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The English Bridge Union are pleased to be using this BridgeWebs site for a condensed summary of our news headlines.

Welcome to the latest EBU News

To contact the EBU please send us an e-mail  or telephone 01296 317200.

The news is updated periodically by the EBU to give club members a summary of recent news and information from the EBU. For the most up to date news and information please visit www.ebu.co.uk.

If you wish to comment on anything on this page, please email sam@ebu.co.uk.

Seniors Trials Stage 1

Stage one of the trial for the Seniors team to represent England at the 2024 European Championships, Herning, Denmark took place on 8th - 10th March at West Midland Bridge Club.

The top pairs have been formed into two teams below who will play in stage two of the trials, which will be held as a head-to-head final between two teams of four from 6th-7th April. 

  • David Mossop & Gunnar Hallberg, Alan Mould & John Holland 

vs

  • Trevor Ward & Rob Cliffe, Patrick Shields & Richard Chamberlain 

The overall winners of the trial will qualify to represent England at the European Championships (24th June - 4th July, hosted by Denmark).

Results
Senior Trials page
Specific Conditions of Contest for the European Seniors Trials 2024

Last updated : 15th Mar 2024 11:52 GMT
Entries Open for 2024 Premier League

The dates and venues for the 2024 Premier League have now been confirmed and applications are invited for those wishing to play in the event. 

The event takes place over three weekends in the autumn, and acts as an international trial, with the winners of the First Division earning selection to represent England in one weekend of the 2025 Camrose Trophy series. It is also part of the Championship Series, with points earned towards the Player of the Year competition.

Entries will be closing on Monday 3rd June at 12 noon. Entry is for teams of 6 and costs £960 per team. Teams wishing to enter should email comps@ebu.co.uk.

The dates are:

First Weekend: 7th - 8th September 2024

Second Weekend: 28th – 29th September 2024

Third Weekend: 19th – 20th October 2024

For full details see Premier League webpage

Last updated : 15th Mar 2024 11:52 GMT
Denis Robson

We are sad to report the death of former EBU Chair Denis Robson. Denis first joined the EBU Board in 1995 and became Vice-Chair in 1999 before being elected Chair from 2002-2006.

Denis was a self-confessed bridge addict after being introduced to the game as a young boy. A regular in the Lancashire county side, a Gold Cup finalist and with an England international cap to his name (Denis played for England against Northern Ireland in the Camrose on 21st February 1976 partnering Bernard Goldenfield), he was a worthy Grand Master.

We extend our sympathy to all his family and friends. Details of his funeral will be published when they become available.

Last updated : 15th Mar 2024 11:52 GMT
New Pros and Cons video from Bid72 & EBU Bidding February Results

The latest in the new Bid72 video series, Pros and Cons, is now available to view. Episode ten, again features Mike Passell, talking about tough bidding decisions. The series of short videos looks at bidding dilemmas with championship players. You can subscribe to the free series on the Bid72 YouTube channel.

In the Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest, there are different ranked groups (A, B, C and New). The aim of the bidding contest is to bid with your own chosen partner and your preferred system, using the app bid72.

Following the February monthly score, the top partnership of group A are TranterM-Wishwashman with an average score of 8.16. In second place are GerardT-AndrewM with a score of 7.92 and just behind in third place are Kmg-Trish with an average score of 7.60.

In group B, five partnerships will be promoted to group A, they are; DaveS-BrianA; TH Potter-Black Saint; LiamH-SusanH; Mapsy -MoiraC and MarkB-Lawman.

In the New group, one pair has been seeded, they will join group B; PatW-BrigidL.

First time players compete in the New group. Each month there is a relegation or promotion of players, during this time new players are also placed into one of the three groups depending on their score. This service is completely free for EBU members and made available by bid72, the premium app on bridge bidding. For more information and to register see Bid72 EBU.

Last updated : 15th Mar 2024 11:33 GMT
1st Transnational European Online Women's Team Championship

1st Transnational European Online Women's Team Championship will take place from Friday 7th - Sunday 9th June 2024, on RealBridge.

Entries are now open for the event and the schedule will be:

  • 7th-8th June: Qualifying 9am - 5pm BST (Swiss format)
  • 9th June: Final 9am - 5pm BST (Round Robin format)

Participants will be able to win European Bridge League (EBL) Master Points, Medals & Monetary Prizes, but more importantly, will have the opportunity to gain international experience in the global arena.

Entry is €120 per team (4-6 players). However, to take advantage of the early bird offer, registering before the end of March and save €20 per team.

More information:

Last updated : 15th Mar 2024 11:32 GMT
Watch the Seniors Trials This Weekend

This weekend (8th - 10th March) you can watch stage one of the trial for the Seniors team to represent England at the 2024 European Championships, Herning, Denmark. The event is being played at West Midland Bridge Club, but will be broadcast on a delayed feed on BBO's VuGraph, starting today at 3pm (Friday 8th March).

Links with further information:

BBO's VuGraph
Senior Trials page
Specific Conditions of Contest for the European Seniors Trials 2024
Results

Last updated : 8th Mar 2024 14:47 GMT
Women's Trial Playoff

The second weekend of the Women's Trial for the European Championships took place on March 2-3 as a playoff between two teams of four, following the pairs stage that took place last month.

The playoff was won by the Nettleton team (Diana Nettleton & Sally Brock, Nicola Smith & Nevena Senior), who beat the Gross team (Susanna Gross & Paula Leslie, Helen Erichsen & Fiona Brown) by 242-205 IMPs over 112 boards. The winning team will be selected, together with a third pair, to represent England in the European Championships in Herning, Denmark, in June-July this year.

Final results are available along with those from earlier stages.

Last updated : 8th Mar 2024 14:36 GMT
England win Camrose Trophy 2024

This weekend saw the second and concluding weekend of the Camrose Trophy, the annual competition between England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The EBU hosted this second weekend of the Camrose Trophy, in Altrincham, and therefore England were eligible to field two teams.

The England Team of Andrew BlackDavid GoldPeter CrouchSimon CopeTom PaskeAndrew McIntosh & NPC: Peter Hasenson (pictured) finished top with a total of 148.44 VPs. Also representing England in the first weekend of the Camrose were John AttheyNeil RosenGraham OsborneFrances HindenChris JaggerDerek Patterson (NPC: David Burn) (pictured).

In second place were the EBU Team of Tim LeslieMike BellStefano TommasiniBen NortonSarah Bell & NPC: Paul Barden, with 131.51 VPs. Also playing on behalf of the EBU in the first weekend of the Camrose were Maggie KnottenbeltMichael ByrneBen Handley-PritchardKieran DykeTom Townsend (PC) (pictured).

Ireland finished in third place with 117.19 VPs.

Last updated : 8th Mar 2024 14:35 GMT
Jackie Davies tops Master Point list; Club Champions announced

The final totals for 2023 are now ready. These reports show all Master Point Rankings, you can also change the selection to show Master Point rankings for individual counties. The county rankings will update monthly throughout the year. You can view all the winners at National, County and Club level at the links below.

Congratulations to Jackie Davies, who has won the 2023 Sunday Telegraph Salver for the second year in a row, with the most Master Points earned during the year. She scored a total of 21,149 points, ahead of Stefano Tommasini in second (19,241) and Anton Mauve in third (18,284).

In the Gold Points list, Mike Bell ended the year on top, with 59.29 points. Ben Norton, finished in second place with 56.91 and Michael Byrne was third with a total of 52.36.

For the first time in six year's there is a new name at the top of the Junior leader board, Andy Cope ended the year in first place with 7,442. Daniel Winter finished in second place, with 4,923 and in third place for the second year in a row was Imogen La Chapelle with 4,825.

In the All Time Leaderboard, Derek Oram remains top with 929,482. John Holland retains second place with 919,328, and Celia Oram remains in third place with 868,348.

The Master Point leaderboards for 2023 can be accessed below - all lists can be filtered by county using the options in the menu at the top of the page.

To see your personal Master Point information, log-on to My EBU and follow the link at the top of the Master Point page. Alternatively, you can search for yourself using the box in the top right of any 2023 Master Points page. Please note: if your name is withheld, you will need to change your settings in your My EBU account by ticking the option Public Masterpoints (found in the top right of the page under Account, My Details).

Well done to those who reached personal milestones during the year.

All the data is currently provisional - if you believe there are any anomalies please contact us as soon as possible.

2023 Annual Leaderboard2023 Club champions list2023 Junior Leaderboard2023 Gold point ranking list
Current County Rankings
All-time leading points scorers leaderboard
Sunday Telegraph Salver winners

Last updated : 8th Mar 2024 14:35 GMT
EBED's Young Bridge Challenge Results 2024

EBED's Young Bridge Challenge was held this weekend on Saturday 2nd March and brought together over 100 bridge playing youngsters from various schools and bridge clubs, to compete in several competitions. 

The Schools Cup was won by Haberdashers Askes A team (picture) who narrowly beat Loughborough A by 22 IMPs to 21; the final board was a 1 IMP swing to Habs A which ultimately decided the match. In the third-place playoff, St Paul’s A beat Eton.

The Schools Plate was awarded to KCS Wimbledon (picture) with a score of 77 VPs. 

The Harry Scully trophy, awarded to the best placed team from a mix of schools was won by Harriet Cork (Lincs), Sophie Morris (Durham), Annabel Sutton and Sophia Ward (both London), with a score of 69 VPs (picture).

The novice competition was won by a team from Northbridge House School (picture), the runners up were from Acland Burghley School (picture). All are pictured here with England U16 coach Alan Shilletoe.

Thanks to Loughborough Grammar School for being such generous hosts.

Last updated : 8th Mar 2024 14:35 GMT
Baroness Henig

We are sad report to the death of Baroness Ruth Henig CBE, DL, who was a British academic historian and Labour Party politician and chair of the all-party Parliamentary Bridge group, where she worked hard to support bridge and especially encourage school age players..

She played bridge for over 40 years, often at the Young Chelsea or Acol Bridge Clubs in London.

Baroness Henig was the chair for the Security Industry Authority regulatory body. Prior to becoming a member of the House of Lords she was a modern historian working at Lancaster University. 

You can read her obituary in The Telegraph.

Joan Bennett (Youth Coordinator) has also written a short piece about her time with Baroness Henig:

"I first met Ruth Henig in 2013 when she came to play bridge at Nettlebed Primary School. She then kindly arranged for me to take four children from each of the six local primary schools to the House of Lords. The children were all mini bridge players from state primary schools in Oxfordshire and had a great time. We continued the schools' visits annually, all with much help from Baroness Henig.

In 2017, a group of primarily sixth form students from Reading School visited the House of Lords. They were mainly competent players, some of whom are still involved with bridge today. These members include Will Clennell, now a trainee director, and his bridge partner Dominic Cook; Henry Rose, winner of the Young Player of the Year award in 2023; and Zane Soonwalla, who completed his tournament director training in 2023.

In 2021, she and I instituted the Lords Trophy for the winning team in the newly formed Inter-Schools League and have organised the House of Lords team, venue, and food for the last few years."

Last updated : 8th Mar 2024 14:34 GMT
February 12-Board Ladder Winner

In the 12-board ladder for February, Robert Plumley won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 70.03% over six games. Gordon Rainsford was second, with 69.86% and Tim Glover third with an average score of 69.74%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

February 12-board ladder

Last updated : 8th Mar 2024 14:34 GMT
Book Now for the Spring Foursomes!

Entries for the one of the great events in the English calendar, the Spring Foursomes, will take place from 3rd to 7th May, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Bristol City Centre.

The Spring Fours is one of the great events in the English calendar. The principal event the has become one of the toughest events in domestic bridge played for the Provost Cup. It is run on double-elimination lines over nine sessions each of 32 boards. 

A secondary event, the Punchbowl, will be open to teams eliminated before Saturday evening. It has a round-robin qualifier followed by a mini knockout. The Hamilton Cup is a more relaxed event for teams seeking a game on Monday (bank holiday in England).

Book Now: If you are thinking about entering this year's competition, please contact our travel sponsors First for Bridge to book your accommodation at the hotel before 8th March to guarantee availability.

The easiest way to enter is online through My EBU. Log-in and select 'Book Events' from the Utilities menu. You can also call 01296 317203 or email comps@ebu.co.uk

If you would like to play but don't have teammates, please use the Partnership forum.

The event is part of the Championship Series, in which points can be earned towards the Player of the Year Championship and also part of the WBF World Bridge Tour.

Please see the Spring Foursomes webpage for more information on the event.

Last updated : 1st Mar 2024 14:07 GMT
2024 European Under 31 Championships

We have received an application from a team wishing to represent England in the U31 category of the 2024 European Youth Championships on an entirely unfunded basis. Before approving any team for this event, we are opening it up for other teams of players born on or after 1st January 1994 to apply, by 5pm on Friday March 8th, to the Secretary of the Selection Committee, who will then consider what selection process, if any, is required. Those interested should be aware that no funds will be available to support participation in this event and they will need to pay their own entry fee.

Last updated : 29th Feb 2024 15:55 GMT
Next Generation Game Dates for April and May

The Generation Game, is a casual bridge event run by EBED on RealBridge. The next session will be held on Sunday 7th April, with another game on Sunday 28th April. The start time is 6.30pm and lasts for approximately 1 hour.

The dates for May and June have also been confirmed as 19th May (avoiding Bank Holidays and half term) and 23rd June (when exams should be over).

This monthly game gives families the chance to play bridge together (event from across the country). There is no upper age limit, so if you know someone in your family that would like to learn to play in a more informal setting, this might be the game for you.

After each session you will have a chance to compare your bidding and results against others playing the same boards at the same time. Based on the first attempt that provided a lot of laughs.

If you are interested in joining, please contact Joan Bennett on 07548 782538 or by email to joan@ebedcio.org.uk, to receive a link to the game.

Last updated : 29th Feb 2024 15:55 GMT
Dubel & Porteus win Anne Staveley Trophy in the Masters Pairs 2024

The Masters Pairs was played this past Sunday (25th February), for those ranked below Regional Master, and was held at various clubs around the country as well as online.

The overall winners were Adrian Dubel & Richard Porteus, with a score of 64.97% who played at Wakefield Bridge Club in Yorkshire, they will receive the Anne Staveley Trophy. In second place were John Edwards & Harriet Chappell with a score or 63.43%, playing at Wimbledon BC in Surrey. Two youth squad members, Andrew Bradkin & Thomas Bradkin finished in third place with a score of 62.93%, playing online on BBO hosted by Oliver Cowan Bridge Club.

Full Results
Previous winners

Last updated : 29th Feb 2024 15:54 GMT
Watch the Camrose This Weekend

The second and final weekend of the 2024 Camrose series (the competition between the home nations) this weekend (1st to 3rd March) live from the Best Western Cresta Court Hotel, Church St, Altrincham.

This is the 81st time that the contest has taken place.

Spectators are very welcome to attend, please see the Event programme for details. There will be a vugraph on RealBridge for kibitzing online.

The first match on Friday starts at 7pm. You can find full details on the Camrose 2024 second weekend event page.

Last updated : 29th Feb 2024 15:52 GMT
Ranked Masters Pairs Results 2024

Six pairs were victorious this weekend in the Ranked Masters Pairs, held online via RealBridge. 

The winners for all categories were as follows:

Premier Grand Masters Pairs: Paddy Murphy & Mark Roderick (pictured)

Grand Masters Pairs: Paul Brereton & Frank Dixon (picture)

In the combined Premier Life, Life, National and Regional Masters Pairs:

Premier Life Masters: Steve Raine & Alan Hayward (picture)

Life Masters: Anton Mauve & Kostadin Vasilev (picture)

National Masters: Hanna Tuus & Daisy Dillon (picture)

Regional Masters: Rhonda Collins & Richard Collins (picture)

Last updated : 29th Feb 2024 15:51 GMT
Online Training Programme for Women Continues - Register Now!

The European Bridge League have confirmed that their Online Training Program for women will continue.

This free online training program is your opportunity to step up your game, increase your Bridge self-confidence and participate in higher level competitions.

The first session will take place on Wednesday, 13th of March, 2024 and will include Giorgia Botta, an Italian professional bridge player and teacher.

To register, please email roswolfarth4901@gmail.com

Last updated : 29th Feb 2024 15:51 GMT
Pietrzycki & Maddocks win OODGP Swiss Pairs

The first of Online One-Day Green Pointed Pairs event took place on Sunday 18th February. It was won by Jacek Pietrzycki & Alex Maddocks (pictured), with a score of 117 VPs. In second place were Andrew Conway & Tony Verran with 104 VPs and in third place were the top ranked B strat pair Richard Assad & Alison Gauld with a score of 98 VPs. The top placed C strat pair Alick Fraser & Anthony Melbourne were just behind in fourth place, with 94 VPs.

Full results

Online One-Day Green Pointed Events Leader Board

Last updated : 29th Feb 2024 15:50 GMT
England Retain Junior Camrose & Peggy Bayer Trophies for 2024

The England teams have won the Junior Camrose and Peggy Bayer organised by Bridge Great Britain. The event was hosted by the Northern Ireland Bridge Union (NIBO) at at Le Mon Hotel and Country Club – Castlereagh, Belfast.  

In the Junior Camrose the England (under 26) team finished top with 157.74 VPs, with the Ireland team finishing in second place with 139.03 VPs. Scotland finished third with 115.91 VPs.

In the Peggy Bayer the England team finished with 190.24 VPs, ahead of Ireland in second place with 151.55 VPs. In third place were Scotland with 118.04 VPs.

Congratulations to all the players:

Junior Camrose Players

1st place, England: Andy CopeJack RonayneDaniel WinterLiam SandersonImogen La ChapelleLiz Gahan (NPC: Michael Byrne) (picture)

2nd place, Ireland: Matthew O'Farrell, Luca Crone, Denise Walsh, Leah Finnegan, Sheila Walsh (NPC: John Phelan)

3rd place, Scotland: Antone Huang, Prajjwal, Kajatan Granops, Jamie Day (NPC: Laura Middleton)

Peggy Bayer Players

1st place, England: Charlotte BedfordLucy NormanThibault CrosnierDavid SargentTom FurnessHenry Rose (NPC: Ewa Wieczorek) (picture)

2nd place, Ireland: Tom Gorey, Isabel Burke, Eve Connell, Klara Flanagan, David Hoyne, Bence Ordsz (NPC: Margaret Murphy)

3rd place, Scotland: Kevin Ren, Alexander Duncan, Niamh Reid, Rachel Yu, Isla Jamieson (NPC: Danny Hamilton)

Last updated : 29th Feb 2024 15:50 GMT
Entries Now Open for the Easter Congresses

As Easter weekend is early this year, the Easter Congresses will take place next month! Why not spend your Easter weekend playing bridge, either in London or Harrogate. 

Book before 16th February and take advance of the early bird special for the Easter Congress, London. 

The Easter Festival in London is suitable for everyone, with a range of competitions for all abilities. There is a change of venue this year, the Easter Congress in London will take place in Marlborough Primary School, near South Kensington tube station, London. There is a full program of events including Championship Pairs, Swiss Pairs and Swiss Teams. A 9-High Pairs will take place online run by Kent on behalf of the EBU.

A 'northern alternative' for those wanting an Easter weekend of bridge. The Northern Easter Festival will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Harrogate.

For more info and to book online:

Last updated : 29th Feb 2024 15:49 GMT
Majorca Congress: Last Few Places Still Available

Fancy a last minute break? The final bookings for the Majorca Congress are available until Friday (23rd February).

Join us for an overseas congress in the largest island of the Balearic Islands, 8 days from £865pp. 

Bookings should be made direct with our holiday partner First for Bridge. Both "flight inclusive" and "join direct" packages are available. 

Last updated : 21st Feb 2024 10:35 GMT
Ranked Masters Pairs - Player Information

For players booked to play in the Ranked Masters Pairs this weekend, please see the below information, which has also been sent via email:

Sessions start each day at 11am. RealBridge player links will be on the results page.

Please check the entry list in the programme and tell us (by reply to this email or to robin@ebu.co.uk) if you or your partner is missing or wrong.

You will also find the programme and other information on the event results page along with the links for the sessions as they become available.

This event uses face-to-face alerting without screens, as detailed in the instructions, with alerts and verbal announcements by the partner of the player making the call. Requests for further information addressed to the partner of the player making the call, with verbal explanations.

Please note that you are required to use video and audio. Please check for any browser updates before joining the session, to avoid any delays in the start of play.

You should provide a link to your system card loaded to RealBridge at the start of the sessions or in chat to your opponents each round. If you do not already have one, please upload your system card as a pdf to your My EBU, under utilities, system card, and follow the instructions provided. Help in creating a system card and converting it to a pdf.

Undos are only allowed in the auction for mis-clicks, or for cases of misinformation. The opponents should call the TD if there is any doubt about accepting the undo request.

When you log on to play, please enter your name as found on your EBU record, in proper case (eg John Smith, not JOHN SMITH, john smith or John S), along with your EBU number without leading zeros (105719 not 00105719).

For emergency assistance before play, contact Robin Barker 01296 317223. The TD in charge is Rob Sassoon.

Last updated : 21st Feb 2024 10:35 GMT
Online Training Programme for Women Continues - Register Now!

The European Bridge League have confirmed that their Online Training Program for women will continue.

This free online training program is your opportunity to step up your game, increase your Bridge self-confidence and participate in higher level competitions.

The first session will take place on Wednesday, 13th of March, 2024 and will include Giorgia Botta, an Italian professional bridge player and teacher.

To register, please email roswolfarth4901@gmail.com

Last updated : 21st Feb 2024 10:35 GMT
Pietrzycki & Maddocks win OODGP Swiss Pairs

The first of Online One-Day Green Pointed Pairs event took place on Sunday 18th February. It was won by Jacek Pietrzycki & Alex Maddocks (pictured), with a score of 117 VPs. In second place were Andrew Conway & Tony Verran with 104 VPs and in third place were the top ranked B strat pair Richard Assad & Alison Gauld with a score of 98 VPs. The top placed C strat pair Alick Fraser & Anthony Melbourne were just behind in fourth place, with 94 VPs.

Full results

Online One-Day Green Pointed Events Leader Board

Last updated : 21st Feb 2024 10:34 GMT
England Retain Junior Camrose & Peggy Bayer Trophies for 2024

The England teams have won the Junior Camrose and Peggy Bayer organised by Bridge Great Britain. The event was hosted by the Northern Ireland Bridge Union (NIBO) at at Le Mon Hotel and Country Club – Castlereagh, Belfast.  

In the Junior Camrose the England (under 26) team finished top with 157.74 VPs, with the Ireland team finishing in second place with 139.03 VPs. Scotland finished third with 115.91 VPs.

In the Peggy Bayer the England team finished with 190.24 VPs, ahead of Ireland in second place with 151.55 VPs. In third place were Scotland with 118.04 VPs.

Congratulations to all the players:

Junior Camrose Players

1st place, England: Andy CopeJack RonayneDaniel WinterLiam SandersonImogen La ChapelleLiz Gahan (NPC: Michael Byrne)

2nd place, Ireland: Matthew O'Farrell, Luca Crone, Denise Walsh, Leah Finnegan, Sheila Walsh (NPC: John Phelan)

3rd place, Scotland: Antone Huang, Prajjwal, Kajatan Granops, Jamie Day (NPC: Laura Middleton)

Peggy Bayer Players

1st place, England: Charlotte BedfordLucy NormanThibault CrosnierDavid SargentTom FurnessHenry Rose (NPC: Ewa Wieczorek)

2nd place, Ireland: Tom Gorey, Isabel Burke, Eve Connell, Klara Flanagan, David Hoyne, Bence Ordsz (NPC: Margaret Murphy)

3rd place, Scotland: Kevin Ren, Alexander Duncan, Niamh Reid, Rachel Yu, Isla Jamieson (NPC: Danny Hamilton)

Last updated : 21st Feb 2024 10:34 GMT
Manchester win Tollemache Cup

The Tollemache Cup (intercounty teams of eight) Final was held at the weekend and was won convincingly by Manchester (pictured): Nicholas Greer, Phillip Taylor, Alan MouldJohn HollandJohn Hassett, Jeff Morris, Tom Slater & Alec Smalley. Manchester scored 99 IMPs, Middlesex were second with a score of 83 IMPs and Cams & Hunts were just behind in third with 80 IMPs. This is the second year in a row a team from Manchester have won the event, last year was the county's first win in the event. 

Last updated : 21st Feb 2024 10:32 GMT
Peter Jordan Sim Pairs winners 2024

The 2024 Peter Jordan trophy, awarded for the winning pair of the Tuesday session of the British Winter Sims, has been presented to the winning pair.

Clive Finney & Keith Collins (pictured), from Bromsgrove & District Bridge Club, won the session on Tuesday 16th January, with a score of 68.21. They were sent the trophy, a donation from Peter’s wife Barbara, and took pictures with it separately.

Last updated : 21st Feb 2024 10:30 GMT
Harrogate Spring Congress Results

The Harrogate Spring Congress took place last weekend, the Swiss Teams was won by the team of Liam FegartyJamie Fegarty, Rachel Bingham & Anne Catchpole (pictured) with a score of 104 VPs. In second place were Brian SeniorClive Owen, John Sansom & Jason Hackett with a score of 96 VPs and the team of Athena Chow, Alan Hayward, Hanna Tuus & Jake Milne finished in third.

In the Swiss PairsSteve Raine & Chris Cooper (picture) finished first, with a score of 132 VPs, just ahead of second placed pair John Holland & Jackie Pye with a score of 129 VPs. In third place were John Sansom & Jason Hackett with 124 VPs.

In the Really Easy Pairs, the winners were Stephen Smith & Rachel Smith (picture) with a score of 81 VPs. There were three pairs in joint second, Ron Lasseter & Diane Lasseter, Robin Loft & Martin Bayne and Justine Davies & Rebecca Pullan, all with a score of 63 VPs.

February 14, 2024

Last updated : 14th Feb 2024 13:59 GMT
WBF Online Women's Teams

The 2024 WBF Online Women's Teams will take place from 16th to 18th February on RealBridge.

There are 64 teams from 31 countries taking part in the event, which will span over multiple time zones from UTC +11 to UTC -8.

Two teams from England are taking part in the event:

Hanna TuusIndia NattKath StynesDebbie Sandford, Allison Green & Bridget Rampton

Alison Pritchard, Lesley Harrison, Val Constable, Patricia Emery, Judith Sanis, Harriet CorkRos Wolfarth & Sue Millard

Good luck to both teams and all involved.

Last updated : 14th Feb 2024 13:59 GMT
Women's Trials Stage One Results

Following the first stage of the Women's trials last weekend, the teams for stage two have now been confirmed. 

The trial will determine the Women's team to represent England at the 2024 European Championships. Stage two of the trial will be held on the weekend of 2nd to 3rd March, as a head to head between two teams of four. The line-up for Stage Two is:

Diana Nettleton & Sally Brock
Nicola Smith & Nevena Senior
     vs 
Susanna Gross & Paula Leslie
Fiona Brown & Helen Erichsen

Last updated : 14th Feb 2024 13:59 GMT
Junior Camrose & Peggy Bayer 2024

The Junior Camrose & Peggy Bayer 2024 will be held at Le Mon Hotel and Country Club – Castlereagh, Belfast from 16th - 18th February.

The organisers have arranged for kibitzing of the play, for the entire event, via RealBridge. Please note, not every table will be on Vugraph. In any one session, six matches are in progress, three in the Junior Camrose event and three in the Peggy Bayer event.

It is only the Junior Camrose matches that are broadcast to the public via RealBridge. In these matches, only two tables will be broadcast.

How to kibitz

Click https://kibitz.realbridge.online to join. No account is needed, just put your name in and click Login. Click a table to watch the match. There will be some live video commentators; it is good to see them and hear what they say about the deals.

The first match on Friday starts at 7pm; you can follow the play from 7:05pm onwards. 

 

Junior Camrose Players

England - Andy CopeJack RonayneDaniel WinterLiam SandersonImogen La ChapelleLiz Gahan (NPC: Michael Byrne)

Ireland - Matthew O'Farrell, Luca Crone, Denise Walsh, Leah Finnegan, Sheila Walsh (NPC: John Phelan)

N. Ireland – Aileen Armstrong, Andrew Newbold, Lucy O'Kane, Xander Todd (NPC: Wayne Somerville)

SBU - Tamsin Munro, Rufus Behr, Lydia Foale, Harry Stuart, John Russell (NPC: Alistair McCleod)

Scotland - Antone Huang, Prajjwal, Kajatan Granops, Jamie Day (NPC: Laura Middleton)

Wales - Sophie Akers, Lolo Williams, Joseph Bentley, James Brindle, Emilia Cadden, Milan Malecki (NPC: Soozy Nesom)

 

Peggy Bayer Players

England – Charlotte BedfordLucy NormanThibault CrosnierDavid SargentTom FurnessHenry Rose (NPC: Ewa Wieczorek)

Ireland – Tom Gorey, Isabel Burke, Eve Connell, Klara Flanagan, David Hoyne, Bence Ordsz (NPC: Margaret Murphy)

NIBU - Grace Nelson, Mitchell Brown, Caleb Hazely, Marc Campbell, Joshua Soeters, Corey Millar (NPC: Diane Greenwood)

N. Ireland – Kaj Taylor, Adam Hendry, Eleanor Murphy, Wictoria Anuszewski, Tiffany Chow, Conor Burnett (NPC: Sandie Millership)

Scotland – Kevin Ren, Alexander Duncan, Niamh Reid, Rachel Yu, Isla Jamieson (NPC: Danny Hamilton)

Wales –  James Williams, Jack Baxter, Sarah King, Emilia Cadden, Milan Malecki, James Brindle (NPC: Soozy Nesom)

 

Last updated : 14th Feb 2024 13:58 GMT
Free 1-month Funbridge Subscription

Funbridge are giving free 1-month subscription to Funbridge for EBU members.

This free subscription will allow you to play unlimited deals on Funbridge, anywhere, at anytime. 

This discovery offer gives access to all Premium and Premium+ subscription advantages for free for one month. After this period, players will be automatically switched to a monthly Premium or Premium+ subscription (there is no commitment to this subscription and you can cancel anytime).

Please note that to enjoy this offer, you must not be a current or past Funbridge subscriber.

