25-07 Newsletter
Monthly Newsletter
Please see below our latest Newsletter for July 2025.
If you have any comments, negative or positive, helpful hints, things you would like to see in the Newsletter, please send an email to news@northshorebridgeclub.com.au
In This Issue
As has been previously advised, from the 26th June, the morning session for SUPERVISED and ROOKIE / RESTRICTED players will start at 9:45 AM - no longer 10 AM.
With a large number of players arriving for the afternoon session on Thursdays, the parking situation has become very difficult. We are hoping that the 15 minute earlier start for the morning session will make matters a lot easier.
New Sponsor - Peter Pan Plumbing
Thanks to Peter Trittis from Peter Pan Plumbing who has kindly sponsored a Face to Face Congress. Peter has 10 years plumbing experience and recently started out on his own. He comes highly recommended as a "neat, reliable and efficient" tradesman by Jo Ampherlaw. So if you are in need of a plumber - please support our Sponsor Peter Pan Plumbing - his mobile is 0403 404 307
Well, winter has well and truly arrived – but things at NSBC are hotting up!
What a fabulous North Shore Bridge Festival we've just had! With record numbers and hundreds of mouths fed, we can proudly call it a huge success. There's an enormous amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to make events like this run smoothly, and we're incredibly lucky to have such a fantastic team. A massive shout-out to Mike and his crew – job well done!
And of course, thank you to you, our wonderful members. Your support, early entries, and enthusiasm made all the difference – we truly believe the early excitement helped fill those seats. So, let's do it again!
Save the date:
Peter Pan Plumbing Open Swiss Pairs – Saturday 31st August
Find your partner, get your entries in early, and let's aim for another sell-out event!
Club Business
- Face-to-face bridge continues to grow – great to see so many of you at the tables!
- Online bridge is still gently declining. Nothing alarming, but if you love it, spread the word. Invite your friends! It's a brilliant way to stay connected – I personally love playing online with my Mum and sister in Perth. ❤️
Education & Online Lessons
Will's two-hour Online Lessons have been a real hit. He's a brilliant educator – clear, engaging, and he enhances it with clever tech so you can practice the hands later, either solo or with your pals.
To support this, we've also launched the brand new NSBC Education Hub – a one-stop space for all your lesson recordings, notes, and practice links. Easy to use, easy to find. If you haven't checked it out yet… what are you waiting for?
East Lindfield Makeover Update
The new tablecloths are out and looking fab! Jo and I gave the kitchen wall a fresh coat of paint, tidied up cables, and gave the old noticeboard a good revamp – it's looking so much cleaner and more welcoming already.
The new cupboards will be installed mid-July, and we'd love your help keeping the space tidy.
Things you can do to help:
- Tidy your table after play
- Push in your chairs
- Dispose of cups
- Return cushions
- Put back any pens you borrow
Little things, BIG DIFFERENCE!
Stay warm, stay connected, and as always – thanks for being part of such a brilliant bridge community.
Leo Goorevich
A long time member of our club, a long-time and successful player of Bridge and a very willing contributor in helping our club grow and adopt a professional approach to our conversations and communication, managing our website
I was born in Tientsin, China, to Ukrainian parents and came to Australia when I was 9 years old. Attended various schools but my final 5 years of schooling was at North Sydney Boys High, a selective High School.
From high school I went to Sydney University majoring in Physics. Started post-graduate studies in the Cosmic Ray Department and eventually focused on the computing side of things, writing some programs to analyse collected data. Submitted my PhD thesis in 1969 and then found myself unemployed.
It was while I was at University as an undergraduate that I started playing card games of various types, from Poker to 500 Hundred, Solo. Bored with those games we heard about Bridge, read some books and played at each others house, playing Rubber Bridge. One friend and I thought we were too good for the in-house type competition and went to Sydney Bridge Club to play Duplicate Bridge. Of course when we initially started we were thrashed but over time we developed as players.
I could have stayed in the University environment all my life doing some really interesting stuff. I was at Sydney University where they had the SILLIAC computer machine - it wasn't the biggest, that was at CSIRO, but it was the best (it was a huge machine based on the Illinois Automatic Computer weighing some 5 tons, and the blueprints for the machine were supplied by the University of Illinois.
