Author Archives: ITSupport

Dear Friends,

The online season has started properly with the Cameron being played for on Monday evenings with around nine tables, and Nova has also started on Mondays at 7.15 with around six tables.  In addition, Fumi is running a friendly tournament on Thursday evenings, and this seems to be doing well.  However, we have so far been unable to get the Tuesday night tournament started. 

Anne has kindly offered to help us get started, but we do need to get some more tournament directors trained, as Anne needs a break, and with a club this size, we should be able to find four or five people who would be willing to undertake directing duties once or twice a month.  So, I appeal to you all to consider whether this is something you could do, and if interested, please contact Fumi who will give you some more information on what it entails and who to contact for training.

In other news, I should like to thank all those who took the time to respond to my questionnaire at the end of the last update.  I have collated all the responses, and these have been passed on to the rest of the committee for their input.  Once this is done, I will report back to you all, but I can say that the overwhelming consensus is that the club should not open at the moment, even if we could legally.  If you would still like to send in your answers, I would be happy to include them, as long as they arrive by 10^th October, as we are aiming to get the Autumn Newsletter out soon after that.  Speaking of which…

Fumi, Zibby and myself are busy working on the next newsletter. We are going to try a new format, one which we hope will be easier to collate.  We are currently looking for news to include, and I invite you to send any news items or snippets of interest to Fumi by 10^th October.

Membership Matters:  just a gentle reminder that subs are now due and are £5 plus your £10 SBU sub, if applicable. Happily, we have had a good uptake so far, but some people have chosen not to renew until the club reopens.  We don’t want to lose contact with these people, so the committee decided to introduce a ‘Suspended Membership’ category so they will be retained on our list unless they ask us to remove their names from our database.  They will continue to receive Newsletters and updates, and can, of course, renew their membership at any time.

At our recent meeting, we reluctantly said ‘Goodbye’ to Ian Parkinson who resigned as a trustee.  He and Delyth are moving to the Edinburgh area at the end of October, and we can’t underestimate the power of work Ian has put into constitutional matters over the years, and Delyth has put into the accounts.  We shall miss them, but wish them well.

Ian’s departure means that we need a new Trustee, so I am asking you all to think about whether you would like to get involved more in running the club.  All the main roles on the committee are currently filled, so any new Trustee would be joining in a supporting capacity, but there are always opportunities to get more involved.  It would be lovely if someone from Nova, Tuesday or Thursday nights would put their name forward, as we are aware that they sometimes feel overlooked, so please give it some thought if you are from one of those groups.  Fumi or myself, or any other Trustee will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Margaret

Please see attached.

Every Saturday Evening at 7 pm for 9 Weeks, starting 8th August on BBO

This event is a continuation of an initiative by Harry Smith

All SBU members are invited to enter. Registration for each event from 5 pm on the day, in the SBU Virtual Club on BBO.

Format for each event:
• 5 rounds of 5 boards scored in IMPs converted, post event, to VP
• Open to SBU members on any Saturday, stand-ins will be online to make up a half table
• There is no requirement to play in every tournament
• The sum of each pair’s six best scores will determine the final placings after week 9
• Black masterpoints will be awarded on the club scale for each separate tournament and for the final ranking after week 9
• Entry fee: 4BBO$ pp for each tournament payable online at registration
• Although unlikely, BBO Swiss software does not prevent pairs with similar scores playing each other more than once in the same tournament
• Initial seating in each tournament will be randomly assigned. Proceeds will be used to train online directors for SBU Affiliated Clubs wishing to run their own tournaments

Further details for those new to BBO are available on the SBU website. This is a ‘restricted entry’ event and all those interested MUST ensure that MEMPAD is updated with your BBO username. See SBU Homepage.

In these difficult times bridge players are fortunate to be able to get their fix online, thanks in particular to BBO. Many of you have enjoyed playing online as a substitute for the real thing. Unfortunately, online conditions make it quite easy to cheat. Cheating is the most serious accusation that can be levelled at a bridge player, and we do not use the word lightly. Most online matches are organised by individuals, not the SBU. They attract neither master points nor money and limited glory, but they should nonetheless be played in the right spirit. We cannot tolerate any form of cheating by our members, no matter when or where it occurs. A very small minority seem to think that there is nothing wrong in setting up a second account with the purpose of kibitzing their own matches; or finding ways to communicate illegally with partner during a casual friendly match. Not so. It is not a minor peccadillo. The Laws and Ethics Committee takes these forms of cheating very seriously indeed.

You should feel as guilty as Michal Nowosadski. Read his Confession here

We have a duty to all our members to root out those who are selfishly spoiling others’ enjoyment of online games, and perhaps tainting honest players with suspicion Instances of possible cheating have been reported to BBO and brought to our attention. Illegal behaviours can be monitored quite easily on BBO. Hand records are freely available after games. BBO has software that analyses actions taken and will report events such as a player consistently getting all their critical decisions correct. There is also a record of sign-ons and who is kibitzing matches. If you cheat you will be identified. It may be difficult to 100% prove online cheating, but we shall regard overwhelming statistical evidence of repeated faultless play as sufficient reason to apply an appropriate sanction. Other evidence, for example multiple sign-ons, may also be considered as sufficient proof. If you are tempted to cheat you should consider how your actions will affect your bridge future when you are found out.

Liz McGowan
(Chair, Laws and Ethics Committee)

A) Go to Mempad ( www.mempad.co.uk ) and log in. [If you have forgotten your password for Mempad, or think you never had one, then follow the “Forgotten password” routine]
B) On the home screen there are several big blue ‘tabs’, click on the one named “MY CONTACTS”.
C) On the next screen, underneath the title “My Details” there is an “EDIT” tab, click it.
D) You now have a screen entitled “Edit My Details”. Scroll more than half way down until you come to a column of six similar boxes. The first one is labelled “BBO USERNAME”. Fill in your BBO username, but please avoid adding extra spaces at the beginning or end.

Click on the “SAVE” button, and you are done.For those who have difficulty with MEMPAD, the home club secretary should be able to help or email masterpoints@sbu.org.uk