| Eden Cup 2026 |
The Northants pairs championship, the Eden Cup will be held at Kettering bridge club on Sunday 29th March.
This is the qualifier for the Corwen, with the top 3 eligible pairs qualifying.
Click here for details and how to enter.
It is also the qualifier for the 9 - high Corwen. Partnerships with both players having an NGS of 9 or below on Jan 1st this year are eligible and again 3 pairs may qualify.
The Corwen will take place in Nottingham on the weekend of 30-31 May.
The 9 High Corwen will be on-line on the 30th May.
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| Last hand drama |
Imagine the scene. Trevor T has just completed 32 boards in the A team v Hertfordshire. He is chatting with his partner, English U21 international Harriet Cork, watching the final scores come in. He is pleased that in his final match as selector, the A team look like they will win. What could possibly go wrong?
Here is the last board played in the other room to Trevor and Harriet.
North opens 1NT (12-14), E doubles, S redoubles and this is passed out. 1NT XX by North is the final contract.
E begins with the ♥ K ducked by N and he continues with a low ♥ which W wins as declarer ducks again. W switches to a ♣. This appears dangerous but wait a moment. Which low ♥ did E switch to. The 2! Surely a signal for a club switch. Declarer studied this club. Thinking the K was with E he considered winning the A and later leading a ♣ towards the Q. This would have not ended well for him but wisely he let it run round to the Q and played a ♦ to the Q and East's K. All is not lost for EW. E, had he been awake, can see that declarer has 2 spade tricks, a heart, 2 clubs and 2 diamonds after the A is knocked out. If he continues with hearts he will come to just 4 hearts and 2 diamond tricks. His remaining chance is to set up 3 club tricks in partner's hand by ditching hearts and playing clubs each time he's in with his diamond AK.
Sad to say, E was not awake and soon saw 560 in the minus column. The A team had lost and Trevor was not happy. I hope he will forgive me!
..... see less
Imagine the scene. Trevor T has just completed 32 boards in the A team v Hertfordshire. He is chatting with his partner, English U21 international Harriet Cork, watching the final scores come in. ..........
..... see more |
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| End of an Era |
Trevor Thrower has decided to stand down as county selector now the current season is over. This was Trevor's second spell in the hot seat, beginning when he took over from Mike Trask in 2018. He has done a tremendous job: organising, encouraging, communicating and leading by example.
Trevor will continue on the committee as match secretary, calendar secretary, director, EBU shareholder and Stamford BC rep so we will still keep him busy!
The good news is that county Vice Chairman, Rob Miller, has agreed to take over as selector.
Rob writes: I am keen to widen the pool of available players. If you are interested in paying for the county and don't already do so, please contact me at robmbridge@aol.com
He adds: county matches are friendly, played online on Sunday afternoons and there are only six a year. You can play as many or as few as you wish. The first match of the new season is in June.
Thank you, Trevor and good luck Rob.
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| ECL - End of Season |
The ECL season concluded with two matches in a fortninght.
First up were Norfolk on Jan 18th. The A team won 11-9, the B team won 14- 6 but the C team lost 5-15.
Two weeks later on 1st Feb we played Hertfordshire and all 3 sides lost. 9-11,6-14 and 3-17 respectively.
The final tables may be seen here.
My thanks to all those players who represented the county over the season. I hope you enjoyed doing so.
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| ECL v Suffolk |
Sunday Nov 30th saw Northants take on Suffolk in the ECL. The A team won 13-7, the B team drew 10-10 but the C team lost 3-17.
The standout pair were Tim Durdin and Chris Wormleighton who topped the cross imps table and led the A team to victory.
Full results may be seen here.
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| Northants Bridge Teachers Online Get Together |
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| Tollemache Qualifier |
The weekend of the 8/9th November saw Northants compete in the Tollemache qualifier on RealBridge. We were drawn in the 'green' section with 14 other teams including several big hitters: London, Surrey, Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire amongst others. Over the weekend the team of eight plays 7 board matches against each of the other teams - an exhausting 98 boards in total. Luckily, with a team of twelve only one pair played them all. There were some highlights; in particular a 19-1 thrashing of the runaway winners, Surrey, and a narrower victory over old rivals Cambridgeshire. However with only 6 wins out of 14 we were never in contention and finished 13th.
Thanks to all the players and, in particular, to NPC Trevor Thrower who kept us all in order.
Full results may be seen here.
Rob Miller's analysis of a hand that went very badly for us is attached. It contains an important lesson for some of us! Read it here.
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| ECL v Cambs and Hunts |
Sunday 5th October saw Northants take on Cambs and Hunts in the ECL on RealBridge. Well done to the B team who won their match 14-6. The A and C teams slipped to defeats 5-15 and 7-13 respectively.
Full results may be seen here.
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| Charity Donation |
Following the county simultaneous played earlier this month, NCBA was able to donate £750 to the Northants and Warwicks Air Ambulance. Thank you to all our members who played in the event and who generously contributed to this impressive total.
