A storming finish by the Jeff Orton team saw them share the spoils in the Swiss Teams on the second day of the Suffolk Online Congress.

The quartet pictured above - Bill Tweddell, Jeff, John Wilmott and Mike Sherer - won their final match 19-1 against the formidable four of Rick Hanley, Andy Higginson, Malcolm & Karen Pryor.

The result means they tied for first place with the strong Essex four of Ray Clarke, John Sutcliffe, Marc Chawner & Paul Spencer.

A quality field of 18 teams took part and yet again the success of the day owed much to Jacks Morcombe, Suffolk's chief tournament director, and Peter Bushby whose technical skills and workload meant the day passed off smoothly. Click on TEAMS to see all the scores.

Jacks Morcombe & Peter Bushby

Local players featured prominently on the opening day of the Suffolk Online Congress - but in many ways the biggest winner was the event itself.

With the annual trip to Felixstowe for the county's flagshiop event scuppered by the pandemic, the switch to an online replacement went without a hitch, thanks to the technical skills and countless hours of preparation by Jacks Morcombe, Suffolk's chief tournament director, and Peter Bushby.  They deserve a huge thank you from everyone.

As usual, the opening day of the congress was devoted to Pairs, which attracted 26 tables in two sections for the qualifying stage. Eric Newman & Diane Whitley topped NS.

The A Final ended in a runaway success for Ilan Sirkis & Barry Read from Berks & Bucks. Runners-up Andrew Moore and Tony Philpott were the best placed Suffolk pair.

The B final also ended in a comprehensive victory for Jo Harpur & Dennis Valtisiaris while John Bloomfield won the Open final for the third time, this time in partnership with Celia Jeal

L-R: Celia Jeal & John Bloomfield, Eric Newman & Diane Whitley, Tony Philpott & Andrew Moore, and Jo Harpur

Andre & David

Pleasant birthday surprise for Andre!

Andre Gray celebrated his birthday by partnering David Willson to a comprehenisve victory in the Autumn Pairs on Sunday.

The duo recorded a 70% score in their section and when the results of the A and B groups were combined they were still comfortably ahead of Andrtew Moore & Tony Philpott in second spot.

Third placed Caroline Gemmell & Mark Honess were the top mixed pair. Fourth placed Jo Harpur & Helen Mason were the top ladies pair. The married pairs was won by John Gan & May Li.

Significantly, 44 pairs took part in the event hosted by BBO - compared to 34 pairs in 'normal' times 12 months earlier.

To see all the scores, scroll down the right hand column to RESULTS.

Essex (top): Marc Chawner,  Ray Clarke, Paul Spencer, Bernie Hunt  Suffolk: Chris Chambers, Rick Hanley, Malcolm & Karen Pryor

Suffolk and Essex combine to win President's Cup

An eight strong team consisting of four players from both Suffolk and Essex has pulled off a remarkable victory by winning the President's Cup.

The prestigous annual event is normally contested by counties in the north but was opened up this year due to lockdown. It comprised a series of 8-board online matches - one every Tuesday - against 11 other counties.

After losing their first two matches, the 'Suffex' team won their next nine including against a Manchester side brimming with international talent.

Click on PRESIDENT to read Rick Hanley's full report.

Stansfield bridge club committee is delighted to announce that PADDY LOCKWOOD and RICHARD EVANS have been awarded Honorary Life Membership of Stansfield Bridge Club in recognition of the huge effort they have put into setting up Bridge Base Online for the use of club members and guests during the Coronavirus pandemic. 

We acknowledge that this has required, and continues to require, a huge commitment from them both and it demonstrates how grateful the club members are.

Inter-National honours for Sekhar

Sekhar Pillai, who plays at Stowmarket, Abbeygate and Stansfield clubs, achieved a great triumph recently when he was a member of the African team which won the EBU Inter-National.

Fourteen nations were represented in the event which was screened on BridgeBaseOnline.

What made his success all the more noteworthy was that he and his partner, Julia Davies, had never played together before and only agreed their system shortly before they started playing on Saturday.

At the end of that day's qualifying round, Malaysia topped the table with +86 IMPs, followed by Europe B (Norway, Turkey and Italy) on 46, Scotland on 20, and Africa (Kenya and South Africa) on 14.

The semi-finals and final were played on Sunday. Africa and Scotland beat Malaysia and Europe B respectively in the semi-finals. Africa overcame Scotland 79-56 in a slam-strewn final.

