PARTY TIME at the CASTLE

The locals will recognise this landmark as Casa Fuerte.

The cannon and beautifully restored building played an important role in Tenerife history,

The castle is at the top of Adeje town.

What better place for a pleasant team bridge competition 

with afternoon tea.

When it is to celebrate a friend´s birthday, everyone feels 

on top of the world.

The BEAUTY of BRIDGE

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MARATHONS

They may be a novelty for most Europeans, but certainly not in France where bridge marathons have long been a tradition in clubs. What better than a day out sampling the gastronomic delights of French cuisine combined with beaucoup de bridge. Sometimes playing as many as 50 boards spread over two or three sessions.

Our 2022 Spanish version is a leisurely version playing 36 boards. Here is the programme:

10h00  Welcome coffee & croissant

10h30–13h00  Bridge session - 18 boards

13h15 -14h30  Lunch - 2 courses

14h45–17h30 Bridge session - 18 boards

(with afternoon tea break 16h15)

18h00 aperitif

18h30–20h30 Dinner - 3 courses

Limited to EIGHT players - with TWO extra places available at dinner for guests (spouses) to join us 

The all-inclusive charge for bridge + meals and refreshments will be 25 euros per person

Update on the Academy`s schedule at it`s new home

ALL SYSTEMS GO, GO, GO

From 25th October, ACES will really take off with the Tenerife Academy operating 7 days a week for

Chess, Rummikub, Cribbage, Backgammon, Scrabble, Bridge

A Social club where players can also just meet with friends for Morning coffee or Afternoon tea 

However, only members can use the premises. Annual and seasonal membership options are available. For the peace of mind of all existing members, newcomers will have to satisfy the strict rules relating to health protocols - and agree to abide by the Academy`s Ethics Charter.  

As far as the bridge is concerned, new courses for beginners and improvers are being scheduled, Initially five weekly bridge competitions will also be scheduled. Here are some features of those competitions and our playsafe policy:

- Every player will stay at the same table throughout the session.

- Maximum 12 persons at any one time. Prebooking obligatory.

- Choice of morning, afternoon and evening sessions.  

- Each member will be given a rating certificate after 5 sessions.

- Free personalised Academy shirt (with club logo and your name) after 10 sessions.

- Number of boards: Normally 20 or 24 boards depending on preferred speed of play.  

- Option to hire bidding boxes & boards to play the competition at home with friends. 

Further details of membership and reservation procedures + charges available on request

Trevor 04h45 on 4/8/21

When a bridge "FOUR"  = FIVE

Our modus operandi at the Academy  - with prepared boards where each one has a middle score for either pair to beat - has two significant advantages over traditional comps. It not only allows just one table of four to have a competitive game, but it allows five people to likewise compete against each other via a very fair individual competition where you chop and change partners.

There is always one sitting out, of course, but the players can change partners as often as they want. Moreover, the planned changeovers can be revised at any time during the session. Perhaps to allow an individual to have a longer break to rest their brains or have a cuppa on the terrace. 

It matters not if some players want a longer or shorter break. Irrespective of the number of boards played, all scores quickly translate to a percentage at the end. As long as everyone has partnered at least two of the other four players, there will always be an outright winner. And someone who deserves the wooden spoon as well.

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Footnote

INDIVIDUAL COMPETITIONS

are the ultimate test of whether your bridge club is a friendly place to play

If you`ve never played one, come and try ours to discover why I say that. We will be playing them frequently.

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Monday INTERCLUB

Andalucia v Tenerife

Congrats to our friends from Fuengirola

Julie and Andy

who narrowly beat the Tinerfenos 

You don`t have to be a card or chess player to enjoy life at ACES

Backgammon is also on the menu at the club

And don`t forget we also play Rummicub

ACES has already resumed playing F2F duplicate competitions of 24 boards. Played by groups of (the same) four players at different locations. Invariably these venues will be one of the quartet`s domicile.

A unique feature of this format is that different forms of competition are usually played simultaneously: 

Individual, traditional pairs, and a team event

The amalgamation of results from the three competitions produces one deserving outright individual winner and one winning pair. With a level playing field for all participants and with all boards played by every particpant. 

IMPROVISATION is the name of the game

I used this formula at ACES in Thailand. To allow children all over the island of Koh Samui to play competitive tournaments with their friends living nearby in a bubble of four. Effectively it is a mobile bridge club which, in this Covid era, enables handicapped, infirm and other "at risk" people of all ages to play duplicate competitions with friends. At their own speed in the comfort of their own homes.    

Trevor 04h35 30/11/20 

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CHINA v EUROPE

A team of youngsters from Asia will take on the best of Europe

in two age groups (U16 and U18)

for the inaugural bridge

CANARY CUP

to be held in 2021 

in recognitionn and appreciation of the special ties between

Tenerife and China

The proposed format is for points to be awarded in both pairs and team competions.

There will be a side event where a world under 18 youth team will compete against a team of resident Canary Islands bridge players (of any age and irrespective of whether Spanish or part of the Canaries ex-pat community 

Full details of the format and schedule will be published on the Schools page of this website end June.

Trevor 12/4/20

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ANYONE for CHESS 

Of the billions of people around the world, it is a safe bet to say that milions know how to play chess. In fact chess is possibly played by more people worldwide than either bridge or football. Albeit that most people learnt it as youngsters. Playing at school before retiring prematurely from the sport. Like me.

Many golden oldies will have a chess set hidden away collecting dust in the attic. Why not get it out. It is a great way to pass the time and keep your brain active.

A few topical quiz questions for you:

1. Which country has the best female chess players in the world?
2. Which country is acclaimed for having one of the best –  the best perhaps – universal healthcare systems?
3. Which country has one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world?
4. Which country was first to send medical staff to the frontline during the Ebola outbreak - and has likewise sent them to Italy?
5. Which country has an education system which is the envy of people all over the world?

The answer to all five questions is

CUBA        CUBA       CUBA       CUBA       CUBA

Did you know that? Probably not if you haven`t been there. Because only bad news gets reported elsewhere nowadays.

Trevor 24/3/20

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Six months ago I was in WUHAN.

Less than 6 months ago the Chinese President was in TENERIFE.

Both on holiday. Both enjoying ourselves. Both impressed with what we saw. True or False?

100% TRUE

What took me to WUHAN in September you may ask. The answer: The chance to mingle with 1000 of the World`s best bridge players. All assembled there for the World Teams Championships. (Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup etc) Not as a player of course, but to meet friends and discuss how we could emulate in Europe the spectacular success of the youth bridge project in Asia.

What I helped achieve in Thailand working with the President of the Asia Pacific zone of the WBF, Esther Sophonpanich, was only the tip of the iceberg: Children as young as 8 setting world bridge records in pucker adult tournaments – and schoolkids from seven upwards now being taught bridge in schools all over the kingdom. By numbers, however, the figures for schoolchildren now playing bridge in China is staggering. 850 bridge pupils at just one school in Shanghai, for example.

As for what brought the Chinese President and his wife to Tenerife in November for a two day break, it was his love of nature and his ambition to go to the top of the island`s impressive volcano. Mount Teide is, incidentally, three times higher than Ben Nevis. Given the pollution levels I had witnessed in all the Chinese cities like Wuhan, his affection for Tenerife was understandable. It was in fact the second time he had been here in just three years.

Trevor

Sunday 22nd March 2020

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