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We've created a tab for documenting CMBA history with photos.   If you have a photo(s) of people or events relating to the CMBA or member clubs (active or defunct) that you'd like to see on the web page, please send them to UncMike@yahoo.com and include a note identifying the people, approximate date and if possible event.    Most of the pictures we have only go back to 2018 so any older pictures would be especially appreciated.

President's Message 2024

Bridge Is Alive and Well in Central Massachusetts!!!

Happy New Year Everyone! Bridge in Central MA is thriving. We have new members who are playing, some joining the ACBL, and others not joining, and the Board is completely filled. I am so happy to write that there is a game offered every day during the week and we may start to play two unit games on Saturday each month beginning in the spring. We are planning a Team game in March and discussing other different games in the future. 

We had a very successful Pro/Am last year which fostered members being acquainted with other members. Maybe another one for fall?

We still need directors and people who will become club managers and owners. In order for bridge to continue, members need to think about becoming more active in club responsibility. Please speak to me about this issue and I will be happy to guide you.

Our highly frustrating, wonderful game is beneficial in so many, many ways! Talk to people you know and encourage them to learn to play. They will enjoy meeting all the wonderful members of the Central Massachusetts Bridge Association.

My thanks to every member for your ideas, support, compliments, complaints and all other subjects that you talk to me about. Do not ever hesitate to call me about any issue. I will be very happy to speak to you. 

Thank you. 
Denise

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Welcome to The Central Mass Bridge Association
Valentines Sectional February 1-2

CMBA was well represented at the joint sectional in Johnston, RI 2/1 & 2/2.  These are some of the people from CMBA who attended the event:

From Sunday

From Saturday

Last updated : Feb 6, 2025 07:53 CST
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(14th Feb 2025)
Players' Corner

Players' Corner is a new monthly feature spotlighting a CMBA player who tells what got them started playing the great game of bridge. In March, Rich Gram shares some of his educational (and amusing) experiences playing duplicate.


Bridge in Three Acts

In 1968 when I was a senior in high school, a friend from the neighborhood said that he was going to sign up for bridge lessons that were being offered in town at the local bridge club, and he asked me if I wanted to join him. His parents played bridge socially, so he had been around the game. He said, it is a game for smart people, and that was the hook I needed. Our teacher Elsie Mentuck was well-regarded in Boston area bridge circles. We signed up for lessons. The textbook was "Five Weeks to Winning Bridge" by Alfred Sheinwold, a book that still has an honored place on my shelf. Elsie operated the ACBL sanctioned bridge club in Swampscott, and Steven and I started playing there on Thursday nights. Everyone else in the room was an adult. Over the last few weeks of my senior year and into the summer, I won a grand total of 4.08 points. (Actually, I won a few more than that, but in early August I asked Elsie to stop sending them in so I could qualify for the Novice tournament in Boston scheduled for the Fall.)

 


Rich Gram

How I became a club legend. One night when my partner couldn't play, I showed up at the club alone, figuring that this was a chance to play with Elsie. Alas, another single player was hanging around hoping for a partner. He became my partner for the evening. Right away I observed that he was not very high functioning in life skills generally. He had a fold-out with all the bridge bids on it, and he consulted it before every bid. I observed that he really knew nothing, and I started to feel upset that I was about to waste a whole evening when I could have been home studying. "This is a joke." By Board 2 I was desperate. In a flash, I formed a plan. I would look at my hand, listen to the first couple of bids, and whenever I could, jump to a game that would make me declarer. When he opened a spade and I saw a chance for game I bid 3NT. When he bid NT, I went to game in hearts or spades. I could see that some people saw what I was doing, but they kept quiet rather than coach me on improving my bidding as they usually did. At one point my partner grumbled, why was I playing all the hands? I shrugged and said, yes, well that is just how the cards went.

By evening's end it turned out that we were top team over all. A man in his forties turned to me and asked, "Do you know who won?" I said in a cheery tone, "We did!" His eyes bugged out. He pointed at me. "You??? And him??? "Yes, and I owe it all to my partner." My partner smiled proudly. As I was leaving, Elsie, smiling, said she had been planning to refund my card fee. She said I had made it much harder for her to tell my one-night partner not to come back. When I told Steve my real partner the story, he was abashed. "You won't want to play with me anymore." I said that winning the way I did was a lot of fun, and I never want to do it again.

