The Setting Trick: Conversations with World Class Bridge Players

Susan Morse is my kind of person, well humored and a lover of bridge. In one of her Bridge Bulletin articles she introduced me to the concept of the Bridge Base Online "hamburger". This conversation came about based on a chance encounter at the Austin NABC. We've since gone on to break bread during the Hilton Head regional. In a just completed phone conversation Susan tells me she will talk to her team about playing the Spingold for the first time in Providence.

Episode highlights:

1:10- 'Good Evening Memphis'

14:55- How she began playing bridge

25:00- The all-too-familiar story of frantically pursuing masterpoints

48:35- New bridge book coming out soon?

53:10- The awe of meeting Meckstroth

1:03:27- The Migry (TST Guest #3) Hand

1:16:56- The tables are flipped and John gets interviewed

1:27:34- The Cardturner movie???

Returning from my hiatus, I am pleased to welcome Milan Macura to kick off our next season on The Setting Trick. Milan is a professional player and teacher. He is also a Youtube streamer and was previously president of the Czech Bridge Federation.. 

In 2009, through a series of amazing, fortunate events, Milan won the 1st World Youth Congress. Listen for the full story!

Milan Macura's Youtube Channel

Episode highlights:

5:06- His pathway in becoming a streamer

13:25- The story behind his improbable win in the 1st World Youth Congress

19:30- Milan can't be intimidated

26:05- "Full-service pro"

28:47- How Milan learned bridge

37:58- Youth bridge

48:55- Streaming details

52:08- Blue shirt red shirt

59:40- Milan loves playing bridge on tablets

1:05:25- Celebrating the World Youth Congress victory

We have saved today's guest to appear once the next in-person Nationals loomed near. Meet Jenni Carmichael, our first tournament director on the show and spouse of TST Guest #24 Tom Carmichael. A fine storyteller, Jenni finds the humor and draws out the drama.  

Episode Highlights:

1:20- Chances of Austin Nationals happening

5:23- Requirements to become a director

11:15- 3SXX making is clearly an average board

15:00- "I just have four cards left to play"

17:05- How Jenny got into directing

24:00- "The only law we care about is God's law"

28:46- "Does he have his bid?"

40:44- Bridge camps

46:30- Mixed Pair stories of absurd scores, intense pressure, and momentum

53:26- If no Greg, maybe no Double Dummy

55:20- Jenni once held a long grudge against her current director idol

1:11:12- It is useless to psych against Jenni

1:14:13- But her psychs are deadly

The Rimstedt family of Sweden is among the strongest bridge-playing families of all-time. Twins Mikael and Ola are the youngest players ever to win the World Pairs, and their sister Cecilia won the 2019 Venice Cup, sadly with their sister Sandra no longer on the team after having emigrated to the US. Today we have the pleasure of speaking to Mikael and Ola. In addition to being my friends and I've even been lucky enough to have them on my team on occasion.

Watch the video version here: https://john-mcallister-s52b.squarespace.com/episode-44-ola-and-mikael-rimstedt

Episode Highlights:

7:35- Mikael and Ola almost didn't play in the world pairs they ended up winning

13:17- How Mikael got angry at Ola on a board where their side got a complete top late in the finals of the World Pairs

18:02- Rim job on Vugraph

20:12- Making the Swedish Open team

34:42- Rimstedt brothers better than the Grossack brothers???

38:48- Why they split and came back together

46:12- Their dad previously played for Sweden

1:04:28- How Ola and Mikael got into bridge

1:12:08- Dating status

I am excited to share the new version of Double Dummy with all of you. We created this film in hopes of spreading the word about bridge and inspiring a new generation of bridge-lovers. Please watch it and if so inspired do share it with others in your life who might be curious about bridge.

The film features a team of the best American bridge players under age 21, vying for the United States' first ever medal in U21 team play. This is your opportunity to get an inside look at youth bridge at the highest level.

The film is available through our fundraiser with the ACBL Educational Foundation through October 11th.

https://watch.showandtell.film/watch/acblef

We are informally designating Susan Bricken as the Chief Enthusiasm Officer for the ACBL Educational Foundation's new program, BridgeWhiz. We hope she'll be an inspiration to all who want young people to learn the game. After finishing this episode, make sure to tell three people about BridgeWhiz, and feel free to copy me at [email protected]! To date 1,250+ students have signed up.

WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxAmqb_pKWw&t=3s

Episode Highlights:

0:50- BridgeWhiz details

6:48- The bridge version of Queen's Gambit

13:45- Immediately jumping into the deep end

20:20- Learning bridge from TST Guest 41 Robert Todd

23:08- Never play bridge with your spouse??

