Brain Workout Section!

For those of you who used to like the puzzles I printed in the old bulletins, here is a link to an online version: one of the puzzles that I used to feature in the old paper Bulletins, but it is easy to play on a computer as well. Not so easy on a tablet or phone, since most of the puzzles require right-clicks, not easily done in a tablet or phone environment. Galaxies gives you a grid of cells, some containing dots in the center or on the edges. Your job is to divide the grid into regions of cells, so that each region has a symmetrical shape (rotating the shape 180 degrees creates the exact same shape) and has only one dot at its exact center. You'll click on the borders between cells to draw in boundaries between groups, and when a new group is created that fits the rules, the group will be coloured white. However, this shape, while fitting the rules, may not be part of the actual solution, and you may have to adjust the shape later to make other groups also fit! Strategy: Start on the outside and work your way into the center. A few region borders will be clear from the placement of the white dots and at some point you'll have to guess the shape from the clues; remember that all regions are symmetrical so if you add a cell to a shape, you have to add a corresponding cell at the other end to maintain the symmetry. Click on the puzzle you want to try at the right (or the caption below) to go to the page with all the instructions you'll need. These puzzles come from Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection (see below) and there are links there to apps for most devices. The types of puzzles in this collection help you to think logically. They begin with simple clues and often develop into more complicated thought trains. Doing puzzles like these strengthens your logical thinking and this helps when you have to work out what bridge actions must be right or wrong based on evidence seen.	Easy puzzle (McBruce's time: 1min 37sec)
	Medium puzzle (McBruce's time: 2min 34sec)
	Tricky puzzle (McBruce's time: 2min 23sec)

Answers to the trivia questions at the top of the page...

(Click here to go back to the questions!)

August 22 birthdays:

• 1862 — Claude Debussy, French pianist and the leading composer in the impressionist style.
• 1904 — Deng Xiaoping, Chinese solider and political head of state from 1978-1989.
• 1920 — Ray Bradbury, American science fiction writer of Fahrenheit 451.
• 1934 — Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., American general and engineer who commanded the allied forces in the Persian Gulf War.
• 1957 — Steve Davis, English retired snooker player who reached the final of the world championship eight times in nine years in the 1980s, winning six of the eight.
• ...and...
• February 22, 1732 — George Washington, American general and politician, first President of the United States.

Strat Limits (by pair average) A: 1500+, B: 500 - 1500, C: 0 - 500.
Masterpoints: Mostly red points but gold points for overall winners if they play another session in the Morning Side Game Series, and a chance for gold points for individuals whose two best games in the series are good enough to make the series overalls.
Puget Sound 2022 winners (5 tables):
A: Dudley Brown; Grandview WA; Herman Xiao; Sammamish WA
B: John McClure; Ocean Shores WA; Sonia Arsene; Lynnwood WA

Afternoon-Evening Events (1:00pm / 7:00pm)

Wednesday-Thursday Mt. Baker Knockout Teams: Team game, 4-6 players on a team. Soloway-style knockout: two-session round-robin Swiss Teams for all teams on day one, short matches against every (or almost every) other team in the bracket, scored in IMPs and converted to Victory Points, with the top four teams in each bracket advancing to the semifinals, which begin tomorrow at 1pm, and are 24-board head-to-head matches with all four teams playing two matches for gold point awards for first through fourth place.

Bracketed, by team average into brackets of 9-16 teams.
Masterpoints: Gold points for teams that make the semifinals and play all four sessions, red points for Swiss match awards.  Lower brackets may have part-gold, part-red for overalls, based on masterpoints.
Puget Sound 2022 winners: (13 teams in 2 brackets)
Bracket I: Nicholas Stock; North Vancouver BC; Ray Miller; Seattle WA; Ken Scholes; Bellevue WA; Eric Sieg; Issaquah WA
Bracket II: Thomas Anderson - Jack Qi - Lucy Zhong; North Vancouver BC; Stephen Pickett; Vancouver BC

Wednesday A/B/C Open Pairs: Two session pairs game, matchpoint scoring.

Strat Limits (by pair average) A: 3000+, B: 1500 - 3000, C: 0 - 1500.
Masterpoints: Gold points for overalls and some section tops, other awards are red points.  Note that you can win points in the first session that are replaced by a higher overall award after the second: you get the greater of your overall award or the sum of the session awards; not both combined.
Puget Sound 2022 winners (13, 12½ tables):
A, B, C: Arthur Gong - Nathan Gong; Sammamish WA

Wednesday Gold Rush 0-750 Pairs: Two session pairs game, matchpoint scoring.

Strat Limits (by pair average) 7: 400 - 750, 4: 200 - 400, 2: 0-200.  No individuals over 750 points may play in this event, even if the pair average is below 750.
Masterpoints: Gold points for overalls and some section tops, other awards are red points.  Note that you can win points in the first session that are replaced by a higher overall award after the second: you get the greater of your overall award or the sum of the session awards; not both combined.
Puget Sound 2022 winners (14, 11 tables):
7: Carla Delducco - Stanley Delducco; Olympia WA
4: Karen Inglis; Surrey BC; Monica Butler; Gig Harbor WA
2: Bryant Carlson - Thomas Sparks; Seattle WA

Afternoon-only Events (1:00pm)

Wednesday Afternoon Side Game: Pairs game, part of the Afternoon Side Game Series (2nd of 5).

Strat Limits (by pair average) A: 1500+, B: 500 - 1500, C: 0 - 500.
Masterpoints: Mostly red points but gold points for overall winners if they play another session in the Afternoon Side Game Series, and a chance for gold points for individuals whose two best games in the series are good enough to make the series overalls.
Puget Sound 2022 winners (7 tables):
A: Tom Carmichael; Marysville WA; Yoko Tilley; Bellevue WA
B: John Nader - Veronica Deskey; Ferndale WA

Wednesday Afternoon 199er Pairs: Pairs game, all players must have fewer than 200 masterpoints.

Strat Limits (by pair average) A: 50-200, B: 20 - 50, C: 0 - 20.
Masterpoints: Red points
Puget Sound 2022 winners (new event):

Evening-only Events (7:00pm)

Wednesday Evening Side Game: Pairs game, part of the Evening Side Game Series (3rd of 5).

Strat Limits (by pair average) A: 1500+, B: 500 - 1500, C: 0 - 500.
Masterpoints: Mostly red points but gold points for overall winners if they play another session in the Evening Side Game Series, and a chance for gold points for individuals whose two best games in the series are good enough to make the series overalls.
Puget Sound 2022 winners (5 tables):
A, B: Ann Romeo; Seattle WA; Lee Stanhope; Mukilteo WA