Bulletin

Christmas Party Poster

The first scheduled date fur our Autumn 2023 Super League matches is 23 AugustWednesday this week.

Members are welcome to attend the club AGM to be held this year just before the regular duplicate on Friday 20 October.

From Thursday 26 to Sunday 29 October, there will be no District line service between Earl’s Court and Ealing Broadway/Kensington (Olympia)/Richmond. This means Ravenscourt Park, the closest station to the club, will not be in use. Hammersmith, a ten‑minute walk or short bus ride away, is the closest station served by other lines.

Current standings in the Women’s Swiss Teams held this year over the weekend 18 & 19 November.

Play your match
at the Young Chelsea in the London MindSports Centre.

at the London MindSports Centre.

As Monday 8 May is a bank holiday, the weekly evening supervised game will not take place that day.

This week sees the first of our fortnightly Super Wednesday duplicates on 31 May. Everyone is welcome. Cheese and wine from 7.00pm; duplicate starts at 7.30pm.

Please would you register your pair for any Monday evening duplicate in which you plan to play.

Our March ladder is now under way. Play on at least one Monday during the month to maximize your chances!

Help Ukraine Emergency Appeal

The club has raised  £7387.63.

For any information

Contact the Management Team

manager@ycbc.co.uk

07713 322420

Find us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Registered Charity Number 1158813

Release 2.19q
Come and play your match at our premises     
 
What’s happening this week
 
 

Young Chelsea Bridge Club

(Week starting 4 December 2023)

The club is closed between Christmas and the New Year

Monday

7.15pm

Monday Evening Duplicate — Everyone welcome, registration advised

Monday

7.30pm

Practice Play Session — Beginners/Improvers

Tuesday

11.00am

Goldhawks Duplicate — Everyone welcome

 

7.00pm

HCC Bridge Taster Session — Contact club

 

7.15pm

New Chiswick Duplicate — Everyone welcome

 

7.30pm

Beginners Lesson — Contact club

Wednesday

2.00pm

“Improve Your Play” Seminar: Planning the Play — Trump Management

 

2.00pm

Online Supervised Play — Beginners/Improvers

Wednesday

7.15pm

YC Super League Division Two — Pre‑entry required

 

7.30pm

YC Super League Division One — Pre‑entry required

Wednesday

7.00pm

Cheese & Wine Buffet and Matchpoint Pairs Duplicate — Everyone welcome

 

7.30pm

Next Step Lesson — Contact club

Wednesday

7.30pm

Next Step Course — Contact club

Thursday

3.30pm

Open Day — Student recruitment

Thursday

1.00pm

Beginners Course — Contact club

Thursday

1.30pm

Beginners Course — Contact club

Thursday

1.00pm

YC Thursday Daytime Duplicate — Everyone welcome

Thursday

7.00pm

LMBA Garden Cities Heat — Pre‑entry required

 

7.30pm

Supervised Duplicate — Beginners/Improvers

 

7.30pm

Next Step Lesson — Contact club

 

7.00pm

Supervised Play Session — Beginners/Improvers

Friday

6.30pm

YC AGM — All members welcome

Friday

7.30pm

YC Friday Evening Duplicate — Everyone welcome

Saturday

10.00am

BGB Gold Cup Semifinals — Spectators welcome

Saturday

10.45am

EBU Premier League Div Three — Pre‑entry required

Saturday

11.30am

LMBA London Congress Swiss Pairs — Contact LMBA

Saturday

11.00am

James Jones Cup (Swiss Pairs) — Cancelled

Saturday

10.30am

YC Half Marathon — Pre‑entry required

 

10.30am

Learn Bridge in a Weekend — Contact Ned Paul

Saturday

10.30am

YC Women’s Teams — Pre‑entry required

Saturday

4.00pm

YC Christmas Party — Everyone welcome

Sunday

10.00am

BGB Gold Cup Finals — Spectators welcome

Sunday

10.45am

EBU Premier League Div Three — Pre‑entry required

Sunday

1.00pm

YC Mixed Pairs — Everyone welcome

Sunday

10.30am

Learn Bridge in a Weekend — Contact Ned Paul

Sunday

10.00am

YC Women’s Teams — Pre‑entry required

Sunday

11.00am

Improvers Lesson — Contact club

 

3.30pm

All‑YC NICKO Final, Thrower vs Robinson — Spectators welcome

Sunday

11.30am

LMBA London Congress Swiss Teams — Contact LMBA

Sunday

2.00pm

LMBA Mixed Pairs — Contact LMBA

Sunday

2.00pm

LMBA Palmer Bayer Pairs — Contact LMBA

 

11.30am

LMBA London Championship Pairs — Contact LMBA

 

11.30am

LMBA Ian Gardiner Teams of Four championship qualifier — Contact LMBA

FOR YOUR DIARY
Wednesday 13 December.
Duplicate at 3.30pm, dinner at 7.00pm and quiz at 8.00pm on Sunday 17 December.
Buffet and matchpoint duplicate on 20 December.
Final on Saturday 13 January.
Wednesday 17 January.
 

