Walddk

fred is aware of the bug, but if I understand him correctly, this is not a trivial thing to rectify. Maybe he can tell us when he returns from Verona some time next week. It also seems strange that you, when you're in the closed room of the vugraph theatre, see "Open Room" upper left until the first board has been displayed. Then it all changes, player names included. There is probably a logical explanation. Roland

It's very difficult to list anything when we haven't been contacted by the organisers. They don't have to tell us, they don't have to ask us and they don't have to use our commentators. They can still use our software for free. Maybe they will just turn up all of a sudden. Fair enough; they don't violate any of our rules if they do. However, they do need VG accounts. Maybe they already tested that the ones from last year are ok. Or maybe fred has given them a couple at the venue. Roland

What do you expect when you concede 42 and 34 extras (Lord's and the Oval respectively)? Roland

From some NCBO's yes. I believe that all participants have paid what they are supposed to in order to enter the various competitions. Roland

Then add the non-existent "Participants". Not sure why they advertise this feature when it remains empty on day 11 of the championships. "The names of the participants will be posted here as they become available", it reads. When is that I wonder. I have said it before, and I am saying it again: the WBF, and the EBL for that matter, must employ a full-time co-ordinator. The open championships are money machines (look at the entry fees and number of participants in the bulletins), so one would assume that the budget should allow for this. The link to the outside world is *very* important. That goes for the official web site as well as live vugraph presentations. I don't know if it's possible to convince the organisers that it is. Finally, it's the policy of BBO that organisers should pay vugraph operators for their events. It is in *their* interest that *their* tournaments are broadcast to the world. As it is now, BBO must rely on volunteers and we can't always get enough. That's the reason why we had to go for only 1 table at some point earlier in the event, and that may also happen today (Tuesday) because Hervé Lustman is the only one we have for certain. We don't think it's unreasonable that organisers all over the world pay for operators when we offer our software for free. Roland

To be honest with you, I do not. I am pretty relaxed about it all although I am as disappointed as all the other thousands of spectators. If I had been at the venue, I would not have been responsible, and even less so now that I am 3,292 km away from Verona. I am pretty experienced regarding organisation and co-ordination, but when it comes to technical issues, I give up. In this regard, I am absolutely clueless. I don't even know what causes the glitches, and even if I did there is nothing I could do about it. Sometimes I must hide (all Walddk accounts invisible) in order not to get 100 private messages a minute, but let me stress that almost all messages are very sympathetic, because our members know that it's beyond BBO's control. I am certainly not in a position to blame the organisers for something I can't judge from afar, but allow me to quote one of the more amusing private chat messages I got yesterday: "Next time, perhaps choose Zambia, or some other high tech country" ;) Roland

As long as they don't introduce F&G in Japanese toilets, I don't mind which gadgets they come up with :rolleyes: Roland

I agree with this; just one point to add (very few are aware of it). It was actually Bill Haley and His Comets. Roland

Did you watch the games? Both of Germany's so far, but I think I will stop now. It's waste of time really. You need to be a German if you think Germany has a good team, let alone a chance to advance much further. Home advantage is far from being enough. Roland

What a ridiculous comment, unless .... 1. You change the rules (it hasn't happened yet as far as I know). 2. That you, even if you could, send the whole German team off next time any German player is sent off. It's no big deal as far as Germany is concerned anyway. They will be knocked out after the group stage. That will save the rest of us from the boring football Germany has delivered since the 70's. Roland

[hv=n=sj103&w=s76&e=saq952&s=sk84]399|300|[/hv] This was the diamond layout. Peter Fredin from Sweden played the 6 to the 9 when Chagas followed small. The rest was easy, and Henner gained 12 IMPs (10 tricks in 3NT vs. 3♦ -1 in the closed room). Indeed a classic play among experts, but you still need to do it at the table. Let's assume that dummy has no outside entry, then South can prevent declarer from getting 4 tricks by ducking. However, Villas Boas knew that ♠K was an entry, so it wouldn't have helped. Declarer just cashes the ace and clears the suit. Roland

Round of 16 match-ups: Nickell v Gartaganis Schwartz v Mahaffey Hecht-Johansen v Yadlin Belgium 1 v Soulet Welland v Allfrey China SMEG v Milner Chagas v Henner Meltzer v Ekeblad http://online.bridgebase.com/vugraph/schedule.php for full vugraph schedule Roland