Sekhar's regular playing partner, Andy Billinge, spotted the event at the end of July on the EBU website where there was a call for EBU members who were born or hold a passport from a different country. A few countries were short of players and Andy encouraged him to participate. Sekhar, who was born in Kenya, thought  'nothing ventured nothing gained' and put his name forward.
"I did not hear anything for two weeks, then out of the blue I was approached and informed by Roger Pratt, the Team Africa captain, that I was playing. At the time my then partner had a medical problem and so I had a last minute replacement. We exchanged and agreed on systems at 11am on Saturday - the day of the initial qualification rounds. The rest, as they say, is history."

Are you lurking in the shadows when playing Suffolk bridge events online - without revealing your true identity?

If so, do the decent thing and complete your profile on BBO and disclose your real name - otherwise you may be unable to play in events run by the county.

The vast majority of players either introduce themselves at the start of each round and/or have completed a BBO profile detailing who they are and what system they play.

The Suffolk bridge committee agreed on Thursday that players should not be allowed to play incognito and if they repeatedly ignore requests to dislcose their true identity they will be banned from competitions organised by the county.

If you have not completed a profile on BBO, log in, click on Account, then Profile and add your first name and surname. While you are there click on Convention Cards and detail your system.

Outgoing chairman hails Suffolk bridge's response to crisis

At the county's recent Annual General Meeting - conducted via Zoom - Jeff Orton paid tribute to the remarkable way Suffolk bridge had responded to the Covid 19 crisis.

In a valedictory speech after serving as chairman of the SCBA for eight years, he highlighted the role played by Jacks Morcombe, Peter Bushby and other 'talents' which resulted in regular online bridge and the establishment of virtual clubs.

"We have all been faced with a very difficult situation, unprecedented in most of our memories, but as an Assocaition we can be proud of the way we've responded," he told the AGM attended by more than 60 members.

Such was the success, the EBU asked Suffolk to lead a web seminar for other counties to demonstrate how it managed the roll out of bridge on the internet. "To be showcased by the EBU as an example of best practice is a great accolade to Suffolk."

To read all Jeff's speech, click on REPORT. To see the prize winners for 2019-20 click on WINNERS.

Never played bridge on-line - and intimidated by what's involved? Don't be!

An A-B-C guide to playing bridge at BridgeBaseOnline (BBO) which covers the most basic points - how to get started, how to join a game - has been created for Suffolk Bridge by Peter Bushby, and even includes some very fancy film clips.

The big advantage of playing on BBO is that you can partner a real person (for example, your regular partner) - rather than a robot - and it's free.

So with no prospect of any club bridge for at least three months and probably longer don't feel left out...just click on HOW TO PLAY BRIDGE ON LINE.

In addition to the basics, the comprehensive guide also shows how you can enter Suffolk's regular Sunday evening duplicate, how to play a match between two teams of four, and much more besides.

The EBU has also produced a guide on how to play on BBO. Click on EBU to see.

A 28-board Suffolk FunBridge Pairs Challenge is taking place every week.

The competition will be open from 10am to 10pm every Wednesday to any FunBridge player in Suffolk. As usual on FunBridge a (very good!) robot will be your partner.

The event will be password protected. Click on PAIRS and a password will be sent to you.

To find the challenge, click on the Get Started/Practise tab, then click Exclusive Tournaments. Type Suffolk FunBridge Pairs into the View all Tournaments space.

Daily five board competiton for FunBridge players in Suffolk

The event is aimed at the growing FunBridge community in the county - and those who would like to give it a try.

Amanda Roberts who plays at Stansfield, Abbeygate, Stowmarket and Bury St Edmunds, came up with the idea.

The name of the competition is Suffolk Bridge Clubs, which can be found in Exclusive Tournaments via the orange Get started/Practise tab.

If you are interested but have not played on the site before go to https://www.funbridge.com

In addition to BBO and FunBridge, Bridge Club Live is an online favourite with many players. To find out more click on https://www.bridgeclublive.com

Suffolk bridge-golf day at Flempton OFF

Sadly, the first county wide bridge-golf day planned at Flempton golf club in October has been cancelled.

While golf courses are likely to open soon, the changes fo being able to play bridge afterwards in the clubhouse are remote.

To see older items please click on NEWS ARCHIVE