Last updated : 14th Feb 2024 13:58 GMT
Entries Now Open for the Easter Congresses

As Easter weekend is early this year, the Easter Congresses will take place next month! Why not spend your Easter weekend playing bridge, either in London or Harrogate. 

Book before 16th February and take advance of the early bird special for the Easter Congress, London. 

The Easter Festival in London is suitable for everyone, with a range of competitions for all abilities. There is a change of venue this year, the Easter Congress in London will take place in Marlborough Primary School, near South Kensington tube station, London. There is a full program of events including Championship Pairs, Swiss Pairs and Swiss Teams. A 9-High Pairs will take place online run by Kent on behalf of the EBU.

A 'northern alternative' for those wanting an Easter weekend of bridge. The Northern Easter Festival will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Harrogate.

For more info and to book online:

Last updated : 8th Feb 2024 13:59 GMT
Autumn Overseas Congress October 2024

We are pleased to announce that this year's EBU Autumn Overseas Congress will be held in Crete, from 15th to 22nd October.

The base for the congress will be the 4-star Kernos Beach Hotel, which boasts an idyllic location, overlooking its private, sandy beach and the sparkling blue Sea of Crete. Here, along the north coast of the island on the edge of Stalis, you are treated to the most amazing sunsets. Sunseekers can relax in the beautiful, extensive gardens and choose between a swim in its huge freshwater outdoor pool or a dip in the ocean.

The surrounding area has plenty of cafés, bars, shops, and tourist facilities within a short walking distance of the hotel. 

Bookings are now being taken by First for Bridge and members are advised to book as soon as possible. 7, 8 and 9 night options are available with half-board accommodation.

There is one included guided tour to take you to Knossos and the Minoan Palace which flourished for approximately two thousand years and beholds thrilling legends such as the myth of the Labyrinth, with the Minotaur, and the story of Daidalos and Ikaros. Followed by a drive to Heraklion City, the capital of Crete, where you have free time to explore in the city centre and enjoy its squares, pedestrian area, and shops. For those interested, there is a guided tour to the Archaeological Museum (extra charges apply), which is one of the oldest and most important museums in Greece, and amongst the most famous in Europe. It represents artefacts from all periods of Cretan prehistory and history spanning over 5,500 years from the Neolithic period to the Roman times, and prides itself for its unique Minoan collection.

More details

Last updated : 8th Feb 2024 13:59 GMT
Team Knottenbelt Win Mixed Trials

The trials to represent England at the European Championships Mixed Teams, have been won by the team of Maggie KnottenbeltHeather DhondyMike BellSarah BellKieran Dyke & Michael Byrne

The winning team beat the Seale team of Ian PaganCatherine SealeCatherine Draper & Andrew Woodcock in yesterday's final. The trial consisted of a two-day Round Robin followed by a one-day semi-final and a one-day final.

The European Championship will take place from 24th June to 4th July, hosted by Denmark.

Results

Last updated : 8th Feb 2024 13:59 GMT
Next Generation Game 25th February

The Generation Game, is a casual bridge event run by EBED on RealBridge. The next session will be held on Sunday 25th February, with another game on Sunday 7th April. The start time is 6.30pm and lasts for approximately 1 hour.

This monthly game gives families the chance to play bridge together (event from across the country). There is no upper age limit, so if you know someone in your family that would like to learn to play in a more informal setting, this might be the game for you.

After each session you will have a chance to compare your bidding and results against others playing the same boards at the same time. Based on the first attempt that provided a lot of laughs.

If you are interested in joining, please contact Joan Bennett on 07548 782538 or by email to joan@ebedcio.org.uk, to receive a link to the game.

Last updated : 8th Feb 2024 13:59 GMT
Bridge - It's a Big Deal! Festival Pages Now Live

We are excited to announce that we will be running Bridge - It's a Big Deal! A Festival of Bridge from 9th - 15th September. This is a very exciting event and we are thrilled to be collaborating with the Scottish Bridge Union and Welsh Bridge Union to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

We hope that bridge players will come together to celebrate, to spread the word that bridge is a wonderful game and that by working together we can have fun as well as playing our part in helping to beat cancer.

Watch the Bridge - It's a Big Deal! Launch video 
and Andrew Robson Invites you to join the Festival

WHO CAN GET INVOLVED

We are inviting all clubs, counties and players to take part in this very special Festival. We hope to see as many clubs and bridge players at this first take on what we hope to be an annual event.

NEXT STEPS IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE PART

If you think you may like to take part please do one or all of the following:

  • Visit the EBU Festival webpage for more information
  • Follow us on Facebook and join our Facebook Group
  • Email us at festival@ebu.co.uk to confirm the dates for your event
  • If you are a club or county official, you will receive a follow up email with all the details and resources for planning and running an event 

You are welcome to make individual donations, the donation link is now live.

We look forward to this very exciting event and hope you will join us in celebrating the game of bridge by raising money for this important charity.

Last updated : 2nd Feb 2024 13:36 GMT
New Pros and Cons video from Bid72 & EBU Bidding January Results

The latest in the new Bid72 video series, Pros and Cons, is now available to view. Episode nine, again features Mike Passell, talking about tough bidding decisions. The series of short videos looks at bidding dilemmas with championship players. You can subscribe to the free series on the Bid72 YouTube channel.

https://youtu.be/IjcNjxe8K_k

In the Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest, there are different ranked groups (A, B, C and New). The aim of the bidding contest is to bid with your own chosen partner and your preferred system, using the app bid72.

Following the January monthly score, the top partnership of group A are JoolsHem-Neil heydon with an average score of 8.30. In second place are FrancoisP-NicolasL with a score of 8.21 and just behind in third place are StephenW-BillM with an average score of 8.20.

In group B, five partnerships will be promoted to group A, they are; CarolineD-Alison; TranterM-Wishwashman; WendyY-MirandaC; Et1965-LucyN and PaulM-GaryM.

In the New group, one pair has been seeded, they will join group B; JamesD-JOAND.

First time players compete in the New group. Each month there is a relegation or promotion of players, during this time new players are also placed into one of the three groups depending on their score. This service is completely free for EBU members and made available by bid72, the premium app on bridge bidding. For more information and to register see Bid72 EBU.

Last updated : 2nd Feb 2024 13:35 GMT
January Robot Ladder Competitions

December's robot ladder competitions, have now concluded.

In the 12-board ladder for January, Jaak Känd won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 71.33% over six games. Tim Glover was second, with 70.08% and Gordon Rainsford third with an average score of 69.41%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the main January matchpoints ladder, Godspal finished top of they leader board. They were a guest player from France, who as a non-EBU member was not eligible for a prize. Tony Verran was second, with an average score of 62.58% and David Dawson third with an average score of 61.19%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the handicap ladder, for the players whose scores exceed their NGS by the greatest amount. Karen Read finished top of the leader board over the top six games, with a handicap score of 2, winning £25. The second place prize went to Tony Verran with a score of 0.44. There were also prizes for third and fourth place.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs
January Matchpoints LadderJanuary Handicap LadderJanuary 12-board ladder
Archive of previous winners

Last updated : 2nd Feb 2024 13:34 GMT
Hobden Team wins the Online One-Day Green-Pointed Swiss Teams

The first Online One-Day Green-Pointed events for 2024, Swiss Teams, took place yesterday, Sunday 28th January. The winning team were Gary Hyett, Ros Wolfarth, Alan Hobden & James Hobden, with a total of 101 VPs.

In second place with 97 VPs were the team of Celia Oram, Derek Oram, Peter Lindon & Dee Lindon. Finishing in third place were     
Trevor Ward, David Kendrick, Miles Cowling & Derek Maggs.

Following their second placed finish, Celia Oram and Derek Oram are now joint 2nd in the overall Leaderboard with 440 ladder points. Giles IP is still top with 478 ladder points, having finished in 15th place. 

The next Online One-Day Green Pointed event will be Swiss Pairs on Sunday 18th February.

Last updated : 2nd Feb 2024 13:34 GMT
Free 1-month Funbridge Subscription

Funbridge are giving free 1-month subscriptions to Funbridge for EBU members.

This free subscription will allow you to play unlimited deals on Funbridge, anywhere, at anytime. 

This discovery offer gives access to all Premium and Premium+ subscription advantages for free for one month. After this period, players will be automatically switched to a monthly Premium or Premium+ subscription (there is no commitment to this subscription and you can cancel anytime).

Please note that to enjoy this offer, you must not be a current or past Funbridge subscriber.

Last updated : 2nd Feb 2024 13:33 GMT
1st Winter Transnational Championship

After four successful editions of the Winter Games, the European Bridge League (EBL) has decided to upgrade the event’s status. Starting in 2024, it will become the European Winter Transnational Championship, and is scheduled to become an annual event in the European bridge calendar. The inaugural edition of this new tournament will take place in Alpe d’Huez, France, from 15th - 21st April.

The tournament format will feature two days of qualification, with the top 16 teams advancing to the playoffs, while the others will have the opportunity to participate in a second event – the BAM Trophy, sponsored by the Les Etincelles group. Teams eliminated from the playoffs can also join the BAM event. Ultimately, four teams will compete for EBL medals and titles, and the remaining teams will share €20,000 in prize money, generously provided by the Les Etincelles group for the BAM event.

Eric Laurant, President of the European Bridge League, conveys his excitement: “We are delighted to bring the championship to Alpe d’Huez, a location renowned for its stunning views. Our commitment is to host the event with the highest standards of gameplay available today. We will provide digital bidding boxes, cameras, and complete sets of boards at each table to maximize comfort for all participants. The event’s format, including full-day playoff rounds, is designed to foster the most competitive environment. We anticipate the presence of many of the world’s top players and are equally enthusiastic about offering special opportunities for amateur players to join and engage in our event.”

Hosted in one of the largest ski resorts in the French Alps, Alpe d’Huez, the event promises a genuine winter atmosphere, despite taking place in April. Participants will benefit from exclusive hotel rates, using the promo code: EBL2024. Guests at these hotels will enjoy complimentary airport shuttles (from/to Lyon/Geneva) and special rates for ski equipment rental.

Registrations for the event should be made on the Winterbridge.org website. The entry fee is €400 per player, but EBL offers an exceptional deal for amateur players. Teams comprised entirely of players without EBL or WBF titles are eligible for a 75% discount, reducing their fee to only €100 per player. The deadline for registration is April 12, 2024.

Last updated : 2nd Feb 2024 13:33 GMT
Jee team wins National Point-a-Board

The National Point-a-Board Teams took place this weekend has been won by the Jee team of Liam Sanderson, Hugo Jee, Alex Hannon, John Cox & Mohamed Mousa (pictured). They finished with a total of 7.41 GPs ahead of the second placed Natt team of India Natt, Robert Miller, Ambrose Holmes-Mackie, Joseph Clark & Ufuk Cotuk with a score of 4.20 GPs. The Senior team of Clive Owen, Brian Senior, Jason Hackett & John Sansom finished in third.

The event is part of the Championship Series, with points available in the Player of the Year competition. The next event in the series will be the National Pairs.

ResultsPrevious winners
Player of the Year Championship

Last updated : 2nd Feb 2024 13:33 GMT
Open Team Selection

At a meeting this morning, the EBU Selection Committee decided to invite the following three pairs to represent England in the the Open category of the 2024 European Championships:

David Gold - Andrew Robson

Ben Handley-Pritchard - Tom Townsend

Ben Norton - Stefano Tommasini

A reserve pair will be selected once teams in other categories have been determined. A NPC and coach will be selected in consultation with the team once invitations have been confirmed.

Links with further information:

  •  
Last updated : 2nd Feb 2024 13:32 GMT
Next Generation Game 28th January

The Generation Game, is a casual bridge event run by EBED on RealBridge. The next session will be held on Sunday 28th January, with another game on Sunday 25th February. The start time is 6.30pm and lasts for approximately 1 hour.

This monthly game gives families the chance to play bridge together (event from across the country). There is no upper age limit, so if you know someone in your family that would like to learn to play in a more informal setting, this might be the game for you.

After each session you will have a chance to compare your bidding and results against others playing the same boards at the same time. Based on the first attempt that provided a lot of laughs.

If you are interested in joining, please contact Joan Bennett on 07548 782538 or by email to joan@ebedcio.org.uk, to receive a link to the game.

Last updated : 18th Jan 2024 14:23 GMT
English Teams top table at Camrose first weekend

The first weekend of the Camrose Trophy took place last weekend, hosted by the Welsh Bridge Union in Newport. As joint hosts England have two teams in the event, England Team and EBU Team.

The EBU team finished the weekend in first place with a score of 69.13, and the England team are currently in second place with 59.83 VPs. In third place are the Irish team with a score of 57.81.

Congratulations to both English teams:

England John AttheyNeil RosenGraham OsborneFrances HindenChris JaggerDerek Patterson (NPC: David Burn) (pictured)

EBU Maggie KnottenbeltMichael ByrneBen Handley-PritchardKieran DykeTom Townsend (PC) (pictured)

The second weekend will be hosted by England in Altrincham from 1st - 3rd March.

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:13 GMT
Changes to the 2017 Laws of Duplicate Bridge

The WBF have announced that the Laws of Duplicate Bridge have been amended, effective from 1st January 2024.

The WBF website has an announcement of the changes and the revised Laws.

LAW 73 – COMMUNICATION, BEHAVIOUR, TEMPO AND DECEPTION – has been rewritten; and there is a new LAW 89 – PROHIBITED BEHAVIOUR AND REPREHENSIBLE CONDUCT.

The EBU Laws and Ethics committee will meet next week and there will be guidance on the revised laws for TDs and clubs on the EBU website.

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:12 GMT
Watch the Open Trials this Weekend

This weekend (12th - 15th) you can watch the trial for the Open team to represent England at the 2024 European Championships. The event is being played at the Young Chelsea Bridge Club in London, but will be broadcast on a delayed feed on BBO's VuGraph, starting at 10.45am on Friday 12th January. 

The trialists who accepted the Selection Committee's invitation to play in the trial are:

John Atthey - Neil Rosen (Atthey Rosen convention card)

David Bakhshi - Artur Malinowski (Bakhshi Malinowski convention card)

Mike Bell – Sarah Bell (Bell Bell convention card)

Michael Byrne - Kieran Dyke (Byrne Dyke convention card)

Ben Handley-Pritchard - Tom Townsend (Handley-Pritchard Townsend convention card)

Ben Norton - Stefano Tommasini (Norton Tommasini convention card)

Links with further information:

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:12 GMT
Majorca Congress: Last Few Places Still Available

The Majorca Congress is proving very popular, there are only a few places left. If you would like to join us for the holiday in March, but have not yet booked, please book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. 

Bookings should be made direct with our holiday partner First for Bridge. Both "flight inclusive" and "join direct" packages are available. 

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:12 GMT
Bridge - It's a Big Deal!
Festival of bridge. Save the date 9-15 September 2024

The EBU is excited to announce its partnership with Cancer Research UK for a unique event scheduled to take place from September 9th to 15th, 2024. This nationwide festival of bridge Bridge - It's a Big Deal! launches this month

There will be so much more news to follow, if you are a bridge player, a club or county official, we would love you to be involved. To keep up to date with all the exciting news about this event, please click here to join our Facebook Group.

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:12 GMT
Late Entries for Women's and Seniors' Trials

The Selection Committee has announced that it will be willing to consider late entries for the forthcoming Women's Trials and Seniors' Trials, which are for the 2024 European Championships in Herning, Denmark. Entries for the trials will be accepted until two weeks before the trials themselves start.

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:11 GMT
New EBU Online Congress

Running from 3 - 5 December 2024 and annually thereafter, a new EBU Winter Mid-Week Online Congress will take place on Realbridge. This will have the same format as the former Seniors Congress, which it will replace, but it will be open to all EBU members without age restriction.

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:11 GMT
World Bridge Games

As a reminder, the World Bridge Games will take place later this year in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 22nd Oct - 5th Nov 2024.

The EBU would like to invite teams to enter trials for selection to represent England at the games in the following categories; Open, Women's, Mixed and Seniors. The trial dates for each category are set as follows: 

Open Trials - 26th-29th April
Women’s Trials - 10th-13th May
Mixed Trials - 31st May-3rd June
Seniors Trials - 7th-10th June

Applications for entry in all categories should be sent to comps@ebu.co.uk. When sending an application, please confirm that you are able to participate in the trial for your category if a trial is held. The closing date for all entries is 5pm on Friday 26th January 2024. All teams will be expected to participate on a fully self-funded basis.

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:10 GMT
Transatlantic Seniors Cup 2024

The Polish Bridge Federation are once again organising the Transatlantic Seniors Online Cup (Julian Klukowski Memorial Trophy ) from Jan 29th-Feb 8th 2024 (playing Mondays to Thursdays) to be held on BBO. Players must be born in 1960 or earlier and at least 12 players are allowed in each team. 

Full details of the event are available in this invitation.

Entries will be considered by the EBU Selection Committee and teams that wish to apply should send details of the proposed team to sc.chair@ebu.co.uk as soon as possible. Each NBO is able to send up to four teams.

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:10 GMT
Teltscher Trophy Senior Trial Results

Congratulations to Kay Preddy & Norman Selway, who won the senior trials in December at the Coventry & North Warwickshire Bridge Club. Trevor Ward & David Kendrick finished in second place and Roger Bryant & Nick Smith finished third.

The top three pairs qualified to represent England at the 2024 Teltscher Trophy - the 'senior Camrose' competition, which will take place 17th - 19th May 2024 held by Scotland.

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:10 GMT
New Pros and Cons video from Bid72 & EBU Bidding December Results

The latest in the new Bid72 video series, Pros and Cons, is now available to view. Episode eight, featuring Mike Passell, talking about tough bidding decisions. The series of short videos looks at bidding dilemmas with championship players. You can subscribe to the free series on the Bid72 YouTube channel.

In the Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest, there are different ranked groups (A, B, C and New). The aim of the bidding contest is to bid with your own chosen partner and your preferred system, using the app bid72.

Following the December monthly score, the top partnership of group A are Saf-JohnMe and Mikeas-robertf both pairs had an average score of 7.85. In third place are MarkB-Lawman with an average score of 7.60.

In group B, five partnerships will be promoted to group A, they are; LiamH-SusanH; JonB-GrahamD; GerardT-AndrewM; Abbey-Robin; and Kmg-Trish.

In group C one pair will be promoted to group B, they are; Hillsey-Ruthrdh.

In the New group, one pair has been seeded, they will join group B; H Potter-Black Saint.

First time players compete in the New group. Each month there is a relegation or promotion of players, during this time new players are also placed into one of the three groups depending on their score. This service is completely free for EBU members and made available by bid72, the premium app on bridge bidding. For more information and to register see Bid72 EBU.

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:10 GMT
Generation Game new weekend bridge game from EBED

EBED are starting a new and very casual bridge event on RealBridge, initially once a month, to give families the chance to play bridge together (even if they may be geographically spread). After each session you will have a chance to compare your bidding and results against others playing the same boards at the same time. Based on the first attempt that provided a lot of laughs.

Links will be sent prior to each event to those who have expressed interest to Joan Bennett on 07548 782538 or by email to joan@ebedcio.org.uk.

We have identified at least 20 bridge playing families including grandparents and grandchildren and there are probably many more. Many of these are widely spread around the country so we hope that this will give them both a chance to socialise and to play the game.

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:09 GMT
Dominic Connolly wins Quarterly Online IMPs Ladder

The quarterly IMP competition for our online games, hosted by Funbridge, has concluded.

In the fourth quarter of 2023 October to December, Dominic Connolly finished top of the leader board. He scored 307 total IMPs from his best six games, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by Robert Plumley with a score of 297 IMPs, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:09 GMT
December Robot Ladder Competitions

December's robot ladder competitions, have now concluded.

In the 12-board ladder for December, Tim Glover won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 74.68% over six games. Jeremy Baker was second, with 73.29% and James Bond third with an average score of 70.74%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the main December matchpoints ladder, Godspal finished top of they leader board. They were a guest player from France, who as a non-EBU member was not eligible for a prize. Matthew Covill was second, with an average score of 63.68% and David Dawson third with an average score of 62.64%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the handicap ladder, for the players whose scores exceed their NGS by the greatest amount. Luis Barbero finished top of the leader board over the top six games, with a handicap score of 10.26, winning £25. The second place prize went to Matthew Covill with a score of 2.08. There were also prizes for third and fourth place.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs
December Matchpoints LadderDecember Handicap LadderDecember 12-board ladder
Archive of previous winners

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:08 GMT
Year End Congress Winners 2023

The Year End Congress took place in London on 27-30 December.

The first event was a 2 day Swiss Pairs which was won by Stefano Tommasini & Ben Norton (pictured) who scored 153 VPs from their 11 matches; 2nd was Sally Brock & Jovi Smederevac with 150 VPs and 3rd was Martin Nygren & Jon Cooke with 149 VPs.

On the 2nd day there was also a Jack High Swiss Pairs and this was won by Steve Mai & Mark Simpson (picture) who won all 6 of their matches to finish on 92 VPs. 2nd place was Paul Saffer & John Melchior with 82 VPs and 3rd was Ian Sidgwick & Paul Spencer with 72 VPs.

Friday brought Mixed and Open Pairs. The Mixed Pairs was won by a comfortably margin by Mike Bell & Sarah Bell (picture) who scored 62.20%; Catherine Seale & Ian Pagan were 2nd (58.60%) and in 3rd place was Hanna Tuus & David Burn (57.82%). Neil Rosen & Brian Senior (picture) were the winners in the Open Pairs with a score of 60.86% ahead of Richard Hillman & Ambrose Holmes-Mackie (59.31%) and Stefano Tommasini & Sebastion Atisen (57.91%).

The final day was Swiss Teams and also an Improvers Pairs run on BBO by Kent CBA. The winners in the Swiss Teams were Mike Bell & Sarah Bell and Stefano Tommasini & Sebastion Atisen (picture) who scored 106 VPs from their 7 matches. The team of Simon Cope & Diana Nettleton and Andrew McIntosh & Sara Moran were 2nd with 98 VPs ahead of the team of Richard Creamer & John Dean and John Pemberton & Adrian La Chapelle in 3rd with 94 VPs.

The winners in the Improvers Pairs were Andrew Tomlinson & Anthony Corry scoring 64.50% across the 2 sessions; in 2nd place were Louise Lewis & Patricia Donaldson (60.56%) and 3rd were Belinda Chantler & Shelagh Rumbelow (59.38%).

Well done to all of them and to all the many other notable achievements in the various events.

Full results are available.

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:06 GMT
Channel Trophy 2023 Results

The annual junior event held between France, Belgium, England and the Netherlands took place this weekend in Utrecht, Netherlands. 

England were represented in three categories, Under 26, Under 21 and Under 26 Women. The events were played as a double round robin, with each country playing each other twice.

The U26s (Daniel WinterLiam SandersonJoseph ClarkLiam FegartyHarry MaddenOscar Selby, NPC: Michael Byrne) (picture) took silver, sadly losing in the final match and final boards by only 3 imps.

The U21s (Henry RoseJames CaterTheodore SinclairTom FurnessThomas GardnerJamie Fegarty, NPC: Ewa Wieczorek) (pictured) defended their title and came out clear gold medal winners.

The U26W fielded an amazing two teams when Belgium found they didn't have enough players. The 'first' team (Dido ColeyLily KearneyLiz GahanImogen La ChapelleKim HudsonVenetia Anoyrkatis, NPC: Claire Robinson) (picture) again took silver losing narrowly, to France but winning the final match against them a fine 15-5. The 'second' team (Charlotte BedfordRaphaela SinclairMegan JonesBethany MaddenHarriet CorkCecilia Birdsall, NPC: Paul Barden) were in contention for bronze but were sadly pipped in the final match.

Congratulations to all teams!

Full Results
Previous Results
More Photos

Last updated : 19th Dec 2023 11:19 GMT
Dick Shek

We are sad to report the death of Dick Shek, who represented England and Great Britain on many occasions before he returned to Malaysia 15 years ago, where he played in their open team. 

He had late stage pancreatic cancer  and had recently commented on Facebook that he had "a wonderful career in Bridge both in UK and Malaysia... When I was very young, father told me that, when you grow up do what ever line of work you do, enjoy and always do the best you can, that is something I was always proud to say I did. I believe that I can  stand in front of him and say very soon that I did all that. I feel so sorry for my wonderful supportive wife."

(Photo Courtesy of Peter Hasenson)

Last updated : 19th Dec 2023 11:18 GMT
WBF Women's Teams Online

The WBF Women’s Committee invites women players worldwide to participate in a Teams event on RealBridge 16 - 18 February, 2024. This is a great opportunity to play at international level, worldwide, from the comfort of your own home.

The aim of the event is to provide an opportunity for an international competitive bridge without potential limitations of cost or travel.

In a nutshell, this is a 3-day teams event, Friday to Sunday. You can have minimum 4 and up to a maximum of 8 players on your team. The exact format will be determined by the numbers of entrants, but if you would like to take part in this amazing opportunity, there’s no time like the present to get a team together. 

The event is being run on RealBridge. It is an amazing opportunity to play against people from so many different countries with a minimal cost of 40 Euros for the entire team!

3 important things to note:

  1.  You must send your entry to wbfwomen@worldbridgefed.com which will reach the desk of Mary Kelly Rogers.
  2. If you have a query please address it to anna.gudge@worldbridgefed.com
  3. 3. Entries must be in by January 16th!

Entry information and further details can be found on the WBF Women's Online Teams website

The WBF also has a WBF Women's Newsletter which highlights all upcoming events. 

Information in pdf form

If you would like help in forming a team, please email roswolfarth4901@gmail.com who will try to help, as always.

Last updated : 19th Dec 2023 11:18 GMT
Team Selway wins NTL Season 4

The National Teams League season 4 has now concluded. In Division 1, team "Selway" (captain Michael Hampton) finished top with a total of 177.46. In second place were "The Seedgrowers" (captain Robert Plumley) with a total of 142.55.

Division 2 was won by "Men of Kent +2"  (captain Peter Law), with "Fegarty L"  (captain Liam Fegarty) in second place. In division 3, the top spot was claimed by team "Endplayed" (captain Paddy Murphy), with team "Johns" (captain Ian Johns) in second.

The National Teams League Season 5 will start on 17th January 2024, entries are now open. Please send any queries to comps@ebu.co.uk.

National Teams League page

Last updated : 19th Dec 2023 11:17 GMT
Lady Milne Trials results

Congratulations to Anne Rosen & Nevena Senior who won last weekend's Lady Milne trial, played at the West Midlands Bridge Club, their winning score was 141.01 Cross IMPs over 130 boards. Second were Sally Brock & Maggie Knottenbelt with 75.41 Cross IMPs and third Sally Anoyrkatis & Venetia Anoyrkatis with 70.58 Cross IMPs. These three pairs will form the England team for the Lady Milne Trophy to be played from 19-21 April 2024, hosted by Ireland.

Full results

Last updated : 19th Dec 2023 11:17 GMT
Office closed this afternoon for staff Christmas party

The EBU office will be closed from 12.30pm today (Monday) for the staff Christmas party. It will re-open at 9am on Tuesday morning. 

If you wish to contact us during the afternoon please send an email.

Merry Christmas from all the staff.

Last updated : 11th Dec 2023 09:18 GMT
Seniors Congress Winners

The Seniors Congress took place on RealBridge this week.

The Championship Pairs was won by Andrew Urbanski & Mike Letts (pictured), who finished on 55.70%, ahead of second place pair Brian Ransley & Peter Nicholls with 55.36%. In third place were Jim Hay & Jackie Davies with 53.98%.

The Swiss Pairs competition - for those eliminated from the Championship Pairs, or joining the congress later - was won by John Ferguson & Ian Hamilton (picture), who were 3 VPs ahead of second placed Paul Darby & Bogdan Drobny with 105 VPs. Just one VP behind in third place were Tony Disley & Adrian Thomas with 104 VPs.

The Swiss Teams event was won by the Chamberlain team of Patrick ShieldsRichard ChamberlainTony Sowter & Rob Lawy (picture) finishing 20 VPs ahead of the second placed Huggett team: Steve Preston, David Huggett, Jeremy Dhondy & Fred Hotchen. Just two VPs behind, in third place, were the Kaltz team of Michael Kaltz, Jim Niblett, Mike Fawcett & Denis King with 88 VPs.

Results
Previous winners: Championship Pairs and Swiss Teams

Last updated : 11th Dec 2023 09:17 GMT
EBL Survey for All Female Bridge Players

The European Bridge League have worked hard over the last 18 months to support more women playing bridge at national and international levels.

They would now like your help in determining the course of Women’s Bridge over the next few years by completing this questionnaire

Last updated : 11th Dec 2023 09:17 GMT
English Pairs Townsend and Handley-Pritchard Second in NABC Tournament

Tom Townsend and Ben Handley-Pritchard finished as runners up in the recent Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs, held by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) as part of the three annual North American Bridge Championships (NABC). The event is played over three days and is the toughest Pairs event in the USA and of comparable level to the European Pairs.

The winners, were Italy’s Aldo Gerli and Andrea Boldrini. The duo, who led the contest after Thursday’s semi-final round, maintained control in the two-session final, posting 58.64% in the morning session and 53.23% in the afternoon to win the contest by a half board. 

More details can be found in the ACBL Daily Bulletin (page 9)

Full Results

Last updated : 11th Dec 2023 09:17 GMT
Final EBL Women's Training Session of 2023

The European Bridge League will conduct the last online training session for this year on 18th December 2023, at 18:30 GMT on RealBridge.

How is it going to work?

15 boards (teams of 4) will be played, with analysis from guest coach Goded Gonzalo a professional bridge player from Spain. The talk is in English and the players will have the chance to ask questions.

Who is it suitable for?

The trainings are suitable for competitive bridge female players who want to join the EBL's fantastic training program for women (it's free),

How to register a team?

Players can contact the local Women's Coordinator. Players are welcome to send an email to the Women's Bridge Committee, and who will be happy to assist: WomenBridgeCommittee@gmail.com

Last updated : 11th Dec 2023 09:17 GMT
AGM Awards 2023

At the AGM yesterday (Wednesday), the EBU recognised various members' contributions to bridge in England. The meeting was held live in London at the Royal National Hotel. For award winners who were unable to attend, their awards are presented locally.

