How are grade bands and numeric bands related?

EBU grades are divided into 13 playing card bands, ranging from

‘Ace’ at the top to ‘Two’ at the beginners’ end. Each band, except the end

bands of ‘Ace’ and ‘Two’, covers a grade range of exactly 2, with ‘Eight’

having a range of 49-51. To split up the highest graded players the Ace band

(and only this band) is divided into four suits. The full set of bands and their

numeric equivalents are shown below.

Grading Range

%

H/C

Ace of Spades

67+

-6

Ace of Hearts

65-67

-6

Ace of Diamonds

63-65

-6

Ace of Clubs

61-63

-6

King

59-61

-5

Queen

57-59

-4

Jack

55-57

-3

Ten

53-55

-2

Nine

51-53

-1

Eight

49-51

0

Seven

47-49

+1

Six

45-47

+2

Five

43-45

+3

Four

41-43

+4

Three

39-41

+5

Two

under 39

+6

Many bridge clubs have handicapped pairs events and the National Grading

Scheme can provide Club Secretaries the best available ready-made

handicaps for players. Each player’s handicap can be derived roughly by a

simple conversion scale of -6 for a Current Grading Band of "Ace" to +6 for the

band of "2". A partnership’s handicap is the sum of the two player’s handicaps

and this is the amount by which the event’s percentage score is adjusted in

determining the handicapped result.

A stumbling block will occur if a club member makes their grading “private”,

but logic would dictate that it would be unlikely that a player who wishes their

gradings to be kept private would wish to participate in a handicapped event.

More precise handicaps can be derived from the grade values themselves.

Using these, a partnership’s handicap is the average of the two grades

subtracted from 50%.

The National Grading Scheme thus provides scope for Counties and other

organisations also to construct ranked, flighted or handicapped events based

on players’ current grades, should they feel that any such events may be

popular.

Certainly at club level, most players enjoy the boost of having a session when

they score better than their average. Handicapped ranking lists enable club

players who would otherwise usually be in the bottom part of the field to finish

higher up the list on these occasions, and thereby heighten their enjoyment of

the game. If your club has a sweepstake, it could be handicapped, or perhaps

handicaps might be used for club party or celebratory events.