By Carleigh Kate Knight
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
As 10-year-old Udai Baisiwala looked at his card hand, he scrunched his nose, and a small, worried wrinkle appeared between his eyebrows. "I wish I wouldn't have sat here," he said. "This hand is the worst."
He and seven other children sat at little card tables at the Bridge Club located on Roswell Road. It's a Saturday morning, and rather than sleeping in and watching cartoons, these children are learning Bridge - a card game that requires practice, strategy, understanding probability and trust.
On Saturday, these children, along with almost 200 others in the state, will compete for the Georgia Youth Open Pairs State Championship. The Marietta children of the Ruff n'Sluff team are under the umbrella nonprofit group Atlanta Junior Bridge (AJB). Another Bridge club meets at Dickerson Middle School.
"This is not a game you can learn overnight," said Carolyn Eckert, vice president of AJB.
"It requires studying, practice and reading. Once you start, you become a lifelong learner."
Nancy Smith, a teacher at Ruff n' Sluff, laughs when asked to explain the game. All she'll tell you is that it's played in partners, and their style of competition is called duplicates. The dealer puts the cards onto a board, and every participating table gets the same hand.
Partners are called "north and south" and "east and west." In the game, partners play to win at their table, but they are also playing against other north/south, east/west teams to see who can make the most of their hand.
"With duplicates, anyone can win," said Smith.
For some of the children at Ruff n' Sluff, winning means everything.
"It's an entertaining game, but I want to win," said Ed Zhu, 13.
"Losing and getting bad partners, that's the only thing that stresses me out."
Sportsmanship is a large part of AJB, especially considering age and gender have nothing to do with finding a partner.
"This is a mentally challenging game, so tournaments aren't broken down by age or gender. A 16-year-old can be a partner with a 10-year-old. It's all about skill, strategy and dedication to the game," said Eckerd.
They have a section dedicated to sportsmanship on their Web page, and Smith constantly reminds children of playing with integrity. She's also weary of pairing siblings as partners.
"These are children who compete in chess, with their grades and other extra-curricular activities, so we stress playing with ethics," said Smith.
The game lends itself to politeness. One rule requires players to say please every time they request a card. Children are allowed talk about anything at the table, other than their hand.
"There is bridge etiquette but it's also a friendly game," said Smith.
Bridge, she said, has been lost throughout the generations. But all the volunteer teachers with AJB are hoping to pass their affection for the mind-bending card game to the next era of players.
"People who are 50 and beyond probably remember playing in college or with their parents, but now kids have video games and stuff we didn't have," said Smith.
"This is a game helps them think for themselves, who are bright and who like a challenge."
cknight@mdjonline.com
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