25:00- Doubling the size of her local bridge club

31:10- The interviewee becomes the interviewer

32:50- The history of Double Dummy

45:25- Saving Lives Susan

50:10- Swimming Susan

Shan Huang (technically Huang Shan) is a budding bridge legend. His frequent successes at tournaments earned him multiple Richmond trophies, the Canadian masterpoint race, before he immigrated to the US' greener bridge pastures. He is in a formidable partnership with Floridian Kevin Dwyer.

Link to Video Version: https://youtu.be/yAMvFrjPfp0

Episode Highlights:

1:40- Huang Shan

11:33- Why Shan moved from Canada to USA

19:30- His experience at a Chinese monastery

24:10- Descriptions of Justin Lall (RIP)

28:45- How Shan's partnership with Kevin Dwyer came to be

32:35- The power of preempts against precision players

35:30- The biggest advantage of strong club systems

41:45- Shan's mentors

49:54- A tragic hand

1:02:45- Another minus 1660 hand that costed John $1600+

1:07:27- Who does Shan most want to partner with?

1:13:22- How rating bridge hands is like rating peoples' attractiveness

1:19:00- Shan hates squealing

Robert Todd is becoming a force in the bridge teaching world and has been called "the next generation of great bridge instructor and entertainer." Having taught in 48 States, lectured at countless regionals, nationals, and cruises, Robert is following the path of his mentors Audrey Grant, Larry Cohen, or Barbara Seagram—some of the world's most renowned bridge teachers.

Besides teaching professionally, Robert is heavily involved in promoting youth bridge. Using his knowledge and expertise as a top-tiered educator, Robert is helping spearhead the new ACBL Education Foundation program, Bridge Whiz. If your child is interested in learning bridge online, this 20-week long class is perfect for their needs! Learn more here.

WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/5SKv693j0L0

Episode Highlights:

1:20- The history of the ACBL Education Foundation 

5:50- How to make learning bridge enjoyable

7:15- Robert's teaching style and method

11:57- ACBLEDF peddling Tricky Bridge

15:10- Robert was brainwashed into loving bridge

• His unique upbringing in the social bridge community influences his perspectives

22:05- Robert led a study to discover how many bridge players there are in America

27:05- Why the ACBL Education Foundation's goal is different than the ACBL's

32:35- Different bridge-playing communities

35:59- Professional teaching administrative details

43:52- Professional bridge and promoting bridge

50:53- Funny stories about TST Episode #31, Adam Kaplan

1:00:32- Robert's analysis on the Meckwell partnership

1:02:44- The administrative thinking behind BridgeWhiz

Ever since my conversation with Jeff Meckstroth, I began asking a standard question to Setting Trick guests, "are you better than (Jacek) Kalita?" It was a fun or tough question, depending on the guest, which got a wide variety of responses in spite of Jacek being ranked 2nd in the World Bridge Federation's rankings.

Hailing from Poland, Jacek is our first European based guest. Astute listeners will have noticed that I stopped asking the are you better than question when Jacek's partner Michal Nowosadzki confessed to self-kibitizing in multiple online events last year. The partner with whom Jacek won two Bermuda Bowls and also his good friend.

Find out what Jacek had to say about all of that and see his fine sense of humor for yourself.

Episode highlights:

3:58- Are you better than Kalita???

6:35- Michal Nowosadzki (Kalita's partner) cheating case

10:04- The aftermath reaction

15:00- Kalita's pathway to becoming a professional

23:35- When a frequent opponent becomes a partner

27:40- For the system nuts

31:50- Why Kalita is pro-kibitzing

36:20- The secret sauce behind Kalita and Nowosadzki constant success

41:00- Bridge and traveling the world

44:20- When Kalita got to play with his childhood bridge heroes

46:15- Kalita's former client helped create the stock market in Poland!

50:28- Kalita's family and bridge

53:35- Michal Klukowski and Kalita

In 2017, there was no bridge club at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Then Andrew Rowberg, a recent PhD graduate in computational material science, came along. Four years later, during which bribery cookies were baked, practice sessions held, and talent developed, the UCSB Overbidders Anonymous emerged victorious in the 2021 Online North American Collegiate Bridge Championships. We're excited to showcase the journey that this UCSB team took from having nothing to winning it all.

Episode Highlights:

2:40- The formation of the UCSB Bridge Club

4:05- How Danning learned bridge

5:34- The pieces of the champion team

12:20- COVID can't stop dedicated college students

13:42- Defeating TST Guest 32 Richard Jeng the Georgia Tech bridge giants

19:10- Freshman clutching it up in the wild Finals match

23:29- Andrew's teaching philosophy

28:00- Now is your perfect chance to hire a collegiate champion with a PhD in computational material science!

33:07- The overbidders in "Overbidders Anonymous" are no longer anonymous

39:30- The universally dreaded Berkeley monsters

45:35- Proof that playing bridge increases your job prospects

48:10- Danning plays the precise system and likes to take fitness

51:23- The expert's advice on forming a collegiate championship team

56:00- The secret ingredient in bridge success: sugar