You can see the receipt from the Air Ambulance here.
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| County Simultaneous Pairs |
Well done to all 58 pairs across 5 clubs who participated in the County Sims on Monday 8th Sept. Special congratulations to the winners, Stamford BC pair Paul Double and John Prior, who both received a bottle of wine from the chairman.
Full results and Rob Miller's excellent commentary on the hands may be found here.
The total raised for our local air ambulance will be posted here as soon as it is known.
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| Broke Cup 2025 -26 |
It's time to make up a team and enter the Broke Cup.
The Broke Cup, named after Philip Broke who was a founding member of NCBA, is the county's green pointed knockout competition for teams of four.
The Betts Bowl is the associated plate competition for first round losers.
Matches are played over 32 boards and are face to face or, if both teams agree, online.
Details and how to enter may be read here
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| A Century of Contract Bridge |
It’s been 100 years since Harold S. Vanderbilt changed bridge forever creating a new scoring system and introducing vulnerability
Click here to watch a video from the EBU to commemorate this anniversary.
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| Bourne BC Open Day and Beginners' Lessons |
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| ECL v Essex |
On Sunday 13th July, Northants took on Essex in the Eastern Counties League. I think brevity may be the best way to report as all 3 teams lost. The A team 6-14, B team 5-15 and the C team 4-16.
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| Alan Bamford on his Pachabo experience |
Alan was a member of the Northants team in this year's Pachabo Cup. Click here to read about how he and the team fared.
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| Kettering Blue Pointed Swiss Pairs 12th October |
Kettering BC is hosting a blue pointed Swiss Pairs event on the 12th Oct this year. Click here for details.
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| Pachabo Cup |
The EBU Pachabo Cup for inter county teams of four took place on the weekend of 14th / 15th June.Northants are represented by the winners of the Broke Cup but unfortunately two of that team were unavailable. Luckily substitutes were keen to play and we fielded 6 pairs: Alan Bamford / Graham Dolby, Gerry Kingston / Frank Isack, Doreen Simpson / David Banks. For most of the players it was the first time they had played in such strong company and, although they enjoyed the experience, they finished close to the bottom of the rankings. Full results can be seen here.
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| Pensioner Games |
Here's something new - Pensioner Games - Bridge and Tennis. An interesting initiative and not too far away in Stony Stratford.
Click here for details.
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| Corwen and Nine High Corwen Trophies |
At the end on May the EBU held the Corwen and Nine High Corwen trophies, both online.
Northants fielded two pairs in each.
In the main event Ufuk Cotuk / Mark Tilley and Chris Wormleighton / Tim Durdin were our representatives. They acquitted themselves well, both pairs finishing just below half way. The full results may be seen here.
In the Nine High Corwen Jim and Nicky Bainbridge did brilliantly finishing 4th with 57.36%. Our other pair, Carrie Hart and Catherine Holt, also did well finishing in the top half of the field. Full results are here.
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| Swiss Pairs at Northampton |
On Saturday 17th May, 22 pairs ignored the FA Cup Final to compete in the Northants Green Pointed Swiss Pairs. It was a well run, friendly event. Northampton BC is a top venue so playing conditions were excellent. Thanks to Ross Stacey for his hosting of the event and to Nicky and Jim Bainbridge who, once again, were director and scorer respectively.
The event was won for the second year running by Dan Baines and Robert Miller with Paul Cutler and Colin Draper in second place and John Blakesley and Malcolm Orr-Ewing third.
Full results may be seen here.
Rob has written some thoughts on the event and his analysis of an interesting hand. I have added a second hand where there were some 'unusual' developments. Click here to read.
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| Garden Cities Regional Final |
Stamford BC, having won the Lakeland, represented Northants in the Garden Cities Regional Final at County Bridge Club, Leicester on Sunday, 10th May. The team of Bill Chadwick, Trevor Thrower, Nick Hunter, Ruby Schnalke, Graham Flew, Alan Bamford, Jane Reeve and Matthew Ticehurst finished 6th of the 9 teams and so did not qualify for the national final. The full results can be seen here.
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| ECL v Bedfordshire |
On Sunday 27th April, Northants opened their ECL programme with a match against Bedfordshire. The A team won 11-9, the B team won 14-6 but the C team slipped to a 2-18 defeat. Tim Durdin / Mark Tilley starred for the A team and the B team was led to victory by Robin Griffiths / Andrew Bisson and Paul Collins / Jane Reeve. Click here to see the full results.
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| Inter Club Leagues |
The Inter Club Leagues for teams of four have now reached their conclusion.
Congratulations to Kettering A, Bourne A and Stamford D who are the winners of divisions 1,2 and 3 respectively.
Final tables and all results may be seen here.
Thank you to Gary Upton for his organisation of these leagues.
