Message from Simon Stokes, our Education Liaison Officer :

I want to continue my correspondence with clubs to try and improve the profile of bridge in Leicestershire and to inform you of events which you may be able to help to support.

The Education Open Forum took place on 20th June at the County Club. Many views were expressed and lots of ideas were discussed. Click here for minutes of the meeting. Link to Education Forum Minutes

The education committee is trying a new County-wide initiative to get people into bridge. Its called "Learn Bridge in a Weekend" and involves Paul Bowyer explaining the basics of the game as a precursor to the students then going on to attend first year lessons which will be held at various venues around the County. We are hopeful of attracting a number of new players to the game, some of whom will in time become members of local clubs. The course will take place at the new County Bridge club premises (St Oswald) on 7-8th September and we are contacting all club secretaries to ask for their club's help in promoting this event.

We have produced A4 notices and A5 flyers and we are asking if clubs could take some of each for their members to distribute; the A4 flyers are suitable for the notice boards of local tennis/bowls/golf/other sports clubs, libraries, supermarket promotional boards, village shop and parish notice boards, doctors and dentists surgeries - anyway, in fact, where prospective learners might see them.

The A5 flyers are for your members to hand out to friends, relatives and other contacts who they know are interested in learning the game.

Brian Stockdale has arranged the printing of these flyers - please contact him at the.stockdales@sky.com to give him an address to get these to you. Some members of certain clubs have already been contacted to start the publicity process but we would be delighted if your club could help as well, in order to spread the word around the County. The life blood of any club is its members and as Club membership is in decline, it is in all our interest to bring new players into the game. If your club is running classes this Autumn then please let me know and we can advertise them for you at the Weekend.

Thanks to Simon for this report:

As usual the Scarborough Congress was well supported by Leicestershire players with, for some of us, 5 continuous days of bridge. The Wednesday and Thursday, featured the Seniors Pairs Congress. Leicestershire was represented by Mick Mahoney & Mary Johnson, Alison Nichols & Simon Stokes,  with Pat Watson (playing with Carolyn Fisher from Warwickshire).  Both the all Leicestershire pairs reached the major final, an excellent result, and neither disgraced themselves on the Thursday, with Alison and Simon finishing 3rd (behind Jeremy Dhondy and John Holland) and Mick and Mary coming in 7th  Pat won the consolation event on the Thursday afternoon.

With Mick & Mary leaving us, on the Friday we were joined by Brian & Sheila Stockdale, Ben & Joan Gibson and Anne & Steve Wright. The teams event was a bit of a disappointment with no foursome excelling, so it was on to Saturday & Sunday  for the main event, the pairs.  After 12  matches and many ups and downs best finishers were Brian and Sheila who came 35th out of 108 pairs with Ben and Joan not far behind on 38th.

Other highlights were a delicious Mexican meal (thanks to Anne for organising) and superb lightning displays out at sea on the Friday and Saturday nights.

There are a couple of changes to the 2019/2020 calendar. LCBA League 13 is now a week earlier on 18 Mar 2020 with the spare week now 25 Mar 2020. The Leicester Mercury Bridge Trophy has been moved to 31 Mar 2020.

Please note that Westcotes Bridge Club has moved its Monday evening venue to St Oswald (County Bridge Club) as from 15th July 2019. For full details see the Westcotes Bridge Club Link to Westcotes web site home page. A decision has not yet been made regarding where league matches will be held.

The Green Pointed Swiss Pairs on 22nd June returned to Leicestershire (St Oswald) with 36 pairs competing, including 9 Leicestershire pairs. The top 5 pairs, all within 6 VPs of each other, were:

1. John & Irene Auld
2. Jenny Grant & Bharat Thakrar
3. Ufuk Cotuk & Robert Miller
4. Simon Few & Keith Nash
5. Janusz Adamowicz & Roman Gembicki

The other top half Leicestershire finish was from Dick & Lucy Pathan (7th).

This is a one-day teams of eight event open to the champion counties of each division of the five Regional Inter-County teams of eight events:

• The Northern Bridge League
• The Midland Counties League
• The Eastern Counties League
• The Western League (South West counties)
• The Metropolitan Cup (South Eastern counties)

The final was played on Sun 16th June and Leicestershire qualified for this competition by winning the 1st division of the Midland Counties League (Dawes).

