Notable successess for HIWCBA members in the second quarter of 2018  include the following:

Pachabo Cup (for county teams of four champions) : Congratulations to the HIWCBA Pachabo team (Jeremy Dhondy,Andy Hughes,Steve Preston,Dave Huggett) for finishing 3rd after lying first in this prestigious event after the first  session.

EBU Spring  Bank Holiday Congress : The habit of HIWCBA players gaining success with out of county partners continues. Congratulations to John Dakin for finishing 3rd in the championship pairs. Bill Taylor & Gabriel Hearst also separately qualified for that final (with Gabriel actually qualifying at the top of the field) but were less successful in the final stage.

(Other successes to be searched out and added later this week)

The end of April saw the successful conclusion of the Hampshire pairs championship (the Pottage cup) and of the 2017-2018 series of HIWCBA charity events with the Bayer No Fear Pairs in clubs.

The pottage final (results here)  was a smoothly run, competitive afternoon of bridge. Eleanor Rice & Stuart Strachan and Christine & Richard Ray established a bit of a gap to the chasing pack. Eventually Eleanor and Stuart prevailed (just) over Christine & Richard scoring a near top on the final board.  The top four  (and/or their  replacements down to 50% in the final) qualify for the Corwen Trophy national competition on the first weekend of June. Good luck to those who qualified and enter that competition.  Well done to Keith Bennett for organising the event this year and to Guy Lawrenson for directing the final in Keiths absence.

The Bayer No-Fear (results here) is restricted to players below the rank of Regional Master, and was held in six clubs across the County. Two pairs playing at Petersfield posted good early scores, but they were overtaken by Malcolm Etherington & Michael Phillips playing at Basingstoke on Thursday. Over £200 was raised for the Hants and IoW Air Ambulance. Congratulations to all that played and well done to Mike Kinsey for organising the charity events so efficiently.

Meanwhile county competitions continue to draw to a close and Newbury (Team Pictured below : John Harland and Nicola Foster, Keith Terrell and John Foster, Eileen Barratt Brian Medhurst, Frans and Brenda Vas Nunes, Non playing captain David Barratt) have now triumphed in the Basingstoke Cup. Full end of season report to follow when all events are complete. 

Sunday 22nd April was a busy and well executed day for Mike Kinsey. He not only had to perform the anticipated directing of the Ranked Pairs (There were more director calls than usual for a Romsey event, and a split tie for the C stratification cup; Yet the Isle Of Wight contingent could still enjoy their exciting day out on the mainland and return home on their pre-booked ferry), but Mike also had to stand in as HIWCBA chairman when the chairman (Andy Hughes) became stranded in the middle of nowhere when partaking in Sunday morning exercise. This meant that Mike could only guess the content of the chairman's report at the AGM (eg reiterating the success of this years Hampshire Congress and the money (in excess of £1300) raised for Hampshire Air Ambulance). Andy's chairman's report is now available and also accessible via current information. Draft AGM Minutes are also available and similarly accessible.
Like one might expect the chairman to be present at the AGM, one might also expect the Ranked Pairs trophies to be won by HIWCBA members;  Well not at all; All 3 trophies had out of county help: The event and the A stratification trophy (The Graham Cup) was won by Miles Cowling (Dorset) and Bob McRobert(front of top left picture), the B stratification trophy (The Mark Carr Trophy) was won by Dave Willis (Dorset) and Tim Smith (back of top left picture) who may have been cleverly depressing their NGS grade over the last year in order to win the trophy (well its a good excuse), and the C trophy (The Philbrick Trophy) was won on a split tie by Ann & Alan Hawcroft (who arrived after having asked: Hi, we have bought a house in Hampshire but not yet completed our move. Can we enter the competition? :They were welcome and we hope to see them again.) with Alan Mansell & John Lloyd just missing out on that trophy. 
As usual the day also saw the presentation of many of the county competition trophies - as pictured above. A full round up of winners will follow when all events are complete.
The other trophy decided on Sunday was the Derek Gibbins trophy. Unfortunately, Mike Kinsey couldnt do everything and by not winning the event Mike's partner Steve Preston failed to rise to the top of the Derek Gibbins standings so the trophy goes this year to Andy Hughes.
Congratulations to all trophy winners. 

