The Manchester Bridge Club
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Club Opening Hours & Contacts
Club Opening Hours & Contacts

Welcome to

THE

MANCHESTER BRIDGE CLUB

81 WELLINGTON ROAD, FALLOWFIELD,

MANCHESTER

M14 6BN

 

manchesterbridgeclub@hotmail.com

 

The Club’s regular opening and closing times are:

Monday - 12.30 to 16:30

Monday evening- 19:00 - 22:00

Tuesday - 13.00 -16.30

Tuesday evening - 18:45 - 22.00

Wednesday - 10.00 -16.30

Wednesday evening - 19.00 - 22.30

Thursday am - 10:00 -13:30

Note: Our opening times may differ when we host special events such as Halloween, Special Duplicates, Santa Claus Pairs and for Michael Byrne's seminars. Please check the Calendar on our website for the updated details. 

Closing times can only be extended by prior arrangement and need to conform with the Club’s obligations to our landlord and building security protocols.

Please ensure that you arrive at all our scheduled events at least 10 minutes before the start time as shown on the calendar so that we can start play at the scheduled time. If you are coming but are delayed please let the TD or event organiser know.  

Ring/Text Paul Murray on 07393 579962 for any clarification

or email paul.murraysafc@gmail.com

5 Card Majors
5 Card Majors

For all our members who have already switched or are considering moving to 5 Card Majors and 2 over 1 Game Forcing, this book by Neil Rosen is perhaps the closest to the systems taught at Manchester Bridge Club.

It is easy to read, structured and offers many quizzes and examples to test your understanding. Highly recommended!!
If you would like a copy the ISBN is 978 108 915 4877

RECEIVING OUR E-MAILS?
RECEIVING OUR E-MAILS?

Are you receiving e-mails from the bridge club? If not, here are a number of possible reasons:

 1) Your email address has been blocked from receiving emails from Bridgewebs. Check the status of your email address, and resubscribe if it is blocked or suspended

2) We do not have your correct email address registered. You can check this via attempting to set/reset password in the Members Only login screen

3) If we do not have your correct email address, please let us know via the Contact Form or speak to any committee member

 

Welcome to The Manchester Bridge Club
Santa Claus Pairs

SANTA CLAUS PAIRS

SUNDAY 17th DECEMBER

1.30pm for a prompt 2pm start (6-7pm finish)

This is a two session pairs event with prizes for the best pairs (and the less fortunate!)

NOW ALSO FEATURING THE CHESHIRE A CAPPELLA CHOIR

see below

The undoubted highlight between sessions is

TMBC'S SPECIAL CHRISTMAS BUFFET with Festive drink

Free coffee and tea available throughout

Entry fee £15 for members and £20 for non members

Numbers for this event are limited and all entries must be pre-registered.

Closing date Friday December 15th.

Please register early using this form to secure your place

This will also assist our volunteer catering team, who are making and preparing the buffet, and ensure minimal waste. Thank you.

Santa Claus Pairs
Getting Ready for Christmas
Getting Ready for Christmas

Members came in on Saturday morning to get the club decorated for the festive season

As the picture shows, it now looks very jolly as we prepare to host the Ben Franks event on Sunday, Santa Claus Pairs on the 17th, and our normal full schedule of events up to 21st December when we close for our Christmas break

Many thanks to Ron Butler, Dave Fernley, Paul Murray and Vera Lowson

Cheshire a cappella choir singing at Santa Claus Pairs at 1.15 pm
Cheshire a cappella choir singing at Santa Claus Pairs at 1.15 pm

We are delighted to announce that singing for us at Santa Claus pairs will be The Cheshire A Cappella Choir. They will be singing for around 30 minutes immediately prior to the start of the Duplicate so please all come by 1.15 pm if you want to enjoy their performance.  One of Susan Trigg's beginners group, Sara, is a member of the Group so please come and show your support for this amazing group of singers. If you could come ready to make a donation to their charity that would be much appreciated.       

Cheshire A Cappella is a group of women of all ages and walks of life with one thing in common - they love to sing! They are strictly an amateur chorus; most of them have never had singing lessons and many of them can't read music, but they work together in a supportive environment to achieve the best they can and have loads of fun along the way. . 