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| Eden Cup |
Congratulations to Mark Tilley and Ufuk Cotuk who won the Eden Cup on Sunday 6th April and are the 2025 county pairs champions. They finished 5.65% ahead of the second placed pairs - an enormous winning margin.
Congratulations also to Robin Griffiths / Andrew Bisson and Tim Durdin / Chris Wormleighton who finished in equal second place.
These three pairs have qualified to represent Northants in the Corwen Trophy. Good luck!
The event also served as a qualifier for the 9 High Corwen. Well done to Carrie Hart / Catherine Holt, Nick & Jim Bainbridge and John Prior / Paul Double who made the cut.
Full results can be seen here.
Special thanks to Mark Tilley for organising and directing.
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| Broke Cup 2025 |
Congratulations to the Bamford Team (Alan, Graham Flew, Doreen Simpson and Helen Skelton) from Stamford BC who are the winners of this year's Broke Cup and qualify to represent Northants in the Pachabo cup in June. They beat another Stamford team Kingston (Gerry, Graham Froggett, John Prior and Paul Double) in a tightly fought 32 board final.
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| Annual General Meeting |
The Northants CBA AGM will take place on Zoom on Wednesday 16th April starting at 18:00. Members who wish to attend should email the county secretary, Tim Durdin for a link. We would be delighted to hear from any member who wishes to join the committee either as an officer or to represent their club.
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| ECL v Norfolk |
Our last match of the season saw Northants take on Norfolk. The A team won 15-5 but the B and C teams both lost. The final league positions are 2nd, 3rd and 6th. The full results can be seen here and the final league tables here. Many thanks to all players who have done battle over the season. Particular thanks to Trevor Thrower our team selector and director.
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| Lakeland Winners |
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The victorious Stamford team L to R Ben Gibson, (Maggie Jones photobombing!), Graham Flew, Alan Bamford, Trevor Thrower, Mark Tilley, Ruby Schnalke, Don McFarlane, Nick Hunter.
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| Kettering Trophy Winners |
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The victorious Northampton team: Kevin Fogarty, Marna Johanson, Mel Viljoen and Mike Penny
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| Lakeland and Kettering Trophy 2025 |
Results from today, 16 February 2025:
Lakeland
1. Stamford 26
Trevor Thrower, Ben Gibson, Ruby Schnalke, Nick Hunter, Alan Bamford, Graham Flew, Don McFarlane, Mark Tilley
2. Kettering 21
Tim Durdin, Chris Wormleighton, Rob Miller, John Walshaw, Simon Few, Graham Dolby, Maggie Jones, Mark Hodgson)
3. Northampton 13
Ross Stacey, Trevor Wray, Andy Heslop, Geoff Bennett, David Smith, Ian Chacksfield, Malcolm Orr-Ewing, John Blakesley
Stamford qualify for the Garden Cities regional Final.
Lakeland Hand Records.pdf
Kettering Trophy
1. Northampton (Kevin Fogarty, Marna Johanson, Mike Penny, Mel Viljoen) +41
2. Stamford (Mick Coogan, Peter Bower, Paul Double, John Prior) + 40
3. Towcester (Derek Wright, Jean Raven, Louise, Tom) +26
4. Stamford (Stephen Hunt, Stuart Sharp, David Ogg, Bob Ambrose) -15
5. Kettering (Stuart Kirkpatrick, Brett Kingsnorth, Patricia Stokes, Andrew Tempest) -28
6. Stamford (Maggie Knight, Nicky Keir, Anne Jackson, Graham Camp) -33
7. Kettering (David Bailey, Jenny Hall, Viv Journeaux, Terry Journeaux) -51
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| Betts Bowl |
Congratulations to the Chadwick team (Bill, Don McFarlane, Tim Durdin, Trevor Thrower) who are the 2025 Betts Bowl winners beating the Jones team (Marlene, David Banks, Joan Gibson, Ben Gibson) in a very close final by 61 - 55.
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| ECL v Bedfordshire |
On Sunday 2nd Feb Northants played Bedfordshire in the Eastern Counties League. The A team drew 10-10 having been 38 IMPs up at half time! The B team won 16-4 and the C team lost 7-13.
Full results may be found here.
Our final match of the season, against Norfolk, is on March 16th.
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| ECL v Suffolk |
On Sunday 12th Jan Northants played Suffolk in the Eastern Counties League. The A team won 17-3, the B team lost 7-13 and the C team won 11-9.
Full results can be found here
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| Northamptonshire Contract Bridge Association |
 NCBA’s aim is to improve bridge for all Northamptonshire players. NCBA committee welcomes suggestions to improve bridge in Northamptonshire for all players.
NCBA is run by members of the county’s 10 EBU affiliated clubs.
NCBA runs county events. NCBA enters county players in national events
NCBA is funded by its own events plus a club players P2P levy collected by the EBU.
To find out more about NCBA: sign up for the newsletter; check this web site regularly or ask your club NCBA representative.
Click window to find local club
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