Forty pairs participated in the 16th year of this fun event, hosted by the In and Out Club.  Fauzia Crockford from the In and Out Club and her partner Ewa Francis won, finishing on 63%.  The top RAC representatives were Michael Bailey in 4th place partnered by Emma McCormack from the Hurlingham Club and the top RAC pair were Piers Elder and Mark Alcock coming in 5th.  It was a most enjoyable afternoon, capably directed by Victor Lesk and hosted by Elsa Nelson.  After 30 hands of Bridge, we were treated to a delicious meal accompanied by a fine glass or three of wine.   Some commented that the dealing machine chose to provide too many flat boards, perhaps a consideration for next year when the RAC will be hosting this event.

The annual Bob Bowman Championship Swiss Pairs event, named after Bob Bowman who championed and led bridge activity at Pall Mall for decades, took place in the Mountbatten Room on 27 September 2026. Two sessions of 24 boards each are played with no pair playing the same opponents twice. Champagne is awarded to the winners of each session and the overall winners. I am delighted to report that Marina Chaning Pearce and her partner Gary Diamond won session 1 with 64 victory points with Paul Weston and Brigid Battiscombe in second place with 61 VPs and Lester Pereira and his partner Norman Agran won session 2 with 58 VPs with equal second Anne Parker/Karen Neale and Paul de Rooij/Oliver Buckley both with 54 VPs. The overall winners were Lester and Norman on 117 VPs and in second place Paul and Brigid on 111 VPs. Our thanks to Victor Lesk and Rob Sassoon for giving up their Sunday to spend the day organising, directing and scoring our competition.