FREE BRIDGE LESSONS

The Friendly On-line Bridge Club, FOBC, will once again be conducting free Bridge lessons commencing late September/early October. These lessons are ideal for the beginner or those players wishing to refresh their knowledge of the ACOL system. Following on from the early lessons the teaching moves onto intermediate lessons for the more advanced player. All lessons are recorded to enable players to refresh the information covered in the lessons. Full details can be found on the FOBC website.

The first Saturday of the Northern Bridge League was on the 9^th July. The Lincolnshire teams involved were:
Lincs A Division
Rodney Mitchell and Edward Harris
Ron Wall and Brian Smith
Mark Wardell and Jackie Pfister
Kiat Huang and Andy Lewis
Lincs B Division
Roy Brixton and Margaret McLeod
Stuart Knox and Keiron Baron
Paul Yarwood and Rose Davey
Patricia Donaldson and Louise Lewis

The opposition A Division teams were Manchester, Yorkshire, Merseyside and Cheshire, and Lancashire.
The opposition B Division teams were - Manchester, Yorkshire, Merseyside and Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, Westmorland and North East BA.

In the A Division, both Yorkshire and Manchester fielded very strong teams that included international players. The Lincs team did reasonably well with wins against Lancashire and Merseyside and the predicable (but not massive) defeats by Yorkshire and Manchester. We currently stand mid table in the league. The mood was very positive in the post-match discussions, and we identified several areas that could be improved. Full results at:

https://www.bridgewebs.com/cgi-bin/bwoq/bw.cgi?pid=display_rank&event=20220709_2&club=adamwiseberg

In the B Division, the Lincolnshire team had a hard time. We had planned to play in the C Division, but after a chaotic week caused by teams dropping out at the last minute, we agreed to play in the B Division to avoid long sit outs in both B and C divisions.  Playing against strong opposition is always good for improving bridge skills. The team won their match against Cumbria and drew with North East BA. The second teams of Yorkshire and Manchester are stronger than a lot of counties first teams and are currently top of the table. Lincolnshire are at the foot of the table. Full results at:

https://www.bridgewebs.com/cgi-bin/bwoq/bw.cgi?pid=display_rank&event=20220709_3&club=adamwiseberg

Kibitzing is enabled on RealBridge for the matches and we had the odd viewer on Saturday. The link for all RealBridge kibitzing is:

https://kibitz.realbridge.online/

The Veterans' Pairs was held at Dunholme on Sunday 12th June. A field of 13 pairs played a 3/4 Howell movement of 11 x 3 board rounds. In first place overall and clear winners were Mark Wardell & Jackie Pfister. Well Done! Runners up, Rodney Mitchell & Eddie Harris 2nd and John Clark & Chris Taylor 3rd. A great fun afternoon of bridge enjoyed by all.

The Mens's & Ladies' Pairs was held at Dunholme on Sunday 15th May. A field of 5 Ladies' and 8 Men's pairs were combined to play a single session comprising a 3/4 Howell movement of 11 x 3 board rounds. In first place overall and clear Ladies' winners of the Sydney Vincent Cup were Mo Parsons & Debbie Burton. In second place overall, the clear Men's winners of the Vincent Cup were Ron Wall & Brian Smith. Well Done! Thanks to all present for providing a great afternoon of bridge enjoyed by all.

The Mixed Pairs was held at Dunholme on Sunday 1st May. A field of 20 pairs played a single session comprising a 3/4 Howell movement of 14 x 2 board rounds. The clear winners of the Hannan Challenge Cup were Nick Hunter & Ruby Schnalke, with runners up Mark Wardell & Jackie Pfister. Well Done! Thanks to all present for providing a great afternoon of bridge enjoyed by all, and it is nice to see that attendances are beginning to increase as Covid becomes less of a factor.

The Championship Teams was held at Dunholme on Sunday 3rd April. A field of 10 teams had entered, but sadly due to illness, only 9 teams were available on the day.  A morning start saw the field begin the Qualifier session with a stagger movement, playing 8 x 3 board rounds. First placed and winners of the D & A Brown Trophy were Mark Wardell, Jacqueline Pfister, Aaron Hutton & Kiat Huang. The top four teams proceeded to the Final session, and the remaining five teams played in a Consolation session. The first placed team in the Final and winners of the Dutton Challenge Trophy were Ron Wall, Brian Smith, Eddie Harris & Rodney Mitchell. Well done! The first placed team in the Consolation session and winners of the Turner Brumpton Trophy were Nick Hunter, Ruby Schnalke, Maureen Parsons & Debbie Burton. Thanks to all present for providing a great afternoon of bridge enjoyed by all.

The Championship Pairs was held at Dunholme on Sunday 20th March. A field of 18 pairs played an extended single session comprising a full Howell all-play-all movement of 17 x 2 board rounds. The clear winners were Glynn Elwick & Keith Stewart. Well Done! Thanks to all present for providing a great afternoon of bridge enjoyed by all, and it is hoped that attendances might increase as Covid becomes less of a factor. This event was also distinguished by the presentation by our Chairman, Paul Wokes, of Honarary Life Membership certificates to Ron Wall and Brian Smith.

Both Divisions of the Lincs League have now been completed. Congratulations to the 2nd division winners, Girls on Tour, comprising Sue Gray (capt) Claire Rylott, Lisa Dichmont & Linda Lovell. They were closely followed with only a 3VP difference by Motorhead, comprising Peter Sturton (capt), Pam Sturton, Tina Page & Katherine Dobbs. Congratulations to the 1st division winners, Rueful Rabbits, comprising Brian Smith (capt), Ron Wall, Rodney Mitchell & Chris Barnard. They were closely followed with only a 3VP difference by Alford comprising Jackie Pfister (capt), Mark Wardell, Mark Brackley, Marion Brackley, Kiat Huang & Peter Coles. 

The Bainton Trophy Final was held at Dunholme VH on 20th February 2022. 10 pairs had qualified for the final, which was played with a Full Howell movement over 9 x 4 board rounds for a total of 36 boards. Every pair played against every other pair to give the overall result.
As usual, the result was a very close call for the winners. Mo Parsons & Debbie Burton had tied with Mark Wardell & Jackie Pfister. The winner was therefore decided by the four head to head boards played by the pairs, giving a 21 - 11 matchpoint win to Mo & Debbie. Both pairs will be eligible to play in the Corwen Trophy which will be held on-line on Realbridge in May this year. The competition was played in a very cordial spirit and enjoyed by all. Thanks to you all. Glynn.

The Waitrose Trophy is awarded at the AGM to the Pair with highest percentage score above 70% in a club duplicate session of 8 tables or more in the previous 12 months.

Best 2022 so far

Zubair Ahmed and Dee de Wit 75%
Louth Duplicate Bridge Club, Monday 21st March 2022

Winners 2020 Kiat Huang & Ron Wall with 77.86%

Due to the Covid pandemic, there was no winner in 2021

Please notify the Vice Chairman if you achieve a contending score.

Eight pairs took part in the Realbridge on-line event on Monday 27th December. Comfortable winners were Megan Williams and Eddie Harris. Well Done!