The latest eDeclarer (April 2020) is available! Go to eDeclarer in the menu above to see this eDeclarer and earlier editions.
Diamond in the Ruff, the District 21 newsletter, can be found here
BBO Bridge
Due to the closures listed below of all our Unit 499 bridge clubs, we are posting some information on how to play bridge on-line from the comfort of your home. ACBL has an agreement with Bridge Base On-line (BBO) to provide several types of bridge games daily, some of which award MasterPoints. We would like to highlight 2 types of games in which players can help assist clubs in the unit financially. CCBC has arranged to hold a game on BBO daily at 10:00AM Mon-Sat (see the club page for more information). Proceeds go to the club, and you can earn regular black points. Other clubs in the Unit are exploring adding club-specific games on BBO. There are also other games daily – entitled Support Your Club. The proceeds from these games go to whichever club(s) that you regularly play in.
There are several tutorials to help you get started and learn the ins-and-outs of BBO. ACBL has some videos on its website at https://www.acbl.org/bbotutorials/. Here is a link from ACBL to general instructions for Support Your Club games – https://blog.bridgebase.com/2020/03/18/how-to-log-in-to-bridge-base-online-and-play-acbls-support-your-club-game/. Here is another set of videos on YouTube on how to get started on BBO – https://www.youtube.com/
Finally, here is a link to the video tutorial that a bridge club in NY produced – https://zoom.us/rec/play/vJx8c
CLOSURES – Due to social distancing efforts to combat Coronavirus, all bridge clubs have suspended games, including:
Rossmoor – effective Monday, March 9, estimating closure through April.
CCBC have been postponed, starting Thurs, March 12.
Danville, starting Friday, March 13.
Lamorinda starting Friday, March 13 until at least March 23, now expected through April.
Discovery Bay Bridge on the Lake, starting March 14, until further notice
Diablo Country Club for March
Orinda Newplicate on Tuesday, starting March 17
Moraga Country Club
Brentwood (Tuesday)
ACBL has recommended cancelling or postponing all bridge games through May 11. We have therefore cancelled the Spring Sectional, scheduled for April 25-26.
Unit Games in March:
The Unit’s annual meeting was scheduled to be held Sunday, March 22 at Rossmoor at 12:30, followed by a Unit Game at 1:00. The meeting for this year is cancelled.
Also don’t forget to check the club pages for club championships, charity games and other special club games.
Partnerships – Just a reminder that the Unit has its own Google Group for bridge players seeking a partner. New board member Andy Shockley, ncalifvol@aol.com, is now in charge of managing this Google Group. For more information, here is a document describing this Group and the general Google Group, which is still managed by board member Judy Keilin.
The Unit 499 Online Directory is up and running! Click here to view the directory or discover what you need to do to be included. There is also a link for the Directory in the menu at the top of this page. Clare Smith, clares@astound.net, maintains the directory on behalf of Unit 499.
Google Groups for unit news and finding partners Here is some updated info on how these work.
Free Youth Bridge Classes are held at CCBC on Tuesday nights at 7:00pm every other week (2nd & 4th Tuesdays). Contact Bruce Johnsonbaugh at 925-766-7586 for more info. Click here for a couple of pictures of the future of bridge! Bruce, thank you for your continued effort to promote the game of bridge for the the youth in our unit!