My spare time that summer was spent reading bridge books such as H.W. Kelsey's "Killing Defense at Bridge," and learning conventions such as Schenken 1 Club opener. Steve and I experimented with conventions, carding, and opening leads. As summer's end approached, I realized that I needed to make a decision. It was clear to me that bridge and college were not going to play nice together. We all know people who can do both, but I knew I was not one of them. I would wind up wasting my tuition money, giving almost all my attention to improving my bridge game. I could not allow this. Bridge is only a card game, right? And life has many more important things to do. Right? (The Novice tournament in Boston could wait.)

Fast forward to my thirties, working at Zayre Corp. in Framingham, nestled between the Mass Pike and the shores of Lake Cochituate. I was drawn to watching the lunch time bridge game that took place down the hall from my office. After watching several times and making comment along with coworkers, I was invited to sit in as a fourth. Then I became a regular. And then we played once a month after work, for money. A tenth of a cent a point, with a cap of five dollars and a floor of one dollar per player. My partner Eddie and I won most of these.

My favorite bridge hand of all time occurred in this game. Eddie and I played short club. I opened 1C not vul with 12 aceless points and two little clubs. It passed around, everything was offside, and I went down 7 for minus 350. My left hand opponent had about 18 points with no distribution, so she decided to wait to see what my partner and her partner would do. Eddie passed. My right hand opponent had the remaining points with club strength and no other suit to bid, so he decided to let it go. I'll bet none of you has ever gone down 7 in a one bid! It is not a fun experience during play. In the post mortem, it was hilarious.

The Seasons. In 2023 my wife and I moved to Holden, at the Seasons. The ladies at the Seasons hold a bridge game once a week in the club house, and I started playing in it. It is not really bridge however, since no one keeps score. It is more like, "bridge hands." But it did remind me which way play proceeds around the table. At the Seasons' Christmas party, Al Cooperman asked me about the clubhouse game and we talked about his experience playing duplicate. Something sparked in me, and I shared my story about abandoning the game upon graduating high school in 1968, with an interlude of rubber bridge at Zayre in the 1980's.

Al invited me to play with him in Holden at the end of December 2023. He said he would connect me with Al Berg, and that normally he doesn't play in Holden because he is above the maximum master points for our NLM game. Al C. and I played just before Christmas 2023. We scored around 40%, close to the bottom. No matter...the Spirit of Bridge had come over me. At long last, I thought, I might as well face it: I'm addicted to bridge.

I showed up in January to play in the Holden club. Al Berg connected me with a partner, and I played in Holden in 2024 until late October, when my teaching schedule as a WPI adjunct precluded playing on Mondays.

In response to an email I sent off to ACBL, a very sweet lady in the office found my 4.08 points from high school and added them to my new player number. It turns out that ACBL has paper files in a closet somewhere, and the paper has not started crumbling yet. I knew that my ability to rattle off “4.08” instead of "a few" would be persuasive. The brain is a wonderful mystery.

Teaching at WPI interferes with my bridge game, but at least now I have my priorities straight. Foolish arrogant youth that I was, I once quit playing because I thought I had more important things to do. Hah!

See you at the table!
Rich Gram

Last updated : Mar 5, 2025 15:38 CST
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Intro to Bridge Course

The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) and the Central Massachusetts Bridge Association (CMBA) are sponsoring a 10-week Intro to Bridge course in the Worcester area. Classes will be on Thursdays from 4-6 PM beginning on Thursday February 20, 2025, running through April 24 and will take place at the Worcester Country Club, 2 Rice Street, Worcester.

The course is tailored for new players and those looking for a refresh on the basics. Students will learn the mechanics of bridge, bidding and play, and they will play hands beginning in their very first class. Each class is designed with about 1/3 instruction and 2/3 interactive activities and play, reflecting ACBL’s "learn by doing" philosophy.

The $150 fee for the course includes a 120-day free guest membership to ACBL, which gives students access to a wealth of resources for the course.

Please read the course flyer which contains more information about the course including methods of payment; you can also email Mike Roman at mr@michaelromanphoto.com with any questions.

Last updated : Jan 24, 2025 12:29 CST
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Welcome

WELCOME to the Central Mass Bridge Association, or CMBA Web Site. CMBA is Unit 113 of the ACBL, American Contract Bridge League. Membership is open to all Central Massachusetts contract bridge players who enjoy this challenging, competitive and mind-stimulating card game.

The Greater Worcester area has several games every week at four locations. See below for upcoming games.  Click on the CLUBS in Unit 113 in the upper left hand corner for a list of all clubs with associated club information.

