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Manchester
County Bridge Association |
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2019
News and Results
Year End Congresses
Congratulations
to the Manchester players who did well at Blackpool and
London.
Rhona
Goldenfield won the Mixed Pairs at Blackpool with Jeff
Smith.
John
Holland second in the Mixed Pairs at Blackpool with Jackie
Pye.
Ollie
Burgess fourth with Mark Weeks in the Swiss Pairs at
Blackpool.
Gary
Hyett and Peter Carey-Yard fifth in the Swiss Pairs at
Blackpool.
Michael
Byrne third with Sally Brock in the Mixed Pairs at London.
John
Holland and Rhona Goldenfield won the Swiss Teams at
Blackpool playing with Jackie Pye and Jeff Smith
respectively.
Results
are on the EBU web site.
Seniors Trials Trials
for the England team to play in the Teltscher Trophy
(Senior Camrose) took place from 14-15th December in
Solihull. Alan Mould and John Holland playing in the
Mossop team won comfortably, they will represent England
in the event in Ireland in May. Results are on the
EBU web site.
Tollemache Final Team
The
following team has been selected to represent Manchester in
the inter-counties team of eight final in February.
Andrew
Woodcock/Catherine Draper, John Holland/John Hassett, Alan
Mould/Michael Byrne, Tom Slater/Alec Smalley. NPC
Rhona Goldenfield, reserve Michael Newman.
Ben Franks The
Ben Franks pairs took place at Manchester Bridge Club on
Sunday 1st December. This is Manchester's
qualification event for the Corwen Trophy with the top four
Manchester pairs qualifying. This year non Manchester
pairs were allowed to play, resulting in a much increased
entry of 31 pairs. Thanks to John Roberts for
organising and to Henry Bissell for directing. The
winners were David Stevenson and Paddy Murphy from
Merseyside and North Wales. Top Manchester pair were
Alan Mould and John Holland in second place with the other
Manchester Corwen qualifiers being Peter Foster and John
Roberts, Christopher Hine and Stephen Ward, Joy and Irving
Blakey. The handicap prize went to Sheila Wimbleton
and Christine Richardson.
Detailed
results can be found on the Manchester Events web site
European Open Trials The
second stage of the European Open trials took place from
22nd-24th November at Derby. Congratulations to
Michael Byrne who
played with Kieran Dyke of London. They won
the trial, leading throughout most of the weekend, only
losing two of fifteen matches. They now progress to
the third and final stage of the trial in London in January
where the seven pairs who qualified from the second weekend
will join three exempted pairs.
John Buck From
the late sixties through to the early eighties the
Manchester team of Bernard Goldenfield, Denis Robson, John
Buck and Raymond Semp were one of the finest in the
North. They reached the Gold Cup final in 1983 after
which John Buck retired from competitive bridge. We
are sorry to report that John died recently. Click here for
an obituary written by his long time partner and
friend Raymond Semp.
Tollemache
Qualifier
Congratulations
to the Manchester team Tom
Slater/Alec Smalley, Catherine Draper/Andrew Woodcock,
John Holland/John Hassett, Michael Byrne/Rhona
Goldenfield who qualified in the
inter county teams of eight at Daventry on 16-17th
November, winning their group comfortably.
All four pairs were positive on cross-IMPs with John and
John the best of our pairs. Results are on the EBU
web site.
Manchester
will now play in the final in February against Middlesex,
Devon, Cambs & Hunts, Kent, Surrey, Berks & Bucks
and Gloucestershire.
The
third and final weekend of the English Premier League took
place on 9-10th Nov in Solihull. Manchester players
involved were Ollie Burgess, Jeff Morris, John Hassett,
Catherine Draper, Andrew Woodcock in Jeff Morris's team in
division 1, Michael Byrne in Tim Leslie's team and John
Holland and Alan Mould in Sandra Penfold's team in
division 2, Peter Foster, John Roberts and Peter Jones in
Peter Foster's team in division 3 and Josh Clarke and
Henry Bissell in the Junior team in division 3.
The
Leslie and Penfold teams were first and second in division
two and are promoted for next season, the other teams with
Manchester involvement did less well, but Josh Clarke did
well on cross IMPs.
Results
are on the EBU web site.
EBU Seniors Congress In
the Seniors at Daventry over the weekend of November 1st to
3rd Rhona Goldenfield and Raymond Semp finished third in the
A Final with Gary Hyett playing with Alan Cooke
fourth. Congratulations to all, results are on the EBU
web site.
Intermediate Pairs
Thirty
pairs took part in the Intermediate Pairs at Altrincham on
Sunday 3rd November. Prizes were awarded at two
levels, Intermediate and Less Experienced. Thanks to
Karen Jones for organising and to Joan Lewis for
directing. Detailed results are on the Altrincham web
site.
We
are sorry to report the death of Robert Jones on Friday 25th
October. Robert was a regular player at the Cheadle
Hulme and Marple clubs. He participated in county
events, winning both the Higson Cup and Plate as well as
representing Manchester in the Northern Bridge League.
Our condolences to his wife Joyce and family. A fuller
obituary is on the Cheadle Hulme Bridge Club web site.
Lancashire Congress
In
the Lancashire Congress at Preston Bridge Club on 26-27th
October, John Currie and Rodney Lighton won the Swiss
Pairs by a good margin, winning all their matches.
In the Swiss Teams Paul Beckwith, Andy Green, Stephen Ward
and Paul Morrell were second. Results are on the Lancashire
web site.
Chester Bowl Congratulations
to Rhona Goldenfield who won at Deva on Sunday 20th October
playing with Mark Weeks of Merseyside.
In
the consolation final Stephen Ward and Paul Morrell were
second.
Full
results are on the Deva web site.
EBU Autumn Congress Congratulations
to Ollie Burgess who won the Two Stars Pairs at Stratford at
Daventry with Heather Dhondy on 19th October (he also runs
half-marathons). In the teams John Hassett won playing
with Dave Debbage, Paul Hackett and John Sansom.
