Galligan new video versus PW

After some pleading by regular opponent for a new video here we go. 16 board BBO challenge using South set at best hand. I played boards 1-5 and then stopped as I felt I was going bad.
Went into the kitchen and started recording. Seemed to be playing better

Galligan v PW 11 boards

Went down 3 on two boards once 150 non vul and not so costly but once vulnerable and minus 300 so that cost more. Also I butchered a 4H and went down 2 from a high double dummy of 11 tricks so I blew 3 tricks on declarer play.

Not as bad as one of my chess playing bridge partners who one day in Kilkenny managed to blow 5 doubled undertricks in 3 leads. A power packed performance. His explanation ... I am driving ..you can get out and walk if you mention it once more.

We will get back to the Ireland Premier Pairs shortly. We need to up our game severely there.
40% is a problem ... but more of a problem is my Jack 6 program has lost its ability to record my
score when it exits. Something to do with Galligan messing with the hidden and read only settings
of the files in the Appdata folder.

Meanwhile out in Malahide Regional Bridge Club I ran a teams competition which attracted only 11 teams. A 2 week event and the players wanted to play each team once and once only and also have direct matches. So 10 matches and an enforced sitout. Now as a reasonably  established tournament director I don't do sitouts if possible and here I had experienced players wanting to enforce a 5-6 board sitout on all teams .... Beats me ...
I grabbed the nettle and played 8 rounds of 3 board matches each week and no 5-6 board sitout.
Several players are still moaning about why I would not want to impose a 5-6 board sitout.
Sorry but I don't understand ...

Premier Pairs Stanza2

Good evening folks
I played another 7 boards of the Ireland Premier Pairs. Its tough going and my score is 40%.
I am going to have to play better.

Still though I am ahead of 4 Irish bridge icons. The one name club BJ Terry Rex and David.
Going to have to be much more cautious and play much better.

I have the full 147 boards made into a tourney for Jack 6 so if anybody wants it let me know
Also full pbn file of all 147 boards and all players and their efforts.

Ireland Premier Pairs first 7 boards

On the weekend November 9th-11th I attended the Ireland Premier Pairs event as vugraph co-ordinator. It took me about 14 boards to get fully going but eventually we got going in stanzas of 7 boards each,
This is an annual invitational event of matchpoint pairs sponsored by Irish bridge player Jim Cahill and co-ordinated by a committee led by Ann Tuite.
I don't know anything about how one gets to play in this event but it seems to be mainly grandmasters of bridge or full internationals approximately and one has to be available on the designated weekend.

The scoring is matchpoints which is not the normal food of the regular BBO kibitzer but thats the conditions of contest.

Myself and a chap called David Doran have made a tournament for Jack bridge program using the results of the Irish Premier Pairs and one run of 4 GIB robots. I played the first 7 boards and I am well placed for a comeback. I am currently in a tie with well known NIBU internationals Rex Anderson and David Greenwood. I must be decent to be in a tie with Rex Anderson.

So there you have it ... room to improve.
I don't feel I have made a mistake but am down there in 11th place by alphabetic ranking.
More to follow.

Premier Pairs after 2 sessions

1	7	Adam Mesbur & Nick Fitzgibbon	319	588	54.25	3	1
2	8	Tom Hanlon & John Carroll	309	588	52.55	3	1
3	1	Cian Holland & Anna Onishuk	305	588	51.87	4
4	4	Rex Anderson & David Greenwood	293	588	49.83	2
5=	3	BJ O'Brien & Terry Walsh	287	588	48.81	2	1
5=	5	Eddie Fitzgerald & Michael MacDonagh	287	588	48.81	3	1
5=	6	Peter Goodman & Mike Pownall	287	588	48.81	3
8	2	Ciaran Coyne & David Walsh	265	588	45.07	1

Well my first 2 horses are placed 1st and 2nd ... I got Coyne Walsh all wrong but a fast start tomorrow could rise them a little. Lets be fair though there is nothing between 4th and 7th. 

