Bridge - the best game ever invented (and the game of my life)

To Evan Bailey (5/12/1929 - 3/30/2008) -- Your charisma and enlightenments will inspire me forever.

"You may find us a little larger than life, but that is only because life at times is apt to be too drab and dreary."
-- The Hideous Hog, in Victor Mollo's Bridge in the Menagerie

I started playing bridge more than ten years ago when I was in junior high school. Words cannot possibly express my love and passion for this game. My dream is to become the world's greatest player. It is admittedly an ambitious dream, but I have never stopped working towards it. I am fortunate to be a student of Joel Hoersch and have regular partnerships with Roger Doughman, Rick Roeder and Jon Wright in San Diego. I am also blessed to have at various occasions played with and learned from some top experts in the nation such as Evan Bailey, Jade Barrett, Jason Feldman, Gene Freed, Marshall Miles and Ivar Stakgold. The recent period has witnessed some of my most notable successes so far (there will be many more to come, I promise):

Masterpoint Races
I was the winner of both ACBL Mini-McKenney and Aces of Clubs races for my category (100 to 200) in 2006. Many thanks to all my partners, teammates and supporters in San Diego area and San Francisco Bay area for such a great year to remember!
- Excerpts from the April 2007 Bridge Bulletin
  - Mini-McKenney
  - Ace of Clubs
- Interview with the La Jolla Bridge Unit
NABC
I won the North American Open Pairs Flight C national champion with Jon King in the St. Louis Spring NABC.
San Diego Regional
Playing on home ground, I was the top masterpoint winner of the 62nd Pacific Southwest Regional (a.k.a. San Diego Regional) with a record-breaking 104.86 masterpoints.
- Official ACBL summary
Report in the China Press (in Chinese)

My other successes (or failures in some cases, depending on how optimistic you are) so far include (but are not limited to):

National events (NAOP = North American Open Pairs, GNT = Grand National Teams):
- First (1st) place in NAOP Flight C District 22 final, Palm Springs CA, December 2005 (with Sriram Ramabhadran).
- Ninth (9th) place in NAOP Flight C national final, Dallas TX, April 2006 (with Sriram Ramabhadran).
- First (1st) place in GNT Flight C District 22 final, San Diego CA, April 2006 (with Raza Mobin, Sriram Ramabhadran and Chong Zhao).
- Semi-finalist in GNT Flight C national final, Chicago IL, July 2006 (with Jon King, Sriram Ramabhadran and Chong Zhao).
- Second (2nd) place in NAOP Flight C District 22 final, Palm Springs CA, December 2006 (with Jon King).
- First (1st) place in NAOP Flight C national final, St. Louis MO, March 2007 (with Jon King).
- First (1st) place in GNT Flight B District 22 final, San Diego CA, April 2007 (with Jon King, Sriram Ramabhadran and Chong Zhao).
- Quarter-finalist in GNT Flight B national final, Nashville TN, July 2007 (with Jon King, Sriram Ramabhadran and Chong Zhao).
- Second (2nd) place in NAOP Flight B District 22 final, Palm Springs CA, December 2007 (with Ron Fertig).
- Second (2nd) place in NAOP Flight B national final, Detroit MI, March 2008 (with Ron Fertig).
- Second (2nd) place in GNT Championship Flight District 22 final, San Diego CA, March 2008 (with Jon Wright, Joel Hoersch and Greg Michaels).
Top-flight/bracket regional titles and runner-ups (two or more session events):
- San Diego CA, April 2007 (with Jon Wright)
- (Runner-up) San Diego CA, April 2007 (with Roger Doughman, Gene Freed and Bill Wickham)
- Riverside CA, Feburary 2008 (with Jon Wright, Bill Hall and Joel Hoersch)
- (Runner-up) San Diego CA, March 2008 (with Jon Wright, John Coufal and Rick Roeder)
- (Runner-up) La Puente CA, March 2008 (with Rick Roeder, Steve Goldstein and Marshall Miles)
Top-flight/bracket sectional titles:
- Hollister CA, June 2006 (with Nongyu Li)
- San Diego CA, November 2006 (with Roger Doughman)
- San Diego CA, March 2007 (with Jon Wright, Kent Hartman and Roberto Scaramuzzi)
- Inglewood CA, May 2007 (with Rick Roeder, Steve Goldstein and Marshall Miles)
- Oceanside CA, October 2007 (with Jon Wright, David Chechelashvili and Rick Roeder)
- San Diego CA, November 2007 (with Jon Wright, Jason Feldman and Rick Roeder)
- San Diego CA, April 2008 (with Jon Wright, Mike Crawford and Roger Doughman)
- Oceanside CA, May 2008 (with Rick Roeder, Ivar Stakgold and Jon Wright)
ACBL ranks:
- Life Master, July 2006
- Bronze Life Master, September 2006
- Silver Life Master, July 2007
Miscellaneous:
- Panelist for Marshall Miles' Master Solvers Panel, Contract Bridge Forum, May 2007 and January 2008
- ACBL Barry Crane Top 500, 2006 and 2007

(Me with bridge legend Marshall Miles, Palm Springs CA, March 2006.)

My bridge bookshelf
(Sorted by author's last name)

[Marty Bergen] Points Schmoints!
[Marty Bergen] More Points Schmoints!
[Marty Bergen] Marty Sez - Volume 3
[Marty Bergen] Hand Evaluation
[Marty Bergen] Better Rebidding with Bergen
[Marty Bergen] To Open, or Not to Open
[Larry Cohen] To Bid or Not to Bid
[Larry Cohen] Following the Law
[Robert Darvas, Norman de V. Hart] Right through the Pack
[Hugh Kelsey] Killing Defence at Bridge
[Hugh Kelsey] More Killing Defence at Bridge
[Philip King, Robert King] The Hog in the 21st Century
[Ron Klinger] 100 Winning Bridge Tips
[Ron Klinger] 100 Winning Duplicate Tips
[Mike Lawrence] How to Read Your Opponents' Cards
[Mike Lawrence] The Complete Book on Overcalls in Contract Bridge
[Mike Lawrence] The Complete Book on Balancing in Contract Bridge
[Mike Lawrence] The Complete Book on Takeout Doubles in Contract Bridge
[Mike Lawrence] Double! New Meanings for an Old Bid
[Mike Lawrence] Opening Leads
[Mike Lawrence] I Fought the Law of Total Tricks
[Zia Mahmood] Bridge My Way
[Victor Mollo, Nico Gardner] Card Play Technique
[Victor Mollo] Bridge in the Menagerie
[Victor Mollo] Bridge in the Fourth Dimension
[Victor Mollo] Victor Mollo's Bridge Club (a.k.a. Masters and Monsters)
[Victor Mollo] You Need Never Lose in Bridge
[Victor Mollo] Destiny at Bay
[Victor Mollo] Bridge in the Fifth Dimension
[Victor Mollo] Murder in the Menagerie
[Victor Mollo, Robert King] Winning Bridge in the Menagerie
[Julian Pottage] Back through the Pack
[Terence Reese] Reese on Play
[Terence Reese] Play These Hands with Me
[Terence Reese] Play Bridge with Reese
[Steve Robinson] Washington Standard
[William Root, Richard Pavlicek] Modern Bridge Conventions
[S. J. Simon] Why You Lose at Bridge
[Andy Stark] The Weak Notrump
[Dorothy Truscott] Bid Better, Play Better
[Louis Watson] Play of the Hand
[Kit Woolsey] Matchpoints

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