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Bridging retirement
All the cards are dealt. Through bidding it is decided what suit will trump all others, or if no suit is trump. Cards are played by each player to form a trick. The object is to get the most tricks. The bidding can stop at any time or go to game. Scoring is based on the number of tricks taken and the suit, the final bid and scores of previous hands. Sound confusing? It is initially, but lessons are available and friendly games allow "cheat sheets" for bidding rules. But those who do learn are hooked. Bridge players know where the games are. Ask one, and he will tell you there's one on Tuesdays at St. Mark's United Methodist Church on Luck's Lane and on Wednesdays at the Bon Air Library. And there's always the Bridge Center near Willow Lawn in Henrico County for the very competitive. Joyce Wenberg organizes weekly bridge games for the county's Parks and Recreation Department at the Bensley Community Center. Usually there are 2-3 tables though the numbers rise in the summer. Because the same people have been playing together so long, they are "basically on the same level," she said. Wenberg plays three times a week - at Bensley, at her church and with a foursome in private homes. Elvira Plumb is well-known by bridge players in the county. She has been teaching bridge for 18 years and is a Silver Life Master. You can find her at Bon Air Library teaching 32 players in six-week sessions, beginner through intermediate, for parks and recreation. Her classes fill up fast, and many sign up for several sessions each year. Plumb also plays at the Bridge Center. The center has games every day and some nights, and the cost to play varies. Both social and duplicate are contract bridge, which is a method of bidding, explained Dick Uhrig, bridge instructor at the Shepherd's Center of Chesterfield. However, duplicate bridge is set up so all partners play the same hands, and each hand is scored separately. No points are given for games or partial scores. Competitive bridge players may accumulate Life Master points by winning or placing in American Bridge Association sanctioned bridge games or tournaments in which the top players receive points or fractions of points on black, silver, red or gold levels. Master points are an indication of the competitive level reached by that player. Uhrig is a member of the American Bridge Association and plays social bridge at Grace Lutheran Church in a program sponsored by the Chester YMCA. They have nine or 10 tables. He has about 50 master points, but his son is a life master. Accumulating master points can be expensive, observed Uhrig. The entrance fee may run up to $10 and when there are 20 pairs, only the top two or three get a fraction of a point for each win. For Uhrig, the benefits aren't quantitative. "Bridge keeps you within a group that has similar interests - like one of the family." At the Shepherd's Center, he teaches bridge classes for a $25 annual fee. Opie Lindsay started playing bridge his freshman year in college and because it was for money, he learned quickly. His teacher was Dr. William Reynolds, Easley Blackwood's partner. Blackwood is the author of a convention or bid that has retained his name. "I like playing simplistic bridge [without artificial bids], because when I play for money, it is as much about reading people as reading the cards," said Lindsay, who met his wife while cutting a college class one day. She asked if anyone played bridge and he said, "Yes, damn well." He added, "I can play with anybody and win with anybody." But, Lindsay doesn't play for money anymore because he says, "No one wants to do that." Even so, he takes any opportunity to play. Bridge is played most often as a social game in homes or in community centers or churches. Despite many different types of rules, players manage to enjoy both the game and each other. Esther Seminaire organizes 20 teams for marathon bridge through the Brandermill Woman's Club where players set up their own games twice a month. Running scores are kept, and the top winners collect prizes at the end of the year. Gloria Irvin organizes the duplicate games for the club. Signups are in the fall, and the year lasts through May. Irvin plays twice a week at Brandermill Woods, once at St. Marks, and has a regular Sunday foursome. John Mejeur is the assistant director of the HCA Bridge Group, which plays on Fridays at CJW Medical Center's Johnston Willis campus or Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church. Previously known as the H2U group, it started about 15 years ago and despite several name changes, still attracts enough players for more than 10 tables. He also plays at St. Marks and the Buckingham Woods community building each week. |
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