I then worked for 5 years in SUGAR (Sydney University Giant Air-Shower Recorder) which measured the muon component of extensive air showers with a unique array of muon detectors. On leaving that job I joined a friends company - International Programming, where I started out in technical support but became Manager and then Director until that business folded. I then set up my own business which went reasonably well, but that all stopped when the tech boom became a bust. I returned to Sydney University in 1998 as the University's Y2K Project Manager, then Team Manager in software development for student administration system from 2000 to 2011 when I retired. In retirement I have kept busy doing volunteer work with such organisations as Meals on Wheels, Ozharvest, assisting at the Australian and Powerhouse museums and tutoring migrants in English and of course after school pickups.
Of course I continued to play Bridge all through this time and have done well and enjoy playing the game. I think there are several attributes which aid in play - memory is certainly important - remembering and counting the cards that have been played. I enjoy the problem solving that arises so often - seeing what the problem is and working it out based on information received, applying the laws of chance, probability and using that information, you can frequently work out and solve the problem. Of course having a compatible partnership is really important as is having fun.
We have a terrific club which is really trying to develop momentum of more players and engagement of our existing members. I've been helping with the website for some years now. When Mike Prescott took over from John McIlrath I offered to look after the site and have been doing so since then. We went on the journey from using an old version of software and introduced new software. These days I don't have to spend so much time on the site as Shaz is very computer literate. I tend spend my time these days writing articles for Championships and Congresses and hunting through our data for photographs.
Of course I was really honoured to have the Intermediate Club Championship named after me. This championship gives our intermediate players the chance to compete, earn Club Intermediate Championship points, and vie for the title.
Thanks for your time Leo, it's been great talking to you, hearing about your life and contribution to the Club, Bridge and your enjoyment of the game.
And so it Begins and Ends in the Month of June - NSBC's Festival of Bridge
7 fantastic events completed in the one Month
The first Event was the Two Men and a Truck Teams Event for Intermediate and Restricted Teams. The second Event was the Two Men and a Truck Pairs Event for Intermediate, Restricted and Novice entrants. A big thank you to Two Men and a Truck who have been sponsoring NSBC for many years.
The Sponsors of our Events were:
Two Men and a Truck
Removalists for the Eastern Seaboard
Fixed Income Solutions
Financial Services
Watermark Residences
Retirement Living
TBIB
More Than Just An Insurance Policy
Major Event Results:
Two Men and a Truck Intermediate Teams Event
1st: Team Payne - Anthony Smuts, Susan Feeney, Merle Payne, Peter Fitzmaurice
2nd: Team Carter - Lidy Seysener, Susan Jensen, Sandy Carter, Nerida Gillies
Two Men and a Truck Restricted Teams Event
1st: Team Mansfield - Peter Koorey, Janak Shah, Margaret Mahony, Julie Mansfield
Two Men and a Truck Rookie Teams Event
1st: Team Lakotas - Jeffrey Ware, David Brazier, Mark Lakota, Peter Brook
Two Men and a Truck Pairs Event
1st Overall: David Boyle, Tien Chey (Fantastic win as both were actually in the Restricted area but won overall!)