Full
results are on the EBU web site.
Northern Bridge League 2020 Dates
and provisional venues for the 2020 season are on the
calendar page. Please note that the start time has
been brought forward to 11.30 for 12.00 and the table money
will be £13 - an increase of 50p.
North Wales Green Point Pairs Congratulations
to Rhona Goldenfield who won at Northop on Sunday 13th
October with Jeff Smith of Lancashire. Click here for results.
NBL Manchester Win
A and C Divisions
Manchester
have won two of the three divisions in this year's Northern
league, congratulations to all those who played.
In
the final matches on Saturday 13th October the Manchester 1
team were first equal at Bolton with the Manchester 2 team
recording their best result of the season finishing
fourth. Manchester increased their lead over Yorkshire
1 from 1 VP to 12 VPs. The Manchester teams were Gary
Hyett/Rodney Lighton, Irving & Joy Blakey, David
Barton/Leslie Klein, John Roberts/Pete Foster and Howard
Stubbings/Dhun Daji, Royce Alexander/Tom Slater, Kath &
Alan Nelson, Rhona Goldenfield/John Stell. Irving and
Joy were our best pair on cross IMPs closely followed by
Gary and Rodney.
At Bradford
the B team finished sixth on the day, but held on to second
place overall. The team was Janet Tolan/Victor
Ridding, Eddie Thornton-Chan, Tony Hodgson, Eve
Lighthill/David Sarabowski, Gillian McMullan/Neil
Thomas. Eddie and Tony were our best pair on cross
IMPs.
In the C
division at Preston we had two teams, the Manchester 2 team
finished above the Manchester 1 team in third and sixth
place respectively. However the Manchester 1 team
managed to hold onto the lead overall ahead of Yorkshire
NW. The teams were Adam Wiseberg/Jonathan Engler, Paul
Murray/Peter Grauer, Gil Fletcher/Richard Acaster, Peter
Green/Michael Wymer (1) and Pearl Epstein/Avril Mattinson,
Elena & Marcelo Rosenbaum, Karen Jones/Barbara
Eastabrook, Michael Greaney/Peter Carey-Yard (2).
Michael Greaney and Peter Carey-Yard headed the cross IMPs
for the whole division with the other Michael and Peter also
doing well.
The
A and C teams will play in the National League Finals next
summer.
Thanks
to all players who have played for the Manchester teams this
season, the selectors and Michael Byrne, the match captain.
Gold Cup Finals
The
finals of Britain's main knock out competition took place in
London over the weekend of 13-14th October. Manchester
participation consisted of Alan Mould and John Holland
playing in the Senior team. John and Alan lost a close
semi-final match on Saturday.
Cumbria & Westmorland GP Pairs Congratulations
to Eddie Thornton-Chan and Tony Hodgson who were second in
this event on Sunday 29th September at Kendal.
Results
are on the Cumbria
web site.
World Championships Silver for Seniors, Bronze for Women The
World Championships were held in Wuhan, China from 14th-28th
September. England had a team in each of the four
events: Open, Women, Mixed and Senior. Manchester
players involved were John Holland and Alan Mould in the
Seniors and Michael Byrne playing with Fiona Brown in the
Mixed and Catherine Draper playing with Gillian Fawcett in
the Women's. Some matches will be on BBO.
Congratulations
to all the England teams who qualified for the knock out
phase. The Open team were seventh, the Women fifth, the
Seniors fourth and the Mixed team won by over a match.
In
the quarter finals, the Open team lost to USA 1 after
leading by a large margin, the Women won comfortably against
Poland, the Seniors scraped a four IMP win against China
with John and Alan playing throughout and the Mixed team won
against Latvia, having been 20 down after the fourth set.
And
then there was one. The Seniors turned their
semi-final against The Netherlands round with an amazing 79
IMP win in the fourth set and won by 77
IMPs. The Women lost heavily to Sweden
conceding with one set to go. The Mixed team have done
very well, but lost a fairly close match to the USA by
28.
In
the Seniors final England lost to Denmark, therefore getting
a silver medal. Congratulations to the team especially
John and Alan who played every board in the knock out phase
and most of the qualifying matches.
The
Women won their bronze medal match in a dramatic finish,
overtaking the Netherlands on the last board, many
congratulations to Catherine and the team.
The
Mixed Team got close to overhauling Romania in the last set
when Michael and Fiona bid and made two slams not bid by the
opponents, but our other pair pressed too hard on a couple
of boards and Romania won by 24. Congratulations to
all the team who have done very well to finish fourth in the
inaugural World Mixed Teams.
  LCBA Mixed Pairs Congratulations
to Rhona Goldenfield and Jeff Morris who won the Lancashire
Mixed Pairs at Poulton on Sunday 22nd September.
Results
are on the LCBA
web site
Northern Bridge League Round 3 The
third round of the NBL was played on Saturday 21st
September.
Manchester
1 have now taken the lead in the A division by 1 VP ahead of
Yorkshire 1 by finishing second to Merseyside at
Bradford. The Manchester 2 team finished sixth on the
day. The teams were Alec Smalley/Jeff Morris, David
Barton/Royce Alexander, Kath & Alan Nelson, Rhona
Goldenfield/John Stell and Mel Pelham/Rod Franks, Stuart
Shalom/Daniel Kelsall, Andy Green/Paul Beckwith, Phillip
Taylor/Josh Clarke. Rhona and John were the best
Manchester pair on cross IMPs with all the first team doing
well, Andy and Paul were the best of the second team pairs.
In
the B division Manchester finished fourth on the day at
Preston remaining in second place overall, but further
adrift from Yorkshire who have a big lead. The
Manchester team was Eddie Thornton-Chan/Tony Hodgson, Roger
Hopton/David Fussell, David Sarabowski/Sam Herman, Stephen
Ward/Chris Hyne with Roger and David, Sam and David being
our best pairs on cross IMPs.
