October 10th, 2011 ~ Judy Kay-Wolff ~ 8 Comments 
Over the years, between Norman and Bobby, I have been quite fortunate in my bridge travels to visit many countries all over the world. However, the closest I ever got to The Netherlands was through reading about wooden shoes, tulips and windmills in my grammar school textbooks. Tomorrow Bobby and I are leaving for the USA 1 SENIOR TRIALS scheduled for Veldhoven, Holland which begins Sunday. I believe Veldhoven is the central playing site while Eindhoven (a few kilometers away) will also house the many teams from around the world.
I must add the hosts and hostesses have been most gracious to accommodate their many foreign guests and have even arranged transportation when requested. Believe it or not, Las Vegas is not the easiest of sites from which to depart. We’re going via O’Hare and landing in Brussels – a shorter ride north than going through Amsterdam with a longer drive south. Soon, we’ll see how adept I am at map reading.
The WBF is renown not only for their super run events but also for their many festivities. Besides the Opening Banquet and Closing Awards Dinner, one special evening (a gala dinner) will be given by President and Mrs. Gianarrigo Rona on the 19th in Eindhoven.
We’re all packed and itchin’ to leave. Be sure to catch my blogs from Bobby’s exciting venue – as he calls it – the Geezer’s event!
September 30th, 2011 ~ Judy Kay-Wolff ~ 25 Comments
Today, we had an auction that proceeded: 1H by East followed by 2H by South (moi) — at which point my partner (North) said ALERT and added that’s 4 spades and 5 or 6 clubs (top and bottom) to which my LHO beamed “Thanks for being so very ethical as I understand cue bids are not alertable.” I’ve heard that before and I think it’s outrageous! It is normally played as Michaels (Major and either minor) but not in our case. To me there should be no question that the opponents are entitled to every bit as much information as the bidders. I wouldn’t dream of our partnership NOT ALERTING – RULES OR NO RULES. EVERYONE SHOULD BE ON EQUAL FOOTING!!!!!!!
September 23rd, 2011 ~ Judy Kay-Wolff ~ 13 Comments
And they say WOMEN are busybodies. I beg to disagree. For those of you who have been following the argumentative and heady discussions (and have access to the ITTC and USBF sites) about the form of U.S. Representation every fourth year (Teams or Pairs), they make women look less petty. Obviously, the pros and their wealthy counterparts, the sponsors, are all in favor of Teams for personal reasons of today’s format -– god forbid the pros should lose one lousy pay date. I remember well when this was discussed about seven or eight years ago, when Rodwell brazenly spoke up at a forum and said he didn’t believe in Pairs as you lose CAMARADERIE! That, my friends, is pure BS. It translates to good old fashioned money and payoffs which would disappear.
There are some expert pairs who cannot afford pro dates and want to form amateur pairs (no money exchanged) but the tide is very much against them. How, in America. can you allow money to rule the roost (the conditions of contest) and bar two very good (and getting better as they glean experience) players from playing together as a twosome rather than as a team if they think they have a better chance to qualify together. The rhetoric of the pros is nauseating – all about me, me, me – and anxious to get on with the vote and put this new proposal behind them, the sooner the better. Fortunately, many others have spoken up against the carnivores who run the zoo. Perhaps we can call their opponents, the herbivores, who graze on nature’s plants rather than other livestock.
Stay tuned. It will get worse before it ever gets better.
September 7th, 2011 ~ Judy Kay-Wolff ~ 8 Comments
Bonnie is the new Board Representative for District 17 and in the current Scorecard 17 featured a front page article called “Bon’s Mots”. It saluted one person each from the PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE. I delighted in her telling the past sixteen month battle to have Peter Pender’s endowment resurrected along with the Pendergraph. According to Bonnie:
“Although Peter Pender, San Francisco, was not a D17 player, he was a Western Conference member and dear friend of many of our D17 members. Peter was brought to my attention by Bobby and Judy Kay-Wolff. He was a multi-faceted, brilliant man who became Life Master #1795 at the age of 22. He won the 1966 McKenney trophy (now the Barry Crane Top 500) and tallied 13 NABC WINS; five in the Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams (1968, 1970, 1981, 1985 and 1986); two in the Life Master’s Men’s Pairs (1967 and 1984); four in the Grand National Teams (1982, 1983, 1985 and 1987) and two in the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams (1984 and 1987).. He was a member of the victorious U. S. Squad in the 1985 NEC Bermuda Bowl in San Paulo, Brazil, and second in the 1989 Bermuda Bowl in Perth, Australia.”