1st Intermediate & 2nd Overall: Sandy Carter and Nerida Gillies
2nd Intermediate & 3rd Overall: Stephen Sharp and Janet Crocker
First in Restricted: Jo Ampherlaw and Terry Dunne
Second in Restricted: Lidy Seysener and Susan Jensen
Winners of Rookie: Judith Dutton and Jenny Clarke
Fixed Income Solutions Swiss Pairs
Open Division Winners: Nick Hughes / Nicoleta Giura
Intermediate Division: Tie for first place - Dell Macneil / Adrian Beaumont tied with Felix Shteyman / David Craig
Restricted Division: Sharon Thompson / Terry Dunne
Rookie Section: Rosemary Christie / Anne Maree Gleeson
Watermark Residences Swiss Pairs
Open Section 1st: Nick Fahrer and Michael Cartmell
Open Section 2nd: Michael Prescott and Tony Burke
Open Section 3rd: Tina Strickland and Carolyn Roxburgh
Intermediate Section 1st: Kevin Murray and Lydia Gibbs
Intermediate Section 2nd: Susan Feeney and Merle Payne
Intermediate Section 3rd: Sandy Carter and Nerida Gillies
Restricted Section 1st: Jo Ampherlaw and Terry Dunne
Restricted Section 2nd: Peter Trebeck and Denzil Seldon
Rookie Section 1st: Tim Jackson and Ramarathinam Krishnamachari
Rookie Section 2nd: Amanda Lee and Jenny Clarke
TBIB Swiss Teams
Open Section 1st: Team Clifford - Patrick Jiang, Peter Jeffery, Colin Clifford and Hui Li
Open Section 2nd: Team Kaplan - Nigel Rosendorff, Elliott Kaplan, Lorna Ichilcik and George Fleischer
Open Section 3rd: Team NSW Open - Tomer Libman, Yumin Li, Yixiang Zhang and Lavy Libman
Intermediate Section 1st: Team Carter - Nerida Gillies, Sandy Carter, Sachiko Cathcart and Annegrete Kolding
Thursday Nights, 24th July, 31st July & 7th August 2025 7:00 pm each night
NSBC Thursday Nights | Pairs | Online | Red Masterpoints
Click here to enter via MyABF
Sunday, 27th July 2025 10:00 am
NSBC Thursday Nights | Teams | Online | Red Masterpoints
Click here to enter via MyABF
Thursday Nights, 21st August 28th August, 4th September, 11th September, 18th September at 7:00 pm
NSBC Thursday Nights | Teams | Online | Red Masterpoints
Click here to enter via MyABF
Saturday, 31st August 10:00 am
Saturday - All Day | Pairs | F2F | Red Masterpoints
Click here to enter via MyABF
Saturday, 31st August 10:00 am
Saturday - All Day | Pairs | F2F | Red Masterpoints
Click here to enter via MyABF
Tuesday, 1 July 10:00 – 12:00
Five Essential Conventions series with Liz Wilkinson, Visitors Welcome, No partner required, No booking required - just show up.
This Week - Find your 4-4 fit in a major - Stayman
Thursday 10th July 0930 - 1130
Planning the Play in No Trumps - Part 1
Enter Here
Friday, July 4, 2025, 10:00 AM
When to Defend Actively, And When to Be Passive. The Forcing Defence, and How To Use it. Recognising From The Auction and the Dummy What to Be Trying.
Enter Here
Tuesday, 8 July 10:00 – 12:00
This Week - Let the strong hand play - Transfers
Thursday 17th July 0930 - 1130
Better Bidding in Minors
Enter Here
Tuesday, 22 July 10:00 – 12:00
This Week - Should we bid to a slam, partner? - Blackwood
Thursday 24th July 0930 - 1130
Playing in 4-3 and 5-2 splits
Enter Here
Tuesday, 29 July 10:00 – 12:00
This Week - Let's make life hard for our opponents - Pre-empts
Thursday 31st July 0930 - 1130
Simple Stayman Improved
Enter here
Friday, August 8, 2025, 10:00 AM
Showing the Shape of Your Hand. Making the Most of Very Shapely Hands. Staying Out of Trouble on Misfitting Hands. Correctly Valuing Your hand, based on Shape, not points.
Enter Here
My tip for the week for newer players. Sometimes you feel that you don't know enough conventions to play in a game. As long as you and your partner agree on what you are playing it doesn't matter if you don't know all the conventions that other people play. Once the bidding is over you can always ask for a review of the auction and the opponents are required to let you know what their bids mean.
Hand 1: On this hand, some South pairs opened 5 Diamonds. I really don't like that opening. I prefer 1 Diamond or 6 Diamonds. If you bid 1 Diamond you are dependent on your partner responding. In this case partner should respond 2H's, and then work your way to 6D's.
However as you don't have the majors I prefer to take a punt and bid 6 Diamonds.
What a great hand!
Hand 2: On this hand North opens 1 Diamond. East has 11 HCP but not great shape for a takeout double, so they pass. South also passes. Now it is up to West to bid something sensible! In the pass-out seat West should bid 1NT - this is not saying you have 15-18 HCP it is saying 11-14 HCP (it is called the balancing 1NT) only to be used in the pass out seat and with a diamond stopper.
