400th MBC ONLINE GAME CELEBRATION

 THIS SUNDAY -  January 24th at 2pm

This coming Sunday will see MBC’s 400th online game!

To celebrate the occasion, Paul Murray is sponsoring this ‘special’ event.

Subject to a minimum entry of 12 tables (or minimum 44 paying players), we will offer prizes for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place as well as 4 Category Prizes based upon your average NGS with your Partner and one prize for Best Intermediate Result.

♥ 1st prize – £20 each (or 7 free games for paid up members)

♥ 2nd prize - £10 each (or 4 free games for paid up members)

♥ 3rd prize - £5 each (or 2 free games for paid up members)

Best pair with an NGS average of :-

♥ 55-59%          - £4 each (2 free games for paid up members)

♥ 50- 54.99%   - £4 each (2 free games for paid up members)

♥ <49.99%        - £4 each (2 free games for paid up members)

♥ Pair with nearest score to 50%    - £4 each (or 2 free games for paid up members)

♥ David’s prize for best intermediate performance  - £4 each (or 2 free games for paid up members)

The Total Prize Fund is £110. Entry Fee is £3.50 for paid up members or £4 for non-paid up members.

All prizes will be paid as credits to your MBC ‘account’ and only one prize per pair asllowed.

Paul, as sponsor, will cover 75% of the prize fund by paying a £80 entry fee as a contribution to the Club.

Please support this event ...

400 online games played is probably the most for ANY individual club in the country ...

...quite an achievement to celebrate!

♠ ♥ RealBridge Link ♦ ♣ 

COME AND SUPPORT THE SESSION TODAY

<====== Link now under RealBridge at MBC tab 

Policy on undoes on Real Bridge
"In principle, undoes should not be given during play (unless obvious and immediate). 

Undoes should be given during the bidding as long as partner has not bid & no inference can be taken from the subsequent bid.”       

SPECIAL RB EVENT WITH JASON AT 2PM ON THURSDAY 28th JANUARY

MBC ‘Pay to Play’ Online Games

♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ 

     *MONDAY*

   ►BBO Afternoon Duplicate at 2.00pm

     *TUESDAY*

 ►RealBridge Afternoon Duplicate at 2.00pm

►BBO Evening Fun Duplicate for all at 7.15pm 

     *WEDNESDAY* 

     ►BBO Afternoon Duplicate at 2.00pm

     *THURSDAY* 

     ►RealBridge Afternoon Duplicate at 2.00pm

       ►BBO Evening Swiss Pairs at 7.15pm

     *FRIDAY*

       ►BBO Afternoon Duplicate at 2.00pm

     *SATURDAY*

       ►BBO Afternoon Duplicate at 2.00pm

    *SUNDAY* 

     ►BBO Morning Duplicate at 11am (Improvers) 

   ►BBO Afternoon Duplicate at 2.00pm

^{THE BBO PLAYER INDEX is under the yellow tab third one down,} 

^{top left of this page.}

A pre-arranged partner is preferable.

However, partners can be found via the BBO Partnership Desk

or in the RealBridge lobby when you access our tournaments,

With 4 tables minimum, there's a Free Game for the winners. 

You cannot enter these games unless you have pre-paid.

Each game costs *£3.50 to enter.

(*Reduced to £3.25 when your Annual Membership Subscription is paid)

Please deposit entry fee (or more) into the MBC bank account (see below).

We will reduce your balance after each session played. 

MBC will text/email/call you when your ‘pot’ reduces to approx £12 so you have time to top it up and stay in credit.

Manchester Bridge Club Bank details are –

HSBC   Sort Code 40-11-56   Account Number  90730807

Thank you for supporting Manchester Bridge Club

GAZETTE INTER CLUBS TEAMS OF EIGHT COMPETITION

SUNDAY 7th FEBRUARY

11am to 5pm (approx) with a break

RealBridge (but you can always turn off your camera and microphone if you prefer!!)

Would you like to take part? 