In the C division at Altrincham the Manchester 1 team
finished third and the Manchester 2 team seventh. The
first team slightly increased their lead at the top of the
table over Lancashire. The teams were Adam
Wiseberg/Jonathan Engler, Karen Jones/Barbara Eastabrook,
Karen Reissmann/Irene Davies, Paul Murray/Peter Grauer and
Graham Winn/Susan Triggs, Andy Jackson/Nathan Marks, Elena
& Marcelo Rosenbaum, Sally Bray/Judith Dunkerley.
Andy and Nathan and Karen and Irene were our best pairs on
the cross IMP ranking.
Full
results are on the NBL web site.
Welsh Foursomes
Congratulations
to Jeff Smith, Jeff Morris, John Hassett, Peter Foster and
John Roberts who won the Welsh Fours at Wrexham over the
weekend of 14-15th September. Full results are on the
North
Wales web site.
 Peter
Foster, John Roberts, John Hassett, Jeff Morris
Bolton Congress Congratulations
to Rodney Lighton and John Currie who won the pairs at
Bolton on Saturday 31st August by a good margin. In
fourth place were Stephen Ward and Paul Morrell. In
the Teams on Sunday Alec Smalley, Barbara Lewis, Irene
Davies and Karen Reissmann were second, with Kath & Alan
Nelson, Stuart Shalom and Daniel Kelsall fourth.
Results are on the Bolton web site.
Goldstone Trophy The
draw for this year's competition is now posted on the
Goldstone page. The winners of the competition will
represent Manchester in the inter county Pachabo competition
next June.
Northern Midweek
Congress
Congratulations
to John Holland and Alan Mould who won the three session
pairs at Harrogate on 20-21st August by a good margin.
Results are on the EBU web site.
Northern Bridge
League Round Two
The
second round of the Northern Bridge League took place on
Saturday 17th August with two Manchester teams in the A
division at Brierfield, one in the B division at Altrincham
and two in the C division at Bradford.
The
Manchester teams in the A division finished fifth and sixth
respectively, fortunately the Manchester 1 team did not lose
much ground on the two Yorkshire teams who are leading the
division. The teams were Rhona Goldenfield/John
Holland, Rodney Lighton/John Currie, Tom Slater/Alec
Smalley, Pete Foster/John Roberts and Eddie
Thornton-Chan/Tony Hodgson, Paul Beckwith/Andy Green, Joy
& Irving Blakey, Kath & Alan Nelson. Paul
& Andy, Pete & John and Tom & Alec all scored
well on cross IMPs.
In
the B division the Manchester team won convincingly but
remain second overall behind Yorkshire, these two teams are
way ahead of the rest. The Manchester team was Joyce
Jones/Joyce White, David Fussell/Roger Hopton, Eve
Lighthill/Howard Kay, Howard Stubbings/Dhun Daji.
Leading the cross IMP rankings for the whole division were
Joyce & Joyce with Howard & Dhun second.
The
Manchester teams in the C division finished fifth equal on
the day. The Manchester 1 team remains top of the
league with the Manchester 2 team now third. The teams
were Rod Franks/Ann Thornton, Gordon Bickley/Ann Farquhar,
Paul Murray/Peter Grauer, Gil Fletcher/Richard Acaster and
Phillip Hayward/Nigel Catterall, Tricia Blum/Simon Townsend,
Harold Weinstock/Pearl Epstein, Vivienne Newgrosh/Karen
Sandler. Rod & Ann, Gordon & Ann were the best
pairs on cross IMPs.
Click
here for the NBL web site for detailed results.
 Division
B at Altrincham Bridge Club
A
new venue for the NBL
EBU Summer Congress In
the mid-week Seniors Pairs at Eastbourne on 6th
August, Alan Nelson playing with former Manchester
player Bill Hirst was second in the A final, with Kath
Nelson and Rhona Goldenfield sixth. John Holland
won the B final with Alan Cooke.
Gary
Hyett won the Mixed Pivot Teams on 7th August with
Brian Senior, Ros Wolfarth and Sue Millard; Rhona
Goldenfield, Kath and Alan Nelson were third with
David Dickson.
In
the Senior Swiss Teams on 7-8th August John Holland's
team won, Gary Hyett's team were third.
John
Holland and Rhona Goldenfield were second in the Mixed
Pairs on 8th August.
Michael
Byrne was second in the Brighton Bowl with Kieran
Dyke, Barry Myers and Sally Brock over the final
weekend.
Congratulations
to all. Results are on the EBU web site.
Preston Blue
Point Swiss Pairs
Several
Manchester pairs competed in this event on Sunday 4th
August. Rodney Lighton and John Currie were best
placed finishing third. Full results are on the
Preston
Club site.
EBU Scarborough Summer Congress In
the Senior's pairs on July 24-25th John Holland and
Jackie Pye were second, Paul Murray and Peter Grauer
were first equal in the B final. Congratulations
to both pairs. In the teams on July 26th John
and Jackie won the B final with Bill Hirst and Jeremy
Dhondy. Full results are on the EBU web site.
Green Point Teams The
first event of the 2019-20 season took place at
Altrincham on Sunday 21st July. Ably organised
by Rhona Goldenfield and helpers and directed by Henry
Bissell and Joan Lewis, 26 teams took part.
Winning by a small margin were Ollie Burgess, Mark
Weeks, Gillian Fawcett and Catherine Draper, the last
two practicing for the Women's World Championships in
China in September. Second were Jim Luck, Rhona
Goldenfield, Joy and Irving Blakey. Well done to
Jim Straffon, Lindsey Cuff, Barbara Moore and David
Murray who won the intermediate prize. Full
results are on the Altrincham club web site.
Michelle Brunner Memorial The
annual Michelle Brunner Mixed Pivot Teams took place
at Manchester Bridge Club on Saturday 20th July.
Sixteen teams took part in this charity event in aid
of Christies Hospital and St Anne's Hospice.
Around £2,000 was raised for the charities (to be
confirmed). Thanks to Kevin Comrie who spoke of
his memories of Michelle, to Simon Alexander for
running the raffle and auction, to Henry Bissell for
directing and to all others who assisted with the
success of the event.
