Vanderbilt Final explodes into life as large person sings

Very early this morning I was pondering going to bed while watching the Vanderbilt Final drifting along to a dreary end. Just to be clear arguably 8 of the Worlds Top 10 players were involved in a single team match and I don't think there are any money prizes. Some might argue about the top 10 but defintely 8 or the Top 20 players in the world.
So there are 16 boards left and its gone 8 flat boards so far and this board flashed on the screen.

Rodwell managed to get home in 4H so that was 12 imps and we had a 7 point game.

Then a flat 3NT-2
Then Meckwell got caught in a speed trap

And lost 9 imps back .. The Final board of this event is 64 so we are getting near the end but its 430am and one is seriously thinking about going to bed and reviewing the action in the morning.

Then we had watched this board in the other room and came to various conclusions but we had not dreamed what was about to happen. 

Now I am sure the Great Mulall will have something to say about this when he sees it. He would have been long tucked up in bed dreaming about all the tricks he might make in the Regent or the time he had the Dream team in his cab back at the Buffet Cup in 2006...."I just dropped home my new team ...Hamann Soloway and Zia" along with the Great Mulall squeezed into the same car.

However we all presumed 7D would be doubled and go off a few tricks and that would be that .. +710 against maybe +800 or even less ... but no major panic.. After some long thought South Bobby Levin placed the 7S card on the table .. and all passed ..

Back in 2006 I walked into a discussion at the Buffett Cup in Ireland and the current world number 1 player of the time was discussing who might be the best player in the world. There was mention of Z&B who I figured out was Zmudsinski and Balicki. ..probably best pair. Then there was some talk about a guy from Norway and I was there presuming Helgemo..as were a few others.... "Never makes a mistake" blah blah ..

Somebody mentioned Geir ,,,and the speaker said in broken Italian English ...No No No ...Tor ... Tor Helness is the toughest opponent ...

So Tor is on lead and tracks a heart and we all drift back to the Open Room for more Meckwell versus Fantoni .. Evertually the result comes thru and its 7S made ..and 17 imps ..

http://www.bridgebase.com/vugraph_archives/vugraph_archives.php

You can find the match here ..its probably at the top of the page. There are a few more good boards to come but in the end Nickell won by 2 imps at the end of 64 boards. 

http://bridgewinners.com/article/view/outside-the-vanderbilt-finals/

At the above link you can see some video of after the Nickell team won and them scoring up when Meckwell came out of the other room and the lovely Golden Retriever dog which belongs to one of the players ..maybe Bobby Levin or Steve Weinstein as it appears to like them very much. 

Of course Golden Retrievers are the friendliest dogs ever anyway. 

BJ O'Brien was watching this for quite a while but he had to retire after stanza 3 ... Galligan stayed the whole pace. 

...............

I am noting that the Regent Bridge Club is rising again as a venue of good bridge. They held the Senior Trials on St Patricks Weekend recently ... I think the aforementioned BJ O'Brien won that as well. Apologies to BJs Team mates .. Rex Pat and Michael but its BJ O'Brien... 

Then this past weekend the Regent put on the Corn Cairdeas which seems to be an annual love in between BJ and 11 others representing CBAI and some 12 folk from the EBU ..

BJ won that event as well ..

http://www.bridgewebs.com/regent/

Information can be found here on those results and on the Regent Bridge Club.

The Regent Bridge Club probably remains Irelands premier bridge club as it still has the deepest level of bridge playing strength in the country. Limerick Cork Galway and Belfast may disagree but the Regents 20th best player will probably be a full international player of some repute and their 50th best is probably some way ahead of the Great Mulall. 

The Regent is the place to go if you feel bridge is your game ... If like many "good " bridge players you prefer to be a winner ..you can find a pond to swim in to suit your level and win lots of competitions but you won't really count until you conquer the Regent. Obviously this does not apply to non-Dublin area residents ..as we don't expect ye to travell all that way for club bridge as well as Nationals/Trials ..

......................

A note on technology ...and bridge clubs ...

Back in 1994 or so when Grace Finnegan was President ..the first computer entered the Regent ..it was the old one from Graces house or office or business or someplace. All the folk who had scored by hand for years looked at this box and carried on their normal business .. Nobody would have dreamed that 20 years later the computer and its peripherals would dominate the Regent Bridge Club..

The current computer ...Deals Hands .. Works out the best way to play .. Scores competitions ..

Generates movements .. and probably counts up the money ..

Ooops I am wrong there .. Computer still needs an operator so maybe its the Regent Club Manager Declan Byrne who helps the computer do all these things ..Oh and Declan has Bridgemates as well ...little white boxes that gather the information for the computer to score events .. 

Oh and there is the website mentioned above ... 

I landed in at the Regent yesterday morning to run the end of the Corn Cairdeas .. I had a movement and some bridgemates and planned boards 1-30 played in groups of 10.

Declan looked at me and said where are you going with that stuff ... You won't be needing thar ..

The players know where they are going and who they are playing and they play boards 11-20 on every round and they don't do bridgemates .. You get the scores from the Teams of each side and make sure they are the same and give them to me and I will instruct the computer to send them out to the masses ..

"What about the scoring"  says I ....Dont' worry about that ..The computer does it ..

Well do I have to printout stuff ...NO NO NO ..just get the scores and put out the correct set of 11-20 for the round you are playing ..Then sit down and wait for the next round ... 

When you go to the Regent to direct ...its all ready to go ...and if its not Declan already knows its not working and waits until you figure it out and then says ..I have that sorted ... just was waiting for you to figure it out ... 

However Declan is getting kind of large ... He has to keep buying larger shirts ...

He is up to a size 18 neck now ..Too much sitting at the computer instead of climbing the Regent stairs.

The stairs are very squeaky though .. 

Wonder will Declan be angry and tear up my Bridge Laws book which I left in Regent yesterday.

..................

Gonzaga Open Charity Bridge Event

Saturday 29^th March 2014

Arran Bolger,

Gonzaga College,

Sandford Road,

Ranelagh,

Dublin 6

This is a one session bridge competition starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday 29 March

All levels of players are welcome and there will various sections ranging from novice to master with prizes for each section

The event will take place in Gonzaga College, Ranelagh which is conveniently served by the Cowper stop of the Luas Green Line

There will be a raffle and prize giving after the competition

The entry fee is €10 and can be paid on the day

Please assist us with the planning of this event by letting us know in advance that you plan on attending

GonzagaBridgeGala@gmail.com   or 086 3251018 for information or entries.

