• CHANGE OF PLAN : Monday afternoon moves to Monday evening with a 1930 start immediately (following poor attendance and as the preference of all the players)
•  
• GCBA has started planning an online season - see here to the current thinking, and pass your thoughts to plans@gcba.org.uk 
• The Weston-super-mare Congress is happening ONLINE over 9 days (26 Sep - 04 Oct) ; click here for all the details.
• There are some interesting games to watch, with commentary by the players, at the NEW TRICKS website, click here for one of their videos featuring names you will recognise.
• Another new online learning option is the "Tricks of the Trade" channel on YouTube - which has lessons at various levels,m and you first taster is free.  Click here to see the introduction.
•  
• There is another online bridge platform gaining traction, called STEPBRIDGE : the WBU are running free tournaments on it twice weekly - click here for details.
• And another which includes integrated audio/video so you can chat at the table, called REALBRIDGE - click here for details.
• There is a massive HELP section in BBO - not well advertised - at http://www.bridgebase.com/help/v2help/

Other Online Opportunities

There are plenty of opportunities around -

• GCBA Online Swiss Teams: first series won by the JONES team : second series won by the SHIELDS teasm; now playing round 1 of series 3 - full details here.  New teams welcome - email to online-swisst@gcba.org.uk.
• GCBA Online 9-High Swiss Pairs : first and second series both won by KINGHAM & POLHILL : third series will start on 16th August - full details here  New pairs can join - email to online-swissp@gcba.org.uk if you are interested..
• GCBA Online Summer Pairs : first series won by BUTLAND & WAGGETT : second series now afternoons from Monday 6th July and will run for eight weeks (running scores click here)
  • every Monday evening at 1930 hrs. It costs BB$4 to play and you must be registered to play. If in doubt email to online-pairs@gcba.org.uk  with your real name and your BBO name.
  • on the day you must login to BBO, go to "Competitive" and then "All Tournaments" and search in the top box for gcba - and then register online (BBO message to patr1cks if problems)

• CHELTENHAM BC WEEKLY GAMES (see their website for access for non-members) which cost BB$4 per session
  • Open Duplciate : Tuesday 1300, Wednesday 1845, Thursday 1300, Friday 1300, Saturday 1000 (this last one free to start with)
  • Gentle Duplicate : Thursday at 1000 (limited to NGS-7)
  • Learners' Duplicate : Tuesday at 1000
• 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 to supplement their Wednesday teams games : please check their website.

• EBU DAILY GAMES
  • *NEW* daily 9-HIGH relaxed game at 1100 hrs
  • The Lockdown League : over 150 teams in 12 divisions, the third season has started and has three Gloucestershire teams; 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 Kristian & Robot friend 1st/58 on 16th July and 1st/76 on 4th 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 

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 third run has just finished and the fourth has started : the Kwatra team remain in Div Three, the Williams team  has been promoted into Div Six, and Seymour team remains in Div Ten after having been just one place out of promotion.

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.

CHELTENHAM BRIDGE CLUB IS CLOSED.  All Monday night bridge is cancelled until further notice, as are squad practices and weekend competitions (County Pairs, Ace of Clubs).

We have declared the County League and the Spring Teams to have completed at their last played session.

We are investigating what GCBA can do in the way of organising on-line bridge games.

The CHELTENHAM CONGRESS due in May 2020 is cancelled, please contact the organisers by email to congress@gcba.org.uk for a refund.

THESE ARE ALL CANCELLED.

[see calendar entries or Events menu for more information]

Saturday 28th March : County Pairs final at CBC at 1100 hrs

Sunday 29th March : Ace of Clubs Final at CBC at 1330 hrs

Sunday 17th May : AGM and Steve Darke Salver (pairs) at CBC at 1330 hrs

TD TRAINING : EBED is running a course for new directors, at Solihull (WMBC) on Tuesday 18th February. It is the first of four monthly sessions leading to an assessment and qualification.

There is lots of learning to be done at the Gloucestershire Youth Bridge - click here for its website.

CHELTENHAM :  The teaching team are starting a new series of lessons starting in September. For more information see the club web site.

GLOUCESTER:  Lessons available on Monday at Gloucester B.C.;  see the GBC website for details.

NEWENT : Starting 27th September 2019 (1850 hrs for 1900).  More details at click here.  EBU qualified teachers, and it runs for two terms.

MALMESBURY (Tetbury & Cirencester) : Robert Cobbold offers "fun and friendly bridge for beginners and beyond.  07526451532" 

TETBURY : Jim Edwards runs lessons as part of the South Cotswolds Bridge Club venture - see the web site.

CHIPPING SODBURY: Lessons start in September after a free taster session on 10th September. - see website

WOTTON-UNDER-EDGE (boundary of South Glos and Glos, NW Wiltshire) : Ian Cooke (accredited EBUTA teacher) offers lessons for beginners, improvers and runs Gentle bridge sessions. Contact details here.

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.