Even though the days of Burnham's monthly teams-of-4 event seem lost in the mists of time, teams still figure large in the Club's programme.

Leaving aside the monthly imped-pairs event, which is as close as we can get to multiple teams on the BBO platform, the Club still has two teams-of-8 competing in the Berks & Bucks divisional tournament, at least two teams-of-4 in the National Inter-Club Knock-Out [NICKO] competition, and one team-of-24 vying annually with the Ascot Club for custody of the Burnham-Ascot Shield for the subsequent 12 months. There are additionally a number of Club members taking part in other, non-club-representative, Berks & Bucks teams events.

The 2025-26 season was without doubt the Club's most successful on record:

• Burnham A comprising Naomi Gibbs [captain], Mike Rawlins, Bob Holder, David Owen, Ivan Leung, Steve Johnston, Chris Mooney, Phil Thornton topped Division 1 of the Berks & Bucks League-of-8 tournament, a feat only once before achieved by a Burnham team
• As a result, Burnham A went to on to represent Berks & Bucks in the EBU Inter-County Garden Cities Tournament. The team won its regional final in Cheltenham, and went on to finish 3rd in the national final, a tremendous achievement. The Club is very grateful to Naomi for her sterling work as captain, and we should mention that Naomi & Mike were joint highest cross-imp scorers in the final. Thanks to Vanessa Clarke and Trevor Morris who joined a slightly rejuggled team for the final.
• Although very much in the shadow of the A team in the league-of-8, the B team also competed in Division 1 of the Berks & Bucks tournament, and finished with a creditable, above-average score. Captain Graham Dickens used a 13-member squad during the season.
• Although the Burnham-Ascot match plays a significant social role in both Clubs' programmes, nevertheless both clubs try to avoid coming second in this contest, and we were delighted back in August to become custodians of the Shield for the subsequent twelve months. Our 24-player team included 9 members who had not taken part in any of our other teams activities.
• The Club entered two teams-of-4 into the NICKO tournament, Burnham A comprising Mike Rawlins [captain], Naomi Gibbs, Bob Holder, David Owen, and Burnham B comprising Ivan Leung [captain], Steve Johnston, Evelyn Crossley, Nigel Lancaster.. The A team reached Round 5 before losing to Young Chelsea B; the B team won 3 matches before being pipped by another Young Chelsea team.

All in all, we're delighted that 30 of our members played some part in the Club's teams activities, but do remember that teams is not an end in itself - we put them together for the benefit of our members, so if you'd like to take part in some way, we'd like to make this happen. Onwards and upwards!

As the 2025-26 League-of-8 season draws to a close, we're delighted to report that our A team has won the Division 1 Championship. Although Reading A could tie with Burnham on Victory Points by winning their final match 20-0, our team will still prevail as it won its head-to-head match with Reading A 13-7.Our team, consisting of Bob Holder, David Owen, Phil Thornton, Chris Mooney, Ivan Leung, Steve Johnston, Mike Rawlins, and captain Naomi Gibbs, will now represent Berks & Bucks in the inter-county Garden Cities tournament later this year.

Our B team, which also competes in Division 1, completed its programme with a 19-1 win over Basingstoke A earlier this week, thereby ending the season in a very respectable mid-table position.

Whilst the same 8 players have played in all A team matches, the B team has been drawn from a squad of 13 Club members, and we're very pleased that so many of our members have been involved in league-of-8 activity.

Burnham's 59-26 win over Bedford A  last night [Wednesday 21 January] takes the team, captained by Ivan Leung, through to a 3rd-round match against Lymington A.

Match details may be found at Burnham v Bedford A.

3rd-round matches have to be played by 15 March.

The evening is open to visitors, but only members can qualify for the final.

Visitors can apply to join Burnham now and they could become members in time for the heat.  We don’t charge a joining fee and annual subscription fees are zero currently.

We especially welcome visitors on 1st December, because the more pairs that play in the heat, the more qualifying pairs can play in the final.
 

Click for AGM 2025 Chairman's Report

Both of our league-of-8 teams played in Division 1 of the Berks & Bucks Divisional tournament in the 2024-25 season.

The battle for the title was between 3 teams:  Amersham A, Reading A, and Burnham A, and our own team finished 3rd. Although we finished 20 VPs behind division winners Amersham A, we had the distinction of being the only team to beat this strong team.

Burnham B had a tough start to the season, with their first 3 matches being against Burnham A, Amersham A, and Reading A, after which our team had accumulated the grand total of 9 VPs. Things were not looking good, but the team put this early setback behind them, and went on to finish behind our A team in joint 4th position.

So both teams are eagerly looking forward to the new season - good luck both. 

Berks & Bucks staged the final of the Waller Bowl yesterday in Windsor [qualifying heats held in clubs], and Burnham members figured extremely prominently.

Of the 4 pairs qualifying from the Burnham heat, all finished in the top half of the field, and A-team captain Naomi Gibbs playing with Mike Rawlins finished 4th.

Another of our A-team pairs, Bob Holder and David Owen, finished in 2nd position.

But [drum roll] Club Chairman Graham Dickens playing with wife Sue finished top of the leader board with 61.93%, and collected the trophy!

Congratulations to all our pairs, but especially to Sue and Graham.

The Burnham committee has decided to change the Undo regulation for its online games.  Up until now, no Undos have been allowed, either in the bidding or play of the cards. 

With effect from January 6^th 2025, the Club has changed its Tournament Regulation on Undos in online games played on BBO. Ever since Burnham sessions started online the regulation has been not to allow Undos in the bidding or play. Club regulations are now to allow Undos in the bidding but not in the play.  This aligns Burnham regulations with those in events regulated by the EBU, SBBC and many other clubs. 

Undos in the bidding will be allowed for genuine misclicks, but not for changes of mind, lapses of concentration or inattention to the game.

The regulation is based on extracts from the Laws of Bridge (2017) and the EBU Blue Book (2024).  Please note that opponents have the right to refuse an Undo request if they are unsure of the circumstances; the TD must be called if there is a request for an UNDO in the auction, and the situation is at all unclear. It is not “unfriendly” to call the director at any time in our game.  Most misclicks can be avoided if your BBO account settings Confirm Bids and Confirm Cards are turned on.  To read more about the change, please Click Here.

If a member or visitor (not familiar with the regulation) requests an Undo during the card play, the director must be called immediately.  The director will rule that Burnham game regulations do not allow Undos during the card play and instruct the request to be refused.  Please remember that "Best Behaviour at Bridge" requires players to respect such a director ruling.  

The Club switched its Monday-evening session to BBO at the outset of Covid, and continues to operate online.

All sessions are pairs events, with the third Monday of the month being scored via cross-imps.

The Club operates two teams in the Berks & Bucls League-of-8 divisional competition.