We look forward to welcoming you to the college at the end of the month

Habitat for Humanity

“Habitat for Humanity International is a non-profit, Christian organization that seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world and make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action worldwide.”

However, the international housing crisis is only getting worse with around 2.8 million people without permanent accommodation in Zambia alone and Habitat desperately needs your support and compassion

Every year, the college sends a group of 5^th Year students and staff to Zambia with Habitat to build houses for the locals.

This year I am part of a group of 20 students and 5 teachers going to a small village outside Ndola for the two weeks over the Easter break.

I simply ask of you two things:

·        I ask that you remember that there are places on Earth where quality housing is considered a luxury and not a fundamental Human right

·        And I ask that you realise the impact your support can make on someone’s life, however small.

   Thank you for your continued support

................

Adam Mesbur and Nick Fitzgibbon lost their first round match in the Vanderbilt by 3 imps.

Thomas Hanlon and John Carroll and their team moved comfortably into Round 2

The Vanderbilt is argueably tougher than a World Championship with as many as 10 of the lower seeds defeating top 32 seeds. The 64th seed remains in contention having come thru the prelims and then defeating the 14th seed. Being a World champion does not guarantee you a top 32 seeding. To put it in perspective probably most of the top 60 seeded teams would win the Holmes Wilson Irish championship.

Some teams got beat by over 100 imps ,the 4th seed Fleicher put 275 imps past their opponents in 64 boards. Thats lots given their goalkeeper left in 99 imps.

The Bridgebase coverage of this event starts today about 6pm Irish time. They pick an interesting match to start and after that they pick the closest match in imps for the 2nd half.

Http://bridgebase.com to watch 

.................

The Greystones Cup to be won by BJ O'Brien ...well he wins everything else

Galligan continues his quest to play some Peter Goodman boards. Remember Peter generally has decent partners but also has world class opponents so the odds are on Galligan to win this.
However I have conceded 200 imps in 124 boards so far so I am failing on many boards.
Its a good way for a tourney director to keep his hand in.
..........................
Next Sunday we have the Greystones Cup and the early betting should be on the incredible BJ O'Brien.
I reckon he wins half the events he enters so he is like Ruby Walsh in Cheltenham multiply by 4.
However the mare Quevega has BJ marked... She has ran about 8 races and won them all ..

Greystones Open CupSunday 30th March 2014
1.30 pm (two sessions)

Greystones Bridge Centre
Victoria Road, Greystones, Co. Wicklow

Match Point Duplicate Pairs Competition
1st (400 euro), 2nd, & 3rd Prizes
1st & 2nd Session Prizes
Best Intermediate Prize, Best Local Prize

Pre-Entries (Master / Intermediate)
John Royds <roydsjf@gmail.com>,
01-2819283
Bernadette Coggins <berno2000@gmail.com>,
01-2875328 or 087 4146587

Late Entries/Cancellations on day:
tel. Greystones Bridge Centre 01-2873633
Tournament Director: Brian Lawlor
Sponsored by Glen Fuels Services, Kilmacanogue 

..........................

There is also the smaller question of some event on in Gonzaga ... on Saturday 29th March ..

I know because I am directing ...and I know my prize .

However I don't know if any players know so I could be lonely ..

No longer being a player I don't really frequent the noticeboards these events are advertised on 

but I believe it takes place in Gonzaga College ... a 1 session event ...

Maybe somebody will tell some players 

........

Meanwhile down the country in Athlone at the weekend ... The Radisson seems to be the venue of choice 

for central Ireland events these days ...given it has bagged the Holmes Wilson ..and Davidson ..

The aforementioned incredible BJ O'Brien followed up his qualifying win in the Quinn Cup ...

possibly a stronger event than that for which it qualifies for ... with a win in the Davidson Cup ...

He finished ahead of the fast finishing Pat Quinn and Enda Glynn who seemed to get mugged or stuck in the 

tar during the first session. However class is permanent and once they got out of the tar ...they put down a chase after BJ but the incredible held on for victory ...

CBAI President did his best to close the gaps but the weather was against him ...

Malahides powerful pairing of William Ronan and Thomas Gilligan ran out of steam in the 3rd session ..

They need to work on the stamina for next year ... 

..........

Meanwhile the incredible BJ O'Brien is a little bothered as somebody indicated he might struggle in the 

European Senior Teams in Croatia ...... Well I never heard of a bridge player who suddenly became world class 

just because he turned 60 ... May BJ be the first one ... Golfers can do this as maybe they have a better physique then their opponents ...but in Seniors Bridge the main part that matter is the brain ... allied to ones bridge knowledge and skill... Chaps who were winning Euro medals in their 20s will still be winning in their 60s.

Chaps who did'nt will still be losing ..

However in recent Senior Irish trials the seemingly favourite team lost ... Mind you it seemed quite a short 

event ...48 boards in the final ... I don't know what they played in the qualifiers .. 

...............

Meanwhile Magic Murphy (murphyslaw on BBO) a Malahide player found the going too tough in the Laird Trophy

the Inter A national finals. Now he is considering his future in bridge as he considers the opposition too strong.

When I was intermediate and started in Malahide I was told about all these legends of bridge and that I would never beat them ... I gradually overtook them one by one and found maybe the word legend was overused.

Ray McConville has become active again in Malahide ...He would be good enough to be a legend ...and I don't 

think I passed him out ..

...........

Thanks 

Eamon Galligan 

Galligan versus Petepunt

Galligan is currently partnering the 2002 program GIB against the 2014 version of Petepunt and random decent partners. Petepunt is currently gone to US Spring Nationals so I downloaded the month of February of Petepunts playing on BBO. Pete plays in mostly high level games on Bridgebase Online so he generally has good partners and good opposition. Galligan partners the GIB which is the original version of the current program used all over Bridgebase Online. Back in the day circa 1996 Galligan was involved as a beta tester when GIB was under development. Matt Ginsberg was the programmer who jumped bridge playing programs into the future. GIB was a fantastic program for 1996 and most bridge playing programs today use its ideas. Effectively GIB has no programming development since 2001.
Recently Bridgebase Online have been working on the bidding system and making improvements in the robot they rent to customers.
As can be seen on the screenshot I am beating Petepunt by 64 imps or so. I must be a good player or maybe my opponents are weaker.
.............
WBridge5 Monthly Standings

Here is a visual of how the regular players are performing on the daily WBridge5 tournament.

I would include the Great Mulall except he prefers to remain incognito and not have his skills advertised.