“Peter died in 1990 at the too young age of 54. He left the ACBL a substantial bequest for vugraphs at NABCs, to be known as the PenderGraph; these continued for several years but nothing was done with the fund after 1998. Thanks to the diligence of the Wolffs, and with the help of CEO Jay Baum, a motion was passed at the ACBL board meeting in Toronto that the vugraph room at future NABCs be named and advertised as the ‘”Peter Pender Memorial Vugraph Theatre.” A request was submitted to the Educational Foundation (and approved) for the remaining monies from Peter’s request to be used to purchase two large screen monitors that can be rolled into high traffic areas at NABCs for players in a more relaxed atmosphere. Both of the rolling monitor cases will have brass plates attached that read “Provided by a bequest from Hall of Fame member Peter Pender.” These were very well received in Toronto.”
"For more information about this fascinating man go to www.ACBL.org and do a search for Peter Pender.”
WELL DONE, BONNIE! All of Peter’s friends are appreciative of your help, support and intervention.
August 25th, 2011 ~ Judy Kay-Wolff ~ 6 Comments
I was personally thrilled and ecstatic to receive the following message from my District 17 Board Member, Bonnie Bagley:
The National Goodwill Committee of the ACBL is now accepting nominations for the 2012 Goodwill Member of the Year. We bestow this annual honor upon an ACBL member who has continually exhibited unselfish dedication to the causes of good conduct, ethical behavior and who has made bridge contributions above and beyond the call of duty.
We invite you to nominate an outstanding fellow ACBL member from your bridge community who qualifies for this honor by submitting your candidate’s detailed qualifications, in writing no later than October 14, 2011 for the upcoming presentation. District & Unit Boards may submit nominations only; we are unable to accept nominations from an individual.
We have changed the format from past years. Because of the late Norman Kay’s wishes to honor the winner in a manner befitting someone worthy of this honor, a Fund was created to reward the recipient by presenting to him or her complimentary air transportation (if appropriate), two night’s lodging, three day’s per diem food allowance and free bridge entries for one day.
Norman Kay’s intent was that our winner will reign as Bridge Queen or King for a day and not have the dubious vicarious thrill of enjoying the presentation over the telephone! What could be more exciting than to have the Goodwill Member of the ACBL on hand at the Goodwill Reception . . . before a cheering crowd of fans and well-wishers!
When our Committee has made their selection, the District or Unit President will be notified of the successful nomination and we will work out the details of arranging the victor’s trip. The ideal situation is to keep it a secret, but in most cases the honoree is not a regular participant at the Nationals so it would be rather difficult. We will cross that bridge later!!!
It is now time to start thinking about your candidate . . . or if you have nominated someone in the past that has not been chosen Goodwill Member of the Year, whom you feel is of the honor . . . feel free to re-submit or revise your letter. Nominations should be mailed to ACBL, Chairman, Goodwill Committee, 6575 Windchase Blvd, Horn Lake, MS 38637.
In addition to the above recognition, the prestigious Platinum Pairs was also named for Norman in 2011. Now the respected and revered partnership of Kaplan-Kay will both be honored by the ACBL and their fans via the Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs and now the Norman Kay Platinum Pairs. They both served our game with honor, talent and dignity.
August 20th, 2011 ~ Judy Kay-Wolff ~ 8 Comments
Hundreds of you have received a scamming erroneous email that Bobby is stranded in Scotland with his luggage and papers stolen and has asked you to send money to his hotel (with all details). IT IS STRICTLY A MATTER OF A HOAX (IDENTITY THEFT) which we have reported. We apologize for the annoyance but appreciate your concern and are embarrassed at the thought of such a lie. However, we appreciate all of your messages and kind offers, but we are fine, alive and happily (though chagrined) living in Vegas with business as usual. If you were among those hundreds contacted, we apologize but it is comforting that so many people did check the outrageous message out with us.