Congratulations
to the winners Tracy Capal, Paddy Murphy, Matt Foster
and David Flacks and to the best non-expert team Nicki
Decent, Ann Whitehead, Andy Green and Hilary
Boydell. Full results are on the Manchester
Bridge Club web site.
Derbyshire Match The
annual match against Derbyshire took place at Cheadle
Hulme Bridge Club on Sunday 14th July.
Manchester were 24 IMPs down at half time but fought
back to win by 16 IMPs. The team was Adam
Wiseberg/Ann Thornton, Sylvia Massey/Herbert Potts,
Elena & Marcelo Rosenbaum, Tricia Blum/Simon
Townsend, Joan Lewis/Roy Higginbottom, Andrew
Jackson/Nathan Marks. Thanks to Victor Ridding
for directing.
 Tricia
Blum, Simon Townsend, Elena Rosenbaum, Sylvia Massey,
Joan
Lewis, Adam Wiseberg, Nathan Marks, Herbert Potts,
Ann
Thornton, Andrew Jackson, Roy Higginbottom, Marcelo
Rosenbaum
Northern
Bridge League
The first round of four of this season's Northern Bridge League took place on Saturday 13th July. Well done to the Manchester C1 team who lead their division. In
the A division at Sheffield the A1 team of Kath &
Alan Nelson, Rhona Goldenfield/John Holland, David
Barton/Leslie Klein, Alec Smalley/Tom Slater finished
third behind the two Yorkshire teams. The A2
team of Steve Mattison/Joyce White, Paul Beckwith/Andy
Green, John Roberts/Pete Foster, Lance Bloohn/Roger
Hopton were sixth. John and Pete shared the top
spot in the cross imps rankings with John and Rhona.
In
the B division at Bradford Manchester are second
behind Yorkshire again. The team was Eddie
Thornton-Chan/Tony Hodgson, Gillian McMullan/Neil
Thomas, Mel Pelham/Rod Franks, Stephen Ward/Chris
Hine. Gillian and Neil were our best pair on the
cross imps.
In
the C division at the new venue of Preston both
Manchester teams did well. The C1 team of Adam
Wiseberg/Jonathan Engler, Barbara Eastabrook/Karen
Jones, Karen Reissmann/Irene Davies, Phillip
Taylor/Josh Clarke won ahead of Yorkshire NW with the
C2 team of Liz & Stephen Halstead, Keith
Boulton/Nigel Pearce, Suzanne Beckett/Adele Hodari,
Andrea Mills/David Welsh in third place. Adam
and Jonathan headed the cross imps for the division.
Full
results are on the NBL web site.
Bronze Medal
for Michael's Juniors
Congratulations
to the English Juniors who won two bronze medals at
Oslo in the European Championships. Pictured
below are the under 21 team with non-playing captain
Michael Byrne. Michael puts in an enormous
amount of effort training the juniors; it is
good to see his efforts leading to success.
 Oscar
Selby, Elizabeth Gahan, Daniel Winter, Liam Sanderson
Michael
Byrne, Sam Anoyrkatis, Harry Madden, Alex Roberts
EBU Summer
Seniors
Riviera Congress Congratulations
to Gary Hyett who won the Swiss Teams at Torquay on
30th June playing with Alan Cooke, Robert Miller and
Bill Taylor.
President's Cup
The
annual inter county teams of eight event took place
at Bradford Bridge Club over the weekend of 29-30
June, ably directed by Stuart Davies and Adrian
Goulding. The Manchester A team finished
second to Mersey and Cheshire in a close
contest. The Manchester B team fared less well
but gained valuable experience.
The
A team was Alec Smalley/Tom Slater (both days), John
Holland/Rodney Lighton, Kath Nelson/Rhona
Goldenfield, David Barton/Leslie Klein (Saturday),
Rodney Lighton/Royce Alexander, Joy & Irving
Blakey, David Barton/Michael Newman (Sunday).
The
B team was Roger Hopton/David Fussell, Gillian
McMullan/Neil Thomas, John Stell/Max Sampson, Adam
Wiseberg/Jonathan Engler (Saturday) and Dhun
Daji/Howard Stubbings, Tony Hodgson/Eddie
Thornton-Chan, Rod Franks/Steve Mattinson, David
Olliver/Howard Kay (Sunday).
John,
Rodney, Royce, Tom, Alec, Kath and Rhona all scored
well on cross IMPs.
Full
results are on the Merseyside county page.
European Open
The
European Open Championships took place in Istanbul
from 15-29th June. Manchester players
participating were Michael Byrne in the Leslie team
in the Open and John Holland in the Penfold team in
the Seniors. Both teams qualified for the
knock out phase from the Swiss event, where the
Leslie team lost in the round of 32, the Penfold won
their quarter final match but lost in the
semi-finals, thus earning a bronze medal. In
the open teams Justin and Jason Hackett played in
the Mossop team which won the event.
Click here for results. Summer Intermediate Pairs Nineteen
pairs contested the Summer Intermediate Pairs at
Altrincham Bridge Club on Sunday 23rd June. A
lovely afternoon was had by all, the winners were
Tricia Blum and Judy Yates with a huge score of nearly
73%. Full results are on the Altrincham Club web
site.
Thanks to Barbara Eastabrook for organising and to Joan Lewis for directing.
Inter County League Finals In
the Inter-County League finals at Coventry on the 16th
June Manchester A finished third and Manchester B were
fifth in their groups. The teams had qualified by
winning the Northern Counties leagues last summer.
The A team was Michael Newman/Michael Byrne, John
Holland/Gary Hyett, Alan Mould/Alec Smalley, David
Barton/Leslie Klein. The B team was David
Olliver/Richard Acaster, Eddie Thornton-Chan/Tony
Hodgson, Eve Lighthill/Howard Kay, Gillian McMullan/Neil
Thomas. Full results are on Ian
Mitchell's
web site.