I expected to see the Great Mulall togging out in the Seniors Trials this year but no sign of the Great man. 

BJ makes the Seniors at age 59

The dashing bridge player BJ OBrien who enters 3 times as many events as anybody else and thus gathers 40 B points a year has found a new source of B points I think. I don't know if B points are awarded for Senior Bridge but if so the Dashing BJ will soon be as good as Thomas Hanlon.
Last weekend BJ and his 3 compatriots won the Irish Senior Trials with a comeback victory over what might have been deemed the favourites.
Results and boards and other good stuff can be found at

http://www.bridgewebs.com/regent/

According to John Comyn well known bridge correspondant of the Sunday Independant it was the best bridge ever played or something to that effect ..Here are the exact words.

->jcomyn: BJ and the Dutch doubleton crushes all the medalists
jcomyn: it was some match I can tell you
->jcomyn: so it should have been on vugraph
jcomyn: yes. Level with 2 boards to play after 46 boards of really exciting bridge

BJ plays Dutch Doubleton but he probably does not know this.

.............................

Meanwhile WBridge5 continues to be a daily thorn in my foot. I reckoned I could takeout Jeannie Fitzgerald by 4% per day but unfortunately I am trailing with only 10 day left in the month. Lucky its a long month. I don't think I will make the 4% but with several good days I might get into the lead. Apparently it makes her blood boil when I refer to her as a female player .... although much in jest. My only intention would be for her to play better. It works as she normally manages about 58% but this month is posting a concentrated 61.36%.... This is better than the aforementioned legendary bridge player BJ O Brien who also tackles this thorn daily. 

http://bridgez.net:3002/playonthecloud

...................

Last night I was doing a little bidding practice with 2 lads and I found my laptop going somewhat slow and the internet out in the venue I was directing at somewhat flakey but I managed to nurse the session home. 

When I got home I ran some malware removal software and today my computer is much better...

SuperAntiSpyware seemed to do the trick ... one can get a trial version of this from 

http://www.superantispyware.com/

I have no connection with this software but it seemed to do the job ..

.................

I believe there is some kind of bridge event out in Gonzaga College next weekend ie Saturday 29th of March. I don't play much bridge these days but no doubt it is advertised in all the places I used to play.

I am directing it so thats how I know about it. 

This is bridge with a difference as the organisors are all teenagers ... as far as I know..

............

This coming weekend is the National Pairs Finals down in Athlone and the well known online bridge player Murphyslaw will take to the floor with his dancing partner. Murphy and his partner dazzled in the Dublin North Region Inter A pairs event but might find the going a little tougher at National level. 

Despite this murphyslaw has been very visible on Bridgebase Online this week and expects a weeks hard training will put him back in form. However Murphy does not realize there are card players who lurk in the countryside who have been playing cards since they were 4 years old and now have 60 years experience.

It might not be bridge but all kind of card playing adds to ones experience. 

There will even be Weasel cardplayers waiting in the long grass for murphyslaw ..

http://www.bridgeace.com/Weasel.pdf

There are some players in my club who regularly come up for review in the Tournament and Play committee so this week I showed them the Weasel... They examined it with aplomb and went off with a copy each. 

They did point out that it might be somewhat illegal or maybe a kind of cheating but they seemed happy to examine it and possibly graft it onto their system. 

................

Meanwhile if any bridge players apart from the Great Mulall buy the Sunday Business Post you will find that 

the famous bridge teacher Peter Pigot has started writing some articles in that newspaper.. 

Seems the Great Mulall is ahead of his time. He has been buying Senday Business Post for years. 

Now he will know even more about bridge guided by the DSPP ... I forget what DS stands for but it is a reference to an article Rory Egan wrote about Peter Pigot in some other magazine,

He told me he would send me a copy but I never got to read it ...

Thanks 

Eamon Galligan 

Schools Bridge

Folks

Last weekend was a busy weekend. Camrose Trophy took place in England..
Results posted at www.ebu.co.uk ... albeit somewhat late but even web admin have to put on
the glad rags for the party and often there is little time and maybe an appeal or two to be held.
However lots of people wondering who won as they thought they saw a large Ireland victory in final round. However Wales struggled against most teams over the weekend and 17.87 was still a small win in context so Ireland 4th place.
Lots of folk commenting on a "poor " Irish performance ..however when these players turn up for duty in Irish trials or Irish nationals they generally leave the rest of the fields struggling for air so maybe less hot air is required. Kibitzers can see 52 cards .. players only see 26 cards in play and maybe 13 cards each in bidding.
..............
Bankers Congress took place at weekend
http://www.bankersbridgeclub.com/Congress14/index.php?pg=results

Most results are available here .. looks like Mike Gowie made this website ..
A Bankers player

...........
Finally down in Galway we had the Schools teams with 29 teams taking part..

http://www.bridgewebs.com/thomasmaccormac/

New players from Gonzaga College seem to have broken the Northern mould but no doubt the
BRAs and Carricks and Bangors will be back next year ..We will see..

We had some quite young players in action ... maybe some of 12 years old ..
I saw a couple of guys who were much younger in the past but they growing up.

I don't know most of the names but I met the slowest player in Ireland over the weekend ..
He only played about 4 boards out of 6 most matches but he could talk for Ireland..
He called me over a few times and said .. "Eamon I played these hands before .."
I said "Nope .. you cannot have .. all you do is talk your opponents to sleep "
He says " Well maybe it was a hand like it I played before .. I definitely had 4 small diamonds on
one of the hands I played before when I was not talking .."

However I must say these under 18 bridge players have incredible manners or maybe it was because the teachers were there .. I suppose if one teacher is 6 feet 10 inches it helps ..

Up in Dublin I am used to a gang of beer swilling hoody clad guys who fire half empty cans across the field at anything that moves ..Even rabbits have been shocked by a beer can ..

So I tried another tack ... Playstation or Xbox ... Nah we don't do those anti social things ..
We go rowing and playing hockey and rugby and fishing ..
We used to have Xbox and Playstation but those now for the bedroom crusaders looking out their
windows at the world passing by.
A few guys even said .. We gave up Xbox and PS4 when we found bridge

............
I wonder how is George Ryan .. I missed him at Holmes Wilson so rang him up and found he had been in hospital .. must ring him later on

Thanks
Eamon Galligan ..

