Congratulations to MRBC members Declan Murray, Fiona Gormley, Nora Weafer & Catherine Deegan on representing Leinster, and winning the 2020 virtual IBU Interprovincial "Area Master" Championships. 

Support your local Congress !

Click Here to access full details of all the "Events", including the "Registration/Pre-entry" process

(If you are not already aware, your NBID number can be accessed by clicking on the relevant tab on the left hand sidebar of the website homepage.)

Click here for an interesting idea from Ageaction.ie, offering to help non-technical folk get to grips with using laptops, ipads, e-mail, apps, video, etc., etc. If you ask, and for those not already involved, they could probably get you going on Online Bridge, via BBO (BridgeBase.com) !

The CBAI have issued the attached document on "Cheating", whilst playing on the CBAI BBO platform. It reflects how serious they are about stamping out any such unethical behaviour, which unfortunately does occur within a minority of Bridge players. We, in MRBC, are fully supportive their actions.

We particularly draw your attention to the request that ALL players enter their real name in their BBO user profile. (Christian name is acceptable.) To enter your real name on your profile, just log on to BBO, select the "Account" tab, type your name where it says "Real Name", and finally hit "Save Changes". Now, when folk arrive at your table, they'll have the option of knowing who you are, which is reflective of the social nature of our game.

We expect all MRBC members to be compliant by end-Feb 2021.

Despite repeated calls for members to announce their systems and to self-alert any conventional bids when playing on BBO, we continue to be made aware of many instances of folk just not doing what is being asked of them.

This is happening right across the grade spectrum, from Masters down the line. It is unfair and it is a bad habit for members to get into. You would announce or alert when face-to-face at the Bridge table, so too must you do it when playing online.

Your opponents are entitled to know the meaning of any conventional bid, or indeed any signalled discard, at the time the bid/card is made/played, and not after the auction, or when the board, is over.

Players should familiarise themselves with the process for Self-Alerting, and of the process for responding if an opponent enquires as to the meaning of an un-alerted bid. You should not use the Chat box for this purpose, as your partner should not be privy to any explanations you might give.

It is not acceptable to just ignore your opponent's requests when at the table, perhaps claiming you don't know what to do, or even that you don’t know you are being asked for an explanation.

Please click on this notification, to access an excellent video explaining how to alert a bid and how to respond to an information request.

We have put other information, plus video links, on various other BBO processes up on the club website, which can be located on the left-hand sidebar of the home page, under MRBC Online Competitions > Tips on playing on BBO.

We are asking members to comply in good faith with these requests. Remember, the goal of our online events is to keep the spirit of MRBC alive, and to provide the membership with competitive Bridge whilst the club premises remain closed. There are no prizes, but the integrity and spirit of the game remains sacrosanct, and should be observed. We do not wish to penalise offenders by score adjustments, but as a last resort, the TD has the power to take action.

We stress though, that the majority of players do respect the rules, but a small minority do not, and it is to them that we reach out.

MRBC Council

As we progress through this “virtual” bridge season, the spectre of SLOW PLAY has risen its head. To ensure the enjoyment of the whole field, it is expected that everyone plays at a reasonable pace. It is unfortunate, but the slower players, who make up a very small minority it must be said, are able to dictate the pace of play of the whole tournament.

We currently allow 7 mins per board in MRBC BBO competitions, which is allocated as 14 mins in 2 boards-per-round events, and 21 mins in 3 boards-per-round events. This is universally acknowledged as more than ample time to bid and play a board, yet we are seeing many boards going unfinished, as the clock runs out. This may be frustrating for the slow players, but is even more so for their opponents, who are forced to play at a slower than usual pace.

It is acknowledged that some boards may be trickier than others, particularly the bidding, but we would encourage members to try and play a little quicker overall.

One additional way of speeding up the pace of play is to utilise the BBO “Claim” facility, whereby you can either claim or concede those remaining tricks which are guaranteed. Playing out the final few tricks, card by card, when they are all winners anyway, is simply using up time that might be better utilised on your next board. Claiming, and accepting or rejecting a claim, is a normal feature of the BBO game. (Click here for a video which shows how this facility works.)

Also, players might not be aware, but just because the clock on the screen might say 3 or 4 minutes to go, it does not mean you slow down and use up that time. If all the tables finish, and there are minutes remaining, the system will reset the clock and move everyone on to the next round.

Our online TD’s will be monitoring pace of play and may, by private BBO chat, request certain players, who they feel are falling behind, to pick up their pace, so please don’t feel slighted. We are simply trying to improve the playing experience for everyone.

Thank You