Leicestershire won the competition, playing against teams from Manchester, Cambs & Hunts, Middlesex and Devon.

The team representing Leicestershire was Duncan Happer & Ben Norton, Ian Bruce & Simon Stokes, Colin Dean & Nick Stevens and Jim Mason & Dick Pathan.

Leicestershire last won the Dawes in the 2006/2007 season, when they also went on to win the inaugural National Inter-County league finals in that year.

More info, including photo and full results can be found via Ian Mitchell (of the EBU) on his web site (click here).Link to Inter-County results page

The latest committee meeting minutes 11th March 2019 are now posted under LCBA Information > minutes.

Well done to Ben Norton who was in the winning Nonnenmacher team at the EBU National Swiss Teams event. Click for the EBU reportLink to EBU report.

The Leicestershire Pairs League 2018-2019 has been completed after 5 rounds of matches. There were 24 pairs competing in three divisions of 8. Congratulations to the divisional winners.

LPL winners

• Division 1 Ian Bruce & Mick Mahoney
• Division 2 Anne & Steve Wright
• Division 3 Lucy Pathan & Anne Morris

Round 5 results can be found in the results section. 

Summary of all 14 matchesLink to LPL 2018/2019 results

The Joyce Cup is a pivot teams of four imp-scoring competition (each player plays boards with each teammate) and this year 10 teams competed at the new St Oswald venue. The top three teams were: 

1. Lyn Hilton, Irene Krantz, Andy Mackriell and Rick Wilde +60 imps
2. Ian Bruce, Alison Nichols, Ben Norton and Simon Stokes + 49 imps
3. John Bee, Marjorie Gilbertson, Jonathan Hughes and Mick Mahoney +25 imps

The Hyman Crammer is an invitational event where clubs are invited to put forward pairs for the competition, usually winners of clubs pairs competitions. 16 pairs played 9 three board rounds. The top three pairs were: 

1. Michael Ellerby & Brian Stockdale (Bradgate) 65.87%
2. Peter Neville & Tim Glover  (Glenfield) 59.26%
3. Len Kvietkauskas & Ian Thomson (Westcotes) 58.20%

The non-expert prize went to Paul Emberton and Mark Lansdale who finished 7th.

Congratulations to Paul Bowyer & Ben Norton and Marjorie Gilbertson & Judy Hill who won the Buckby Cup (mens pairs) and Olga Cup (ladies pairs) respectively. The top three pairs in each of the two competitions were:

Buckby Cup

• 1st Paul Bowyer & Ben Norton 66.96%
• 2nd Nuttall & Rick Wilde 56.55%
• 3rd John Arnold & Michael Allsopp 56.35%

Olga Cup

• 1st Marjorie Gilbertson & Judy Hill 62.85%
• 2nd= Linda Stone & Anne Wright 54.86%
• 2nd= Freda Moore & Trudi Porter 54.86%

Congratulations to Gimson Trophy winners Colin Dean & Nick Stevens. The prizewinners and top four pairs in the final were:

• 1st Colin Dean & Nick Stevens  61.54%
• 2nd Ben & Joan Gibson 56.845%
• 3rd= Paul Bowyer & Rick Wilde 54.70%
• 3rd= Lyn Hilton & Irene Krantz 54.70%

Link to Gimson Final results with Green Point awardsGimson Final results

The Samani Salver & Silver Plate competitions 2019 are now underway. A link to the draw and results is through the menu (second item down) or here Link to Samani Salver & Silver Plate competitions 2019.

Results from Josephs Bowl and Butterworth-Langley Trophy updated 2nd May 2019. The Josephs final was won by Team Mason (Paul Bowyer, Duncan Happer, Jim Mason. Ben Norton and Dick Pathan) with runners up Team Wright. The Butterworth Langley final was won by Team Halford (Peter Halford, Andy Mackriell, Peter Nuttall and Richard Smith) against Team Whiteman.

