I’d say yes. 

When I first got into bridge more seriously, some of the first questions I had concerned Masterpoints. 

First, there’s the spelling: Both Masterpoints and Master Points are acceptable terms according to the official record, for anyone wondering about the same. 

Second, there’s the fact that online Masterpoints are earned and tallied separately from any which players might have earned at a club.

Considering the Coronavirus and its effect on the bridge world, should we give online Masterpoints as much credit as those earned in a physical bridge club? 

Here’s why it might be a good idea. 

Games Are Going Online

Even if COVID-19 restrictions don’t stick around, we can consider the world changed forever as a result. We might never get back to the heights of brick-and-mortar bridge clubs – but this is no reason for the game to stop. 

Bridge players have taken to online evolution well: So far, numbers are up.

With clubs and games heading online for their bridge fix, soon we might have to make “online Masterpoints” and “Masterpoints” the exact same thing. 

Exclusively Online Players

Should we return to bridge games played at clubs, tournaments and events at any point in the future, I would still advocate that online Masterpoints see a little more credit.

There are many players who keep their game online: They’ve might have played just as many games as their club-playing counterparts – and in terms of experience and bridge enthusiasm, they certainly don’t have any less of it. 

As an exclusively online player, I want to be as eligible for recognition as anyone else. 

For Fair Ranking 

The divide between club and online players has been forced to lessen after COVID-19 restrictions: For rankings to be kept fair to accommodate the large influx of new online players (many of whom have amassed club points in their lives already), there can’t be a gap between points earned during club games versus ones that have not. 

Are Club Points = Online Points? 

Sure, a suggestion for the verbatim conversion of real-life Masterpoints into Online Masterponits might seem horrifying to point-purists – but points don’t have to be considered entirely equivalent, either. 

What if ½ of an online Masterpoint was worth one full Masterpoint? 

Again, some form of equivalency might help the two forms of Masterpoints be considered on the same level.