Suffolk Contract Bridge Association
CAPTAIN'S LOG

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Click on Captain's Log to see analysis by the County Captain, Paul Whetton, of some interesting hands played by Suffolk teams in the National online Teams League and Eastern Counties League.

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RAISING THE BAR
RAISING THE BAR

 

Paul Whetton has been appointed Suffolk captain and is using his new role to offer a series of articles aimed at players who represent the county, or aspire to do so - but should help us all improve our game.

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 one is entitled Slam Bidding.
EVEN MORE MARMITE!
EVEN MORE MARMITE!

In a sequel to Marc Chawner's popular compilation of no-trump hands and how to play them, click on SUIT PLAY BY DECLARER, and  BBO, to see how BBO robots played these hands (clever!) To complete the trilogy, Marc has produced a comprehensive article on defence. Click on DEFENCE to read.

Now, in yet another part, Marc has looked at the maths of bridge in his article Know Your Percentages. Click on PERCENTAGES to read.

There is plenty for players of all abilities in the above. Thanks once again to Marc.
LEARNING BRIDGE
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
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 particular, 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 material 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

Paul Rickard and Pam Pope 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, please click Paul or Pam.
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WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE…
BAH HUMBUG PAIRS

Click for the entry form.
RICK HANLEY MEMORIAL BRIDGE MATCH

On 1st December, teams from Essex and Suffolk met in Colchester for a friendly match as a tribute to Suffolk's former County Captain, Rick Hanley.

Bill Tweddle who was a friend of Rick and partnered him for many years, paid tribute to Rick commenting on his excellent captaincy, his enthusiasm, and ideas that had inspired the county squad.

Congratulations to Richard Evans, John Bloomfield, Chris Kennedy and Andy Higginson for their win, and thanks go to Jo Harpur for organising the event with help from Tim Evans and to Rob Sassoon for directing.

Rick was a member of the Suffolk team that qualified for the Tollemache Final three times and, just last year, when he was a member of the team that came second in the Pachabo Cup, the national competition for winners of their County Team Championship.

But most of all he showed immense courage when dealing with his cruel disease MND. It was rather fitting that Sunday was also the 1st day of Kevin Sinfield's marathon running week raising awareness and money for a disease that to date has no cure.  To donate please go to rick-hanley.muchloved.com

CLICK HERE TO SEE RESULTS.
SILVER MEDAL WIN FOR MALCOLM PRYOR
SILVER MEDAL WIN FOR MALCOLM PRYOR

Congratulations to Ipswich member Malcolm Pryor and his partner Ed Scerri who took the silver medal in the Senior Pairs at the 16th World Bridge Games in Argentina.

Malcolm is on the far left of the podium (in the shadows). He and Ed battled through the six-day event, qualifying, semi-final and final, three sessions a day.
CLUB TEAMS of 8
CLUB TEAMS of 8

 

The winning Woodbridge team of John Skinner, Iain Burgess, Conrad Simons, Alison Simons, Stephen Ashworth, Bill Bethell, Simon Riley & Viv Mason.

64 Players enjoyed the annual Club Teams of Eight event at Highwoods on November 16, with the excellent tea provided as usual by the local Sea Scouts.

Results are available HERE

Congratulations to WOODBRIDGE for retaining the Abbeygate Shield and qualifying to represent Suffolk in the national Garden Cities Trophy event!

SPOTLIGHT

CAFE BRIDGE SUCCESS

Café Bridge raised over £1,300 for the Hospice charity and attracted players from far afield, as well as many Suffolk players. The event held in Bury town centre at 8 different Cafés & Restaurants attracted 34 pairs who enjoyed what for many was a very new type of Bridge experience. With players moving between venues after each round, the Sun god smiled on the event and kept the rain away.

 

Prizes were awarded for the first three pairs, with Sue Willcox & Roger Timmins in first place, followed by Susan Nisbett & Richard Evans in second place, and Susan & Crispin Dunne in third. Congratulations to the winners, as well as to those who won the raffle prizes.  A big thank you to Victor Lesk of BriAn Bridge fame, who is the UK’s Café Bridge supremo and who acted as Tournament Director for the day, also playing as a substitute.
  • Second place Susan and Richard
  • Third place Susan and Crispin
  • Winners Sue and Roger
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AUTUMN FESTIVAL
AUTUMN FESTIVAL

36 boards of Face-to-Face Bridge at Elmswell

Congratulations to the Winners of the Trophies for Men’s Pairs, Ladies’ Pairs, Mixed Pairs, Veterans (70+) & best on Handicap.