Now East with 11 HCP can invite partner to game. You know where all the points are so it does make it much easier for you. It is completely ok to pass. But I like to have a go. I am not going to die wondering!
How to Pay, Register & Save at NSBC
At North Shore Bridge Club (NSBC), we're committed to making your bridge experience seamless—from registration to rewards. Here's how you can manage your payments, enter special events, and make the most of your membership.
💳 Member Payments Made Easy with Pre-Pay (PP)
Members can take advantage of our internal Pre-Pay (PP) system, a convenient way to pay for weekly sessions and membership fees without fumbling for cash. You can even use your PP balance to pay for a guest—just let the director on the day know.
🌐 Entering Special Events? Use MyABF
For special events like club championships, competitions, and congresses, we use the Australian Bridge Federation's MyABF portal. This platform makes our events more visible, particularly to visitors, and simplifies the process of entry and payment.
💰 Member Discounts on Championship Events
When registering for club championship events via MyABF, members should:
- Select "Club PP System" at checkout
- Your discounted payment will automatically be deducted from your PP balance instead of MyABF credits (at visitor rates)
$ Club Championship Fees:
- Members: $17 per session (most events)
- Visitors: $22 per session
- Premier or sponsored events may incur slightly higher fees, but the $5 member per session discount still applies.
🔧 How do I Set Up MyABF (It's Quick!)
- Go to Sign Up and enter your ABF name and number
- Choose a password and verify your account
- Log in at Your Dashboard and set up your payment details
You can also enable auto top-up—I've set mine to add $50 when a top-up is needed
🏆 Prizes—We've Got You Covered Too!
If you're a visitor and win prize money at NSBC, your winnings will be credited directly to your MyABF account, ready to use toward your next MyABF event. If you are a member your prize money will be added to your PP account.
The answer for last months Bridge Puzzle was pretty simple as there were actually 3 cards which could be led by South which would result in East winning 13 Tricks.
The three cards were the singleton Diamond and either of the Spades.
Lead Singleton Diamond: Trick taken in West with King, Lead the Ace of Spades and then the Queen of Spades then pass to East with a low Diamond to the Ace and then lead another Spade to take out Norths remaining Trump. East then leads 9D to Wests Diamonds and overtaken by the 10D and plays remaining Diamonds while East discards its remaining losers and then reverts to Remaining Spades and winning Clubs - the result is East winning 13 Trick.
Lead Spade: Trick taken in West by the Ace, then play the Queen of Spades and follow with the King of Diamonds followed by a low Diamond to Easts Ace. Another lead of Spades then back to Wests Diamonds leading the 9D to be overtaken by the 10D and follow through as above - the result is East winning 13 tricks.
In this Months Puzzle you are asked to solve the following:
Bidding has resolved at 6 Hearts, after the following sequence:
| South | West | North | East |
| 2NT | Pass | 3 Clubs | Pass |
| 3 Hearts | Pass | 5 Hearts | Pass |
| 6 Hearts |
and the lead is the Jack Of Spades
Please identify the sequence of play to achieve 6 Hearts
Hint: You need to guard against a 4/0 Heart split (the 4/0 split does not indicate which hand holds 4 Hearts)
Send answers to news@northshorebridgeclub.com.au
Puzzle courtesy of Bridge Brain Busters
Congratulations to the following players who were the overall Monthly Winners for their session.