Full details of all the award winners:

Congratulations to all recipients, and we thank them for their contribution.

Last updated : 1st Dec 2023 14:58 GMT
2023 Sim Pairs prize winners drawn

At this week's AGM the 2023 Sim Pairs prize draw took place.

2 clubs were drawn from those which entered the EBED Sims and 6 from those entering the other sims. Each receives £200.

The winning clubs were:

Club names County Category
Selsdon Bridge Club Surrey EBED Sims
Harrogate Bridge Club Yorkshire EBED Sims
Framlingham Bridge Club Suffolk EBU Sims
Noverre Bridge Club Norfolk EBU Sims
Bishop Aukland Bridge Club North East EBU Sims
Bromsgrove & District Bridge Club Worcestershire EBU Sims
Aylesbury Aces Bridge Club Oxfordshire EBU Sims
Pembury Bridge Club Kent EBU Sims

The 2024 entries for all events are open now. We hope you will take part as the proceeds from each of the events helps to support bridge in England.

  • The British Sim Pairs (in January, April, July and October) and Club Stratified Sim Pairs (in March) help to support the work of the EBU in providing services to you, the members, and to your clubs and counties
  • The Junior Squad Sim Pairs (in February) helps to celebrate and promote junior bridge in England, with funds raised from the event going directly into the junior squad budgets
  • The EBED Sim Pairs (in May and September) helps to support the work of the charity English Bridge Education and Development
  • The Tuesday session of the British Winter Simultaneous Pairs, will be held in memory of Peter Jordan, with a trophy awarded to the winners of the event. The trophy is a donation from Peter’s wife Barbara

For more information on the competitions, and how clubs can register to take part, see the information via the Sim Pairs webpage.

Last updated : 1st Dec 2023 14:58 GMT
Board and Standing Committee members announced

The EBU AGM took place yesterday, 29th November. The following people were elected/re-elected to the EBU Board and Standing Committees:

Board

There were five nominations for three positions, the persons duly elected will serve for a three-year term of office expiring in 2026.

The votes received were as follows:
Elected for a three-year term of office expiring in 2026: Paul Gibbons - 52 votes & Ian Sidgwick - 52 votes
Re-Elected for a three-year term of office expiring in 2026: Adrian Darnell - 61 votes
Not elected: Nicky Bainbridge - 24 votes & David Parry - 16 votes

The current elected Board of Directors are as follows:

  Term ends   Term ends
Adrian Darnell (Chairman) 2026 Patrick Shields 2025
Tony Russ (Vice-Chair) 2024 Ian Sidgwick 2026
Kay Preddy (Treasurer) 2024 Abbey Smith 2024
Paul Gibbons 2026 Gayle Webb 2025

In addition to those elected the Board of Directors may also appoint three Directors for one year at a time. Appointments for 2024 will be considered at the meeting of the Board in January.

Election for Chair

There were two nominations for the position, the person duly elected will serve for a three-year term of office expiring in 2026.

The nominees were Adrian Darnell & David Parry. Since David Parry was not elected to the Board, no election was required and Adrian Darnell was elected for a three-year term of office expiring in 2026.

Vice-Chair

There were two nominations for the position, the person duly elected will serve for a three-year term of office expiring in 2026.

The nominees were Nicky Bainbridge & Tony Russ. Since Nicky Bainbridge was not elected to the Board, no election was required and Tony Russ was elected for a three-year term of office expiring in 2026, subject to being re-elected to the board when his current term on it expires.

The Laws & Ethics Committee

There were two nominees for two positions. Therefore no election was required and David Burn is re-elected and Jeremy Dhondy elected for a three-year term of office expiring in 2026.

The current elected members of the Committee are as follows:

  Term ends   Term ends
David Bakhshi 2024 Peter Grice 2025
David Burn 2026 Jane Jensen 2025
Jeremy Dhondy 2026 Tim Rees 2025
Stephen Green 2024 Gayle Webb Appointed

Selection Committee

There were three nominees for three positions. Therefore no election was required and David Bakhshi, Claire Robinson and Jeremy Willans are re-elected for a three-year term of office expiring in 2026.

The current elected members of the Committee are as follows:

  Term ends   Term ends
David Bakhshi 2026 Abbey Smith 2025
Paul Barden 2025 Jeremy Willans 2026
David Burn 2024 Alan Wilson 2024
Claire Robinson 2026 Patrick Shields Appointed
Last updated : 1st Dec 2023 14:58 GMT
Huang & Barton win Online One-Day Green Pointed Swiss Pairs

The latest in the series of the 2023 Online One-Day Green-Pointed events, Swiss Pairs took place last weekend, Saturday 25th November. The winning pair were Antone Huang & Paul Barton (pictured), with a total of 114 VPs.

In second place with 104 VPs were Alan Wearmouth & Martyn Harris. Finishing just behind in third place were Sandy Fulton & John Rolph, with 102 VPs.

In the 2023 Leaderboard, Giles Ip maintains his place at the top with 445 points, Glyn Meredith remains in second with 395 points and moving up to joint third place are Celia Oram and Derek Oram with 381 points.

Full results
2023 Leaderboard

Last updated : 1st Dec 2023 14:57 GMT
Young Chelsea B win NICKO

Young Chelsea B have won the 2022-23 National Inter-Club Knockout (NICKO), beating Young Chelsea A in the final.

It was a closely contested match, with a final score of 108-80. This was the first win in the competition for the team of Sally Brock, Barry Myers, Claire Robinson & Cameron Small (pictured). A team from Young Chelsea Bridge Club last won the event in 2019.

The defeated Young Chelsea A team was James Thrower, Ingar Hansen, Helen Rose & Sara Moran, Henry Rose & Richard Bowdery (played in previous rounds).

2022-23 Results
Previous winners

Last updated : 1st Dec 2023 14:57 GMT
Majorca Congress

We are pleased to advise that for anyone playing in the Majorca Congress that has not arranged flights, you are encouraged to go ahead and book your flights now.

If you would like to join us for this congress but have not yet booked, please contact First for Bridge. Both "flight inclusive" and "join direct" packages are available but we advise to book early to avoid disappointment. 

Last updated : 1st Dec 2023 14:57 GMT
Bridge - It's a Big Deal!
Festival of bridge. Save the date 9-15 September 2024

The EBU are proud to have partnered with Cancer Research UK for a very special event which will be running 9-15 September 2024, (launched in January 2024) as the nationwide festival of bridge, Bridge - It's a Big Deal! There will be so much more news to follow, if you are a bridge player, a club or county official, we would love you to be involved. To keep up to date with all the exciting news about this event, please click here to join our Facebook Group.

We hope this event will raise awareness and funds for this very important cause.

"All of us at Cancer Research UK are thrilled to be partnering with the English Bridge Union for the festival of bridge in September to raise awareness and funds for vital life saving cancer research. We know that so many people are touched by cancer and we look forward to continuing our work with the help of the bridge community." Sarah Newman, of Cancer Research UK.

Stay tuned as we will be outlining details in further correspondence but we hope to see as many clubs, counties and EBU members as possible taking part in this exciting event.

Our goal is to raise £60,000

We look forward to seeing you all there. For more information please email festival@ebu.co.uk

EBU Chair Adrian DarnellEBU Chair Adrian Darnell says "The Festival of Bridge is a fantastic idea. I sincerely hope that everyone will get behind the Festival and, through it, attract a new cohort to the bridge tables, and at the same time support the vital work of Cancer Research UK.”

Last updated : 1st Dec 2023 14:56 GMT
Jim Proctor

We are sad to report the death of Jim Proctor, whose 88th birthday would have been on 27th November. Jim was the longest serving member of the EBU Tournament Directors' panel at the time of his retirement in 2016. He joined the panel in 1974, and had held the top rank of National Tournament Director for several decades. At the Summer Meeting in 2016 he was made a Life Member of the EBU for his services. 

EBU Chief TD Gordon Rainsford, who interviewed Jim for English Bridge on the occasion of his 80th birthday, said “This is very sad news. In common with all other EBU TDs who worked with Jim, I learned a huge amount from him as well as enjoying my games partnering him at the Summer Meeting in Eastbourne.” We extend our sympathy to Jim's partner Kevin and all his friends around the country.

The funeral will be at Scarborough Crematorium at 2pm on Thu 23rd November.

If you are unable to attend the service in person, it will be available to view online using the details below:

Website: https://watch.obitus.com

Username: yaga7498

Password: 333918

Please note: You will not be able to view the Service until about 5 minutes before it starts at 2pm. If you are unable to attend the service will be made available for 28 days after the end. It may require some editing so there may be a few hours delay before it is available.

Last updated : 21st Nov 2023 14:18 GMT
Peter Donovan

We are sad to report the death of Peter Donovan, the bridge columnist for the Daily Mail. Peter wrote his first article in it on 31st January 1966, with his weekday column eventually surpassing the existing Guinness Book of world records for longest-serving daily newspaper columnist. In 2020 he was given the Tony Priday award for his outstanding contribution to bridge and enhancing the game in all its aspects.

Peter was a member of the EBU Board (1979-1982), was involved in publishing the first-ever EBU diary and initiated the Schools’ Cup. Aside from writing, he pursued several worthy causes to the benefit of the game, which was his lifelong passion. His priority was to help others improve, and he was always available for guidance and advice on bridge-related matters. He hosted popular seminars at top hotels around the country. We extend our sympathy to Peter's family and friends.

Last updated : 21st Nov 2023 14:17 GMT
WBF Women's Teams Online

The WBF Women’s Committee invites women players worldwide to participate in a Teams event on RealBridge 16 - 18 February, 2024.

The aim of the event is to provide an opportunity for an international competitive bridge without potential limitations of cost or travel.

Entry information and further details can be found on the WBF Women's Online Teams website

The WBF also has a WBF Women's Newsletter which highlights all upcoming events.

Last updated : 17th Nov 2023 14:28 GMT
Sponsorship Opportunities

We have several opportunities available for potential sponsors of major tournaments or teams. Youth bridge could also be an area.

These are open to both individuals and companies, either to promote a brand or for personal altruism by way of “giving back”.

On offer are naming rights and (for companies) brand activation with visibility at the event venue, lead up communications, in English Bridge magazine and on the website. Our membership of approximately 45,000 are predominantly approaching or actually retired and ABC1.

A recent example is that of a finance company sponsoring a youth team for an international competition, for which we and the team concerned are very grateful.

The costs depend on what is sponsored and the extent of the take up of the options, but we are talking of four figure sums upwards. All subject to discussion and agreement.

Ian Sidgwick

To find out more without any commitment please contact learnbridge@icloud.com for an initial chat with Ian Sidgwick, one of our board of directors.

Last updated : 17th Nov 2023 14:28 GMT
National Teams League Season 5

Entries are now open for season 5 of the National Teams League. The new season will begin on Wednesday 17th January. 

The National Teams League is for teams of up to 8 people, with matches played on Wednesday evenings. The forthcoming season 5 will run from 17th January until 17th April 2024.

The entry fee is £48 per team, with the winning team for each division gaining free entry for the following season. The easiest way to enter is via My EBU, or please email comps@ebu.co.uk or call 01296 317203. Entries will close Wednesday 10th January.

If you would like to play in the league but are looking for teammates, please email comps@ebu.co.uk

Last updated : 17th Nov 2023 14:28 GMT
Jack High Swiss Pairs Winners

On Sunday 12th November, the latest in the new series of 9-High and Jack High events was held on RealBridge, run by Cumbria on behalf of the EBU.

There were two sessions, one played in the morning and one in the afternoon. The winners of the morning session were Raith Pickup & Iain Watson (N/S) and Michael Nunn & Iain Mckenzie (E/W). The afternoon session was won by Terry Carpenter & Richard Cummins (N/S) and Stuart Knox & Keith Stewart (E/W). 

The next event will be a 9-High Swiss Pairs, run by Midlands on 2 December 2023. Held on RealBridge and starting at 2pm, 24 or 25 boards will be played, depending on entries.

Full results

Last updated : 17th Nov 2023 14:27 GMT
Watch the Tollemache Qualifier this weekend

The qualifier for the Tollemache Cup, the inter-county championships for teams of eight, will take place this weekend on RealBridge.

You can watch the action on https://kibitz.realbridge.online/, starting from Saturday 10th November at 11.25am, delayed by 20 minutes for security. 

The top eight teams will qualify to play in the final on 17th - 18th February 2024, at Coventry BC.

Programme
Previous winners

Last updated : 9th Nov 2023 13:56 GMT
European Championships 2024 (Herning, Denmark)

The EBU selection committee would like to provide an update on the trials processes for the women’s, seniors and mixed teams.

All of the formats are based on current numbers, and are subject to change if the number of entrants change following the results of an earlier trial.

There are currently no exemptions in any category, but this may also change if the number of entrants varies.

 

Mixed Teams: Venue tbc

The teams trial to be held from 2nd-5th February 2024 will consist of a two-day Round Robin (9x12 board matches) followed by a one-day semi-final (64 boards)and a one-day final (64 boards).

At the end of the Round Robin, the leading team will ordinarily choose their semi-final opponent from the third and fourth placed teams. However, the team finishing second is permitted to opt into the choice of opponents for the winning team.

It is hoped that the semi-final and final will be played with the use of tablets.

All players will be required to play at least 50% of the boards in each stage (at least 4 of 9 matches in the Round Robin).

The overall winners of the trial will qualify to represent England at the European Championships.

If the winning team consists of 4 players, then the winning team will add a third pair from the teams that finished in the top four of the Round Robin stage. This pair will be added in consultation with the Selection Committee.

The entry fee for the trial is £600 per team.

 

Women: Venues tbc

Stage one, which is to be held from 9th-11th February 2024, will be a Round Robin (9x16 board matches).

Stage two will be held from 2nd-3rd March 2024 and will be a head-to-head final between two teams of four (112 boards).

At the end of the Round Robin, the top three pairs will be guaranteed to qualify to stage two. The winners of stage one may pick their teammates from any of the pairs who were in the top five of the Round Robin. The next highest pair will then pick their teammates, but the proviso that the top three pairs are guaranteed to qualify for stage two means that if the top pair chooses to play with the fourth or fifth-ranked pair, then the second-ranked pair would be required to choose the third-ranked pair.

It is hoped that the final will be played with tablets.

The overall winners of the trial will qualify to represent England at the European Championships.

The winning team will add a third pair from the pairs that finished in the top five of the Round Robin stage

This pair will be added in consultation with the Selection Committee.

The entry fee for the trial is £175 per player.

 

Seniors: Venues tbc

Stage one which is to be held from 8th-10th March 2024 will be a Round Robin (9x16 board matches).

Stage two will be held from 6th-7th April 2024 and will be a head-to-head final between two teams of four (112 boards).

At the end of the Round Robin, the top three pairs will be guaranteed to qualify to stage two. The winners of stage one may pick their teammates from any of the pairs who were in the top five of the Round Robin. The next highest pair will then pick their teammates, but the proviso that the top three pairs are guaranteed to qualify for stage two means that if the top pair chooses to play with the fourth or fifth-ranked pair, then the second-ranked pair would be required to choose the third-ranked pair.

It is hoped that the final will be played with tablets.

The overall winners of the trial will qualify to represent England at the European Championships.

The winning team will add a third pair from the pairs that finished in the top five of the Round Robin stage

This pair will be added in consultation with the Selection Committee.

The entry fee for the trial is £175 per player. 

Last updated : 7th Nov 2023 11:55 GMT
Black team win Premier League

The 2023 Premier League has been won by the team of Andrew BlackDavid GoldAndrew McIntoshTom PaskeSimon Cope & Peter Crouch (pictured).

In second place were the Hinden team of John Atthey, Graham Osborne, Neil Rosen, Frances Hinden & Chris Jagger. The Sandfia team finished in third, they played in the second division in 2022. 

By virtue of their victory, the Black team will receive an invitation to represent England in one weekend of the Camrose Trophy.

The Premier League is part of the series of competitions contributing to the Player of the Year Championship. Following this weekends results, two of the members of team Black, Simon Cope & Peter Crouch are now joint leaders. The remaining members of team Black are just behind in third place. The next event in the Player of the Year Championship is the Point-A-Board Teams, held on RealBridge, 20th - 21st January 2024.

In the Second Division, Team Hackett, with David Debbage, Croz Croswell, Paul Hackett, John Sansom, John Hassett & Andrew Woodcock) finished first. The Phoenix team (James Thrower, Ali Ahmed, Liam Sanderson, Fiona Brown, Steve Raine & Chris Cooper) finished in second place.

In the Third Division - Marcia Green, Heather Dhondy, Joe Fawcett, Alastair Gidman, David Burn finished in first place, ahead of Paul Gipson, Alex Gipson, Nick Smith, Alan Wilson & Roger Bryant.

Last updated : 7th Nov 2023 11:55 GMT
Important Diary Date for Women of England

Join us for the next European training session on Monday 20th November. The session will take place on RealBridge, with players asked to log-on at 18:00 for a start at 18:30 UK time.

Haven’t yet taken part? It not too late, and it’s extremely worthwhile. Each monthly session is headed by a star player eager to pass on their bridge skills to you.

This month our star player is Cecilia Dwyer Rimstedt. No excuse such as “I only speak English” because all the specialists speak excellent English and all international competitions have to use English as the lingua franca.

If you are an English woman who plays bridge to a decent level and has the desire to listen, learn and improve your play, gather your partners and friends and sign up your team. Teams can be players from club, county or cross-county, all are welcome.

So successful has this series been, that the Women’s Committee of the EBL is likely going to continue the venture into 2024. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity. Seize it whilst you can! Places will fill on a first come, first served basis.

Last updated : 7th Nov 2023 11:55 GMT
WBF Women’s Online Autumn Festival

The WBF Women’s Online Autumn Festival will take place next week, from 6 – 12 November 2023. It is open to all women!

This is a fun, challenging and exciting event that has been enjoyed by women all over the world. 

There will be 7 games per day: Pairs, Individual Robot and Individual Human, with times to suit every time zone.

The Festival is very popular with women players – yes, there is an excellent main prize for the winner of free entry to the next WBF Women’s Pairs Championship for her and a partner of her choice and WBF Online Master Points for the top 20 players, and there are also numerous other BBO prizes.

Taking Part
The games will be held on BBO. On the All Tournaments page, search for "Women" and once the tournaments are set up they will all appear there. The entry fee for each event is BB$1.

Further information: 

Last updated : 7th Nov 2023 11:54 GMT
New Pros and Cons video from Bid72 & EBU Bidding October Results

The latest in the new Bid72 video series, Pros and Cons, is now available to view. Episode six features Bermuda Bowl winner Ralph Katz, talking about tough bidding decisions. The series of short videos looks at bidding dilemmas with championship players. You can subscribe to the free series on the Bid72 YouTube channel.

In the Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest, there are different ranked groups (A, B, C and New). The aim of the bidding contest is to bid with your own chosen partner and your preferred system, using the app bid72.

Following the October monthly score, the top partnership of group A are downagain-Freee with an average score of 7.70. In second place are HarryF-TonyQ and in third place are GeoffO-HeatherM.

In group B, five partnerships will be promoted to group A, they are; BarbaraJH-TrevorH; Et1965-LucyN; gmherbert-Stevestar; nj-Nickisgreat and Mapsy -MoiraC.

In group C one pair will be promoted to group B, they are; RonaC-StephenB.

In the New group, two pairs have been seeded, they will join the following groups; MalcolmW-Susie will join group B and Abbey-Robin will join group C.

First time players compete in the New group. Each month there is a relegation or promotion of players, during this time new players are also placed into one of the three groups depending on their score. This service is completely free for EBU members and made available by bid72, the premium app on bridge bidding. For more information and to register see Bid72 EBU.

Last updated : 7th Nov 2023 11:54 GMT
New home for Robert Provost Painting

This week, the EBU welcomed Maryanne Roach, the great-niece of Robert Provost, to our head office in Aylesbury. Maryanne was visiting to view an oil painting of Robert Provost by Cowan Dobson, donated to the EBU by the Provost family. She was welcomed by our Office Manager Karen Durrell and Club Liaison Officer Jonathan Lillycrop. She is pictured with the painting and the Provost Cup, originally donated by Robert and for many years presented to the winners of the Spring Foursomes.

In the 1950’s Robert and his wife Sadie Provost owned the Crockfords Club, one of London’s oldest gaming clubs, after which the Crockfords Cup is named. Robert Provost died in 1960, survived by Sadie who died in 1975, they had no children.

This painting hung in the Crockfords Club until 1970, where upon enquiry from Ieuan Roach nephew of Sadie Provost, the painting was given to Ieuan so it could be hung in his aunt’s home until 1975. The painting since then has hung in both English and Spanish homes of Ieuan and his wife Beryl. With their passing in 2020 and 2022, their children and executors Philip and Maryanne Roach kindly donated the painting to the English Bridge Union.

Note: Also, Robert Provost in 1950 donated The Robert Provost Cup to the English Bridge Union for national and international bridge competitions.

Cowan Dobson - Artist

Born in Bradford to Scottish parents, Dobson spent most of his life in Scotland. He studied in Edinburgh and exhibited from a young age; at the Royal Academy from the age of nineteen and the Royal Scottish Academy from twenty-three. Dobson’s portraits focused on the ordinariness of his subjects, despite many of them being society sitters from Scotland and London. He worked in both oil and watercolour.

Last updated : 7th Nov 2023 11:54 GMT
October Robot Ladder Competitions

October's robot ladder competitions, have now concluded.

In the 12-board ladder for October, Jeremy Baker won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 71.34% over six games. Jaak Känd was second, with 69.86% and Graham Hedley third with an average score of 69.79%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the main October matchpoints ladder, Tony Verran finished top of they leader board with an average score of 63.15%. David Dawson was second, with an average score of 62% and Godspal third with an average score of 61.98%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the handicap ladder, for the players whose scores exceed their NGS by the greatest amount. Luis Barbero finished top of the leader board over the top six games, with a handicap score of 8.74, winning £25. The second place prize went to Justine Thompson with a score of 2.92. There were also prizes for third and fourth place.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs
October Matchpoints LadderOctober Handicap LadderOctober 12-board ladder
Archive of previous winners

Last updated : 7th Nov 2023 11:53 GMT
Board and Standing Committee nominations announced

The nominations for the EBU Board and Standing Committees have now closed. The EBU AGM will take place on 29th November and completed application forms from candidates will be sent to Shareholders next Monday 6th November along with other AGM papers . 

The following people have been nominated/elected/re-elected to the EBU Board and Standing Committees:

The Board

There are five nominees for three positions, the top three persons duly elected will serve for a three-year term of office expiring in 2026.

The nominees are:

Nicky Bainbridge
Adrian Darnell
Paul Gibbons
David Parry
Ian Sidgwick

In addition to those elected the Board of Directors may also appoint up to three Directors for one year at a time. Appointees for 2024 will be considered at the meeting of the Board in January 2024.

Nominees for the Chairman and Vice Chairman positions must also have been elected to the Board of Directors.

Chairman

There are two nominations for Chair, the elected candidate will serve a three year term of office expiring in 2026.

The nominees are:

Adrian Darnell
David Parry

Vice Chairman

There are two nominations for Vice-Chair, the elected candidate will serve a three year term of office expiring in 2026.

The nominees are:

Nicky Bainbridge
Tony Russ

The Laws & Ethics Committee

There are two nominees for two positions, therefore no election is required. The nominees will serve for a three-year term of office expiring in 2026.

The nominees are:

David Burn (re-elected)
Jeremy Dhondy (elected)

Selection Committee

There are three nominations for three positions, therefore no election is required. The nominees will serve for a three-year term of office expiring in 2026.

The nominees are:

David Bakhshi (re-elected)
Claire Robinson (re-elected)
Jeremy Willans (re-elected)

Last updated : 7th Nov 2023 11:53 GMT
New Disciplinary Conviction

An EBU Disciplinary Committee considered the following charge against Ian Hart (BBO account name: Ian273) and Richard Peate (BBO account name: palindrone) in September 2023:

That when the defendants played in some online games on the Bridgebase Online (“BBO”) platform, they had knowledge of some aspects of each other’s hands obtained by illicit information. They both took advantage of this information to take bridge actions which they might not have taken in the absence of such knowledge. These actions constituted an offense under Rule 3.2(iii), unfair or dishonest play in an organised duplicate bridge event, whether online or face to face.

The defendants initially denied the charges when first asked to comment but later admitted to the charges. A disciplinary meeting was held. The Disciplinary Committee found the charges proved to their comfortable satisfaction, and that the defendants' conduct constituted an offence under paragraph 3.2(iii) of the EBU Disciplinary Rules, being unfair or dishonest play. They considered the mitigation offered.

The Committee imposed a sanction of suspension of EBU membership for a period of two years and a ban on representing England for ten years. 

Currently sanctioned members

Last updated : 7th Nov 2023 11:53 GMT
Shields Team wins Online One-Day Green-Pointed Swiss Teams

The latest in the series of the 2023 Online One-Day Green-Pointed events, Swiss Teams took place last weekend, Saturday 21st October. The winning team were the Shields team of Patrick Shields, Garry Watson, Giles Ip & Alan Oddie (pictured), with a total of 102 VPs.

In second place with 94 VPs were the Selway team of Norman Selway, Kay Preddy, Louise Weiss-Selway & Florian Weiss-Selway. Finishing in joint third place were the Oram and Lindfors teams, with 88 VPs.

The win has seen Giles Ip move to the top of the 2023 Leaderboard, with 388 "leader points". In second place is Glyn Meredith with 350 points and in joint third place with 337 points are Jacek Pietrzycki and Alex Maddocks.

Last updated : 7th Nov 2023 11:52 GMT
Calling all club and county (B/C) players. Your country needs you!

Under-16 squad leader Alan Shillitoe is looking for opposition to play training matches against the next generation of u16s. Starting from November, matches will be played on Friday evenings at 7pm, on RealBridge. Each session will be a 10-board match.

If you are a pair or team who would be interested, please contact Alan Shillitoe, alan_shillitoe@hotmail.com

Last updated : 17th Oct 2023 15:42 BST
Hinden Team Leads Premier League After Second Weekend

The Hinden team (Frances HindenJohn AttheyGraham OsborneNeil RosenChris Jagger) lead Division 1 after the second weekend of the Premier League. They currently have a total of 166.82 VPs after two weekends of play. In second place are the team Black (Andrew BlackDavid GoldAndrew McIntoshThomas PaskeSimon CopePeter Crouch) with a total of 165.44 VPs.

Division 2 is being led by the Harris team (Niall Igoe, Marusa Gold, Steve Root, Todor Tiholov, Jonathan Harris, Eduard Malhasyan) with a total of 165.68 VPs.

The Lindfors team (Stefan Lindfors, Jim Grant, Rob Lawy, Harry Anyorkatis, Dave Robinson, Tony Sowter) lead Division 3, with 171.25 VPs.

The third and final weekend take place on 4th/5th November.

In addition to this being a prestigious competition in its own right, it serves as a trial with the top two teams from Division 1 each earning selection to represent England in one weekend of the Camrose Trophy.

Last updated : 17th Oct 2023 15:42 BST
World Bridge Games 2024

The World Bridge Games are expected to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The EBU intends to enter teams of six to compete in all four categories (Open, Women’s, Mixed and Seniors). All teams will be expected to participate on a fully self-funded basis.

Depending on the number of entries in each category, there will either be a trial (in which case the trial will be of teams of 4-6 players), or a team will be selected by the EBU selection committee.

If a winning team in any trial contains fewer than six players and wishes to expand for the World Bridge Games, then additional players will be added by the selection committee, following consultation with the winning team.

In each category, if a trial is held, then it will last for up to four days, and will either be a one or two stage event depending on the number of entries.

The winning team in each category will earn the right to represent England at the World Bridge Games.

Should a player wish to enter more than one category, then they will be committed to the first team that they qualify for, and having won a trial, will no longer be eligible to participate in a later trial.

The following list comprises the dates of each trial, if a trial is held:

  • Open - 26-29 April
  • Women’s - 10-13 May
  • Mixed - 31 May- 3 June
  • Seniors - 7-10 June

The Selection Committee would like to invite applications in all four categories.

When sending an application, please confirm that you are able to participate in the trial for your category if a trial is held.

The closing date for all entries is 5pm on Friday 26 January 2024.  

Applications for entry in all categories should be sent to louise@ebu.co.uk

Last updated : 16th Oct 2023 14:35 BST
Important Diary Date for Women of England

Join us for the next European training session on Monday 23rd October. The session will take place on RealBridge, with players asked to log-on at 18:00 for a start at 18:30 UK time.

Haven’t yet taken part? It not too late, and it’s extremely worthwhile. Each monthly session is headed by a star player eager to pass on their bridge skills to you.

This month our star player is Italy’s Irene Baroni. No excuse such as “I only speak English” because all the specialists speak excellent English and all international competitions have to use English as the lingua franca.

If you are an English woman who plays bridge to a decent level and has the desire to listen, learn and improve your play, gather your partners and friends and sign up your team. Teams can be players from club, county or cross-county, all are welcome.

So successful has this series been, that the Women’s Committee of the EBL is likely going to continue the venture into 2024. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity. Seize it whilst you can! Places will fill on a first come, first served basis.

Last updated : 11th Oct 2023 10:02 BST
De Botton Team Wins Gold Cup

The prestigious Gold Cup, organised by Bridge Great Britain, has been won by Janet de BottonThor Erik HoftaniskaArtur MalinowskiTom TownsendDavid Bakhshi & Thomas Charlsen (pictured). 

They defeated Alexander AllfreyAndrew RobsonPeter CrouchSimon CopeEspen Erichsen & Richard Plackett (picture) in the final played at the Young Chelsea BC this weekend. The defeated semi-finalists were the Penfold and Knottenbelt teams.

The Gold Cup provided the first scores in the EBU's Player of the Year Championship, with the Black team taking an early lead. The next scoring event is the Premier League, with the third and final weekend taking place on 4-5 November.