Didsbury Festival
Manchester
Bridge
Club had a stall at the Didsbury Festival on Saturday 8th
June. Despite the pouring rain 20 members turned out
to help on the stall and signed up 24 people who were
interested in learning bridge, five of whom turned up for
a taster session at the club three days later.
Is there a festival in your area that you could use to recruit members? The county has bought the banner pictured above right; any club interested in using it should contact Irene Davies. Yorkshire Congress Congratulations
to Martin Taylor playing with Barbara Hackett who won
the main pairs final at Harrogate on 8th June and to
Paul Beckwith and Neil Thomas who won the secondary
pairs final.
Pachabo Congratulations
to the team of John Holland, Alan Mould, Michael Byrne
and Michael Newman who retained the Pachabo Trophy
(inter-county teams of four) over the weekend of 8-9th
June at Coventry. Manchester were in the top
four throughout the event, towards the end they were
vying with Hants & Isle of Wight for the top
spot. Hants & Isle of Wight won their last
match by a comfortable margin. Although
Manchester lost their last match by the narrowest
margin they held on to the top spot by 1.5
points. This continues Manchester's fine record
in this event with the third win since 2015, the other
two years they finished second.
 Michael Newman, Alan Mould, Michael Byrne, John Holland Bernard Goldenfield  Bernard was born in 1932 in Manchester; he joined an accountancy firm in 1949 where he started playing bridge. Denis Robson also joined the firm soon after and they formed a partnership which lasted for over 25 years. Their best achievements were to play for England in a Camrose match in 1976 and to reach the Gold Cup final in 1983. Around 1970 Bernard met Rhona, they married in 1975. They became one of the top partnerships in the area, playing many events and winning a large proportion of them. Together they won a bronze medal representing Great Britain in the Common Market Mixed Teams in 1993, three Hubert Phillips Bowls, the NICKO (twice) and the Garden Cities (three times). They regularly played for Manchester in the Tollemache and the Northern league. Bernard won the Manchester league nine times, the Higson Cup seven times as well as every other major local event several times. He seemed to lose none of his skill even when in his eighties, although occasionally his eyesight let him down. This year he won the Higson Cup at the age of 86. Bernard was seventh in the all time master point rankings and highly graded on the NGS. He assisted Rhona with the running of the Green Point events at Altrincham and was the county's auditor for many years. Above all Bernard was a very popular player, friendly and courteous. He was a great raconteur with a large fund of good stories and jokes. He enjoyed going to Killarney every year and was recently presented with a special award for his attendance at the congress. He will be sadly missed, we send our condolences to Rhona, his family and friends. The funeral, in accordance with Jewish custom, was held on 6th June the day that he died. It was attended by several hundred people, including a large number of bridge playing friends. Corwen Trophy
The
inter-county pairs event took place at Daventry on
1st-2nd June. John Holland and Rodney Lighton
started off well, lying second after the first
session, but a poor Saturday evening session saw them
drop to 15th and they eventually finished tenth.
Joy and Irving Blakey were doing very well in third
place before the final session but dropped to
15th. John Roberts and Peter Foster had a good
final session to finish 24th overall, Karen Reissmann
and Irene Davies finished just below half way.
Annual General Meeting
A well attended AGM of the association took place on Thursday May 30th at Cheadle Hulme Bridge Club. Kath Nelson retired as league secretary after seven years of service, the association thanks her for hard work and efficiency in running the league and cup. Adam Wiseberg is the new league secretary. Ann Thornton retired as tournament secretary. Her job is being split between various people each of whom will take over the running of a small number of competitions. Barbara Lewis retired from her role as organiser of various intermediate competitions which she has done with great efficiency for many years. Presentations were made to Kath and Barbara for their service. Prizes and trophies were given for the Player of the Year, (John Holland in the expert category and Adam Wiseberg in the intermediate category), and for the league divisions and Goldstone Trophy. Three motions were presented for discussion. The meeting voted to
Ashton Bridge Club
We
are pleased to welcome Ashton Bridge Club as an
affiliated club to the county and EBU. The
Ashton club has existed since time immemorial, but at
some time in the past decided to disaffilate from the
EBU. The members have now voted to affiliate at
a recent meeting. They have bridge sessions
every weekday, see their web
site for details.
Keep Bridge Alive
Professor
Sam Punch, a sociology professor at Stirling
University, is doing research into the sociology of
bridge. This is concerned with the social
aspects of playing bridge and the effects of keeping
an active mind through participating in the
game. She is seeking financial help via crowd
sourcing for this work.
If you would like to read more please follow the links below. Keep Bridge Alive letter Keep Bridge Alive A5 leaflet Keep Bridge Alive Poster Keep Bridge Alive donation form Hubert Phillips Final
In
a very close final Alan Mould's team (John Holland,
Jackie Pye, Jeff Smith) just lost to Sally Brock's
team (Barry Myers, Phil King, Robert Sheehan) at
Spondon on 28th May. The winning margin for
the Brock team was 430 aggregate points.
Selections
The
selection committee has chosen the following players
for the events below.
Spring Bank Holiday Congress Congratulations
to Michael Byrne, playing with Dinah Caplan, who came
second in the pairs A final at Stratford on 26th
May. Results are on the EBU web site.
Bridge Lessons
After many years teaching bridge at Wilmslow Guild Jenny
Morris is leaving to start teaching bridge at her home
in Mobberley. She will run courses in the
mornings, afternoon and evenings for absolute
beginners to more experienced players.
These new courses will begin from September 2019 and are detailed on her website https://jennymorrisbridge.com Goldstone This year's final was held on Thursday 23rd May at Cheadle Hulme Bridge Club between St Titus (Michael Byrne, Michael Newman, John Holland, Rodney Lighton and Gary Hyett) and New Connections (Roger Hopton, David Fussell, Gillian MacMullan and Neil Thomas). New Connections started well winning the first set by six, but St Titus then won the second and third sets to lead by 17, the final set also went St Titus's way for another 10 IMPs, but a well fought and enjoyable final. St Titus will represent Manchester in the inter county Pachabo competition in June, when the team will be Michael Newman, Michael Byrne, John Holland and Alan Mould. The final scores for this year's player of the year are now updated. John Holland has won the expert category just ahead of Rodney Lighton with last year's winner, Alan Mould, a distant third. John Armstrong Swiss Pairs Congratulations
to Paul Beckwith and Andy Green on finishing second in
the Mersey Green Point Swiss at Deva on 19th
May. Full results are on the Mersey
and
Cheshire web site.
