Division One: match schedule and current standings (on the EBU website).

Division Two: match schedule and current standings (on the EBU website).

♥ ♥

Dates for the following season, Autumn 2023, are now in the calendar. Division One begins on Wednesday 23 August and runs for nine matches at two‑weekly intervals to finish on 13 December. The start date for Division Two depends on the number of teams playing. If the number remains at eight there will be seven matches starting from Wednesday 20 September. If the number increases there will be nine matches starting on the same date as Division One.

♥ ♥

The Spring 2023 season of the Young Chelsea Super League is a face‑to‑face event, ideally with matches over scheduled evenings on each of which the teams play the same deals. Given sufficient notice, the club will normally allow teams which have difficulty making a scheduled date to rearrange the match. Matches which are rearranged for other days will not share the deals. The club will, exceptionally, consider requests to play online, charged to the teams organisers’ YC accounts at the face‑to‑face price. Any match held online, even if on the scheduled date is not guaranteed to share the deals.

Division Two matches continue on Wednesdays to run alongside Division One matches.

The season begins for Division One on Wednesday 25 January and for Division Two on Wednesday 22 February. Subsequent matches are at two‑weekly intervals. Division One consists of a full ten teams and will play nine rounds. Division Two has eight teams and will play seven rounds. Scheduled match dates are:

Please check, before the start of the season, to see if your team can make all these dates. If you have a problem with a given date and let the club know now, we may be able rejig the schedule to marry you against another team in the same situation.

The start times for the divisions are staggered by 15 minutes in order to reduce pressure on the director(s) and the bar. Division Two starts at 7.15pm; Division One at 7.30pm.

Matches will consist of 24 deals played in two sets of 12 with a half‑time change of opponents. The IMP result for each match is converted to continuous Victory Points.

The price for matches is £12.50 per player and includes refreshments at half time.

Thank you for your participation and please enjoy the Spring 2023 season.

♥ ♥

If you have not previously played or your team dropped out a while ago, you can contact the club (before the season starts) to enter a team in Division Two. Watch this page for more information as entries are finalised.

♥ ♥

Based on last season’s results, the teams in Division One are below, but please let the club know if you wish to withdraw.

Division One: match schedule

♥ ♥

And the teams in Division Two, based on last season’s results, are below, but again please let the club know either if you wish to withdraw or if you wish to take part as a new team.

Division Two: match schedule

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Page last updated 13 March 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.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item updated 13 January 2023.

Congratulations to the YC member listed below who attained a promotion in EBU rank during December!

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 9 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

Item posted 16 January 2023

Congratulations to the YC member listed below who attained a promotion in EBU rank during January!

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 9 February 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.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 15 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.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item last updated 5 March 2023

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

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 9 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.

♥ ♥

LADDER RULES

♥ ♥

Can you rise to the top of the ladder?

Come and try!

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 10 March 2023.

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

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 13 March 2023

Well done to London’s Garden Cities qualifiers. The team will represent the Young Chelsea Bridge Club at the Regional Final on Saturday 13 May.

Full results are available on the LMBA website.

Item posted 24 March 2023

Member support for our Monday evening duplicates has unfortunately dwindled. Accordinly, the club committee has regretfully decided to suspend these sessions indefinitely.

You can still play in our popular Friday evening games, of course. And, if you are looking for more bridge during the summer months between our Super League Spring and Autumn seasons, the club hopes to hold evening duplicates then on Wednesdays.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 3 April 2023

Congratulations to husband‑and‑wife pair, Mike and Carrie Eden, who topped the standings with an impressive 147.94 IMPs and share a hamper as their prize. Well done also to the winner of the non‑expert (NGS‑ranked at the start of the month as a ten or below) prize: two free duplicate entries. By checking the EBU website for NGS rank, the winner is Athena Chow on 120.21 IMPs.

Thanks to club member Mike Bell for suggesting the format of this ladder and generously sponsoring the prizes.

See the ladder information page for details.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 3 April 2023

[Reproduced with the author’s permission from an original post on Woodberry Bridge Club’s Blog]

The method of hand evaluation known as the Milton Work Count was deveioped for Auction Bridge, using the 4-3-2-1 system for ace, king, queen, jack. Sometimes ½ was used for a ten, and Milton Work wrote extensively on the subject in the early twentieth century. By the end of the century, Thomas Andrews had been exploring the inaccuracies of this system and published an article on his website entitled Binky Points. One of the prime advocates of this improved system of hand evaluation has been Brian "Binkie" Callaghan, the doyen of the Young Chelsea Bridge Club.

