2021 APRIL INVITATIONAL TEAMS

 

 

CONDITIONS OF CONTEST

 

 

 

1. The 2021 April Invitational Teams will be hosted in Bridge Base Online from 20th to 24th of April, 2021.

 

 

2. All participants are bound by the regulations within this document.

 

Participation is by personal invitation to the team captain and all players must be accepted by the tournament organiser.

 

Teams can consist of 4 – 10 players. If necessary, more players can be added. There are no minimum play requirements.

 

At the moment teams and/or players are registered, they automatically agree to play according to the conditions in this document.

 

Should a team be disqualified and/or withdraw by their own choice (before or during the event), there will be no refund of entry fees.

 

 

 

3. Schedule of play:

 

Tuesday, 20 April 2021

12:00 Eastern Time / 18:00 CET – Round 1 (20 boards)

14:45 Eastern Time / 20:45 CET – Round 2 (20 boards)

 

Wednesday, 21 April 2021

10:00 Eastern Time / 16:00 CET – Round 3 (20 boards)

12:45 Eastern Time / 18:45 CET – Round 4 (20 boards)

 

Thursday, 22 April 2021

10:00 Eastern Time / 16:00 CET – Round 5 (20 boards)

12:45 Eastern Time / 18:45 CET – Round 6 (20 boards)

 

Friday, 23 April 2021

11:00 Eastern Time / 17:00 CET – Round 7 (20 boards)

 

14:00 Eastern Time / 20:00 CET – Semifinal. Segment 1 (16 boards)

16:10 Eastern Time / 22:10 CET – Semifinal. Segment 2 (16 boards)

 

Saturday, 24 April 2021

11:00 Eastern Time / 17:00 CET – Final. Segment 1 (14 boards)

After 10 minutes break – Final Segment 2 (14 boards)

After 10 minutes break – Final Segment 3 (14 boards)

 

 

 

4. Qualifying Stage

 

The qualifying stage will be played in the form of a “Round Robin” and will consist of 140 boards played in 7 matches of 20 boards each.

 

The results of each match shall be converted into Victory Points in accordance with the appropriate WBF IMP/VP scales (see p. 10 below).

 

A team will receive 12 VP for any match that is a BYE.

 

In order to determine the grouping for the knockout stage, a tie between two teams will be broken by the result of the match between those two teams. If there should still be a tie, then the IMP quotient of all matches will be taken into consideration to break the tie.

 

The top 4 teams from the qualifying stage will advance to the knockout stage.

 

 

5. Knockout Stage

 

The team placed 1st in the Round Robin gets to choose the opponent for the semifinal from the teams placed 3th – 4th in the Round Robin.

 

Semifinal will be played over 32 boards, 2 separate segments of 16 boards each.

 

Final will be played over 42 boards, 3 separate segments of 14 boards each.

 

There will be the following carry over:

 

 

6. Line-Up

 

In the Round Robin qualifying stage the lineup change is possible after 10 boards provided that no player would change the compass direction for the second half of the match. In other words it is possible to enter new players as a substitution of the existing players but not possible for the existing players to switch the table.

 

In the semifinal change of the line-up is possible after 16 boards with no restriction (separate segments).

 

In the final change of the line-up is possible after 14 boards with no restriction (separate segments).

 

In the Round Robin qualifying stage the captains submit their line up without knowing the line-up of their opponents (“blind line-up”).

 

In the semifinal the higher ranked teams in the Round Robin may select any one of the two segments in which to have seating rights and the opponents then have seating rights in the other segment.

 

In the final the higher ranked teams in the Round Robin may select any of the three segments in which to have seating rights and the opponents then have seating rights in the other two segments OR they may pass this right over; in other words, let the opponents take first choice of one segment leaving them with the remaining two segments.

 

In the Round Robin qualifying stage the teams are expected to submit their line-up as soon as practical but in any case not later than 30 minutes before the start of the round.

 

Teams who infringe this regulation will be subject to VP penalties according to this scale:

 

The line-up must be submitted through the line-up web utility. All captains will be provided with the respective link and the password.

 

 

7. Running the matches

 

All players involved must be online and logged in to Bridge Base Online 10 minutes before the start of the round at the latest.

 

Players must have their official name on their BBO profile. Private isn't allowed. Teams who infringe this regulation will be subject to VP penalties according to this scale:

 

The Tournament Director will create the tables and send invitations to the players in accordance with the submitted line-ups. Players are requested to accept the invitation immediately upon receipt.

 

All tables will play duplicated boards (same boards for every team).

