Alan Snell

It is with sadness that we have to report the death earlier this week of Alan Snell. Alan was a long-time and popular member of the club and will be greatly missed.

The funeral will be held at Haycombe on Friday 7 August. Numbers are restricted, but there will be a gathering afterwards for friends at Saltford Golf Club, at approximately 12.00-12.15 pm (not 11.30 am, as previously stated).

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

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!

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.