Last updated : 9th Oct 2023 15:56 BST
Nominations for Board and Standing Committees

Nominations for various positions, to be elected at the AGM on 29th November, close at midday on 1st November. Nominations can be made for:

  • members of the EBU Board
  • EBU Chairman *
  • EBU Vice-Chairman *
  • members of the Selection Committee **
  • members of the Laws & Ethics Committee **

Any nomination must come from a county shareholder so those who might be interested in standing should contact a shareholder.

Shareholders should have already been sent nomination papers and information, which includes the number of places available in each case, but may contact Kay Carter - kay@ebu.co.uk for more information. 

* - the nominee must be a member of the EBU board so a nomination to become board member will also be required if the nominee is not already a board member. 

Last updated : 6th Oct 2023 12:16 BST
Message from Adrian Darnell (EBU Chair)

I thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself as the new EBU Chair.

For those who don’t know, Ian Payn has been the EBU Chair for last 4 years, and I succeeded him some two weeks ago. I was elected to the Board 3 years ago, was the Vice Chair until most recently, and it is a great privilege now to be the EBU Chair. I, and the whole of the Board, are looking forward to meeting all the many challenges but we sincerely hope there will be nothing like the Lockdown period!

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges is the obvious need to recruit and retain new members and we are actively examining a host of ideas around marketing, the teaching of students, and integrating newcomers into our Clubs and competitions.

For those interested, my own bridge history started as a teenager, but I hardly played when I went to University. In my 20s and 30s I played a lot of squash, and once I had stopped playing several times a week I discovered the Club had a bridge evening. I restarted playing bridge in my 40s, and have been playing Club and County bridge for about 30 years so. As we all know, it’s a wonderful game and we, the current players, really do have some duty to share it with those who have never played and with those who have played but not for some years or so.

I look forward to working with everyone as we all strive to ensure that bridge carries on its recovery from the COVID years and moves from strength to strength.

Last updated : 6th Oct 2023 12:16 BST
Raine & Brown win Great Northern Swiss Pairs

Steve Raine & Matt Brown (pictured) have won the Great Northern Swiss Pairs title in Leeds which took place this weekend.

Steve & Matt, finished on 169 VPs, ahead of Alan Hayward & Alan Jarvis on 157 VPs. Just behind in third place with 156 VPs were John Cox & Magnus Spence-Jones.

The 9-High Pairs was won by Meg Jenkins & Margaret Crowe (picture) with 69 VPs from five matches. In second place were Ian Newsham & Pauline Stout with 63 VPs and in joint third place were Ron Lasseter & Diane Lasseter and Cathy Wood & Michael Pointon with a final score of 59 VPs.

ResultsPrevious winners

Last updated : 4th Oct 2023 16:46 BST
New Pros and Cons video from Bid72 & EBU Bidding September Results

The fifth in the new Bid72 video series, Pros and Cons, is now available to view. Episode five features English International player Jason Hackett, talking about tough bidding decision. The series of short videos looks at bidding dilemmas with championship players. You can subscribe to the free series on the Bid72 YouTube channel.

In the Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest, there are different ranked groups (A, B, C and New). The aim of the bidding contest is to bid with your own chosen partner and your preferred system, using the app bid72.

Following the September monthly score, the top partnership of group A are DaveA-JillA with an average score of 8.95. In second place are GuillaumeP-Jean-FrançoisR and in third place are Timbo-TonyMac.

In group B, four partnerships will be promoted to group A, they are; JonB-GrahamD; ValG-Pearl01z; GeoffO-HeatherM and RobinH-RayT.

In the New group, three players have been seeded, they will join the following groups; AnnB-MaggieC will join group A; Tctons-Mikeow will join group B; and RonaC-StephenB will join group C.

First time players compete in the New group. Each month there is a relegation or promotion of players, during this time new players are also placed into one of the three groups depending on their score. This service is completely free for EBU members and made available by bid72, the premium app on bridge bidding. For more information and to register see Bid72 EBU.

Last updated : 4th Oct 2023 16:45 BST
David Dawson wins Quarterly Online IMPs Ladder

The quarterly IMP competition for our online games, hosted by Funbridge, has concluded.

In the third quarter of 2023 July to September, David Dawson finished top of the leader board. He scored 279 total IMPs from his best six games, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by Peter Neville with a score of 264 IMPs, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs

Last updated : 4th Oct 2023 16:45 BST
September Robot Ladder Competitions

September's robot ladder competitions, have now concluded.

In the 12-board ladder for September, Jaak Känd won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 73.08% over six games. Tim Glover was second, with 70.74% and Gordon Rainsford third with an average score of 69.81%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the main September matchpoints ladder, Godspal finished top of they leader board. They were a guest player from France, who as a non-EBU member was not eligible for a prize. Tony Verran was second, with an average score of 60.38% and Graham Hadley third with an average score of 59.44%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the handicap ladder, for the players whose scores exceed their NGS by the greatest amount. Luis Barbero finished top of the leader board over the top six games, with a handicap score of 5.91, winning £25. The second place prize went to Russ de Haney with a score of 4.83. There were also prizes for third and fourth place.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs
September Matchpoints LadderSeptember Handicap LadderSeptember 12-board ladder
Archive of previous winners

Last updated : 4th Oct 2023 16:44 BST
Entries Invited for the Lady Milne Trials

Applications to enter the 2023 Lady Milne Trials are now open. 

The trials will take place 8th - 10th December 2023 (possibly extending to Mon 11th depending on numbers), at the West Midlands Bridge Club. 

The trials are set to determine English representation at the Lady Milne Trophy. In 2024 the event is being hosted by Ireland, 19-21 April. 

Please send your applications to comps@ebu.co.uk or phone 01296317203. Entries are £100 per person. Entries will close Monday 13th November at 9am. Late entries may be accepted at the Committee's discretion. Junior squad partnerships may be awarded free entry to this event.

The team is likely to be part-funded. Entry fees and uniforms will be provided plus there may be a contribution towards expenses.

Last updated : 4th Oct 2023 16:44 BST
Prior M team wins Online Knockout Teams

The EBU's Online Knockout Teams competition has been won by the team headed by Michael Prior.

The Prior M team included Michael Prior, Mike Hampton, Norman Selway & Kay Preddy, they defeated the team of Roger BryantStephen Green, Rob Helle, Ed Hoogenkamp & Gareth Roberts by 90-54 IMPs in the final.

The Plate competition is still ongoing, with the finals due to take place before 27th November. 

A new competition will start in 2024 with entries opening soon.

Results
Previous winners

Last updated : 4th Oct 2023 16:44 BST
NICKO 2023/24 Entries Closing Soon

As a reminder the National Inter Club Knock Out (NICKO) 2023/24,  entries close on Monday 9th October at midday. This year the competition returns to face-to-face play.

If your club would like to enter, please complete the Entry Form (word) (pdf) and send to louise@ebu.co.uk

The NICKO is open to all affiliated EBU bridge clubs. The early rounds are of 24 boards, increasing to 32 boards for the quarter-finals and semi-finals and 48 boards for the final.

Why not get together with your regular partner and a couple of teammates from your club and ask your club secretary to enter your team? An unlimited number of teams can be entered by a club. 

Important: Player Eligibility Criteria
Players must: (a) be registered members of the club they are to represent continuously throughout the period commencing with the date three months before the published closing date for entries to the competition, and finishing with the last match which they play in the competition; and (b) play regularly at the club or for the club, or contribute to the club regularly in some other way (or have done so in previous years, yet be unable currently to do so through some personal circumstance, e.g. illness, work, childcare, etc.). “Registered member” means a member of the club who is at all relevant times included on the list of members of the club registered with the EBU for the purposes of the Universal Membership Scheme.

Full details can be found on the NICKO webpage.

Last updated : 4th Oct 2023 16:43 BST
Team SUSHI win the Vilnius Cup - Grand Prix of Poland

Team SUSHI, Nathalie ShashouNick Sandqvist, Frederic Wrang and Antonio Palma qualified in 6th place in the 32 team Swiss and then went undefeated through the star-studded 8-team final to claim first place by almost 10 VPs.

Full details and results: Grand Prix of Poland - Teams

Last updated : 4th Oct 2023 16:43 BST
Team Leslie wins Crockfords Cup

The Crockfords Cup final took place over the weekend and was won by team Leslie: Sarah BellStefano TommasiniBen Norton & Mike Bell (pictured from left). Tim Leslie, not pictured, played in earlier rounds. The Leslie team won six matches in the final, with a toal score of 100 VPs. 

In second place was the Jones team of Tim ReesRob Cliffe, David S Jones & Marc Smith (plus Trevor Ward, who played in earlier rounds) with a final score of 92 VPs. In third place were the Hinden team of John AttheyNeil RosenGraham Osborne & Frances Hinden (plus Tony Forrester & Chris Jagger who played in earlier rounds) who finished with 75 VPs from their seven matches.

The Crockfords Plate - the consolation competition for those beaten in the first round of the Cup - was won by Tim Brierley, Graham Hartley, Harry Anoyrkatis & Jim Grant (picture). They finished with 57.50 VPs, with the team of Catherine CurtisPaul FegartyLiam Fegarty & Jamie Fegarty in second on 48.50 VPs.

Entries for the 2023/24 Crockfords Cup are still open - enter online through My EBU or on 01296 317203.

ResultsPrevious Cup winners

Last updated : 4th Oct 2023 16:43 BST
Sinclair & Cork top Under-21s at BGB Online Junior Pairs

The Bridge Great Britain Online Junior Pairs was held on Saturday 23rd September, via RealBridge. 12 pairs competed in the extended session, playing 11x3 board rounds, with a 10 minute break after round 7.

The Under 21 category was won by the English pair, Raphaela Sinclair & Harriet Cork (EBU) with a score of 54.12%. Iolo Williams & James Brindle (WBU) finished in second place, and Michael Kennedy & Kevin Ren (SBU) in third place. A total of four English pairs took part in the event, all in the Under 21 section.

The Under 26 category was won by the Irish pair of Luca Crone & Matthew O'Farrell (CBAI), with a score of 57.21%. In second place were Rufus Behr & Jamie Day (SBU) and Kajetan Granops & Adam Serafin (SBU) finished third.

The event was organised by BGB and hosted by the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland (CBAI), with thanks to Dermot and Shireen for facilitating the online event.

You can view the full results below:

Last updated : 4th Oct 2023 16:42 BST
European Championships 2024 (Herning, Denmark)

The EBU selection committee would like to invite applications for participation in the trials processes for the women’s, seniors and mixed teams. More details

Last updated : 25th Sep 2023 10:38 BST
European Open Teams - 24th June to 4th July 2024

The EBU Selection Committee has recently contacted nine pre-selected pairs to invite them to play in a trial for next year's European Open Teams, a European Championship which will be held in Herning, Denmark. If you have not been contacted but have high-level competitive experience (ideally recent England representation) and wish to be considered to be added to the invited pairs in the proposed trial (date and format to be decided), then please send a resumé of your achievements as a pair to louise@ebu.co.uk by 5pm Thursday 28th September.

Last updated : 25th Sep 2023 10:38 BST
Picture Competition - Enter now for your chance to win cash prizes!

Cartoon image of an artists easel with a black white canvasThe EBU are looking for new and exciting images to promote the wonderful game of bridge. Can you produce a photograph, painting or drawing that conveys the fun, drama and excitement of the game of bridge?

Provide us with a winning picture and you can win not only honour and prestige (and our gratitude) but also some cash towards your next camera lens, smartphone, or bridge congress!

Further details and how to enter.

What you can win:

  • Top prize £300   
  • Second prize £150   
  • Third prize £50

The deadline for submissions is March 31st 2024.

Last updated : 25th Sep 2023 10:37 BST
Summer Junior Bridge Camp

The recent EBED youth camp saw 72 youngsters from all parts of the country, ranging from 7 to 20 years of age descend on the Pioneer Centre in Northampton. This was the largest number of students for the event in more than 15 years. The atmosphere was very friendly and the attendees enjoyed table tennis and pool between bridge sessions. 

The under 20 squad had a good training session and the mini bridge class included 10 students from Bradford. Congratulations go to Lucy Norman and Lottie Bedford, winners of the Ashok Kwatra Cup which was played on Saturday evening. Further congratulations go to Lucy, winner of the Grand Prix and to Max Blicharz winner of the U14 GP section, which is run over 6 events during the year. During the course of the weekend 15 juniors were awarded minibridge certificates, 8 received their Bronze award, 7 silver and 5 gold. Three of the certificate recipients are pictured above, Archer & Alexander (Cheltenham), Henry (Chalfont St Peter).

The weekend was made possible with the help of the organisers Joan and Mark, the tutors Bernie, Alan, Nicky, Ewa and numerous volunteer helpers. Thanks also to the counties that supported students from their areas to be able to attend this weekend. This help is vital in our aim to make bridge accessible to all. 

The next camp is planned to take place 21-22 October at Tunbridge Wells Bridge Club. In 2024, the first Bridge Camp at Cheltenham 23-24 March, further information is now available on the Bridge4Schools webpage.

Last updated : 25th Sep 2023 10:37 BST
RealBridge & BAMSA: Teacher and Coach Conference

RealBridge and BAMSA (Bridge: A MindSport for All) have arranged a short online conference on 7/8 October 2023 for bridge teachers, coaches and mentors.

The speakers are from around the world. Some material will be pre-recorded and subtitled. The entire conference will be recorded and made available subsequently.

This conference is online, on Zoom. This is a free conference. Anyone can attend. If you are interested in attending, please complete this joining form to receive further information about the event, pre-conference material and the joining link. 

Full details for the event can be found on the RealBridge website.

Last updated : 25th Sep 2023 10:37 BST
Nakamaru-Pinder & Barton win the Online One-Day Green Pointed Swiss Pairs

The latest in the series of the 2023 Online One-Day Green-Pointed events, Swiss Pairs took place last weekend, Saturday 16th September. The winning pair were Jun Nakamaru-Pinder & Paul Barton (pictured), with a total of 109 VPs.

Just behind in second place with 108 VPs were Janet Smith & John Gardner (picture). Finishing in third place were Kenneth Rae & Grzegorz Blicharz, with 105 VPs.

Currently in joint first place on 2023 Leaderboard are Jacek Pietrzycki and Alex Maddocks with 337 points, and Giles Ip in third place with 331 points.

Last updated : 25th Sep 2023 10:36 BST
Ann Field & Carol Duckett Win National Handicap Championship Pairs

The results from the National Handicap Championship Pairs have now been finalised. Congratulations to Ann Field & Carol Duckett (pictured) from Worthing Bridge Club, who finished in first place, with a handicapped score of 63.27.

In second place were Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook from Ashton and District Bridge Club, with a handicapped score of 62.79 and in third place were Geoff Burbidge & Gladys Gittins from Cambridge Bridge Club, with a handicapped score of 62.14.

Just over 300 pairs took part, playing in 15 clubs and counties both live and online.

Last updated : 25th Sep 2023 10:36 BST
Venetian Congress

Book before Friday, 15th September, to guarantee your place at the Venetian Congress (15-22 October). Bookings will still be open after this date, but rooms are only available on request and will not be guaranteed.

The congress is proving popular, with 17 tables currently booked.

The bridge programme features a variety of sessions including Swiss Pairs, Open Pairs and Swiss Teams. 

The congress will be held over 8 days, from 15-22 October, at the Pace Park Hotel Bolognese. The hotel building is a historic 19th century villa that has been restored into a beautiful, 4-star hotel. Sitting in 10,000 square metres of rich parkland, the hotel boasts an elegant lounge, and a superb restaurant with terraces overlooking the gardens. The hotelier, Signora Angelica Semenzato, is a keen bridge player and is very much looking forward to hosting the EBU Venetian Congress at her charming property. 

There is an included excursion to the historic city of Bassano Del Grappa, with a delightful array of cultural gems. There are also great local bus options from directly outside hotel there are regular services into the centre of Venice (20 mins) and Treviso (10 mins).

The Bridge Fee is now included in the package - players no longer need to pay for bridge fees separately, but do all need to be members of the English Bridge Union or of another NBO where they live.

Last updated : 12th Sep 2023 09:18 BST
Team Black leads Premier League

Team Black (Andrew Black, David Gold, Andrew McIntosh, Thomas Paske, Simon Cope, Peter Crouch) lead Division 1 after the first weekend of the Premier League. They ended the first round-robin with a total of 87.89 VPs. In second place are the Hinden team (John Atthey, Graham Osborne, Neil Rosen, Frances Hinden, Chris Jagger) with a total of 81.79 VPs.

Division 2 is being led by the Lee team (Stephen Lee, Gad Chadha, Graham Orsmond, Ben Ritacca, Francois Picard, Nicolas Leprovost).

The Comfortably Numb team (Marcia Green, Heather Dhondy, Joe Fawcett, Alastair Gidman) lead Division 3.

The second and third weekends take place on 14th/15th October and 4th/5th November.

In addition to this being a prestigious competition in its own right, it serves as a trial with the top two teams from Division 1 each earning selection to represent England in one weekend of the Camrose Trophy.

Last updated : 12th Sep 2023 09:17 BST
Free Funbridge tournament offer for September!

If you play in one federal tournament in September, it will be refunded in October. The federation tournaments on Funbridge allow you to earn points towards your NGS rating.

For example:

In September: you spend 60 Diamonds to play an EBU tournament and try to win Masterpoints to move up the rankings.

In October: 60 Diamonds will be automatically credited back to your Funbridge account!

This offer is limited to one federation tournament per player, played between 1st - 30th September 2023 inclusive.

See the Funbridge website for more details

Last updated : 12th Sep 2023 09:16 BST
Adrian Darnell becomes Chair of the EBU

The Board has elected Adrian Darnell as Chair and Tony Russ as Vice-Chair of the EBU until the AGM on 29 November when further elections will take place. This follows the resignation from the Board of former Chair Ian Payn after thirteen years on the Board, including six as Vice-Chair and four as Chair. The Board  expressed its gratitude to Ian for leading the EBU through recent, turbulent times.

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:24 BST
Picture Competition - Enter now for your chance to win cash prizes!

Cartoon image of an artists easel with a black white canvasThe EBU are looking for new and exciting images to promote the wonderful game of bridge. Can you produce a photograph, painting or drawing that conveys the fun, drama and excitement of the game of bridge?

Provide us with a winning picture and you can win not only honour and prestige (and our gratitude) but also some cash towards your next camera lens, smartphone, or bridge congress!

Further details and how to enter.

What you can win:

  • Top prize £300   
  • Second prize £150   
  • Third prize £50

The deadline for submissions is March 31st 2024.

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:24 BST
Knottenbelt team wins bronze at the Transnational Teams

As part of the 46th World Teams Championships, being held in Morocco, the 13th World Transnational Open Teams have been taking place this week.

The Knottenbelt team of Michael ByrneBen Handley-Pritchard, Maggie Knottenbelt, Ben NortonStefano Tommasini & Tom Townsend (pictured) decisively won the third place play-off against the Barr team on the final day of the two-week championships to earn a bronze medal.

Also in the prizes were Artur Malinowski and former EBU member Lee Rosenthal whose team Rosenthal won the B Final of the Board-a-Match teams.

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:23 BST
New Pros and Cons video from Bid72 & EBU Bidding August Results

The fourth in the new Bid72 video series, Pros and Cons, is now available to view. Episode four features UC champion Adam Grossack, talking about the pros and cons when deciding Choice-of-Games. The series of short videos looks at bidding dilemmas with championship players. You can subscribe to the series on the Bid72 YouTube channel.

In the Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest, there are different ranked groups (A, B, C and New). The aim of the bidding contest is to bid with your own chosen partner and your preferred system, using the app bid72.

Following the August monthly score, joint at the top of group A are the partnerships of StephenW-BillM and Saf-JohnMe with a current average score of 8.32. In third place are Gordonr-JonathanL.

In group B, four partnerships will be promoted to group A, they are; CarolineD-Alison; simonb-carolinem; HarryF-TonyQ and RoyM-CarolI.

First time players compete in the New group. Each month there is a relegation or promotion of players, during this time new players are also placed into one of the three groups depending on their score. This service is completely free for EBU members and made available by bid72, the premium app on bridge bidding. For more information and to register see Bid72 EBU.

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:23 BST
Jack High Winners

The Jack High Pairs run on RealBridge by Cumbria Bridge Association on behalf of EBU were played on Sunday 3rd September.

In the morning session, there were 22 tables and the winners were (NS) Rick Assad & Alison Gauld, (EW) Clive Parnell & Sue Ient.

In the afternoon session, there were 24 tables and the winners were (NS) Paul Spencer & Ian Sidgwick, (EW) John Lemmey & Karen Murphy.

The next Jack High RealBridge event will take place on Sunday 12 November, entry via Cumbria CBA website.

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:22 BST
Bridge Great Britain Gold Cup 2024

The most prestigious team event in the British Bridge Calendar.   Closing date for entries is the 6th October 2023.  The Silver Plate, open to all English and Welsh Gold Cup first and second round losers at no extra charge, is run by the English Bridge Union. Scottish first and second round losers qualify for the Marion Hill Trophy.   The entry fee is £92 per team, with half-price entry pro-rata for players under 26. Details at BGB website.

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:22 BST
August Robot Ladder Competitions

August's robot ladder competitions, have now concluded.

In the 12-board ladder for August, Robin Prestwich won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 70.89% over six games. Jeremy Baker was second, with 70.73% and James Bond third with an average score of 70.43%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the main August matchpoints ladder, David Dawson finished top of the leader board. His best six scores in the month averaged 62.85%, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by Graham Hedley with an average score of 62.42%, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

In the handicap ladder, for the players whose scores exceed their NGS by the greatest amount. Luis Barbero finished top of the leader board over the top six games, with a handicap score of 5.68, winning £25. The second place prize went to Graham Hedley with a score of 4.10. There were also prizes for third and fourth place.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs
August Matchpoints LadderAugust Handicap LadderAugust 12-board ladder
Archive of previous winners

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:21 BST
New Disciplinary Conviction

An EBU Disciplinary Committee considered the following charge against Adam Wiseberg (BBO account name: adam 13) at a hearing in June 2023.

  • That the defendant used his access privileges as a Tournament Director to view the full layout of hands, that could enable him to take decisions in bidding and play that were unlikely to have been taken without that access.

The defendant was a tournament director on RealBridge and Bridge Base Online (BBO). The defendant denied the charge, and a disciplinary hearing was held. The Disciplinary Committee found the charge proved to their comfortable satisfaction, and that the defendant's conduct constituted an offence under 3.2(iii) of the EBU Disciplinary Rules, being unfair or dishonest play in an organised duplicate bridge event.

The Committee imposed a sanction of suspension of EBU membership for a period of 3 years and a 10 year ban from playing for England in any representative event. The defendant appealed and the Appeal Committee denied the appeal.

Note: The EBU does not grant approval for any suspended member to act as a tournament director in any EBU licensed event. 

Currently sanctioned members

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:21 BST
Junior Players Invited to enter BGB Online Junior Pairs

The annual online pairs event for juniors, will this year be hosted by Ireland on behalf of Bridge Great Britain. The home nations event will take place on Saturday 23rd September, with free entry.

The two session event will take on place RealBridge, starting at 11am and finishing at approximately 6pm.

There will be two categories: Under-26 (playing for the Paul Porteous trophy) and Under-21 (playing for the Liz McGowan trophy).

The competition is free to enter, but pre-entry is required. To enter, please email comps@ebu.com or call 01296 317203.

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:21 BST
World Bridge Federation TD Promotion

Congratulations to Gordon Rainsford, EBU Chief Executive/Chief TD, who at the World Bridge Team Championships currently ongoing in Marrakech, Morocco, received a WBF TD promotion. He is now listed as one of a number of WBF Chief Tournament Directors.

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:21 BST
Bell Team win at return of the Northern Midweek Congress

The Northern Midweek Congress has now concluded, with Harrogate the venue for three days of weekday bridge. This was the first Northern Midweek Congress held since 2019. 

The Swiss Teams competition was won be the team of Mike BellSarah BellClaire Robinson & Neeraj Tanna (pictured). They finished with 83 VPs from six matches, 3 VPs ahead of Babs Matthews, Joyce White, Sue McIntosh & Philip Cooper. The Woolven team was just one point behind in third place with 79 VPs.

The Swiss Pairs was won by Mike Ferguson & Alan Brosgill (picture) who finished with 93 VPs, ahead of John Holland & Jackie Pye in second place, who finished with 86 VPs. Ingar Hansen & Helen Rose completed the podium with 84 VPs.

Mike Bell & Sarah Bell (picture) also won the Open Pairs with a score of 62.22%. In second place were Duncan Thomas & Alex Wood with a score of 60.06%, just ahead of third placed pair Gary Hyett & Margaret Howe with 59.77%.

The Jack High Swiss Pairs was won by Carole Wilson & Karen Kayes (picture) who finished with 76 VPs from five matches. In joint second place were Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook and Lesley Forman & Paul Royle who both finished with 72 VPs. 

The youngest player at the congress was 9 year-old Sophie Morris, who played in the Swiss Pairs on Wednesday.

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:20 BST
Norton & Tommasini win Swiss Pairs Championship

The Swiss Pairs Championship for the Harold Poster Cup has been won by Ben Norton & Stefano Tommasini (pictured), with a score of 171 VPs. In second place were Eran Assaraf & Lee Rosenthal with a final score of 160 and in third place were John Noonan & Maria Whelan with 157 VPs.

John Noonan & Maria Whelan (picture) were also the Seniors Pairs winners. 

The Brighton Plate was won by Grzegorz Blicharz & Maks Blicharz (picture) with a score of 124 VPs. 

The Sunday Swiss Pairs Lite had joint winners Simon Porter & Anthony Collins and Cathy Macnaughton & Maureen Walker with a score of 85 VPs. In joint third place were Franco Civello & Andy Osborn and John Austin & Ron Seymour with a score of 74 VPs.

The overall winners of the Swiss Pairs Lite were Evelyne Thomas & Stephen Martin (picture)

Full details on the Summer Meeting Hub.

Full results

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:20 BST
Paske Team win Brighton Bowl

The Swiss Teams competition for the Brighton Bowl was won by the team of Tom PaskeDiana NettletonAndrew McIntosh & Sara Moran (pictured) with 100 VPs. They were just 2 VPs ahead of the second placed team of Michael ByrneKieran DykeStefano Tommasini & Ben Norton. In third place was the team of Mike Bell, Marion Robertson, Paul Barton, Antone Huang with 92 VPs.

More details from the congress are available on the Summer Meeting Hub.

Full results
Previous winners

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:19 BST
Croswell & Athwal win Open Pairs

In the Summer Meeting Open Pairs Croz Croswell & Ravi Athwal finished first with a score of 60.83%. In second place was Joe Fawcett & Alastair Gidman, with a score of 59.31%. In third place were John Dennis & Adrian Chapelle, with a score of 57.50%.

More details from the congress are available on the Summer Meeting Hub.

Full results

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:19 BST
Cummings & Pierce win Mixed Pairs

In the Summer Meeting Mixed Pairs Eric Cummings & Ceri Pierce finished first with a score of 64.35%. In second place was Tim Chanter & Helen Wildsmith, with a score of 62.98%. In third place were Chris Jagger & Jane Jensen, with a score of 61.05%.

More details from the congress are available on the Summer Meeting Hub.

Full results

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:19 BST
Special Edition of the WBF Newsletter

There is a special edition of the WBF Women’s Newsletter. It was edited by Mary Kelly-Rogers, a member of the WBF Women’s Committee and contains articles from some of the top players from around the world, looking forward to the World Women’s Team Championship, starting later this month on 20th August.

Read or download the full WBF Women's Newsletter.

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:18 BST
Willie Coyle

We are sad to report the death of Willie Coyle. Willie started his career as a teacher and later moved into school administration. For these services he was awarded the MBE in 2003. Willie has played for Scotland on numerous occasions. He has four Gold Cup wins to his credit, and has played for Great Britain in six European Championships and Olympiads. He was in the Scottish team that won the bronze medal in the Senior Teams in European Championships in Dublin in 2012 and played in the D’Orsi Bowl in Bali in 2013. We extend our sympathy to Willie's family and friends.

Details above from Lederer Trophy 2020.

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:18 BST
New Blue and White Books

In June, the Laws & Ethics Committee asked for comments on proposed changes to the Blue Book and the White Book. These changes have now been approved and the new versions of the Blue and White Books are now available to view below: 

The content of these books applies to all events held on or after 7th August 2023. Please be tolerant of players who don’t get all the updated procedures exactly right straight away – it’s meant to be an exercise in informing your opponents of your methods, not an excuse for trying to get one over on them!

Thank you for all your comments. If you have any queries on the content of any of the books please contact Robin Barker, the Deputy Chief TD - robin@ebu.co.uk.

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:18 BST
2023 World Youth Teams Championships

The 18th World Youth Teams Championships has now finished. England were represented by four youth teams at the competition which took place in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. 

The Under 26 women's team and the Under 21 team both qualified in the top eight teams to play in the quarterfinals, although sadly oth teams lost their quarterfinal match. 

Results from all the England matches are shown below. You can find all news and results the Worldbridge website.

The NPCs/coaches have written blogs following their teams on the EBU Blog. All photos from the event have been collected in the art gallery.

Warm thanks to the donors and supporters that made it possible for the youth teams to attend. More details can be found on the Supporting Youth Bridge page.

More details

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:17 BST
Bronze Medal for Lottie & Imogen

Bridge players Lottie and Imogen from the England U26W youth squad are smiling at the camera and wearing their bronze medalsPhoto of U21W players Lucy and Kim. They are smiling at the camera holding trophies for winning the highest placed under 21 pair in the Open IMPS. An unknown presenter is standing to their right.

Congratulations to Charlotte (Lottie) Bedford and Imogen La Chapelle (pictured, above left), who won bronze medal in the U26W pairs event at the 15th European Youth Pairs Championships. In the Open IMP Pairs, Kim Hudson and Lucy Norman (pictured, above right) finished 4th and received a trophy for the highest placed U21 pair in the event. Kim and Lucy also finished in 6th place in the U21 Pairs Final and were the highest placed pair of the four English pairs who qualifed for the final.

Last updated : 7th Sep 2023 10:16 BST
July Robot Ladder Competitions

July's robot ladder competitions, have now concluded.

