"When supporting partner's overcall always raise to the level of the fit
....especially when not vulnerable"
So if you have an 8 card trump fit raise to the 2 level (8 tricks).......
with a 9 card trump fit always go straight to the 3 level (9 tricks) ........
and if you have a 10 card trump fit then raise straight to the 4 level (10 tricks).
This assumes that your hand is not strong enough to consider a game try in which case you would cue-bid the opposition’s suit which guarantees at least 3 card support and 10 plus points.
But exercise caution if you are vulnerable!!
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Eastbourne Summer Meeting Success!
The EBU's main congress moved from Brighton to Eastbourne this year and the successes for our Club players were extraordinary.
The MCBA website has everything recorded in detail so please click on the following link to see what has been happening www.manchesterbridge.org.uk
Congratulations to Michael Newman, Michael Byrne, John Holland, David Debbage, Kath & Alan Nelson, Bernard & Rhona Goldenfield, Mike Bell, Sarah O'Connor, Alec Smalley, Sally Brock, Barry Myers and Gary Hyett.........to name but a few!!
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"AVOID USING STAYMAN ON BALANCED GAME HANDS"
It's usually a mistake to bid Stayman on flat 4-3-3-3 hands that have enough power for game. Stayman is unlikely to gain much and even if a 4-4 fit is found there's a danger of having giving away information by unnecessarily bidding Stayman
Just go straight to 3NT on such hands!
"NO SHORTAGE - NO STAYMAN!"
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Time to enter your team for the
2016/17 League
Kath Nelson has posted an entry form for the League, Cup and Goldstone Trophy on the League page of the MCBA website.
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Scientists prove that Donald Trump is affecting bridge players!
A satirical scientific study has 'proved' that the rise of Donald Trump in the US Presidential race has had an impact on how bridge players are bidding. The researchers have shown that US bridge players are more likely to bid 'No Trump' than before he was a candidate.
As well as political satire, the 'research' was also used to highlight how statistical data can be misinterpreted to 'prove' a fatuous and unrelated hypothesis.
Nonetheless, if at your next game your partner makes an unwise no trump bid, maybe they too have been affected by the Republican candidate.
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"MAKE AN EXCEPTION TO THE RULE.........LEAD AN ACE"
It is a general rule to lead the 4th highest card from your longest and strongest suit .....but every rule has its exception!
When the opposition win the contract with a high level pre-empt (e.g. a Weak 3 or a Gambling 3 No Trump) then lead an ace if you have one.
This should retain your lead and allow you a look at the dummy in order to help find the right continuation suit to defeat the contract.
"Be flexible!"
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WHAT IS A SPLINTER?
A Splinter Bid gives partner more information. It is an unusual jump into a new suit which shows game going points (11+) and even a possible slam interest. It shows 4+ cards in partners' last bid suit and a singleton or void in the splinter suit (not usually an Ace)
e.g. 1H 4D*
(A response bid of 3D would have shown 16+ points so the 4D bid is an unnecessary jump showing a splinter)
"A Splinter makes you jump!!"
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The Gold Cup semi-finals and final take place this weekend at the Young Chelsea Bridge Club. There will be matches shown on Bridge Base Online during the weekend.
For full details of the draw, team lists, etc please visit the website of the competition organisers, Bridge Great Britain.
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Four English pairs have reached the A finals at the World Bridge Games in Poland, one in each competition.
Andrew McIntosh & Phil King qualified in second place for the Open Pairs; Susanna Gross & Alex Hydes in third place for the Mixed Pairs; Paul Hackett & John Holland in fifth place for the Seniors Pairs; and Nevena Senior & Fiona Brown in 11th place for the Women's Pairs. The finals are taking place this weekend.
Unfortunately there will be no representation from the British Isles in the finals after the last remaining team, the Scottish Women, were defeated in their semifinal versus France, though they will play China for the bronze medal.
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Bolton Congress
Bolton Bridge Club's annual congress was held over the weekend of 2nd-4th September. As usual it was a friendly event with a good buffet tea. Congratulations to Rodney Lighton, John Currie, Nicholas Greer and Neil Thomas who won the Swiss Teams on Sunday for the second year running in a field of seventeen teams. Third equal were Howard Melbourne, Barbara Travis, Alan Mould, Ollie Burgess and Ed Levy, Rob Myers, Laura Covill, Rob Dixon. In the pairs Chris Hine and Stephen Ward did very well to finish second. Rob Myers was third with Phil Godfrey of Yorkshire. Rhona Goldenfield and Marianne Farr were second in the Ladies Pairs. Turnout was up by about 50% over last year.
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England's Open and Women's teams both bowed out of the World Bridge Games in Wroclaw, Poland, yesterday, having lost in the quarter-finals.
Sally Brock and Catherine Draper played in the Womens' team and John Holland in the Seniors' team with Paul Hackett as npc.
Good Effort by all.
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 We're open as usual this Bank Holiday Monday!
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Manchester Bridge Club has another new beginners foundation course starting in September.