LATEST

LMBA Palmer Bayer Pairs 2023—Report

 
LMBA Palmer Bayer 2023 winners Rosalind Simpson and Chantal Girardin
LMBA Palmer Bayer 2023 winners Rosalind Simpson and Chantal Girardin
 

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…]

 

Item posted 4 December 2023

Job Advertisement

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…]

 

Item posted 27 November 2023

Young Chelsea Wins 2022–2023 NICKO

 
Young Chelsea’s 2022–2023 Season NICKO‑Winning Team—Claire Robinson, Cameron Small, Sally Brock and Barry Myers
Young Chelsea’s 2022–2023 Season NICKO‑Winning Team—Claire Robinson, Cameron Small, Sally Brock and Barry Myers
 

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).

 

Item posted 27 November 2023

Peter Donovan RIP

 
Peter Donovan 1934–2023
Peter Donovan 1934–2023
 

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.

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.

 

Item posted 22 November 2023

YCBC Women’s Swiss Teams 2023—Report

 
YC Women’s Swiss Teams 2023 winners—Kath Stynes, Sally Anoyrkatis, Venetia Anoyrkatis and Debbie Sandford
YC Women’s Swiss Teams 2023 winners—Kath Stynes, Sally Anoyrkatis, Venetia Anoyrkatis and Debbie Sandford
 

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.

 

 
YC Women’s Swiss Teams 2023 runners‑up—Lucy Norman, Claire Robinson, Imogen La Chapelle and Charlotte Bedford
YC Women’s Swiss Teams 2023 runners‑up—Lucy Norman, Claire Robinson, Imogen La Chapelle and Charlotte Bedford
 

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

 

 
YC Women’s Swiss Teams 2023 third—Maggie Knottenbelt, Sally Brock, Helen Erichsen and Fiona Brown
YC Women’s Swiss Teams 2023 third—Maggie Knottenbelt, Sally Brock, Helen Erichsen and Fiona Brown
 

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…]

 

Item posted 20 November 2023

Christmas Opening Schedule 2023

 
Xmas Tree
 

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!

 

Item posted 15 November 2022

EBU October 2023 Promotions of YC Members

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

  • Richard Creamer
Premier Life Master
  • Jill Pattison
District Master
  • Tianxiang Fu
Local Master

Item posted 12 November 2023

Entries Are Open for the YCKO Teams 2024

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.

 

Item posted 11 November 2023

Thursday Daytime Duplicates Resume This Autumn

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.

Item posted 19 October 2023

Super Wednesday Games

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.

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.

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.

Item posted 16 May 2023, updated 7 December 2023

Young Chelsea Knockout 2023

YCKO 2023

Sixteen teams have entered this year’s competition. After seeding the teams by NGS, the draw (updated regularly with match results) has been made. The competition is now under way and teams should contact their opponents to arrange a match date. Once the teams have a date agreed they should book the match in with the club at bookings@ycbc.co.uk. The semifinal match hase been completed. The play‑by date for the Final match was 17 December (moved a week later than originally planned), but as in previous seasons the schedule has slipped and the match will take place on Saturday 13 January.

The club made a draw on Monday 21 August to decide the Quarter‑final matches (from possibilities that prevent teams which have already met from facing each other again):

  • Brock v Phoenix
winner: Brock
  • Just Like That v Jupiter
winner: Jupiter
  • Entente Cordiale v Muller
winner: Muller

The one semifinal match is:

  • Jupiter v Muller
winner: Muller

The final match is:

  • Brock v Muller
 

Once your match has been played, please notify the result to the club at manager@ycbc.co.uk, stating the names of the players in both teams as well as the outcome. Team captains will be notified of their opponents for their next match as soon as the team to be played is known. [See more…]

Page last updated 26 November 2023

Help Ukraine Emergency Appeal—Report

 
Young Chelsea Appeal 2022—Ukrainian Staff
Young Chelsea Appeal 2022—Ukrainian Staff
 

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…]

Item posted 9 March, updated 19 March 2022

Results
Super Wednesday Evening Duplicate
Director: Chris Dee
Tuesday Pairs
Director: Chris
Friday Evening Cross‑IMP Duplicate
Director: Mike Eden
Thursday Daytime Duplicate
Director: Richard
YC Super League Div1
Director: Gitte
YC Super League Div2
 
MindSports Image
 
 

The London MindSports Centre, home of the Young Chelsea Bridge Club here in Hammersmith, is one of the best venues in the country to host your events.

To book or for more information contact the manager@ycbc.co.uk.

Young Chelsea BC
Young Chelsea BC

♠  ♠ 

The Young Chelsea Bridge Club prides itself on its warm and friendly atmosphere, where beginners, intermediates and advanced players have opportunities to learn and compete. It is truly the club with a heart and especially encourages and mentors its newer members.

Founded 1968, YCBC is one the oldest and probably the best bridge club in the UK. We are a member‑owned club, whose board of directors is committed to enhancing the learning and playing experience of all its members.

Our club features:

  • Comfortable, well equipped facilities with free Wifi

  • Duplicate - Teams - Chicago Bridge most days of the week

  • EBU affiliated

  • Experienced EBU directors

  • Master points and NGS points awarded

  • Hosts—please call/email the CM ahead if possible

  • Licenced bar and refreshments available

  • Lessons for all levels: from Newbies to World‑Class players

  • Mentoring program

  • Special tournaments

  • Registered charity

Don’t be misled by the name. Although the Young Chelsea is particularly welcoming to young players, we have many older members, some of whom have belonged since the start of the club back in 1968. There is no upper age limit—you are never too late to learn and play at YCBC (or YC as it is popularly known). Our original home was in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; now we can be found in Hammersmith.