Josephs Bowl results and drawLink to Josephs Bowl draw

Butterworth-Langley Trophy results and drawLink to plate draw

Congratulations to the Stanley Trophy winners Alison Nichols & Simon Stokes. The final results can be found through the Competitions archive page or through this linkStanley Trophy results after heat 7. The prizewinners were:

1. Alison Nichols & Simon Stokes
2. Dick & Lucy Pathan
3. Mike Ayers & Tom Lindop
4. Jenny Grant & Bharat Thakrar
5. Peter Halford & John Milne

The last 2018/2019 Midland Counties match was on 14th April. We played Derbyshire (Home) and the results were :

The Dawes team have won their league and were unbeaten throughout the season. If anyone can provide archive detail of the last time we were champions then we will report on that. Both the 2nd and 3rd teams were 5th in their respective leagues. More detailed scores can be found through the results section. For fixtures, results, table and archive information refer to the Midland Counties League Link to Midland Counties League page page (in Competitions / League menu). 

Congratulations to Rosie Fowler and Cathy Sawers, 1st year students at the County Bridge Club, who won the Yates Cup. Runners-up were Tom Parry & Carole Barber. Results are available in the results section. 

Congratulations to Clarendon who were handsome winners of Division 1 averaging 9.83 VPs per match, with runners up Glenfield A. In Division 2 Loughborough A were top with Grantham A second, Division 3 was topped by County C with JSH second, and Division 4 winners were County D followed by Westcotes B. The full tables are available from the top right menu. Hope you all enjoyed the season.

Congratulations to the winners of the Leicestershire Cup Team Whiteman and the Plate winners Team Thompson.

Leicestershire Cup results and drawLink to Leicestershire Cup draw

Leicestershire Cup Plate results and drawLink to plate draw

Glenfield Bridge Club hosted another enjoyable Charity Swiss Teams event supported by 12 teams. A big thank you to all the organisers for working so hard to make the event a success. Congratulations to Team Gibson (Angela Abbott, Ben & Joan Gibson and James Spencer) who came out top. Team Wright (Linda Stone, Bharat Thakrar, David Twells and Anne Wright) were runners up. Results and hands are available in the results calendar.

Executive Committee Minutes 29th November 2018 Link to minutesare now available

Sam Punch from the University of Sterling is seeking financial support for research into the Sociology of Bridge which she is planning to undertake at the university with the aim of 'Keeping Bridge Alive'. She states: The key goals of KBA research are to transform the image of bridge, increase participation and enhance sustainability of the mind sport.

She is currently raising money to fund the project and is aiming to get as much as possible before next week when she is going to the US Spring Nationals where there is a strong possibility that whatever she has raised will be fund matched. There is much more information about the project here:

www.crowdfunder.co.uk Link to crowdfunder page

If you visit the link you will find that whilst many donations are anonymous there are some noteworthy individuals and associations - the Australian Bridge federation for one - emphasising the global nature of the appeal/problem.

We had a good entry of 11 pairs including many first year students taking part in their first competitive event. In an excellent event the top three pairs were:

1. Anita Bartys & Tom Parry  75%
2. Peter Ablett & Jean Pryor 62%
3. Bhavna Patel & Chris Herbert 55%

Justin French & Chris Terry won the 1st year prize finishing 6th with over 50%.

Congratulations to Ben Norton (playing with Ankush Khandelwai) and Alison Nichols & Simon Stokes who qualified for the EBU National Pairs Final on 10th March 2019. They finished 1st and 3rd respectively in the Midlands Regional Heat at Solihull, and 6th and 19th in the overall National ratings.  

A good entry of 36 pairs enjoyed the event and thanks to director John Wilcox, and to Robert Northage & Dave Pollard who played to complete a half table. The winners were Sandy Davies (Yorkshire) & Roman Gembicki (Derbyshire). There were 11 pairs with Leicestershire interest and top half finishes for Andy Mackriell & Peter Nuttall (4th), Robert Northage & Dave Pollard (10th), Robert Missendon & George Strang (12th), Robert Kilip & Steve Fieldhouse (16th) and Brian & Sheila Stockdale (17th).

Congratulations to Team Betterley who were winners of the Wilde Cup on 13th February 2019. The event is an imp scoring teams of four event for less experienced players and we were delighted to see 10 teams enter. Runners up were Team Walker and non-expert prize went to Team Long. The same hands were played in both the Stanley Trophy and the Wilde Cup so those competing in the Wilde Cup can see how they compared with the scores in the Stanley Trophy.