These Foundation Courses are in the form of two 5 week Modules (one class a week)
MODULE ONE covers BRIDGE BASICS & CARD PLAY
MODULE TWO covers BIDDING TECHNIQUES
(and is also suitable for existing players wishing to brush up and modernise their bidding!)
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
MODULE ONE DAYTIME COURSE STARTS ON
MONDAY 26th SEPTEMBER at 10.15am
(Each module of 5 classes costs £50)
Each class lasts appromiximately 2 hours with a break for refreshments provided by the Club.
To find out more or to enrol for either of these 5 week Course Modules please contact Jeff or David at the Club on 0161 445 3712 or email jeff@manchesterbridge.co.uk
"Bridge is a wonderful, absorbing, fun and sociable game...
...what better way to start autumn!"
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| PETER HAND |
 We are sad to inform members that Peter Hand has passed away after a long battle with cancer.
The funeral is at 2pm on Monday 22nd August at St. Ethelwolds Church in Shotton.
Jeff Morris
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13 Aug 2016 | Internationals | Youth
After a good qualifying competition, the English Lions (Shivam Shah, Freddie Illingworth, Alex Roberts & Yvonne Wiseman) and English Cubs (Ankush Khandelwal, Ben Norton, Oscar Selby & Liz Gahan) unfortunately failed to finish on the podium in the consolation event of the World Youth Team Championships. The Lions finished well clear of the field in qualifying, finally getting the results that their play earlier in the event deserved, and although they led at the halfway point in the final they slipped back in to fourth. The Cubs qualified in 8th, and finished 9th in the final - a great result for the young team.
The NPCs have been writing blogs throughout the event. They can be read here.
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12 Aug 2016
Radio 5live had a discussion yesterday (Thursday 11th August) about sports which are not currently part of the Olympic games but could be, or perhaps should be. England international Heather Dhondy talked to Nicky Campbell to give the argument for including bridge at a future games.
Bridge has had involvement with the games in the past - the WBF was invited to apply for a place at the 2020 games in Tokyo, and bridge has previously been a demonstration event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
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11 Aug 2016 | Internationals | Youth
Following their elimination from the main event in the World Youth Team Championships, the Under 26 team, and two of the Under 16s, have moved on to the consolation event. It is a Board-a-Match/Point-a-Board format, and our teams have got off to a great start. After the first day of qualifying the English Lions (Shivam Shah, Freddie Illingworth, Alex Roberts & Yvonne Wiseman) lead the field by a sizeable margin, and the English Cubs (Ankush Khandelwal, Ben Norton, Oscar Selby & Liz Gahan) are tenth of the 24 teams.
The NPC are continuing to blog about this competition - and Sarah O'Connor has updates on the team's enormous ice cream consumption!
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Preston Summer Pairs
Congratulations to Bernard and Rhona Goldenfield who won the Preston Summer Pairs on Sunday 7th August.
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Under 16s finish in a creditable 8th place at the World Championships.
The Under 16s (referred to as 'Kids' on the event website) made a good start in the World Youth Team Championships, winning all three of their matches on the first day. The inexperienced side were undaunted at making their debut on the global stage, and finished a creditable 8th.
No wonder they're doing well with Sarah and Mike guiding them!!
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29 Jul 2016
Dan Crofts & Gareth Hyett and Edward Levy & Oliver Burgess were winners of the Swiss Teams on Tuesday at the Summer North American Bridge Championships in Washington DC. Although billed as a 'side event' it nonetheless featured a quality field of 55 teams, so was a good result for the English team.
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| Tony Wood Memorial Trophy |
Last Qualifying Night Tonight!
2016 Tony Wood Memorial Contest
The Monday Evening Duplicate Scores, gained over the summer, count towards the Tony Wood Memorial Trophy.
Your best 8 scores between Monday 2nd May and finishing on Monday 29th August are counted.
The current leading pair are David Sarabowski and Lesley Johnson.
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TONIGHT!
WEDNESDAY 13th JULY at 7.30pm
SIM PAIRS in aid of
(plus a separate Supervised Play Class for Improvers)
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Manchester retains National Inter-County League Trophy
The National Finals of the Inter-County Leagues took place at Coventry Bridge Club on Sunday 10th July.
Congratulations to Manchester who retained the 'A' final, Warwickshire for winning the 'B' final, and Hertfordshire for winning the 'C' final.
Pictured are the Manchester team (L to R: Tom Slater, Michael Byrne, Kath Nelson, Rodney Lighton, Michael Newman, Alan Nelson, Alan Mould, Alec Smalley).
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BEN BEEVER MEMORIAL TRIBUTE PAIRS EVENT
22 pairs took part in this memorial event on Sunday and the afternoon was greatly enjoyed by everyone.
Please see the warm tribute by Vera under the yellow tab top left of this page.
David Tattersall and Graham Wood took the top spot .........
.....and the partnership of Gill Page and Stephen Harlow were Ben's highest ranking pupils.
(The charity amount raised for The British Red Cross by donations on the day and by a generous donation from the Club was a magnificent £200)
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The 13th European Youth Pairs Championships start on Wednesday in Liepaja in Latvia. The event takes place over five days, with competitions for Under 26 Open, Under 26 Ladies, Under 21 Open, Under 16 Open, and Mixed Pairs for all ages.