If "yes" then please contact Dave Debbage on 07717 252114

TUESDAY NIGHTS AT 7.15 .....

.... ARE A FUN BBO NIGHT FOR ALL ABILITIES!

COME AND JOIN US!

"HOP ALONG" TO OUR THURSDAY NIGHTS 

SWISS PAIRS starting at 7.15pm! 

It's an 18 board event, 6 x 3 boards, in the usual fun format so we should be finished by 9.30pm.

It's been organised so that those of you who are working during the day have an evening session to join in with so please, everyone, continue to support this.

See you on Thursday nights!! 

.....good to see more of you playing in this Swiss Pairs now - thanks and keep it up!!!

NOW EVERY SUNDAY MORNING!

IMPROVERS ON-LINE DUPLICATE AT 11am!

By popular demand we hold a weekly BBO Online Session specifically for anyone who wants to  improve their bridge. Like our well established, daily online Club duplicates, these sessions will be £3.50 each to enter (with concessions for students – see Dave). Please lodge (say) £21 into the MBC bank account. We will let you know when your ‘kitty’ runs out so you can replenish it in good time to continue playing.

If you would like to join in please contact Dave Debbage by email / text to inform him of your BBO User Name and email address.

email: daviddebbage@hotmail.co.uk           text: 07717 252114  

To join the ‘Improvers duplicate’ you need to: 

♥ Register with BBO to obtain a BBO User name

♥  Inform Manchester Bridge Club of your User name & email address (we control entry to these games via this data) 

When you’ve done this and you want to enter the session: 

♥ Log on to BBO and click "Play Bridge"           

♥ Click "Competitive"          ♥ Click "All Tournaments"         

♥ Click "MAN" into the Search box at the top right of the screen. 

♥ Click on the Manchester BC tournament           

♥ Enter your Partner’s BBO User name

( If you don’t have a Partner, join the Partnership Desk and wait ...

...we can see you there and will get in touch and/or arrange a Partner )

♠ ♥  Questionnaire ♦ ♣ 

Manchester Bridge Club needs you!

We would like to hear what you think about RealBridge and our current scheduling. You can find the link below:

https://forms.gle/M9PSpQLPLZxw2iDj9

Dear Members - Thank you so much for all of your support to keep our wonderful bridge club going.

It's been a hard transition for all of us from what we know and love to playing on-line and, as I'm sure you realise, we have all had to work seven days a week to ensure that sessions run smoothly and that as many players as possible can be included. I am also very impressed with how so many of you have been able to join in - it's been quite a change all round!

Manchester County Bridge are running duplicates as a club and as we are fighting to keep afloat during Covid-19  we need you all to play with us rather than them to be sure that you will have a club to come back to! 

Much friendship and support as always 

David

PLEASE TAKE NOTE....

....OF WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR WHEN PLAYING WITH OR AGAINST A ROBOT!

1. Partners of robots cannot explain anything other than what the robot says - so it is no good asking them for an explanation !

2. Anyone who plays with a robot has to play the robot's system - robots cannot adapt!

3. Please have patience with partners who play with robots. 

4. Robots cannot normally give undos, 

5. You cannot always claim against a robot and will need to play the hand out. 

6. Robots do not always have exactly what they say - but don’t expect the robot's partner to advise otherwise!

♠ ♥ RealBridge Set Up - 1 to 1 Sessions ♣ ♦ 
If you are not able to join in on Manchester Bridge Club's RealBridge matches due to technical reasons, MBC can help!

For a small £5 fee (deducted from your MBC online account), we can remotely access your device and check these issues for you. The service will assess your device’s configuration, browser version & compatibility, camera & microphone functionality and internet connection so we can confirm if your device can support the software. If it can, we will leave you with a simple link to access RealBridge when you want to play in our games.

If it can’t, you may have to consider purchasing a new device – but at least you’ll know. Given that we believe RealBridge WILL be the future and that online bridge is here to stay, then at some point soon, you will therefore need a new device to play (online) bridge.

