Bridge Base Inc.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bridge Base Incorporated is a business which established and maintains an online website. It was founded in 1990 by Fred Gitelman, President, and Dr. Sheri Winestock, Vice-President. Their first two products, BASE II (1990) and BASE III (1991) were analytical tools designed for serious students of bridge.[1] It offers free online Contract Bridge for anyone willing to register a user name.
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[edit] Fred Gitelman
Fred Gitelman, who a background in both computer science and bridge, is widely regarded by bridge players as colorful. He once signaled his partner on the first trick of a hand of which suit to lead for the next trick by discarding a perfectly good Ace of spades ! He and his partner defeated the contract by two tricks for a top score. He is widely known for his play and his efforts toward furthering the game of contract bridge. He was named honorary American Contract Bridge Club (ACBL) player of the year for 2005 [2]
[edit] Use of the website
Anyone can register and play free at Bridge base online (BBO) and it is common to find thousands of players. Because the language of bridge bidding and play uses only 15 words and because all selections are done via mouseclick, people from any country and people who speak many languages can play together. In addition, BBO has support for a number of languages which allows player and kibbitzer chat at tables and other "rooms".
[edit] American Contract Bridge League
In conjunction with the ACBL, BBO sponsors ACBL sanctioned tournaments on its website. These award online masterpoints. These colorless masterpoints awarded for online play can be combined toward the masterpoint rankings established by the ACBL.
[edit] Novices
The site, which requires a download of specialized software, has free instruction about bidding and play, a free downloadable demonstration of "BridgeMaster", rooms to practice bidding and rooms to practice play with a partner. Many of the tables can be observed by anyone. A friendly atmosphere is maintained by a complaint line which is provided and closely watched. A player who uses offensive language or infringes on other player's enjoyment can be blocked from the site temporarily or permanently.
[edit] For More Experienced Players
The "Deal of the week" and past "Deals of the Week" are articles which examine world class player's thinking as they play a hand. These can be quite useful to intermediate and advanced players. There are many tournaments every day. Some tournaments are individual, some are pairs only and some are team of four tournaments. Some tournaments are free to enter, some require a small fee (usually $1.00 or equivalent) and some require a little more. In addition the site sponsors "money bridge"; players compete toward earning BBO dollars which can be used for tournaments or to purchase software. Normally, a $10.00 authorization via credit card buys a player 10 BBO dollars which can be spent on anything BBO offers.
[edit] The development and use of 'Bots
BBO has an alternative to playing with people which it calls "GIB". It is a software, and quite a good one, though somewhat unpredictable. One day a month any player may play with it, or in combination with it and other people, for free. Other days of the month it costs a bit to use it.
[edit] World Class Tournaments
The BBO software provides pictures of cards and a chat window. Through use of internet technology, some world class tournaments are transmitted via internet so that thousands of BBO registered user can watch a hand being played at a world class tournament in near real time. In these tournaments, commentary is often provided by a recognized bridge expert.