National Swiss Teams Congress Congratulations
to Michael Byrne playing with Kieran Dyke, Toby
Nonnenmacher and Ben Norton who won the Swiss Teams at
Solihull over the weekend of 11-12th May. Full
results are on the EBU web site.
Bramhall and Cheadle to Merge Following overwhelming votes in favour by the members of both clubs, Bramhall and Cheadle Bridge Clubs will merge in September. The new club will meet at the current Bramhall premises with the Cheadle site closing. The clubs are taking advantage of a unique and timely opportunity to bring together two successful bridge clubs with between them a group of members who have the energy, enthusiasm and commitment to create and grow a joint club with a full range of bridge activities. The new club will initially continue with the sessions currently run by both clubs and will be one of the largest in the county. Schapiro Spring Foursomes The
EBU's prestigious double elimination tournament took
place from 3rd to 8th May. By Sunday evening,
after five rounds, Alan Mould and John Holland playing
in the Penfold team and Michael Byrne playing in the
Allerton team were still in contention, albeit each
having lost one match. By Monday evening only
the Penfold team remained, having won a very close
quarter final, but they lost in the semi-finals on
Tuesday; nevertheless an excellent result in a star
studded field.
League (3rd May) Congratulations to those who won their divisions or are promoted. In division one Michael Byrne's St Titus team have won, winning all their matches. Kath Nelson's Agamemnon are second. In division two in the final match Proteus (Frank Brown) beat Manchester S (Kevin Comrie) by 30-0 to win the division. Also promoted are Eve Lighthill's DASH and Bernard Kaye's Sedgley. In division three Petersfield (Eddie Thornton-Chan) have won with Alan Tranter's Hindsight Convention second. In division four Astrazeneca Stars (David Milne) have won just ahead of Chorlton Challengers (Bev Pardoe). Ray Hill's Monton Misfits won division five unbeaten, Adam Wiseberg's lastminute.bid won their last match well to finish second. In division six in a very close finish John Berry's Double Trouble have won the division with Vera Lowson's Wild at Heart second. In division seven Ashton United (Sheila Wimbleton) are promoted along with Larkhill-1 (Estelle Megitt) after another close finsih. Many thanks to Kath Nelson for running the league so efficiently for many years, she retires at the end of this season as league secretary, with Adam Wiseberg taking over next year. Player of the Year Congratulations
to Adam Wiseberg who has won the Intemediate category
of the Player of the Year just one point ahead of Josh
Clarke.
Higson Finals The finals of the Higson Cup and Plate were held at Altrincham on Sunday 28th April. Congratulations to Agamemnon who held on to their half time lead to win by 5 VPs ahead of St Titus in the cup. They started with the team of Kath and Alan Nelson, Bernard Goldenfield and John Hassett. Jeff Morris arrived at half time straight from the airport after a holiday in Ireland to replace Bernard for the second half. In the plate Monton Misfits (Rose Davenport, Ray Hill, Valerie and Ian Hempstock, Enid Noronha and Ron Lowe) won by a good margin ahead of The Four Dummies. Thanks to Henry Bissell and Joan Lewis for efficient directing and to Adam Wiseberg for organising. Detailed results are on the Altrincham Club web site.
Cup Final
Plate Final
Easter Festival In
the Easter Festival at Ilkley John Holland and Jackie
Pye finished third in both the Mixed Pairs and the
Swiss Pairs. John and Jackie then teamed up with
Alan Mould and Michael Newman to win the Swiss Teams
on Sunday concluding a successful tournament.
Tom Slater's team was second. Full results are
on the EBU web site.
 Michael Newman, John Holland, Jackie Pye, Alan Mould Michael Clarke We are sorry to report that Michael Clarke died on 17th April of pancreatic cancer. Michael was a long standing member of the MCBA. He was primarily a rubber bridge player but had been a member of Kath Nelson's Agamemnon league team for many years, playing with Martin Braid until Martin's death a few years ago and then with Jeff Morris. The team always placed well in the league, winning in 2007 and finishing second this year. Michael was also on the Goldstone Trophy winning team in 2007 and won the Gazette Trophy a couple of times on Manchester Bridge Club teams. He represented England in the winning Junior Camrose team in 1981 partnering Jeremy Wyndham with whom he won National Masters Pairs in 1982. Our condolences to his wife and family. Preston Blue Point Pairs Nearly
half the field were Manchester players at Preston on
14th April. Best Manchester result was achieved
by John Holland with Jackie Pye who were second.
Jeff Morris and John Hassett were third. Results
are on the Preston
site.
Lady Milne Catherine Draper played for England in the women's home internationals in Ireland on the weekend of April 12th-14th with Susanna Gross, Sally Brock, Gilly Cardiff, Nicola Smith and Yvonne Wiseman. England won the competition with Catherine and Susanna heading the Butler rankings. Teltscher Trophy John Holland played for England Seniors on the weekend of April 5th-7th in the home internationals in Edinburgh. The rest of the team was Norman Selway, Paul Hackett, Gunnar Halberg and David Mossop. England won by a large margin, with John and Norman second in the Butler rankings. The event website is here. Portland Pairs Congratulations to Michael Byrne who won the EBU's Mixed Pairs event playing with Dinah Caplan of London at Richmond on 24th March. They were lying second just behind Bernard and Rhona Goldenfield after the first session and a solid second session saw them just stay ahead of another pair playing at Richmond who managed a 72% second session. At 86 years old Dinah becomes the oldest ever winner of the Portland Pairs. Bernard and Rhona finished 13th, with John Holland and Jackie Pye 14th. Full results are on the EBU web site.  Dinah
Caplan and Michael Byrne
Hubert Phillips Congratulations to John Holland, Alan Mould, Jeff Smith and Jackie Pye who have reached the final of the Hubert Phillips with a good win over Heather Dhondy's team. This team has now reached the final in two of the last three years. Intermediate Swiss Pairs 26
pairs had a very enjoyable afternoon playing Swiss Pairs
at Manchester Bridge Club on March 24th. Congratulations
to the winners Wendy Burton and Angela Ashleigh, with
Susan Bloor and Sue Ralph in second place, only just
ahead of third placed Annie Curtis and Jackie Lowrie.