If you would like to have us assess your device remotely, then please fill in the form below. The check will be carried out by Sam Knox, an MBC member studying for a PhD at Manchester University. Once you’ve filled in the form, Sam will be in touch to arrange an appointment. It will probably take 30-45 minutes. None of your data will be accessed and you can watch the session as he does it from the comfort of your own home.

Priority of this service will be given to members who intend to play in the MBC RealBridge matches.

RealBridge at MBC

On TUESDAY & THURSDAY AFTERNOONS   

our online games will now take place on RealBridge and not BBO

If you want to play in our RealBridge sessions

then please action the following –

LINK 1 is to test the camera and microphone on your device (even if you participated in the trials, please re-test your device). Do not press log-in.

LINK 2 is to log-on to play in our games (no ID is needed, just your real name).

For both LINKS and more information about RealBridge 

click on the yellow 'RealBridge at MBC' tab at the top left of this page 

What a treat to be able to have the chance to continue playing bridge.,,,and thankyou again to all the people "behind the scenes" who work so hard to make it all happen.

Please don't forget that the rules for table etiquette still apply - more especially in these unusual times.

......and HAVE FUN!

Dave Debbage.

ONLINE BRIDGE FOR MEMBERS

Duplicate pairs sessions for club members are online.

These are a mixture of BBO and RealBridge format

Please be online on BBO at least 15 minutes before the start.

(See  below for full instructions)

You must have registered with Bridge Base On-line (www.bridgebase.com) and have a UserName & Password. Then send us your name and BBO UserName so we can add it to the list of players for that Tournament. New members wanting to sign on with Manchester BC should send an Email with their BBO UserName to Paul Murray at paul.murraysafc@gmail.com

There is a help page at https://berwickbridgeclub.co.uk/bbo

To play in a duplicate, please login to BBO a 15 minutes before the start. Click on "Competitive" under "Play or Watch Bridge".  Then Click "All Tournaments" and, in the search box above the list which appears, type "MAN" or  "Manchester BC".  The tournament will appear and you can click on it to register.  Your partner will need to be online at the time you register and you need to enter their BBO name. There will normally be a £3.50 charge for the session which will be collected using your pre-paid contribution into the Manchester Bridge Club account. 

HOW ABOUT SOME ON-LINE LESSONS

or some

PRIVATE LESSONS ON BBO?

What a great way to keep up with your bridge!

Give Dave Debbage a ring and sort things out.

Tel: 07717 252114

RAY ASHLEIGH'S AMAZING RETIREMENT  "JOG"

https://exrayraylejog.home.blog

"I wanted to do some walking after I retired and, in what may turn out to be a mad moment, I thought it would be a good idea to walk from Lands End to John O’Groats (LeJog).  This is a well known charity walk, often done on roads (e.g. by Ian Botham).  There are a number of books and blogs that describe the walk cross country which increases the distance from 874 miles to 1100 or more depending on the route. The route can be done, of course, from South to North or North to South (becoming JogLe!).  The advantages of LeJog include walking with the prevailing wind and (rain!) coming from behind the walker, hopefully I will be fitter by the time I get to the Pennine Way and the Highlands and a new walking route between Inverness and John O’Groats should be complete in 2020 (currently most walkers use the A9)."

Looks like LEJOG part 2 is off this year. In theory I could camp and cook my own food en route I don’t know whether campsites will be open, and communal washing and toilet facilities are hardly self isolating. Wild camping is theoretically possible but is illegal in England, difficult in central Scotland but I will explore this. If I do this there will not be a blog as I won’t have internet access or charging facilities for my electronics.

Favoured option at present is to stock the car up (or use the trains) and bag some Munro’s as well has some of the lower but still beautiful Scottish hills. Or the Cape Wrath trail or Knoydart (avoiding the village at the tip of the peninsula) which is self isolating in the extreme!

Stay safe everyone and the blog will continue in 2021