RealBridge Links for Wednesday morning and Thursday evening will appear below on the day. Being Children in Need Sim Pairs this week, RealBridge games are £5 each.

Wednesday @ 10:15am - 12th November Children in Need Sim Pairs Link - Click Here

Thursday @ 7pm  - 13th November CiN Sim Pairs link - click here

RealBridge game on a Wednesday starts at 10:15am and is hosted so ne need for a partner. The game is £4 per player and includes a hand discussion afterwards on zoom.

There will be a choice of sessions for players to take part in on Thursday as the same hands will be in play on both RealBridge and BBO. For BBO just login as normal or for RealBridge see the link above. The RealBridge session will start at 7pm and the game is hosted so you can turn up without a partner. Scores will be merged at the end of the night. RealBridge game on Thursday will be £3.50 per player and will be billed at the end of the month.

On Wednesday 26th November, we will be running a heat of the LCBA Simultaneous Pairs to raise money for the LCBA Benefactor Fund which support bridge teaching and development across the County. The game will be under "Oliver Cowan Pairs" on BBO as normal on a Wednesday evening and the cost will be $7.50 per player. Masterpoints will be awarded both on our club heat but also on the overall standings once results merged with other clubs. No need to book in advance - just find the game on the BBO tournament list on the night.

I am delighted to announce that the first Oliver Cowan Bridge Holiday will take place from 28th September-1st October 2026 and will be held at the fabulous Palace Hotel in Buxton, Derbyshire. There will be duplicate sessions morning and evening as well as the option to attend seminars throughout the duration. Your team for the week will be Oliver, together with Tim Chanter & Helen Wildsmith who will be overseeing the teaching program for those who wish to attends any daytime seminars. All duplicate sessions will be hosted meaning you can come without a partner. Single occupancy rooms on half board basis including all bridge fees will be £449pp and Double/Twin occupancy rooms are £369pp. More details will be out very sooon.

THE GAME WILL BE ON THE BBO LIST OF TOURNAMENTS UNDER WBU DRAGON PAIRS (OLIVER COWAN)

Following the success of the 1st series of Dragon Pairs, which attracted an average of about 30 tables in each event, we will be repeating the competition for the next 12 months!

The next event in the 2025/26 Dragon Swiss Pairs series takes place on Saturday 22nd November at 1pm for the normal 6 x 6 board rounds. We will have a break after 3 rounds and finish by 6pm.

Each players best 5 scores will count towards their final total but players can play in as many or as few sessions as they like as each game is a separate tournament where green points are awarded for each round won or drawn and on overall standing.

The game is open to members of ALL home nations and masterpoints won will be transferred to you account from the WBU. The game does not count towards NGS as it is under the WBU.

Please fill out your details on the entry form below. Entry is $16BBO which you pay on the day when registering. If you do not use dollars but want to play, please send £13 to sort 204895 acct 43186903 acct name Oliver Cowan Bridge Club Virtual and the dollars will be put in your account prior to the event.

The 2025 renewal took place on the weekend of 11 and 12 January at the usual venue of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nottingham.

The Richard Bowdery Pairs was won by Tom Cohen & Jake Milne and the teams on Sunday was won by Natalie Hoff, Imogen La Chapelle, Harry Madden & Andy Cope.

At the dinner on Saturday evening, we had a great meal and some exciting games of Play Your Cards Right meant we raised over £1000 for charity with the main beneficiary being the Homeless Street Angels.

The 2026 event will take place on the weekend of 17 & 18 January and the good news is that prices are being held at the same rate as this year!

 There are currently over 20 tables booked in so please get your entry in!!

Upcoming Congresses and Day Events being run by Oliver Cowan Bridge - email ocbridgecomps@gmail.com if you have a question about any of the events below.

15-16 November Lancashire Festival of Bridge - Mercure Bolholt Country Park, Bury (LCBA)

3-4 January - Manchester Congress - Airport Hotel, Wilmslow

17-18 January Oliver Cowan New Year Congress 2026 Nottingham

23-25 May -Spring Bank Holiday Congress, Hilton Reading (EBU)

5-7 June LlanBrighton Congress (Metropole Hotel, Brighton) (WBU & EBU Licensed)

16-19 July -Scarborough Summer Festival (EBU)

1-2 August Llandudno Congress - Craig-y-Don Leisure Centre (North Wales Bridge Association)

25-27 August Northern Midweek Congress - Cairn Hotel, Harrogate (EBU)

28 September - 1 October Oliver Cowan Bridge Club Holiday, Palace Hotel, Buxton

There will be additional 1 day events in clubs that will appear here when confirmed!

All details and booking information for the EBU congresses are on the EBU website under 'forthcoming events' and flyers for each will appear in the menu tab once bookings open.

Season 7 of the Online Teams League is starting on 7th October 2025 which will be used to fund a program of helping develop junior bridge.

The event is not designed to compete with any clubs as the 5:45 start time will allow players to get to their clubs to play Face to Face or to play online in their club duplicate sessions.

Teams will play 2 x 8 board matches each week, ideally on a Monday and Friday but captains can agree to play at a different time. Teams of 4 and £36 entry per team to cover a full cycle which will run for 7-10 weeks depending on the number of entries. Email Oliver for more information.