MBC's SEAN MEKIE is taking part in the Mixed Pairs and in the Under 26 Open Pairs - GOOD LUCK SEAN!!
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WBU Swiss Pairs
Several Manchester pairs went to Llandudno on the 2nd-3rd July for the Swiss Pairs event. Bernard and Rhona Goldenfield finished third out of 71 pairs. The event was won by a large margin by Jason Hackett and John Sansom who didn't lose a single match.
Full results are here
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The European Bridge League have announced that German players Josef Piekarek and Alexander Smirnov have been banned from EBL competitions for four years, and for life as a partnership. The pair pleaded guilty to "pre-arranging the method of inappropriate communication and of practicing it, by indicating the strength of their hands by placement of the bidding cards on bidding tray".
It has been reported that the ban by the Italian Bridge Federation imposed on Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes has been upheld by the Italian Federal Court of Appeals. Fantoni and Nunes had appealed against the three year ban which had been imposed earlier this year.
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President's Cup - MBC players sweep the board!
Manchester were victors in the Inter County teams of eight, held over the weekend of 18th-19th June at Bradford Bridge Club.
Manchester led throughout, and increased their margin of victory in the final session to win by 27 VPs, over a match clear of the second placed team.
All the pairs played well, everyone enjoyed themselves, and the team won all of its matches. It was a fine performance by a team that included a large number of younger players partnering their older counterparts. The oldest age gap in a partnership was a record 61 years!
Well done to Toby Nonnenmacher/Raymond Semp, Alec Smalley/Tom Slater, Michael Byrne/Michael Newman (both days), on the Saturday Gary Hyett and John Currie and on the Sunday Kath & Alan Nelson.
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England's Women's team, which includes MBC member Catherine Draper, have won the European Championships in Budapest!
Starting the day in third place, they won all three matches, including victory against overnight leaders Poland in the final match.
This adds another medal to impressive haul collected by this team and it is Catherine's first European Gold.
For the full results and news of the Open and Senior Competitions see www.ebu.co.uk
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Corwen
Manchester Bridge Club's David Debbage playing for Lancashire with Andrew Woodcock finished fourth in the inter-county pairs on June 4-5th. Top placed Manchester pair were Gillian McMullan and Neil Thomas who were 31st out of 98.
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Yorkshire Congress
In the Yorkshire Congress held over the weekend of the 3rd to 5th June the Teams Championship was won by Michael Byrne, playing with England international Fiona Brown, and team-mates Hugh McGann and Cameron Small. They scored +90 imps, well over 50 imps clear of the second place team led by Brian Senior, the team who was practicing for the European Seniors Championship.
On the Friday Michael and Fiona also won the mixed pairs for the 4th time.
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By universal request Ollie is holding a
SLAM BIDDING REFRESHER WORKSHOP
TODAY!
SATURDAY 11th JUNE
10.30am to 1pm (ish)
All welcome - partners not required
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| JOAN MISSIRA |
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It is with great sadness that I must inform members of the death of Joan Missira.
The funeral is being held on Thursday 23rd June with a Mass at St. Joseph's Church, Stockport at 12 noon (near Stockport Market) followed by a Committal Service at Stockport Crematorium, in the Rowan Chapel at 1.45pm. There is then a gathering at Holdsworth Golf Club for anyone who wishes to attend.
Jeff Morris
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| DATE FOR YOUR DIARY |
THE MICHELLE BRUNNER
CHARITY MEMORIAL EVENT 2016
The annual charity event in memory of Michelle Brunner and in aid of Christie Hospital and St Ann Hospice was held at here at the Club on Saturday 13th August.
Ollie Burgess opened the afternoon and spoke fondly of his memories of Michelle and of her great help especially when starting his bridge career.
Nineteen teams of four then played a Mixed Pivot Swiss event under the direction of Mike and Sarah Amos.
Kath & Alan Nelson, Jeff Morris and Michael Newman were winners ahead of Raymond Semp, John Hassett, Barry Myers and Sally Brock.
The intermediate trophy winners were John and Catherine Ashworth, Barbara Heaton and Paul Vose who came third.
Fun photos of the event and all the winners are on the MCBA website www.manchesterbridge.org.uk
In all a magnificent total of £1700 was raised for the two charities!
Thank you so much for everyone who helped, donated prizes and took part so generously in the raffle and auctions.
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MCBA AGM TONIGHT
The AGM of the Association will be held at Cheadle Hulme Bridge Club, tonight, on Thursday 26th May at 19.30
All members welcome
Presentation of League Trophies and PotY awards
Buffet and Wine
Click here for more details
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CONGRATULATIONS TO
LESLEY JOHNSON and DAVID SARABOWSKI
2015/16 JOINT CLUB CHAMPIONS
Wednesday Evenings
This is a well-deserved achievement amongst a very strong field of players - many of whom are internationals.
Well Done!
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| DATE FOR YOUR DIARY |
TODAY!
