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Latest News and Upcoming Events

Events in Manchester
For online entry to Manchester Events Click here
Others

Dec 15th Santa Claus Pairs Manchester Bridge Club

Jan 4th-5th Manchester online weekend

Gordon Bickley's Second Hand Books 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
EBU Bridge Warehouse
Jan 24-26 SBU Winter Fours Edinburgh
Mar 14-16 SBU Congress Peebles
June 13-15th Killarney (and click here)
 
EBU Calendar

Deal of the Week

Dec 2024
4th Tolle Slam 2




Nov 2024
6th Your bid
13th Your bid
20th Tolle Defence
27th Tolle Slam

Oct 2024
2nd Defence




Sep 2024
4th Northern Mid Week


25th Falsecards

Aug 2024
7th Llandudno Slam 1
14th Llandudno Slam 2
21st Llandudno Slam 3
28th Your bid

July 2024
3rd Summer League
10th Stripe-Tailed Ape
17th Suit Combination
24th Suit Combination

June 2024
5th Surprise


26th Corwen Defence

May 2024


15th Higson
22nd Spring Fours
29th Garden Cities
Apr 2024
3rd Rare Ending
10th Goldstone



Mar 2024
6th Tollemache
13th Defence Problem
20th Faulkner1
27th Faulkner 2

Feb 2024
7th Congress Defence 2
14th Chester Pairs
21st Irish Teams
28th Tollemache

Jan 2024
3rd League 3N

17th Congress Defence
24th Congress Pairs
31st Elimination
Dec 2023
6th Tolle Slam
13th Tolle qual
20th Tolle qual


Nov 2023
1st Switch
8th Don't give up
15th Symmetry
22nd League Defence
29th Children in Need
Oct 2023

11th Overtrick
18th Great Northern
25th Great Northern 2

Aug 2023



23rd Endplays
30th Eastbourne
July 2023

12th Double Grand Coup

26th Double Squeeze

June 2023
7th Spring Fours Grand
14th Defence



May 2023
3rd Higson Final
10th Higson Final 2
17th Spring Fours
24th Spring Fours 2
31st Montenegro
Apr 2023

12th Overtrick
19th Higson 1
26th Higson 2

Mar 2023


15th Defensive Technique
22nd Triple

Feb 2023
1st Backwash


22nd Your bid

Jan 2023
4th Defence problem
11th Congress Pairs 1
18th Congress Pairs 2
25th Congress Pairs 3

Dec 2022
7th Six Clubs
14th SixNT
21st Ben Franks Defence 1
28th Ben Franks Defence 2

Nov 2022
2nd False Card
9th Unblocking
16th Squeeze
23rd Burn's law
30th Six Diamonds
Oct 2022
5th Suit Play
12th Restricted Choice
19th Swingy Board
26th Devil's Coup

Sep 2022


21st Six NT


Aug 2022
3rd Smother Play
10th GP Teams
17th Lightner
24th FourThreeFit
31st EastbourneDefence
July 2022



27th Smooth duck

June 2022
8th Find the Queen




May 2022
4th Thwarted
11th Blocked Suits
18th Spring Fours Defence


Apr 2022
6th Big Hand
13th Defensive Guess
20th Defend 3N
27th Four Four Fit

Mar 2022
2nd Goldstone Defence
9th Green Point Pairs 6-6



Feb 2022
2nd Congress 4H
9th Two Spades
16th Teltscher Lead
23rd Michael's brilliancy

Jan 2022
5th Tolly Play 4H
12th League 6H
19th Bramhall 6N
26th One imp

Dec 2021
1st Tolly Grand
8th Tolly 4H
15th Tolly 3D
22nd Tolly Defence
29th Tolly Defence 2
Nov 2021
3rd Lucky Top

17th Spades
24th Tolly Qual 1

Oct 2021
6th Two Grands
13th Misplays
20th Discarding


Sep 2021


15th MBC
22nd EBU 3NT
29th NBL Defence
Aug 2021

11th President's Cup
18th Suit Combination
25th Trump Coup

Jul 2021
7th Criss-Cross
14th BerksBucks
21st NICLF


Jun 2021


16th Lancs League
23rd Lancs League 2
30th John Armstrong Pairs
May 2021
5th Lancs League
12th Play 3NT
19th EBU Pairs
26th Bramhall Slam