 

The table settings will allow kibitzers but forbid communication between players and kibitzers. This decision can at any time be revoked by the tournament organiser.

 

Barometer scoring will be OFF. The scores are only visible (for the players) after the last board has been played. Kibitzers can see the scores during the match.

 

Undo and claiming: the tournament organiser encourages the players to accept the opponent’s undo in the obvious misclick situations during the bidding as well as play. In case such undo is refused a player gets a “challenge” whereby the TD can be summoned to the table. Play must be shut down till the TD arrives. The TD will assess the situation, and if he believes the undo is justified by an obvious misclick the undo has to be accepted by the opponents.

 

Players alert their own bids. Bids must be alerted before entering the bids. If you don’t alert before making your bid, your opponent may think that your bid is natural, make his/her bid, then see the Alert and legitimately ask for an undo in case the information changes his/her perspectives.

 

If players explain bids via chat they should set the recipients to Opponents, not Table, so that only opponents see the explanation not partner. The best way is to explain the bids via the BBO alert mechanism.

 

Players may not consult their own system card and use any aids to their memory or calculation or technique between the commencement of the auction and the end of play.

 

If players experience highly suspicious plays, we encourage you to send a report to the organizers at mmt@bridgeresults.org. We will not reveal your name as source.

 

Players are expected to finish 20 boards within 2 hours 30 minutes; 16 boards within 2 hours; 14 boards within 1 hour 45 minutes. The Tournament Director may remove unplayed boards if in his opinion a delay in finishing the match in the allotted time would interfere with the smooth running of the competition.

 

 

8. Request of the TD ruling

 

The tournament organiser strongly encourages participants to play in the most respectful way. Any player can summon the Director to the table in case of irregularities. The time for a request for a TD ruling expires 30 minutes after the end of the match. All requests will be decided by a qualified Director (if appropriate - in consultation with other directors and/or world class players); no further appeal will be possible after the TD’s decision.

 

To submit protests, you should send email to: mmt@bridgeresults.org

 

 

9. These Regulations may be amended and augmented at the discretion of the organizing committee if circumstances so warrant so as to ensure the smooth, efficient and enjoyable execution of the events.

 

Although the Monthly Invitational Teams are not aligned with any bridge organization, we take ethical violations seriously and report to Eric Laurant from the WBF Investigation committee if our experts and statisticians find ground to suspect a pair/player is violating the rules of bridge through self-kibitzing or illegal communication with partner or teammates.

 

 

10. The WBF Victory Points scale for 20 boards:

 

IMP

VP

 

IMP

VP

0

10.00

10.00

 

35

16.93

3.07

1

10.28

9.72

 

36

17.06

2.94

2

10.55

9.45

 

37

17.19

2.81

3

10.82

9.18

 

38

17.32

2.68

4

11.08

8.92

 

39

17.44

2.56

5

11.34

8.66

 

40

17.56

2.44

6

11.59

8.41

 

41

17.68

2.32

7

11.83

8.17

 

42

17.79

2.21

8

12.07

7.93

 

43

17.90

2.10

9

12.30

7.70

 

44

18.01

1.99

10

12.53

7.47

 

45

18.12

1.88

11

12.76

7.24

 

46

18.23

1.77

12

12.98

7.02

 

47

18.33

1.67

13

13.20

6.80

 

48

18.43

1.57

14

13.41

6.59

 

49

18.53

1.47

15

13.61

6.39

 

50

18.63

1.37

16

13.81

6.19

 

51

18.73

1.27

17

14.01

5.99

 

52

18.82

1.18

18

14.20

5.80

 

53

18.91

1.09

19

14.39

5.61

 

54

19.00

1.00

20

14.58

5.42

 

55

19.09

0.91

21

14.76

5.24

 

56

19.17

0.83

22

14.94

5.06

 

57

19.25

0.75

23

15.11

4.89

 

58

19.33

0.67

24

15.28

4.72

 

59

19.41

0.59

25

15.45

4.55

 

60

19.49

0.51

26

15.61

4.39

 

61

19.57

0.43

27

15.77

4.23

 

62

19.65

0.35

28

15.93

4.07

 

63

19.72

0.28

29

16.08

3.92

 

64

19.79

0.21

30

16.23

3.77

 

65

19.86

0.14

31

16.38

3.62

 

66

19.93

0.07

32

16.52

3.48

 

67

19.99

0.01

33

16.66

3.34

 

68

20.00

0.00

34

16.80

3.20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last update: March 31, 2021