Rutland Bridge Cl;ub has changed its venue from 8th January 2019 to St Joseph's Catholic Church, Station Road, Oakham LE15 6QU. Play has also changed to Tuesday evening (from Thursday evening).

Congratulations to Simon Stokes who has been promoted to a Grand Master. To achieve this rank requires 120,000 master points including at least 600 green points. Simon joins Jim Mason and Paul Bowyer (Premier Grand Masters) and Pat Watson, Dick Pathan, Nick Stevens, Peter Harvey and Duncan Happer (all Grand Masters) as the Leicestershire players holding that rank or higher.

The Tollemache Cup qualifier 2018 was held at the Staverton Estate Hotel, Daventry on 17/18th November. The Leicestershire team was Jim Mason & Simon Stokes, Duncan Happer & Ben Norton, Colin Dean & Nick Stevens, and Rick Wilde with Dick Pathan / Kit Kitson. Leicestershire finished a creditable and close third (77 VPs) in group B behind qualifiers Cambs & Hunts and Oxfordshire (both 80 VPs). A well done to the team who were in contention for most of the event, but a loss against Yorkshire and an average result against three teams on the final day meant we just missed out.

The results were vs Cambs & Hunts lost 7-13 VPs, vs East Wales won 19-1, vs North East won 14-6, vs Yorks lost 5-15, vs Oxford drew 10-10, vs Warks won 11-9 VPs, vs Staffs & Shrops won 12-8. 

Tollemache Group B table.Link to Group B table

Tollemache results.Link to Tollemache results

The Midland Counties Congress was held at West Midlands Bridge Club from Friday to Sunday 4th/6th January and Leicestershire were well represented. The event was well supported with 124 pairs and 57 teams competing in the main Swiss Pairs and Swiss Teams events. In the Swiss Pairs Ben Norton (with Mike Bell) , Peter Nuttall & Richard Smith were on the top table for the final match. Ben & Mike won 19-1 to take the top position with Peter & Richard slipping to 7th. Pat Watson (with Peter Abbott) were 13th , Peter Neville & Bob Parker 19th. In the Swiss Teams Mary Johnson and Mike Mahoney playing with Andrew Leslie and John Mewes were 5th and Ian Bruce, Simon Stokes , Ben Norton and Nick Stevens were 7th. In the Friday mixed pairs event it was lovely to see Katie Bruce entering with son Daniel (aged 8).

Full results Link to MCC results page

The LCBA have produced a Privacy StatementLink to LCBA Privacy Statement to comply with GDPR regulations.

A big thank you to Paul Bowyer for an inspiring series of seminars on defense. He has kindly let us to post the hands that he guided us through. Enjoy.

Seminar 4 : 4th September 20184th September hands 1 to 16

Seminar 3 : 28th August 201828th August hands 1 to 16

Seminar 2 : 7th August 20187th August hands 1 to 16

Seminar 1 : 31st July 201831st July

As usual the Scarborough Congress was well supported by Leicestershire players with, for some of us, 5 continuous days of bridge.

The Wednesday and Thursday, featured the Seniors Pairs Congress. Leicestershire was represented by Mick Mahoney & Mary Johnson, Alison Nichols & Simon Stokes,  with Pat Watson (playing with Carolyn Fisher from Warwickshire).  Both the all Leicestershire pairs reached the major final, an excellent result, and neither disgraced themselves on the Thursday, with Alison and Simon finishing 3rd (behind Jeremy Dhondy and John Holland) and Mick and Mary coming in 7th  Pat won the consolation event on the Thursday afternoon.

With Mick & Mary leaving us, on the Friday we were joined by Brian & Sheila Stockdale, Ben & Joan Gibson and Anne & Steve Wright. The teams event was a bit of a disappointment with no foursome excelling, so it was on to Saturday & Sunday  for the main event, the pairs.  After 12  matches and many ups and downs best finishers were Brian and Sheila who came 35th out of 108 pairs with Ben and Joan not far behind on 38th.

Other highlights were a delicious Mexican meal (thanks to Anne for organising) and superb lightning displays out at sea on the Friday and Saturday nights.