In the 12-board ladder for July, Gordon Rainsford won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 71.41% over six games. Peter Neville was second, with 70.73% and James Bond third with an average score of 70.60%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the main July matchpoints ladder, David Dawson finished top of the leader board. His best six scores in the month averaged 65.12%, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by Tony Verran with an average score of 62.41%, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

In the handicap ladder, for the players whose scores exceed their NGS by the greatest amount. Luis Barbero finished top of the leader board over the top six games, with a handicap score of 6.31, winning £25. The second place prize went to Dave Russell with a score of 3.03. There were also prizes for third and fourth place.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs
July Matchpoints LadderJuly Handicap LadderJuly 12-board ladder
Archive of previous winners

Last updated : 1st Aug 2023 10:58 BST
New Bid72 Video Series & EBU Bidding July Results

Bid72 have a new video series, Pros and Cons, which looks at bidding dilemmas with championship players. The third short video features Zia Mahmood, looking at last train and hand evaluation. You can subscribe to the series on the Bid72 YouTube channel.

In the Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest, there are different ranked groups (A, B, C and New). The aim of the bidding contest is to bid with your own chosen partner and your preferred system, using the app bid72.

First time players compete in the New group. Each month there is a relegation or promotion of players, during this time new players are also placed into one of the three groups depending on their score. This service is completely free for EBU members and made available by bid72, the premium app on bridge bidding.

Following the July monthly score the pair at the top of group A is the partnership of DaveA-JillA with a current average score of 8.16. In second place are Muzzi1-FrankDi, and in third place are downagain-Freee.

In group B, four partnerships will be promoted to group A, they are; GerardT-AndrewM; MichaelKa-JimN; GuillaumeP-Jean-FrançoisR and Et1965-LucyN.

The actual rankings can always be found at the EBU Bidding Contest results page. For more information and to register see Bid72 EBU.

Last updated : 1st Aug 2023 10:58 BST
Prof. David Burgess

We are sad to report the death of David Burgess. David was a member of the Nottinghamshire CBA Committee from 2000 to 2015, taking on the role of Events Secretary from 2001 to 2004, and Secretary from 2004 to 2014. He was awarded a Dimmie Fleming award in 2015 for his services to Nottinghamshire CBA. David was also a member of the EBU Panel of Referees from 2006 to 2011 and chaired appeals panels at EBU congresses in the Midlands during that time. We extend our sympathy to David's family and friends.

Last updated : 1st Aug 2023 10:57 BST
Thank you to everyone who has replied to our age survey

Thank you for everyone that has responded to our recent request for members to let us know your date of birth, or year of birth. This information is very useful for our planning of the future of bridge in England. This important research directly impacts our efforts to support clubs. 

So far we have received over 7,500 responses. This means that we now know the age of over 50% of those who play in our sessions. Once we have compiled all the data, we will release further details of what we have learned from the survey.

If you have not yet updated your date of birth, or year of birth, we would very much appreciate you doing so via your My EBU account. We only use this information for research and occasionally for eligibility for competitions. We do not make member data available to any third-party though we may share the anonymous statistics.

If you did not receive a recent email, this may be due to one of two reasons:

  • We already have your date of birth - in which case, thank you!
  • We do not currently hold a valid email address for you - please check your details and update your email address if you have one you would like up to use
Last updated : 1st Aug 2023 10:56 BST
Premier League Entries Close Today

As a reminder, entries for the 2023-24 Premier League close today (Friday 28th July) at 5pm.

The Premier League takes place over three weekends:

First Weekend 9th - 10th September 2023

Second Weekend 14th - 15th October 2023

Third Weekend 4th - 5th November 2023

To enter, please email comps@ebu.co.uk

Entries made after the deadline may be accepted at the Selection Committee's discretion. Entry is for teams of 6 and costs £900 per team.

Last updated : 28th Jul 2023 10:39 BST
Team Leslie Wins The Hubert Phillips Bowl

The Hubert Phillips Bowl, the National Championship for Mixed Pivot Teams, has been won by Tim Leslie's team (Mike BellSarah BellOllie Burgess, Tim Leslie & Ben Norton), who beat Paul Hackett’s team (Barbara Hackett, Jason HackettJustin HackettPaul Hackett & Martin Taylor) in the final by 1030 aggregate points, played at Solihull Bridge Club.

Competition results
Previous winners

Last updated : 28th Jul 2023 10:38 BST
Marketing Expertise?

We are looking for an injection of Marketing Expertise to support the effective promotion of our game.

Help us ensure the future of Bridge and the pleasure and other benefits that it can bring to people of all ages. You would be joining a small team of enthusiasts. We come from various professional backgrounds but plainly need to add senior marketing experience.

If you might be able to volunteer part time and wish to learn more about this please contact Tony Russ (tonyruss@icloud.com).

Last updated : 28th Jul 2023 10:38 BST
2023 Summer Junior Bridge Camp

Round-up your children/grandchildren/friends' of your children and bring them along to the Summer Junior Bridge Camp!

The Summer Junior Bridge Camp is suitable for children ages 8 - 21, taking pace over the weekend of 1st - 3rd September at the Kings Park Conference Centre, NN3 6LL.

They don't have to know the game to join, children will be placed into groups for their knowledge base, from absolute beginners, all the way up to junior international levels. As well as bridge and minibridge, there will be plenty of time for table tennis, pool, roller-skating, five-a-side football and more.

Registration forms are available on the bridge4schools website. £150 for children and £180 for accompanying adults. Bursaries may be available, please call Lisa on 01296-317217.

More details

Last updated : 28th Jul 2023 10:38 BST
15th European Youth Pairs Championships

The 15th European Youth Bridge Pairs Championships starts tomorrow, in Veldhoven. The event will run all week, with the closing ceremony and prize giving taking place on Saturday 29th July. 

Some of the pairs taking part are made up of members of the England Youth Squads.

Claire Robinson (U26 Women's Youth Squad Leader), will also be blogging from the event, you can follow all the details via her blog

Full details and results can be found on the event website.

Following the European Youth Bridge Pairs Championships, starting on 30th July is the 18th World Youth Teams Championships, which is also being held at the same location in Veldhoven.

English players taking part in the event:

Under 16 pairs:
Timothy Kerr & Amaan Kassey

Under 21 pairs:
Andrew Cope & Thomas Gardener
Aman Parekh & Antoinina Mauve
Henry Rose & Are Borgar Landsvik (Norway)
Liam Fegarty & Jaime Fegarty
Kimberley Hudson & Lucy Norman
Thomas Bradkin & Tom Furness

Under 26 Women pairs:
Imogen La Chapelle & Charlotte Bedford
Dido Coley & Lily Kearney

Under 26 pairs:
Aaron Hutton & Kripa Panchagnula

Mixed pairs:
Sarah De Wijs (Netherlands) & Andrew Cope
Aman Parekh & Antoinina Mauve
Tom Furness & Charlotte Bedford
Imogen La Chapelle & Henry Rose

IMP pairs:
Aaron Hutton & Kripa Panchagnula
Dido Coley & Lily Kearney
Kimberley Hudson & Lucy Norman

Under 31 pairs:
Jonathan Clark & Oliver Powell

Last updated : 28th Jul 2023 10:37 BST
Eastbourne Summer Meeting 2023: 3 weeks to go!

There are now only three weeks until the start of the Summer Meeting in Eastbourne, book your bridge and accommodation now to avoid missing out!

Local resident and keen bridge player Ros Wolfarth has written an update to her blogs from last year about what to expect at this year's event, read all the details via the EBU Blog.

Last updated : 24th Jul 2023 10:46 BST
Book Now for the Northern Midweek Congress

There is only space for six more tables for both the Swiss Pairs and the Swiss Teams at the Northern Midweek Congress (Harrogate, 22nd - 24th August). Places are filling up fast, so please book your bridge and accommodation as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

This year sees the return of the event for the first time since 2019. The congress will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Harrogate, run this year by Oliver Cowan in partnership with the EBU. The venue is the perfect new setting as it is less than a 10-minute walk to the train station. For those who are travelling by car, free parking has been arranged for the duration of the event.

The midweek congress will feature, Jack-High Swiss Pairs (aimed at players with an NGS no higher than 56.99%), Open Pairs (a Blue Pointed duplicate session open to everyone and suitable for all), Swiss Pairs and Swiss Teams (for the more competitive players).

Last updated : 18th Jul 2023 15:37 BST
New: Blue and White Book Updates

Following calls for comments on the proposed changes to the Blue Book in June, there is now a revised Public Draft of the Blue Book

Read the full draft and changes documents:

There are also proposed changes to the White Book, you can read the full draft and changes documents:

Last updated : 18th Jul 2023 15:36 BST
Moran & McIntosh win Swiss Pairs in Scarborough

Sara Moran & Andrew McIntosh (pictured) were the victors in the Scarborough Summer Congress's main event, winning the Swiss Pairs event with 181 VPs. In joint second place were Mike Bell & Sarah Bell and Neeraj Tanna & Jon Thoresen, with 166 VPs. 

The Multiple Teams A final was won by Catherine DraperAndrew WoodcockJohn Holland & Jackie Pye. They finished 18 IMPs ahead of the team of Jeff Wilkins, Ann Wilkins, Michael Tomlinson & Linda Smith. In third place was the team of Mike BellSarah BellPaul Barden & Claire Robinson.

The Multiple Teams B final was won by Cath Fox, Ann Owen, Jon North, David Arundel. The team of Sue Woodcock, Stuart Clarke, Susan Fjortoft & Nick Woodcock finished in second place, and the team of Joan Kenny, Theresea Rigney, Dolores Gilliland & Lizanne O'Reilly finished in third. In the Teams Consolation final, joint first winners were the teams of David Phillips, Liz Kelly, David Lewis & Jim Proctor and Nichola Cockerill-Smith, Keith Joules, Dianan Rosslee & Chris Child. In third place were the team of Neeraj Tanna, Jon Thoresen, John Sansom & Jason Hackett.

The first event was the Category Pairs, which took place on Thursday afternoon and evening. This was a new two-session event this year, which incorporated the Patrick Jourdain Trophy for the Seniors Pairs. Daniel Baines & Robert Miller (picture), both from Northamptonshire, finished as the overall winners, with Alan Jarvis & Alan Hayward, both from Yorkshire, finishing second and Jake Milne (Scotland) & Ravi Athwal (Kent) in third. The Category Pairs also included prizes for highest placed pair in each of the following categories; Seniors, Mens, Ladies' & Mixed. The Seniors' Pairs and Patrick Jourdain Trophy was won by Jackie Davies & Derek Maggs (picture). The best Men's Pair was Alan Jarvis & Alan Hayward. The best Ladies Pair was Sue Pell & Agnes Baxter. The best Mixed Pair was Sarah Jones & Andy Baruch.

Results
Previous winners: PairsTeams

Last updated : 18th Jul 2023 15:36 BST
Eastbourne Summer Meeting 2023: 30 Days to go!

With just a month to go until the Summer Meeting in Eastbourne, local resident and keen bridge player Ros Wolfarth has written an update to her blogs from last year about what to expect at this year's event, read all the details via the EBU Blog.

Last updated : 14th Jul 2023 16:06 BST
Premier League Entries Closing Soon

As a reminder, entries for the 2023-24 Premier League close at 5pm on Friday 28th July.

The Premier League takes place over three weekends:

First Weekend 9th - 10th September 2023

Second Weekend 14th - 15th October 2023

Third Weekend 4th - 5th November 2023

To enter, please email comps@ebu.co.uk

Entries made after the deadline may be accepted at the Selection Committee's discretion. Entry is for teams of 6 and costs £900 per team.

Last updated : 14th Jul 2023 16:06 BST
New Partnership Forum

We are often approached for help finding partners or completing a team for one of our events, we have now created a new forum for members to utilise. 

Please use the new forum to post your requests, including the event for which you are seeking a partner or team members, and any other relevant information, bearing in mind that this is a public forum. 

In order to create a post, you will need to register. Registration is quick and easy, just input your email, username and create a password. Please also set up email notification so you will be notified of any responses; and once you are sorted, edit the post accordingly. You can set up notifications by editing your profile.

Please note that new registrations take up to 24 hours to approve.

Last updated : 11th Jul 2023 12:27 BST
Eton College Presented with the Lords Trophy

On Wednesday 28th June, Eton College, winners of the Inter-schools online league, were presented with the Lords Trophy during a visit to the House of Lords.

During the trip, the Eton team played a game of bridge with the House of Lords team, consisting of Tessa, Baroness Blackstone, Malcolm, Earl of Caithness, Archie, Lord Hamilton and Ruth, Lady Henig, the boys winning by 40 IMPs. At one board NS bid and made 2H, whilst an optimistic (but lucky) EW bid and made 5D. 

The Lords provided a tour, tea, and a 20 board match with the added excitement of having to leave the table to vote 3 times on the immigration bill during the afternoon. 

Season 3 of the ISL will start in September and new teams of 4 are very welcome. If you run a bridge club in a school or know someone who does so and you want to enter next year’s Inter-schools league, please contact Joan Bennett (joan@ebedcio.org.uk).

Last updated : 11th Jul 2023 12:27 BST
Gerard Faulkner Salver Entries Closing Soon

The Gerard Faulkner Salver is the Seniors Knockout event, and any teams wishing to enter should do so by 9am on Wednesday 12th July

The event is open to teams consisting of four to six players, all of whom are EBU members and were born in 1960 or earlier. It is played as a knockout throughout, with matches played privately. 

There will be a repechage, so that teams losing their first round match will then be paired with another losing team from round 1 and the winner of this tie will progress to round 2. Therefore all non-seeded teams will play at least two matches

Green Points are awarded for each round won. Matches in the early stages will be arranged so as to avoid long journeys wherever possible, and matches can also be played online at the agreement of both teams. For full details, and more information on playing matches online, please see the event webpage

If you wish to enter please contact the Competitions Department on 01296 317203/219 or by email to comps@ebu.co.uk, or you can book online through My EBU.

Last updated : 5th Jul 2023 14:56 BST
Uploading System Cards to RealBridge

Released today: There is an update to RealBridge (1.3.3) which will make it possible to upload your system card.

Information on how to prepare a system card, convert it to a pdf and upload it to your My EBU account, can be found in this wiki article

Last updated : 5th Jul 2023 14:56 BST
Team Thrower Wins The Hubert Phillips Plate

The Hubert Phillips Plate - the consolation event in the EBU's mixed pivot teams competition - has been won by the Thrower team of Croz Croswell, Aleksandar Lishkov, Sara Moran, Helen Rose, Henry Rose & James Thrower.

They beat Marusa Gold, Jonathan Harris, Niall Igoe & Steve Root in the final.

The Hubert Phillips Bowl final will be played later this month.

Plate results
Hubert Phillips Competition Page

Last updated : 5th Jul 2023 14:56 BST
New Bid72 Video Series & EBU Bidding June Results

Bid72 have a new video series, Pros and Cons, which looks at bidding dilemmas with championship players. The first short video features Zia Mahmood, looking at a bidding problem from the Dutch national contest. The next video in the series will feature England international Jason Hackett discussing bidding problems presented by the Bid72's random deals. You can subscribe to the series on the Bid72 YouTube channel.

In the Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest, there are different ranked groups (A, B, C and New). The aim of the bidding contest is to bid with your own chosen partner and your preferred system, using the app bid72.

First time players compete in the New group. Each month there is a relegation or promotion of players, during this time new players are also placed into one of the three groups depending on their score. This service is completely free for EBU members and made available by bid72, the premium app on bridge bidding.

Following the June monthly score the pair at the top of group A is the partnership of AlexG-PaulG with a current average score of 8.16. In second place are DaveS-BrianA, and in third place are StephenW-BillM.

In group B, four partnerships will be promoted to group A, they are; Hol-Carolin; StuartK-StephenT; DaveA-JillA and Zumba42-RedWine624.

In the New Group, one partnerships will be promoted to group B, they are; nj-Nickisgreat.

For more information and to register see Bid72 EBU.

Last updated : 5th Jul 2023 14:55 BST
David Dawson wins Quarterly Online IMPs Ladder

The quarterly IMP competition for our online games, hosted by Funbridge, has concluded.

In the second quarter in 2023 April to June, David Dawson finished top of the leader board. He scored 286 total IMPs from his best six games, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by Olivier La Spada with a score of 274 IMPs, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs

Last updated : 5th Jul 2023 14:55 BST
June Robot Ladder Competitions

June's robot ladder competitions, have now concluded.

In the 12-board ladder for June, Graham Hedley won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 73.42% over six games. Gordon Rainsford was second, with 72.71% and James Bond third with an average score of 69.39%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the main June matchpoints ladder, Olivier La Spada finished top of the leader board. His best six scores in the month averaged 64.33%, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by Graham Hedley with an average score of 61.71%, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

In the handicap ladder, for the players whose scores exceed their NGS by the greatest amount. Luis Barbero finished top of the leader board over the top six games, with a handicap score of 6.87, winning £25. The second place prize went to Graham Hedley with a score of 3.02. There were also prizes for third and fourth place.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs
June Matchpoints LadderJune Handicap LadderJune 12-board ladder
Archive of previous winners

Last updated : 5th Jul 2023 14:55 BST
Rodrigues Team wins the Online One-Day Green-Pointed Swiss Teams

The latest in the series of the 2023 Online One-Day Green-Pointed events, Swiss Teams took place yesterday, Sunday 2nd July. The winning team were Adriano Rodrigues, Marcos Toma, Ben Norton & Stefano Tommasini, with a total of 106 VPs.

In second place with 94 VPs were the team of Paul Murray, Andrew Woodcock, David Debbage & Paul Hackett. Finishing in third place were Harry Smith, Roy Bennett, Ronan Valentine & Alex Adamson.

The 2023 Leaderboard will be updated over the next few days.

Full results

Last updated : 5th Jul 2023 14:54 BST
Online One-Day Green Pointed Swiss Teams - Player Information

For members booked to play in the Online One-Day Green Pointed Swiss Pairs this Sunday 2nd July, please see the below information which has also been sent via email: 

The first session will start at 11am. RealBridge player links will be on the results page.

For Team Captain's, please can you email robin@ebu.co.uk or sam@ebu.co.uk with the following team information:

  • Names for all team members
  • A team name (optional – otherwise we will use the captains name)

This event uses self-alerting without screens, as detailed in the instructions, with typed explanations sent to both opponents by the player making the call. Requests for further information also go as typed messages to the player making the call.

Please note that you are required to use video and audio. Please check for any browser updates before joining the session, to avoid any delays in the start of play.

You must provide a link to your system card to your opponents each round. If you do not already have one, please upload your system card as a pdf to your My EBU, under utilities, system card, and follow the instructions provided. Help in creating a system card and converting it to a pdf.

Undos are only allowed in the auction for mis-clicks, or for cases of misinformation. You should call the TD if there is any doubt about accepting the UNDO.

When you log on to play, please enter your name as found on your EBU record, in proper case (eg John Smith, not JOHN SMITH, john smith or John S), along with your EBU number without leading zeros (105719 not 00105719).

For emergency assistance before play, contact Robin Barker 01296 317223. The TD in charge will be Gary Conrad, with Rob Sassoon assisting.

Last updated : 30th Jun 2023 15:32 BST
Olympic E-Sports Week

The stunning Opening Ceremony at the start of the Olympic E-Sports Week was held in Singapore, 22nd June. You can watch the full video via the Olympics YouTube channel.

You can also watch the LoveBridge exhibition match held today, 23rd June, available on the FunBridge YouTube channel.

Last updated : 30th Jun 2023 15:32 BST
Brian Crack

We are sad to report the death this morning of Brian Crack. Brian was a long-standing member of the EBU Tournament Committee, was involved in all aspects of the Master Point scheme, and in 2014 received the Silver Award for his work for the EBU.

He was also a Kent committee member and shareholder for many years, and an obituary appears on the Kent CBA website.

Ian Payn, Chair of the EBU, said today: “Brian Crack was one of the first people I met at the bridge table. He was kind and supportive to a young player. Many years later when I joined the EBU Board I was appointed Chair of the (then) Tournament Committee. Brian was the Deputy Chair and again, proved kind and supportive, in what was to me an alien environment. His contribution at club, county and national level was considerable and lengthy. I owe him a great debt, personally, and the membership at large does as well.”

The funeral service for Brian will be held from 11.30am on Friday 21st July at Hawkinge Crematorium, Aerodrome Road, Folkstone, CT18 7AG.

The service will be followed by a light buffet at the Hythe Imperial, Princes Parade, Hythe, CT21 6AE (rooms are available to book directly). 

Black attire is not required. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to The Pilgrims Hospices in East Kent or English Bridge Education and Development

Last updated : 30th Jun 2023 15:32 BST
BBO Acol Daylong Games Returned

Following a short temporary suspension while a bug was fixed that had been identified as allowing players to claim more tricks than they could legitimately get, these games have now been reinstated, in addition to the other (SAYC) daylong games which have continued to run throughout.

Last updated : 20th Jun 2023 10:29 BST
Kent retain National Inter-County League Title

The National Finals of the Inter-County Leagues took place online on Sunday 18th June. Champions from each of the five regional Inter-County leagues were invited to compete alongside last year’s national champions.

Kent successfully defended their 'A' division title; Congratulations also to Warwickshire ‘B’ and Northants ‘C’ who won their respective divisions.

The winning Kent team was: Norman Selway & Kay PreddyJeremy Willans & Peter Law; Michael Prior & Mike Hampton; Gerald Soper & Colin Wilson.

Full results and details

Last updated : 20th Jun 2023 10:28 BST
Hose & Adams win Online One-Day Green-Pointed Pairs

The third Online One-Day Green-Pointed event took place on Saturday 17th June, with 104 pairs taking part. Rod Hose & David Adams finished in first place with 107 VPs, and they each received 104 place points on the annual ladder. 

In joint second place were Giles Ip & Andy Cope and Richard Hillman & Stefano Tommasini, who finished the day with 102 VPs and each receive 103 place points in the annual ladder.

Full results
Annual Leader board

Last updated : 20th Jun 2023 10:28 BST
Cambridge wins Garden Cities Trophy

The Cambridge BC team, from Cambs & Hunts, has won the Garden Cities Trophy, the competition for each county's 'teams-of-eight champions'.

The final featured the eight teams which qualified from the Regional Finals which took place in April, and Cambridge finished in first with 97 VPs. Last years winners, Mayfield BC, finished in second place with 89 VPs, and Manchester BC was third with 81 VPs.

The winning Cambridge team was Graham Hazel, David Kendrick, Julian Wightwick, John Liebeschuetz, Catherine CurtisPaul FegartyClaire Robinson & Paul Barden (pictured).  

ResultsPrevious winners

Last updated : 20th Jun 2023 10:28 BST
Robinson Team wins Gerard Faulkner Salver

The 2022/2023 Seniors Knockout has now concluded. The final was held on RealBridge yesterday, 15th June. In the match, the team of Sandy Davies, Tom GisborneDave Robinson & Tony Sowter beat the team of Miles Cowling, David S Jones, Rob Lawy & Robert Stevens by 39 IMPS.

2022/23 resultsPrevious winners

Last updated : 16th Jun 2023 14:53 BST
New EBU Enquiry Service for those wanting to Learn Bridge

Our most urgent task as a bridge community is to bring new players to the game; and we want to ease the friction for enquirers who want to learn bridge but cannot easily find a suitable course or teacher. The new enquiry service lets prospective learners enter some simple information into a form, including their rough location and what kind of course they are looking for, whereupon we will automatically email potential teachers and clubs that teach with the details. The potential student will then receive offers of courses, making this (we hope) an easier process than calling or emailing names on a list, which can be frustrating. We also have a new Learn Bridge page.

We encourage clubs who do not run their own courses, or who get enquiries they cannot meet themselves, to refer people to this page. We also have a template panel which can be used on Bridgewebs sites. To get the panel, or with any other enquiries, contact tim@ebu.co.uk.

Last updated : 16th Jun 2023 14:53 BST
Tri Polar Team wins the Women's Teams at the 10th European Transnational Championships

The Women's Teams event at the 10th European Transnational Championships has been won by the Tri Polar team of Irene Baroni (Italy), Kathrine Bertheau (Sweden), Janice Seamon-Molson (U.S.A.), Nevena Senior (England), Nicola Smith (England) & Anam Tebha (U.S.A.) (pictured).

They beat the Baker team of Lynn Baker (U.S.A.), Sally Brock (England), Fiona Brown (England) & Karen McCallum (U.S.A.) in the final yesterday, Thursday 15th June.

Still to play today and tomorrow (17th June) are the Open Pairs semi-final and Final, the Women's Pairs and the Open Board-a-Match. 

The Mixed Teams, Mixed Board-a-Match (BAM) and Seniors Teams events concluded last week.

  • Further detailed information is available via the EBL Website
Last updated : 16th Jun 2023 14:52 BST
Jayne Crump

Players in the West Midlands will be saddened to hear of the death of Jayne Crump. There is a memorial post on the West Midlands Bridge Club website. We extend our sympathy to Jayne's family and friends.

Last updated : 16th Jun 2023 14:52 BST
England Representation at the 10th European Transnational Championships

The 10th European Transnational Championships is currently underway in Strasbourg, France. The event has been organised by the European Bridge League in co-operation with the French Bridge Federation.

These Championships include the following competitions: Mixed, Open, Women & Seniors - Pairs 
and Teams and Mixed/Open BAM Teams. 

In the Women's and Open teams the following teams with English representation are progressing well:

The Baker team of Lynn Baker (U.S.A.), Sally Brock (England), Fiona Brown (England) & Karen McCallum (U.S.A.)
beat the Green team of Heather Dhondy (England), Marcia Green (England), Christina Lund Madsen (Denmark), Jovanka Smederevac (France) & Nikica SVER (Croatia) to progress to the final.

They will play the Tri Polar team of Irene Baroni (Italy), Kathrine Bertheau (Sweden), Janice Seamon-Molson (U.S.A.), Nevena Senior (England), Nicola Smith (England) & Anam Tebha (U.S.A.). Team Tri Polar beat the Turkish team Galatasaray SK in their semi-final match.

In the Open Teams, team Black (Peter Bertheau (Sweden), Andrew Black (England), Gunnar Hallberg (England), Simon Hult (Sweden), Andrew McIntosh (England) & Thomas Paske (England) face team Vinciguerra in their Quarterfinal match today (15th June).

In the Open Board-a-Match (BAM) the following teams have English players:

Knottenbelt: Alon Birman (Israel), Oliver Burgess (England), Michael Byrne (England), Ben Handley-Pritchard (England), Maggie Knottenbelt (England) & Dror Padon (Israel)
OrcaAlexander Allfrey (England), Simon Cope (England), Peter Crouch (England), Espen Erichsen (England), Richard Mark Plackett (Wales) & Andrew Robson (England)
Gillis: Ole Berset (Norway), Simon Gillis (England), Erik Saelensminde (Norway) & Odin Svendsen (Norway)
Mossop: Diego Brenner (Brazil), Jason Hackett (England), Paul D Hackett (England), David Mossop (England), Fredrik Nystrom (Sweden) & Frederic Wrang (Sweden)
Austria: Markus Knob (Austria), Louise Selway (England), Clemens Wanha (Austria) & Florian Weiss (Austria)

The Mixed Teams, Mixed Board-a-Match (BAM) and Seniors Teams events have now concluded. 

  • Further detailed information is available via the EBL Website

Schedule of play
3rd to 9th June: Mixed Teams
5th to 9th June: Mixed BAM Teams & Mixed Pairs
3rd to 8th June: Seniors Teams 
6th to 9th June: Seniors Pairs
10th to 17th June: Open Teams
10th to 15th June: Women Teams
13th to 17th June: Open BAM Teams & Open Pairs
13th to 17th June: Women Pairs

Last updated : 16th Jun 2023 14:51 BST
Philip Poulter

We are sad to learn of the death of Philip Poulter. We extend our sympathy to Philip's family and friends. EBU Chair Ian Payn said of Philip “Whenever one played against Philip Poulter and his long-term partner Duncan Quibell, one was not only in the presence of two fine players, but also enjoying the company of two of nature’s gentlemen.”

An obituary for Philip can be found on the Sussex website.

Last updated : 16th Jun 2023 14:50 BST
New Blue Book – Public Draft

Following feedback on the changes made last year to the blue book, the Laws & Ethics Committee have reviewed several elements of the book and produced a new draft, with proposed changes, which you can now read in full using the links below.  

In summary there are four main areas of change:

  • A widening of the use of announcements
  • No alerting of doubles after the first round of bidding unless they refer to a specific suit
  • A representation and some relaxation of 2+ level opening bids
  • Introduction of a Glossary for terms often used in the Blue Book

Read the full draft and changes documents:

Please submit any comments bluebook@ebu.co.uk to by 1st July 2023.

Last updated : 16th Jun 2023 14:50 BST
Gloucestershire win Pachabo Cup

The Pachabo Cup took place over 11-12 June and was won by Gloucestershire who were represented by Robert MyersDaniel McIntosh, Paul Denning & Garry Watson (pictured).

The event is for the winners of the county teams championship of each County Association of the EBU.

The event uses hybrid scoring and Gloucestershire's winning score was 215.5. Suffolk (Rick Hanley, Mike Sherer, Chris Green & Christopher Chambers) were second with a score of 212.5 and Manchester (John Hassett, Jeff Morris, Andrew Woodcock & Catherine Draper) were third with a score of 211.

Last updated : 12th Jun 2023 14:15 BST
EBED is Recruiting an Education & Development Manager

English Bridge Education & Development has an opportunity to join us to oversee the delivery of training courses for club teachers and directors. For the right candidate the role can be on a either full-time, or part-time basis.

Read more

Last updated : 7th Jun 2023 15:23 BST
England Representation at the 10th European Transnational Championships

The 10th European Transnational Championships is currently underway in Strasbourg, France. The event has been organised by the European Bridge League in co-operation with the French Bridge Federation.

These Championships include the following competitions: Mixed, Open, Women & Seniors - Pairs 
and Teams and Mixed/Open BAM Teams. 

The remaining teams with English representation in the Mixed and Senior teams all lost narrowly yesterday. De Botton lost by 1 IMP (over 56 boards) while England Pryor lost by 11 IMPs and Cooper by 22 IMPs.

