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Release 2.17b


Dates for Diary
The Continuing Bridge improvers course runs on Mondays from 2 pm. There is one more lesson before Easter. The two-hour lesson is followed after a break with supervised practice which will continue through the summer with tutorials by request. Watch the web site for the start time. The beginner's class starts at 7 pm and will run for another ten weeks after Easter.

Keep your neurons talking
Keep your neurons talking
If jogging keeps us fit, then bridge does much the same for your brain by keeping it active.

And now there's some research to prove it. The boffins at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, whose results were published in August 2009, found that individuals with memory problems who did an average of 11 mental activities a week delayed further deterioration of their facilities.

Bridge is only one thing that can help. Crosswords, sudoko, Scrabble and chess can all play a part.
Licensed to kill
If you believe that bridge is only a game of cards, think again. Even for beginners, the nuances are both endless and fascinating. The more you learn, the more addicitive it becomes. For a high stakes fictional hand and one that led to murder, click here.
Hit the ground running
Hit the ground running
Three sets of lesson notes are available here for downloading: on Mini Bridge, an Introduction to Bridge and on Opeing Leads.
Beginners succumb to addiction!
Beginners succumb to addiction!

The two tables in the enthusuastic Beginning Bridge group are well into the intricacies of bidding and have succumbed to the addictive qualities of this prince of all card games.

As some of the group were not immediately available at the beginning of the year, the first 10 weeks of the course got the 30-week programme got off to a late start.

But for late don't read slow! The early challenges of Mini Bridge have been left way behind and the group is now beginning to meet socially for rubber bridge sessions between lessons.

Everybody apeears to have mastered both opening one no-trump and one of a suit as well as dealing with responses on balanced and unbalanced hands.

Now they are getting their heads round longer bidding sequences, with two or more bids from responder, and are learning how to deal with stronger card combinations that take them towards game contracts and small slams.

Douglas Bence and Jenny Cant are teaching the course based on the English Bridge Union's (EBU) red book, a copy of which was included with the course fee. The group also gets to join the Arts Theatre & Community Centre and becomes a student member of the EBU.

Two members of the Continuing Bridge group, Sarah Dunn and Frances Day, did well to come third in last autumn's County Newcomers Pairs at Ladock turning in a more than respectable 57.14%. At least two pairs plan to enter the Cornwall County Congress in the spring.

If you think that bridge has a snobby, elitist image and is played by people who believe they're special, then please forget it. The tutor team have no time for such nonsense and these kinds of misconceptions are soon eliminated.

Come along and help us spread the word about one of the world's great games. While bridge can challenge the sharpest of minds, the basics are easy. Meet new people, make friends, keep you brain active and, most important, have fun!
'I haven't played bridge since I wore bloomers!'
'I haven't played bridge since I wore bloomers!' Bridge is like riding a bicycle or swimming, once you've learned you don't forget. But while you don't want to wobble your way on two wheels round the Tesco car park, neither do you want to make an ass of yourself playing a simple two-heart contract.

The improvers course might be exactly what you need. It is based on the English Bridge Union's green book called Continuing Bridge which as well as revising the basics, looks at defender and declarer play and puts its toe in the water of weak two bids, which become part of Standard English Acol next year.

Also included is a major section on competitive bidding, that is making things harder for your opponents, and an introduction to the Losing Trick Count, fourth suit forcing, splinter bids and transfers.
Your Tutor Team
Although others will help, the main course tutors will be Douglas Bence and Jenny Cant assisted, when appropriate, by the user-friendly Philip Linaker or the kindly Dave Wilman. All members of the team have been trained and approved by the English Bridge Union.

Make a note of their telephone numbers: Douglas 01726 816886; Jenny 01726 852182; and Philip 01726 817337.
Click for the Members Only section
Link to St Austell Bridge Club
St Austell Arts Bridge School, Stabs for short, was created by St Austell Arts Bridge Club, the first organisation of its kind in Cornwall going back 60 years.
Click here for the web site.
Both the club and the school are affiliated to the Arts & Community Centre, a charity limited by guarantee (registered number 104955).
Supervised Practice
Bridge is like any other pass time in that the more you play the better you get. Early in the first year those on the course exchanged telephone numbers and were soon playing socially between lessons.

This has continued and one of the most important parts of the afternoon lessons is finalising the arrangements for the next social game.

We ran regular supervised practice sessions through most of the summer, and these are now a permanent fixture and start around 4.30 pm, after the break that follows the lesson.

People who haven't played bridge for years find the supervised practice particularly useful for brushing away the cobwebs and getting their heads round some of the modern bidding gadgets.

If St Austell Bridge School has a philosophy it's is the more the merrier. Age is not a factor. There is no such thing as too young or too old. All that matters is that if you can walk through the door and count up to 13 then you can play bridge.

Give the game try for free and without obligation by passing your name and contact details to either Douglas Bence (01726 816 886; douglas@bence.eclipse.co.uk) or Jenny Cant (01726 852 182; jennycant@hotmail.com).
Supervised Practice
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