How did the sobriquet “Binkie" come about? Well, not as some thought from Binkie Muddlefoot of Darkwing Duck fame. She is female, and doesn’t look a bit like Brian Callaghan.

Another possibility was Binky Barnes, a character in Arthur but that can be ruled out as it is spelt with a y at the end.

The truth is that it comes from the West End Theatre impresario who brought My Fair Lady and West Side Story to London.

So, how does the Binkie system work? Well, in Binkie’s own words: “It involves fractions, sixths, and includes the ten as follows: 4⅓, 2⅚, 1⅔, ⅚, ⅓. So aces are up ⅓, kings down ⅙, queens down ⅓, jacks down ⅙ and tens up ⅓. There are still 40 points in the deck to make it easy."

♥ ♥

A hand this week at the Woodberry shows that a more accurate hand evaluation would have led to a good game being bid.

Let us look at the East hand first, after a pass by North. It has 14 “Miltons" but we can add ⅔ point for the two aces and ⅔ for the two tens, deduct ⅓ for the queen, and deduct ⅙ for the jack. That makes it 14⅚. A couple of other rules that are worth considering if you want refinement. Deduct ½ for 4-3-3-3 and add ½ for 5-3-3-2. Neither of those apply here. Having a doubleton queen or jack is a disadvantage, about ⅙ down. Finally three honours in the same suit is a bonus, about ⅙ up. The heart combination elevates the East hand to 15 points. After a few attempts you can get the Binkie count in about ten seconds.

I would have opened 1NT on the East hand, 15-17. West would have bid Stayman over that and bid game in no trumps. The actual auction, 1C-1S-1NT showed 11-14 and now let us look at the number of binkies in the West hand. It has 11 HCP. We can add ⅓ for the ace, and deduct ⅓ for the two kings. So they cancel out. We add ⅓ for the ten and deduct ⅙ for the jack. So 11⅙. Only slightly better than the number of Miltons and at matchpoints one might well take the conservative view and pass. If partner has 11 or 12 points even 2NT might not make. But West was maximum for her pass, and East just about enough for a strong NT. The combination was a missed game.

How should the play go in 1NT (or 3NT) by East? Well on the diamond lead, declarer probably ducks in both hands and wins the second diamond in dummy and plays a heart to the ten. South will win and clear the diamonds. East will win and percentage in clubs is to run the queen but this is covered, and another heart finesse to the jack wins. Now declarer will lead a club to the nine but North wins and declarer is held to nine tricks. Many lines looking through the back of the cards lead to ten or eleven tricks, but not reaching game was a poor score.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Reproduced from an original posted 5 April 2023, author Foxymoron

Catherine Harris, co‑host and producer of the Sorry, Partner bridge podcast, played at the Young Chelsea recently. In the Dennis Bilde interview episode, posted on 6 April 2023, she says how she was made very welcome and remarks how friendly the club is. You can hear her comments within the first two or three minutes of the episode.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 11 April 2023

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

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 19 April 2023

The Young Chelsea Mixed Pairs 2023 took place at the club on Sunday 14 May. Seventeen pairs played two sessions of eighteen deals each.

Mark Davies & Chris Duckworth led comfortably at the end of the first session, but were overtaken by David Taylor & Victoria Haynes about half way through the second session.

Congratulation to David & Victoria who went on to win the event with a score of 61.76%, well clear of the pack.

The runners‑up place was hotly contested between three pairs, but Mark & Chris managed to retain second place, just ahead of Rosie White & David Parry and Mark & Julie Guthrie (two visitors from Sydney, NSW, Australia).

Overall ranking and session results are available via the following links:

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

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 15 May 2023

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

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 19 May 2023

Congratulations to two regular supporters of our Goldhawks sessions for less‑experienced players. Billie MacCarthy and Sara Chiappara ventured from the nest to Reading to play in the Jack‑High Swiss Pairs (one of the events at the EBU Spring Bank Holiday tournament) where they won!

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 30 May 2023

SUMMER PARTY

4.00pm on Saturday 24 June

Keith Loveys Individual

Buffet Supper

General Knowledge Quiz

♥ ♥

 

£25 per person, includes two free drinks!

Please pre‑enter—we need to know numbers for catering

Poster

REGISTER NOW!

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 1 June 2023

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

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 9 June 2023

Update 31 June: the event this year will not take place owing to insufficient entries.