It's an emabarrasing error on the front page of bulletin 9 http://www.worldbridge.org/bulletin/06_1%20Verona/Bul_09.pdf Go to page 2 of that bulletin and you will see the correct score. The same (correct) score as stated on http://www.worldbridge.org/tourn/Verona.06...d=577&qphase=32 I suspect that the editors had the text ready before the last set in case nothing dramatic happened, then forgot to edit before they released the bulletin. Fred is through, no doubt about that. Roland

yeah, and to make matters worse i usually wear sandals this time of year In that case we will never see you at major international championships. "Team members cannot wear shorts or open-toed sandals". I can't find anything about vomit, so I guess that's allowed. Roland

You can't unless your opponents are sound asleep. There is no way to avoid losing 2 diamonds and 1 club. Roland

I don't understand 1NT. I don't understand 2♣. I don't understand 3♣. I think I understand the rest, and 35.5% chance of making is quite good by my standards :) Roland

[hv=d=s&v=e&n=sak843hq873d954ck&s=s976haj4dk83caq107]133|200|Scoring: IMP[/hv] Strong players in a practice match on BBO. The auction was: 1♣ - 1♠ 1N - 2♦* 2♠ - 3♥ 3NT - P * Two-way checkback Stayman (GF) Lead: ♥10. Trick 1: 1. You play the queen from dummy, and RHO follows with the 6 (std.). 2. You play low from dummy, and RHO follows with the 6 (std.) to your jack. You decide. Take your pick and plan the play from there. Roland

You are winning needles and pins and no sympathy from the rest of the world. Hopefully this will collapse sooner rather than later and all your agony will be over. The performance until the 82nd minute was insultingly poor. Each player should donate £50,000 to charity. By the way, who is Michael Owen? His name appeared in the line-up, but he wasn't on the pitch. "I'll be the World Cup top scorer", he said to BBC yesterday. What a joke. Roland

The 1♠ overcall is far from being acceptable, but North is the culprit no matter what. 1. He should have bid 4♠ over 2♥. 2. Double of 5♥ is ¤¤#!! He doesn't have a single defensive trick. Roland

It is as I see it. Let's pretend that I speak no English and came to that restaurant in Philadelphia. I wouldn't even be able to understand what it reads on the sign, but I am hungry and I would like to have something to eat. Should I expect to be served or not after I have made myself perfectly clear by pointing at the dish I like? The answer is obviously yes, and if I was denied, I have every right to be "truly disgusted". Roland

How disappointing Gerben; I am truly disgusted. So if a tourist travelling through your native Netherlands is unable to say "Hello, I would like to order a cheesesteak" in Dutch, you find it perfectly legitimate that the owner tells the customer to go somewhere else. Excuse me, but that's intolerance of the worst calibre. I speak 7 languages, unfortunately no Dutch, so if you were to decide, you couldn't care less if I could not find a place to eat in Tilburg. Welcome to Denmark my friend and you will see a completely different attitude. We do not expect you to speak Danish. In my opinion no country has the right to demand that you speak the native tongue, and if you don't comply, it's your own fault. How sad. Or do you allow any exceptions to your discriminating rule? Roland

I can't see how this can be such a big problem. If the owner insists that his customers order in English, the restaurant will shut down very soon because .... 1. Very few speak English in Philadelphia. 2. Very few speak English elsewhere in the United States. He can hardly run a business that depends on Britons stopping by :) I very much doubt that Mr. Vento himself speaks a language that bears any resemblance to English. I'll let Sir Charles Carmichael from the University of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, be the judge. Roland

Good news from Verona. We will be broadcasting when the Rosenblum Cup (teams) begins tomorrow (Tuesday) at 4.30 am New York, 10.30 Paris, 9.30 am London, 4.30 pm Beijing, 6:30 pm Sydney. http://online.bridgebase.com/vugraph/schedule.php is now updated. Roland

USA won the gold, silver and bronze medals in the mixed pairs at the World Championships in Verona, Italy. 1. Karen McCallum - Matt Granovetter 59.28% 2. Jill Levin - Bobby Levin 58.75% 3. JoAnna Stansby - Lew Stansby 58.47% Next events are the Rosenblum Cup (open teams) and McConnell Cup (women's teams), both starting Tuesday. See Vugraph Issues for details. Roland

Agree with 1♠. Roland