From: mclegg@cs.ucsd.edu (Matthew Clegg)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: SEE YOUR HAND IN THE NEW YORK TIMES!
Keywords: bridge problems
Date: 17 Apr 92 16:49:38 GMT


	   SEE YOUR HAND IN THE NEW YORK TIMES!

I have recently been in contact with Alan Truscott, editor of the
bridge column for the New York Times and author of several books on
bridge.  I am arranging a demonstration of the OKBridge program for
him.  He would like to do a column on OKBridge in the near future, and
this will include an analysis of a hand used in the demonstration.

For the next week, I invite everyone to submit interesting hands.  At
the end of next week (April 24, or thereabouts), I will choose three
hands which will be used in the demonstration of the program.  One of
these hands will probably then find its way into print.  So, here is a
chance to see a hand of your choice printed in the New York Times!

When submitting a hand, you should consider the following criteria:

1. The hand should show interesting possibilities for play.  Truscott
   has said that he is not so much interested in bidding problems.

2. The hand should emphasize in some way the milieu provided by OKBridge.

3. The hand should be accompanied by an analysis.  A well-written
   analysis will substantially increase the chance that the hand will be
   selected to be shown to Truscott.  Conversely, a hand submitted without
   any analysis will NOT be considered.

4. If at all possible, you should submit with your analysis an
   "email duplicate" file so that it will be easy to load the hand
   into the program.

Mail all submissions to mclegg@cs.ucsd.edu.  I am tentatively establishing
a closing date for submissions at 12:00 AM PST (that's noon, not midnight!)
Friday, April 24, 1992.

Matthew Clegg.


P.S. In case your wondering, here is a brief description of OKBridge ...

Frequently Asked Questions about OkBridge
---------- ----- --------- ----- --------

1. What is OkBridge?

   OkBridge is a unix program which allows four people at different
   locations on the internet to play the game of bridge together.
   It can score according to the conventions of rubber, chicago, duplicate
   and IMP bridge.  Boards may be read from and written to files, and
   match points can be accumulated fro boards which have been played by
   more than one table.  Also, kibitzers may join a table and observe
   the play.

2. How can I get OkBridge?

   OkBridge can be obtained using anonymous ftp.  It is currently
   available at the following locations:

                     North America             Europe
                     ----- -------             ------
   Machine Name      suned.cs.yale.edu         nic.funet.fi
   IP Number         128.36.21.1               128.214.6.100
   Directory         pub/okbridge              pub/unix/games
   Filename          okbridge-1.6A.tar.Z       okbridge-1.6A.tar.Z

   For information about how to use anonymous ftp, ask any local guru or
   send email to me.
   
3. How can I subscribe to the OkBridge mailing list?

   There are two mailing lists pertaining to okbridge:

     okbridge@cs.ucsd.edu
       This list is intended for arranging bridge games.
       It has lately been seeing a traffic of ranging from 3 to 10 messages
       per day from people looking for 4th's (and 3rd's and 2nd's).           
                                                                              
     okbridge-pgm@cs.ucsd.edu
       This list is intended for announcing new bridge playing software and
       updates to old bridge software and for discussing issues in computer
       moderated bridge.  Future updates to okbridge will be announced here.

   To subsribe to either list, send a message to 
     listserv@cs.ucsd.edu 
   containing the single line
     ADD listname
   where listname is okbridge or okbridge-pgm, as appropriate.

4. If I already have a copy of OkBridge, do I need to get a new copy?

   If you have version 1.6 of OkBridge, then it is not necessary to
   obtain a new copy.  When you start up the program, the phrase
   "OKBRIDGE 1.6x" should appear in the upper left hand corner of the
   scren.  The number "1.6" is a major revision level -- when this
   changes, everyone will need to get a new copy of the program.  (Don't
   worry.  It's not going to change anytime soon.)  The letter "x" is
   the minor revision level -- minor revisions are made in order to fix
   bugs in the program and to provide small enhancements.  The current
   minor revision level is A.
   
5. What are some of the recent improvements to OkBridge?

   A few of the features added in the last few revisions are:

   * Many players may now join a single table.
   * Alerts have been added to the bidding.
   * Private communication channels have been adding for sending messages
     to your opponents which will not be seen by your partner.
   * A 'formal' playing mode has been added which attempts to simulate the
     effect of "playing behind screens" as found in tournaments.
   * One-line convention cards have been added for quickly conveying to
     your opponents the major conventions used by your partnership.
   * It is now possible to type '3C' as well as 'C3' to specify the
     three of clubs.


6. Can OkBridge be used to play duplicate games?

   OkBridge has an "email duplicate" feature, which allows boards along
   with player scores to be read and written from files.  This provides a
   crude form of duplicate play.  However, OkBridge does not provide any
   means for rotating the players among the tables.

7. Are there any organized competitions?

   Yes, every day in fact.  Shangyou Zhang has organized a daily
   competition.  At the beginning of the day, a set of boards for the day
   are published.  Any foursome may obtain these boards, play them, and
   then mail back the results to Zhang.  The players will then be ranked
   according to how they did relative to the others who played the same
   boards.  For more information about this system, contact
   szhang@math.udel.edu.

8. What is the "play" script?

   The play script is a shell script written by Shangyou Zhang and
   Zhenjun Wu which automates the search for players.  It provides
   the following features:

   * A database is maintained of bridge tables which have open seats,
     making it easier to locate players.
   * The daily boards mentioned above in (7) can be automatically
     retrieved, played and recorded.
   * The results of competitive play in the preceding few days can be
     retrieved and examined.
   * When new updates to the play script or the okbridge program become
     available, the play script can automatically retrieve the updates.

   To get the play script, and consequently the okbridge program,
   save the following few lines to the file "play", 
   then type "chmod u+x play" and then "play".

#!/bin/csh -f
# The line above is the top line of this file -- call it    : play
# Make the file executable by typing                        : chmod +x play
# type                                                      : play
# that's it!  be patient as it may take a while when you first run it.
# This program will update itself and get the latest version of the
# okbridge program.
echo "Obtaining a new copy program PLAY.  Wait..."
ftp -n 128.175.1.3<<ptf
user anonymous password
cd pub
get okbd.play play
bye
ptf
chmod +x play
play
# End of play script.

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