A non-bridge player plays Solitaire Bridge on Bridgebase

Last night after directing 29 tables of bridge in my local club I went for 2 guinness in the the local community centre. I attempted to log into Paddy Power for a game of Holdem for a euro. However Paddy seemed to be asleep or down or not working.
So having already completed my WBridge5 and it being a little late for any Irish being on BBO. It was around 1140pm. So I was a little stuck for any of my normal things to do.
Suddenly Declan McKenna breaks off from the other group of Don players and rushes over.
General greetings etc ..
............
Then Declan says ..."Eamon you need to tell me what this double means when the opponents open the bidding... My partner keeps doubling and they keep making 1 something and getting a score ..

So I asked Declan a few questions and soon it emerged he had created an account on Bridgebase Online and had found something called Solitaire Bridge and he was off ...
However he did not understand the bidding .. so I told him some stuff ..

Then I showed him how to watch interesting tables ...and basically he is hooked ..
...........
Last week this same Declan accompanied me on one of my directing nights just to see what this bridge was all about... Declan is one of a group of about 35 Don players in the local community centre. While I was talking to Declan another chap came over and indicated he had called into Malahide Bridge club one night and had a look at the bridge but felt he was out of his depth..
It won't be long before bridge starts in Rivervalley Community Centre. Another Declan told me last night he has been on You Tube watching the "Introduction to Bridge videos"
..........
Meanwhile down in St Cronans which was the very first bridge club I attended one snowy night inthe first week of January 1985 ... There were only 2 people there so I went to the pub and when a 3rd turned up they called down for me.
Geoff Barnes Beryll Walshe and Ann Marie Woods were the first people I ever played bridge with in a club setting. One of the founder members of St Cronans Bridge Club celebrated her 90th birthday last week... Congratulations Nellie Dockrell

http://dnrbridge.com/styled-6/photos-8/files/page48-1003-full.html

..........
This coming weekend we have the Holmes Wilson National Teams championships ..
www.cbai.ie  has teams and information ..even if only 96 teams are show..
I understand there are 108 teams ...the biggest ever

.........
Meanwhile I cannot recommend highly enough the Wbridge5 16 board daily tourney
Play 0-16 boards in ones and twos throughout the day up to 1am the next morning.
http://bridgez.net:3002/connexion.html

Thanks
Eamon Galligan

Mens Ladies Weekend Nationals Westmanstown

Good morning all

Last weekend the Mens and Ladies National Pairs and Teams events took place in Westmanstown Sports Centre. 72 tables in the pairs events on Saturday  and 70 teams on Sunday.
First of all I must state Westmanstown is a fine venue as not many places can take 72 tables in one room. As Westmanstown also feed most of us with a good value dinner 11 euro as someone made the mistake of leaving hot water teabags and cups at the entrance to the bridge venue. Bridge players like tea especially first thing in the morning so we drank.
However I must repeat a fabulous venue and room for all. We could probably go a few more tables but then we start encroaching on the eating tables but we would manage as we could push away some bridge tables during the break and setup some eating tables. No major panic there.

And they got the meals out by using upstairs and downstairs sittings.

Two small issues

1. The sun was dazzling a few players and some of the curtains were not fully doing their job.
This is only an issue for bridge players and I doubt it affects any other event Westmanstown might hold.

2. Possibly could do with a little more lighting but I did not hear anybody complain on this matter.

3. Need a supply of Mars bars for the Tournament Director as he is from the country and could not locate a shop. (CBAI need to think of this when selecting venues)

4. Results hands errors ... www.fob.ie

5. I learned some new things about tournament directing .. You cannot have a 2 suiter in your bidding that is 5-3 .... I also learned about Law 66 and how not to get to LAW 73.

6. Last night I was stuck for a partner and had no TD job to do so I unleashed the Great Mulall for the first time this year. It was too early in the year for the Great Mulall as for some reason he can dazzle in the Regent splashing around 65% scores but when he shows up in the stronger club of Malahide he seems intimidated despite standing well over 6 feet and being built like a brick train station loo. He thinks a 7 count is Fourth Suit Forcing and he does not understand that if he gives 3 ruffs the contract goes down more.. The idea of a stopper for NT is replaced by "Sure you might have had one or else they might not lead their suit. The good part is we managed to hold off the improving Derek Howe and the Wallace siblings.

7. A further piece of good news was the emergence of Kitty Quinn despite getting a grilling from the Great Mulall to post a 59% score and earn victory on the EW side of our event. No mean achievement for a woman who joined the Island Golf Club probably in the early 60s.
I think she is retired from Golf now. First out of 13 tables is no mean achievement for this stalwart of Malahide Regional Bridge Club.

8. I went to Fitzwilliam Tennis Club last week and will go next week again. I was pleasantly surprised to find I was running the inaugural Joe McHale Memorial. Joe was a great Irish bridge player and represented his country as late as 1993. I think he passed away in 2001. The last time I recall being on a Team with him was January 2001 when they had the hurricane out in Clonee.
I think I partnered Maurice Quinn husband of the above mentioned Kitty Quinn.

I was lucky enough to partner Joe on several occasions back in the 90s. Joe was a fine declarer.
I recall on one occasion in Kilkenny playing against the well known pairing of Eddie Fitzgerald and Michael McDonagh. Joe was declaring in 4H and the lads stopped in the middle of the play and clapped him. Joe had just performed an intra-finesse. I think some Brazilian international is famous for discovering the intra-finesse but I doubt Joe ever heard of him.
I have never since noticed opponents stop and congratulate declarer in the middle of a hand.
Well done to Eddie and Michael for that. Believe you me Joe knew what he was doing ..
He had a mannerism of twisting his hair when playing .. He also often chewed on a finger when thinking. The other declarer who is also a trials player of some repute these days managed 9 tricks in 2H+1. Joe managed just the overtrick in 4H.

Thanks
Eamon Galligan

Camrose Trophy 2014 Boards 1-16 Match 4 partnering Jack

Board 1 ..Bid to 3NT and unfortunately went 1 off. Lose 3 imps .. 0-3

Board 2 ..Jack EW have bid to 3NT and we are on defence.I tried a Club Jack lead.
Jack West showed 4 hearts and Jack East showed 4 spades so seems like a club or diamond is a good idea. 12 tricks EW and lose 1 imp. One Camrose pair of stars bid a slam... 0-4

Board 3 Jack EW bids 1S 4H after I opened 1D with an 18 count. I chose to double and that was 10 tricks and minus 6 imps .. 0-10

Board 4 ..East West Jacks roar into 4S and we are on defence. Unfortunately Jack North played Heart Ace and I think that gave the contract when it was ruffed and Heart Queen set up.
Lose 9 imps ... 0-19 .. Guess I am not good enough to play in the Camrose

Board 5
Jack EW balance themselves into 5C after my light 1NT opening. Quietly confident of a plus score.
5C down 1 and 9 imps to JackGall. Score so far is 9-19.
Proffessor Jack is whining like Dave Terry now. 4 comments about stuff I done wrong and nothing about the 9 imps gained. 5 Camrose pairs bid and made 3NT .. one missed the boat in 2NT.