SUNDAY 17th JULY
 1.45 for 2pm
"PAR CONTEST"
Generous prizes
Open to all Improver and Intermediate players
(K or below - £10 entry)
What is a PAR COMPETITION?
♥ It's a fascinating lesson in Bidding, Declarer Play & Defence - all rolled into one!
♥ The hands are pre-dealt and the bidding and the contract are pre-directed so you might bid up to 4D but then be directed to play the hand in 6D and be expected to make it!
♥ You score points for bidding the correct contract, for making the directed contract or for defeating your opponents in their directed contract plus points for making the correct lead.
♥ So your opposition are not your table opponents, or the players sitting your direction in the room..........you are playing against PAR!
Please enter on the
Registration Form in Reception
or contact Jeff on 0161 445 3712
email jeff@manchesterbridge.co.uk
(Competition set by Raymond Semp)
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| DATE FOR YOUR DIARY |
BEN BEEVER MEMORIAL TRIBUTE PAIRS EVENT
TODAY!
SUNDAY 10th JULY
2pm start to 6pm (approx.)
OPEN TO ALL
Ben was an inspirational teacher at Manchester Bridge Club and well known at many other bridge venues in the area. He was particularly devoted to nurturing and developing Improver and Intermediate players and made many friends along the way.
We look forward to celebrating his life and his love of Bridge at this event which is open to all and will be a very enjoyable afternoon.
Entry is £10 and includes sandwiches and scones at half time.
We will also be raising funds for The British Red Cross Society
Please add your names to the Entry Form in Reception or let Jeff know that you plan to play by emailing him on jeff@manchesterbridge.co.uk or phone 0161 445 3712
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CONGRATULATIONS TO
NICHOLAS GREER
WINNER OF THE 2016 JOHN BIRD TROPHY
Best Individual Result on Thursday Evenings between January 1st and May 31st
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| RESULTS |
THE RUIA CUP
SWISS TEAMS
COMPETITION 2016
Congratulations to the winning teams....
1st: Rodney Lighton, Alan Mould, Michael Byrne, Toby Nonnenmacher, John Holland & Ollie Burgess
2nd: Irene Davies. Karen Reissman, John Parsons & Nicholas Greer
3rd: Catherine Draper, Andrew Woodcock, David Debbage & John Hassett
(Final results from 21st July are under the yellow tab towards the top left of this page)
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Move "mouse" over thumbnail to change
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Researchers at the University of Queensland have published a study in the online medical journal BMJ which concludes that being a member of clubs and social groups - such as a bridge club - after retirement reduces your risk of premature death.
(For the full editorial go to www.ebu.co.uk )
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John Holland Wins Gold Cup!
Many congratulations to John Holland who has won Britain's most prestigious competition at Solihull on 11-13th December. John, who has won virtually every other national event, has previously never won the Gold Cup.
John and partner Ben Green played every board in the final stages beating the holders (Allfrey, Robson, Forrester, Gold, Bakhshi, McIntosh) in the quarter finals on Friday and then Peter Lee's team in the semis by 98 IMPs. John and Ben's other team members were Simon Cope, Peter Crouch and Nicola Smith.
In some ways this is the ultimate achievement for a British bridge player and ensures a place in the history of British bridge as a winner of the most demanding knockout event in the year
Simon Cope, Nicola Smith, John Holland, Peter Crouch and Ben Green
CONGRATULATIONS JOHN - WE COULDN'T BE MORE PROUD.
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It has been reported that Lotan Fisher and Ron Schwartz, the Israeli pair involved in one of the 'cheating scandals', have been banned by the EBL.
They have been banned from EBL events and activities for 5 years and are banned from playing as a partnership for life. Further details are yet to be released.
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A reverse is when the opening bidder opens one of a suit and rebids two of a new suit that goes past the level of two of his original suit.
(e.g. 1C-1H-2D or 1D-1S-2H
or 1H-1NT-2S etc )
A Reverse is forcing for one round and shows 16+ points........... so Partner cannot pass!
A Reverse is also called "Going through the Barrier"
NB You cannot reverse at the one level
(e.g. 1D-1H-1S is not a reverse)
.....and a Reverse is never a Jump Bid ,,,,
....and a Jump Bid is never a Reverse!
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BBC Woman's Hour on Radio 4 today looked at how women in their 90s have managed to stay healthy and active. Two interviewees from Birmingham cited bridge as one of the biggest influences on their prolonged good health, noting both the benefits of keeping the mind active, and also the social benefits of playing bridge after the death of their husbands.
The interview is available on the BBC website for a limited time - scroll to 15:00 for the start of the interview (which lasts around six minutes).
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THE NORTHERN COUNTIES IMPROVER PAIRS REGIONAL FINAL
was held at Manchester Bridge Club on Sunday 15th May
For full results see bottom right of this page.
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"Don't create a new wardrobe when you already have a perfectly good suit!"
If you can support partners' major suit bid there is usually no need to show your other suits or to re-bid your minor.
