START TIME CHANGED TO 1:15

  Many thanks to all of our cake providers for their delicious and generous contributions over the past year . 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.

It’s the time of year again when your annual membership subscription to The Manchester Bridge Club becomes due. The committee have decided to keep subscriptions at the same price as last year, which means that we haven't increased our rates since we became a member owned club in 2022.  We are also offering the same £10 discount for those who pay before the end of the year. ! So subs paid after 31st December will remain the same as last year at £50 per person but only £40 if paid before 1st January 2025. You can pay by cash or card at any F2F session or by online banking with the reference of your name followed by the word subs.

The Manchester Bridge Club bank details are –

Nat West

Sort Code 01-02-02   

Account Number  21867577

On the evening of Wednesday 15th January we celebrate 50 years of involvement by Jeff Morris in the club

It was 50 or so years ago that a much younger Jeff gave up a secure job to take over the running of The Central Bridge Club, turning it into Manchester Bridge Club.

Jeff owned and ran Manchester Bridge Club for many years, attracting many expert bridge players, and turning it into one of the most successful bridge clubs in the country

We are now a member-owned club, but Jeff continues to be a very active member of our Committee

Come along and help us celebrate this unique contribution and achievement

            A big thank you to all those who attended our Swiss Pairs event on Thursday Evening. We had 8 tables with a wide variety of experience ranging from world championship winning Paul Hackett to a number of relatively inexperienced players. We also had Dave and Barbara Viscochil from Utah joining us for the evening. For a number of people this was their first ever Swiss Pairs event. Ray Ashleigh had the unenviable task of trialling our first use of the Swiss Pairs movement . All went well until round 3 when a glitch arose which required the need for support from Dave Fernley who unselfishly came in to help out. Tean and Paul Hackett also helped contribute getting us back on track and we finished the evening shortly after 10.00 having played 16 of the planned 20 Boards and getting all the results posted on the web site - no mean feat ! Everyone was very good natured about the delay and throughout the whole evening there was a buzz in the room as so many people met so many other members they hadn't played against before. Class always tells and Paul Hackett and Rose Davenport came first but a new pairing of  Michael Donegan and Jake Heeckeren did fantastically well to come joint 2nd together with Jenny Allwright and Debra Segal. We are seeking feedback from all those who played to see what we could do better and whether they would continue to support the event. We hope they will say " Do it again "           

We are also hoping that some people will also put their names forward to help organise and run this event. This might be by using the dealing machine to make sets of boards, learning how the scoring software works, or simply opening and locking up the building. Full support will be given, and it is rewarding to learn new skills 

Andy Brocklehurst and Dave Sarabowski finished 2nd by one point in the consolation final of the Fuengirola Internatioal Bridge Tournament. The consolation final was between 30 pairs that remained after the top 14 pairs in the original field of 44pairs played an all play all final at the same time. Stuart Shalom and Barbara Easterbrook finished 6th and David Debbage and John Sansom finished 7th.

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

Usha Murugan  Club Master
Chris Lam  County Master
Tammy Lam  County Master
Kevin Boles  Club Master
 



Congratulations to all of you    

Michael Byrne's next seminar will be on Friday 28th March at 1.30 pm . £10 for members and £12 for non members 

"The seminar will be on  "Jump Raises in Competition"  

"A look at the competitive auction, where both sides are bidding and you might hold hands that can raise partner in a variety of ways. Stretch raises, good raises and fit jumps will all be covered, as well as knowing the times when it is right to raise partner and the times it is right to pass"

As usual Michael will be bringing along a tasty treat  

If you are coming please add your name in the box below 

We were pleased to hold the Cantor Cup on behalf of the Manchester County Bridge Association.  The Cantor Cup is for players who have recently learned to play bridge and play mainly in supervised play sessions and is held annually at the end of February.  We are very grateful to the Cantor family for sponsoring this event in memory of their parents Trudy and Oliver Cantor who taught bridge in the south Manchester area.  We had a good turn out of players with players from Bramhall/Cheadle Bridge Centre, Trafford Bridge Club and Manchester Bridge Club.  The Winners were Steve Dauncey and Jackie O'Donnell, with John Dunn and Carole Gavin in 2nd place, Jean Kirsten and Julie Johnston in 3rd, Andreas Kotsinagis and Kathryn Morley in 4th and Jennifer Dunn and Prakash Mehta in 5th.  

Michael's next seminar is Leading Trumps - a look at auctions where you should and shouldn't lead a trump, which card you should lead if you are going to lead a trump and the reasons behind it.  Improve your defence by understanding more about the opening lead, one of the most fascinating parts of the game.

This subject will be suitable for both improvers and more experienced players.  Michael is a great teacher and his seminars are always enjoyable.  You have the opportunity to ask the Number One rated player in England advice about opening leads and any aspects of your play or defence.  Make the most of this opportunity - we are so lucky to have such an expert player available to help us all improve.