♥ ♥

On Saturday 1 July, the Civil Engineers’ Club is holding the James Jones Cup, named after the first Secretary of the Institution of Civil Engineers. The event is a two‑session Swiss Pairs at the Young Chelsea starting at 11.00am. If you are a member of the Civil Engineers’ Club, the event is free. However, anyone else can play, and for them the cost, inclusive of a buffet lunch, is £20.00 per person.

You can email secretarycivilengineersclub@gmail.com to register. (See the poster for details.)

♥ ♥

Poster

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 24 June 2023, updated 31 June

The Young Chelsea Individual is held in memory of the late Keith Loveys, a popular club member and expert bridge player. The event returned this year as part of the Summer Party on Saturday 24 June.

Congratulations to the winner Chantal Girardin, pictured here holding the trophy, the tankard, aloft. The scoring, more by chance than design, was by IMPs and Chantal finished on 47.8.

Second and third were some distance behind with Celia Greig on 31.8 and David Muller on 30.6 IMPs.

Results

♥ ♥

The club relies in a large part on the services of its volunteers. Thank you to Mike Eden who directed and also stepped in as a player to make up a complete table. Thank you too, to Chris Duckworth who prepared, over several days prior to the event, the well‑received food for the buffet.

♥ ♥

After the buffet came a general knowledge quiz. Each of the rounds was prepared by a different club member, although, sad to say, there was no round with a subject to rival last year’s on Polish coins of the 18th century. The winning team was immediately renamed to Mornington Crescent when they shouted that out at the start of the quiz. Congratulations to Joe Fawcett, Gillian Fawcett, Chris Duckworth and Rachel Bingham who recorded the highest or equal‑highest score on every round for a score finally recorded as “lots”.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 26 June 2023

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

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 10 July 2023

The Young Chelsea is affiliated to the LMBA which, as last year, ran the London Congress at the club. This year’s event took place over the weekend of 8 & 9 July. On the Saturday, 40 pairs played a seven‑round Swiss Pairs event.

Congratulation to the winners on 112 VPs Stefano Tommasini and Rodrigo Rosa.

Results

♥ ♥

On the Sunday 18 teams played a six‑round Swiss Teams event.

Congratulations to the winning team on 86.39 VPs: Paul Lamford, Stefanie Rohan, Chantal Girardin and Ken Barnett.

Results

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 10 July 2023

Numbers taking part in our Thursday daytime duplicates have been low recently, with regular attendees frequently away on holiday. Accordingly, the club is suspending these duplicates for the rest of the summer and plans to resume them in the autumn.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 14 July 2023

At the last minute, England has secured a place to compete in the U26 World Youth Bridge Championships 2023 (31 July–7 August) in Veldhoven, the Netherlands.

On hearing the news, the EBU Selection Committee put together a strong team to give England the best chance of winning the tournament. A good performance from England will be a boost to English bridge and encourage more young people to take up the game. But the team needs help to get to Veldhoven as their flights and hotels are not funded. Five of the six team members are members of the Young Chelsea BC—Liam Sanderson, Daniel Winter, Sam Anoyrkatis, Harry Madden and Aaron Hutton.

Liam has been proactive in seeking support—he has set up a GoFundMe page where you can make a donation to help. He writes that he speaks for the whole team when he says that any and all support is highly appreciated. If you would like to do so, please consider donating now.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 17 July 2023

Division One: match schedule and (on the EBU website) current standings.

Division Two: match schedule and (on the EBU website) current standings.

♥ ♥

Dates for the following season, Autumn 2023, are now in the calendar. Division One begins on Wednesday 23 August and runs for nine matches at two‑weekly intervals to finish on 13 December. The start date for Division Two depends on the number of teams playing. If the number remains at eight there will be seven matches starting from Wednesday 20 September. If the number increases there will be nine matches starting on the same date as Division One.

♥ ♥

Dates for the following season, Spring 2024, are now in the calendar. Both Divisions One and Two begin on Wednesday 17 January and run for nine matches at two‑weekly intervals to finish on 8 May. If, unexpectedly, the number of teams in Division Two drops to eight that division will run for seven matches with the interval and finish date remaining the same, but the start date being four weeks later.