Mesbur Fitzgibbon Hanlon Carroll and Onishuk Holland have been the pairs in form so far. 

I have a 1 euro bet with Joe Coyne about Onishuk Holland against Goodman Pownell.

my horse Goodpown is 3% down at the moment and thats after 2 sessions so they better 

play well tomorrow. 

Now the more serious side of the event .. 

3 sessions with prizes for 1st 2nd and 3rd of 1000 500 250 for each session. 

Thats 9 prizes for the sessions 

Then 1st overall is 2500 euros 

.........2nd overall is 1500 euros 

.........3rd overall is 600 euros 

No pair may win more than 3 prizes

and curremtly 5 pairs have won a prize out of the 8 entrants ..

For vugraph we have help from Conor Boland Nathan Doyle Stephen Barr Michael McAulliffe Aoife McHale and I operated a few sessions myself.

Downstairs in the bar Barbara Seligman is talking about all the hands as they come up. 

Some of her favourite words begin with the letter G. Was it a ghostly contract ..

My account is enabled for voice commentary and I was hoping it was not turned on as I logged 

the PC in on my account. Would have been the best vugraph commentary ever. 

A player was late this morning and jokingly I offered to play a board and my offer was accepted. 

Sadly playing 5 card majors my style is short club opener rebids 1NT with balanced and will only show a 4 card major when unbalanced. 

So 

1C 1D 

1NT 3NT ...... when we had a 4-4 spade fit ... 

Board 35 I think and the Heart 9 was led. I was just about to declare for 10 tricks and maybe something in the wash when the late player arrived. I offered to finish the hand but I was sent back to vugraph operator. I would have walked home 10 tricks and had a shot at some guard squeeze in the wash for 11. So when I handed over my cards there was 10 on top but I was not so good at the vugraph operating and could only make 9 tricks 

Fair play to the partner for standing by its late partner and discussing the merits of a 4S contract 

when the truth is given a minute or 2 more I would have got the 10 or 11 tricks for 2nd top on the board. 

Maybe I should be playing in this event ... but then ..........

Ireland Premier Pairs 208

This weekend Nov 9-11 in the Regent Bridge Club we hold the 3rd renewal of the  Ireland Premier Pairs, This event is organised by Jim Cahill and Ann Tuite and takes place in the Regent Bridge Club. They also have a committeee of another 7 or 8 people. 

We will broadcast on Bridgebase Online the full event. 

The event is scored using matchpoints so every trick counts if the players choose the same contract. 

Paeticipants are 

Tom Hanlon & John Carroll

Adam Mesbur & Nick FitzGibbon

Peter Goodman & Mike Pownell

Brendan O'Brien & Terry Walsh

Ciaran Coyne & David Walsh

Rex Anderson & David Greenwood

Cian Holland & Anna Onishuk

and late replacements Edward Fitzgerald and Michael McDonagh.... maybe its MacDonagh.

So who will win ... well I don't know but I will make a guess

but I think plus or minus a place should be available to me. 

8th McDonagh Fitzgerald

7th Anderson Greenwood

6th BJ O'Brien Terry Walsh

5th Cian Holland Anna Onishuk 

4th Peter Goodman Mike Pownell

3rd Ciaran Coyne David Walshe

2nd Hanlon Carroll

1st Mesbur Fitzgibbon

Now Greenwood wrote a book on pairs bridge but I don't think

Anderson read it. 

McDonagh Fitgerald are placed 8th in my estimation as they 

have not featured for many years as a partnership. 

O'Brien Walsh are down there as they are not a regular partnership despite being near the podium in many national events over last 20 years but not as partners. 

So play starts at 430pm tomorrow evening in the Regent. 

We will run a vugraph room down in the basement. 

Declan Byrne ... Regent premises 

Martin Brady ... Tournament Directing 

Eamon Galligan vugraph

Jim Cahill Anne Tuite eveything else

All day Saturday 

Sunday until evening

http://www.bridgebase.com/vugraph/schedule.php

Thanks 

Eamon Galligan