Apr 2021
7th Cumbria and Norfolk
14th Bramhall & Cheadle
21st B&C Defence
28th League imps

Mar 2021
3rd Nicko
10th Overtrick
17th Tollemache
24th Espen's Endplay
31st GP Pairs
Feb 2021
3rd Congress Teams Qual
10th Poor contract
17th Chester Pairs
24th Norfolk Slam

Jan 2021
6th A double problem
13th Suit play
20th Congress Pairs
27th Congress Grand

Dec 2020
2nd TollyQual
9th League
16th Sussex Grand
23rd Teltscher Trials
30th Cheap save
Nov 2020
4th Beat 2S
11th Last Chance
18th Crockford's Plate
25th Difficult Play Hand

Oct 2020
7th Timing
14th Plan
21st Gambit
28th Defend 1NT

Sep 2020
2nd Double Double
9th Suicide Squeeze
16th Five Hearts
23rd Squeeze without Count
30th Play Problem
Aug 2020
5th Play Problem
12th A Poor Slam
19th Make Game
26th Avoidance

July 2020
1st Play Problem
8th Tens
15th Trumps
22nd Squeeze?
29th Lead Problem
June 2020
3rd Good Hand
10th Trump Coup
17th Suicide squeeze


May 2020
6th Online Overtricks
13th League Luck
20th Online IMPs
27th Online Slam

Apr 2020
1st Tollemache
8th Tollemache
15th Lockdown League
22nd Lockdown League 2
29th Online Duplicate
Mar 2020 4th Cheadle Pairs 11th Cheadle Pairs
18th Chester Pairs
25th Goldstone

Feb 2020 5th Peter Ader Memorial 12th Santa Claus Pairs
19th Santa Claus 2
26th Congress Pairs

Jan 2020 1st Another Grand 8th Middlesex Pairs
15th Middlesex Teams
22nd Middlesex Teams 2
29th Middlesex Teams 3
Dec 2019 4th Llangollen 11th YC Defence
18th Middlesex Pairs
25th Christmas Present

Nov 2019
6th Lancs Swiss Pairs
13th Premier League Defence
20th Cheadle
27th Cheadle DD

Oct 2019

16th NBL Grand 23rd Higson Game
30th No Entry
Sept 2019 4th Four-Three fit 2 11th MBC 3NT
18th Cheadle Defence


Aug 2019 7th GP Teams 14th Defence problem
21st NBL 1
28th Four-Three fit 1

July 2019 3rd Corwen 1 10th Corwen 2
17th Corwen 3
24th President's Cup 1
31st President's Cup 2
June 2019
5th Hubert Phillips 1
12th Hubert Phillips 2
19th Hubert Phillips 3
26th 20 years ago

May 2019
1st Higson Final
8th Higson Final 2

22nd NICKO lead
29th Ruia Slam
Apr 2019


17th Preston Pairs


Mar 2019
6th Cheadle Pairs
13th Trump Squeeze
20th Green Point Pairs
27th Green Point Pairs Defence

Feb 2019
6th Deva Slam 2
13th Deva Slam 3
20th Deva Slam 4
27th Double End Play

Jan 2019
2nd League Lead
9th A bad break
16th Congress Teams 1
23rd Congress Teams 2
30th Deva Slam 1
Dec 2018
5th Tolly Qual 1
12th Tolly Qual 2
19th Lancs Teams 2
18th Middlesex Pairs

Nov 2018
7th Lancs Pairs
14th Lancs Pairs Defence
21st Lancs Teams
28th Scottish Curiosity

Oct 2018
3rd Northern Bridge League 10th Northern Bridge League
17th Northop
24th Chester Defence
31st Cheadle Mixed
Sep 2018
5th GP defence


26th Teams or Pairs

Aug 2018
1st National League
8th Yorkshire Congress
15th Llandudno
22nd NBL Grand
29th Michelle Memorial
July 2018
4th Yorks Grand
11th Super Moysian
18th Pachabo
25th Defence at Cheadle

June 2018
6th John Armstrong Pairs
13th Blocked suit
20th Cheadle Grand
27th Goldstone Final