The seminar costs £10 for members and £12 for non members.  You don't need a partner to come to the seminar.  Everyone is welcome - and please complete the online form below if you will be attending.  Notes for the seminar and copies of the example hands will be available. 

Please put Friday 21st February, seminar start time of 1.30pm in your diary.

The Gazette Cup is the Manchester County qualifier for the national Teams of Eight competition - the Garden Cities Trophy. 

The winners will represent Manchester County in the final in the summer.

Traditionally, Manchester Bridge Club has entered more teams in the Gazette Cup than any other club in the county - and we'd like that tradition to continue in 2025.

Please mark the day in your calendar.

If you are interested in playing then let me know by email or register via the entry form below. 

Please don't worry about forming your team as the Committee can help once we can assess interest.

Please enter the format is a lot of fun and played in a friendly but competitive spirit.

If you have any questions, please email me or call me.

Thank you very much

Paul Murray

Chairman

The Manchester Bridge Club

We are saddened to learn that Louise passed away last week. The photo shows Louise winning the Tuesday night non-expert competition at Palatine Road with Farokh Engineer

She kept a remarkable photo record of her opponents and teammates which Jeff has collated for members to view in the club. Her team players include Shirley Leak and Philippe Noel who still play regularly in the club.

Louise was an accomplished artist and donated two of her still life painting to the club when we were at Palatine Road. She also produced another painting entitled 'The Bridge Masters' which was a wonderful collage of all the bridge club management and bridge teachers including Michael Byrne, Michael Newman, Dave Debbage, Jeff Morris and others.

The funeral will take place at 1:15pm on Wednesday 26th February at Southern Cemetery, North Chapel with a reception following the burial at The Spread Eagle function room in Chorlton

As we approach the 50^th Anniversary of Jeff Morris' management of Central and then Manchester Bridge Club, Jeff will be writing a short series of articles covering the history of the Club over its long and illustrious history leading to his Anniversary Event to be scheduled for early 2025

Jeff Writes   

I find it incredible to think that it was 50 years ago I found myself in Manchester taking over the management of the Central Bridge Club at 81 Central Road West Didsbury.

What was I doing giving up a secure job as an information scientist in the research labs of Laporte Industries Ltd on the Humber Bank to come to a new city to start a new career working for myself with an uncertain future?

I suppose that it was a rash thing to do but I was young and  fancy free and I loved playing bridge and what the hell!.......spend the rest of my life in the confines of a  research lab as some of my contemporaries seem to do?

The Central Bridge Club was a unique club in the North of England I t was the only club outside London that played rubber bridge - in fact rubber bridge was the main activity with only one duplicate session per week on a Wednesday night. That duplicate session was incredibly strong with many  top  players participating along with many of the talented university students. After the duplicate, players would retire to the bar to analyse the hands. Frank Wood was  the main guru- he sat on the radiator at the back of the bar dispensing words of wisdom to the assembled  acolytes .Frank Wood? Bet none of you have heard of him? Well think 'Steptoe 'and that will give you an idea of what he looked like. A painter and decorator by profession he was actually a talented pianist, owner of a Grand Piano -and a very good rubber bridge player. Most days he would come into the club at about 1.00pm, have breakfast(egg and chips) before playing in the £5 game .On one of the rare occasions he was persuaded to play in an international duplicate tournament he finished 2nd playing with Paul Hackett  in one of Europe's top pairs event held in Juan les Pain. 

Playing rubber bridge is a game that gives the participants a level playing field. Everyone plays basic Acol so nobody has any system advantages and at the end of each rubber you change partners.  Over an extended period you would expect your high card holdings to average out.  Frank Wood said it was the players who could minimize their losses with bad cards that ultimately end up being winners. Different stake games were played ranging from 5p per hundred up to £5 per hundred. What was so interesting were the fascinating  characters that came to play. In the 5p game(and don't forget 5p a hundred was not inconsequential in those days) I particularly remember Charlie Woolfe and Lottie Oppenheim. If you have read Victor Mollo's classic book the Bridge Menagerie there are a number of notorious characters. One was the Hideous Hog who would try and play all the hands regardless-well that was Charlie Woolfe! Lottie was a remarkable lady who came to England as a refugee from Vienna in the 1930s and is mentioned by Terence Reese in one of his books as a regular player at his London club. She was a harridan at the bridge table forever chastising her partners for doing the wrong thing('NEVER lead trumps' she would always say).I remember her moving out of her Manchester Old Peoples Home at the age of 94 because the residents were 'dying like flies'!

Monday afternoons was partnership rubber bridge at 5p per hundred and would attract between 5 and 10 tables of ladies with the occasional husband . Eve Lighthill's mother in law Elaine used to be a regular and the standard was pretty good. Oh and by the way those 'acolytes' I mentioned earlier -what became of them?-Michelle Brunner (Multiple World and European Champion,),John Holland (Double World Champion),Rosie Hudson (European Champion),Gary Hyett(Gold Cup winner and international)Alan Mould (Gold Cup winner and international)Barry Myers(International player).......and many more!!