Warmly,
Bobby and Judy Wolff
August 17th, 2011 ~ Judy Kay-Wolff ~ 21 Comments
As a child, I seem to remember an old adage … The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins. To me that is reminiscent of Zero Tolerance. In my eyes, ZT is when one oversteps his bounds via cheating, nasty conversation, gloating, rude behavior, talking to your partner about the opponents bidding or play as if the opponents were not at the table and lastly to volunteer information UNSOLICITED! Every facet of ACBL (FROM CLUBS TO NATIONALS AND TRIALS) SHOULD BE FORCED TO ABIDE BY THIS PRINCIPLE.
I had an incident which I considered ZT that happened at the club two weeks ago and we got a good result as vulnerable I didn’t open 2S with a J109XXX six bagger with QXX of hearts and an outside card. You could not put a gun to my head (V. v NV) for me to open a two bagger with the suit consistency. That is just not my style and I am entitled to use judgment.
The SOB on my left as soon as dummy came down (realizing we were getting a good result) turned to Bobby (OBVIOUSLY TRYING TO MAKE ME LOOK BAD) and said “wouldn’t YOU open 2S with that hand?” and the answer is YES — NV) What the hell is it his business anyway? That to me is ZT and directors should announce to ghouls like this creep that he should keep his mouth shut when NOT SPOKEN TO)!!!
ZT should apply to ALL LEVELS OF BRIDGE ‘cause ZT is gonna catch up with you eventually so you might as well back down now at the club level and do the right thing.
Is the ACBL Zero Tolerance working effectively? Please take a few moments to provide your feedback to Paul Cronin, one of the Zero Tolerance policy’s co-founders, by taking his thought provoking poll at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XGSQM3Z
August 15th, 2011 ~ Judy Kay-Wolff ~ 4 Comments
For six years, we have been hearing Laughlin, Laughlin, Laughlin. We may be the only LV bridge players not to have participated in the tournament so we were lured when we were invited to play by Linda and Robb Gordon of Sedona. It was a lovely, easy motor trip of about two hours and we arrived at the Riverside Hotel right on the Colorado River early afternoon on Thursday. They were having their traditional Regatta and the hotels were sold out early. What fun to watch the hundreds of boaters from the playing room’s large glass windows. It is quite a popular activity.
With my bad back (although I am far from crippled) I had to rent a scooter to negotiate all the traveling back and forth to the playing site and of course the Blackjack Tables. The hired help were very gracious. Anytime you were lost (quite frequently for me) because of the different towers, when you asked an attendant, they personally escorted you to your destination. The rooms were positively lovely and the food excellent and very moderately priced, considering the good quality and taste of the food. We dined at the Prime Rib twice and I guarantee you the cost would have been three times as much at a local LV fine dining site. Lastly, the directing staff was most accommodating!
The bridge was fun after we bombed out the first session (having to ante up a 20 imp handicap — ridiculous), but we won two events and came in second losiing by a large margin to the Boot Team (Rose Boot, Freddy No Trump, John Jeffrey and Sam Wilson) in the final event, The Swiss Teams. By the last round, although we led after the first several matches, we could not catch them as they had an incredible score but happily settled for second and garnered some of those nice masterpoints for the three day adventure. A good time was had by all.
August 8th, 2011 ~ Judy Kay-Wolff ~ 8 Comments
No doubt we all take life for granted. Bridge players, especially as we grow older, with less to occupy our time, spend more days at the local clubs and tournaments. Here is a real life story of a productive woman bridge player with a normal life who found herself in the throes of the worst nightmare one could have thrust upon one’s self.
These blogs are usually controversial and serious — but this one is heart wrenching. I am going to condense the eight email pages accounting to a brief sketch of the ordeal of a perfectly wonderful woman who never stopped fighting, despite the gloomy outlook.
It all started in January of 2010, when Barbara Vasilevsky, a married woman with two college aged kids, who worked for the State of Nevada Department of Welfare and Supportive Services as a Family Service Specialist, started to experience breathing problems. She was immediately advised to go to the Emergency Ward of Summerlin Hospital. She woke up two weeks later in the Waiting Room awaiting transportation to Health South Tenaya where she remained for ten months. It was touch and go because her lungs had filled with water, followed by an emergency tracheotomy, the use of a ventilator, and being non-communicative. She could not speak but wrote on a white board to express herself.