May 2018
2nd League Grand
9th 3N or 5 of a minor
16th Cheadle 3NT
23rd Ruia Cup
30th Play 5D
Apr 2018
4th Green Point Pairs 2S
11th Green Point Pairs 3N
18th More GP Pairs
25th Llangollen

Mar 2018
7th Slam play problem
14th Scissors Coup
21st Improvisation
28th Tollemache 3NT

Feb 2018
7th Devil's coup
14th End Play
21st Congress 3NT
28th 3NT Play problem

Jan 2018

10th NICKO pre-empt
17th Congress slam 1
24th Congress slam 2
31st Congress Slam 3
Dec 2017
6th A curiosity
13th Ben Franks Grand
20th Ben Franks Lead
27th A suit play

Nov 2017
1st Sacrifice
8th Deva Charity Event
15th Cheadle Mixed
22nd Lancs Pairs
29th Lancs Teams
Oct 2017
4th League Play
11th League bid
18th Both minors
25th NBL Inference

Sep 2017
6th NBL Lead
13th Bolton Defence
20th League Defence
27th Mixed results

Aug 2017
2nd Michelle Memorial
9th Trump Coup

23rd Northern Bridge League
30th More NBL
July 2017
5th Extra trick


26th Llandudno

June 2017
7th Make this slam
14th Online Bridge
21st Your lead
28th Corwen Defence

May 2017
3rd MBC Slam
10th Higson Cup 3NT
17th Higson Cup Grand
24th Slam fork
31st Bridge in Salford
Apr 2017
5th Surrogacy
12th Pairs vs Teams
19th Pseudo End Play
26th Your lead

Mar 2017
1st Goldstone Slam
8th Non-technical line
15th Freak hand
22nd Find the Lady
29th Six-six
Feb 2017
1st Lead direction
8th Compete part scores
15th The three level
22nd Defence problem

Jan 2017
4th 6C Bid and play
11th Congress Slam
18th League Game
25th Gold Cup Grand

Dec 2016
7th Slam in fourth suit
14th Beer card
21st Xmas puzzle
28th New Year puzzle

Nov 2016
2nd Direct Route
 9th More suit plays
16th Don't give up
23rd Bid and play
30th Psyche
Oct 2016

12th Duplication
19th Defensive unblock
26th Endplay

Sep 2016
7th Pairs Defence
14th Psychology
21st Poor bridge
28th Unblocking

Aug 2016
3rd Trump End Play
10th Slam Lead
17th 800
24th 1100
31st 3NT with 4-4 fit
July 2016
6th Welsh Bridge
13th Llandudno
20th 6NT play
27th En passant

June 2016
1st Slam Try
8th  University Bridge
15th Tuesday Bridge
22nd Pachabo overtrick
29th Slam play
May 2016
4th Long sequence
11th RKCB with void
18th More RKCB
25th IMP Pairs

Apr 2016
6th Sixteen point game
13th Easter bridge
20th Four-Three fit
27th Six-Six hand

Mar 2016
2nd Inferences and end play 9th  Make the overtrick 16th A lead problem
23rd Two suit plays
30th The wrong slam
Feb 2016
3rd Simple technique 10th Six, five, come alive 17th Which small card? 24th The dark blue card
Jan 2016
6th Which game? 13th The last guess 20th Nine card suit 27th An intricate sequence
Dec 2015
2nd Precarious trumps 9th  Classy sequence 16th Distribution inference 23rd Cheadle cross ruff
Nov 2015
4th Endplay choice 11th Spooky bridge 18th Third round control 25th Surprise gain
Oct 2015
7th A direct route 14th Breaking Blackwood rules 21st Crockfords slams 28th Textbook deal
Sep 2015
2nd 8410 hands 9th  A suit combination 16th A critical defence 23rd Premier League in Manchester 30th Which squeeze
Aug 2015



26th Choice of slams  

Ben Franks and Dimmie Fleming

The Ben Franks Pairs event was held on Sunday December 1st at Bramhall Bridge Club.  Before the event started Irene Davies was presented with her Dimmie Fleming award for her work over the last fifteen year as tournament secretary, congress secretary and chair.  Alan Mould gave a graceful speech of thanks and Alec Smalley (MCBA vice-chair) presented Irene with her award.