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NORTHERN COUNTIES IMPROVER PAIRS REGIONAL FINAL
to be held at
MANCHESTER BRIDGE CLUB
on
TODAY!
15th MAY 2016
2pm to 6pm (approx)
Entry Fee £10 with Sandwiches and Scones at half time.
If you have already qualified for this event and intend to enter please let Jeff Morris know by either emailing to jeff@manchesterbridge.co.uk or phone 0161 445 3712
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"PAR CONTEST"
(Results are under the 3rd yellow tab down top left of this page)
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EBU SIM PAIRS TONIGHT!
WEDNESDAY 4th MAY
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We're open as usual today on
Bank Holiday Monday!
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| GEOFF NUTTALL TROPHY |
CONGRATULATIONS TO
ANDY GREEN
WINNER OF THE 2016
GEOFF NUTTALL TROPHY
(Monday Evening Duplicates
from January to April)
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John Armstrong Pairs
Manchester pairs did well in the Swiss Pairs event at Merseyside on Sunday 22nd May. Alan Mould and Michael Byrne were second, Joy and Irving Blakey and Ann Thornton and Linda Williams were joint fourth.
Full results are on the Merseyside County web site click here.
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| Club Champion Again from May 2014 - April 2015 |
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Club Champion
Martin Taylor does it again....and again....and again!!!
For a positively fantastic fifth consecutive year, Martin has retained his title as Club Champion by coming top of the players list for the Wednesday Evening Duplicate for the 2014 - 2015 year. This is quite an achievement as many top class national and international players regularly play in our Wednesday Evening Duplicate Session.
There's being consistent....then there's being just brilliant!!!
Congratulations!
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TONIGHT! WEDNESDAY
4th MAY at 7.30pm
EBU SIM PAIRS
(plus a separate Supervised Play Class for Improvers)
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Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes, one of the pairs accused in the 'cheating scandals' last year, have been banned by the Italian Bridge Federation (FIGB) following its investigation. The pair were found guilty and have received a lifetime ban from the FIGB from playing as a pair, and individual three year bans. The EBL will consider the matter further at an EBL Disciplinary Commission hearing at the end of May.
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Rolling Stone magazine, which more usually writes about rock stars and actors, has reported on the Fisher/Schwartz affair and more from the world of bridge...
Thanks to the EBU for this fascinating"must read" article.
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COUNT CARDS NOT SHEEP!!
Counting Cards is one of the most important skills you can develop in Bridge.
Start by counting the trumps that have been played and which ones they were.
Once you can do that then you can gradually train yourself to count the other suits.
You can....really you can!!!
(April 2016)
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THE HIGSON CUP & PLATE FINALS
TOOK PLACE ON SUNDAY 10th APRIL
HIGSON CUP WINNERS
BARE BONES
Rob Myers,Adrian Kenworthy,Mike Goldsmith & Ed Levy
HIGSON PLATE WINNERS
SPLINTER GROUP
John Moran, George Leigh, Janet Tolan & Andy Green
Congratulations!
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Two detailed articles have recently been published in the USA, looking at the background of the recent 'cheating scandals', and interviewing some of the key people involved in exposing the alleged violations.
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HAPPY EASTER
We're open as usual on Easter Monday!
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Overheard at the Club........
"The reason they made their 3NT was because you didn't give me a ruff when I signalled I was out of Diamonds!!"
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Don't Forget .......
It's EBU SIMS TONIGHT!
WEDNESDAY 16th MARCH
....please come along and take part.
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Have you "subbed up" yet?
Thank you to the majority who have now paid your fees......but there's still a few stragglers!
It's that time of year again when your annual membership payment is due.
The fees are the same as last year, so it's £50 for Single Membership, £80 for Joint Membership and Junior Students are free.
Payments should be made asap in cash or a cheque made out to Manchester Bridge Club.
If you want to pay by electronic transfer ring or email Jeff or David for the Club's bank account number and sort code.
"Guests are always welcome at the club for a couple of visits before needing to becoming a member.
Beginners attending courses receive their first 6 months membership free.
Club Membership includes EBU Registration."
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TODAY.....they're still going since midday yesterday...please support them!!
(See how below)
MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY BRIDGE CLUB
needs YOU to please support their
24 HOUR BRIDGE MARATHON here at MBC!
from 12 noon on Saturday 12th March
to 12 noon on Sunday 13th March
in aid of
Francis House is a wonderful charitable organisation, in Didsbury, that provides hospice care for children with life-limiting conditions and amazing support to their families.
They are reliant on charitable donations for their magnificent work to continue.
PLEASE SUPPORT JOSH, MITCH, KELVIN, HENRY and the other students by ………
♥ DONATING AS MUCH AS YOU CAN INTO THE
FRANCIS HOUSE COLLECTION TUBS AT THE CLUB
♥ DONATING DIRECT TO
https://www.justgiving.com/24-hour-bridgathon
♥ COMING TO PLAY IN ONE OR MORE OF THE DUPLICATE SESSIONS
Saturday at 2pm (til 5pm)
Saturday at 7pm (til 10pm)
Plus MADCAP SPEEDBALL at Midnight!!!
