It is somewhat more than a month since my last message. It has been a long month. I hope you are all keeping safe and well. We are ‘past the peak’ but the chances of resuming normal bridge still seem rather remote. Online bridge is providing some relief and, although I am still not an unalloyed fan, I am having some very enjoyable games with friends.

Amanda Sowter has developed a weekly DCBA club session, which is proving highly successful. This week there were 18 tables and if demand grows further, we can cope. If you would like to dip a toe in the virtual water just let her know – details of how to join BBO are also on the website. The teams of 4 format seems to work well on BBO and Jim Parker is investigating running our Vic Morris and Brigden competitions under their auspices – watch this space.

So when might we be able to return to normal bridge? No-one knows yet but when the law allows DCBA will be keen to support a resumption and are thinking about how this might be safely achieved. With appropriate social distancing, masks and good hand hygiene the risks may be less than many may fear. To quote her Majesty, ‘We will meet again’.

Alastair McCance

The DCBA is running a 24 board bridge duplicate every Wednesday at 7pm.  These session are open to players of all abilities and will be scored as Match Pointed Pairs.
If you need to know more about BBO click on this news header.

The charge will be the minimum set by BBO of $3.  An EBU director will set up the movement and be on hand in case of any problems.   

If you would like to play please send the following to amandasowter667@gmail.com (07812 369243):  

• Your name
• Your EBU number
• BBO user name

Once we have this information loaded into BBO once you will not need to repeat for future sessions, just turn up as and when you like and follow the directions below.

The tournaments will open for registration 2 hours before they starts. Both players in a partnership need to be logged on to BBO for them to register. They can then logoff but need to be back in time for the start of the tournament. The players find the tournament and register as follows:

• Log on to BBO
• Click Competitive under Play or Watch Bridge
• Click All Tournaments
• In the Search Box (above where it says “Entries”) type Derbyshire
• Click on the event in the list
• Enter the BBO name of their partner
• Click invite. Their partner will also need to be logged on to BBO in order for them to register.

Every day, the EBU are running pairs events on BBO at noon, 14:00, 15:30, 19:30 and 21:00. For more info click here.

The government recommended cancellation of all unnecessary social gatherings. In view of this clear, scientific-based advice, the DCBA is cancelling all of its events until further notice.

For the latest advice on Coronavirus click here and here.

To help support the NHS the Surrey County Bridge Association will be running an online Simultaneous Pairs event during from 27th April to 1st May. Each session will start at 10.00am and will consist of 21 boards. It is open to all EBU affiliated clubs, and all EBU members either individually or as a pair. Caterham Bridge Club have kindly agreed to host sessions for individuals and pairs that do not have access to a club that is participating. More details: https://www.ebu.co.uk/node/3768

Although in its infancy the Midlands Counties Working Group are looking at setting up inter-county BBO bridge matches if there is sufficient interest the aim is to establish inter-county teams of 4 matches possibly segregated into leagues based upon the NGS team rankings. Would any bridge partnerships interested in finding out more or even wanting to play for Derbyshire in these Inter County challenge events please register their interest by email to Richard Edwards richardwynedwards@gmail.com.

For those of you who want to play bridge during the lockdown, please read the following brief on Bridge Base Online (BBO):

Capabilities of BBO mean you can:

• Play bridge on your own with automated partner and opposition (the automated players are called Robots)
• Play bridge with a friend against two Robots. Robots cost under £1 per week for unlimited use
• Play bridge with three friends - free
• Join existing tables of BBO members - free (there are between 10,000 and 50,000 people playing on BBO 24 hours a day)
• Join organised duplicate sessions - variable fee (some organised on BBO by the EBU)
• There are many other great training tools and bridge related articles for you to read and take part
• Watch international matches being played - e.g. Camrose - free. Many of the top matches around the world are shown on BBO works

To start, go to https://www.bridgebase.com/ and click on Login/Register at the top right.

If you want to use Robots or enter organised competitions by BBO or the EBU you will also need to add £10 to your account.

Once you have registered and logged in, there is a help facility at the top of the page to help you understand how BBO.

But, assuming you have logged in and deposited some money into your account, suggest you first play some hands with some Robots to get the hang of playing bridge on-line. To do this click on "Casual" and then click on "Start table with 3 robots".

Take the plunge. Nothing bad will happen and you will quickly get used to playing on-line. It's not as enjoyable and personable as playing with real people but if you like the bridge game itself you will enjoy the experience.

Good Luck

Roger Floutier