Bridge with a View: September Tournament at the Yacht Club

Calling all bridge players!

The Village People Bridge Club will be hosting its third annual ACBL bridge tournament September 18 through 20 at the Yacht Club.

Morning sessions start at 9:30 and afternoon sessions begin at 1:00. You DO need an American Contract Bridge League number to participate; but if you are not already a member, you can obtain a temporary guest membership for free by going to www.acbl.org.

Besides playing duplicate bridge against players from the greater Knoxville area (and occasionally from Florida, Nashville and other places), there’s lunch at the Yacht Club of Tellico Village — where you can discuss the morning’s hands with fellow enthusiasts.

Another highlight is an evening boat ride to Calhoun’s, in case you didn’t get enough bridge talk in at lunch. There is also a partnership desk, where partnership chair Tom Paul (tomwpaul@juno.com) tries to pair up people of similar skills.

If you have questions on the tournament, contact Tournament Chair Tom Paul or visit www.acbl.org and search for tournaments to pull up the flyer with full details.

'POINTS AND BRAGGING RIGHTS'

For those of you who aren't familiar with bridge, Tellico Village has a large and active bridge community. This group plays every Monday at 4:30 p.m. at Chota "for points and bragging rights." Contact Tom Paul or Jackie Curtiss (jrauscherc@aol.com) for details.

Additionally, there is another game Friday afternoons at 1 o'clock at Chota — led by Pete Misslin (pmisslin@tds.net).

Duplicate bridge is played largely like “social” or “Chicago” bridge, except that every table plays the same sets of cards. This makes the game fairer, because every pair has to deal with the same bad cards or slam hands as their opponents, making skill a much bigger part of the game than just luck at getting good cards, organizers stated.

You can also look at the cards hand by hand afterward to see how your opponent’s found that great slam … and how a different opening card can change the results.

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN

If you don’t know how to play bridge but would like to learn, free lessons are available in the Village. Contact Gary Crawford (gncrawford42@outlook.com) for more information about lessons or about Chicago-style social games.

Tellico Villagers are very involved in the bridge world outside the Village, as well. Steve Moore and Sue Miller will be co-chairing the Gatlinburg tournament from April 21-27, 2025, at the Gatlinburg Convention Center. It’s the world’s biggest regional tournament, according to information provided to The Connection.

And besides being a director in Tellico Village games, Tom Paul is president of the Tennessee Valley Unit.

Bridge is a game that is known to be challenging, and is a wonderful way to meet people and focus your brain. The charity of choice for the ACBL is the Alzheimer’s Association, as many people look at mind puzzles like bridge and chess as a way to keep your brain moving. And if you get hooked on the game, there are also games virtually every day of the week in Knoxville, Oak Ridge and Maryville, according to local organizers.

"Come and challenge yourself and meet new friends by playing Bridge with a View!"