Full results can be found on the club websites of
Manchester, Larkhill and Altrincham.
Thanks to Susan Triggs for organising the event and Joan Lewis for directing.
Cumbria Congress The following Manchester players were successful in the Cumbria Congress from 15th-17th March. Ladies Pairs 2nd Joyce White with Babs Matthews, 3rd Karen Jones and Barbara Eastabrook. Mixed Pairs 3rd Steve Mattinson and Pauline Lang. Championship Pairs 2nd Rhona and Bernard Goldenfield. Swiss Teams Winners Catherine Draper and Andrew Woodcock with Michael Prior and Keith Ashcroft, 2nd Joyce White with Babs Matthews, Tim Matthews, Ian Reeves, 3rd Steve Mattinson, Pauline Lang, Rod Franks with Margaret Howe. Full results are on the Cumbria web page. St Titus Win League Congratulations
to Michael Byrne's team (Michael Newman, John Holland,
Alan Mould, Rodney Lighton, Gary Hyett) who have won
the first division. They won all their matches,
mainly by good margins. This is the team's sixth
win in the league, the first being in 2008 and the
most recent three years ago, Michael Byrne, Michael
Newman, Rodney and Gary have participated throughout
since the team was formed in 2004.
European Mixed Teams The first European Mixed Teams Championship took place in Lisbon from 22nd to 28th February. Playing for England was Michael Byrne with Fiona Brown, the rest of the team was Sally Brock, Barry Myers, Frances Hinden and Graham Osborne. For the event web site click here. Congratulations to all the team on finishing fifth which qualifies them for the World Championships in Wuhan in September. Green Point Pairs Manchester's
annual green point pairs was held at Altrincham on
Saturday 2nd March. Forty eight pairs competed
with Sue Woodcock and Stuart Clarke winning by half a
match ahead of Tracy Capal and Stuart Davies.
Thanks to Rhona Goldenfield and Ann Thornton for
organising, to Ken Johnston and Joan Lewis for directing
and to Irene Davies for presenting the prizes.
Full results are on the Altrincham and Manchester Bridge Clubs web sites. In the PotY competition Adam Wiseberg has retaken the lead ahead of Sally Bray in the Intermediate category.
Cantor Cup The 21st Cantor Cup Competition was held on Sunday 24th February at Manchester Bridge Club. 21 pairs had an enjoyable and competitive afternoon, including afternoon tea with freshly baked scones. Thanks to Joan Lewis for directing, Jeff Morris for hosting and Barbara Lewis for organising. Congratulations to the winners Ian and Charlie Lowe who had a huge score of 73.5%, Suzanne and Roy Beckett were second just ahead of Sharon Buchalter and Juliette Rose. Detailed results are on the Manchester Bridge Club web site.
Lederer Trophy The annual invitation Lederer Trophy took place on 23-24th February at the RAC club in London. There were many international stars playing in the various teams. Manchester players in the Chairman's team were John Holland, Alan Mould and Gary Hyett with Graham Kirby, Ben Norton and Alex Roberts. For the event web site click here. Tollemache Manchester finished third in the Tollemache Final at Coventry on February 16-17th. The team was Michael Newman/John Holland, Jeff Morris/John Hassett, Catherine Draper/Andrew Woodcock, Alan Mould/Ollie Burgess. After a poor day on Saturday where they were lying seventh at the end of the day they won all three matches on Sunday to move up to third place. Best pair on the cross IMPs were John and Michael, followed by Catherine and Andrew. Full results are on the EBU web site. EBED Teacher's Course The
students
at the latest EBED Teaching Course at Stretford Bridge
Club were surprised to discover two members of the
popular quiz show Eggheads were at the club at the same
time. Eleven students from local and far-flung
places (two from Guernsey and one from Scotland) were
all learning to become EBU bridge teachers under EBU
tutor Mike Hickling as well as being fed and watered by
Stretford BC Catering Manager Sheila Reynolds.
The
two
TV quizzers: Pat Gibson, currently the top quizzer in
the country and the world and Dave ‘Tremendous
Knowledge’ Rainford were taking part in the Quizzing
Circuit monthly American Grand Prix quiz under the
proctorship of Club Secretary Dave Tilley. If you
are interested in quizzing and would like to come and
try a British or American Grand Prix quiz (held in
Warrington on the first or second Saturday), contact
Dave at tilsit@btinternet.com.
Entry is free for first-timers and many of the
popular TV quizzers take part in the local heat from
time to time.
 Harrogate Spring Congress Congratulations to Tom Slater and Michael Byrne winners of the three session Swiss Pairs on 8-9th February. They won all their nine matches and were well ahead of second place. Gary Hyett playing with Alan Cooke, who had been leading up to the final session, finished 11th. This is a first win in this event for Tom and Michael. Full results are on the EBU web site. Gazette Trophy Congratulations to Altrincham Bridge Club on their first win in the Gazette Trophy. The team of Stuart Hunter, Robert James, David Olliver, Stuart Shalom, Andrew Jackson, Nathan Marks, Kath and Alan Nelson finshed ahead of Bramhall, Manchester and Cheadle in that order. Ten teams competed from four clubs, Altrincham (Halstead) also won the Intermediate prize.
