♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ Bracknell League End of Season Pairs ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 

Congratulations to John Fairhurst and Keith Bennett who have won the Bracknell League end of Season Pairs competition. 

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣  Possible Session Changes ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 

The club would welcome your thoughts on some possible Session Changes for Friday mornings and Tuesday evenings.  Can you please give your responses below so we can make a decision on what is the best way forward.  A response from all members would be appreciated.

(This does not affect Milton Keynes' Friday evening sessions.)

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE QUESTIONNAIRE

Thank you!

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣  Season 7 of Social Teams ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 

It's that time to start the new season of our Social Teams League!

Can you please let John Fairhurst know as soon as possible if you would like to enter a team?   Arranging a team of 6 might be the best way to go to allow some flexibility.

If you are just a pair and want to find team mates, let John know.

To enter, please

- send John the name and EBU numbers of the people you would like to be in your team with a nominated captain

- pay the entrance fee in the shop - click here 

There could be 2 divisions but this depends on the number of entries. The number of fixtures being dictated by the number of divisions.

The date and setting up of an individual match should be discussed between the two captains.

You can play on BBO or Real Bridge, whichever both captains agree upon.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣  How well are we doing with bidding and making Slams? ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

In April we bid 58 Slams and made 59.48% of them.

This is the lowest percentage this year,  due in the main to one particular hand during the Ukraine Charity event, where 8 teams bid a slam and nobody made it!

Top scorers for this month are below.   

Well done everyone!

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣  NGS Scores ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Who has increased their NGS score the most in April?  The top 4 people this month are:

Graham Bragg

Liz Bragg

Vera Watts

Jill Baber

Well done everyone!

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣  Face to Face Sessions ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 

We have decided that we will set the following guidance for playing at the club:

• Do not attend the club if you feel unwell with any symptom including, but not limited to, upper respiratory, headache, fatigue and muscle weakness.
• If you are a person who has regular social interactions (for example with school aged children, other groups, wider family members etc) then before attending please take a lateral flow test on the same day as the session" (we gather these will no longer be free after end of Feb 2022)
  

  We will continue to employ reasonable safety measures during the sessions. 

As we start going back to playing Face to Face, we have created some reminders for us all of what we need to do.

Click here to access the document.

Go to appropriate date in calendar to book a session. 

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣  Having problems with RealBridge? ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 

If you have difficulties with RealBridge you can phone their support line which is 0794 232 2209.  Support is available from 7am to 11pm.

If you use an IPad please ensure that you read and follow the advice issued by RealBridge even if you are currently not experiencing any difficulties with your Ipad.  Please click here to see the document.

Declarer Play Strategy and Splinter products have now been added (Dec 2021)
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣  Topic Based Practice Hands ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 
Sometimes it can be helpful to just play a few hands and chat with your partner about a specific topic that you are either learning or revising.  Using the RealBridge platform we have created a facility which allows you to pick your own time to play practice hands focussed on specific topics as either a group of 4 or 8 players.  Here’s how it works:

·       Go to the Practice hands section of the club shop (click here) where you can see the topics available and buy the desired product stating the date that you would like to play.  (One person buys the product – 1 or 2 tables)
·       Within a couple of days, you will be sent guidance on how to run the session, notes on the topic that you can look at before playing and a handout which you can circulate after the session has been played.

We
·       The coordinator will circulate the links for the session and run the session on the day
·       You will play 16 hands and after each hand guidance notes will appear on the table which you can all discuss before moving to the next hand.
·       There is no time limit on the session, but expect it to last about 2.5 hours

Currently available are: Declarer Play Strategy, Splinters, Transfers, Law of Total Tricks, Roman Key Card Blackwood, Checkback Stayman, Dealing with Pre-empts and Fourth Round Forcing.

We also have a presentation explaining how the sessions are created.  Click here if you are interested to learn more about the setup of Topic Based Hands.

 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣  Club Shop  ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 

You can use the shop to do any of the following:

• Pay table money for sessions on RealBridge or special charity events on RealBridge or BBO. 
• Apply for new Membership of the club or renew your membership.
• Book training sessions.

More information on how the shop operates can be seen from the 'Shop' tab on the left of this page.  When using the shop, the first point of entry should be the Home Page - where you register or log in to your account.  Click here to access the shop.

We would like to encourage members using the site to purchase an Account Top-Up providing funds that can be used to buy sessions or other products from the shop.

Supervised play sessions are aimed at helping players to develop their confidence with bidding and playing.  These sessions are not a replacement for lessons and it is not intended that new conventions are taught.  The supervisors will help participants get the best out of the systems that each participant plays.  Each session offers the opportunity to play up to 12 pre-dealt hands with a supervisor giving advice on each of the hands.  

Bridge for all players

Basingstoke Bridge Club is the largest club in Hampshire and 48th in England (by player sessions) and welcomes all bridge players, from complete beginner to expert. It runs an active teaching and development programme as well as sessions aimed at different levels of bridge.  More information is available through the 'Teaching at Basingstoke Bridge Club' section on the left hand menu.

The Club is currently operating a mixture of Face to Face and online sessions - check the calendar for details.

If you would like to know more about our club, please ring me on 01962 882715 or email me - bstokebridge.chairman@gmail.com

John Fairhurst - Chairman

The Basingstoke Chess Club use the premises when open. For information please phone John Shaddick on 01256 469749. There is also a link to their web site -  www.basingstokechessclub.co.uk