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| Improvers' Hand of the Week |
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Short and sharp – splinters revisited
(posted on Sat 24 October)
Click here to find it
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| Anyone for the NICKO 2020-21? |
The EBU are now taking entries for the National Inter-Club Knockout (Nicko for short). As you would expect from the name, all of our teams must be bona fide members of Bath Bridge Club. It will be played online this year. While we would like to encourage teams to enter, there will be strong opposition, so we recommend that only those who regularly play in the club Open Pairs (or other competitions of a similar standard) enter.
If you are interested in playing, please contact Richard Samter (richardsamter@virginmedia.com or 07974 279153 / 01225 834703). It might be possible to match interested pairs, but we would prefer you to enter as a team. Entries must be received by Sunday November 15th.
For further information from the EBU website, click here.
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Roger Boothroyd
It is with great sadness that we report that Roger Boothroyd, who was a member of Bath BC for many years, died in August after a long illness. Roger was a regular partner of John Marshall and was also one of our club directors. We offer our deepest condolences to his wife and family.
Chris Jones
Sunday 11 October 2020
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Andrew Butt
It is with great sadness that we report the death of Andrew Butt, a former long-standing member of Bath BC.
Andrew began playing Chicago for pennies at Catherine Place, then progressed to partnering Paul Swan (and later Ann Trevanion) on Wednesdays when Bath BC played at Twerton.During this time he was diagnosed with Parkinson's, and so began a long struggle which he bore so bravely. He was an excellent bridge player, renowned for his intuition as to when a 'double' was appropriate. Many members will have fond memories of epic bridge battles with him over the years. He was a sociable, generous, kind and charming man with a mischievous sense of humour – always great fun whenever you were in his company.
May he rest in peace. We offer our deepest condolences to his wife and family.
Angela Gunning, Ann Trevanion
Friday 02 October 2020
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BBO ♦ Frequently Asked Questions ♦ FAQ
All you need to know about signing up, making friends, chatting, buying BB$ credit, finding and joining Bath BC tournaments, playing, alerting, claiming, checking your score ...
Click here
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 Robots and me
Trevor has been finding out what it's like partnering a robot.
Click here for more ...
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| Bath BC sessions on BBO ... |
Improvers' Pairs
15 boards – suitable for players with NGS up to 6
Starts at 10 am every Tuesday (sign-up 8 am – 9.50 latest)
Social Pairs
18 boards – suitable for players with NGS ranking 6-10
Starts at 10 am every Wednesday (sign-up 8 am – 9.50 latest)
Open Pairs
18 boards – suitable for players with NGS ranking 8 up to Ace
Starts at 7 pm every Thursday (sign-up 5 pm – 6.50 latest)
Click here for a guide to finding the session and signing up
Check out our FAQs on BBO (menu, left) and if you haven't yet registered interest please use the form below.
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| Registration form to play in Bath BC games on BBO |
Register by filling in the form below. You will receive an automated email response.
You only have to register ONCE to be eligible for all future Bath BC games. Please ONLY do this if you haven't already done so!
IMPORTANT: we need enough TIME to add you to our list of players, so don't leave it till just before your first game – register WELL IN ADVANCE
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| Playing bridge online |
There are two major websites which allow you to watch, practise and play bridge online: these are Bridge Base Online and the EBU-affiliated Bridge Club Live. Signing up is easy – and either free or involving a very modest fee, depending on your needs. Various levels of competition are available, some with Masterpoints, and you can play with a regular partner or find a partner online. There are also plenty of practice opportunities that you can access alone.
If you're interested, we recommend that you sign up for one or both of these sites and explore what's available. Playing online is a bit different from playing at a real table, so give it a try and familiarise yourselves with the way it all works, so you're ready for our online club events if/when they become available. Links are provided below.
In some ways, playing online is easier than normal bridge – see the article at the top of the page for one player's view.
We're also setting up a 'help team' of Bath BC members who can call you on request to talk you through any problems. Again, watch this space for details.
See you online!
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Click here for the home page of Bridge Base Online (BBO)
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Click here for the home page of Bridge Club Live (BCL)
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| Daily EBU games on BBO |
We think the best currently available online bridge for Bath BC members are the 12-board EBU matches on BBO. The more competitive of these run at 2.00 pm, 3.30 pm, 7.30 pm and 9.00 pm seven days a week. There is also a relaxed game, limited to players up to and including NGS 9, which runs at 11 am every day.
Sessions last 90 minutes. Most people prearrange a partner, but you can play with a robot (!) if you wish. Each session costs BB$1.50 per player, but BBO also host many other bridge games which are either free or cost just BB$1. To get started:
- Sign up for BBO – use the link above to reach the website. Membership is free.
- Purchase some credit in dollars – BB$20 will last you for a while.
- (optional) Fix up a convention card with a partner. Alternatively, just tell each new set of opponents your basic system and make sure you 'self-alert' – see further down the page.
- Get a feel for how it works: sit in on a game as kibitzer and/or chat to a Bath BC member who's familiar with BBO – email chris@boxbridge.co.uk for the latter.
- Take the plunge – register for an upcoming game – again, see below for details – and play.
The Andrew Robson Bridge Club has produced some short YouTube videos explaining how to set up on BBO. There are links to these directly below. Many thanks to the ARBC for sharing these with us.
To find an upcoming EBU game, choose Competitive, then put 'EBU' in the search box, and choose the game you want from the resulting list. You can then invite a partner (who should also be online) to play in the game, and either pay for both or go Dutch.
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How to sign up for BBO? – Click here for the ARBC guide
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How to fill out your BBO profile? – Click here for the ARBC guide
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How to set up a convention card on BBO? – Click here for the ARBC guide
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How to sign up for a game on BBO? – Click here for the ARBC guide (Substitute 'EBU' for 'ARBC' in the search)
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How to UNDO and ALERT on BBO? – Click here for the ARBC guide
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How to find BBO tournament results? – Click here for the ARBC guide
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Wondering about good etiquette and rules while playing on BBO? Click here!
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| Online tip: Self-alerting on BBO |
At the bridge club, we alert/announce our partner's bids. On BBO, it's different: there is no announcing, and you alert your own bids – this seems strange until you realise that only your opponents can see the alert; partner isn't tipped off!
So if you were eg making a Ghestem overcall of 2NT over an opening 1♥, you'd type something like '5-5 in the minors' in the Explanation box, click the Alert button, then make your bid.
Click here for the EBU's information on the subject.
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| Do you know your NGS ranking? |
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Most of us know (at least roughly) our rank as determined by the masterpoints we've accumulated. But do you know your NGS ranking?
The National Grading Scheme provides a picture of your current skill level and offers a mine of information about how well you (and your partners) are doing.
As well as being a handy and accurate measure of your progress (especially if you're an up-and-coming 'improver'), the NGS will be the basis of our upcoming switch to 'stratification' scoring in our Gentle Duplicate sessions on Thursday morning, so it's well worth knowing what it's all about.
To find out how it works – and how to tap the information it provides – click here.
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