They will also be singing at Lyme Park on December 2nd  John Lewis on December 8th and 13th at 6pm. so we are privileged they have found time to include us in their schedule.  

Michael Byrne Coaches the England Under 25 Bridge Team

Manchester bridge club once more was host to a junior training weekend for the England U25 squad run by squad leader Michael Byrne. 12 players made the journey to Manchester, including Gideon Harvey who plays regularly at the club.

Last March many of the squad were in Manchester for the Junior Camrose trophy, which members may have watched live in Altrincham or on bridge base online. 

The team were training for the upcoming "Channel Trophy" which is being held over the weekend of Dec 15th - 17th in Utrecht in Netherlands.  

Manchester Bridge Club has a long history of supporting youth bridge and has hosted training weekends for the last twenty years, attended by many club members past and present. 

 

Michael Byrne Coaches the England Under 25 Bridge Team
Membership Promotions
Membership Promotions

We are delighted to announce that the following Member of the Club achieved an EBU Master Point ranking promotion in October 

Andy Brocklehurst    Advanced Master 

Congratulations Andy      

Swiss Pairs on IntoBridge
Swiss Pairs on IntoBridge

Click here to sign on to IntoBridge

Thursday evening online Swiss Pairs on Intobridge at 7:15pm

9 tables for popular online MBC game on Dec 8th with 15 players playing on IntoBridge for the first time!

Come and join us every week!

Click on the links below to register your account on IntoBridge and come and join us to play on this new innovative online platform that offers much more than than BBO. 

If you haven't already, Click here to Register on the IntoBridge platform

The following youtube videos explain:

     The IntoBridge platform, how to register and available controls

     How to register for an IntoBridge game, how to join a game, and how to use the partnership desk

Registration is straightforward, but does involve receiving an email with a confirmation link to activate your account.

If you have any problems please contact Dave Fernley on 07388 398 919

Once you have registered you can invite your partner using his/her user name or join the Partnership Desk to signify you are looking for a partner.

An IntoBridge host will play with you cannot find one via the Partnership Desk

For the time being, there are no robots on IntoBridge.

Beginner's Course

Image result for LEARN TO PLAY BRIDGE PICS

Beginners Bridge Courses started in September 2023.

We are running 2 courses, an evening course starting Tuesday 26th September at 7:15pm and a daytime course starting Wednesday 27th September at 10:30am.  Our Tuesday evening class is full but we will have spaces on Wednesday morning class.  If you are interested in the Wednesday morning class, still get in touch and we will help you catch up on the lesson or two you have missed.

Each course lasts for 12 weeks and covers the basics of play and bidding. We teach the 5 card major, strong No Trump and short club system.  We will cover basic defensive tactics and also demonstrate how to play bridge online mainly using BridgeBase Online (BBO) and No Fear Bridge.

Most importantly, the classes will be friendly and sociable. Bridge can be a complicated game and will stretch your mind, but we aim to make bridge fun to learn and hope you will quickly come to love the game as much as we do.

The course will cost £72 payable in advance 

Tutors are Susan Triggs and Anne Naylor

Interested?  Find out more by emailing Susan on grasan30@gmail.com

Our current Tuesday evening group of beginners , all 28 of them,  are seen here enjoying lesson 4 in their 12 week course. There are other groups  on Wednesday and Thursday mornings  .  

 
Beginner's Course
Would you like to learn to play bridge?

Would you like to learn to play bridge?

We are currently setting up our new courses for beginners.

If you are interested in joining the above course or would like to learn at a different time or day, please fill in the form below and we'll get in touch to make arrangements for you to start lessons to learn to play this fascinating game.

Supervised Sessions
Supervised Sessions

We now have supervised sessions for beginners, learners & improvers at the club:

Monday afternoon at 1pm for Improvers with Paul Murray.

** NEW** Tuesday evening at 7pm all levels.

Wednesday afternoon at 1pm for beginners with Paul Murray.