Board 6
2 imps for Jack Gallo after Jack EW held itself to 10 tricks ... 11-19

Board 7
Zero imps for 3NT+1 ... 11-19

Board 8

3S-1 by EW ... 2 imps for Jack Gallo ... 13-19
Galligan catching up

Game of Thrones is an interesting series.. I am only on Season 1 Episode 3 ..

................

Camrose 2014 Match 3 boards 17-32

Board 17 ..I think I am starting the 2nd half 25-27 down ..1NT+1 by NS and 1 imp for Gallojack.
Board 18 .. 26-27..1 more imp for 9 tricks in 2S ...27-27
Board 19.. Galligan declares 3D and loses a 50 for down 1. Unfortunately other folk lost more as EW including a 3NT made at one table. I would never be bidding that anyway.
Par looks to be around 120 plus for NS but I had the chance to double 2!Ds constructive and then
EW might have ventured ahead in Spades.. Lose 5 imps .... 27-32
Board 20 ..Lost an imp for 1NT made EW .. 27-33
Board 21..3NT up 3 and we had 2 aces so lose 1 imp ... 27-34
Board 22.. After 2 hours and 40 minutes since 515am I have battled my way into a Heads Up for 26 or 15 euro in a poker tourney... I am just dabbling in this game. However I never knew anything about Early Stage or Early Position when I was down in Galway in August.
We bought 22 in 2clubs despite only 19 hcp and 8 card EW fit ..Lets see how that goes
2C made up 1 but zero imps.. These Camrose stars are good players I guess.
Board 23 ..4S down 1 and no imps for me.. However somebody had the pleasure of taking the baseball bat to 5D. Wonder who that was.. looks like Doctor Matheson was one beneficionary.
Board 24 .. Had to stop here a while to take down the 26 euro in the poker. Success.
Unfortunately DONT has landed me in the 4-2 diamond fit at the 2 level. Not sure this will
be a success. Minus 150 and minus 2 imps ... 27-36 ...
Board 25 .. 4H-1 and zero imps.
Board 26.. 12 imps for Gallo after the EW Jacks went to 3NT and down 3 vulnerable.
4H is the par on the board.... 39-36 for JackGallo
Board 27 Grand slam by Jack North .. One Camrose pair left it behind and minus 2 imps for Gallo
39-38 now
Board 28 .. 4 imps for taking down 2S by Jacks EW.. 43-36 up
Board 29 .. 1 imp for Jackgallo .. 44-36 Holding 3H to 3
Board 30 .. 5 imps out for the double dummy 3NT made by EW Jack... 44-41
Board 31 .. 2 imps in for 3C up 1 ... 46-41
Board 32 ...the final board ..3D+1 0 imps ...

Galligan still hanging in there and lots of good Camrose stars behind him ..

Game of Thrones looks like a good series ... Somewhat vulgar in places and quite bloody.
However it has all the stuff we civilised folk have including the Dotrachi way.

All the information on the Camrose Trophy is available at
http://www.wbu.org.uk/

Also some reports are there

Thanks
Eamon Galligan

Camrose Match 3 Boards 1-16

Continuing the Camrose boards with robot partner Jack (www.jackbridge.com)

Board 1
The EW Jacks sailed in 6C and made it .. Minus 3 imps
Board 2
2NT played by EW and 1 imp for GallJack .. 1-3
Board 3
4S by NS and 0 imps ........ 1-3..Some Camrose pair went 2 off
Board 4
EW Jacks declaring 3NT and Galligan wins DQ and fails to find the killing
heart switch .. -10 imps .. 1-13 ..
One should form the opinion that with 3 tricks in the bag and 5 diamonds and a spade to
come its time for drastic action.
Board 5
A normal 1NT contract and 0 imps ... 1-13
Board 6
The EW robots prempt 2H 3H and I decide to pass pards takeout double
We collect 800 and 10 imps ... However my Jack professor partner is all over
me like a rash ...
1. He wants me to bid some kind of Leaping Michaels
2, He tells me passing the take out double is too dangerous
.......
Well we got 800 in so I am happy on that
Running score ...11-13
Board 7 ...standard 3NT but one pair missed it .. zero imps
Board 8 ...Galligan passes 1S and makes 10 tricks .. lose 6 imps
running score ... 11-19
Board 9.. 4H down 1 by EW .. 4 imps to Galljack ... 15-19
Board 10.. 4S down 1 ... 5 imps to Galljack ... 20-19
Board 11.. 2S+1 and 6 imps out .. 20-25
Board 12..4S making NS .. 4 imps in .. 24-25
Board 13.. Bid 3NT and due to a shortage of hearts and Aces and tricks that went one off
but 1 imp to Galligan on the X-imps.. 25-25
Board 14... 3NT up 1 by EW ..0 imps
Board 15 ..6 players left in my poker tourney and bubble is 5
3D made EW and someone EW made 3NT too. lost 2 imps to the Camrose
Stars datum ..25-27
Board 16... 1NT+1 zero imps .. so 25-27 down after 1st half of match

Still doing ok ..Still ahead of Hanlon McGann but Garvey Carroll and Moran Boland are beating me somewhat. However I will battle on

Camrose 2014 Match 2 Boards 17-32

Good morning folks

Continuing with the boards from last weekends Camrose Trophy in Wales ..
In this set Ireland are playing against England

http://camrose-bridge-wales.org.uk/results-3
All information and hands etc are at the above link.

No offence is intended to any real players by any comments placed below ..

Board 17
Plus 7 imps for making 11 tricks in 4S comfortably. 4 Camrose pairs attempted the reasonable 6H/6S but only managed the same 11 tricks .. The doublton Heart KQ offside was hard to deal with alongside the diamonds not breaking 3-3..
Board 18
Galligan tried for 4H but Jack passed quickly. Happily Jack East quickly led Diamond King and then to Ace and took a ruff with a Club trick to come.. 3H made and 4 imps to Galljack.
3 Camroses down in 4H and one selling to EW 3S making.. One was allowed make 4H.