The 2017-2018 season continues to be a good year for HIWCBA in national competitions. First the Tollemache team got to the Tollemache final; Now Petersfield (Steve Preston,James Clark, Mike Fithyan,Tony Truluck,Gabriel Hearst,Mike Kinsey, Lilias Lamont,Andrew Doye) have qualified for the Garden Cities Final (A competition for the Top Club Teams of 8 from each county) by winning the qualifier in Bristol on 21st April. This is the first time for more than 10 years that the team representing HIWCBA has qualified for the final. Good luck to them in the final in June. HIWCBA also hope that the pairs who qualify from the pottage cup for the corwen cup for top county pairs and from league 1 for the Placabo cup for top county teams of 4 also have good years.

With the end of April and the HIWCBA AGM both approaching rapidly, all HIWCBA county competitions are coming to a close.

First congratulations to the Petersfield team of 8 who have won a tight solent trophy final, having to play extra boards against Basingstoke before the final was decided. Good luck to the team this saturday when they represent Hampshire in the garden cities regional final.

In the Cahalan cup (teams of 4 knockout), Team Baker have reached the final but do not yet know their opponents.

In the HICKO (Handicapped Teams of 4) congratulations to Lymington who beat Petersfield B in the final.

In the Basingstoke cup (Restricted entry fun teams of 8) the final is between Newbury & Basingstoke B

The sixteen pairs for the pottage cup final are known and will compete on sunday 29th April.

With only one qualifying event remaining (alongside the agm this sunday 22nd April), Andy Hughes is ahead in the Victor Ludorum competition (ahead of last years winner - Steve Preston)

In the Hampshire Leagues, which have not quite completed , congratulations can already be given to Team Preston for a resounding victory in League 1. Meanwhile Team Brown have a good lead in League 2 but there are still many games to play and their victory is not assured..

The inaugural Hampshire Bridge Congress was held at Otterbourne Village Hall over the weekend of the 10th and 11th March. Sponsored by Underwood Barron Chartered Accountants and very efficiently run by directors Phil and Colin the event was most enjoyable and a great success.
The Swiss Pairs on the Saturday was a complete sell out. A full field of 72 pairs were treated to some very exciting hands, with lots of decisions and opportunities. Going into the final round Dorset pair Mark Hooper and Robin Wright were clear leaders but they faded as the finish line approached and were well  beaten by the eventual winners Miles Cowling and Ron Davis (pictured top left) with James Bond and Graham Davison finishing second. The leading non expert pair were Newbury based pair John Foster and David Barratt (pictured top centre). Also pictured are Alexandra Birchall & Qian Li (top right) the top under 26 pair who finished 4^th=.
A Swiss Teams was held on the Sunday with 24 teams taking part. The dealing computer seemed to have gone into serious mode and the hands required patience and discipline rather than the all flair and excitement of the previous day. Clear winners were the Dorset team of Alan Wilson, Janet Smith, Stephen Turner and Rod Marks (pictured bottom left), with Bob McRoberts team of Arun Siri, Peter and Dee London coming second.
The non expert award once again going to David Barratt, with team mates John Foster, Brain Medhurst and Eileen Barratt (Pictured bottom right).
Congress Secretary Christine Ray was presented with a large bunch of flowers on the Sunday and thanks and congratulations must go to her for organising such a tremendous event, with mention also to Richard, Christine’s husband, for his support and assistance.

Congratulations to Mike Kinsey, Mike Fithyan, Richard Ray & Chris Ray (pictured above) winners of the Valentines Teams at Romsey on 18th Feb. 
That event was at the end of the week of the HIWCBA IBM Cup Charity Simultaeneous Pairs in clubs , with proceeds to Hampshire Air Ambulance - provsional results here (showing Bob Jubb & Paul Edwards (Portchester Bridge Club) as leaders at time of writing) - confirmed final result to follow.
And before that Jeremy Dhondy,Andy Hughes,Sonia Zakrzewski,Gareth Birdsall, Jeremy Baker,Guy Lawrenson,Steve Preston,Dave Huggett, Adam Dunn and Graham Allan represented HIWCBA in the final of the Tollemache cup and can be congratulated for getting to the final and finishing above local rivals Dorset - but unfortunately for little else.