Ten months later she had several blood transfusions, chest x-rays, ultrasounds, blood tests, etc. You name it — she had it. In October Barbara was transferred to a skilled nursing facility and the respiratory specialists started aggressively pressing for progress. She was still on a ventilator but had graduated to breathing on her own assisted by continuous oxygen. At the one year anniversary, she began to read again, progressed to word puzzles because she was finally interested in doing so. Bridge and "normal" friends also came to visit her throughout the duration of her confinement, which was uplifting. In May, 2011 (about 17 months after the onset of this trauma), she was scheduled to be released but then suffered another bout with pneumonia. In the meantime she was undergoing physical therapy and was re-learning to walk with the help of physical and occupational therapists.
She was finally discharged on June 18th, 2011, having spent 17 months and 7 days in medical facilities. There is much more to the story, but enough of the suffering. Now to the good part!
I was only an occasional acquaintance of Barbara’s when Bobby and I played on Tuesdays and Fridays. Of course, all knew what had happened, and frankly, the mood was sullen and most everyone had given up hope that she would ever get out of the hospitals and medical facilities. — EVERYONE BUT BARBARA. You could have knocked me over with a feather when last month I noted an attractive, healthy looking facsimile of the Barbara Vasilevsky I once knew in a wheel chair playing North-South. (She even tried East-West the other day in her unyielding pursuit to recapture the Barbara of old.) It seems just about every time she played this month when the scores were tallied, she had topped the field. I started to tease her, she should give us a handicap now that she is back and at her best!
What an admirable reversal of fortune – but it was no accident. Barbara MADE IT HAPPEN!
Let me conclude with several remarks Barbara made which I’d like to quote ….
Less than two months after my discharge, I am now off the oxygen during the day, playing 6 days a week, and appreciating life to the fullest.
All my home visits by the nurses and therapists have ceased, although I am continuing the routines.
I am grateful for my bridge friends, especially those who visited me regularly and those who made an effort to cheer me up and now have become fast friends.
I still believe that I was the only one who believed that I would get out of the facility and make a life again. Bridge reflects life in so many aspects and I believe that without those experiences at the bridge table I may have been defeated, but I overcame the experience. My husband believes that it had to do with our children also — that I want to see how their lives develop, and how their approach to life will allow them to work up to their own potential.
In conclusion, the actual diagnoses of my 17 month ordeal was sepsis, an infection of the blood, which caused respiratory failure. (Amazing).
People tend to say that I experienced a miracle, but I would like to think it was an ordeal which has made me realize and re-evaluate all the good and bad that life has to offer.
It is an unusual individual like Barbara Vasilevsky who makes you realize, you NEVER give up — either at the bridge table or in real life! WELCOME BACK!
August 1st, 2011 ~ Judy Kay-Wolff ~ 2 Comments
I thought this explanation was very well presented and wanted to share it with all as it is such a touchy subject and can become volatile:
Table Tips: Bidding in Tempo
 An issue at the table that can cause confusion and unpleasantness between opponents is "tempo." Players know that they should play in tempo–that is, that they should bid at the same, even pace each time (unless they have been halted by a Stop card). They also know, however, that bridge is a thinking game and some hands need time to figure out what to do. They want to know why some people call for the director every time a player hesitates over a bid.
Have you ever wondered: Can I take extra time to bid? When does slow bidding become a problem? What is the right way to play in tempo? Here’s the short answer:
· It is ok to think and then pass.
· It is not always ok, however, for your partner to bid on after you take an unusual amount of time to pass.
When your partner takes extra time to pass, it is your responsibility to do the right thing. When you have a borderline hand, the right thing is to also pass. If your partner thinks a lot before passing, it suggests that he or she has something going–extra values or unusual shape or something else. You can’t take advantage of that information and must pass unless bidding on is absolutely 100% obvious. Taking advantage of partner’s slow pass would be unfair and will likely result in a director call from your opponents.
The great Larry Cohen summarizes the situation best: "It is simply UNETHICAL to take advantage of your partner’s tempo."
If you think that you have been the victim of a break in tempo, you are entitled to call the director. Do be gentle with new players, however, who might not yet understand this complicated issue and kindly call for the director.
Readers who are interested in reading more about tempo can link to www.larryco.com.
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