Thanks to Joan Lewis for directing, Ann Thornton for organising. In the Intermediate category of the Player of the Year Sally Bray is now leading a point ahead of Adam Wiseberg. Full results are on the Altrincham Bridge Club web site.
Lady Milne Trials Congratulations to Catherine Draper, playing with Susanna Gross of London, who qualified in the trials for the Womens home internationals held at the Young Chelsea on 2nd-3rd February. Results are on the EBU web site. Chester Congress The annual congress at Deva Bridge Club was held over the weekend of 26-27th January. Manchester successes included a win in the Swiss Teams for Bernard and Rhona Goldenfield playing with Tracy Capal and Peter Kaufmann and second place in the pairs for Gillian McMullan and Roger Hopton. Full results are on the Deva Club website. EBU Point a Board Teams Manchester
players did well at the Young Chelsea on the weekend
of 19-20th January. Michael Byrne won with
Kieran Dyke, Mike Bell and Neil Rosen just ahead of
John Holland and Alan Mould playing with Sally Brock
and Barry Myers.
Lancashire Butler Pairs Karen Jones and Barbara Eastabrook did well to finish fourth and win the second session prize at Preston on Sunday 20th January. Results are on the LCBA web site. Blue Point Teams Congratulations
to Neil Thomas, Nicholas Greer, John Currie and Rodney
Lighton who won at Preston on Sunday 13th January,
just ahead of John Holland, Alan Mould, Jackie Pye and
Jeff Smith. Results are on the Preston
Bridge Club web site.
Manchester Bridge Club at Wellington Road Manchester Bridge Club is now well established in its new premises in Fallowfield at 81, Wellington Road, M14 6BN. The club has its own rooms in the Fallowfield Bowling and Lawn Tennis club. The main room is plushly appointed and nicely decorated with room for twelve tables. There is a small kitchen and a bar area which has room for a further half dozen or so tables. Car parking is plentiful with space available on Wellington Road if the car park is full. See the pictures below.
Manchester Congress Another succesful and enjoyable congress was held at the Victoria and Albert Hotel over the weekend of 5-6th January. We were pleased to welcome guests from all over the UK and particularly two teams from Norway. David Debbage and Andrew Woodcock repeated their success of 2017 in winning the pairs by a smidgeon ahead of Michael Byrne and Andrew Murphy (who won the Men's Pairs Trophy). Helen Erichsen and Fiona Brown won the Ladies Pairs for the second year running and Sheila Shea and Edward Jones from North Wales won the Mixed Pairs Trophy. In the Teams final on a relatively unexciting set of boards John Holland, John Hassett, Jackie Pye and Jeff Smith won ahead of three of the Hackett family (Paul, Justin and Barbara) and Martin Taylor, with Fiona Brown, Helen Erichsen, John Currie and Rodney Lighton third. The B Final was won by Rhona and Bernard Goldenfield, Jim Luck and Marianne Farr. The consolation final was a mainly Welsh contest with Barry and Beth Wennell, Margaret Barnes and Wyn Williams winning on a split tie from Sheila Shea, Edward Jones, Howard Kay and Peter Jones. For the other prize winners see the photos below. A non-expert session was held each day. Thanks to Irene Davies and all the other helpers, too numerous to name, for their hard work in organising and to directors Neil Morley, Nicholas Greer, Joan Lewis and Victor Ridding for running everything smoothly. Also to World Champion Sally Brock for presenting prizes and to Raymond Semp and Michael Byrne for the quizzes. Michael Byrne's quiz was won by Mike Wood (57), second Adam Wiseberg (33), third Gordon Bickley (31). Prizes for the first two, answers here. Rankings are below the photos, more detailed results are on the Manchester and Altrincham Bridge Club web sites. PotY results have been updated, John Holland leads in the Expert category, Adam Wiseberg in the Intermediate category.
Players Progress Rankings
Kevin Comrie Rankings
Pairs Rankings
Teams A Final
Teams B Final
Teams C Final
Goldstone Trophy 2018-19
Teams St Titus:Michael Byrne, Michael Newman, Rodney Lighton, John Holland, Alan Mould, Gary Hyett (E) The Enigmas: Heather Saunders, Sylvia Dixon, Wendy Tait, Jan Ravenscroft, Graham Fletcher, Kathy Priestley, David McNeillie, Marion McNeillie (I) Conquering Hearts: Haidee Tattersall, Nicki Decent, Wendy Burton, Angela Parkinson, Anne Whitehead (I) Last minute bid: Adam Wiseberg, Jonathan Engler, Sally Bray, Judith Dunkerley (I) The Four Dummies: Karen Jones, Lillian Syme, Barbara Eastabrook, Judy Yates, Susan McGeechan (I) Tricksters: Kevin Higgins, Richard Sinton, Ann Thornton, Paul Murray (E) Altrincham A: Geoff Hull, Ann Jordan, Mike Asher, Graham Campbell, Andrew Jackson (E) Splinter Group: John Moran, Andy Green, Yvonne Barnes, George Leigh, Janet Tolan (I) Manchester S: Peter Jones, Raymond Semp, Kevin Comrie, Celia Comrie (E) Jeff
Morris:Jeff
Morris, John Hassett, Catherine
Draper, Andrew Woodcock, Robert Myers,
Ollie Burgess (E)
Adlan:
Edward & Helene Adam, Eric & Janet Langer (I)Imposter System: Irene Davies, Karen Reissmann, Nicholas Greer, John Parsons (E) Petersfield: Eddie Thornton-Chan, Graham Currie, Nigel Matthews, Tony Hodgson, David Tattersall (E) New Connections: Roger Hopton, David Fussell, Gillian McMullan, Peter Green, Neil Thomas (E) Grasshoppers: John Roberts, Pete Foster, John Currie, Royce Alexander, Alec Smalley, Tom Slater 5 Go Bridging: Richard Roberts, Karen Jagger, Howard Dickson, Anne Longson, Nick Longson Hydrangeas: Phillip Taylor, David Ackroyd, Ross Allen, Chris Baker, John Browning, Gordon Johnson |
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