♥ ♥

The Autumn 2023 season of the Young Chelsea Super League is a face‑to‑face event, ideally with matches over scheduled evenings on each of which the teams play the same deals. Given sufficient notice, the club will normally allow teams which have difficulty making a scheduled date to rearrange the match on a different date at the club with refreshments included. Matches which are rearranged for other days will not share the deals. You may not play a rearranged match on any date beyond the last scheduled date, 13 December, of the season. You may play a rearranged match before the first scheduled date, 23 August, of the season. The club will, exceptionally, consider requests to play online, charged to the teams organisers’ YC accounts at the face‑to‑face price. Any match held online, even if on the scheduled date is not guaranteed to share the deals.

Division Two matches continue on Wednesdays to run alongside Division One matches.

The season begins for both Division One and Division Two on Wednesday 23 August. Subsequent matches are at two‑weekly intervals. Division One consists of a full ten teams and will play nine rounds. Division Two provisionally also has ten teams and will play nine rounds. Scheduled match dates are:

Please check, before the start of the season, to see if your team can make all these dates. If you have a problem with a given date and let the club know now, we may be able rejig the schedule to marry you against another team in the same situation.

The start times for the divisions are staggered by 15 minutes in order to reduce pressure on the director(s) and the bar. Division Two starts at 7.15pm; Division One at 7.30pm.

Matches will consist of 24 deals played in two sets of 12 with a half‑time change of opponents. The IMP result for each match is converted to continuous Victory Points.

The price for matches is £12.50 per player and includes refreshments at half time.

Thank you for your participation and please enjoy the Autumn 2023 season.

♥ ♥

If you have not previously played or your team dropped out a while ago, you can contact the club (before the season starts) to enter a team in Division Two. Watch this page for more information as entries are finalised.

♥ ♥

Based on last season’s results, the teams in Division One are below, but please let the club know if you wish to withdraw.

Division One: match schedule

♥ ♥

And the teams in Division Two, based on last season’s results, are below, but again please let the club know either if you wish to withdraw or if you wish to take part as a new team.

Division Two: match schedule

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Page last updated 2 December 2023

The Young Chelsea held a 12‑hour Half Marathon on Saturday 29 July, the previous such event having taken place in October 2022. This time the scoring was by cross‑IMPs over three sessions of 27 deals each (so a total of 81 deals). Nine pairs entered, but thanks to the services of standby pair Ashwin Patel & Sue Grant there were no sitouts; all played all in each session.

The winners established a healthy lead in the first session and held on throughout. Congratulations to Stephen Lee & Gad Chadha who finished on 108.75 IMPs and picked up the £500 first prize.

Detailed scores are available via the Young Chelsea BridgeWebs Results page.

♥ ♥

After a slower start, Stefano Tommasini & Stephen Kennedy recovered to finish in front of the chasing pack, on 64.00 IMPs, to take second place and a more modest prize.

Excludung the two main prizewinners, smaller prizes also went to the highest‑placed pairs in each session: Jonathan Lillycrop & Gordon Rainsford, Brian Callaghan & Chris Duckworth and Martin Lerner & Nathan Piper,.

Special thanks to Richard Creamer who, having been recruited at short notice, directed the event throughout. Had he needed a little assistance, there was a depth of directing talent amongst the players, some of whom were very senior, to draw on, but he kept the tournament running without problem.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 30 July 2023

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

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 10 August 2023

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

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 10 September 2023

The YC Open Teams Challenge is back as a one‑day event! Open to all, the event is fast approaching and will take place on Saturday 30 September starting at 11.00pm. For the £30 per player entry fee (£35 for non‑members)  you get two sessions of multiple teams and the chance of substantial prizes. Finish time will be around 7.00pm. Don’t delay in registering your team.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 15 September 2023

The National Inter‑Club Knock‑Out season is almost here. Entries to the EBU close at midday on Monday 9 October.

Last year, the club entered teams captained by the following: Graham Sadie, Claire Robinson, John Pemberton, Richard Hillman, Nick Sandqvist, Tim Leslie/Mike Bell, Steve Root, James Thrower and Boris Nedev. Hopefully all will want to enter again, and other members are also welcome to enter teams—the more the merrier. The good news is that Young Chelsea BC will win the 2022–23 season as the teams captained by Claire Robinson and James Thrower are to face each other in the final!

To all NICKO team captains: Please enter your team by emailing the club with the names of your team members as soon as possible. We will then check your eligibility and forward the entries to the EBU. All team members must be bona fide club members as detailed in the eligibility requirements—see:

https://www.ebu.co.uk/competitions/national-inter-club-knock-out-nicko

Please also note that teams are asked to indicate willingness to play matches online in the early rounds of the competition. Later rounds will default to face‑to‑face, but early matches may be played online to reduce travel costs etc.

