The Annual General Meeting of Abbeygate Bridge Club was held at Nowton Court on Tuesday 12th November 2024. Thank you to all members who attended and contributed to the discussion. The minutes of the meeting, which include the treasurer's report and financial statement, and the chairman's report, are now available on the club website under Club Information on the main menu, or follow the links below.

AGM Minutes 2023         Chairman's Report 2023

Membership of the club has increased in the past twelve months, and our financial position is healthy. Potential activities for the coming year were discussed. The committee will be pleased to hear from any member who would be interested in representing the club in competitions

Josh Clarke will be running another Masterclass in the New Year, focusing on possibly the most useful card in the bidding box - Double!

Date and Time: Friday January 17th 1:00 - 4:00pm with a break for refreshments

Venue: Nowton Court, Bury St Edmunds IP29 5LU

Josh writes:

I'm delighted to announce the upcoming Masterclass on Doubles! This will include a wide range of different types of doubles: takeout, penalty, negative, lead directing and perhaps one or two other rather "specialist" doubles as well! We'll also be looking at how a double can be used effectively when you need to overcall with a really strong hand, and how to use them to your advantage. The session will be entirely bidding focused, with a minimum of 16 hands, a break in the middle with drinks and nibbles, and of course lots of analysis as well! Feel free to either attend with a partner or come along solo, this session is designed for all players of any ability level, playing any type of bidding system. I look forward to seeing you all there!

Click on Doubles Masterclass for more information and online entry form

The Hospice Bridge Tea took place on October 18th at Elmswell Community Centre, with the customary fabulous tea and superb hampers for the raffle. The amount raised on this occasion was £1900, with 16 duplicate tables and 1 Chicago table taking part

"Bridge For Fun" in aid of St Nicholas Hospice first started in 2011 and since then has raised more than £50,000 for the Hospice. Thanks to all who supported the event by donating, taking part, organising and catering, and to our friends at Harry Huson, Clare, Stansfield and Cavendish Bridge Clubs for loans of equipment and generous donations

The next Hospice Bridge Tea will be in Spring of 2025

It is nearly 20 years since the EBU introduced its national code of conduct with the immortal words “Bridge Players are Lovely People” which we all know to be true. But in the white heat of competition, even the loveliest of people can forget themselves and inadvertently affect their opponents’ and their partner’s enjoyment of the game

We would like to revisit Best Behaviour At Bridge at Abbeygate this Autumn, starting with this reminder of our solemn duty to be nice to everyone in the bridge room, even under pressure. We will start by placing this shortened version of BB@B on the tables at the start of play

Please call the director if your enjoyment of the game has been affected by something said or done at your table, or indeed elsewhere in the room. The directors will remind us all of our duty from time to time, in the nicest possible way of course.

You can read the original article in the EBU magazine from 2006 here, and the full EBU BB@B code of conduct here, or via the link under EBU in the main menu on the left

Did you know that all Abbeygate members are eligible to play in our Monday evening Realbridge sessions online? We usually have eight to ten tables, playing 20 boards in a little over two hours.

Abbeygate Realbridge sessions are open to Abbeygate members only, so you will be playing mostly with familiar opponents. And of course you can play wherever in the world you might find yourself on a Monday evening

On Wednesday evenings Bury Bridge Club runs an online session on Realbridge, now jointly with Cambridge Bridge Club. Abbeygate members are cordially invited to join these sessions, but get in touch with Bury Bridge Club to register your interest in playing

Online bridge has vastly improved since the days of Covid and BBO. The Realbridge platform allows you to see and speak to your partners and opponents. The platform is easy to use and director calls are almost eliminated, so we complete the session more quickly than playing face to face. Click on Realbridge player guide to learn more. You can test your microphone and camera here as well

To join a Monday online session, select 'Realbridge' from the menu on the Abbeygate website. The online bridge room opens at 6:30pm, play starting at 7:00pm

The links for the Wednesday evening session can be found on the Bury Bridge Club website. Join from 7:00pm to start play at 7:30pm

David	Phil	Paul	Tony	Sekhar

Five Abbeygate members have recently qualified as EBU recognised Club Tournament Directors following a four day course hosted locally by Abbeygate Bridge Club. All five participants found the course to be somewhat challenging, with huge relief at passing the assessment on the final day. Abbeygate, Harry Huson Bridge Club and Clare Bridge Club all contributed to the cost of training. Abbeygate member Derek Brinkley also qualified, sponsored by Stratford St Mary Bridge Club. Several other participants from across Suffolk and neighbouring counties also took part and qualified as TDs, which is a significant addition to the pool of directors now available to local clubs

Nowton Court

We play duplicate bridge at Nowton Court every Tuesday and Wednesday evening. Tuesday is our regular club night, Wednesday is a more relaxed session for beginners and improvers. Visitors are welcome at both sessions. No partner needed on Wednesday, just turn up and you will get a game. If you would like to play on Tuesday evening we will try to find a partner for you, click partner broker here or on the menu to the left. For directions and times please click club information here or on the menu.

Are you interested in learning to play bridge? Our successful beginner programme restarted in September 2023, and we are planning improver courses in 2023/24. If you would like to find out more click here

ONLINE BRIDGE

Abbeygate Bridge Club is running its online Club nights on RealBridge on Monday evenings at 7 pm.

These events are open to Abbeygate members only and table money will be £2.50, for which you will be invoiced later.

See Realbridge Link in the Menu on the left hand side of this page. 

If you are unfamiliar with the RealBridge platform it does enable you to see and talk to your opponents, for more information please go to:
https://realbridge.online/player-guide.html

Please make sure you have read the guide before you log in for the first time.

You can test your microphone and camera here:
https://play.realbridge.online/camera.html

The RealBridge Room will be open from 6.30 pm on Mondays.   Please log in no later than 6.50 pm.
After clicking on the link please fill in your forename and surname, e.g. Ian Jones (not I. Jones) and ID number (which is your EBU number).  Once you have logged onto the site please sit at a table with your partner and chat to them and your opponents while you are waiting for the start.

If you require any further information regarding the event please contact Tim Evans: tim@suffolkclocks.co.uk

Edward Wallbutton has kindly offered to be the Partner Broker  edward@wallbutton.uk 

There is a dedicated tournament for Bury, Abbeygate and Stowmarket members on Realbridge on Wednesdays at 7.00 pm. Bury Bridge Club is also now back face to face at Southgate Community Centre on Thursdays, 6.45 for 7.00 pm.   See the Bury St Edmunds Bridge Club website for details:

https://www.bridgewebs.com/bury/

Many Abbeygate members also belong to Stansfield, which has tournaments on RealBridge on Tuesdays at 4.00 pm and at Stansfield Village Hall on Thursdays at 7.00 pm  Click on STANSFIELD for details

Abbeygate Bridge Club is registered as a club on Bridge Club Live (see below). Members can play at any time of the day or night.

There are plenty more opportunities for taking part in online tournaments and the Suffolk Teams Leagues on the Suffolk Bridge website:

https://www.bridgewebs.com/suffolkbridge/