| Session | Winners |
|---|---|
| East Lindfield Monday 10.00 AM Rookie | HAITAO CHEN / LOIS HAMLIN LEWIS |
| East Lindfield Monday 1.00 PM Open | KATHRYN STEWART / IAN LINCOLN |
| East Lindfield Monday 7.00 PM Rookie | PETER TAYLOR / ANNE TAYLOR |
| East Lindfield Tuesday 1.30 PM Rookie | BERNIE EGAN / CHRIS GASKELL |
| East Lindfield Wednesday 10.00 AM Open | JOYCE NG / NICK FAHRER |
| East Lindfield Thursday 09:45 AM Rookie | SUE CARR / TONY CARR |
| East Lindfield Thursday 09:45 AM Supervised | GEOFF JAMIESON / NADIA LORENZUTTA |
| East Lindfield Thursday 1.00 PM Open | MALCOLM CLIFT / KATHY CLIFT |
| East Lindfield Saturday 1.00 PM Open | MARIKA LORSCHY / PETER LORSCHY |
| The Willis Monday 1.30 PM Rookie | CARMEL BEVAN / SALLY PIXLEY |
| The Willis Tuesday 12.30 PM Open | FRANCES GARRICK / BRUCE DAGLISH |
| The Willis Wednesday 12.30 PM Open | JULIE MANSFIELD / IAN PLUMMER |
| The Willis Wednesday 09:30 AM Supervised | KIM WILLIAMS / SARAH GORDON |
| Online Mon 10.00 am Open | MARILYN GRASS / BARBARA MADELEY |
| Online Mon 1.30 pm Open | GARY LANE / LEO GOOREVICH |
| Online Mon 2.00 pm Rookie | ANNE LANCASTER / DEBBIE IRWIN |
| Online Tue 1.30 pm Open | GISELLE MUNDELL / RENA KAPLAN |
| Online Tue 2.00 pm Rookie | RUTH HARRISSON / JENNY GODFREY |
| Online Tue 7.00 pm Restricted | BRICET KLOREN / CRAIG BECCONSALL |
| Online Wed 1.30 pm Open | PHIL GUE / TONY BURKE |
| Online Wed 2.00 pm Rookie | NONI GLEW / JUDY CHAPPLE |
| Online Wed 7.00 pm Open | STUART SCHON / JOHN GUREWITZ |
| Online Thu 1.30 pm Open | GARY LANE / ED TRUSCOTT |
| Online Thu 1.30 pm Restricted | RENE HALL / BILL SARDANA |
| Online Fri 1.30 pm Open | HELEN MILWARD / LES GREWCOCK |
| Online Sat 1.30 pm Open | PHIL GUE / TONY BURKE |
Congratulations to the following members on their promotions.
Phillip Cunich to Graduate Master
Rita Pachauri to Graduate Master
Marjolein Forrest to Graduate Master
Jill Robertson to Graduate Master
Sarah Hunter to Graduate Master
Sue Carr to Club Master
Malcolm Yates to Club Master
Judith Dutton to Club Master
Tony Carr to Club Master
Sally Pixley to Local Master
Judi Raymond to Local Master
Philip Raymond to Local Master
Angela Curtis to Local Master
Judi Swift to Local Master
Craig Pudig to Local Master
Brian Hunter to Bronze Local Master
Penny Boyd to Bronze Local Master
Crystal D'souza to Bronze Local Master
Marina Clark to Silver Local Master
David Osmond to Silver Local Master
Bill Sardana to Silver Local Master
Sue Pickles to Silver Local Master
Susan Holgate to Silver Local Master
Pam Koroknay to Regional Master
Virginia Cohen to Bronze Regional Master
David Boyle to State Master
Gail Strong to Bronze State Master
Marsha Geikie to Bronze State Master
Felix Shteyman to Silver National Master
Trish Berry to Life Master
Catherine Else to Life Master
David Burton to Bronze Life Master
Paul Brake to Gold Life Master
Margaret Pussell to Grand Master
Mark Guthrie to Grand Master
A warm welcome to our new members this month.
Lynn Bain - Launceston
Pim Birss - South Perth
Rose Cassidy - McMahons Point
Pauline Caust - Point Frederick
Ewen Crouch - Northbridge
Martin Curtis - Mosman
John Farrar - Sydney
Andrew Gillespie - Mosman
Fiona Gilroy - Killara
Sharlene Gnesin - Bellevue Hill
Christine Hackett - Beecroft
Yen Heng - Sydney
Dorothy Lee - Castle Cove
Donna Lennox - Annandale
Isabella Lewis - St Ives
Jeff Lewis - St Ives
Victoria Lewis - Bellevue Hill
Shelagh Nutting - St Ives
Debra Player - Castlecrag
Jeffrey Reinhardt - Castle Cove
Renate Seifert - Gladsville
Sharen Shaw - Willoughby
Lois Skinner - Frenchs Forest
Jenny Squire - Seaforth
Annette Udall - Cowra
Catherine Walton - Unknown
Catherine Yetts - Newport
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