Congratulations to Andrew Doye and Tim Smith, winners of the blue pointed Candlestick Swiss Pairs on 28th January. Judging by the position after 5 of the 6  8-board rounds, this was swiss working as it is designed to; After 5 rounds only two pairs could win – either Andrew and Tim or Dave Hale and Paul Wright – and they were playing each other. To the only spectator (Keith Bennett – the director) this was exciting (hopefully making up for the thankless hassle that directing presents) because after 4 boards Dave & Paul were showing as 17-3 up and in the lead. However Andrew & Tim held their nerve and recovered to a 12-8 win - relegating Dave & Paul to third behind Andy Hughes & Steve Preston (2nd); Andy & Steve are now first and second in the Derek Gibbins victor ludorum. The event finished later than usual but was enjoyable and well worth playing in – please all roll up and enter future HIWCBA events (see above) as well.

The Mid Winter Teams on 7th Jan was enjoyed by all who participated, and the only real tasks for the director were 'why have i got 26 cards?' - half of them had not been put away in the previous board - and keeping the caterers, who did their normal faultless job,  occupied when tea was half an hour later than usual. The result was close. Congratulations to Tony Page & John Folkes, Clare & Ian Fearon winners by a single VP. Although his team was only 3rd, that was enough for Andy Hughes to rise to the top of the Derek Gibbins.
PS. Sorry - no picture of the winners of this event. Perhaps their New Years resolution was to practice being shy.

Happy New Year from HIWCBA.

Looking back to December 2017: Congratulations to Jeremy Baker & Alan Wilson, James Guiton & John Sherringham winners of the Yule Tide Swiss teams on 17th December. Mince pies, mulled wine, raffle prizes and bridge were all enjoyed by all - well done to the committee & the director. This result gives Jeremy & James the lead in the Derek Gibbins.

December is a charitable time and XMAS began early for the Hampshire Air Ambulance when over 150 pairs took part in the Chidwick Cup in the first week of advent, a significant increase on last year. There would have been more, but one club couldn’t submit their results after dealing machine problems sabotaged their hands! Well over £500 was raised for the Air Ambulance. Many thanks to all those who took part, we hope you enjoyed it. And congratulations to Dave Hinkin and Owen Leigh winning with a very good score.

Fourteen teams competed at Romsey on Sunday 3rd December, which was enough (just) to run a Swiss event.  Andy Hughes, Fred Hotchen, Steve Preston and Dave Huggett (pictured) were convincing winners of the Wessex Trophy. After five (of six) rounds they led the field by over 30 VPs and had only conceded 1 IMP!  The team of Helen Ackroyd, Ann Sharples, Shirley and James Dutton steadily climbed the field to finish second and claim the Beryl Bloxsom Trophy. This victory puts Andy Hughes ahead in the Derek Gibbins  after 4 of the 11 events.

Congratulations to the HIWCBA team of Jeremy Dhondy,Andy Hughes,Gareth Birdsall,Sonia Zakrzewski,Jeremy Baker,Guy Lawrenson,Steve Preston,Dave Huggett,Adam Dunn,Graham Allan who won Group D of the Tollemache qualifiers on 18/19 November to qualify for the Tollemache final - the first HIWCBA team to qualify for many years. Good luck to the team in the final in  February.

There were also HWICBA successes in the in the recent Children In Need Simultaeneous pairs with Barry Tobutt & David Goodlake (Meon Bridge Club) and Steve Tearle (playing out of county) first in the Monday & Thursday events respectively. All who enjoyed that event should also enter the forthcoming HIWCBA simulateous event in clubs near you - the  Chidwick Cup

Finally there were a couple of notable results in the Seniors Congress at the beginning of this month - John Dakin 6th in the pairs A Final & Jeremy Dhondy a winner of the Pairs B final with John Jones & Adrian Fontes 4th.