(No charge for these three sessions …. please donate instead!)
♥ JUST DROPPING IN ANY TIME TO KEEP THEM GOING (& AWAKE!)
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Two New 5 Week Foundation Bridge Courses
STARTING THIS MONTH!
♥ BEGINNERS DAYTIME CARD PLAY COURSE
MONDAY 7th MARCH
from 1.15pm to 3.45pm
♥ BEGINNERS EVENING CARD PLAY COURSE
WEDNESDAY 30th MARCH
from 7.30pm to 10pm
These two 5 week Beginners Courses are ideal for any beginner
and cover the basics of Bridge Card Play
Lesson 1: Introduction to Bridge & Making Tricks
Lesson 2: Playing in No Trumps
Lesson 3: Playing in Trumps
Lesson 4: Playing in Defence
Lesson 5: Rules & Scoring of Bridge
♦ BIDDING & BIDDING REVISION COURSE
THURSDAY 7th JANUARY
from 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm
Ideal for any player, new or old, who has grasped the basics of card play and now wants to learn how to bid or to refresh & update their bidding techniques.
This 5 week Course, with David Debbage, covers all aspects of Basic Bidding.
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Lesson 1: Basic Opening Bids and Responses
Lesson 2: Responses and Rebidding in No Trumps and Suits
Lesson 3: Other Opening Bids and Responses
Lesson 4: Overcalls and Doubles
Lesson 5: Slam Bidding and System Notes
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To enrol for either of these courses or for further information
contact Jeff or Dave at the Club
on 0161 445 3712
or email jeff@manchesterbridge.co.uk
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Now's your chance ladies!
"You have to kiss a lot of frogs........."!!
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| DATE FOR YOUR DIARY |
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TODAY!!
SUNDAY 13th MARCH 2016
1.45 for 2pm start
MARTIN BRAID MEMORIAL TROPHY
SWISS PIVOT TEAMS COMPETITION
Each team of four will play
2 sessions of 5 boards
with each of their team members
....so 30 boards in all.
(Suitable for both Intermediate & Experienced players)
SANDWICHES AND SCONES AT HALF TIME
1st Prize (Expert) £200
2nd Prize (Expert) £100
3rd Prize (Expert) £50
1st Prize (Non-Expert) £90
2nd Prize (Non-Expert) £60
£10 per player
Bottle Raffle proceeds and any additional monies to be donated to
The British Heart Foundation
(Please donate a bottle for the Charity Raffle!)
Enter your team on the Board in Club Reception
or contact Jeff at Manchester Bridge Club on 0161 445 3712
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A New 5 Week Foundation Bridge Bidding Course Starts tonight!
WEDNESDAY 10th FEBRUARY
from 7.30pm to about 10pm
♦ BIDDING & BIDDING REFRESHER COURSE
Ideal for any player, new or old, who has grasped the basics of card play and now wants to learn how to bid or to refresh & update their bidding techniques.
This 5 week Course, with David Debbage, covers all aspects of Basic Bidding.
Course Fee £50
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Lesson 1: Basic Opening Bids & Responses
Lesson 2: Responses & Re-Bidding in No Trumps & Suits
Lesson 3: Other Opening Bids & Responses
Lesson 4: Overcalls & Doubles
Lesson 5: Slam Bidding & System Notes
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There's still time to enrol for this course ...
or for further information
please contact Dave at the Club asap
on 0161 445 3712
or email daviddebbage@hotmail.co.uk
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WHAT'S YOUR NEW YEARS RESOLUTION?
PLAY BETTER BRIDGE
OR LEARN TO PLAY BRIDGE?
...now's your chance!
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STARTING TONIGHT!
A BEGINNERS BRIDGE
CARD PLAY COURSE
WEDNESDAY 30th MARCH
from 7.30pm to 9.30pm
This is a 5 week Foundation Card Play Course with David Debbage, suitable for any beginner, which can be followed on with the 5 week Bridge Bidding Foundation Course.
Cost per 5 week course £50
Lesson 1: Introduction to Bridge & Making Tricks
Lesson 2: Playing in No Trumps
Lesson 3: Playing in Trumps
Lesson 4: Playing in Defence
Lesson 5: Rules & Scoring of Bridge
To enrol for this course or for further information
please contact Jeff or Dave at the Club
on 0161 445 3712
or email jeff@manchesterbridge.co.uk
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| RESULTS |
Regional Pairs Success
John Holland and Tony Coley finished second in the Northern Pairs at Bradford and qualify for the National Pairs Final next month in April along with Gary Hyett who played with Dan Crofts in Solihull.
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| MERTON CANTOR |
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It is with great sadness that I inform members of the death, on Thursday 18th February, of Merton Cantor. He had a long and enjoyable relationship with all at the Bridge Club and was an invaluasble member of the Committee. His daughter Jill has informed me that his funeral will be at Manchester Crematorium on 2nd of March, at 2.55. At his request, black attire is not required, nor flowers. It will be an informal affair and Jill will be inviting anybody who wants to, to talk, in celebration of his life. There is also an invitation to continue the celebration at his flat in Arcon Drive afterwards.
