Regional bridge tourney playing out at DoubleTree

Bridge: You can design it, build it, cross it, burn it and this week you can even play it.

Beginning today, Charlottesville will play host to the Mid-Atlantic Bridge Conference regional tournament. It’s headquartered at the DoubleTree Hotel for seven days of knockouts, stratified pairs, dummies and trumps.

Yes, it’s sort of a big deal. We’re talking as many as 800 people expected to play from all over the Southeast, the country and even the world.

“It’s normally hosted in Washington, but when D.C. came up in the rotation for the national tournament, they had to find a new location for the regional and we were lucky enough to get it,” said Meg Massie, 25, tournament co-chair. “Charlottesville is an up-and-coming bridge community.”

Old Maid this ain’t

Bridge, for those who don’t play it, is a card game. It’s not an easy game like crazy eights or go fish. It’s not a simple game like blackjack, poker or gin rummy. To imagine bridge, think of throwing a euchre deck at a chessboard.

Bridge is full of odd terms like Yarborough (a hand with no card larger than a nine), singleton (the only card of its suit in a player’s hand) and rattlesnake (a 4-4-4-1 distribution, whatever that is).

Although you don’t see the world series of bridge on television, bridge is still popular enough to warrant a long-running column in most newspapers, although the nomenclature used sounds like a conversation between mafia businessmen.

“East must duck the heart king smoothly,” Bobby Wolff wrote in his On Bridge column in Saturday’s Daily Progress. “Declarer now should draw a second trump himself and ruff a diamond. Then he goes to dummy with a top club and cashes two diamonds. If the queen has not appeared, he needs clubs 3-3.”

When Mr. Wolff warns that “declarer ruffs diamond, draws the last trump and now the fall of the diamond queen provides enough discards,” it’s enough to make you call 9-1-1.

Can bridge rebuild?

“It is an intense, thinking person’s game,” Ms. Massie admitted. “It was quite popular in the 1950s, but it’s declined some since. Most of the people who play a lot are in their 60s, 70s or 80s, but there’s a growing junior population as more classes are offered and more people try it.”

There are enough people to keep the tables busy. There are established games across the area, from Keswick to Farmington to the Senior Center. Much of that is through the efforts of Ms. Massie, her husband, McKenzie Myers, and her mother, Nan Massie.

Their Jefferson Bridge Association hosts Monday, Wednesday and Friday games at the Cavalier Inn/Best Western. They also hold classes to deal in new players. Heck, even this week’s regional tournament has a special program for novices and intermediate players who want to give it a go.

“We have 80 to 100 people who play on a regular basis and there are classes offered to help people learn the game. You have to be careful, though,” she laughed. “Once you learn a little and play a little, you get hooked.”