**NEW** Thursday morning at 10:30 for beginners with Susan Triggs.

Members £6 & Visitors £8

Everyone is welcome

Online Account for Online Games
Online Account for Online Games

Please be aware that the BridgeWebs attendance Module is not a real time system. It reflects entry fees spent on online and face-to-face games but does not reflect money paid into your online account until it is manually updated from the Club's bank statement. Our 'WebMaster', Dave Fernley performs these updates periodically- usually weekly. If you need to know your balance between updates, call Paul or Dave.

The new Bridgewebs Attendance Module for tracking payment money for online games is now live.

It provides you with a real-time view of the games you have played, the current balance of your account and payments made and received by your account. 

To see this information you will need to log on to the Members Only area of the website and then select thePayments Account tab.
Detailed instructions logging onto this area are available here

A detailed description of the Online Account, how it works, etc, is also available here within the Members Only Area (log-on needed).

Account statements will also be sent out periodically by email. This ensures that people who choose not to actively monitor their account balance are still aware of it. The statement provides a regular update to non-members who play in our online games who do not have access the member's area and therefore the real time benefits of this system.

Weekly Schedule

Download our latest interactive activity schedule - BBC Tiny Happy PeopleSee Calendar on the right of this home page for our Weekly Schedule

Face to Face table fees for Duplicates at the Club are £4 for fully paid-up MBC members & £6 for Guests

Supervised Face to Face table fees at the Club are £6 for fully paid-up MBC members & £8 for Guests

(includes free tea/coffee & biscuits and occasional treats! However, sandwiches/supper will not be served)

Online bridge entry is £3.75 for members & £4.50 for non-members

For Online games a pre-arranged partner is preferable. However, if possible, partners can be found after you log on to our tournaments. Just wait on Partnership Desk on IntoBridge. 

Please transfer entry fee (or more for convenience / multiple games) into the MBC bank account (see below).

MBC will reduce your balance after each session played and email you with a regular statement to help you stay in credit.

The Manchester Bridge Club Bank details are –

Natwest Sort Code 01-02-02   Account Number  21867577

Please put your First Name and Surname as the payment reference

Thank you for supporting The Manchester Bridge Club

Sid Travers RIP

We are sorry to report the death of Sid Travers on Sunday 26th November at the age of 92. 

Sid was a member of our Club for almost 50 years had competed in the Manchester area for over 70 years, winning his first county trophy, the Manchester Teams, in 1955 and his final one, the Mixed Pairs with Eve Lighthill, in 2007. 

In between he won the league once, the Higson Cup twice, two further wins in the Mixed Pairs with Eve and a win in the Manchester Pairs again with Eve.  Nationally, he won the Life Master Pairs with Tracy Sherman in 2000. 

Sid represented Manchester in many county matches especially in the Northern League and won a National B title in 2010.  He was a regular competitor at both our Club and Altrincham Bridge Club. 

He was a graduate of Manchester University and was a solicitor by profession.

Our condolences to his widow Marice, sons Harry and Max and family.

Bridge and Cakes

START TIME CHANGED TO 1:15
Our cake makers on 5 December will be Philippe Noel and Enid Noronha

  Many thanks to all of our cake providers for their delicious and generous contributions. Shop bought cakes are equally welcome as are those provided by “Rubber” players or a very friendly cleaner!!😉
Please contact Ann Wood if you would like to provide a bake for any Tuesday session and join the bustling queue for a place in this popular cake rota!

 All abilities are welcome to play bridge and kindly remember that to enable us to make a prompt start and timely finish at 4:00 we endeavour to be seated by 1:05. Hosts are generally available but not guaranteed.

We play a very relaxed 18-21 boards over the session and look forward to welcoming both new visitors and much missed old friends.

Festive closing and opening dates

The Club will be closed from Thursday 21st December and will re-open for the Wednesday evening duplicate on the 3rd January.

Enjoy your festive break 

Note: The Club will be open for Rubber Bridge only on the afternoons of Tuesday 2nd January and  Wednesday 3rd January. Please contact Jeff Morris if you'd like to play.

Annual Subscriptions 2024

It’s that time of the year again when your annual membership subscriptions to

The Manchester Bridge Club are due.