Jeff Morris
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"LAST CHANCE to support our effort for the life limited children at Francis House Hospice. Please click on the link below and donate what you can - Thankyou"
https://www.justgiving.com/24-hour-bridgathon
MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY BRIDGE CLUB
needs YOU to please support their
24 HOUR BRIDGE MARATHON here at MBC!
which ended at 12 noon on Sunday 13th March
in aid of
Francis House is a wonderful charitable organisation, in Didsbury, that provides hospice care for children with life-limiting conditions and amazing support to their families.
They are reliant on charitable donations for their magnificent work to continue.
(Results for this marathon effort will be announced after all donations have been received)
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| DATE FOR YOUR DIARY |
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TONIGHT!
WEDNESDAY 3rd FEBRUARY
The Bridge England SIMS Pairs are organised by the EBU to support our junior international teams.
We are holding a heat of this SIMS at the club on Wednesday 3rd February, starting promptly at 7.30pm.
The proceeds will be used to help the Under 25's and Under 15's playing in the World Youth Team Championships in Italy in August 2016. The Under 15's have qualified for their first ever international competition. By supporting this SIM you also help to get the best practice opportunties and coaching necessary to help the teams perform at the highest level.
Manchester Bridge Club has a proud record of encouraging young people to play bridge and supporting them to play at a national and international level.
"We hope you will come along to play in this SIMS to continue this support."
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TONIGHT!
WEDNESDAY 27th JANUARY
Please come along and join us for the WBF ECats Charity Simultaneous Pairs which we will be playing on Wednesday 27th January. This SIMS is being run to support SAVE THE CHILDREN and their work with Syrian Refugee Children. The hands are straight forward computer deals and commentaries will be provided by ECats. 100% of the fees paid to ECats will be sent to Save the Children. Further donations can be made at the club on the night which will be forwarded to ECats/SAVE THE CHILDREN.
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We wish all our members a Healthy & Happy New Year
Jeff & David
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| RESULTS |
Manchester University A team wins through against Cambridge in the quarter final of the Portland Bowl!
The team finished their match against Cambridge A and came out victorious with a final score of 76-52! They will be heading to London next month for the Semi-Finals and hopefully another victory. Congratulations to Henry Bissell, Ernest Au, Max Wyatt Sampson and Toby Nonnenmacher.
The Portland Bowl is a teams-of-four knock-out competition played by British Universities for which Green Points are awarded. The English Bridge Union administers this tournament on behalf of the world famous Portland Club in London.
Well done guys!
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WEDNESDAY 3rd FEBRUARY
at 7.30pm
SUPERVISED PLAY CLASS
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| Wednesday Duplicate |
EVERY WEDNESDAY EVENING
CLUB DUPLICATE at 7.30pm
(plus a separate Supervised Play Class for Improvers)
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Irene Davies and Roger Hopton have come a magnificent 4th in the Portland Pairs, the EBU's mixed pairs championship which took place on Sunday 20th March. 360 pairs took part, playing at fifteen venues around England and Wales, with the event scored across all locations.
Irene and Roger scored a remarkable 60.34% only 2.6% behind the winners.
An amazing achievement in such a big field.
CONGRATULATIONS!
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"Promotes real bridge in a virtual world"
On 10th March ECats held an on-line event in aid of Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research and we are delighted to record that Lesley Johnson & David Sarabowski came second world-wide with a magnifient 69.43%.....only 1.2% behind the winners.
What a fantastic achievement!
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HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO THE MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY BRIDGE CLUB STUDENTS WHO RAISED
A MAGNIFICENT £875 FOR THEIR 24 HOUR CHARITY BRIDGE MARATHON!!
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LCBA Butler Pairs
Congratulations to Bernard and Rhona Goldenfield who won the Lancashire Butler pairs at Lytham on 23rd January ahead of Jackie Pye and Jeff Smith. Results are on the LCBA web site.
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The Martin Braid Memorial Trophy
Fifteen teams played at the Club on Sunday 13th March in the Martin Braid Memorial Pivot Teams Event held in aid of The British Heart Foundation. Prizes generously donated by Martin's wife, Sue Braid.
Winners were Kath & Alan Nelson, Michael Newman and Jeff Morris, ahead of Robert Myers, Laura Covill, David Debbage and Ed Levy. In third place and winners of the non-expert prize were Adam Wiseberg, John Fitzgerald, Jonathan Engler and Andrew Jackson.
Full results are bottom right of this page.
(NE indicates non-expert)
Photos are under the yellow tab top left of this page.
Play about to start - in the foreground in the green shirt Farokh Engineer,
the former India and Lancashire cricketer.
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| RESULTS |
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England have won the Camrose with the largest margin since the format was changed in 2005.
The second, and final, weekend of the 2016 Camrose took place last weekend 5th & 6th March) England had a fantastic first weekend, so were well set to reclaim the trophy - the Republic of Ireland having broken England's run of victories in 2015.
