Next chance is the Midlands Inter-County 9-High Swiss Pairs taking place on RealBridge on Saturday 28th January and starting at 1400 hrs; The County is allowed to enter as many pairs as we can in this event, and the County score is determined as the sum of the top three scores of pairs from the county - so the more entrants we have the better;  Your chance to represent Gloucestershire!  Details on this flyer.

AND THEN AND OPEN TO ALL : a Junior Team Fund raising event on Satruday 4th March; the event starts at 1200 hrs and will have three short sessions of bridge, punctuated by lunch and then a tea break; a number from the current English Junior Squads will attend, and we will play deals from some prestigious events in the past and will have commentaries on these and a Q&A session after each 12 boards. The entry fee - including all the freshements - is £25 per person, and you need to sign up as a pair (but if you need a partner ask Patrick on ctd@gcba.org.uk).  The entry form is under GCBA ENTRY FORMS on the menu to the left.  The event  will complete about 1800 hrs.

[IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND BUT WISH TO DONATE: please donate by bank transfer to Gloucestershire County Bridge Association with Sort Code: 20-20-15 and Account Number: 13546861 - and mark your donation "JUNdonation".  Any many thanks for anything you can give]

Another to consider is the League run by Oliver Cowan in support of Junior Bridge starting on 9th January - it involves two 8-board games a week, and we have only one Gloucestershire team (led by Ashok Kwatra) involved at the moment.  Details on this link - do think about joining in!

Next chance is the Midlands Inter-County 9-High Swiss Pairs taking place on RealBridge on Saturday 28th January and starting at 1400 hrs; The County is allowed to enter as many pairs as we can in this event, and the County score is determined as the sum of the top three scores of pairs from the county - so the more entrants we have the better;  Your chance to represent Gloucestershire!  Details on this flyer.

AND THEN AND OPEN TO ALL : a Junior Team Fund raising event on Satruday 4th March; the event starts at 1200 hrs and will have three short sessions of bridge, punctuated by lunch and then a tea break; a number from the current English Junior Squads will attend, and we will play deals from some prestigious events in the past and will have commentaries on these and a Q&A session after each 12 boards. The entry fee - including all the freshements - is £25 per person, and you need to sign up as a pair (but if you need a partner ask Patrick on ctd@gcba. ..........

Here is a list of what we know.  If you are offering teaching additional to the below or would wish to add details please notify president@gcba.org.uk so that it can be added.

• Get Started in a Weekend - course for complete beginners 21-22 January 2023 in Oddington (near Stow on the Wold). Enquiries to learnbridge@icloud.com .
• Ian Cooke, Wotton-under-Edge BC, is running a beginners' course from the end of September, contact tresham.bridge@gmail.com  01666 890261
• Jim Edwards, South Cotswolds Bridge Club, Tetbury, jimedwards811@gmail.com 01666 502914
• Gentle Duplicate/Assisted Play sessions  starting on Monday 30th May at The Priory Inn Hotel at 7.0pm, we aim to play 14 to 16 boards in the evening and the cost will be £3 table money, non members of South Cotswold Bridge Club will be welcome with table money being £4.
• There is an improvers group every Monday afternoon (not BHs) from 1400-1600 hrs at Fairford Community Centre - if interested to partake please contact Margaret Biship or Steve Love.
• Cheltenham Bridge Club is planning its 2022-2023 teaching programme at the moment, details on their website.
• Casual Play with Coaching, North Cotswolds BC, Friday 1000 hrs at Broadwell Village Hall, Hall GL56 9AH. The contact is Alan Lamb on 07946253203.
• Tudor Bridge Club in Chipping Sodbury is starting a beginners course in September 2022, as well as a refresher course, and will be starting an Intermediates Course in January 2023.  Contact Nigel at nigepmortimer@gmail.com 
• Mike Robinson, Bouton on the Hill mikerob5650@gmail.com 01386 852675
• Alan Stanfield, Churchdown/Gloucester thestanfields@outlook.com 07906849640
•  
• Mark Rogers mark@greyroofs.me.uk 01453 833588
• Box Bridge Club chris@boxbridge.co.uk 077740150721

EBED organisers of Tournament Director and Bridge Teacher training nationally lisa@ebedcio.org.uk 01296 317217

Here is a list of what we know. ..........

