[felixd]

Welcome.

Right now I'm editing topic on Wikipedia about Sport Bridge (http://pl.wikipedia....Brydż_sportowy). I'm writing about VuGraph history on BBO and I don't have any reliable sources about that. I'm thining about years 2002/2003. Who made firsts ever BBO Broadcast? Whe did it start? Can anyone point me some sources (Internet/Press/Books)?

I hope Freds answer would be reliable enought for WikiEditors

I'm also interested in VuGraph History in Internet at all. Am I right that SWAN was first? (sources of course )

Thanks for any answers.

♥♥♥

[fred]

There was a "vugraph theatre" is the very first version of the BBO Windows client (released in May 2001), but I am fairly certain that we never actually used it for a real live broadcast until early 2002 (possibly during the ACBL Spring NABC and/or the Cavendish).

I am certain that there was BBO vugraph of the 2002 Canadian National Teams Championships (an event that is usually held in early June), because I remember going to Edmonton and acting as both operator and commentator at the same time (that was hard!).

Roland Wald was involved more or less right from the start. He might have some more definitive answers for you.

Fred Gitelman
Bridge Base Inc.
www.bridgebase.com

[TimG]

Wasn't there some controversy with ACBL in the very early going about granting exclusive vugraph rights to one online bridge site or another?

[fred]

Once upon a time there was an online bridge site named e-bridge that no longer exists. It was not a free site.

Before there was a BBO, e-bridge did vugraph and tried to assert copyright on the data that came out of it (which incidentally is one of the reasons I decided to create a free online bridge site in the first place). e-bridge and ACBL were rather close for a few years so it would not surprise me if e-bridge tried to get an exclusive deal from the ACBL to broadcast vugraph of major ACBL events. I am just speculating - I have no idea if this actually ever happened.

BBO certainly never asked ACBL (or any other organization) for an exclusive deal in this area. In fact, we do not "make deals" at all as far as vugraph is concerned - we simply offer the use of our software for free to any and all tournament organizers who want to use it vugraph purposes.

Fred Gitelman
Bridge Base Inc.
www.bridgebase.com

[TimG]

I would guess it was a matter of e-bridge vs okbridge. I seem to recall, leading up to an event, not knowing whether I would be able to watch vugraph because I was a member (subscriber) of one and not the other.

Anyway, I do not mean to rehash old conflicts, I was pointing this out in hopes of jarring a memory regarding pre-BBO online vugraph.

[Patapon]

I connected on BBO for the first time in November 2002.I founded BBO was magic.
Two months later, in February 2003 I went in Japan to play in a tournament. This tournament was broadcasted on BBO. Only one table was online and Fred Gitelman was commentating live form the press room. He was the only commentator.
I founded this magic.
When I went back In France I immediately phoned to my friend Hervé Lustman( Zmud99).I knew Hervé was also a great fan of BBO . I asked him to help me.
We presented BBO to the FFB( French Bridge Federation) but they were very reluctant and didn’t want to let us broadcast. Finally, four months later they accepted we broadcasted the 48 last boards of final of the mixed team. It worked so well that Hervé and I decided to try to broadcast the World junior Championship.( August 2003)
I met José Damiani and showed him the recording of our vugraph. He was enthusiastic and said immediately yes .He even gave me financial assistance to hire other operators.
Here also we did get into big troubles .Neither the directors nor the organizers wanted to broadcast. They involved security reasons. But José Damiani was the President and he made the final decision.
This first WBF broadcast was a success.BBO grew from about 1000 people online to 2200, then we decided to broadcast the Bermuda Bowl and the Venice cup .It was in Monaco in October 2003.But no financial assistance this time.
Hervé was still ok to be volunteer and I phoned to my friends Henri and Dominique( Farfie et ritong) to join us as volunteer. Lili m, a BBO member was a resident of Monaco and she accepted to provide free housing for all of us. Onsite I met Alfredo Conterno( Aconterno) who also accepted to be volunteer. Roland ( Walddk) was with us of course.
During this broadcast BBO grew from 2200 to 5600 people (online in the same time).The final of the BB has been the record holder of Kibitzers for years( Am I right Roland?).
Ebridge was present in Monaco and they even had a screen displayed onsite. We obtained that thet shared their screen with BBO.

The next broadcast I tried to organize was the European ( opened to the entire world) Championship in Menton. But this time this wasn’t not a WBF organization.EBL was in charge. I didn’t get the authorization to broadcast.
Swan broadcasted two tables there I think.

[bidule4]

According to Nikos Sarantakos the 1996 spingold (http://www.sarantako.../1996-spin.html)
was one of the first event transmitted via Internet.

This was not real live vugraph, PBN files were posted after games finished.

Bridge Plaza was the big publisher of early vugraph files.

I think e-bridge was the first really live vugraph site.

There is an interresting article about early online vugraph by Jude Goodwind-Hanson:
(http://www.greatbrid.../GBL010803.html)
with responses from fred, romik (e-bridge) and Ginsberg (at the time GIB included
disputed files from e-bridge/bridgeplaza).

[mtvesuvius]

bidule4, on 2010-November-15, 15:14, said:

1996 spingold

I was 6 months old then =)

[Kaapo]

A very nice way to learn about the history of BBO and vugraph (and bridge) is to read Deals of the Week Fred used to publish: http://bbi.bridgebas...tw/dotwlin.html (you need the BBO Windows client installed in order to read those LIN files).

December 24 2001 DOTW would appear to be the first one mentioning the BBO vugraph, advertizing the Cap Gemini tournament that would be held in the Hague in January 2002. The Christmas edition also features a deal very well played by Simon de Wijs from the Netherlands. While online vugraph is great, I think it's even nicer to read about the deal in the Bridge Movie format. That way you don't have to wait too long to see Simon finally play a card.

Dec 17 DOTW of the same year features some celebrities, and also be sure to look forward to the special DOTW 7-year hiatus edition due in March 2011, right Fred?

[debrose]

The first live online bridge I ever watched was the 1997 Vanderbilt final, which I believe was on OK bridge. Michael and I watched together from home while I was in labor (that was the only Nationals he's missed since 1989). I recall that final featured a declarer going down in 7D by cashing a high honor with AKJTxx opposite xx, rendering himself unable to pick up the actual Qxxx onside.

[gnasher]

Bridge Player Live were doing live online vugraph a year or so before OKBridge. Nick Justice and one of his colleagues used to go to each NABC and sit in the back of the Vugraph theatre, typing the bids and plays into a laptop. I think I saw them doing that in either Philadelphia or Miami in 1996.

Nick Justice still works for Bridge Player Live, so he can probably tell you when their first vugraph broadcast was.

Edit: I'm pretty sure that both Bridge Player Live and OKBridge were doing live vugraph before e-bridge.

[gnasher]

Bridge Player Live's first live vugraph broadcast was in March 1996 in Philly:

http://groups.google...e423a50436858b0

OKBridge's first one was in August 1996 in Miami:

http://groups.google...a05427bfb05bf30

Those definitely predate Swan, which was launched in 2000.