The Open Teams and Womens Teams are still to come starting on 10 June. In the meantime there is English representation in the Mixed and Seniors Pairs and also in the Mixed Board-a-Match (BAM).

  • Further detailed information is available via the EBL Website

Schedule of play
3rd to 9th June: Mixed Teams
5th to 9th June: Mixed BAM Teams & Mixed Pairs
3rd to 8th June: Seniors Teams 
6th to 9th June: Seniors Pairs
10th to 17th June: Open Teams
10th to 15th June: Women Teams
13th to 17th June: Open BAM Teams & Open Pairs
13th to 17th June: Women Pairs

Last updated : 7th Jun 2023 15:23 BST
Your Chance to Play Bridge at the Olympic E-Sports Week

The World Bridge Federation has been invited to the Olympic E-Sports Week in Singapore, 19-25 June, organised by the International Olympic Committee.

Bridge will be one of the games available to play at one of many pavilions in the Free-To-Play Zone, set up by the IOC. The Zone will be a large exhibition at the Suntec Convention Centre, with tens of thousands of visitors expected over the week. At the WBF pavilion, they will be live-streaming tournaments from both BBO and Funbridge. 

To play in some of these live-streamed events, the WBF are arranging qualification events on both BBO and Funbridge. 

As part of the lead up to the week, the WBF are holding events on BBO and Funbridge. The winners from the tournaments will also be invited (travel and accommodation) to the Transnational week (August 28 - September 2) during the World Championships in Marrakech.

Programme for Online Bridge Olympic E-sports Week, 19-25 June

Qualification phase 

  • Monday 19th, Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st
  • Tournaments of 6 boards (100 tournaments available) 
  • 0.50 BB$ on BBO or 25 diamonds on Funbridge, per tournament 
  • Best five tournaments to qualify with a minimum average of 55% 

Final 

  • Friday 23rd, Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th
  • free of charge, 8 Tournaments of 6 boards (50 tournaments available) 
  • Ranking according to the average of the best five. 

Registration

For each event, please register on the relevant sites (BBO or Funbridge) and may play on either one or both. There will be online instructions, asking you to confirm which federation you belong to, for EBU members this will be the EBU. Registration implies complete acceptance of the BBO, Funbridge and WBF rules. 

More Information

Last updated : 7th Jun 2023 15:22 BST
New: Jack High Events

In July, there will be the second in the new series of blue pointed Jack High events, open to those with an NGS grade of Jack and below. Each event will be held on RealBridge, by Cumbria on behalf of the EBU. 

The next event will be held on Sunday 9th July. If you would like to participate, please enter directly with Cumbria CBA

Each event will consist of two sessions of 20 boards per session. The first session will start at 11am, and the afternoon session starts at 2.30pm. You are welcome to play in one or both sessions.

Last updated : 7th Jun 2023 15:22 BST
Liebeschuetz & Oakford win Corwen Trophy

John Liebeschuetz & Rod Oakford (pictured), of Cambs & Hunts, have won the Corwen Trophy which took place this past weekend, 3rd - 4th June.

The event is for the leading pairs in the most recent pairs championship of each County Association of the EBU.

In second place were Christine Dyer & David Dawson from Surrey, and from Kent, Jeremy Willans & Jill Skinner were third.

Last updated : 5th Jun 2023 11:29 BST
May Robot Ladder Competitions

May's robot ladder competitions, have now concluded.

In the 12-board ladder for May, Yu Kew Leung won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 70.08% over six games. Jaak Känd was second, with 69.72% and Amr El-Kashef third with an average score of 69.53%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the main May matchpoints ladder, Jakub Mitke finished top of the leader board. His best six scores in the month averaged 65.99%, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by David Dawson with an average score of 64.14%, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

In the handicap ladder, for the players whose scores exceed their NGS by the greatest amount. Luis Barbero finished top of the leader board over the top six games, with a handicap score of 7.17, winning £25. The second place prize went to Karen Read with a score of 5.60. There were also prizes for third and fourth place.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs
May Matchpoints LadderMay Handicap LadderMay 12-board ladder
Archive of previous winners

Last updated : 5th Jun 2023 11:29 BST
Franklin To

Players in London, and long-term tournament players will be saddened to hear of the death after a long illness of Franklin To. There is an appreciation on the Young Chelsea Bridge Club website. Ian Payn, EBU Chair and one of Frank’s regular partners writes: “It was a privilege to partner Frank, and an honour to count him as a friend. He was a devoted family man and it is with his family that our thoughts are now”.

Last updated : 5th Jun 2023 11:28 BST
Gold & Seale win Two-Star Pairs at Spring Bank Holiday Congress

The Spring Bank Holiday Congress was held this weekend, in Reading. This was the first Spring Bank Holiday Congress run face-to-face since 2019.

David Gold & Catherine Seale (pictured) won the Two-Star Pairs. In second place were Paul Barden & Claire Robinson, with Simon Cope & Diana Nettleton in third place.

The Swiss Teams was won by the team of Simon CopeDiana NettletonAndrew McIntosh & Sara Moran (picture) with a final score of 99 VPs. In second place were Simon Hult, Gunnar Hallberg, Tracy Sherman & Stefan Lindfors with a score of 92 VPs.

The Swiss Pairs was won by Simon Hult & Gunnar Hallberg (picture), with a score of 112 VPs. Just behind, in second place were Mike Bell & Sally Young, with a total of 110 VPs.

In the Jack High Swiss Pairs, Billie MacCarthy & Sara Chiappara (picture) finished in first place with a total of 88 VPs. In a very close join second place were Paul Spencer & Ian Sidgwick and Alan Oliver & Sue Oliver.

Meanwhile, the online 9-High Improvers Pairs, was won by Bernadette Mathias & Colin Seabridge, with Marcia Scane & Robert Scane taking second place.

Last updated : 5th Jun 2023 11:28 BST
England regain the Teltscher Trophy

The Teltscher Trophy - the 'senior Camrose' competition - took place this weekend. This year the event was held in Newport, Wales.

The England team of Barry MyersSally BrockDave Robinson, Tony Sowter, Roger Bryant & Stephen Green with NPC David Jones (pictured), were victorious, finishing with a total score of 72.07. Wales finished 2nd and last year's champions Scotland were 3rd.

All teams for 2023:

Wales

Welsh Bridge Union 
(2nd team as host nation)

England

Ireland

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Paul Denning & Diane Kurbalija

John Salisbury & Tim Rees

Gary Jones & Paul Lamford

Gilly Clench & Dave Birt

Simon Gottschalk & Chris Rochelle

Steve Jarvis & Nick Forrest

Barry Myers & Sally Brock

Dave Robinson & Tony Sowter

Roger Bryant & Stephen Green

Joan Kenny & Teresa Rigney

Fred Barry & Paul Porteous

David Dunne & Michael McAuliffe

Hastings Campbell & Ian Hamilton

David Greenwood & Diane Greenwood

Heather Hill & Clare Watson

Robert Clow & Derrick Peden

John Hamilton & Paul Maiolani

Brian Short & Alan Goodman

PC Paul Denning NPC Simon Richards NPC David Jones NPC Peter Goodman NPC Sandie Millership NPC Anne Symons
Last updated : 26th May 2023 10:42 BST
New CEO of EBED

EBED announces the appointment of Mark Humphris as CEO. Mark enjoyed a long career as an engineer with BP, working mainly on the development of natural gas resources around the world, before joining EBED in February last year as Education and Development manager; he will take over the reins over the next few weeks from Giorgio Provenza, who is relocating to his native Italy. 

Lee Guy, Chair of EBED, commented, “We are delighted that Mark has stepped up and will continue to bring his professionalism and passion for the game from the top spot. We also thank Giorgio for all his work in leading the Charity during and post the difficult times that the Covid pandemic has brought upon the bridge world.”

Last updated : 26th May 2023 10:41 BST
Forthcoming Online One-Day Green-Pointed events

We have now completed two events in this series, one Swiss Pairs on RealBridge and a Swiss Teams on BBO. It has been decided, in the light of our experience of those games and feedback from the players in them that the platform for most of the remainder of the series, including the next two events (a Swiss Pairs on 17 June and a Swiss Teams on 2 July) will be RealBridge. However, we may yet run a future Swiss Pairs on IntoBridge, either in this series or separately and if we do so we will again provide free practice sessions in preparation for it.

Members who have entered the Swiss Pairs on 17 June will have their entries transferred to the game on RealBridge, but alternatively they may request a refund if they entered on the basis of it being held on IntoBridge.

IntoBridge continue to run games of various types that may be of interest to our members, including for some of our affiliated clubs, and they offer free teams games that can be set up by the players themselves, which can be used for EBU matches if both teams agree.

Last updated : 26th May 2023 10:40 BST
Online One-Day Green Pointed Swiss Teams winners

The second in the series of the 2023 Online One-Day Green-Pointed events and first Swiss Teams took place yesterday, Monday 8th May. The winning team were Trevor Ward, Rob Cliffe, Dave Robinson & Tony Sowter, who will each receive 56 place points on the annual ladder.

Just 2 VPs behind in second place were the team of Patrick Shields, Rob Lawy, Andy Cope & Giles Ip. Finishing in third place were John Large, Stephen Baggs, Paul De Weerd & Andy Elliott.

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:52 BST
April Robot Ladder Competitions

April's robot ladder competitions, have now concluded.

In the 12-board ladder for April, Gordon Rainsford won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 73.12% over six games. Robert Plumley was second, with 72.32% and Amr El-Kashef third with an average score of 69.45%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the main April matchpoints ladder, Jakub Mitke finished top of the leader board. His best six scores in the month averaged 61.56%, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by David Dawson with an average score of 61.12%, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

In the handicap ladder, for the players whose scores exceed their NGS by the greatest amount. Luis Barbero finished top of the leader board over the top six games, with a handicap score of 5.78, winning £25. The second place prize went to Craig Skinner with a score of 5.05. There were also prizes for third and fourth place.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs
April Matchpoints LadderApril Handicap LadderApril 12-board ladder
Archive of previous winners

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:52 BST
Plackett Team wins Schapiro Spring Foursomes

The Plackett team of Alexander Allfrey, Peter Bertheau, Peter CrouchEspen Erichsen, Richard Plackett & Andrew Robson, won the Schapiro Spring Foursomes. The team are pictured receiving the trophy at the venue.

The Plackett team finished ahead of the Dyson team (Erik Berg, Andrew Dyson, Tor Eivind Grude & Glyn Liggins) in the final. The Dyson team were leading narrowly after 32 boards but Plackett were able to request 8 extra boards because they were the undefeated team and they won after 40 boards.

The defeated semi-finalists were the Tommasini and Black teams.

The Punchbowl, the secondary knockout event, was won by the team of Linus Dahlstrom, Simon Ekenberg, Oliver Lawrence, Patrick Lawrence & Ulf Nilsson (picture). They beat the Preddy team in the final. 

The winners of the Hamilton Cup, for the Swiss Teams on Monday, were the team of Barbara Hackett, Diana Hopfenheit, Sebastian Reim & Guido Hopfenheit (picture), finishing with a total score of 87 VPs 

The event is part of the Player of the Year Championships. The win for the Plackett team puts them in the top 20, with three of the team now in 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in the table.

We are grateful to Helen Schapiro for her support of the event in memory of her husband, the great Boris Schapiro.

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:52 BST
Link the EBU calendar to your own personal calendar

As a reminder, you can connect the EBU events calendar, to your personal calendar. To do so, import or link to the iCalendar feed.

Important note: some personal calendars offer both import and linking to events in iCalendar format. It is generally better to link rather than import, to avoid cluttering a personal calendar. For example, in Outlook you would use Open Calendar from Internet rather than Import. This keeps the EBU calendar separate from your personal calendar, though you can still view them together.

Further details can be found on the How to use EBU calendars page.

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:51 BST
English Players in Winning Teams at the 4th European Winter Games

The 4th European Winter Games which were held this year in Tignes, France, finished yesterday 27th April.

Team Orca of Erik Berg (Norway), Peter Crouch (England), Espen Erichsen (England), Richard Mark Plackett (Wales), Mikael Rimstedt (Sweden) & Ola Rimstedt (Sweden), won the Les Etincelles Cup. They beat the Multon team by 131 to 86 in the final.

In the GCK Trophy, team Wigoder comprising Boye Brogeland (Norway), Geir Helgemo (Norway), Zia Mahmood (U.S.A.) & Charles Wigoder (England), finished top with 61 VPs. 

Full details and results

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:50 BST
Two Open Events Announced as part of the WBF World Bridge Tour

The World Bridge Federation have announced two exciting Open events will be held in Marrakech during the second week of the World Team Championships.

These are:

  • World Transnational Open Swiss and Knockout Teams (28 August - 2 September)
  • Marrakech Grand Prix Transnational Board-a-Match (bam) Teams (30 August - 1 September)

Both events are part of the World Bridge Tour launched earlier this year.

Play for WBF titles, medals and masterpoints against players from all over the world. Play prestigious championship events against the world’s best players. 5 or 6 days of play across both events for one entry fee. Enjoy world class playing conditions in a unique location.

Also part of the World Bridge Tour is the Schapiro Spring Foursomes, taking place in Bristol this weekend.

Further Details
World Bridge Tour website

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:50 BST
Montenegro Congress Results

The Montenegro Overseas Congress, sponsored by First for Bridge, concluded on 22nd April. 

In the Swiss Pairs, John Holland & Raymond Semp (pictured) finished top with 131 VPs. Gaye Kyle & Colin Jones were second with 107 VPs and Graham Orsmond & Jackie Fairclough were third with 102 VPs. The strat B winners were June Middleton & Jane Carpenter. The strat C winners were John Rowe & Janice Spearing and the strat D winners were Janet Leffler & Sally Durant.

The Swiss Teams was won by the Blaine team of Andrea Blaine, Joanne Waterman, Emile Lawy & Richard Spencer (picture) with a score of 109 VPs. The Talbot team of Denis Talbot, Kathy Talbot, Chris Taylor & David Wing team finished second with 102 VPs.

The other winners at the congress were:

Pre-Congress Pairs: Chris Taylor & David Wing (picture)
Pivot Teams: Emile Lawy, Richard Spencer, Andrea Blaine & Joanne Waterman (picture)
Open Pairs: Sally Bugden & James Bugden (picture)
IMPed Pairs: Graham Orsmond & Jackie Fairclough (picture)
Multiple Pairs: Raymond Semp & John Holland (picture)

Many thanks for the team who helped make the congress.

The next Overseas Congress will the Venetian Congress, taking place from 15-22 October. There are limited rooms available on this congress, and as our Montenegro Congress sold out it is worth booking early! Book now with First for Bridge (Arena Travel).

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:50 BST
Cambridge A win Portland Bowl

The Portland Bowl Finals took place this weekend, 22nd - 23rd April 2023 at the famous Portland Club in London. 

In the semi-finals, Cambridge A beat Oxford A by 18 IMPs (87-69), and Imperial A beat Imperial B by 19 IMPs (124-105).

In the final, Cambridge A beat Imperial A by 134 IMPs (186-52). The Cambridge line-up (pictured, from left to right), included Alberto Racca, Lily Kearney (captain), Theo Sinclair & Oscar Selby. This is Cambridge’s first win since 2020, and Imperial’s first appearance in the final of the Portland Bowl since 2014. The Imperial team were Ervin Wee, Zitai Wang, Lee Ann Madissoon & Ben Lewis.

In the Portland Bowl Plate final (the consolation event), UCL A beat Durham A by 116 IMPs (193-77). The UCL A team were Jiezhen Miao, Qianhui (Ivy) Chen, Eugene Lam & Bowan Tam (picture).

In the Portland Bowl 3rd place playoff, Oxford A beat Imperial B by 101 IMPs (183-82).

Portland Bowl Results History

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:49 BST
England win Lady Milne Trophy

The Lady Milne Trophy, the annual women's international event for the home countries, this weekend (21st to 23rd April). This year the annual event was hosted by the Scottish Bridge Union (SBU), at the Mercure Perth Hotel, Perth.

The English team of Debbie Sandford & Kath StynesNevena Senior & Anne RosenSally Anoyrkatis & Venetia Anoyrkatis, with NPC Heather Dhondy won the trophy with a score of 67.07 VPs after 5 matches. Venetia is the youngest ever English player to win the Lady Milne trophy, she takes the accolade from her mother Sally, with whom she partnered in the event this year. 

Ireland finished a close second, with 65.12 VPs and last year's winners, Scotland finished third with 58.72 VPs. 

Team Position VPs
England 1 67.07
Ireland 2 65.12
Scotland 3 58.72
Wales 4 53.27
Northern Ireland 5 38.91
Scottish Bridge Union 6 16.91

 

Full video commentary was provided throughout the weekend by RealBridge.

The Lady Milne started in 1934 as the Ladies Team championship of the National Bridge Association run by Hubert Phillips. Then in 1950 it became the trophy for the Ladies Home Internationals with one team eligible from each country. Currently, the host nation are invited to play two teams, and the Republic of Ireland competes as well.

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:49 BST
Team Selway wins NTL Season 2

The National Teams League season 2 has now concluded. In Division 1, team Selway finished top with a total of 163.66. In second place were team Objectivity with a total of 154.25.

Division 2 was won by team Worcester Warriors, with team Stoker in second place. In division 3, the top spot was claimed by team Read, with team Lock Up Squad in second.

The National Teams League Season 3 gets underway on Wednesday 26th April. We have also announced that Season 4 will run from 13th September – 13th December 2023, Season 5 will run from 17th January – 17th April 2024 and Season 6 from 1st May – 31st July 2024. To enter, visit My EBU (utilities, book events) or email comps@ebu.co.uk.

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:49 BST
Season 5 of Oliver Cowan’s Online League in Support of Junior Bridge

The next season of Oliver Cowan’s Online League in support of Junior Bridge will start soon.

Season 5 will start 8th of May 2023, with entries closing on 3rd May. This non-profit event has so far raised over £1,000, with all proceeds going towards teaching in schools and subsidizing juniors playing in events.

Entry to the league is just £36 per team. This includes:

  • 8 board matches on BBO in as many divisions as we can recruit. You can have 8 players per team!
  • A minimum of 9 matches per season
  • Match days are Monday & Friday with Scheduled start at 5:45pm to avoid clashes with club events. You are free to rearrange
  • Kibitz if you want to
  • Friendly, competitive and quality bridge

Secure the future of bridge and get a team together. Register with Oliver Cowan: ocbridgecomps@gmail.com.

Further details

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:48 BST
EBU Donation to NSPCC

The money raised through charity licences has this year been donated to the NSPCC. Each year the EBU raises a small amount of money through charity licences and this year the amount of £562.52 was donated to the children's charity NSPCC. This charity was chosen by the Board at the recent Board meeting, to highlight the importance the EBU places on safeguarding, for which it uses the services of the NSPCC for information and document templates in maintaining our safeguarding policies. 

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:48 BST
Norman & Lee win National Pairs

David Norman & Peter Lee have convincingly claimed the National Pairs title, winning the national final which took place on 15th & 16th April by nearly 4%.

The national finals featured 48 pairs who qualified from 5 regional finals which took place in March.

David Norman & Peter Lee finished the national final on 62.68%, with Julian Wightwick & Graham Hazel second on 58.85%. John Dagnall & Andrew Bannock were third with 57.60%.

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:48 BST
Roy Dempster

Stratford-upon-Avon bridge club has announced that the funeral for Roy Dempster, a well-known bridge player nationally who sadly died last month, will be held on Wed 12 April at Noon.

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:47 BST
Northern Easter Festival Winners

The Northern Easter Festival run by Yorkshire on behalf of the EBU took place on 8-9 April in Harrogate.

In the Swiss Pairs on Saturday the winners were Nick Stevens & Clive Owen (picture).

The winners in the Swiss Teams on Sunday were Nick Woolven, Martin Edge, Alan Jarvis & Tom Copeland (pictured).

The NGS 9 High Swiss Pairs was won by Margaret Cowe & Meg Jenkins 1 VP ahead of Carole Wilson & Karen Kayes (picture).

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:47 BST
British Spring Sim Pairs

The British Spring Simultaneous Pairs takes place this week and you'll be able to find all the results and commentaries at the links below. Results will be finalised, and Master Points credited, once all the results have been submitted and checked.

Tuesday 11th April Commentary Booklet
Wednesday 12th April Commentary Booklet
Thursday 13th April Commentary Booklet
Friday 14th April Commentary Booklet
Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:47 BST
Easter Festival London winners

Michael Byrne & Kieran Dyke (pictured) won the Guardian Trophy for the Championship Pairs of the Easter Festival in London after a very close-run event in which top place changed many times over the two days.  

The Swiss Teams on Sunday for the Rixi Markus Cup was won by Nathalie Shashou & Nick SandqvistCharlie Bucknell & Stephen Kennedy (picture).

The Swiss Pairs on Monday was won by Anne Rosen & Neil Rosen (picture).

The NGS 9 high event run by Kent was won by Paul & Susan Hutchings with a combined score of 64.36% across the two sessions. The top pair in session 1 were Valerie Gibson & Putzi de Margary and the top pair in session 2 were Tessa Watkiss & Paul Phillips.

At the opening of the congress, EBU Chair Ian Payn presented two Bronze Awards, to Frances Hinden (picture) and Sarah Bell (picture).

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:46 BST
New Autumn Congress Announced

Photo of a hotel building exterior, blue sky and green trees frame the shot.

We are pleased to announce that the Autumn Overseas Congress will take place from 15-22 October, in Northern Italy at the Pace Park Hotel Bolognese, a historic 19th century villa that has been restored into a beautiful, 4-star hotel.

Accompanied by experienced EBU directors, this bridge programme features a variety of sessions including Swiss Pairs, Open Pairs and Swiss Teams. Sitting in 10,000 square metres of rich parkland, the hotel boasts an elegant lounge, and a superb restaurant with terraces overlooking the gardens. With an included excursion to the beautiful city of Bassano del Grappa, with its array of historic gems and cultural delights, this holiday has something for everyone.

There are also great local bus options from directly outside hotel there are regular services into the centre of Venice (20 mins) and Treviso (10 mins).

Book early: There are limited rooms available on this congress, and as our Montenegro Congress has now sold out it is worth booking early!

Full details can be found on the competitions page: Venetian Congress or book direct with Arena Travel.

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:46 BST
Robert Plumley wins Quarterly Online IMPs Ladder

The quarterly IMP competition for our online games, hosted by Funbridge, has concluded.

In the first quarter in 2023 January to March, Robert Plumley finished top of the leader board. He scored 283 total IMPs from his best six games, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by Dominic Connolly with a score of 269 IMPs, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:46 BST
March Robot Ladder Competitions

March's robot ladder competitions, have now concluded.

In the 12-board ladder for March, Jeremy Baker won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 70.16% over six games. Chris Hill was second, with 69.96% and Tim Glover third with a score of 69.89%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the main March matchpoints ladder, Jakub Mitke finished top of the leader board. His best six scores in the month averaged 64.12%, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by David Dawson with an average score of 64.07%, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

In the handicap ladder, for the players whose scores exceed their NGS by the greatest amount. Luis Barbero finished top of the leader board over the top six games, with a handicap score of 6.35, winning £25. The second place prize went to Dave Russell with a score of 5.64. There were also prizes for third and fourth place.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs
March Matchpoints LadderMarch Handicap LadderMarch 12-board ladder
Archive of previous winners

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:45 BST
Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest - March Results

In the Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest, there are four ranked groups (A, B, C and New). The aim of the bidding contest is to bid with your own chosen partner and your preferred system, using the app bid72.

First time players compete in the New group. Each month there is a relegation or promotion of players, during this time new players are also placed into one of the three groups depending on their score. This service is completely free for EBU members and made available by bid72, the premium app on bridge bidding.

Following the March monthly score the pair at the top of group A is the partnership of AlexG-PaulG with a current average score of 8.08. In second place are StephenW-BillM, and in joint third place are HarryF-TonyQ and Timbo-TonyMac.

In group B, five partnerships will be promoted to group A, they are; EwaLi-Chucknell; CarolineD-Alison; GuillaumeP-Jean-FrançoisR; SarahM-Canaryboy1 and LindaT-MalcolmW.

In group C six partnerships will be promoted to group B, these are; WendyY-MirandaC; BarbaraJH-TrevorH; Mikeas-robertf; JoolsHem-Neil heydon; Matt Davis1-Ca and AlanT-TeresaT.

For more information and to register see Bid72 EBU.

Last updated : 11th May 2023 11:45 BST
National Pairs Regional Finals winners

The first regional finals of our new format National Pairs have taken place and the top 50 pairs nationally qualify to play in the national final on 15-16 April. The national results were topped by Robert Miller & Tim Durdin with 64.68%.

Ivan Leung & Paul Lee won the Eastern Region trophy with 63.40%.

Robert Miller & Tim Durdin won the Midlands trophy with 64.79% scored regionally.

David Fletcher & Arthur Hughes  won the Northern Region trophy with 63.73%.

David Dawson & Christine Dyer won the South-East Region with 63.60%.

Miles Cowling & David S Jones won the South-West Region with 64.05%.

Congratulations to all of them.

Last updated : 4th Apr 2023 11:36 BST
New daily tournament on BBO

New!Starting this Thursday 6th April, the EBU will be holding new daily BBO tournaments. The new games will start at 11.15am; and cost $2.30. Each game will be 12 boards, 7 minutes per board, no robots. 

To register for the games, log on to Bridge Base Online -> Competitive -> All Tournaments and put “EBU” in the search box. You will be able to select the appropriate game from the list from about two hours before it starts.

Last updated : 4th Apr 2023 11:36 BST
Donde & Hoff win Portland Pairs

Bernard Donde & Natalie Hoff (pictured) have won the Portland Pairs. This Mixed Pairs competition took place this weekend and was played online via RealBridge.

Bernard & Natalie finished with a score of 64.45%. Ollie Burgess & Alison Pritchard, were second with 59.91% and Ian Pagan & Catherine Seale, finished third with 59.74%.

ResultsPrevious winners

Last updated : 4th Apr 2023 11:35 BST
Richard Bowdery

We are sad to learn of the death of well known bridge player Richard Bowdery. He won both the The Hubert Phillips Bowl and the Tollemache Cup. We extend our sympathy to Richard's family and friends. 

An obituary for Richard can be found on the Berks & Bucks website.

Last updated : 4th Apr 2023 11:35 BST
Online One-Day Green Pointed Swiss Pairs winners

The first of our OODGP events took place on Saturday 25 Mar with 82 pairs taking part. It was won by Robert Plumley and Tony Verran, who will each have 82 place points on the annual ladder, which will include all ten such events for the first year.

There will also be stratified ladders and the winners of the B strat were Richard Illingworth & Glyn Meredith, while  
Mahmoud Zaitoun & Ling Dent won the C strat.

Full results are available, though they will not be finalised until 5pm on Tuesday 28 March.

Last updated : 4th Apr 2023 11:35 BST
New: World Bridge Tour

In 2019, the WBF launched the annual "World Bridge Tour", consisting of face-to-face international events and culminating in a Tour Final among the top ranked partnerships. Unfortunately, due to Covid, most international events were put on hold. 

This year, the WBF have re-launched the Tour for a "dry run" with the aim of continuing the event in 2024 and beyond. 

One English event is included in the Tour, the Schapiro Spring Foursomes. In 2023 the Schapiro Spring Foursomes will be held in Bristol, 28th April - 2nd May 2023.

Last updated : 20th Mar 2023 14:48 GMT
Tulin team wins Jacoby Open Swiss Teams

The Tulin team (pictured), which included English bridge player David Bakhshi, have won the Jacoby Open Swiss Teams event.

Jacoby Open Swiss Teams is a teams event run by the Americal Contract Bridge League, for teams of 4-6 players. 

The team was captianed by Stan Tulin, and included Dror Padon, Alon Birman, David Bakhshi, Cornelis Van Prooijen, and Louk Verhees Jr.. The Bramley team (Bart Bramley, Kit Woolsey, Liam Milne, Andy Hung, Brian Platnick, and Kevin Rosenberg) finished second.

Last updated : 20th Mar 2023 14:48 GMT
Wolfson team wins Vanderbilt

The Wolfson team (pictured), which included two English bridge players (David Gold and Zia Mahmood) have won the Vanderbilt Teams. Played this year in New Orleans, the Vanderbilt teams is one of the most prestigious competitions on the American bridge calendar.

England were also represented in the event by players of team Knottenbelt (picture), including Tom Townsend, Ben Handley Pritchard, Michael Byrne, Kieran Dyke and Oliver Burgess. They made to the Quarter finals, but lost to team Bernal, a mostly Italian team containing Antonio Sementa, Giorgio Duboin and Alfredo Versace by 32 imps having been ahead at half time. The Knottenbelt's team reached the quarter final after knocking out the number 1 seeds led by Andrew Rosenthal.

Last updated : 20th Mar 2023 14:47 GMT
Join the Free Women's Online Training Session on Monday

The next Free EBL Online Training session from the Women's Bridge Committee will take place this coming Monday (20th March). This session will be hosted by England International Sally Brock on RealBridge.

To find out more about joining this free event, email roswolfarth4901@gmail.com. These sessions will be relevant for women who play in National Green Pointed competitions, to help raise your game.

Last updated : 17th Mar 2023 11:10 GMT
England Players in Vanderbilt Quarter-Finals

The Vanderbilt teams is one of the most prestigious competitions on the American bridge calendar. This year the event is being played in New Orleans and two teams with English players have reached the quarter-finals.

Maggie Knottenbelt's team (including Tom Townsend, Ben Handley Pritchard, Michael Byrne, Kieran Dyke and Oliver Burgess) have reached the quarter final after knocking out the number 1 seeds led by Andrew Rosenthal. Their match was a tie after 60 boards so an extra 8 boards were played, which they won by 2 imps.

Other English players include David Gold who is through to the QF as as part of Jeff Wolfson's team.

You can watch along as matches will be shown on BBO VuGraph from 2.30pm today (Friday 17th) and tomorrow (Saturday 18th).

Last updated : 17th Mar 2023 11:09 GMT
Spring Junior Bridge Camp

Youth Bridge logo, the four card suits personified Grab a child/grandchild or two and bring them on 15th/16th April. They will love it! 

