GCBA is starting a Learners’ Duplicate game this week (9th October first session) , running on BBO every Friday at 1930 and open to all who are in or just out of classes in Gloucestershire.  It will run like any Virtual Club’s duplicate session (the Cheltenham BC website explains how that works but this time search for "gcba") and will allow more time per board, will allow asking for help, and will be supported with a commentary on the hands immediately afterwards. Each session will cost BB$4 per person and anyone who wants to play will need to submit to teachers@gcba.org.uk their name and BBO name before their first session. There will be facilities for teachers to come and spectate and interact with the players – but I need to set that up in advance so please let me know if you want to be involved in that way.  Please advertise this wherever you can.

There are plenty of opportunities around

• CHELTENHAM BC WEEKLY GAMES (see their website about access for non-members) which cost BB$4 per session -10 games to choose from - 
  • Open Duplciate : at 1345 hrs on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; at 1930 hrs on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and another at 1000 hrs Saturday.
  • Gentle Duplicate : Tuesday and Thursday at 1000 (limited to NGS-7)
• NEWENT Bridge Club : is now running a game every Wednesday afternoon at 1400 hrs and Friday evening at 1915 hrs : details on their website - click here.
• SOMERFORD KEYNES Bridge Club : is now running a game, on alternating Wednesdays and Thursdays at 1900 hrs : details on their website - click here
• TUDOR Bridge Club in Chipping Sodbury : run online games on Tuesday evening, Wednesday afternoon and Thursday evenings : details on their website - click here.
• STROUD Bridge Club : has started online pairs tournaments on third and fourth Wednesdays evenings of the rmonth (1900 hrs, $3.50) : please contact Nigel Pitel for details
• WOTTON Bridge Club : is now playing tournaments on MOnday and Wednesday evenings on Bridge Club Live (you have to be a BCL member to play) : details on their website - click here.

• EBU DAILY GAMES
  • Daily 9-HIGH relaxed game at 1100 hrs and *NEW*  at 1930 hrs
  • The Lockdown League : over 150 teams in 12 divisions, the fifth season is about to start; contact charlie@ebu.co.uk if you want to enter.
  • Daily games 1200, 1400, 1530, 1930, 2100 every day : full results at the EBURESULTS website - click here.  Worth noting is that seom proceeds from playing here go into the EBU clubs fund - so it also supports your local club (if it is affiliated).
    • Local successes recently have included Krisitan & Robot 1st/65 on 22nd Oct, Ashok & Simon Hartley came 2nd/66 on 20th Oct, Val & Patrick P came =1st/49 on 17th Oct, Ashok & David Simons came 1st/42 on 14th Oct, Kristian & Robot were 1/10 and Andrea & Stan Powell came 1/32 on 7th Oct, Jim Simons & Patrick Phair were 1/76 on 7th Oct, Kristian & Robot coming 1/46 on 26th Sep, Ashok & Jack coming 1/22 on 6th September, Val & Patrick P coming 1/77 on 4th of September, Kristian & Robot friend 1st/58 on 16th July and 1st/76 on 4th August and 1st/33 on 14th August : PLEASE REPORT ANY OTHER SUCCESSES.
• NEW TO DUPLICATE?
  • EBED run Assisted Duplicate sessions on Wednesday and Friday afternoons starting at 1400 hrs, with a teacher on-hand to answer questions as you play, and a ZOOM session afterwards for more discussion. All for BB$3 per session. 
  • OBA is running a NGS-5-HIGH pairs event on Saturday 1st August.  Click here for more details. {Last session was won by a Cheltenham pair - Val Barbour & Jan Kinane.

• Online Inter-County events : our Representative Events Committee has been active with corresponding people in other counties and we are trialling online matches. Click here for the current status.  If you would like to become involved in representing the county in online competitions please email Alan Wearmouth on alan.wearmouth@gcba.org.uk 

We are pleased to announce that Andrew Kambites has been granted the Silver Award by the EBU in recognition of his many contributions to the game over the years, which include

• being a leading teacher, notably of youngsters who are now prominent players, who has always been very willing to share his teaching materials,
• being a prolific author (and co-author with some well known figures) and making regular contributions to English Bridge and to the Mr Bridge magazine,
• serving as Chief TD for the County and a senior congress director for the EBU, and for some time on the GCBA committee,
• early work on bridge playing software, and in recent decades directing and running seminars and bridge holidays.

