. :)

Not any more. The regulations were relaxed in the April 2005 Orange Book (edited by David Stevenson). This says that, at level 3 (ordinary club level), any defence is allowed to a natural one no trump opener.

Which brings up the question, what defines an intermediate player? I agree that those who couldn't grasp the concepts were unlikely to progress. Those who could at least had 'a bridge mind' even if they may not easily initially apply the concepts to their own play. However, I wonder whether an intermediate player would recognise a trump coup position as declarer, let alone in defence. For those who know Bridgemaster, would the average intermediate player be happy at level (i) 2, (ii) 3, or (iii) 4? Just trying to get an idea of how much does your average intermediate player already know.

"Replying to Topic for an intermidiate level course" is the name of the game. Forget about squeezes. I have said this a dozen times before, and I haven't changed my mind. I repeat: most intermediates do not master even the simplest of card play, so why on earth would one waste their time with squeezes? Intermediate players may not like to hear this, but that's how it is. And as we all know: nothing hurts like the truth. Roland Unfortunately, I have to agree. I don't consider myself even close to advanced, but a few years ago I designed and ran a course for intermediate club members on declarer play. It became apparent pretty quickly that fewer than half of the attendees were able to grasp concepts like the ruffing finesse, loser-on-loser plays, or endplays.

Double whiskey, perhap? :)

Belated birthday greetings, Frances (as usual, I'm always late). Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament on November 5th, 1605. We used to celebrate the event with fireworks and a bonfire with an effigy of Guy Fawkes on top of it. Nowadays, the effigy isn't so common, perhaps because people are more in sympathy with what he was trying to achieve. :)

Saturday was the first time I've used Vugraph, and I was glued to my chair for both sessions. Many thanks to everyone involved for such a wonderful service.

I don't know if this is general or UK only, but because of health and safety regulations it's become the practice to include the following warning on food products and bridge clubs:- Caution: may contain nuts.

I may be wrong, but I don't think Drury was ever banned in England. Initially it was restricted to the EBU level 4 competitions and above, which meant out of the reach of the average club player. Now it's at level 2, which is just above simple systems. I guess the reason the EBU relaxed the restriction would have been by 'popular demand', that is, someone asked for it.

Disagree. As someone who does have a full-time day job, the worst night of all for anything, let alone teams bridge, is Tuesday. Don't know why.

Is this the right room for an argument? Monty Python

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a high-stakes rubber game. Jane Austen

I don't know about gangstas playing bridge, but the idea of Norberto Bocchi in a back hat with the Nike emblem on it certainly puts the fear of God into me. I intend to urge the EBU to post a link to this video on their web site. We British are far too reserved about these matters.

The EBU travellers, which I think are in common use in England (did I say the UK before? I shouldn't speak for the rest of the Kingdom. :) ) , have columns for the contract, by whom, the number of tricks, and two columns headed North-South, the first saying plus, the second minus. So, if West is in 3H, making 4 (see, that's how we verbalise it in England as well), then the columns should read : - 3H+1,W, 10, , 170. This I think is quite good, as it means the result is recorded three times, so if someone makes a mistake in one column, the scorer can usually work out the correct score from the other two. That only leaves the problem of when you put the 170 in the wrong column, and your handwriting is so bad it's hard to tell the difference between N and W.