February 28, 2014
The rains finally came to the South Bay the last week in February, but 32 young bridge players, ranging in age from 9 to 18, braved the weather to enjoy an afternoon of challenging competition and good food at the monthly Silicon Valley Youth (SiVY) Bridge party. Players represented 14 local schools and included some experienced duplicate bridge players, many who are just learning to bid at SiVY programs, and a few who just started lessons in January. Four tables played a duplicate bridge game, three tables played mini-bridge, and one table of enthusiastic participants played "just for fun."
The eight pairs in the Contract Bridge section practiced skills in bidding as well as play. Winners North-South were 8th grader Kevin Huang and 5th grader Michael Hu. Winners East-West were 4th grader Rory Xiao, one of the youngest players, and 11th grader Kevin Rosenberg, one of the oldest. Rory mentioned that he practices bidding online with his dad. Apparently the practice paid off!
For the six pairs in the Mini-Bridge section, bidding was not required. Winners North-South were 6th grader Ben Erickson and 7th grader Kevin Cox, who just started bridge classes in January. Ben and Kevin had a near-record score of 83%. First East-West were 6th grader Quan Nguyen and 4th grader Adrian Heath, already a duplicate player at age nine.
Experience in SiVY events and at school lessons and in local duplicates is paying off for these players in sometimes unforeseen ways. Some made remarks suggesting they were beginning to count all the suits when playing the hand. Many are now able to operate the duplicate scoring devices without help. Most important, all the tables were able to finish all nine hands in plenty of time to eat the yummy cake before their parents arrived to collect them!
The SiVY monthly events are held to provide kids from our after school classes a chance to meet aspiring players from other schools. They are also a great way for kids who have learned from adult family to play bridge with other young people.
Game Results
Our bridge games are American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) sanctioned awarding masterpoints (MP) to high scorers. ACBL membership is not required for our games but is strongly suggested. You can join online or at the Bridge Center on the night of an event. Adult membership is $28 for the first year and junior membership only $15 per year. Both include a monthly print magazine and registration of masterpoints (start earning towards becoming a Life Master!).