Click HERE for the results
  • Handicap Pairs Winners
  • Ladies Pairs Winners
  • Mens Pairs Winners
  • Mixed Pairs and Overall Winners
  • Veterans Pairs Winners

Mixed Pairs and Overall Event Winners - Rod & Sue Oakford

Men's Pairs Winners - Tim Evans & Chris Park

Ladies' Pairs Winners - Christine Cooke & Marlene Chant

Veterans' Pairs Winners - Alaric & Dorothy Cundy

Handicap Winners - Derek Phillips & Paul Starling
SUMMER SWISS PAIRS
SUMMER SWISS PAIRS
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Suffolk Bridge hosted a new Blue Pointed Swiss Pairs event of 36 boards at the Blackbourne Centre, Elmswell on Sunday July 28, 2024. ..........

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WOODBRIDGE MID ANGLIA PAIRS
WOODBRIDGE MID ANGLIA PAIRS
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Congratulations to Dave Walker and Sue Smith - Winners of the Woodbridge Mid Anglia Pairs. ..........

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ZEB STOCKEN AT HINTLESHAM HALL
ZEB STOCKEN AT HINTLESHAM HALL
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Seventy-two players enjoyed an entertaining day with bridge teacher Zeb Stocken at Hintlesham Hall, including an excellent buffet lunch, with topics including slam bidding and planning your play. ..........

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SUFFOLK BRIDGE AGM
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The Suffolk Bridge AGM was held at Elmswell on Sunday May 12. ..........

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CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS FINAL
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Rick Hanley's team (Rick Hanley, Michael Sherer, Chris Chambers, Chris Green, Malcolm Pryor, Peter Sutcliffe) have won the 2024 Suffolk Championship Teams of Four with a 35 IMP victory in the 40 board final over Jenny Price's team (Jenny Price, Norbert Voelker, Tony Philpott, Nigel Bardsley). ..........

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CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRS WINNERS
CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRS WINNERS
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The Championship Pairs Final was held at The Blackbourne Centre, Elmswell on Sunday 21st April. ..........

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IN THE PAST...

To see older items please click on

NEWS ARCHIVE
ATTENTION ALL NGS 2-9 MEMBERS!
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Would you like to represent Suffolk in a national online Pairs competition playing against opponents of a similar standard?. ..........

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DEALING MACHINE
DEALING MACHINE
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To protect long-term availability of pre-dealt boards for its events, Suffolk Bridge has purchased a new dealing machine.

The existing 12-year-old machine is for sale. ..........

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BRIDGE in CAMBRIDGE

Celebrate the New Year and play face-to-face in a two-session Blue-pointed Pairs event near Cambridge on Sunday January 5.

For all details and to see the entry form, click CAMBRIDGE.
CLUB REPS MEETING

Suffolk Bridge held a Club Representatives Meeting on November 3 where matters relevant to all affiliated clubs were discussed.

Click in this message to see a summary of the discussion.
ESSEX/SUFFOLK FRIENDLY MATCH

A Face-to-Face friendly match between Suffolk and Essex was arranged to be played in Colchester on December 1 as a tribute to Suffolk's former County Captain, Rick Hanley.

It is anticipated that this will be an annual event, alternating between SCBA and ECBA venues.

Players have been selected for this year's event but a notice will be posted in due course asking those who wish to play next year (in the Essex venue) to inform our present Captain, Paul Whetton. 

Click SCORES to see the results of the inaugural event.
ROBSON at LAVENHAM

Click to enlarge
SUFFOLK CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS

The entry form for the Suffolk Championship Teams of 4 is now available on our website.

The winners of this prestigious county event will go on to represent Suffolk in the EBU's Pachabo Cup – a competition for all the UK counties Champion teams of 4 which will take place in Milton Keynes on the 14th and 15th of June 2025.

Entries for the Suffolk Championship Teams of 4, which is to be played online, need to be made by the 29th of November 2024.