The NICKO entry fee is £86 per team which will be deducted from the team captain’s YC club account. (Juniors are charged at half price.)

Looking forward to receiving your entries and to a successful season in the competition.

Update: All the team captains from last season have put forward teams again this season. There are still a couple of days for new entrants.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 25 September 2022, updated 6 'October

The next Annual General Meeting of the Young Chelsea Bridge Club will be held at the club on Friday 20 October 2023 at 6.30pm, prior to the regular duplicate. Here are the Agenda for the meeting and a form which may be used to nominate a club member as a director of the company.relating to the election of directors at the meeting.

You can also read the Chairman’s Report to the AGM.

All Full, Honorary, Life, Country, Student and Online Members over 16 years of age are eligible to attend and vote, and those unable to attend in person may appoint a proxy to attend and vote on their behalf.

All members able to attend are urged to do so. Remember that you, the members, own the club and have a vested interest in its future. Each of you has a vested interest in the future of the club, and this is your opportunity to have your say.

Members may put forward resolutions to be added to the Agenda by sending them to the club by 6 October 2023 at the latest. Resolutions must be signed and supported by at least five members.

It is important that the AGM is quorate, so if you are unable to attend in person, please ensure that you send your proxy. All that is required is to send an email to the club in the format shown below—note that you can, if you wish, change the name of the person to act as your proxy to that of any other member who will be attending in person.

                    PROXY 

                    I, ..................................., 

                    hereby appoint Chris Duckworth 

                    (YC Management Committee Chair) 

                    to act as my proxy at the Annual General 

                    Meeting of the Association to be held 

                    on Friday 20 October 2023, giving her 

                    full authority to vote on my behalf. 

                    Signed:                    Date: 

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item updated 12 Octomber 2023

The winners of the Open Teams Challenge for the Hecht Cup, played on Saturday 20 September were

Liz GAHAN, Susanna Gross, Liam Sanderson and Hugo Jee.

Six teams entered. The top two teams after the first session of multiple teams qualified for the final in the second session. In qualifying order, they were

Brian CALLAGHAN, Fiona Hutchison, Graham Orsmond and Jackie Fairclough

Liz GAHAN, Susanna Gross, Liam Sanderson and Hugo Jee

The first twelve deals of the final were quiet with GAHAN trailing by a handful of IMPs. However the second half of the match saw them turn on the supercharger, storm to victory by more than 40 IMPs and receive a prize of £320.

Thanks go to club member Gitte Hecht‑Johansen for her generous sponsorship of the event.

♥ ♥

The last time the event was played was in 2019 in the Goldhawk Road premises. The runners‑up this time included a couple of players, Brian and Fiona, who won on that occasion. Their team picked up a £160 prize.

♥ ♥

The winners of the consolation teams in the second session (contested by the four nonqualifiers from the first session) were

Andrew CLERY, Gitte Hecht‑Johansen, Eve Brenner and Jonathan Jacobs.

They picked up an £80 prize. Results from the multiple‑teams events Session One and Session Two are on BridgeWebs.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 2 October 2023

Since the EBU ceased holding its own Women’s Teams event a while back, the only game in town is the one, founded and organised by club member Paula Leslie, held annually at the Young Chelsea. This year the event is to be held over the weekend 18 & 19 November.

Now is the time to enter, which you can do via our online form (or contact the club or Paula).

You can find more details on the poster.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 9 October 2023

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

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 10 October 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 sessionf or 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

The 2023 YCKO is over with the final, between Brock and Muller, won by Brock.

Please would you register, if your team wants to take part, for the 2024 YCKO event before February 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 in 2023.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item updated 29 January 2024

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

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 12 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!

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 15 November 2022

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.

♥ ♥

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

♥ ♥

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

♥ ♥

The winners of the leading junior prize (just chocolates) in ninth place on 95.00 VPs were Lily Kearney, Megan Jones, Bethany Madden and Dido Coley.

♥ ♥

Paula Leslie stood beside her neat rows of chocolate goodies, ready to be disbursed along with the cash prizes, at the end of the tournament.

♥ ♥

Jonathan Lillycrop was pleased with another successfully completed event. The choice to score by continuous victory points may have been relevant in preventing any need for tie-splitting.

♥ ♥

The players had complimentary lunch provided each day and a drinks reception at the end, thanks to the hard‑working Young Chelsea volunteers and staff.

