Pairs Tournament

Summary

The Pairs Tournament comprises 21 boards (seven three board rounds with automatic Mitchell movement ie North South stay seated, East West move up one table) . Days and times as shown below:

GMT	Geneva	New York	London	Sydney
19:30 Saturday	20:30	14:30	19:30	06:30

Entry is via pre-registration in which case you are almost guaranteed a place, or last minute walk-in where if there are other pairs around, you will be included in the session
Once you have started board 1, the server will move you automatically at the end of each round. If you do not see opponents or are in the lobby of the room, this means the next players/table are still playing – just wait and the server will move you as soon as it is practical
Players cannot join the event once auto-movement is confirmed 10 minutes after the room opens (unless a player/table requires a substitute)
WBF alerting rules apply in this room. Ratings will change based on the results on the 21 boards.

Information for First Time Players

You can register your intent to play in the Pairs up to 10 minutes before the room opens
Go to Members:Pairs Entry Desk
Note down your personal “Tournament Key” which is a four digit number. This tournament key stays the same for you and is used to confirm partnerships – you give out your tournament key to other members that you wish to partner in the Saturday Pairs
If you have a partner, enter their alias and tournament key, and the two of you are now entered into the next Saturday Pairs
If you do NOT have a partner, you can “enter without a partner” and include as much relevant information in the “Notes” field. E.g.

“I prefer Simple SAYC, easy going and average player”

“ Please see my profile as I prefer Full SAYC and a partner of similar ability”

“ I just want to play – any system or convention as long as it is KISS”
If you do not have a partner, you can also go to “enter without a partner” and see if there is another member who is seeking a partner that you would like to play with. If so, you can press the “Enter the Tournament” and click to confirm
If you wish to cancel your entry, then go to “Cancel your entry to the tournament”
Please make sure both you and your partner are in the club when the room opens. The server will then seat you in the Pairs room randomly with the other pre-registered players
You can begin play as soon as there are three full tables in the room
Three minutes after the room opens the server will allow players who have not pre-registered to take a seat. You can select a seat and ask your partner, or advertise for a partner to sit down. BOTH OF YOU MUST PRESS READY TO CONFIRM YOUR DESIRE TO PLAY IN THE PAIRS TOURNAMENT AND YOU MUST BE PREPARED TO PLAY ALL 21 BOARDS IN THE SESSION. The server will then combine confirmed pairs to make up a full table
If you do not have a partner, it is a good idea to advertise before the room opens for a partner or use the Partner Desk Room
Note that you will not be able to sit against another player/pair – when you select the seat the server will automatically move you to another table. Once your partner is seated and you have both pressed ready, then the server will combine you with the next available confirmed pair.
10 minutes after the room opens the server will announce “auto-movement is confirmed” which means the server will accept all full tables as being in the event. If you are at a table that is not full and have not started playing board 1, your table has been excluded from the session If you do not have a partner, it is a good idea to advertise before the room opens for a partner or use the Partner Desk Room
Players who start playing board 1 are expected to play all 21 boards in the room which should take nearly three hours. If you have to leave due to emergency or technical problems, then a reserve player can take your seat (advertise)
After every third board, the server will move you automatically. North South stay seated throughout, and East West move up one table
Some of the time, you may have to wait as the table that you will be moving to is still playing – please wait patiently and the server will move you as soon as the table becomes available

Things to note

If you have pre-registered, make sure you are in the club when the room opens
If you are a walk-in, make sure you and your partner both press ready to play so that server accepts your entry and then will start looking to combine you with another rconfirmed pair
At the end of each round, do not panic if you do not see opponents – just wait and server will seat you
If you have exited the club, restarted the machine, try to look for your partner and sit opposite
WBF alerting rules mean 1 club and 1 diamond opening bids may be three card suits. Also no need to alert doubles or bids above 3NT (unless opening bids). This is a WBF level 3 event which means pretty much all systems and convention allowed except for highly unusual methods.

This room follows full WBF alerting policy

http://www.worldbridge.org/departments/systems/alerts.asp

Essentially:

The following classes of calls should be alerted:

Conventional bids should be alerted, non-conventional bids should not.
Those bids which have special meanings or which are based on or lead to special understandings between the partners. (A player may not make a call or play based on a special partnership understanding unless an opposing pair may reasonably be expected to understand its meaning, or unless his side discloses the use of such call or play in accordance with the regulations of the sponsoring organization). See Law 40(b).
Non-forcing jump changes of suit responses to opening bids or overcalls, and non-forcing new suit responses by an un-passed hand to opening bids of one of a suit.
If in doubt, alert.

Generally speaking, there is no need to alert the following

All doubles.
Any no-trump bid that suggests a balanced or semi-balanced hand, or suggests a no-trump contract.
Any call at the four level or higher, with the exception of conventional calls on the first round of the auction.