Board 19
Jack North opened 1S and Jack East overcalled 1NT. Galligan pondered a double but decided to settle for bidding 2S. This was passed back to the 1NT overcalled who being fairly heavy emerged with a 3NT bid much to my amazement.. I decided to double this and West ran to 4C which got doubled. This got sunk by 2 tricks ... and that was 500 in and 9 imps.
Back in the real world of the Camrose .. 5 pairs played in 2S and 3S .. the 3S folk went 1 off.
Board 20
The 5 normal NS pairs lost 5-6 imps as two pairs attempted the 3NT contract going off 3.
The normal folk played 4H.
Board 21
I think I slopped a trick to go 2 off in 3H. My robot dealt and passed and later on balanced in with
3H. A couple of pairs EW managed to make 3NT for 400.

Board 22
I declared 3NT despite the 2S overcall. My Jack partner game forced me and later put me in 3NT.
8 tricks was my outcome and that was minus 3 imps
Board 23
My Jack North doubled the 1D opener. I made what I thought was a heavy 2H bid with a 10 count and Jack raised me to 4H, West took exception to this and doubled it. I feeling confident and happy sent it back as they say in America ... (redoubled)
Now I am in 4HXX with 10 count opposite a 14 count 4414 ...so lets see how it goes.
Unfortunately I failed to bring home the contract and went 1 off losing 8 imps ..

Better take a break.
Board 24 and I did not break and I have just butchered another contract. Down 1 in an easy 3H.

Thats 25 imps lost in the last 5 boards ...

.................
BREAK ...

Board 25 ... Tomorrow I might take a look at playing with 3 Gib robots.
Gib is my favourite program ever since I got an email while in Saudi Arabia to be a tester of GIB
back in 1996 or so from Matt Ginsberg the inventor.
However GIB the commercial program ceased updating in the early 2000s. Eventually GIB emerged on BBO replacing the old DD button.
Gib remains a fantastic work of art despite being 12 years since an update as such.
Stephen Pickett also had a fantastic GIB based program called Gib-browser which was a version
of Bridgebrowser but it used to the GIB engine to play.
I still have my commercial GIBs ... Matt Ginsberg sent me a copy when it completed.

Nowadays GIB resides in BBO and has a room of its own. 1000s of GIBs play every hour of every day. However they vary in strength .. The web based GIBs run on BBO servers as far as I know..and in the basic level get very little server time and play accordingly. Old client GIBs run on our own machines and play according to user time settings.
Web based GIB continues to be updated by BBO but the updates don't tranfer to commercial GIB.Also the version of GIB running on BBO is slightly different than the original one. My GIB claims..........However all GIBs are well able to play bridge ..

1NT made plus 1 and 0 imps .. the bleeding is stopped..
..............
Board 26
Making 3Ds after a Lebensohl effort with 12-14 NT opp a 11 red card 5 count.
I chanced a takeout into 3D.
Board 27
Stopping in 3S I hoped for a few imps ..but these Camrosi are able to stop as well.
3 no-bleed boards in a row..

Board 28
Making 3NT and missing the overtrick on the Heart lead ..
Board 29
1NT making and more zero imps..
I found Joni Mitchel singing on the TV .. She is singing a song about Magdalene Laundrys
I think these were places were children and their mothers outside of wedlock were sent.. back in the dark days of Ireland ..maybe other countries too.. A quick glance at google indicates they were all over the western world ...but Ireland kept them the longest.. the last one only closing in 1996.
And we Irish feel we have the right to criticize other regimes for their practices..

Board 30
The Jacks EW subside in 3C ..and I have to defend
Another 0 imps .. I must be getting good ...on the other hand its 11 boards since I scored.

Board 31
This board brings back memories of reading about some genius(cheat) making 7H on okbridge despite the 5-0 trump break. After about 10 minutes as I studied the hand I realised it was me and as I had only played the board the same week I was not expecting it in writing as the board could still be live on okbridge... so it is with care and state of the match that I place the double card to the opps freely bid 4H... I have 5 smallish trumps .. I have heard of the 4 thump double .. This is a 5 one. Lets see how this goes ...
Pard fires out the Spade King ...not bad as I have a singleton
Joannie Mitchel continues to sing ..
6 imps to Jackgall for 4HX-2
........
Board 32
Galligan leads a spade and finds 5 spade tricks ... Zero imps as we are in the middle ..

 Today I pasted in copies of the hands .. Not sure how it will turn out.
Think JackGall ended up plus 1 imp on the set ..
So plus 14 imps after 64 boards ...but I am comparing against the best in Britian
and I have two Jacks against me on most boards. Sometimes they give me stuff.

Now the Pretenders are on the TV ...They go back nearly as far as the last time  Victor Silverstone and Willie Coyle were seen in Scotland. CBAI President Thomas McCormac knows Victor Silverstone well. We played a match in Brighton once and Victors team mate went on tilt.
The guy was partnering Jerry Stamatov and if I operated in England a little more I would know his name. Anyway he tilted 19-1 in our favour..
Victor got a mention sometime over the weekend in the commentary..

That will do for today ..
Back tomorrow with the Match 3 first stanza ..
..............
Think we have vugraph from the Irish Bridge Union trials tomorrow ..
Probably the Mark Moran+5 versus the incredible BJOBoru +5

BJOBORU is never the underdog in his view ... always a chance ..
except the time he landed in 6C on a 3-3 fit and missing nothing else ...
trumps broke 4-3 .. BJ owned the AKQ ... xxx ..
...........
BJ is not used to playing the 3-3 fits at the 6 level ...
BJ won't even remember ...However I was dummy ..cheering him on to victory
not realizing the lad had given up as soon as he saw dummy .. 6C making was a 75%
score but the man had no interest. Mind you the man was very sick at that time ..but he
still kept on smiling. Drove all the way to Youghal to play the Pairs .. Drove all the way home including stopping for ice cream and sweets at a garage ..
Then he got up on Sunday morning and drove John Comyn to victory in the Arklow Cup..
That was about 2009 or so ... and him managing on dialysis ...

Now he is back on half  power .... BJ go easy on Team Moran..