Assuming the updated result stands, congratulations to  Jeremy Baker & Guy Lawrenson, John Sherringham & James Guiton, Jason Frost & Fred Hotchen, Karen & Malcolm Pryor winners of the Jubilee Teams of 8 in Romsey on 12^th November. The competition was friendly and close. Initially it looked like last year’s winning team from the Petersfield club (well 7 from the 2016 team), would win on a split tie but then Jeremy noticed that one of the Petersfield  scores had been  entered incorrectly and the team from the IOW had an even larger victory over that Petersfield team than initially scored; Victory was Jeremy’s! This also meant that the new girl in that  Petersfield team (Lilias Lamont) only rose to 3^rd in the derek gibbins (after 3 of the 11 events) .
It was good to see out of county visitors (the Pryors) in the winning team and good to see more teams than last year. Although the team from the Milford-on-sea club were last, they weren’t far behind and they did win a match.
 

Congratulations to Penny Blake and Margaret Major, winners of this year's Simple Systems Simultaneous Pairs. A total of 108 pairs played at 6 venues. Many thanks to Dave Huggett and No-Fear Bridge for some of the hands. Full results here

There were 11 full tables for the Mixed and Married Pairs on Sunday 15th October. Christine and Richard Ray (pictured above right)  successfully defended the trophy they won last year for Married Pairs. The Mixed Pairs was won by Connie Pearce and Alan Mansell (pictured above left). Congratulations to them all. Full results (slightly revised after the end of the event) available here.

It was good to see a number of less familiar faces at the Crosfield Hall. I hope they enjoyed the afternoon and will come back again soon.

After two events Richard & Christine Ray are ahead in the Derek Gibbins trophy standings.

The next HIWCBA level event is the  Simple System Pairs in clubs in the week beiginning 30th October. The next Romsey event is the Jubilee Cup Teams of Eight Competition on the 12 of November followed by other events as in the calender. There are still Pottage Cup Heats to enter as well.

Congratulations to Jeremy Dhondy & Richard Ray, Andy Hughes & Christine Ray (maybe not playing as shown) for winning the Candover Swiss Teams on the 17th September. Good times were had by all, including those who received their 2016-2017 trophies - as about to be pictured in the county competitions page.

The most notable achievement by HIWCBA members outside HIWCBA events in september 2017 was victory for Steve Preston & Andy Hughes in the Surrey Green Point Swiss Pairs event on the 23rd September. Many congratulations to them.

You can now enter the first 5 2017-2018 HIWCBA county events.
 All HIWCBA league & knockout events are now underway - for details see county competitions.
There are also 3 seminars this autumn whose dates and info are now in the calendar. 
HIWCBA & Clubs are now busy arranging heats of the premier HIWCBA pairs competition  - The pottage cup. The first heat is less than a week away but there is still plenty of time for clubs to arrange their own heat

Those interested in representing HIWCBA in the Tollemache need to register their interest here by 9th October.

Congratulations to the following HIWCBA members for notable achievements in EBU website reported events since June (most recent first):
2016/7 NICKO : Petersfield B (Mike Fithyan, Stuart Burnett, Tony Truluck, Tim Smith, Dave Willis) losing semi-finalists
EBU Eastbourne summer meeting Pairs weekend : Jeremy Dhondy & Andy Hughes 2nd
EBU Eastbourne summer meeting teams weekend : Andy Hughes , Steve Preston & Jeremy Dhondy 4th in Brighton Bowl.
Scarborough summer congress :: Bill Taylor part of a team in the teams b final.
Summer Seniors congress:: Jeremy Dhondy 11th in pairs A final; Bud Abbott/ Margaret Abbott and Andrew Bennett/Keith Bennett reached B final; Sula Turpin/ Anne McMahon, Chris Kinloch/Helen Kinloch, Adrian Fontes/John Jones all part of teams in the top ten of the swiss teams.
English Riviera congress (July) : Richard Ray & Dave Willis 5th= and John Jones/Adrain Fontes 8th in Swiss pairs.
Corwen congress (June): Andy Hughes & Jeremy Dhondy 12th