Congratulations to our team playing in the Gazette Cup on Sunday February 16th at Bramhall & Cheadle Bridge Club,. We managed to win in an exciting finale by only 3 Victory Points over the hosts, Bramhall & Cheadle BC.

Manchester Bridge Club has now earned the right to represent Manchester County in the next stage of the qualifying process for the national Garden Cities Trophy.

The Club will seek to qualify for the national final at the regional qualifying event held on Saturday May 10th at a club to be announced.

The Gazette Cup is a Team of Eight competition with 2 Teams of 4 playing the same boards with their scores aggregated. 

Our first team was 

John Hassett & Rhona Goldenfield

Paul Hackett & Mike Goldsmith

Justin Hackett & Martin Taylor

David Sarabowski & Jeff Morris

Well done also to our other team that competed - Tammy & Chris Lam; Louise Davies & Anne Super; Mike Wood & Usha Murugan and Anne Wood & Dee Connolly who finished 7th.

Thanks for representing the Club and congratulations!!

Hopefully we can qualify for the finals on May 10th

All paid up members of TMBC should now have received an email about the  Club AGM. on 19th March 2025 at 18.15. If you are intending to come please add your name below. 

The AGM will be followed by a duplicate pairs starting at around 19.30. 

Any Non members who wish to play in this event should also add their names so we  can manage refreshments and table set up.  

Huge attendance for 50^th anniversary of Jeff Morris’ management of Manchester Bridge Club

Wednesday January 15^th saw our Club celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Jeff Morris taking over the management of Central Bridge Club, which then became Manchester Bridge Club when Jeff relocated it to Palatine Road.

The Club was packed out with 20 tables for a celebratory duplicate competition which was won by Tracy Sherman and Boris Ewart.

It was also great to see so many long-standing members return to honour Jeff. Fittingly, this is the largest attendance for a duplicate bridge competition we have ever had at our current Fallowfield location.

Jeff gave a short speech on the history of Manchester Bridge Club and his life’s work at the Club to develop bridge in Manchester. He reflected not only on the many world class players who are still members of the Club but also the dozens of members who have learned their bridge at the Club over the years.

An extensive selection of cheeses and biscuits were served at the interval and a good time was had by all.

I’d like to thank the Club committee – especially Anne Naylor, Mike Wood, Dave Fernley, Susan Triggs and Jeff himself - as well as Vera Lowson, who returned to help us ensure a very busy day and evening were a tremendous success. Thanks also due to TD David Sarabowski (assisted by Jeff Smith), Michael Byrne for his commemorative cake and Isaac Porteus for his help on the night.

The Manchester Bridge Club could not continue without the work of the Committee and our team of volunteers – if you’d like to help, please get in touch!

Paul Murray

Chairman,

The Manchester Bridge Club

We will be running a celebratory duplicate on Wednesday evening 15th January to show our appreciation for Jeff Morris and his very significant support for Manchester Bridge Club over 50 years. 

Jeff gave up a secure job 50 years ago to take over the management of the Central Bridge Club which later became Manchester Bridge Club on Palatine Road, which he (latterly with David Debbage) owned and managed for over 20 years. - one of the few private bridge clubs in the country. 

The Club developed and attracted many expert bridge players.  After Jeff and David's retirement, Manchester Bridge Club became a 'members club' and Jeff is still a very active member of our Committee.

Our Wednesday evening duplicate on 15th January will be a special event to commemorate Jeff's longstanding involvement in our club - there would be no Manchester Bridge Club without Jeff! 

As well as a Duplicate Pairs, there will be cheese and biscuits during the break (just like we used to have at Palatine Road) and a display of photographs of significant events from the Club's history - including many of the many excellent bridge players that have helped carve Manchester Bridge Club's special place in the history of contract (and rubber) bridge in the UK.

Everyone is welcome to a nostalgic but very competitive evening. Play will start at 7.15pm with the normal table fee of £4.00.

To help with catering please add your name to the list below.

The Manchester Bridge Club AGM was held on the 19th March 2025 with almost 50 members attending.  Paul Murray gave a comprehensive review of the Club's activities in 2024 including;

- Finances

- Membership levels

- Progress against the 2024 Objectives

- Range of our F2F sessions with almost 6000 people coming to play in 2024

- Challenges for 2025

Paul, Mike and Dave were all re-elected to their current Committee roles but Anne Naylor has chosen to stand back from her role as Bridge Officer. She was given a warm vote of thanks for her efforts over the past year. Part of Anne's role will be taken over by Sarah O'Neill and the Committee will be looking for volunteers to take over the balance of that role and to fill the other 3 vacancies of Operations/Logistics, IT and Officer without Portfolio

The evening concluded with 13 and half tables playing Bridge and enjoying an extensive cheese selection .      

Paul Murray's AGM report is now available in the Members Only menu 

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