IBU Trials on Friday from 1720 in City West .. see www.cbai.ie

Thanks
Eamon Galligan

Camrose 2014 Match 2 boards 1-16

Today I will continue playing the 2014 Camrose boards with Jack bridge program as my partner.
I am playing the North South direction. www.jackbridge.com

Board 1
I lost 3 imps to the making 4S by EW Jack .. Jack is on my case for trying a stroke.
Board 2
Lost another 3 imps for getting doubled in 3S vulnerable off 1.
Board 3
Gained 4 imps for Jack giving me a trick in 4S+1. Two pairs missed game and 1 went down.
Board 4
A quiet 4S making overtricks in places
Board 5
Middle of the road 1NT+2 for Gallo but several reach game in spades ...some even picking up
the trump Qxxx opposite 10
Board 6
3 imps for Gallo playing in 3H and getting a free trick. A Camrose pair got a free trick too and that
let home 4H. Gallo still 0 imps for the set but the two Irish pairs have been collecting imps.
Board 7
I fire out a normal weak 2H so thats me done unless pard asks something.
4 pairs reach game in 3NT ,,,Galligan gains 5 imps .. Somebody got beat in 4S..EW
Board 8
4 Camrose pairs bid and make 4S. The Jack robots languish in 3NT ..so 7 imps to Gallo
Board 9
The EW Jacks make 3NT against Galligan on a Heart Ace lead and continuation.
Board 10
Afraid I butchered 2H and lost 5 imps .. Several pairs went plus in 2H
Board 11
Galligan makes 3NT up 1 on a club lead into King..
Somebody got doubled in 3NT and went 2 light ...so they must have played it with the Club
King open to attack. Garvey Carroll having a good session.
Board 12
I was afraid to put the double on 4S and lost 5 imps
Board 13
Lost another imp despite landing a plus score for defeating 1D
Board 14
Galligan took an undisiplined puck at 3SX by EW and the Jack robots made 11 tricks
assisted by a panicing Galligan .. 10 imps out the door
Board 15
plus 1 imp for beating 5Clubs doubled off 1
Board 16 ...the final board of a dreary set for Galligan
Galligan stretches for 3NT but it has no hope and another 5 imps gone out the door.
Galligan lost 20 imps of his gains on this session. Have to get back in the imp
gathering mode for 2nd half of this match tomorrow morning.
........................

Above the current cross imps in the Galligan version of the Camrose,

I seem to be missing 7 of the 960 boards played over the weekend.

So its not completely accurate. Also the addition of the 3 Jack players and myself will flaw the X-imps slightly as well. 

I have left the real names of the players who were playing in the blog. The full information on the event can be found at http://camrose-bridge-wales.org.uk/

Travellers and Boards etc are there but I don't look at this page when playing.

..........

If anybody wants the pbn file or lin file for analysis or just to play the hands then email me at eamongalligan@eircom.net

.........................

Camrose Match 1 board 17-32

I will continue to play the Camrose boards with Jack
www.jackbridge.com

I am not aware of which players lost imps or had bad results on any boards I mentioned here.
I can see a running score of imp pairs as I play but that also includes my result.
Any comment made on a board is not aimed at any Team or player on a team.
I am fully aware that any Camrose player is most likely a level or two above me at bridge.
Apart from Hanlon who I outdeclared by 5 tricks in the same strain once.. in a team match.
So any insecure Camrose players don't take offence.

Board 17
Gallo and Jack roar into 6H and Gallo guides it home losing to the Heart Queen
2 Camrose pairs missed the slam and one pair strangely went down.
Board 18
Looks like a fairly normal 4S EW ..somebody doubled it and somebody got out in a 5H sacrifice.
4S+2 in my case lose 2 imps. JackGallo 6th place of 20 pairs.
Board 19
Galligan opens weak 2D with South and pard bids 3C and there we played.
Seems there is 4S available for EW but they only got as far as 2H.
11 imps to JackGallo.. some bid 4S and some sacced in 5C.
Professor Jack moaned severely about my 2D opening..
Board 20
Played in 1NT making 10 and losing 3 imps to the Camrose pairs
Proffessor Jack gave out severely about balancing 1NT with 15 count.
Board 21
We bid 6H but the robots cashed CA and switched a spade making it easy.
6H is available but involves transferring the menace in spades to be along with
the Club Ace,,, 13 imps to GalloJack .. Salisbury and Tedd seem to be out of the blocks
at speed for Wales...JackGallo lead all Camrose players.
Board 22
JackGallo take 3C down 1 but sadly the Camrose pairs conceded more 100s and we lost 8 imps to the average Camrose superstar.
Board 23
Gallo feels like taking the axe to 3S but being teams he declines and passes despite
maybe owning more than half the deck. Onward..3S made ..Somebody made 3NT NS
Rest part scoring in diamonds NS.
Board 24
A handy 10 tricks in hearts for all Camroses ... they bid game ..Jack stayed in 3H ..6 imps to gallo
Board 25
Standard 3NT making lots ..Some pair languished in 2H losing 11 imps ..
Board 26
My robot sacrificed in 5C against 4H ... Some Camrose star left out 5C. I think that is hard to do.
Maybe some Camrose team wants to hire me and my Jack robot. We are 5th of 20 on 1.00.
Board 27
We played 4D making ... 3 Camrose Stars were allowed make 5Ds ..Bizarre..
Board 28
A quiet board it seems.. 3NT against me
Board 29
Jack EW cashed HA and then tried to cash CA and that was 10 tricks, Most of Camrose stars managed to take 4S down as they should ..Salisbury Tedd ..and the Seniors having good sets
Board 30
3 boards to go ...time for a cup of tea .. and maybe a Double Up poker game.
EW robots declare 4H in my game.I found the Heart Queen on the lead for my opps so that was that. Some poor Camrose star went down .. probably getting a club lead and losing trump queen and 2 spades .. Unfortunate .. but plausible and under severe pressure.
Board 31
What the hell is Fracking ..they discussing it on the news .. Something about Leitrim
I am seeing a 9 card suit ,,,, have not seen one of them in a while ..
I pucked out an undisiplined 4S and the opps arrived in 6H .. Club lead just in case
6H made ..some Camrose stars got away in 4S doubled .. one pair went to 7H-1
7H just does not fetch and you also missing trump queen .. How do you even attempt to count 13 tricks let alone be missing the trump queen ..
Board 32
Gallo is cruising in 3NT .. 4S EW down 1 looks like the par

So far Galligan and his Jack partner are surviving comfortably ..

However Galligan does not have to deal with table pressure. However I am playing the boards honestly eventhough I have access to the results. 

.............

Next weekend we have IBU Trials semi finals 

I understand its 

1. Hanlon versus McMaugh

2. Coyne versus O'Gorman

www.cbai.ie has details 

I think its down in CityWest starting on Friday about 1720 with 40 boards ..

There is a 3rd place playoff ... No idea what thats about as who wants to be 3rd as opposed from 4th. Its not that the bridge will be cut-throat .. However maybe there is a reason ..

