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The club hosted the LMBA’s Palmer Bayer pairs, a “no fear” event with methods restricted to simple systems, on Sunday 4 December. Four and a half 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 Rosalind Simpson and Chantal Girardin who won by a narrow margin.

See the LMBA website for full results. [See more…]

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Item posted 4 December 2023

Manager, London MindSports Centre

In the two years since it opened the London Mindsports Centre has become a famous and popular venue for many different games and activities. It is home to some of the top go, chess and bridge clubs in the UK and offers first-class facilities to stage all types of events. We are bringing together individuals of all backgrounds and skill levels to play many different board and card games, as well as providing comfortable and affordable meeting space for the local community and businesses. We are now offering the opportunity for a talented and motivated individual to manage and develop the Centre. [See more…]

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Item posted 27 November 2023

Congratulations to the Young Chelsea for winning the 2022-2023 NICKO. For a while this has been the way to bet as Young Chelsea B faced Young Chelsea I in the final, played on Sunday 26 November at the club.

The match went the full length of 48 boards and the victor by some 30 IMPs was Young Chelsea B. Not everyone may have memorized which players belonged to which teams, so the congratulations are to Claire Robinson, Cameron Small, Sally Brock and Barry Myers.

Commiseration to the runners‑up Young Chelsea I who did so well, especially after the tragic loss of their team member Richard Bowdery partway through the season. Playing in the final were James Thrower, Helen Rose, Sara Moran and Ingar Hansen. Henry Rose played for them in all their earlier matches.

By the way, this is not the first time there has been an all‑YC final. It happened in the 2018–2019 season. One of the ingredients of the club’s success is not just to field good teams, but also plenty of them (there is no limit and the Young Chelsea enters more teams into the event than any other club).

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Item posted 27 November 2023

Peter Donovan RIP
1934–2023

We are very sad to report the loss of Peter Donovan, who passed away on Thursday 16 November after suffering from lung cancer.

Peter was a very long‑standing member of the Young Chelsea, having joined the club in 1969 soon after its establishment, and he was an honorary life member for many years. When he joined the club he was already the bridge columnist for the Daily Mail, and he continued to produce a daily column for the newspaper for nearly six decades, earning himself a Guinness world record for the longest‑serving daily newspaper columnist.

Peter was also the driving force behind the hugely successful Daily Mail Schools Cup in the 1960s and 70s and served on the EBU Board from 1979 to 1982. His exceptional service to bridge earned him the prestigious Tony Priday award in 2020.

Peter’s greatest passions were bridge, beer and cricket in equal measure. Latterly, he played most of his bridge at the MCC, whose bridge club he helped to found, and he was often to be seen sporting the vivid MCC colours in his attire.  Peter was a true character who will be much missed and we extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends.

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Peter’s funeral is scheduled for Thursday 14 December at West London Crematorium—East Chapel, starting at 11.30am. Following the service, we’ll gather at the nearby Masons Arms.

Tim, Peter’s eldest son, has requested that those intending to attend kindly inform him, allowing for a rough estimate of the number of attendees: tim.donovan@bbc.co.uk.

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Item posted 22 November 2023

The tournament was held for the seventh time over the weekend 18 & 19 November 2023. Club member Paula Leslie, organizer of the event, got 14 teams to enter this year, despite competing events running elsewhere in Europe. Regular tournament director, Jonathan Lillycrop, came down from his current home in Durham to conduct a smoothly run event.

Setting up an exciting finish, after nine of the ten rounds, the victory-point standings of the leading five teams, all with a chance of winning, were:

• 119.00—Maggie Knottenbelt, Sally Brock, Helen Erichsen, Fiona Brown
• 107.19—Kath Stynes, Sally Anoyrkatis, Venetia Anoyrkatis, Debbie Sandford
• 107.10—Lucy Norman, Claire Robinson, Imogen La Chapelle and Charlotte Bedford
• 103.77—Nevena Senior, Anne Rosen, Kitty Telstcher, Susanna Gross, Louise Weiss‑Selway
• 103.58—Paula Leslie, Nicola Smith, Ewa Kater, Sølvi Remen

In round ten the team lying first was to play the team lying second, the team lying third was to play the team lying fourth and so on throughout the field. So the leading team was the odds-on favourite, while those in fourth and fifth places had mathematical chances if they could garner maximum wins and results from other matches were also favourable.

Congratulations to the winning team of Kath Stynes, Sally Anoyrkatis, Venetia Anoyrkatis and Debbie Sandford who, playing the leaders, did enough to get past them and finished on 124.35 VPs {with 100 being average over the ten rounds). First prize for their team was £1,000 plus, of course, chocolates.

See the full results in the calendar.

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Commiserations to the runners‑up on 123.69 VPs, who won their last match but fell short of first by less than one VP, Lucy Norman, Claire Robinson, Imogen La Chapelle and Charlotte Bedford. Second prize was £600 plus chocolates

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In third place on 121.84 VPs, and picking up £320 plus chocolates, were Maggie Knottenbelt, Sally Brock, Helen Erichsen and Fiona Brown. [See more…]

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Item posted 20 November 2023

The last duplicate of the year will be on Friday 22 December.

The club will then be closed until Tuesday 2 January, when the Goldhawks daytime duplicate will be the first event of the new year to take place.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our members and visitors!

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Item posted 15 November 2022

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

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Item posted 12 November 2023

This year’s YCKO is almost over with only the final, between Brock and Muller, to be played.

Please would you register, if your team wants to take part, for next year’s YCKO event by mid‑January 2024 to enable us to make a draw. All paid‑up Young Chelsea members are welcome to play. This is one of the club’s traditional teams events which will be run along the same lines (same rules, same prizes) as this year’s.

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Item posted 11 November 2023

Our Thursday daytime duplicates resume this Autumn, with the first on 2 November. Start time is 1.00pm with a short break halfway through the session for complimentary tea/coffee and cake. Daytime session prices are £8 for members and £12 for visitors. Please register, as either individuals or pairs, in advance so that we know how many players to cater for.

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Item posted 19 October 2023

SUPER WEDNESDAY GAMES

The YC Super League season may have finished but the YCBC Wednesday bi-monthly evening games continue! These sessions are suitable for any player who relishes the challenge of matchpoints with the sociability of some food and drink.

>The first Super Supper session is on 7.00pm). The game starts at 7.30pm. There are small prizes for the winners and highest‑placed jack‑high pair.

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The second Super Supper session is on Wednesday 14 June and is a pizza‑and‑prosecco buffet.

The third Super Supper session is on Wednesday 28  June and is a taste‑of‑Thailand buffet.

The fourth Super Supper session is on Wednesday 12 July and is a cheese‑and‑wine buffet.

The fifth Super Supper session is on Wednesday 26 July and is a beer‑and‑bangers buffet.

The sixth Super Supper session is on Wednesday 9 August and is a chilli‑and‑tortilla‑chips buffet.

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ADVANCE NOTICE

Following the success of the Super Wednesdays during the summer, and a very positive survey response from those who played regularly in the last few weeks, we have decided to continue holding these events on the alternate Wednesdays from the Super League.

The next Super Supper session is on Wednesday 20 December and will feature a cheese‑and‑wine buffet.

The entry fee is £15 per player (£5 per junior). For catering purposes please register online via the website.

Registering in advance helps the club make catering plans. Please note that there will be a wide range of non‑alcoholic drink options.

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Item posted 16 May 2023, updated 7 December 2023

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