The LMBA Championship Pairs 2023 took place at the Young Chelsea on Sunday 12 March. The event qualifies pairs with London as their primary county of allegiance for the EBU Corwen Trophy, the competition for counties’ pairs champions, to be played this year online on RealBridge over the weekend 3 & 4 June.

The event attracted a small but select field of ten pairs, a high proportion of the players being club members. Each pair played six deals against all the others for a total of 54 deals.

Congratulation to the winners, Brian Callaghan and Chris Duckworth, who finished well clear on 62.19%.

In second place were Tony Verran and Gad Chadha on 56.71%.

And In third place were Grzegorz Blicharz and Marilyn Malinowska on 52.19%.

Overall ranking and session results are available on the LMBA wesbite:

• Overall ranking
• Session one of two
• Session two of two

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Item posted 13 March 2023

MARCH LADDER UPDATE

Nearly half way through the month, and Chris Duckworth tops the ladder (but won’t be taking the prize!)

Martin Lerner and Nathan Piper are equal second—but haven’t yet played on a Monday!

Last Monday saw four tables in the duplicate. Come and make it more next week, climb a notch on the ladder, and enjoy a complimentary glass of Cider Punch to warm you up in this cold weather.

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LADDER RULES

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Can you rise to the top of the ladder?

Come and try!

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Item posted 10 March 2023.

Congratulations to the YC members listed below who attained a promotion in EBU rank during February!

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Item posted 9 March 2023

We are very pleased to announce the introduction of a new Monthly Ladder which will operate across the three regular club duplicate games on Monday and Friday evenings and Thursday afternoons.

In each month, for any duplicate where you finish above average, you will score points.

• If the duplicate is scored by IMPs, your points total is the number of IMPs you scored.
• If the duplicate is scored by matchpoints, your percentage will be converted to IMPs (applying the tried‑and‑tested formula used by the EBU) and your points awarded accordingly.
• Your best four scores during the month will be added to give a total monthly score, save that at least one of them must be from a Monday evening (otherwise only your best three scores count).
• The player with the most points at the end of the month wins the monthly prize. It is planned that this will be a hamper of goodies worth around £50.
• There will also be a smaller prize for the best score by a non‑expert player (defined as one with an NGS of 10 or below).

The Ladder will be introduced in March, with the first qualifying game being the Thursday afternoon duplicate on 2 March. [See more…]

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Item posted 13 February 2023.

A new season of courses is about to begin at the club. Courses are scheduled to start as follows:

See details on the Classes page. Places are still available on all the courses—please contact manager@ycbc.co.uk to book places.

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Item last updated 5 March 2023

One‑time club member Reg Day has given the Young Chelsea permission to reproduce a post from his personal blog. The post consists of bridge reminiscences, which include mentions of the club’s early years, and may be of interest to long‑term members.

You can also navigate to the item via the History page.

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Item posted 15 February 2023

From Thursday 12 January onwards, Daytime Duplicates will be held every Thursday afternoon at 1.00pm. These will feature:

Daytime Duplicates are now held every Thursday afternoon at 1.00pm. These feature:

• good standard but friendly face‑to‑face duplicate pairs game
• Table money of only £8 a head for club members (and guests on their first visit)
• An early finish—around 4.00pm—to beat the rush hour
• Excellent playing conditions—warm in winter, air‑conditioned in summer!
• A qualified tournament director in charge
• Licensed bar/café open throughout for hot and cold drinks and snacks
• The opportunity to come early and enjoy lunch before the game in our bar/café, which will be open from 12 noon each Thursday. We will be serving sandwiches and toasties, omelettes and seasonal specialities, all freshly prepared and delicious!

The first of these games, on Thursday 12 January, will be free of charge and open to all, and there will be a welcome drink and canapés available from 12 noon. On this occasion there is no need to come with a partner—individuals will be paired up appropriately.

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Item updated 13 January 2023.

The final of the Young Chelsea Knockout 2022 took place, only mildly delayed, on Monday 16 January 2023. The teams contesting were Orca, who played four‑handed (Richard Plackett, Espen Erichsen, Glyn Liggins and Andrew Dyson) and the undefeated Binkie with all six members present,

The match was close, with fewer than 20 IMPs separating the teams throughout. After 48 deals team Binkie prevailed by just 4 IMPs (95-91). Commiserations to team Orca who could easily have won if the cards had favoured them slightly more (as runners-up they got £300). Congratulations to David Burn, Joe Fawcett, Ian Payn, Heather Dhondy, Brian Callaghan and Richard Granville who hold the trophy for a year and pick up the £800 first prize

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Item posted 16 January 2023

For Monday evening games in 2023, please would you register that you will be coming before the end of the previous day—i.e. by midnight each Sunday. (A registration form has been set up for each game on the Event Entry page.) You may still turn up and play without registering, but if at least four pairs have not registered by the deadline, that Monday’s game will be cancelled.

During January there is a half‑price sale for the game. And at the end of January, the future of this game will be reviewed.

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Item posted 5 January 2023.

The Goldhawks celebrated Christmas with members bringing a cornucopia of home‑cooked treats for lunch during their Tuesday meeting on 12 December.

Meanwhile, Chris Duckworth directed the bridge, running the event as a sixteen‑player individual movement for a change. Congratulations to the winner, by a narraw margin, Joy Latif on 38.67 IMPs who keeps the Goldhawks Trophy for a year. Commiserations to second‑placed Diana Hardie on 37.67 and third‑placed Mala Bamford on 35.33.

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Item posted 12 December 2022

The club hosted the LMBA’s Palmer Bayer pairs, a “no fear” event with methods restricted to simple systems, on Sunday 4 December. Eight tables played 27 deals at a relaxed pace in the main hall. Afterwards the prizegiving took place in the bar, with complimentary drinks for the competitors and a hand discussion led by Brian Callaghan.

Congratulations to Young Chelsea members Shelly Shieff and Chantal Girardin who won by a clear margin. [See more…]

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Item posted 5 December 2022

We are delighted to announce that we have raised the grand total of £5,521.21 for the Help Ukraine Emergency Appeal. The club organised a special fundraising duplicate on 6 March and our Ukrainian staff rallied round baking cakes and donating Ukrainian goods for sale. The event attracted a great mix of club members and others, all of whom gave very generously and the funds rolled in. We are very grateful to all, and every penny will go to the Ukrainian people. [See more…]

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Item posted 9 March, updated 19 March 2022