Full details of the event can be found under:

Championship Teams Regulations

and the Entry Form can be found HERE

Please contact the event manager Tim Evans for more details.

tim@suffolkclocks.co.uk
ONLINE TEAMS LEAGUE UNDERWAY

The latest Suffolk Online Teams League, Season 19, is underway, with 25 teams playing in 5 divisions.

Results will be available by clicking on WINTER. Final results from Season 18 can be viewed by clicking on PREVIOUS RESULTS.

Congratulations to the Pryor, Honess, O’Reilly, Wright, and Ford teams for winning their respective divisions.
FREE ONLINE LESSONS FOR BEGINNERS

Complete Beginners: click HERE to access nine free online lessons with Jack Stocken, one of the UK's most popular Bridge teachers. No need to register or download anything, just enjoy the lessons. The free lessons come with a detailed worksheet and a link to enable beginners to play mini bridge online (on BBO). After a while, online students will then be able to start improver lessons or visit their local Bridge Club to practice.

It would be lovely to bring in more beginners to this wonderful game and so Jack Stocken is delighted to gift a course of nine recorded online Acol beginner lessons to any potential beginners. Students do not have to register nor pay for these lessons, just go to the LearnBridgeOnline.com website and click on the lesson!

A list of local Bridge teachers can be found HERE.
RICHARD EVANS RECEIVES BEM
RICHARD EVANS RECEIVES BEM

Congratulations to Richard Evans who was awarded the British Empire Medal for services in the community in the King's Birthday Honours

With his late wife Mary he set up Stansfield Bridge Club in 2007, which quickly became and remains one of the largest bridge clubs in the county.  In 2007, he started teaching bridge full time and has taught more than 1,000 people to play the game.

The full article can be accessed here
SUFFOLK CLUBS
SUFFOLK CLUBS

Do you want to find where to play Bridge in Suffolk or North Essex?

Click on the map or in this text to open the INTERACTIVE MAP which shows details of Bridge Clubs in this area and links to their websites.

EBU-affiliated clubs in red and un-affiliated clubs in blue.

Each month we will put the spotlight on a couple of clubs. See SPOTLIGHT feature on this page to see details of this month's selection - Aldeburgh and Clacton.
TEAMS LEAGUE ANNUAL TROPHY

Each year the Malcolm Pryor Trophy is awarded in May for performance in the Suffolk On Line Teams League over the previous year. The 2024 winners are Malcolm Pryor, Chris Chambers, Chris Green, Rick Hanley, Michael Sherer, Peter Sutcliffe, with 33 Placing Points. They finished just one Placing Point ahead of Mark Honess, Caroline Gemmell, Andre Gray, John Pearson and David Willson. In joint third place with 28 Placing Points were Team Harpur and Team Orton. In total 18 teams received Placing Points during the year, more details on this and on previous years results can be found by clicking on Trophy
Results
1st Dec 2024
Rick Hanley Memorial Event
16th Nov 2024
Club Teams of Eight
27th Oct 2024
ECL v Norfolk away
13th Oct 2024
ECL v Cambs & Hunts home
Calendar
Sun 29th Dec 2024
Bah Humbug
Elmswell
10.30 am for 11 am
Director: Jonathan Everett
Sun 12th Jan 2025
ECL v Northants home
Online RealBridge 2.00 pm
Sun 9th Feb 2025
Bury Swiss Pairs
Online RealBridge 11.00 am
Sun 23rd Feb 2025
New Event
Kesgrave 11.00 am
Sun 2nd Mar 2025
ECL v Essex away
Online RealBridge 1.00 pm
Sun 23rd Mar 2025
Club Teams of Four
Elmswell 11.00 am
Sun 6th Apr 2025
9-High Corwen
Online RealBridge 1.00 pm
Sun 27th Apr 2025
Championship Pairs Final
Elmswell 11.00 am
Sun 18th May 2025
AGM Pairs
Elmswell
Following 2.00 pm AGM
Sun 22nd Jun 2025
Mid Anglia Pairs
Woodbridge 11.00 am
Sun 20th Jul 2025
Summer Swiss Pairs
Elmswell 11.00 am
Sun 7th Sep 2025
Autumn Festival
Elmswell 11.00 am
Sun 5th Oct 2025
Suffolk Congress Swiss Teams
Elmswell
Sat 8th Nov 2025
Club Teams of Eight
Colchester 2.00 pm
Sun 28th Dec 2025
Bah Humbug
Elmswell 11.00 am
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