| COVID19 |
After consulting members, Candleford Bridge has decided to suspend Tuesday sessions in Buckingham immediately, until further notice.
15 March 2020
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| Butler scoring |
Candleford Bridge sessions are currently being scored using the Butler method, which accentuates the need to bid and make your games and slams and reduces the significance of small differences in score, such as those arising when you make eight tricks in spades and someone else make the same number in No Trumps.
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| Wessex League |
Candleford Bridge has joined the Daytime section of the Oxfordshire Bridge Association's Wessex League. We played our first game against Oxford D, and very enjoyable it was too.
There are 20 'victory points' available in each match. Candleford Bridge had the lead at half time but the second half didn't go so well. In the end the VPs were shared 15 to Oxford and 5 to us.
If you click on this news item, your browser should take you to the league table.
The next match is on 6th February - in the daytime, of course. If you might like to play, have a word with captain Don Everett - all interest welcomed.
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| Robots visit Candleford Bridge |
 One way to amuse players having to sit out for a round is to put some books or magazines on the half-table; another is to invite a pair of robots to make up the table so that real bridge can take place.
That's just what we did at a recent session. N Robot and S Robot bid and played against pairs of live players, using the same deals as played at all-live tables. So the sit-out vanished. The partnership "N & S Robot" featured in the results table with a creditable 53%.
This first trial of the robots flushed out a number of technical issues and showed a number of additional possibilities. The live players all adapted to playing against the robots very well: the robots are based in the USA and it is all done over the internet, using computer tablets with touch screens.
One interesting learning-point was that rounds played against the robots were completed faster than the same rounds at live tables, despite the unfamiliarity of the computer display and operation. The robots take almost no time at all to decide on their bids and plays, and spend mere microseconds on that biggest time-bandit of all - the post mortem.
We look forward to welcoming N & S to our future sessions.
We send our thanks to Cheltenham Bridge Club for guidance in setting up the sit-out robots and to Bridge Base Online for their valuable support to our club.
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| Review sessions |
 Candleford Bridge has experimented with "review sessions" on some Tuesdays. We play a smaller number of boards (9 or 12) and then have a cup of tea while discussing the deals and the particular bidding and play with the cards and results displayed on screen with a video projector.
The boards are mostly recycled from other events or in a few cases drawn from books or other sources. We have held sessions looking at competing after an opening preemptive bid, basic signals in defence, and competitive judgements by both sides after an opening 1NT.
The sessions have proved popular with many players; some prefer the regular duplicate sessions held on the other Tuesdays. So far, we have alternated the two types of session. As it happens, the review sessions so far have coincided with Tuesdays on which there has been bridge at nearby Mursley, so we are trying the effect of jiggling the sequence to have some reviews on days when Mursley is not scheduled to hold a session. See the Calendar for dates in the near future.
Our aim is to have a host at traditional duplicate sessions so that players feel able to roll up without a partner. There is no host at the review sessions but do contact us (candlefordbridge@gmail.com) if you'd like help arranging a partner.
Doors open 2pm; first board in play by 2:15.
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| Club with a difference opens in Buckingham |
 Buckingham has a new club, aiming to provide daytime bridge in a variety of formats.
A staple will be the traditional and familiar duplicate pairs sessions, which we'll hold on most Tuesday afternoons - first open session on Tuesday 23rd April.
On some Tuesdays and other days we'll bring to Buckingham different kinds of bridge that don't much feature in clubs locally, such as review sessions (playing a smaller number of boards and then discussing the results with the hands projected on screen), Swiss pairs, rubber bridge, Chicago, café bridge, drop-in bridge.
Our first Swiss Pairs will be on Wednesday 8th May - see menu item on the left.
Whether these formats will be popular or not in the town - who knows? But we know how to find out: try them, and listen to the players.
- If you already have ideas and views, send an email to candlefordbridge@gmail.com. Tell us what you enjoy, what you hate, what's exciting, what bores you.
- If you don't have views yet, watch our calendar and come along, or tell us what you'd like to try.
We hope to see you soon.
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