NEWCOMERS are always welcome at CMBA bridge games. Some clubs provide partners if a player arrives 15 minutes before the scheduled game time. To ensure that partner can be provided, please call the club contact, listed under "Clubs". 

DUPLICATE BRIDGE is similar to party or rubber bridge games. Most games are stratified which allows players of similar experience to compete with one another playing the same cards in each session.

 

Monday
Wachusett Bridge Club (NLM) 12:00 PM Holden Senior Center - 1130 Main Street, Holden
Wednesday
Gardner Bridge Club 12:30 PM Westminster Senior Center - 69 West Main Street, Westminster
Thursday
Grafton Bridge Club 9:00 AM Grafton Senior Center (Crafts Room 1st Floor) - 30 Providence Road, Grafton
Friday
Worcester Bridge Club 12:45 PM Auburn Senior Center
Last updated : Aug 1, 2022 08:11 CDT
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WEB SITE SUGGESTIONS

♠  ♣    If you have any suggestions or comments regarding the information on the CMBA Web Site, please contact Roland Galibert at roland.galibert@gmail.com ♠  ♣  

Updated 01/21/2024 by Roland Galibert

Last updated : Feb 14, 2024 13:45 CST
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Club Announcements
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Upcoming Regional and Nearby National Events

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Upcoming Unit Game

3/8/2025:

The next unit game will take place on Saturday, March 8, 2025 at 1 p.m. at the Auburn Senior Center, and will be a pairs game.

 

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(14th May 2024)
2025 Unit Game Schedule

 

Date Event Type Location
April 5 Open pairs Auburn
May 17 Open pairs Auburn
June 14 Open pairs Auburn
June 28 Swiss Holden
July 12 Open pairs Auburn
August 9 Open pairs Auburn
August 30 Swiss Holden
September 13 Open pairs Auburn
September 20 Pro Am Holden
October 4 Open pairs Auburn
October 18 Swiss Holden
November 8 Open pairs Auburn
December 6 Open pairs Auburn


Please note:

  • Games in Auburn (open pairs) will be at the Auburn Senior Center and will start at 1:00 p.m.
  • Games in Holden will be at the Holden Senior Center and will start at noon.
  • There is no unit game in February due to the joint sectional with Rhode Island (details forthcoming).

 

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2024 Mini McKenney and Ace of Clubs Winners

 

Category - Mini McKenney -
Most masterpoints in clubs
for last year
- Ace of Clubs -
Most pigmented masterpoints
in clubs for last year
0 - 5 Richard Gram Richard Gram
5 - 20 Matthew P. Vea Matthew P. Vea
20 - 50 Usha J. Upadhyay Usha J. Upadhyay
50 - 100 Paul G. Brodeur Paul G. Brodeur
100 - 200 Mark S. Killilea Mark S. Killilea
200 - 300 Bonnie Knapp Kathleen Foehli
300 - 500 David Boulay David Boulay
500 - 1000 Michael J. Roman Raymond H. Oglesby
1000 - 1500 Jeff Xiao Charles Rossi
1500 - 2500 Eric Xiao Bruce Tedford
2500 - 3500 Michelle T. Blanchard Alan R. Berg
3500 - 5000 Anand D. Lele Paul (Tony) A. Wolf II
5000 - 7500 Harris J. Jacob Harris J. Jacob


Congratulations to all our winners!!!!

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Congratulations to the Following Unit 113 Members for Achieving New ACBL MP Ranks! 

 

August 2024 Unit 113 Rank Achievements Report

 

NEW BRONZE LIFE MASTERS Joan Kuklinski Worcester MA US


 

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Unit Leaders in Virtual Masterpoints/Aces of Clubs

 

Category - Online - - Virtual Aces of Clubs -
0 - 5 Muni Ramakrishnan  
5 - 20 Bonnie Hirsh Bonnie Hirsh
20 - 50 Karen E. Kantor Karen E. Kantor
50 - 100 Gurcan Gulen  
100 - 200 Robert J. Ring Marybeth Loges
200 - 300 John Mims Bonnie Knapp
300 - 500 Steve T. Knox Ernie Peabody
500 - 1000 Robert J. Reid Michael J. Roman
1000 - 1500 Ronald Klein Emily Gardner
1500 - 2500 Richard W. Healy Susan Frayman
2500 - 3500 Inger Lise Kilcoyne Michelle T. Blanchard
3500 - 5000 Anand D. Lele Anand D. Lele
5000 - 7500 Bonnie Luks Bonnie Luks


Congratulations to all our winners!!!!

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