Suffolk Bridge, Suffolk

Release 2.19q

RICK STANDING DOWN

Rick Hanley (above) and Paul Whetton

Rick Hanley is standing down as Suffolk captain at the end of the current Eastern Counties League season. As announced previously, he will be succeeded by Paul Whetton.

Despite have a small pool of players to call on compared to other counties, and with some top Suffolk players choosing not to represent the county, his tenure has been marked by an overall improvement in results, notably by the B and C teams.

Richard Evans, chairman of Suffolk bridge, said: "Rick has been an excellent captain whose enthusiasm, leadership and ideas have inspired the county squad and underpinned its improved performance. He has also shown great courage at a time when he has not enjoyed good health."

EVENT DATE SWTICH

The Club Teams of Four will now take place at Elmswell on Sunday 24 March (11am), not as previously advertised on 10 March.

SUFFOLK DEFEATS

All good things have too end sometime and Suffolk's fine run in the Eastern Counties League hit the buffers recently against a powerful Hertfordshire squad.

All three teams suffered heavy defeats but the 'C' team still shares top spot (with Herts) in their seven county league.

To read Paul Whetton's report click on SUFFOLK

GOLF BRIDGE DAY

The second Suffolk golf bridge day attracted 20 players at Aldeburgh recently and the hope is to make this a regular annual event at one of the country's top courses.

18 holes of golf, lunch, 18 boards of bridge and a clever scoring algorithm produced an overall winner - John Skinner & Guy Lesser. The golf was won by Paul MacLachlan & Duncan Smith while Nick Farr & Derek Brinkley topped the bridge scores.

* The event will take place next year on Monday 21 October 2024 (9am start)

MEET ZIA - JUST DOWN THE ROAD!

How do you fancy meeting Zia Mahmood, probably the world's most charismatic bridge player, and playing a hand against him - while enjoying a glass of fizz?

Top marks to the First Class Bridge Academy (Barleylands, Billericay CM11 2UD) who are staging this event on Friday 8 December (12.30 to 5pm) where Zia will also talk about his life and be signing copies of his book For all the details, including booking, click on ZIA

OOPS…!

Bridge lunch has its own VAR moment

Sheila & Peter, top of the Handicap, and Richard & Mary, overall winners

And the winners are...

Except they weren't.

After the results for the last board of the Suffolk Bridge Lunch were punched into the Bridgemate, Gerry Ford and Jan Havard-Davies topped the score on the computer and were duly fêted as the winners.

However, the technology had not collected all the results and, after checking, the computer had a change of heart and Richard & Mary Evans came first - with Sheila Barnes & Peter Routley topping the Handicap.

Frankly, the results were secondary to a wonderful lunch prepared by Gerry and his daughter, Emily, while Suffolk Bridge provided the 22 pairs with a free glass of wine.

To see all the results click on LUNCH

MORE MARMITE!

Marc Chawner, a top Essex player, has produced a sequel to his popular compilation of no-trump hands and how to play them (scroll down this column to see) - and kindly offered them to players in Suffolk.

To read, click on SUIT PLAY BY DECLARER, and BBO, to see how BBO robots played the hands (clever!) To complete the trilogy, Marc has produced a comprehensive article on defence. Click on DEFENCE to read.

There is plenty for players of all abilities in the above. Thanks once again to Marc.

SUFFOLK CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRS

The format for this year's competition is as follows:

1. Heats to be held in Clubs during October/November. The heats will be F2F. There will be an online open heat in January 2024 for anyone who has missed their club heat.

2. All players who achieve 50% or more in a heat will be eligible to take part in the Final at Elmswell (IP30 9UH) on Sunday April 21, 2024.

3. Players may attempt qualification once - please ask players before play starts if they wish to attempt qualification.

4. Any out-of-county players who achieve more than 50% in a heat will not be eligible to play in the Final since the top three pairs in the Final will be invited to represent Suffolk in the Corwen Trophy to be held F2F on June 1/2, 2024.

PRIZES GALORE

The Autumn Festival, which attracted 14 tables at Elmswell on Sunday, is an amalgam of several smaller events which used to fill the calendar, but all the trophies remain - and there is even an extra one.

The prize winners were: Rod & Sue Oakford (Festival winners), Simon Riley & Jaroslaw Grochowski (Mens Pairs) Jan Wynne & Gill Newton (Ladies Pairs), Alaric & Dorothy Cundy (Veterans) Tim Evans & Chris Park (top of the Handicap).

LEARNING BRIDGE

Suffolk bridge is offering an unprecedented number of venues and sessions where players new to bridge can learn the game or improve their skills this autumn. Click on LEARN to see the range of courses and sessions on offer across the county.

If you - or a friend - is interested in attending any of the courses and requires more information click on ENQUIRIES and let us have your details.

RAISING THE BAR

Paul Whetton has been appointed Suffolk captain elect and is using his new role to offer a series of articles aimed at players who represent the county, or aspire to do so.

Paul's aim is to raise the level of performance by Suffolk players and he explains the thinking behind his approach in his first article. Click on BAR to read it.

All Paul's columns are available by clicking on Raising the Bar in the menu above. The latest ones include The 1NT device, the Strong Double, Trumps are Valuable Coin and Declarer Play.