Once again, the committee have decided to reward our lovely, loyal members by keeping the annual fee at just £40.  Yep, that’s right, you read it correctly, 2024 subs paid before mid-night on 31st December 2023 will be £40 whilst those received from January 1st 2024 will be £50.

Those of you who live more than 20 miles from the Club can subscribe for £10.

You can pay by cash or debit card at any F2F session at the Club or via online banking using the reference of your name followed by ‘2024 subs’.

The Manchester Bridge Club Bank details are –

Nat West

Sort Code 01-02-02   

Account Number  21867577

A reminder- please do not pay subs ( or table money ) to our old HSBC bank account

 

Save The Dates

Friday 08/12/2023 - MB Seminar, Swedish Jacoby

Sunday 17/12/2023 - Santa Claus Pairs

Sunday 25/02/2024 - The Cantor Cup

Club Bank Account Change

Please note that the Club's bank account has changed from HSBC to NatWest

Please transfer funds into your Club account via the new NatWest account with immediate effect

The Manchester Bridge Club

Bank : NatWest

Sort Code 01-02-02

Account Number 21867577

Transfers made in error to the HSBC account will be credited as normal until the HSBC account is closed. Thereafter, they will automatically be transferred to our NatWest account by HSBC. 

If you have any questions, please call Paul Murray or Dave Fernley

 

Return Of Monday Evening Bridge

Starting on Monday July 3rd at 7.15pm competitive Monday evening bridge returns to the Club.

The first competition will be the Geoff Nuttall Memorial Trophy, which will run for 13 consecutive weeks, from Monday 3rd July to 25th September. 

It is an individual contest, so you can play with different partners on each Monday you play. 

Each competitor's best 7 scores during the quarter will be averaged to determine the winner. Minimum number of games to qualify is 7 .

Cheese & crackers as well as the usual tea, coffee and biscuits will be available

Please come along and support the Club and enjoy a pleasant summer evening of bridge

Attendance on Monday evenings is slowly improving with 4 tables on Monday Sept 11th. Please come along and support the Club!

IntoBridge Board Analysis
IntoBridge Board Analysis

Our friends at IntoBridge will be sending feedback and hand analysis for selected boards played in this Friday afternoon's game.

This promises to be a useful and educational addition to their service, and depending upon feedback may become a regular feature of our games

So why not join us on Friday 21th at 2pm and see if you find this an interesting and beneficial extra

Results
Wednesday Beginners
Club Evening Duplicate F2F
Club Afternoon Duplicate
Tuesday Pairs (lesson 11 practice duplicate.pbn)
Paul's Improver Class
IntoBridge Afternoon Duplicate
Club Competition Evening F2F
IntoBridge Afternoon Duplicate
Thursday Pairs (lesson 11 practice duplicate.pbn)
IntoBridge Swiss Pairs
Wednesday Pairs (lesson 10 hands.pbn)
Club Evening Duplicate F2F
Calendar
Thu 7th Dec 2023
Beginners Supervised Play
10:30am
Thu 7th Dec 2023
IntoBridge Swiss Pairs
7:15pm
Fri 8th Dec 2023
IntoBridge Afternoon Duplicate
2:00pm
Sun 10th Dec 2023
IntoBridge Afternoon Duplicate
2:00pm
Mon 11th Dec 2023
Paul's Improver Class
1:00pm
Mon 11th Dec 2023
IntoBridge Afternoon Duplicate
2:00pm
Mon 11th Dec 2023
Club Competition Evening F2F
7:15pm
Tue 12th Dec 2023
Club Afternoon Duplicate
1:15pm
Tue 12th Dec 2023
Supervised Duplicate, all abilities
7:00pm
Wed 13th Dec 2023
Beginners Supervised Duplicate
1:00pm
Wed 13th Dec 2023
IntoBridge Afternoon Duplicate
2:00pm
Wed 13th Dec 2023
Club Evening Duplicate F2F
7:15pm
Thu 14th Dec 2023
Beginners Supervised Play
10:30am
Thu 14th Dec 2023
IntoBridge Swiss Pairs
7:15pm
Fri 15th Dec 2023
IntoBridge Afternoon Duplicate
2:00pm