The GCBA Constitution asks for an AGM to happen in “in May or June of each year, or as soon as possible thereafter” and we had an AGM scheduled for 10^th May but it has been postponed. The committee is concerned that its mandate will expire and indeed there is a limit to how long a person can be a committee member (six consecutive years, or three consecutive years in one post).  With uncertainty as to how well an online AGM would work, we have decided a first step would be to consult the membership – so we need your feedback please on

1. Whether you feel we should organise an online AGM (noting that while you respond to this question those not online do not even see it)
2. Whether the direction the committee is taking with the provision of online events and facilitating clubs to play online needs any re-direction
3. Whether you know of anyone who could help bolster the committee which is currently running with two vacancies. We are particularly interested in people different from the “Monday Night Players” who currently populate the committee.

Contact any committee member or email to gcba-agm@gcba.org.uk with your thoughts.

PS : if thinking about the future you might also like to consider the page postulating what we might do online in the autumn (see LH menu)

The lockdown is a wonderful opportunity for people to learn this game.  Why don't you look for anyone you could teach - see if these slide shows (updated 10 May) help

• Learn bridge in 15 minutes (and here's the storyboard for these slides)
• Learn minibridge in 3 minutes (and there's another version here)
• Learn bidding in 10 minutes

If you want to illustrate the game quickly to people - this amazing 3 minutes video shows it all.

Once you have got past this introduction you might find the material at this NZ site worthwhile.

This is a great way to keep your brain active, and to keep in touch with your friends. There are three primary options available, and these are well described on the EBU pages - click here to read.  

The key attributes of the options are

>>    BRIDGEBASEONLINE (BBO) : there are tens of thousands playing BBO each day, and the first EBU games on 17th March had 26 tables and 21 tables and ran smoothly. The cost is $1.5 per 12 boards which is good value and EBU Masterpoints are assigned.  There is a great variety of bridge on BBO, but in the EBU competitions (NEW fast game at 1200, 1400, 1530, 1930 and 2100 hrs daily) the majority are playing Acol and are regular players at clubs in England.  You can turn up as a pair, and singletons can visit the partnership desk or play with a robot. Details on how to play an EBU game are HERE. There is lots of guidance on using BBO available from the EBU - click here - and at the Berwick Bridge Club - click here to view.  If ever you have to upload prepared hands to BBO for play - here's how.

>>    BRIDGE CLUB LIVE : you will need a BCL login but there is a free guest facility and a more complete service available for an annual fee. There are very attractive special offers at this moment - read here.  BCL is a friendly club and is based in England, so system familairy will be high. There is also the facility for Bridge Clubs to run their own sections within BCL, and this might be attractive to allow a club's players to keep in touch with each other.

>>    FUNBRIDGE : offers great facilities for playing bridge with robots, and you get an initial allocation of hands when you sign up, but have to pay a small amount per hundred hands thereafter. Robots are sometimes more predictable than humans, but sometimes less so; they bid and play fast.

There are apps available for BBO and FUNBRIDGE on mobile devices, and BCL is also available on phones through a browser.

Provided you are not playing competitively, the pleasure of online bridge can be serious enahnced by running alongside a video conference of the style supported by Zoom or Skype or Google Hangouts. Do try it.

If you have useful advice or experiences to relate, please email to online@gcba.org.uk and we can share this.

Cotswold Cup : (equal)  Enid Castle & Sybil Davies,  Jonathan Bailey & Stan Powell

Autumn Pairs: John Councer & Mark Rogers

Swiss Teams: Peter Waggett & Mark Rogers, Tony Hill & Alan Wearmouth

Mixed Pairs:  Anne Swannell & Steve Sasanow (Flitch - Wendy & Joe Angseesing)

VIctor Ludorum - Geoffrey Paterson trophy: Mike Wignall

Summer Teams: John Councer & Mark Rogers

Summer Pairs: Joe Angseesing

Please email any external result to results@gcba.org.uk for inclusion here.

Tollemache :  the EBU's inter-county teams of eight event was held over the weekend of 16/17 November. Thirty-six counties played in four groups of nine teams with the leading two teams from each group qualifying for the final in February. Gloucestershire were lying in mid-table after the first day, but a great performance on the Sunday saw them finish in second place to qualify for the final. Well done to Richard Butland, Garry Watson, John Atthey, Claire Robinson, Richard Chamberlain, Patrick Shields, Richard Plackett & Paul Denning.