Twenty pairs played in the event.  At half time last year's winners Tony Hodgson and Eddie Thornton-Chan had a small lead over Tom Dessain and Rodney Lighton.  In the second half it was neck and neck between these two pairs with Tom and Rodney eventually running out as winners by less than half a percent.  In third place were Raymond Semp and John Hassett with Alec Smalley and Barbara Lewis fourth.  These four qualify for the EBU's Corwen trophy which will be held online next spring.

Thanks to Alec and Barbara for organising the event, Bramhall Bridge Club for hosting and Jeff Smith for directing.

Results are on the Manchester Events web site.


Irene

Irene Davies with Alec Smalley


WInners

Rodney Lighton and Tom Dessain


Second

Eddie Thornton-Chan and Tony Hodgson



Third

Raymond Semp


Foruth

Alec Smalley and Barbara Lewis



Michael at the Nationals

Michael Byrne is playing at the Fall Nationals in Las Vegas with Maggie Knottenbelt, Stefano Tommasini and Ben Norton.  In the Soloway Knockout Teams they have qualified for the knockout phase starting Sunday 1st December by finishing in the top 32 in the Swiss Teams.  They beat Andrew Robson's team narrowly in the round of 32 and won in the round of 16 on Monday,  before their great run came to an end in the quarter finals on Tuesday.  Results are on the ACBL web site.


Manchester Congress Online Weekend

Due to unforeseen problems, the Manchester Congress will not take place face to face in 2025.  However, MCBA will be running a Manchester online weekend on 4th-5th January 2025 on Realbridge. 

There will be a two session pairs event on the Saturday and a multiple teams on the Sunday as well as the Kevin Comrie Cup event for players NGS 9 or below on Sunday.  Click here for details.


Premier League

The third and final weekend of this year's EBU Premier League took place on 23rd-24th November.  Manchester players participating were Andrew Woodcock and John Hassett in the Sansom team, Michael Byrne in the Knottenbelt team all in Division 1 and John Holland and Alan Mould in the Penfold team in Division 2.  The Knottenbelt team finished fifth and the Sansom team sixth in the first division.  The Penfold team were second in the second division.  Michael Byrne was fifth overall in the cross imps in the first division.  Results are on the EBU web site.


Bhim Ruia

Bhim Ruia

Bhim Ruia died on Tuesday 12th November aged 88.  He had recently been diagnosed with leukaemia.  Latterly he had been coming along to Manchester Bridge Club's Tuesday afternoon sessions happily playing with anyone who was short of a partner.  He was a regular player at the Manchester and Altrincham clubs. 

His greatest achievements at the bridge table were with his older brother Govind who died suddenly in 1986 aged 54.  Bhim and Govind were a serious partnership playing Precision Club and able to compete successfully against the UK's top players.  In 1984 they reached the quarter finals of the Gold Cup.  The next year they did even better, reaching the final and only just losing to the top seeds by a tiny margin.  Without Govind top level bridge never had the same appeal for Bhim.  He was happy to play in club duplicates and at his golf club and in the two events that carried his family name - the Ruia Cup Teams at Manchester Bridge Club and the yearly friendly golf club match Dunham vs Whitefield.  He took great pleasure in becoming Captain of Dunham Golf Club.  His other great love was watching cricket.

His funeral will be at Southern Cemetery on Saturday 23rd November at 11am.

Bhim was a lovely guy and will be greatly missed by the bridge community.  Sincere condolences to all his family.

Thanks to Jeff Morris for this tribute


Newcomers Leagues

With a lot of help from teachers at Bramhall and Cheadle, Ashton, Manchester and Trafford clubs we have been able to set up two more league divisions  containing an amazing 13 brand new teams as follows:

Eight in the Newcomers A (for Advanced) with maybe about five years playing experience playing seven 16 board matches.

Five in the Newcomers B (for Beginners) with under two years playing experience playing four 12 board matches.

Almost all these players are new to teams play and IMP scoring and will need a lot of support from their teachers at first.

It may be too fast too soon for some but other players will enjoy it and hopefully progress faster.

It will be a good experiment and we will try to involve other teaching clubs next year.


EBU
Last updated 4th December 2024.  Pages updated recently - News, County Honours
Thanks to Michael Byrne for many reports.
Thanks to John Holland for checking articles and analyses for Deal of the Week

Counter http://www.digits.net - visitors since Jan 2000.  Copyright Rodney Lighton 1999-2024.
 
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