Where? Pioneer Centre, Kidderminster. 
To Register: Bridge4Schools
What's it all about: Learning bridge, competitions, activities by Pioneer staff and fun with the other youngsters. You can stay and play or do a bunk to explore the lovely Shropshire countryside. 

Any other queries? Phone Joan on 07548 782538.

Last updated : 17th Mar 2023 11:09 GMT
Enter Now for the Easter Congress

Spend your Easter weekend in the capital. The congress is suitable for everyone, with a range of competitions for all abilities. The event will take place Easter weekend, at the ILEC Conference Centre, near Earls Court. Accommodation is available at the adjacent IBIS Hotel.

The schedule for the weekend is:

Friday Championship Pairs (sessions 1 & 2) 13:00 - 17:45
  Open Pairs (free) 19:15 - 21:30
Saturday Championship Pairs (sessions 3, 4 & 5) 11:30 - 19:15
Sunday Stratified Swiss Teams 11:30 - 19:30
Monday Swiss Pairs 11:30 - 19:30

The Championship Pairs is a stratified event scored across the field.

On Sunday there will be an online 9 High Pairs, held on BBO and run by Kent Contract Bridge Association on behalf on the EBU. For this event, please enter directly with Kent CBA.

Green points are awarded to the top of half of the field within each stratification for the Championship Pairs. The Swiss Pairs and Swiss Teams will be fully Green Pointed. The 9 High events will be Blue Pointed and will be stratified too so that there are extra Master Points and an extra prize available for pairs of players both ranked ‘Six’ or lower.

To enter please call 01296 317203, email comps@ebu.co.uk, or enter online via My EBU.

Last updated : 17th Mar 2023 11:09 GMT
Peter Jordan Sim Pairs winners 2023

The 2023 Peter Jordan trophy, awarded for the winning pair of the Tuesday session of the British Winter Sims, has been presented to the winning pair.

Raymond Gilbert & Nic Fergusson (pictured), from Leverstock Green Bridge Club, won the session on Tuesday 10th January, with a score of 70.70. They were sent the trophy, a donation from Peter’s wife Barbara, and took pictures with it separately.

Full results

Last updated : 8th Mar 2023 10:22 GMT
England Retain Camrose Trophy

Congratulations to England for retaining the Camrose Trophy this weekend. 

The second and final weekend of the Camrose was hosted by the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland, in Gormanstown. This was the 80th time the contest has taken place. England went into the weekend in top place and retained their lead throughout the weekend. 

The final results over both weekends were:

1st England 138.84 VPs
2nd Wales 120.11 VPs
3rd Ireland 102.90 VPs
4th CBAI 94.67 VPs
5th Scotland 84.97 VPs
6th Northern Ireland 58.51 VPs

Representing England this weekend were:

Janet de Botton & Artur Malinowski

Thor Erik Hoftaniska & Espen Erichsen

David Bakhshi & Tom Townsend

NPC Peter Hasenson

Find out more about the players on page 19 of the programme.

A delayed video and commentary was available for all matches on RealBridge, with a variety of players and journalists providing commentary.

Last updated : 8th Mar 2023 10:21 GMT
Haberdashers B win Schools Cup

In the Schools Cup (part of the Young Bridge Challenge) which took place today at Loughborough Grammar School, Haberdashers B (pictured) beat Loughborough A in the final by 30 IMPs to 25, after playing 2 extra boards following a 20-20 tie in the initial 7 boards. In the third-place playoff, Eton beat Haberdashers A.

The Schools Plate was awarded to Magdalen College School with a score of 77 VPs, and the Harry Scully Trophy was awarded to Westminster C with a score of 53 VPs.

The event was organised by English Bridge Education and Development. Thank you from all involved to Loughborough Grammar School for hosting the event.

Last updated : 8th Mar 2023 10:21 GMT
Enter Now for the Online Knockout Teams

Entries are now open for the Online Knockout Teams, the knockout event played exclusively online.

It is for teams of four to six, all of whom are members of their own federation and a majority of one of the ‘home unions’. There is also a Plate competition, available for teams that lose their first match, so everyone is guaranteed at least two matches.

Entry is £32 per team, with prices for juniors at 50% pro rata, closing date for entries is Monday 17th March.

The easiest way to enter is online through MyEBU. You can also call 01296 317203/19, email comps@ebu.co.uk.

Last updated : 8th Mar 2023 10:21 GMT
EBED seeking Chief Executive Officer

After seventeen years in England, the last three at the helm of EBED - the national body with responsibility for bridge education - our current Chief Executive will relocate back to Italy at the end of May. We are now seeking an inspirational leader who is used to operating at a senior level with the necessary interpersonal skills and knowledge of the game of bridge together with the business and financial acumen to be able to take the charity through the challenges of a post-Covid world.

You can see the role's job description here. If you are interested in applying for the role or would like more details, please write to the current CEO Giorgio Provenza (giorgio@ebedcio.co.uk).

Applications must be submitted by the 26th of March 2023

Last updated : 3rd Mar 2023 16:20 GMT
February Robot Ladder Competitions

February's robot ladder competitions, have now concluded.

In the 12-board ladder for February, Gordon Rainsford won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 70.28% over six games. Liz Clery was second, with 70.19% and James Bond third with a score of 69.58%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the main February matchpoints ladder, David Dawson finished top of the leader board. His best six scores in the month averaged 64.35%, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by Dominic Connolly with an average score of 60.99%, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

In the handicap ladder, for the players whose scores exceed their NGS by the greatest amount. Luis Barbero finished top of the leader board over the top six games, with a handicap score of 7.16, winning £25. The second place prize went to  Russ de Haney with a score of 2.47. There were also prizes for third and fourth place.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs
February Matchpoints LadderFebruary Handicap LadderFebruary 12-board ladder
Archive of previous winners

Last updated : 3rd Mar 2023 16:20 GMT
Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest - February Results

In the Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest, there are four ranked groups (A, B, C and New). The aim of the bidding contest is to bid with your own chosen partner and your preferred system, using the app bid72.

First time players compete in the New group. Each month there is a relegation or promotion of players, during this time new players are also placed into one of the three groups depending on their score. This service is completely free for EBU members and made available by bid72, the premium app on bridge bidding.

Following the February monthly score the pair at the top of group A is the partnership of ManUfans-IvanL with a current average score of 8.40. In second place are OlivierL-CarolineL, and in third place are DaveA-JillA.

In group B, four partnerships will be promoted to group A, they are; saraw-charlesw; Timbo-TonyMac; Gordonr-JonathanL and HarryF-TonyQ.

In group C six partnerships will be promoted to group B, these are; Thearb-noozman; Zumba42-RedWine624; LiamH-SusanH; SarahM-Canaryboy1; CarolWh-Le Robinet and ValG-Pearl01z.

For more information and to register see Bid72 EBU.

Last updated : 3rd Mar 2023 16:19 GMT
Camrose Trophy 2023

The second and final weekend of the Camrose takes place this coming weekend, hosted by the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland hosts the weekend in Gormanstown, 3rd - 5th March 2023. This is the 80th time the contest has taken place.

The weekend will start with a clash between the current top two teams: The leaders are England on 81.47 VPs, with Wales currently in second place on 60.87 VPs. The match will take place on Friday evening.

Representing England this weekend are:

Janet de Botton & Artur Malinowski

Thor Erik Hoftaniska & Espen Erichsen

David Bakhshi & Tom Townsend

NPC Peter Hasenson

Find out more about the players on page 19 of the programme.

You can follow the play on RealBridge (Kibitz link). There will be live video commentary for all matches, with a variety of players and journalists providing commentary.

Last updated : 1st Mar 2023 10:28 GMT
Bridge Film: Double Dummy

Double Dummy is the unexpected and thrilling look at the fiercely competitive game of bridge. The film follows the USA 1 Under 21 team to China as they battle it out at the World Youth Team Championships, the most prestigious event in junior bridge. The film bridges the generation gap and explores the game of bridge and its growing popularity with younger generations.

View the full film: Double Dummy

Last updated : 1st Mar 2023 10:28 GMT
Club Teaching Survey Results

The EBU conducted a survey of clubs asking about their teaching and the outcome of that teaching. There was an amazing response with over one third of our clubs completing the survey. We have summarised the results here.

Last updated : 1st Mar 2023 10:28 GMT
Earthquake Relief Bridge Tournaments

The recent earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria have taken the lives of more than 46,000 people, injured many thousands more, and left untold thousands of families homeless.

Kent CBA is hosting a Swiss Pairs this Sunday 5th March. 50% of profits will be donated to the Turkey/Syria earthquake appeal. You can join them for the event at Tunbridge Wells Bridge Club from 11am, 5th March.  Further details on the Kent CBA website

The European Bridge League has also joined with the WBF and ACBL in supporting the Earthquake relief tournaments organised by the Turkish Bridge Federation on 25-26 February and 4-5 March; 100% of proceeds will go to relief organizations doing work in Türkiye and Syria, thanks to BBO parent company, 52Entertainment. These events are in addition to supporting the efforts being made by the Turkish Bridge FederationECatsBridge and others.

Last updated : 1st Mar 2023 10:27 GMT
Last Day for Spring Bank Holiday Early Bird Offer

The Spring Bank Holiday Early Bird Deal ends tomorrow. Book now to take advantage of the offer prices. Join us in Reading Reading, 27th - 29th May 2023, for a great weekend of bridge suitable for all.

The organiser for the Spring Bank Holiday Congress this year is Oliver Cowan. He has written a blog this week talking about the upcoming competition:

"A new era of EBU Congresses will begin over the bank holiday weekend at the end of May (27th-29th) when Oliver Cowan and the EBU team up to bring a new experience for players attending a national congress, the Spring Bank Holiday Congress...."

Read the full blog: Anyone for biscuits?

The Spring Bank Holiday Congress is being run by Oliver Cowan on behalf of the EBU, entries should be made directly with Oliver. Please complete the entry form and then email the completed form to ocbridgecomps@gmail.com.

Last updated : 27th Feb 2023 15:54 GMT
Celani & Kilic win Anne Staveley Trophy in the Masters Pairs 2023

The Masters Pairs this weekend, for those ranked below Regional Master, was again held online this year.

The overall winners were Gianfranco Celani & Mumun Kilic (pictured), with a score of 67.12% who played at Wimbledon Bridge Club in Surrey, they will receive the Anne Staveley Trophy. Two youth squad members, Andrew Bradkin & Thomas Bradkin finished in second place with a score or 64.92%, playing online on BBO hosted by Somerset. In third place were Matija Sokola & Raghav Malhotra playing at Stratford-upon-Avon Bridge Club.

Full Results
Previous winners

Last updated : 27th Feb 2023 15:54 GMT
Ranked Masters Pairs Results 2023

Six pairs were victorious this weekend in the Ranked Masters Pairs, held online via RealBridge. 

The winners for all categories were as follows:

Premier Grand Masters Pairs: Kathleen Nelson & Steve Auchterlonie (pictured)

Grand Masters Pairs: Tom Dessain & Tugrul Kaban (picture)

In the combined Premier Life and Life Masters:

Premier Life Masters: Alan Hobden & James Hobden (not pictured)

Life Masters: Gerard Thompson & Simon Mostyn (picture)

In the combined National Masters and Regional Masters:

National Masters: Andy Baruch & Graham Cope (picture)

Regional Masters: Bridget Rampton & Allison Green (picture)

Last updated : 27th Feb 2023 15:54 GMT
Running a Teaching Programme Seminar - Video Now Available

Thank you to all those who attended the most recent club seminar held this week titled "Running a Teaching Programme". The recording of the meeting is now available to view on the EBU YouTube channel.

You can view the presentations from the seminar using the links below:

Thank you to everyone that contributed to the seminar. We will have further details of future events coming soon.

Last updated : 27th Feb 2023 15:53 GMT
Book Now for the Montenergo Congress

The next EBU overseas congress will take place in Montenegro, 15-22 April.

Join us for 8 days spent on the Bay of Kotor at the all-inclusive 5-star Carine Hotel Kumbor. The hotel is located at the stunning entrance of Boka Bay where the Turquoise Adriatic Sea meets the mighty mountains of Montenegro.

Book before the 15th March to ensure secure your place at the current price. Prices per person for 7 nights from:

  • £850 in Twin/ double deluxe room to share
  • £1000 Double sole Occupancy deluxe room
  • £890 in twin, double deluxe side sea view room
  • £1040 double deluxe sole occupancy side sea view
  • £925 in twin/ double deluxe full sea view
  • £1075 in double deluxe sole occupancy full sea view

Please note: The package prices below now INCLUDE the bridge fees - there is no extra cost for this. Non-bridge players will receive a £155 reduction off standard prices

The Tournament Director will be Chris Benneworth. Rob Richardson will be the Arena bridge host.

Further details or book direct with Arena Travel

Last updated : 27th Feb 2023 15:53 GMT
Anyone For Biscuits?

The blog this week has been written by Oliver Cowan, talking about the upcoming Spring Bank Holiday Congress.

"A new era of EBU Congresses will begin over the bank holiday weekend at the end of May (27th-29th) when Oliver Cowan and the EBU team up to bring a new experience for players attending a national congress, the Spring Bank Holiday Congress...."

Read the full blog: Anyone for biscuits?

The Spring Bank Holiday Congress is being run by Oliver Cowan on behalf of the EBU, entries should be made directly with Oliver. Please complete the entry form and then email the completed form to ocbridgecomps@gmail.com.

Last updated : 22nd Feb 2023 12:04 GMT
Earthquake Relief Bridge Tournaments

The recent earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria have taken the lives of more than 46,000 people, injured many thousands more, and left untold thousands of families homeless.

The EBL has joined with the WBF and ACBL in supporting the Earthquake relief tournaments organised by the Turkish Bridge Federation on 25-26 February and 4-5 March; 100% of proceeds will go to relief organizations doing work in Türkiye and Syria, thanks to BBO parent company, 52Entertainment. These events are in addition to supporting the efforts being made by the Turkish Bridge FederationECatsBridge and others.

Last updated : 22nd Feb 2023 12:04 GMT
International University Bridge Trophy

All university and college students are invited to play in the 5th PCU International University Bridge Trophy "Bridge@Home". This is an online pairs tournament which will take place on Wednesday 12 April 2023 on BBO. Participation is open to university and college students worldwide and free of charge. At least one player of each pair should be a student. 

Last updated : 22nd Feb 2023 12:04 GMT
Still Time to Enter the Masters Pairs

The Masters Pairs, is an event especially for members below the rank of Regional Master. There will be five heats held nationally, with the event scored across the whole field.

If you are below the rank of Regional Master, you are welcome to enter the event at any of the below venues. You do not need to be a club or county member.

For those people who are not close to one of the venues or prefer to play online Somerset will be running a heat on BBO which is open to all (see below for details).

Richmond Bridge Club - Play will start at 10:30 for the first of two sessions. There will be a 45 minute break at 13:30. The expected finish time is 17:15. Entry fee £10 per player, please enter in advance via Richmond entry form. Non members will be asked to make payment via debit or credit card on the day. Richmond BC members will be charged via their account with the club. Parking is available on the surrounding streets. Further details about public transport links are available on the Richmond Bridge Club website. A full bar service will be available with food, snacks and beverages to order. The bar will also stay open at the end of the session for discussion of the day's hands. Any queries should be directed to Julia via manager@richmondbridgeclub.com or phone 0208 892 2170.

Scunthorpe Bridge Club - Play will start at 11:00 for the first of two sessions. There will be a break between sessions for those who wish to bring a packed lunch. Entry is £8 per player which includes tea/coffee and biscuits. Entries to: secretary@scunthorpebridgeclub.org.uk or call Roy Brixton on 07803 169114. Closing Date for entries is 25th February.

Somerset - Play will start at 11:00 for the first of two sessions on BBO. Entry is 10 BBO$ per person. Somerset entry form.

Stratford-upon-Avon Bridge Club - Play will start at 11:00. There will be two sessions of approximately 24 boards each with a break in between. Lunch break from 14:00 - 15:00. Expected finish time is 18:00. Table money will be £10; payable on the day by debit card. There is free parking, free tea, coffee & biscuits. No need to pre-enter; just turn up on the day. Bring your own packed lunch; or pop to town for a quick bite. Queries to Alan Patel, Chairman, chairman@stratforduponavonbridgeclub.org.uk or 07967 698553.

Wimbledon Bridge Club - Play will start at 11:00. Please be seated by 10:50 so we can start on time. There will be two sessions of approximately 24 boards each with a break in between. Sandwiches, salads and jacket potatoes are available to order for the break. Expected finish time is 17:30. Entry fee £10.00 per person. Wimbledon entry form.

More details are available on the Masters Pairs webpage.

If your club wishes to host a heat please contact comps@ebu.co.uk for information.

Last updated : 22nd Feb 2023 12:04 GMT
National Pairs Regional Finals

If you scored over 55% in a club games between 5th and 18th February, you will have qualified to play in the National Pairs Regional Finals on 26th March. Invites for members that have qualified will be sent out shortly. 

Once you have qualified, you can enter any of the events for your region, with heats taking place on both RealBridge and BBO. Please make sure your email address is up-to-date on your My EBU account, as we will use this to contact you regarding your invitation to the Regional Finals and beyond.

The results within the regions will be used to award the five regional trophies. All five regions will also be combined and scored nationally to determine the top 50 pairs, who will be entitled to play the National Pairs Final on RealBridge on 15th - 16th April 2023.

Northern (Cumbria, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Manchester, Merseyside/Cheshire, North-East, Westmorland, Yorkshire): Manchester (RealBridge), Host County for BBO TBC

Eastern (Bedfordshire, Berks. & Bucks., Cambs. & Hunts., Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk): Essex (RealBridge and BBO)

Midlands (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Northants., Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Staffs. & Shropshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire): Host County TBC

South Eastern (Kent, London, Middlesex, Surrey, Sussex): London (RealBridge) and Middlesex (RealBridge) and Surrey (BBO) and Sussex (BBO)

South Western (Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hants. & IOW, Gloucestershire, Guernsey, Herefordshire, Jersey, Somerset, Wiltshire): Somerset (BBO) and Dorset (RealBridge)

Last updated : 22nd Feb 2023 12:03 GMT
Junior Camrose and Peggy Bayer 2023

The England teams have won the Junior Camrose and Peggy Bayer organised by Bridge Great Britain. In the Junior Camrose England as hosts had a second team, the EBU Juniors who came second. Congratulations to all the players:

Junior Camrose

1st Place, England: Daniel WinterSam AnoyrkatisHarry MaddenJoseph ClarkWilliam Clennell & Dominic Cooke (NPC Sally Brock) (pictured)

2nd Place, EBU Juniors: Henry RoseOscar SelbyDido ColeyLily KearneyTheodore Sinclair & James Cater (NPC Ewa Wieczorek)

Peggy Bayer

1st Place, England: Thomas BradkinHarriet CorkCharlotte BedfordLucy NormanAleks Birdsall & Maks Blicharz (NPC Alan Shillitoe, Assistant NPC Oliver Cowan) (picture)

2nd Place, Scotland: Michael Kennedy, Keven Ren, Jamie Day, Harry Stuart, Aidan Woodley & Alexander Duncan (NPC Daniel Hamilton)

Last updated : 22nd Feb 2023 12:03 GMT
Manchester win Tollemache Cup

The Tollemache Cup (intercounty teams of eight) Final was held at the weekend and was won convincingly by Manchester (pictured): Alan MouldAndrew WoodcockCatherine DraperRhona Goldenfield (NPC, with trophy), Michael Byrne, Tom Slater, Alec Smalley, John HassettJohn Holland. Manchester scored 88 VP, Middlesex were second on 69 VP and Kent were third on 61 VP. 

Last updated : 22nd Feb 2023 12:02 GMT
New Look EBU Calendar

The EBU calendar, showing forthcoming competitions and events, has been improved and is now live on the site. We hope that you will find the new calendar clear and easy to use.

At present the EBU has two versions of the events calendar, the new style bridge calendar and the legacy Google calendar. With the implementation of the new calendar, we plan to discontinue the legacy Google calendar to avoid having to synchronize details. The new style EBU calendar has been designed to look familiar to users of the legacy Google calendar.

We would welcome your feedback, please also let us know if there are any features that you would like to see added, via email to tim@ebu.co.uk

Last updated : 14th Feb 2023 11:39 GMT
New Venues for the Masters Pairs

The Masters Pairs, for members below the rank of Regional Master will be held at six venues across the county, with the event scored across the whole field.

If you are below the rank of Regional Master, you are welcome to enter the event at any of the below venues. You do not need to be a club or county member.

Cheltenham Bridge Club - Play will start at 11:00 for the first of two sessions. There will be a 45 minute break at 14:00, with refreshments available. The expected finish time is 18:00. Entry Fee £10 per player, for CBC members this will be deducted from their player account. Non-members need to pay in advance for themselves and their partner. Register via the Cheltenham Bridge Club website. Free parking at front and rear of building.

Richmond Bridge Club - Play will start at 10:30 for the first of two sessions. There will be a 45 minute break at 13:30. The expected finish time is 17:15. Entry fee £10 per player, please enter in advance via Richmond entry form. Non members will be asked to make payment via debit or credit card on the day. Richmond BC members will be charged via their account with the club. Parking is available on the surrounding streets. Further details about public transport links are available on the Richmond Bridge Club website. A full bar service will be available with food, snacks and beverages to order. The bar will also stay open at the end of the session for discussion of the day's hands. Any queries should be directed to Julia via manager@richmondbridgeclub.com or phone 0208 892 2170.

Scunthorpe Bridge Club - Play will start at 11:00 for the first of two sessions. There will be a break between sessions for those who wish to bring a packed lunch. Entry is £8 per player which includes tea/coffee and biscuits. Entries to: secretary@scunthorpebridgeclub.org.uk or call Roy Brixton on 07803 169114. Closing Date for entries is 25th February.

Somerset - Play will start at 11:00 for the first of two sessions on BBO. Entry is 10 BBO$ per person. Somerset entry form.

Stratford-upon-Avon Bridge Club - Play will start at 11:00. There will be two sessions of approximately 24 boards each with a break in between. Lunch break from 14:00 - 15:00. Expected finish time is 18:00. Table money will be £10; payable on the day by debit card. There is free parking, free tea, coffee & biscuits. No need to pre-enter; just turn up on the day. Bring your own packed lunch; or pop to town for a quick bite. Queries to Alan Patel, Chairman, chairman@stratforduponavonbridgeclub.org.uk or 07967 698553.

Wimbledon Bridge Club - Play will start at 11:00. Please be seated by 10:50 so we can start on time. There will be two sessions of approximately 24 boards each with a break in between. Sandwiches, salads and jacket potatoes are available to order for the break. Expected finish time is 17:30. Entry fee £10.00 per person. Wimbledon entry form.

More details are available on the Masters Pairs webpage.

If your club wishes to host a heat please contact comps@ebu.co.uk for information.

Last updated : 8th Feb 2023 15:22 GMT
Enter now for the Ranked Masters Pairs

As a reminder, the Ranked Masters Pairs will take place Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th February! There is still time to enter and this year the competition will again be held online via RealBridge, giving you a chance to play in a national event from the comfort of your own home!

The Ranked Masters Pairs is a group of competitions based on Master Point rank. There are 6 categories although some categories will be merged for the purpose of the movements. We will merge Premier Life Masters with Life Masters, and the National Masters with Regional Masters. We will still have ranking lists for each category and award trophies, prizes and Master Points within those categories, but you will be playing in a larger field with more opponents and comparisons. Additionally, a player will be allowed to "play up" to join a partner of a higher rank, providing their NGS grade meets the criteria, see here for more information.

The event starts at 11.00am on both Saturday and Sunday. Full details can be found on the Ranked Masters Pairs webpage.

Entries close on 23rd February.

Don't miss out in taking part, the easiest way to enter is online via My EBU.

Last updated : 8th Feb 2023 15:22 GMT
Message from the EBU Chair - A competitive twist

The following message was published as the editorial in the February 2023 issue of English Bridge: 

By the time you read this, the National Pairs Championship will be nearly under way. This year we’re taking the novel step of selecting participants in the Regional Finals based on club scores between 5th February and 18th February. Just turn up at your club at any time during that period, and score more than 55%, and you’ll be invited to play in your closest regional final online, on 26th March. We could not have made it easier for you to enter the National Pairs, because you now don’t have to enter at all. Just turn up for your regular game. The Grand Final will also be online this year, on 15th-16th April, and will involve the top fifty participants from the combined scores
of the Regional Finals. I hope this new method of entry leads to a strong and vibrant competition. 

Starting soon, on March 25th, will be our new series of one-day Green-Pointed events. Over the course of the season there will be a mixture of pairs and teams, on RealBridge and BBO. Something for everyone, then, and all games will be stratified for Master Point Awards.

The recent Year End Congress was judged a success, in relative terms – attendances were up, with a lot of people making their first foray into the tournament world post-Covid.

Success builds upon success, and if people come, and enjoy the atmosphere as much as the game, things will continue to improve. David Burn and I played with each other in the teams, lining up with two former members of the under 26 Womens squad, Daisy Dillon & Hanna Tuus. Not only did Daisy and Hanna play a perfectly respectable game, they also displayed remarkable tolerance when two old fools who should know better got the responses to Blackwood wrong (on the bright side, this was an improvement on an event a few years ago when, on
the penultimate board of a two-day session, it became clear that Burn had been playing 2/1 throughout and I hadn’t, but that’s all water under the er…well, it’s all water). A most pleasant day out, and home in time for dinner.

Attendances are also a problem with clubs, of course. It’s no secret that the demographic of most bridge clubs means that new members are always necessary to make up for the losses at the other end. Since the end of the pandemic, some people who might have continued for many years have shown a reluctance to return. The answer to this problem lies in recruitment and teaching and I am always very encouraged to hear and read about the excellent work that is going on in many of our clubs both large and small.

Those clubs that are teaching and attracting new members are thriving and demonstrate what can be achieved by an enthusiastic committee. Now would be a good time for other clubs to ask themselves ‘How would we respond to someone who phoned us wanting to learn bridge?’ and consider becoming a teaching club in 2023. There is a great deal of help available from the EBU through our Club Development Officer Jonathan Lillycrop, and from our county associations, so I urge clubs to consider the long-term benefits of teaching bridge in 2023 and beyond and to get in touch with Jonathan or their county to find out what support is available.

Our friends and colleagues at EBED provide teacher training, as well as hosting Junior Teach-Ins and TD training. No club that wants to start teaching needs to re-invent the wheel: get in touch with us and we’ll see what we, or EBED, can do to help. Naturally, once new members start feeding through, then the problem becomes retaining them in the club. There are lectures to be given and screeds to be written on how to keep them once you’ve got them. But in the end it just boils down to two words: be nice. The main enemy is a hostile environment. If we can get rid of that, everything else will eventually, surely, follow.

Onwards!

Last updated : 8th Feb 2023 15:20 GMT
Youth events 2023

EBED Youth Events 2023: Grand Prix 12th February; Youth Bridge Challenge 4th March; Bridge camps 15-16 April and 1-3 September

EBED have teamed up with Bridge4Schools to advertise and manage booking for some forthcoming events.
Don't miss out! Book your entry for:

Third Grand Prix Event: this Saturday, 12 February 2023 (online)

and coming up next month: Young Bridge Challenge, a half-day (face to face) teams events for school-age bridge players held at Loughborough Grammar School. This year, for the first time including a slower paced section for less experienced players.

See also Youth Calendar page for information

download pdf poster

Last updated : 7th Feb 2023 14:40 GMT
European National & Transnational Youth Pairs Championships July 2023

The 15th European Youth Bridge Pairs Championships will be held at the Conference Centre NH Koningshof in Veldhoven.

This EBL Championship event will be followed by an official youth WBF event, the National Teams Championship, which will start on the 31st July at the same location.

The event will be a European Youth national pairs championship combined with transnational championship and will be open to all players (worldwide) with a transnational format.

These championships will take place according to the following programme:

  • Monday 24th July - Registration & Opening Ceremony
  • Tuesday 25th July 10:00 - Mixed pairs competition / IMP Pairs
  • Wednesday 26th July 10:00 - Mixed pairs competition / IMP Pairs
  • Wednesday 26th July 20:00 - Mixed / IMP pairs Prize-Giving
  • Thursday 27th July 10:00- Pairs qualification sessions
  • Friday 28h July 10:00 - Pairs qualification sessions
  • Saturday 29th July 10:00 - Pairs final sessions
  • Saturday 29th July 10:00 - President’s Cup
  • Saturday 29th July 19:00 - Prize-Giving & Closing Ceremony
  • Friday 28th & Saturday 29th July 10:00 - Youth Coach Seminar 

Format

  • The championship will include participants from five series: U31, U26 Open, U26 Women, U21 and U16
  • The first two days will include a Mixed pairs tournament with a parallel IMP Pairs
  • The EBL Open pairs championship will be organised over the next three days
  • The exact format will be decided according to the registration in each age category

EBL Youth Pairs Championships

Eligibility

  • All tournaments are open to all players from all over the world
  • Transnational pairs will be permitted to participate in all tournaments (two players from different
    country)
  • The events will include ranking for the EBL National title and total ranking of all participants
  • In order to win an EBL National title, both European players should be from the same country

Age restriction

  • Here are the age restrictions per Series:
    • U31 Series - Born on or after 1st January 1993
    • U26 Open & U26 Women Series - Born on or after 1st January 1998
    • U21 Series – Born on or after 1st January 2003
    • U16 Series – Born on or after 1st January 2008
  • Please also note that there will be NO age restriction exemptions for this EBL event

EBL Youth coach seminar

  • Following the success of the previous Youth Coach Seminars, these Championships will again include a
    two-day Youth Coach Seminar
  • The EBL will cover 3 nights of accommodation for EBL's NBO's officials (arrival on the 27th and departure
    on the 30th July)
  • The Seminar is free of charge with a maximum of two participants per NBO; participants only pay for
    their travel
  • EBL highly recommends that EBL's NBO representatives be sent to the Youth Coach Seminar. These may
    be youth coordinators, coaches, or any related officials.

More detailed information will be available soon.

