Peninsula players rated highly in the newly published NSW most improved players list with 6 making the top 50.
Congratulations to Peter Clarke, Hans Van Weeren, Heidi Colenbrander, Ray Hurst, Annegrete Kolding and Colin Dempster who have all had an outstanding year of bridge in 2017.
When questioned about the reasons for their improvement here's what they had to say...
Ray attributed his success to the Peninsula Education team, in particular Cath Whiddon and Jo Jarvis. Heidi says the key to her success is her truly awesome partners. Colin says Bridge is just an enjoyable game and what success I have is because I have pleasant partners to play with whilst both being somewhat competitive but neither seriously worry about each other’s mistakes and joke to each other about them. Annegrete says her improvement is thanks to the Peninsula Bridge Club, her teachers - Cath Whiddon and Will Jenner-O'Shea and thanks to her regular partners Susan, Marieta and Sandie. Annegrete believes the key to her improvement has been learning her bidding system thoroughly and working with her partners to minimise mistakes and misunderstandings.
Never short of a few words, here's what Peter had to say...
Just under 2 years ago I decided to try and improve my bridge competitiveness by playing in as many tournaments and congresses as possible. Although I had been playing bridge for over 35 years I was very undisciplined and had less than 100 mp and typically played bridge once a week with periods of time sometime as long as 5 – 10 years when I didn’t play at all. I was fortunate to find another Peninsula bridge player, Hans Van Weeren, who was also looking to play in lots of bridge competitions and also had less than 100 masterpoints.
When you’re looking for a “competitive” partner there are a few important things to consider. You should have a similar number of masterpoints so that you’re roughly the same standard and able to play in the same level events. You should play a similar system, or at least be prepared to play one and you must get along with each other. The first time Hans and I met, we spend 2 hours going over our system card and since then have spent a lot of time memorising conventions and refining our system card.
Hans and I like bidding gadgets but they are not necessary for success. If you both understand your system you will do well. One important point is that you must know how to deal with interference because at competitive events people get in the way all the time.
Hans and I love to do well but early on in our partnership occasionally failed to keep a lid on our emotions. This is something we have both had to work at. When partner does something moronic it’s important not to let them know how much you hate them. Accusatory post mortems turn out to be not very helpful and are destructive. Strangely enough it’s bidding mistakes that seem to generate the most heat. When myself or Hans murder a hand, normally we’re very forgiving, it’s the suicide bids that infuriate us…..the unexplored slam bids that go down, the unsound sacrifices at the 5 or 6 level, the 2 level bid when vulnerable after partner has passed, you know….the bids that instantly generate a bottom board.
This year I have played in many tournaments and been fortunate to get approximately 100 masterpoints. What Hans and I have achieved is not that difficult - we understand our system and usually play in events that reflect our masterpoint status (Restricted – under 300mp). Most PBC players are under 300 mp – the bridge world is your oyster.
Everyone who plays bridge wants to do well. My suggestion for all PBC players who want to improve are to subscribe to Peter Hollands bridge site https://bridgevid.com. It costs $15 per month and will improve your bridge. Additionally, spend time with your partner, deciding on what conventions to play and actually learn them…..then go forth and conquer or at least, have a go. There’s lots of events on the calendar for new and improving players. There’s a great tournament in Canberra in January, the Gold Coast in February and Coffs Harbour in the middle of the year. These events are fun and PBC players like to socialise after the game over a meal and a drink, sharing tales of glory and disaster. Attending these events is addictive and I hope you decide to join the PBC contingent in 2018
To see the full top 50 most improved players list for NSW click here.
