We are extremely sad to learn that Derek passed away on 31st March.
He was a very well-known and respected Bridge Teacher, and a loyal supporter of
S.B.B.C. Derek introduced lots of his pupils to the Club – many of whom are now
extremely skilled players and long-term members.
Our thoughts and condolences go to his wife Janet and their family at this time.
Please look at the “Tribute to Derek” page on www.derekcook.muchloved.com where
you’ll find many wonderful family pictures and music that Derek enjoyed.
We’ll miss you Derek and your wonderful smile.

March Competitions
The wnners of the March Competitions were

Best Pair    Neil Crawford & Nigel Wofendale
Best Individal                        Bob Holder
Best with Four  Partners           Nigel Marlow
Jack High Best Pair Annabel Wade & John Boorman
Jack High Best Individual  Stephen Silver
Best Non-expert   Geoff & Mary Whitton (1st equal)
The final positions in all the competitions can be seen, using the titles on the feft

The April competitions are now running.
See the LH index for the current positions

Standby Pairs Wanted
We are grateful to the members who act as Standby Pairs, to avoid the need to have robots.
As always, we are seeking volunteers to fill in gaps in the list for the next few weeks.

Please have a look at the email which is being sent out and let Evelyn know if you can help

We have now bee running Online Bridge for over a year

On  Monday 16th March last year there were normal sessions in the morning and, for Burnham Bridge Club, in the evening.  But because of the news and Government warnings, it had to be announced that the Club would close on the following day until further notice.and the Galway Bay holiday planned a few weeks later was cancelled.

It was quickly decided that the Club should investigate the possibility of organising Online Bridge for members; few members had ever played online and it was not known what interest there might be. It was ascertained that Bridge Base Online would be able to provide a suitable platform for us, and we were recommended to contact Stefan Skorchev, an expert player with experience of organising BBO bridge who, we discovered, has a small team of TDs experienced in running BBO events. Stefan was able to organise two short "Taster" events in the following week and, as a result of their success, our first full session of 18 boards on Friday 27th March.  Stefan and his team have organised all our online Bridge since then, with Niki (Niki98) and Asen (Dart Vader) being our main TDs.

There were inevitably a few initial problems, some caused because BBO were struggling to cope with the huge increase in demand for Online Bridge as lockdowns came into effect around the world, but happily there have been very few occasions when our sessions have not been able to go ahead as planned. 

The good numbers attending our sessions enabled the Club to run 4 sessions a week immediately, increasing to 6 sessions when we introduced the two "Gentle Bridge " sessions in May and then to the present ten weekly events in August.  Another change in August was the increase to 20 boards by popular demand instead of 18, for all events except "Gentle Bridge"

It's good to know, from the numbers attending our online sessions, that the Club has helped members to reduce the stress and boredom of a year of lockdown and restrictions. We look forward to the eventual reopening of the Barn, but at present there is no clear indication when that might be.

The link for the RealBridge session next Wednesday will be shown here
from about 9.30 on the morning of the event

It will only be necessary to click the link to take you to the login page.

Our RealBridge sessions are for SBBC Members and registerd guests only..
Anyone who has not previously played at SBBC online MUST pre-register beforehand
with Evelyn, giving their full name, EBU number and contact email address, plus their BBO username if they have one.

For anyone new to RealBridge, there is an excellent guide to its use and features on the Berks & Bucks CBA website
There are two points regarding equipment which we suggest you should check first
1. Test your video and microphone as described on RealBridge online to ensure that  they are working.
2. We do not recommend using a small screen iPad,. A laptop or PC is less likely to lead to problems.

SBBC have introduced a new financial system which will help us in keeping  track of table money paid and owing.  
Online members will still receive a request for payment at the end of each month,
and  will in future be able to see a complete record of past payments and their current balance at any time.

Online members will shortly receive an email from Nigel, giving more details of the system.

Online Members should select “Online Member Statements” from the Main Index for their own statement

Members who have not registered to play online are not affected at present. 
They will receive information about the new system when the barn re-opens for face-to-face Bridge.

Last week's Hand of the Week showed how the Declarer can, in the right circumstances, produce an extra trick by leading out a long suit and squeezing an opponent  into having to discard a critical card..  This does not always require great skill from the declarer, but only the ability to remember what has been played and discarded,

Today's hand from Wednesday evening 17th shows a less common form of the same genre, where an extra trick is created "from nowhere", 
At some tables East opened 1♠ and, over South's 4♥ West had an easy 4♠ bid to make things more difficult for South; sometimes South went on to 5♥ and this usually  was defeated.

At the table shown, South had an easier time, playing in 4♥. West started by cashing ♣AK and then a third small Club for East to ruff and South overruff.  It now looks as if South will make his eight Heart tricks and the two Aces in Dummy, for 10 tricks, without any hope of any more.  But South, without any clear idea of what might happen, crossed to ♦A and then ran all his Hearts.  After 9 tricks had been played, the remaining cards were as shown.

When South led his last Heart, West had to retain ♣Q, which he was known to hold, and thereore discarded a Spade.  South then threw ♣9 from Dummy and it was East's turn to suffer: he either had to throw ♦K or a Spade. South could now cash either his Diamond winner plus ♠ A or cross to Dummy's two Spade tricks.  So South had squeezed both defenders in turn to achieve a Double Squeeze - making a very happy Declarer and a rather disgruntled oppposition..

We will be happy to mention other events which might be of interest to our members here

Click on the title above to see the schedule of
bridge classes for 2021 
Please contact Chrys Poole 01628 440600 or poolefamily@ntlworld.com 
for further details

Members or anyone making enquiries about any aspect of the Club's online bridge
are welome to contact any of the four SBBC Company Directors.
The details below show their special interests.

We have no idea when we might be abe to return to the barn
and will continue to provide online Bridge
We thank all those members who volunteer as standbys, avoiding the need for robots.
We are now seeking standby pairs for  the next few months
Please contact Evelyn Crossley (details above) if you can help.