The team of David Mossop & Alex Hydes, Jason Hackett & Justin Hackett, and David Price & Colin Simpson, with NPC Richard Fleet, competed in Llandrindod Wells in mid-Wales and won convincingly with 145.22 VP's - almost 40 VP's ahead of Wales in second place!
Full results are available via the event website run by the WBU.
CONGRATULATIONS!
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THE GAZETTE CUP
was held at Altrincham Bridge Club
on SUNDAY 7th FEBRUARY
Congratulations to the Ollie Burgess Team who won comfortably and now go on to represent Manchester in the Garden Cities Competition.
David Sarabowski, Andy Green,Jason Hackett, Adrian Kenworthy,
Ollie Burgess, Mike Goldsmith, Ed Levy, Rob Myers
with Ann Thornton (Tournament Secretary)
Results bottom right and on MCBA website
( www.manchesterbridge.org.uk )
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CHEADLE ROYAL CUP 2015
We are delighted to announce that the winners for 2015 are
LESLEY JOHNSON & DAVID SARABOWSKI
This competition was based on Monday Night Duplicate results between 7th September 2015 and 28th December 2015, The winning score by Lesley & David was a magnificent 67%
CONGRATULATIONS!
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| RESULTS |
Green Point Swiss Pairs Results
The annual Green Point Pairs was held at Altrincham on Saturday 5th March. As usual the event was full with Ken Hassell and Ian Kane from the Altrincham club quickly reached table one and staying there after that all day winning ahead of Raymond Semp and Toby Nonnenmacher. Last year's winners Alan Nelson and Jeff Smith were third.
Full results and photos are at www.manchesterbridge.org.uk and detailed results are on the Altrincham web site.
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| RESULTS |
Ranked Masters Events
Events for each ranking were held in Birmingham over the weekend of 27-28th February. Manchester players did well with Kath Nelson second in the Premier Grand Masters playing with Steve Auchterlonie of Kent, Peter Foster won the Premier Life Masters with John Liebeschutz of Cambridge, Tom Slater was second in the National Masters with Rob Dixon of Oxford and Sean Mekie was second in the Regional Masters with Laura Covill also from Oxford. Congratulations to all. Full results are on the EBU web site.
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Chester Congress
Several Manchester players went to Deva bridge club for their congress on 30-31 January. MBC successes were recorded in the Swiss Teams by Michael Newman and Ollie Burgess who won by a large margin playing with Andrew Woodcock and Catherine Draper of Lancashire. Full results are on the Deva web site.
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| RESULTS |
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THE CANTOR CUP RESULTS
A good turnout of 24 pairs competed for the Cantor Cup on Sunday 28th February at Manchester Bridge Club. Most of the pairs were playing in their first event and it was encouraging to see a good number of students. Everyone enjoyed the competition including the afternoon tea with fresh scones.
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First stage of Senior trials completed - MBC Players win through!!
The first stage of the trials for the Senior team to play in the European Championships took place 18th-20th December at West Midlands Bridge Club.
The team of Paul Hackett, Gunnar Hallberg, John Holland, David Mossop, David Price and Brian Senior finished top and move on to the next stage.
CONGRATULATIONS!
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Manchester Congress 2016
Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd January
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NEW FOR 2016!!
CALLING ALL THURSDAY NIGHT PLAYERS!!
DR JOHN BIRD MEMORIAL CUP
THURSDAY NIGHT COMPETITION
January 2016 to May 2016
(Thursday 7th January to Thursday 26th May)
THIS MAGNIFICENT CUP WILL BE AWARDED ANNUALLY TO THE PLAYER
WITH THE BEST 12 RESULTS OVER THE FIRST 5 MONTHS OF THE YEAR
ACHIEVED ON THURSDAY EVENINGS.
…………So for 2016 you can count your best 12 scores from the 21 weeks between
7th January 2016 and 26th May 2016!...and it doesn't matter whether you play with a regular partner or not....you can still win!!
GOOD LUCK!
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Results of the Junior Camrose and Peggy Bayer weekend!
The Under 26 and Under 21 Home Internationals took place from 19th - 21st February in Edinburgh. Manchester interest was provided in the U26 event by Sean Mekie, a Manchester member currently living in the South and Michael Byrne, the non playing captain of the Peggy Bayer team.
Congratulations to England, who won the Junior Camrose trophy.
The champions were represented by Shivam Shah, Freddie Illingworth, Toby Nonnenmacher, Michael Alishaw, Basil Letts and Sean Mekie (pictured), with Alan Shillitoe as NPC.
England came 3rd in the Peggy Bayer event - hard luck.
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Michael Byrne's Juniors Win in Utrecht!
The England Under 20 team has the won the 2015 Channel Trophy, held in Utrecht in the Netherlands over the weekend of 18-20th December.
The team led throughout, becoming the first England Under 20 team to win all of their matches, including a nail biting finish against France who were in second place.
The U20 squad recently attended a training weekend at Manchester Bridge Club organised by non-playing captain Michael Byrne, with guest speaker Alan Mould who went through a lot of defensive situations with them.
This was a first win for all of the team.
Great Stuff!!
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