.................

Camrose Trophy 2014 Weekend 1

After the 5 matches of the Camrose Trophy 2014 Ireland lead by a portion of a VP from Scotland.

The Irish Team was Mark Moran Rory Boland Hugh McGann Thomas Hanlon Tommy Garvey and John Carroll.

On Friday night the Irish fresh from qualifying last weekend for the semi finals of the IBU trials were ambushed by Scotland and emerged with a score of 2.94 VPs and last place ..

Saturday morning dawned and the Irish got out the right side of the beds.

18.2 was achieved versus one of the favourites England and Ireland were back in the game.

Saturday afternoon saw Ireland with Moran Boland playing all 32 boards putting the whole 20 VPS onto their score and climbing into 2nd place behind Scotland who were winning all their matches.

Sunday morning dawned and the experienced  NIBU put a small win past Ireland.
11.27 to 8.73

On Sunday afternoon the 2nd English team beat Ireland by the same score.

I am currently playing thru the boards as I did not watch too much over the weekend.

I saw Ireland got a poor result on board 2 versus Scotland landing in 3NT when a 4H contract was more suitable. However on Board 4 the same pair hit back landing a 4H contract. 

I have made a file with all the contracts and the players names in it for Jack bridge program.

Its a pbn file and can be replayed on various bridge computer programs.

I don't think one can attach a file here so if anybody wants it I can email it to them 

eamongalligan@eircom.net

I am now bidding board 5 as North South. I South own 25 hcp balanced so lets see..

I am compelled to open 2C and see how it goes.I am playing the Dave Terry simple Acol system that grows legs in the hands of Dave Terry.

I was allowed make 11 tricks so lets see what the experts did. I really cannot imaging anything except a 3NT contract with 25 opp 3 and no fit ...AS EXPECTED all 3nts.

...............

Board 6 saw somebody miss a game but it was not an Irish. 

..........

Board 7 saw Galligan ease 1 imp ahead of Boland Moran ..in the cross imps ..

Hanlon McGann languish back a little after the 3NT-3 accident on Board 4

...............

Board 8 saw Galligan and his robot bid and make 6C handily enough.

Somebody missed it against Boland Moran as they climbed into the X-imps lead as 

Galligan climbed to 4th place.

...........

Board 9 Galligan defending 4S 

The Irish play 3S and 4S-2 so more imps in

.....................

Board 10 sees the Jack robots EW cruise into 6D. Lets see how that goes

Silence is golden...

...........

Board 11 saw my Jack robot opposition cruise into 6S and make 13.

4 of the 6 pairs of Camrose internationals missed the slam ... and Galligan loses 7 imps for treading water. Maybe Jack should play as the extra team in the Camrose.

...............

Board 12 saw my Jack opps do lots of bidding but subside in 3C

Middle of the road but somebody got mugged in 1SX for minus 500.

.......

Looks like they had some awards over the weekend for acting and actressing..

Some good looking humans on that show and some of them getting golden things.

Board 13 saw my robots bid 4S against me 

I might be beating this ..but I suspect they will pick up my spade Queen

I have 3 tricks ...4S went down but not sure it should

.............

Being a chess player since I learned with card board pieces back in the early 70s I am rather shocked at the news today of a chap getting murdered over a chess game. 

Some other details are more gruesome and I won't comment here. 

So board 14 ..

My Jack opps opened 4H and went down 3 ..Camrose players stayed lower.

...................

Board 15 Jack robots EW bid and made 6NT against me 

...............

I think this was the first half of the Friday night match. 

Galligan leads the Irish internationals.

.......................

My dog is fast asleep as today is the first time he missed the post man.

............

Camrose tonight on BBO vugraph

Tonight we should be able to watch the Camrose Trophy from Wales (I think)
Ireland will be represented by Thomas Hanlon Rory Boland Mark Moran Hugh McGann Tommy Garvey and John Carroll to the best of my knowledge.

Looks like it starts at 7pm .. Ireland versus Scotland .. thats Thomas Hanlon versus John Matheson.

I tournament directed the Maurice Quinn Trophy last night in Malahide. I saw some interesting results. I saw a lad open a weak 2 in hearts and he returned with one trick.

I also saw several pairs fail to bid a comfortable 6H ... For world class its a comfortable 7H

There was also a pair who apparently used Blackwood and one partner decided that the old diamond void was good for an ACE ...and the other lad decided well 7NT looks good here.

I think he would have made it except the lady holding the Diamond Ace did not believe they had all the aces and doubled and led it and kept leading diamonds for ever.

.............

Former Bankers Club bridge player the colourful Sean Burgess entered my table conversation last Sunday. Everybody has a Burgess story if they knew him. I have a couple despite not knowing so well. In fact I have several but some are not publishable and don't include me.

A Burgess story normally includes the teller.

Story 1 saw me glowing as I held AKQJ and 4 more clubs while playing against Sean Burgess and Terry Walsh in the short lived Wicket Club. Terry opened 1NT non vul .

I chanced a double and now Burgess offered me 4-1 odds that I would not take the first 7 tricks.

I had little knowledge of gambling at this stage but figured if I took the first 8 tricks I might lose the bet so I quietly backed down. When partner showed up with AK in some side suit we took the first 10 tricks. 1700 in the old scoring .. We won that match. 

.........

My 2nd Burgess story happened the first time he met me or became aware of my existance.

I went down to the bar in the Bankers halfway thru a routine trimming by the Hanlon team in a Roadstone League match ..My team featured the Mulhall brothers Dave and Justin along with Kevin O'Dea. Hanlon fielded Maurice Roche and Terry Walsh along with himself and Burgess.

The first words Sean Burgess ever spoke to me were ....

"Who the EFF are you " ... 

"Eamon Galligan" says I 

Do you realise you just outbid and outplayed the best bridge player Ireland might ever see.

Blank stare from me who was more interested in approaching former Bankers Barman Alan Malone and sourcing a pint.

........

"Not so quick says Burgess....

You just bid and made 3NT+1 against Terry and Maurice on board 7 ...

My partner who is the best player in Ireland managed to gather in 5 tricks in 1NT..

So that was the day I entered the world of Sean Burgess. 

..........

Sean emigrated to Thailand and passed away about 15 months ago .. 

Sean was a stalwart member of the famous LESS intermediate bridge team 

Armless Legless Faultless Endless.

O'Lubaigh was faultless and somebody else never shutup.

somebody else drank lots of beer .

...........................