Last updated : 3rd Feb 2023 16:09 GMT
County Chairs Meeting Recording Now Available

Thank you to those of you who were able to attend our meeting yesterday we hope that you found it both interesting and useful. The meeting was recorded so if you were unable to join us you can now view the recording on the EBU YouTube channel. The slides used during the meeting are also available:

The next meeting of county chairs is planned for 24th May, with the agenda driven by what County Chairs. Please send suggestions to Tony Russ, EBU Board member.

Last updated : 3rd Feb 2023 16:08 GMT
BridgeWhiz Free Online Teaching Course

BridgeWhiz is a FREE online course designed to teach students in Years 7 through 13 the mind-building challenge, great fun, and competitive excitement of bridge. BridgeWhiz is run in the UK by UK accredited teachers. Parents/grandparents are very welcome to register.

New courses are starting in March. BridgeWhiz UK run the following sessions:

  • Beginners who can already play Minibridge - Monday 7pm
  • Improvers who have completed 1 year of bridge - Thursday 4.30pm
  • Complete Beginners - After School Club on Mondays, Wednesdays & Thursdays

Full details at BridgeWhiz or please contact Michael Rushworth and Douglas Wright.

Last updated : 3rd Feb 2023 16:08 GMT
January Robot Ladder Competitions

January's robot ladder competitions, have now concluded.

In the 12-board ladder for January, Matt Foster won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 69.84% over six games. Robert Plumley was second, with 69.41% and Jaak Känd third with a score of 69.24%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the main Janaury matchpoints ladder, David Dawson finished top of the leader board. His best six scores in the month averaged 63.46%, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by Robin Prestwich with an average score of 62.91%, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

In the handicap ladder, for the players whose scores exceed their NGS by the greatest amount. Luis Barbero finished top of the leader board over the top six games, with a handicap score of 9.05, winning £25. The second place prize went to Robin Prestwich with a score of 7.36. There were also prizes for third and fourth place.

For more information and to download the app, see the Funbridge FAQs
January Matchpoints LadderJanuary Handicap LadderJanuary 12-board ladder
Archive of previous winners

Last updated : 3rd Feb 2023 16:08 GMT
NEW! "Sunday Slam Zone" from the Women's Bridge Committee

4.30pm. 

You can participate and play 8 boards with your partner. The deals focus on Slams. Each deal has a written commentary: a typical auction and a recommended line of play. (You will see this at the end of each deal). Please take not that it is essential that you join with your partner. This person can be any female partner, not necessarily the player you plan to play with in our special training sessions.

Last updated : 3rd Feb 2023 16:08 GMT
**Advert** Richmond BC Club Manager

We are looking for a new Club manager. As one of the largest private member Bridge Clubs in the country, we are proud of our friendly welcoming atmosphere for Bridge Players, whether new or experienced. We support a hybrid model with members having the opportunity to play Bridge in our clubhouse in East Twickenham or through our online portal.

Reporting to the Board of Trustees, our successful candidate will be accountable for the day to day running of the club along with encouraging membership and managing costs.

We are looking for a passionate, innovative manager with effective organisational skills and exceptional customer care skills that have been developed in a management setting.

The successful candidate must have a great interest in bridge; a director’s qualification would be an advantage.

Closing date: 11th February 2023 CVs and covering letter to: chair@richmondbridgeclub.com

Last updated : 1st Feb 2023 16:10 GMT
Calling All Young Bridge Players

We would like to invite aspiring young players to join the England U16 squad. We are looking for players born in the calendar year 2009 or after to come along and train with our group. You don't have to already be an expert to join - if you can achieve Bronze standard on the Junior Award Scheme then you're already good enough to come along. We are looking for keen, enthusiastic players who want to get better and aim to represent England. We run online training sessions every week and there are also  opportunities for F2F training. We also have a variety of competitive events to get your teeth into, culminating in the chance to get selected for a major championship in Europe or even beyond! Come along, improve your game and meet other young players who love the game as much as you.

If you are interested,  we will need a parent or guardian to email us and give permission on your behalf. Please contact Alan Shillitoe and Oliver Cowan for more information.

Last updated : 1st Feb 2023 16:10 GMT
Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest - January Results

In the Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest, there are four ranked groups (A, B, C and New). The aim of the bidding contest is to bid with your own chosen partner and your preferred system, using the app bid72.

First time players compete in the New group. Each month there is a relegation or promotion of players, during this time new players are also placed into one of the three groups depending on their score. This service is completely free for EBU members and made available by bid72, the premium app on bridge bidding.

Following the January monthly score the pair at the top of group A is the partnership of OlivierL-CarolineL with a current average score of 8.40. In second place are GerardT-AndrewM, and in third place are AlexG-PaulG.

In group B, four partnerships will be promoted to group A, they are; JonB-GrahamD; Kmg-Trish; Mapsy -MoiraC and MarkB-Lawman.

In group C six partnerships will be promoted to group B, these are; ClaireH-Bunny; saraw-charlesw; Hol-Carolin; Timbo-TonyMac; AlanT-TeresaT and MarilynH-DavidJ.

For more information and to register see Bid72 EBU.

Last updated : 1st Feb 2023 16:09 GMT
New EBU Acol Daylong games on BBO - Starting Today!

From today (1st February), there will be new EBU Acol Daylong games on BBO. The new games will be 12-boards, award master points (as well as BBO points) and will use Acol robots. 

To find the games on BBO go to "Virtual Clubs" -> "EBU" or "Competitive" -> "All tournaments and Competitive" -> "Daylongs".

These games will be in addition to the existing 12-board Daylong games on BBO and cost the same as them - currently $2.20. All three EBU 12-board Daylong games – two on BBO and one on Funbridge - will be combined into one monthly ladder.

These games are separate from the Acol Daylong tournaments, which are run by BBO and started at the beginning of the month, and which do not provide EBU master points nor contribute to our EBU ladders.

With Daylongs you can take your time and have a break if needed, as long as you finish your boards by midnight GMT.

Last updated : 1st Feb 2023 16:09 GMT
Support our Junior Squad by playing in the next Sim Pairs

The next EBU Simultaneous Pairs takes place Monday 6th to Thursday 9th February.

This year these Sims Pairs games will also count as qualifiers for the National Pairs Regional Finals. For any players who achieve a score of over 55% in any club games between 5th and 18th February, we will invite them to play in the National Pairs Regional Finals taking place online on 26th March.

All clubs are welcome to join in the "Junior Squad Sim Pairs" which aims to celebrate and promote junior bridge in England. The event remains in the familiar fun format, suitable for everyone to play, not just juniors! Funds raised from the event go directly into the junior squad budgets. This year three junior teams will represent England at the World Youth Bridge Championships in the Netherlands this August.

I hope you will support this event and look forward to you playing.

This Sim Pairs is slightly different to others Sims events, the first set of deals can be played on Monday or Tuesday. The second set can be played on Wednesday or Thursday. This means a larger field in each competition, making it more interesting and enjoyable for those who take part.

How to Register Your Club

If your club would like to participate in this Sim Pairs, you can quickly and easily register in the usual manner, through the club's account on My EBU, under 'utilities' - 'sims events'. You can register right up until the start of the session in question. Commentary booklets will be available via your clubs My EBU page. Full details of how to register, and information on downloading the hands and submitting the results, are shown in the General Sims InstructionsVirtual Sims Notes and BBO instructions. Clubs using RealBridge can upload the files via the standard director functionality, further instruction are shown in the Director Guide.

For 2023 the entry fees are £3 per player, plus the usual Universal Membership Subscription payment.

Information on the benefits of participating in the event, including entry in the prize draw and more details on how clubs can participate, are available on the Sims page.

Last updated : 24th Jan 2023 11:52 GMT
Plackett team wins National Point-a-Board

The National Point-a-Board Teams took place this weekend and for the second year in a row has been won by the team of Espen Erichsen, Richard Plackett, Simon Cope & Peter Crouch (pictured). They finished 16 points ahead of Stefan Lindfors, Tracy Sherman, Simon Hult & Gunnar Hallberg with Boris Nedev, Phil King, Ollie Burgess & Maggie Knottenbelt in third. 

The event is part of the Championship Series, with points available in the Player of the Year competition. By finishing in first place Espen Erichsen retained his lead in first place. Simon Cope & Peter Crouch moved up to eigth place and Richard Plackett is currently tenth. The next event in the series will be the National Pairs.

Last updated : 24th Jan 2023 10:36 GMT
10th European Transnational Championships

The 10th European Transnational Championships will be held in Strasbourg, France from 3rd to 17th June 2023, organised by the European Bridge League In co-operation with the French Bridge Federation.

These Championships include the following competitions: Mixed, Open, Women & Seniors - Pairs 
and Teams and Mixed/Open BAM Teams. 

All events are transnational. Detailed information available from 16 January via the EBL Website

Schedule of play
3rd to 9th June: Mixed Teams
5th to 9th June: Mixed BAM Teams & Mixed Pairs
3rd to 8th June: Seniors Teams 
6th to 9th June: Seniors Pairs
10th to 17th June: Open Teams
10th to 15th June: Women Teams
13th to 17th June: Open BAM Teams & Open Pairs
13th to 17th June: Women Pairs

Entry fees
There will be “early bird” discounts available for entry fee, provided registration and payment are complete by 31st March 2023. 

Registration
The registration process will be open by 16 January and all entries to the various events must be submitted electronically via the EBL Website, not later than seven days prior to the starting date of the respective event. Later entries will be accepted only if technically and logistically convenient.

Awards
European Bridge League Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals will be awarded. The winners in each category (Mixed, Open, Women and Seniors -Teams & Pairs-, BAMs) will receive the title of European Transnational Champions.
EBL Master Points will be awarded in all events.

For further information, please contact: Catherine Vitry - EBL Secretariat (secretariat@europeanbridge.org)

Last updated : 18th Jan 2023 08:55 GMT
European Bridge League - A training initiative for aspiring women players

Last year the number of Women returning to International Competitions in Europe reduced drastically. Covid has had a severe and detrimental effect on us all but smaller countries just couldn’t field a women’s team. Some of the best players come from those smaller countries.

The EBL set up a committee and invited representatives from as many European countries as they could to meet online and discuss ideas how to address this problem. Lack of international training was cited as a problem for many. For the EBU this gives us an opportunity to encourage our own women players to reach the highest standards they can. We are delighted that an excellent training initiative has been launched by the EBL. It gives aspiring women players a readymade monthly competition to play against “like-minded people” and to build back or increase numbers for the EBL.

Some of you will have played in European Open competitions which have been successfully running every other year since 2007. Clearly, Covid stopped that happening. Now we hope to encourage the “next level” to be challenged outside our own shores.

What is the Initiative?

Every month there will be a “training competition” hosted by a leading International. The formula is to have 3 x 6 board matches against women from other European countries. At the end of it there will be group discussions on the hands. The first, on 16th January, run by the Polish NBO, will be led by Katarzyna Dufrat, who is a current World Bronze Medallist. The start time is 18.30 GMT. Note that all the documents refer to 19.30 CET. The international language is English.

Please see the attached documents. Having read them, if you and a woman partner of your choice or team are interested, let us know. If you and partner have no regular teammates, contact WomenBridgeCommittee@gmail.com who will try to help, but please try your local contacts first and only use this contact as a last resort. 

There will be a limit on numbers so if interested, don’t delay

Last updated : 18th Jan 2023 08:54 GMT
England leads Camrose Trophy after first weekend

England sit atop the table after the first weekend of the Camrose Trophy, the competition between the teams of the 'home nations'.

The England team performed well over the course of the weekend in Northern Ireland, and will go into the second weekend sitting in a comfortable first place. England are 20.6 VPs ahead of Wales in second place and 23.41 VPs ahead of the CBAI team (as hosts of the second weekend Ireland can enter two teams), Ireland finished in fourth place, followed by Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Well done to the England team: Andrew Black & David GoldSimon Cope (Playing Captain) & Peter CrouchAndrew McIntosh & Tom Paske.

The final weekend takes place in Ireland from 3rd-5th March. The team for the second weekend can be found on the Open Selections page.

Last updated : 10th Jan 2023 09:25 GMT
Watch the Camrose 1st Weekend

The first weekend of the 2023 Camrose series takes place this weekend, 6th - 8th January, 2023, hosted by Northern Ireland in Belfast. This will be the 80th time that the contest has taken place.

Representing England are:

Andrew Black & David GoldSimon Cope (Playing Captain) & Peter CrouchAndrew McIntosh & Tom Paske

The organisers have arranged for kibitzing of the play, for the entire event, via RealBridge, with video commentary provided by expert players.

Cick https://kibitz.realbridge.online to join. No account is needed, just put your name in and click login. Click a table to watch the match.

The first match on Friday starts at 7pm; you can follow the play from 7:30pm onwards. England are playing Scotland in the first round.

Further details:

Last updated : 5th Jan 2023 15:13 GMT
Year End Congress Winners

The Year End Congress in London was a great success.

The Jack High Swiss Pairs for players with a NGS grade of Jack or below was won by Gillian Cavell & Jackie Taylor with 76 VPs over six matches, 5 VPs ahead of second placed Ian Sidgwick & Paul Spencer. 

The final event of the congress, the Swiss Teams, was won by the Fegarty team (pictured) (Paul Fegarty, Catherine Curtis, Richard Fedrick & Andrew Southwell) with 113 VPs, 19 ahead of runners up, the Paul team.

The winners of the Swiss Pairs were Luc Tijssen & Stefano Tommasini (picture) who finished with a total of 152 VPs over 11 matches.

Congratulations also to Jon Cooke & Sarah Bell (picture) who won the Mixed Pairs with 64.62% and to     
William Clennell & Dominic Cooke (picture) who won the Open Pairs with 57.30%.

The 9-high Improvers Pairs run on BBO by Kent on behalf of the EBU was won overall by Andrew Ward & David Shore with 62.03% overall, having won the first session sitting East/West with Sam Botfield & Ann Francis winning sitting north/south with 62.89. While the second session was won by Lesley Sixsmith & Sue Waddington with 65.13% and Jenny Northmore & Eileen Clout winning East/West with 63.79.

Well done to all of them and to all the many other notable achievements in the various events.

Full results are available.

Last updated : 5th Jan 2023 15:13 GMT
Olivier La Spada wins Quarterly Online IMPs Ladder

The quarterly IMP competition for our online games, hosted by Funbridge, has concluded.

In the fourth quarter in 2022 October to December, Olivier La Spada finished top of the leader board. He scored 364 total IMPs from his best six games, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by Dominic Connolly with a score of 312 IMPs, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

Last updated : 5th Jan 2023 15:12 GMT
Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest - December Results

In the Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest, there are four ranked groups (A, B, C and New). The aim of the bidding contest is to bid with your own chosen partner and your preferred system, using the app bid72.

First time players compete in the New group. Each month there is a relegation or promotion of players, during this time new players are also placed into one of the three groups depending on their score. This service is completely free for EBU members and made available by bid72, the premium app on bridge bidding.

Following the December monthly score the pair at the top of group A is the partnership of StephenW-BillM with a current average score of 8.28. In second place are CarolineD-Alison, and in third place are gmherbert-Stevestar.

In group B, five partnerships will be promoted to group A, they are; GeoffO-HeatherM; Saf-JohnMe; GerardT-AndrewM, MikeR-ch5295 and StuartK-StephenT.

In group C six partnerships will be promoted to group B, these are; simonb-carolinem; JohnL-PeterF; GrahamL-SidB; RobertH-SimonA; Mikeas-robertf and Richnewt-AndyO.

In group D one new pair has been promoted to group C, BarbaraJH-TrevorH.

  • For more information and to register see Bid72 EBU
Last updated : 5th Jan 2023 15:12 GMT
December Robot Ladder Competitions

December's robot ladder competitions, have now concluded.

In the 12-board ladder for December, Priit Vohandu won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 69.47% over six games. Matt Foster was second, with 69.15% and Matthew Covill  third with a score of 68.87%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the main December matchpoints ladder, Olivier La Spada finished top of the leader board. His best six scores in the month averaged 64.84%, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by David Dawson with an average score of 62.41%, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

In the handicap ladder, for the players whose scores exceed their NGS by the greatest amount. Luis Barbero finished top of the leader board over the top six games, with a handicap score of 4.73, winning £25. The second place prize went to Anton Mauve with a score of 4.07. There were also prizes for third and fourth place.

Last updated : 5th Jan 2023 15:12 GMT
WBF Launching World Tour

In 2019 the World Bridge Federation launched a yearly “World Bridge Tour”, consisting of existing face-to-face international events, culminating in a Tour Final among the top ranked partnerships. Unfortunately, due to Covid, the event was delayed.

With face-to-face events returning, the WBF will now finally launch the Tour, starting with a “dry-run” in the 2023 season, to fine-tune the ranking methods and classification of events, and then "going live" as of the 2024 season.

You can find more information about the event on the WBF website.

Last updated : 5th Jan 2023 15:11 GMT
Channel Trophy Successes

The three English teams in the Channel Trophy, the annual junior competition between England, France, Belgium and Netherlands, which was played this year in Lille, France, all brought back medals. The U21 team (pictured) retained their top place from last year, while the U26 team (picture) and the U26 Women's team (picture) both took second place. Well done to all of them!

Last updated : 5th Jan 2023 15:11 GMT
Updated reports of master points

We now have a new Year to Date Ranking report for master points, which is updated on a monthly basis. It can be sorted by the type of master point – total, local, blue, green – and can be shown for each county alone.

At the same time the other existing reports have also been updated so that they can be sorted on the type of master point too. We hope that these changes might lead some counties to have their own master point races, with prizes based on various types of point, which may encourage those who primarily play in club games rather than those that offer green points. 

When the end of year reports for 2022 are finalised we are intending to give free entries (one per person, not transferable) to the master point winners from each county in each category and to all the club winners, for our new Online One-Day Green-Pointed (OODGP) events.

Last updated : 13th Dec 2022 13:56 GMT
The calendar for EBU competitions from April 2023

The board and Competitions Working Group have been considering the competitions calendar for the future, now that everything seems to be settling down into a new routine after the instability of the Covid pandemic and various lockdowns. 

Changes to the calendar will be based on a return to the established division of responsibilities, with the EBU responsible for running all national events, counties running regional events and clubs running local events. Since online ODGP events have national reach, they will be run by the EBU.

New Online One-Day Green-Pointed (OODGP) events:

Ten annual (Apr – Mar) OODGP events run nationally will take the place of all county-run online ODGP events. They will comprise a mixture of Swiss Pairs and Swiss Teams and will be held on Saturdays and Sundays, with some but not all held on RealBridge. Annual prizes will be awarded to top players based on ranking points. Green points will be awarded for each event on the usual scale, but ranking awards are expected to be large due to increased numbers.

Counties will continue to run ODGP events face-to-face and may run any of their other events online.

National events to continue running live:

Live congresses to continue to be run by counties and other bodies:

National events to be run online:

National events to be discontinued, at least for the immediate future:

  • Northern Midweek Congress
  • Autumn Congress
  • English Riviera Congress
  • National Swiss Teams Congress
  • Summer Seniors Congress
Last updated : 13th Dec 2022 13:55 GMT
Ray team wins Online Knockout Teams

The EBU's Online Knockout Teams competition has been won by the team headed by Georgia Ray.

The Ray team included Georgia Ray, John Gladders, Bill Niccol and Steve Ray, they defeated the team of Royce Alexander, Irving Blakey, Joy Blakey and Jeffrey Smith by 24 IMPs in the final.

The Plate competition was won by the Murphy team (Gary Jones, Paul Lamford, Mark Roderick & Paddy Murphy) who beat the Osmond team in the final.

A new competition will start in 2023 with entries opening soon.

Last updated : 13th Dec 2022 13:55 GMT
4th European Winter Games

The European Bridge League have confirmed that the 4th European Winter Games will take place in Tignes - Le Lac, France, from 21st to 27th April 2023. These dates were moved forward by a day from those originally announced, in order to avoid a clash with the Schapiro Spring Foursomes.

These Championships include les Etincelles Cup (Transnational Teams) and the GCK Trophy (BAM 
Teams). All events are transnational.

Registration is now open on the EBL website
Entry fee: Les Etincelles Cup + GCK Trophy = 1200€/team

Last updated : 13th Dec 2022 13:55 GMT
2022 IBPA Awards

The International Bridge Press Association awards were announced this weekend, with a number of EBU members featuring amongst the winners and nominees. The awards recognise the best in bridge journalism and writing - though of course the author is also dependent on good subject matter, so being the subject of a nominated work is also noteworthy.

Ben Norton has won the The Richard Freeman Junior Deal of the Year for making six hearts in the Round Robin 16 match between England vs. Switzerland at the Bermuda Bowl. The journalists were Paul Barden and Barry Rigal.

The Yeh Bros. Best Bid Deal of the Year was won by Alex and Paul Gipson for bidding a grand slam at the SBU Winter Foursomes in January. The journalist was Barnet Shenkin.

David Bird and Brian Senior were shortlisted for the The Master Point Press IBPA Book of the Year award.

Last updated : 12th Dec 2022 14:46 GMT
Seniors Congress Winners

The Seniors Congress took place on RealBridge this week.

The Championship Pairs was won by Jeremy Dhondy & Roger Gibbons (pictured), who finished on 54.53%, ahead of second place pair Andrew Morris & Chris Phillips with 53.80%. In joint third place were Mike Fithyan & Adrian Fontes and  lan Wearmouth & Martyn Harris with 53.19%.

The Swiss Pairs competition - for those eliminated from the Championship Pairs, or joining the congress later - was won by Joanna Lord & Michael Lord (picture), who were 4 VPs ahead of second placed Tony Harris & Graeme Pearce with 101 VPs. In joint third place were Derek Peers & Jeff Green and Helen Robinson & Martin Lerner with 98 VPs.

The Swiss Teams event was won by the team of Miles Cowling, Malcolm Pryor, Trevor Ward & Rob Cliffe (picture) finishing just 1 VP ahead of the second placed team: Colin Wilson, Gerald Soper, Diane Rogers & Frances Connell. In joint third place were Robert Plumley, Svein Erik Dahl, Alan Scott & Jack Goody and Barry Stoker, Barbara Stoker, Gordon O'Hair & Bob Hampson, both with 90 VPs.

Last updated : 12th Dec 2022 14:46 GMT
Disciplinary Cases Summary

The Laws and Ethics Committee has provided a summary of disciplinary cases that have taken place since March 2020. This shows that 73 cases involving 111 members were started. 40 of them involved accusations of collusive cheating, 17 of self-kibitzing, 8 of online rudeness and 8 of other misconduct.

Last updated : 12th Dec 2022 14:45 GMT
Last Posting Dates for Christmas

Christmas is nearly upon us, if you are purchasing any Christmas gifts from the Bridge Warehouse the last posting dates will be: 

  • 2nd Class – midday Monday 12th December
  • 1st Class – midday Tuesday 13th December
  • Courier – midday Wednesday 21st December

It you haven't seen them, check our our new items in The Bridge Warehouse for Christmas 2022!

Silk Ties – Card design
Novelty playing card socks
Caspari playing cards & scorecards
Jigsaws

We also sell Crossword Books, Diaries, Bridge Games, Notepad and Pens and Learn Bridge DVDs. The Bridge Warehouse now has an updated price list. Full product info can be found on the Bridge Warehouse website.

Orders will be sent out Monday to Thursday between 9am and 2pm.

Last updated : 12th Dec 2022 14:45 GMT
Adrian Darnell Appointed Vice-Chair

Following the resignation of Cath Fox as Vice-Chair, the EBU Board have appointed Adrian Darnell as the new Vice-Chair.

Last updated : 12th Dec 2022 14:45 GMT
Simon Cope wins ACBL Soloway Knockout Team

Congratulations to Simon Cope (Herts) who along with Kevin Rosenberg, Ishmael Del'Monte and Finn Kolesnik (pictured, from left to right) won the Soloway Knockout teams. In second place were Paul Street, Nicolas L'Ecuyer, Andrea Manno, Massimiliano Di Franco, Ron Pachtmann, and Piotr Pawel Zatorski.

Simon previously won the Silodor Open Pairs in 2018.

Full details can be found on the ACBL website.

Last updated : 2nd Dec 2022 14:18 GMT
Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest - November Results

In the Bid72 EBU Bidding Contest, there are four ranked groups (A, B, C and New). The aim of the bidding contest is to bid with your own chosen partner and your preferred system, using the app bid72.

First time players compete in the New group. Each month there is a relegation or promotion of players, during this time new players are also placed into one of the three groups depending on their score. This service is completely free for EBU members and made available by bid72, the premium app on bridge bidding.

Following the November monthly score the pair at the top of group A is the partnership of StephenW-BillM with a current average score of 8.20. In second place are ManUfans-IvanL, and in third place are MichaelKa-JimN.

In group B, five partnerships will be promoted to group A, they are; AlexG-PaulG; AlanC-Tim Warren; JeanneB-MarthaF, OlivierL-CarolineL and Kmg-Trish.

In group C six partnerships will be promoted to group B, these are; saraw-charlesw; BrendaV-FransVas; JoolsHem-Neil heydon; Hol-Carolin; GeoffO-HeatherM and ClaireH-Bunny.

  • For more information and to register see Bid72 EBU
Last updated : 2nd Dec 2022 14:17 GMT
November Robot Ladder Competitions

November's robot ladder competitions, have now concluded.

In the 12-board ladder for November, Olivier La Spada won the top prize of £30 with an average score of 70.65% over six games. Dominic Connolly was second, with 69.09% and Gordon Rainsford third with a score of 68.87%. There were also prizes for fourth and fifth place.

In the main November matchpoints ladder, Olivier La Spada finished top of the leader board. His best six scores in the month averaged 65.59%, and he wins £30. Second place was claimed by Dominic Connolly with an average score of 65.26%, he wins £20. There were also cash prizes for third to fifth places.

In the handicap ladder, for the players whose scores exceed their NGS by the greatest amount. Robin Prestwich finished top of the leader board over the top six games, with a handicap score of 7.17, winning £25. The second place prize went to Luis Barbero with a score of 4.51. There were also prizes for third and fourth place.

Last updated : 2nd Dec 2022 14:17 GMT
AGM Awards 2022

At the AGM yesterday (Wednesday), the EBU recognised various members' contributions to bridge in England. The meeting was held live in London for the first time since 2019. For award winners who were unable to attend, their awards have been posted out for presentations to be made locally at clubs.

Full details of all the award winners:

Congratulations to all recipients, and we thank them for their contribution.

Last updated : 2nd Dec 2022 14:17 GMT
2022 Sim Pairs prize winners drawn

At this week's AGM the 2022 Sim Pairs prize draw took place.

2 clubs were drawn from those which entered the EBED Sims and 6 from those entering the other sims. Each receives £200.

The winning clubs were:

Club names County
Pulborough Bridge Club Sussex
Leverstock Green Bridge Club Hertfordshire
Barrow Bridge Club Cumbria
Duns Bridge Club Scottish Borders
Bishop Auckland Bridge Club North East
Clare Bridge Club Suffolk
Harpenden Duplicate Bridge Club Hertfordshire
Goring & Streatley Bridge Club Berks & Bucks

The 2023 entries for all events are open now. We hope you will take part as the proceeds from each of the events helps to support bridge in England.

  • The British Sim Pairs (in January, April, July and October) and Club Stratified Sim Pairs (in March) help to support the work of the EBU in providing services to you, the members, and to your clubs and counties
  • The Junior Squad Sim Pairs (in February) helps to celebrate and promote junior bridge in England, with funds raised from the event going directly into the junior squad budgets
  • The EBED Sim Pairs (in May and September) helps to support the work of the charity English Bridge Education and Development
  • The Tuesday session of the British Winter Simultaneous Pairs, will be held in memory of Peter Jordan, with a trophy awarded to the winners of the event. The trophy is a donation from Peter’s wife Barbara

For more information on the competitions, and how clubs can register to take part, see the information via the Sim Pairs webpage.

Last updated : 2nd Dec 2022 14:16 GMT
Board and Standing Committees announced

The EBU AGM took place yesterday, 30th November. The following people were elected/re-elected to the EBU Board and Standing Committees:

Election for Chair

There was one nomination for the position. Therefore, no election was required and Ian Payn will continue as EBU Chair for a three-year term.

Vice-Chair

The nomination of Cath Fox for Vice-Chair was withdrawn. The Vice-Chair will be determined at the January Board meeting.

Board

There were two nominations for two vacancies. Therefore, no election was required and Patrick Shields and Gayle Webb were elected for a three-year term of office expiring in 2025.

Following the resignation of Cath Fox, there was a vacancy for a new director. Alan Wilson nominated Abbey Smith, Lyn Fry seconded the nomination. The appointment passed unanimously. Abbey Smith was therefore elected to the Board for a two-year term, replacing Cath Fox.

The current elected Board of Directors are as follows:

  Term ends   Term ends
Ian Payn (Chairman) 2023 Tony Russ 2024
Kay Preddy (Treasurer) 2024 Patrick Shields 2025
Adrian Darnell 2023 Abbey Smith 2024
Rob Lawy 2023 Gayle Webb 2025

In addition to those elected the Board of Directors may also appoint three Directors for one year at a time. Appointments for 2023 will be considered at the meeting of the Board in January.

The Laws & Ethics Committee

There were three nominees for three positions. Therefore no election was required and Peter Grice, Jane Jensen and Tim Rees are elected for a three-year term of office expiring in 2025

The current elected members of the Committee are as follows

  Term ends   Term ends
David Bakhshi 2024 Peter Hasenson 2023
David Burn 2023 Jane Jensen 2025
Stephen Green 2024 Tim Rees 2025
Peter Grice 2025    

Selection Committee

There were three nominees for three positions, the top two persons duly elected will serve for a three-year term of office expiring in 2025 and the third will serve for a two-year term expiring in 2024.

The votes were as follows: Elected for a three-year term of office expiring in 2025: Paul Barden & Abbey Smith. Elected for a two-year term expiring in 2024: Alan Wilson.

The current elected members of the Committee are as follows

  Term ends   Term ends
David Bakhshi 2023 Abbey Smith 2025
Paul Barden 2025 Jeremy Willans 2023
David Burn 2024 Alan Wilson 2024
Claire Robinson 2023
Last updated : 2nd Dec 2022 14:16 GMT
The English Bridge Union
The English Bridge Union

The EBU is the national body for bridge in England