Here’s looking forward to next year’s event.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 20 November 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.

The Role

We are looking for someone who possesses a great blend of leadership skills, strategic thinking, and appreciation for intellectual pursuits. You will be responsible for maintaining our existing business as well as seeking new revenue streams by introducing new groups and mindsports enthusiasts to the Centre.

Strong organisational and interpersonal skills are essential, as you will need to work closely with event organisers, manage our friendly, dedicated staff, and foster a sense of community within the Centre. Ideally, you should have great enthusiasm for all kinds of mindsports, but in-depth knowledge of any particular discipline is not necessary.

The LMC premises are leased by the Young Chelsea Bridge Club (YCBC), a charitable body which has its home at the Centre and shares the space with other users. You will report to the YCBC Management Committee, a group of volunteers from the club, but will be given autonomy to work within a flexible framework.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintaining the fabric of the LMC and maximising the use of the facilities it offers by both supporting the existing users and seeking new bookings through promotion and publicity for the Centre.
• Managing the playing areas and bar/cafeteria within the Centre, ensuring suitable levels of all stock and equipment and ensuring a safe and secure environment for all users.
• Management of all aspects of Centre administration, including the organisation of our team, financial control and liaison with the YCBC MC.

Benefits

• Annual salary in the range of £30,000–£36,000
• 28 days holiday
• Flexible hours (however some evening and weekend work is expected, dictated by booking schedule)
• Bonus scheme based on revenue from bookings

To apply for the role, please email Rosie White with a CV: manager@ycbc.co.uk

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

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).

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 27 November 2023

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.

♥ ♥

And commiserations to the second-placed pair, Sati McKenzie and Roger Pratt.

See the LMBA website for full results.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 4 December 2023

The Autumn 2023 Young Chelsea Super League finished on Wednesday 13 December, the last scheduled date of the season. Summaries of the final standings in each division are below.

♥ ♥

Congratulation to winning team Hillman (Richard Hillman, Keith Bennett, Neil Rosen, Heather Dhondy, Rob Cliffe, Nicola Smith, Brian Callaghan), topping the ranking for the third time in a row, although by a small margin this time. Prizes were the same as in the Spring season. First place received £600.

In second place was team Hinden (Frances Hinden, Graham Osborne, Sally Brock, Barry Myers, Mike Scoltock, David Burn, Paul Barden, Richard Fedrick, David Willis) picking up a £200 prize.

♥ ♥

Meanwhile, the top two teams in Division Two won promotion to Division One for the next season in the Spring.

In first place was newly formed team Young Guns (Athena Chow, Jonathan Clark, Jack Ronayne, Liam Sanderson, Hanna Tuus, Daniel Winter) getting £300.

In second place was team Boland (Fergal Boland, Simon Cochemé, John Dean, Guy Hart, Mark Lehto, John Pemberton, Stephen Popham, Angus Simpson) getting £100.

♥ ♥

Commiserations to the two teams at the bottom of Division One which are relegated to Division Two next season.

♥ ♥

Division One Final Standings

(Full details on the EBU website.)

♥ ♥

Division Two Final Standings

(Full details on the EBU website.)

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 16 December 2023

The Christmas Party took place on Sunday 17 December, a change from the usual Saturday date.

The festivities kicked off at 3.45pm with a Christmas duplicate pairs event which attracted thirteen‑and‑a‑half tables and was ably directed by Mike Eden.

The winners were Simon Prager and Dick Jordan on 62.06%.

Full results

♥ ♥

The evening continued with a well received hot buffet meal. Thanks to Chris Duckworth and Carrie Eden for days of food preparation and cooking.

After the meal came a quick‑fire quiz, prepared by Andrew Conway. The overall theme was of two‑word answers where the words began with consecutive letters of the alphabet. In a tight finish, the quiz winners were Frances Liew’s team.

The hard core then formed themselves into three teams for a speedball bridge tournament while the lightweights retired to the bar..

Hope to see you there in a year’s time.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 18 December 2023

The Goldhawks celebrated Christmas with members bringing an array of home‑cooked treats for lunch during their Tuesday meeting on 19 December.

Meanwhile, Chris Duckworth both directed and played in the bridge, running the event as a twenty‑player individual movement. Congratulations to the winner, George Korus on 34.00 IMPs who keeps the Goldhawks Trophy for a year. Commiserations to second‑placed Sue Buchan on 28.50.

Full results

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 20 December 2022

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

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Item posted 20 December 2023