(Information, Continued from page 209)

many other teams during a session. At the end of the session, the re- sults are compared and each board is worth 1 point - a Team scores 1 point for  a net score greater than zero, 1/2 point for a net score of zero, and 0 points for  a negative net score.

INDIVIDUAL
The Individual is a form of bridge where each contestant enters individually,  and plays with many different partners during a session. The scoring is usually  Matchpoints.

CONTINUOUS PAIRS:
Continuous Pairs events, or "Side Game Series" are a series of single-session  pair games held at tournaments. Players may play in as many of the sessions  as they wish, with the same or different partners. Players who play in at least  two sessions are eligible for overall awards.

PLAYERS CHOICE PAIRS:
A "Player's Choice Pairs" event is a pair event that is run over 3 sessions (the  Morning, Afternoon and Evening on a single day) Pairs may play in any two of  the sessions. This allows a pair to choose to play in the Morning and Afternoon  sessions, or the Afternoon and Evening sessions (or even the Morning and Eve- ning).

While many events are simply "Open", that is, all pairs or teams compete  against each other on an equal basis, it has become more popular in recent  years to include other types of events which allow players with limited experi- ence a chance to earn more masterpoints, even while competing against  stronger competition.

HANDICAPPED:
Handicapped events allow players with limited experience to be competitive  against stronger players. Each player is assigned a "handicap", usually based  on that player's masterpoint total. The handicaps of both members of a pair or  all participating members of a team is averaged. The result is then added to the  pair or team's score for a session, and the pairs or teams are then ranked.

There may be one single ranking which includes handicap, or two separate  rankings - one which includes handicap, and one for score without handicap.

Clubs will often assign handicaps based on a player's previous performance at  that club.

STRATIFIED:
Stratified events give players the opportunity to compete against everyone but  to be ranked only among their peers. Each pair or team is assigned a stratum,   or "Strat" based on the masterpoint holding of the player with the most master points.

In a typical "Stratified Pairs" game,  there may be three Strats. Frequently,  Strat "A" will be 1000+ masterpoints, Strat "B" 300-1000 MPs, and Strat "C" 0- 300 MPs. The most experienced players will be placed in Strat A, intermediate  players in Strat B and less experienced players in Strat C. Master points will be awarded for placings in all strats, but: a pair  or team is eligible for only one set of  masterpoint awards (they will receive whichever masterpoint  award is highest.)

In a three-strat game, the scores are ranked three times. The first ranking is done as in a regular open  game. These are the "Strat A" results. If a B or C pair does well in this ranking, they receive full credit  for that performance. The second ranking compares the scores of only the B and C pairs - the scores of  the Strat A pairs are eliminated. Once again, if a C pair does well, they receive points for their finishing  position in the Strat B results. The third and final ranking compares the scores of only the C pairs - all  the scores of the Strat A and B pairs are eliminated.

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