MID ANGLIA WINNERS

Rod & Sue Oakford, who play for Cambs & Hunts and live in Lowestoft, won the Woodbridge Mid Anglia Pairs on Sunday.

They finished ahead of Andre Gray & David Willson, with Paul & Wendy Lefort in third. 22 pairs took part.

To see all the results click on MIDANGLIA

MARMITE

No trump contracts are like Marmite. You either love or hate them.

Players who fall into the latter (not to mention former) category might just wish to have a look at a fascinating article packed with loads of different hands produced by Marc Chawner, one of Essex’s very best players, on their county website. It kicks off with some relatively straight forward examples before featuring some crackers which will test the best.

Click on NO TRUMPS to read.

LEARNING BRIDGE

If you have friends who would like to learn bridge but are not sure how to go about it or where to go, ask them to email learnbridge@suffolkbridge.co.uk

To find a teacher in your area click on BRIDGE TEACHERS

LOCAL BRIDGE

With more clubs opening their doors, and some also offering teaching and learn & play classes, click on BRIDGE IN SUFFOLK to find out what is available.

While every attempt has been made to ensure the information is accurate, please let us know of any omissions or corrections by clicking EmailSuffolk

FACEBOOK

HERE - AT LAST!

It's been long overdue, but Suffolk Bridge now has its own Facebook page.

The social networking site offers another way to advertise events and, in particullar, to reach non-bridge players who might be interested in learning the game.

To find the page, go to Facebook and search for Suffolk Bridge.

BRIDGE ARCHIVE

Suffolk Bridge now has a dedicated website for archive mateiral collected over more than 40 years, including winners of the county's main competitions.

Many thanks to Jill Tattersfield for compiling all the material and to Peter Bushby for makiing it publicly available by setting up the website. Click on ARCHIVE to see everything.

WEBMASTERS

Richard Evans & Paul Rickard are the webmasters running Suffolk's dedicated bridge website.

If you would like to publicise a forthcoming event or submit a news item for this website click Richard or Paul

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Pages viewed in 2023

WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE…

FESTIVE BRIDGE

With Christmas and New Year often playing havoc with club calendars, the Bah Humbug Pairs aims to fill a festive gap in our bridge lives.

In keeping with the season of goodwill, this event would not claim to be the most serious bridge occasion of the year...which is probably one reason why it has proved popular.

Bah Humbug takes place this year on Friday 29 December at Blackbourne community centre, Blackbourne Road, Elmswell (IP30 9UH) starting at 11am. Depending on numbers, about 26 boards will be played.

The Friendly Loaf, based on the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds, has provided delicious snacks in previous years and recently won Artisan Baker of the Year in the prestigious Food Awards 2023. If they are not overwhelmed by the resulting demand, we hope to offer more of their wonderful treats.

To enter, please click on BAH HUMBUG Please bring your own lunch.

CLUB TEAMS OF 8

Woodbridge won the Suffolk Club Teams of 8 for the second year running at Colchester on Saturday - and thereby qualified to represent the county in the 2024 EBU Garden Cities Final.

Following their success 12 months ago, a bureaucratic issue prevented the club from taking their place in the national event but hopefully there will be no such problems this time round.

The Club Teams of 8 is always one of the most enjoyable events of the year, in part due to an excellent tea provided by the XVII^th Colchester Sea Scouts group.

Chris & Paul Rickard, the event managers, galvanised eight teams to take part while Rob Richardson stepped in at late notice as the director. Stansfield (pictured right) were runners-up ahead of Ipswich & Kesgrave in third. Click on EIGHT to see all the results.

SUFFOLK CONGRESS 2023

Congress prize winners with Jo Harpur, the event manager
Chris & Gary first: the rest nowhere!
The impact of lockdown and online bridge has been felt particularly by county congresses around the country - but Suffolk bucked the trend on Sunday with what visitors described as an excellent turn out. A few years back, 17 tables would have been considered something of a disappointment but in the current climate those are stellar numbers. This year's renewal returned to the traditional format of a qualifying round with the top 16 pairs playing in the congress final and the remainder playing a consolation final. Chris Green & Gary Rogerson put up a phenomenal performance to win the main final in a canter. Many thanks to Jo Harpur who managed the event and did much to ensure a successful day, and Rob Sassoon, who directed the event with aplomb. To see all the results, go to the Results column on the right and click the relevant event.

Handicap Prize: Paul & Chris Rickard	Top qualifiers: Rod Oakford & John Liebeschuetz	Consolation Pairs: Mike Sherer & Jeff Orton	Suffolk Congress Pairs winners: Chris Green & Gary Rogerson

IN THE PAST...

To see older items please click on

NEWS ARCHIVE

BURY SWISS PAIRS

The Bury Swiss Pairs is always one of the most popular club events in the calendar and will take place on Sunday 4 February at the Blackbourne community centre in Elmswell (IP30 9GY) starting at 10.30am.

To enter, click on BURY SWISS Please bring your own packed lunch

SUFFOLK ONLINE TEAMS OF 4 - AUTUMN 2023

Season 15 - yes,15! - of the Suffolk Online Teams League is underway, with 28 teams playing in six divisions.

Results will be available by clicking on AUTUMN. Final results from Season 14 can be viewed by clicking on PREVIOUS RESULTS