Last year County-wide top scorers were Patrick Shields (overall and Green Points),  Jonathan Bailey (Blue Points) and Dan McIntosh (local points).

The latest Nov 2022 figures show the leaders as Jackie Davies (all points and local points),  Garry Watson (Green Points) and Ro Kaye (Blue Points) - but there is still one month to be recorded and one month to play.

Every year the EBU also works out who has earned most local Master Points in every affiliated clubs, and there is a prize draw into which all those winners go, with £500 given out in cash prizes. These were the Gloucestershire winners last year who went into the draw

• Cam & Dursley U3A : Jane Newns
• Cheltenham : Geoff Foster
• Chipping Campden : Richard Caley & Margaret Caley
• Churchdown : Kanwar Rahim
• Gloucester : Stewart Harrison
• Newent : Dave Weller
• Northleach : Tim Morris and ??
• Somerford Keynes : Anthony Bluett & Chris Hosking
• South Cotswold : Roger Jackson
• Stroud : Ian Plewis
• Tewkesbury : Ann Bruckshaw
• Thribb : Keith Paterson
• Tudor : Nigel Mortimer
• Winchcombe : Michael Cornelius

Last year County-wide top scorers were Patrick Shields (overall and Green Points),  Jonathan Bailey (Blue Points) and Dan McIntosh (local points).

The latest Nov 2022 figures show the leaders as Jackie Davies (all points and local points),  Garry Watson (Green Points) and Ro Kaye (Blue Points) - but there is still one month to be recorded and one month to play.

Every year the EBU also works out who has earned most local Master Points in every affiliated clubs, and there is a prize draw into which all those winners go, with £500 given out in cash prizes. ..........

There are some key differences in online play of which players should be aware:

• The GCBA Regulations on UNDOs apply in bidding and in play, and are (EBU and others allow fewer cases): 
  • Please only request an UNDO for a genuine mis-click and not for a change of mind or because you were not paying attention.
  • Be generous in trusting your opponents to be honest and accept as often as you can. Call the TD if you have any difficulty accepting.
• THE GCBA and EBU Regulation on Convention Cards & Notes:
  • You are allowed, during an online game, to consult your own CC or notes during the bidding.

There are some key differences in online play of which players should be aware:

• The GCBA Regulations on UNDOs apply in bidding and in play, and are (EBU and others allow fewer cases): 
  • Please only request an UNDO for a genuine mis-click and not for a change of mind or because you were not paying attention.
  • Be generous in trusting your opponents to be honest and accept as often as you can. ..........

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 $2 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.

>>   REALBRIDGE : offers you an audio/video interface to a Duplicate Bridge game (and to a casual room too) which has been set up by a bridge organisation.  It is alittle demanding of your system/bandwidth but offers a much improved experience over other sysetms.

>>    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.

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. ..........

BREDON VALE Cup : Cheltenham

COUNTY PAIRS : Joe Angseesing & Kanwar Rahim

COUNTY LEAGUE DIV ONE : Patrick Shields & Garry Watson, Diana Nettleton & Tom Paske

COUNTY LEAGUE DIV TWO : Allan & Judy Sanis, Brian Goalby, Tony Letts & Roger Schofield, Keith Sharp

COUNTY LEAGUE DIV TWO-A : Mike Wignall & Richard Harris, Tony Roberts & Roger Williams.

BREDON VALE Cup : Cheltenham

COUNTY PAIRS : Joe Angseesing & Kanwar Rahim

COUNTY LEAGUE DIV ONE : Patrick Shields & Garry Watson, Diana Nettleton & Tom Paske

COUNTY LEAGUE DIV TWO : Allan & Judy Sanis, Brian Goalby, Tony Letts & Roger Schofield, Keith Sharp

COUNTY LEAGUE DIV TWO-A : Mike Wignall & Richard Harris, Tony Roberts & Roger Williams. ..........