2023 News and Results

David Baskin

David Baskin died on 20th December of cancer.

David was a very good player who mainly played rubber bridge but was also successful in duplicate bridge winning the Santa Claus pairs twice in the 1990s and also the Higson Cup.  He represented England twice in the Maccabi Games and was known as an excellent bridge teacher.  Condolences to his wife Vesta to whom he was married for over 50 years and his children Rachel and Daniel.

Jeff Morris writes

It was because of David that I came to Manchester.  He was close friends with Peter Ader who owned the Central Bridge Club and was looking for someone to run the club after Paul Hackett left.  David asked me if I would be interested and that resulted in a 45 year career in bridge club management.

Manchester vs Norway

On 28th December the Manchester team of Andrew Brocklehurst/David Debbage, Joy & Irving Blakey, Raymond Semp/Gary Hyett, David Sarabowski/Paul Murray, Rhona Goldenfield/John Hassett, Pearl Fielding/Mike Hart played a team of twelve match against Norway on RealBridge.  The Norwegian team won comfortably, results are on the Manchester Events web site.  Joy and Irving Blakey were the best Manchester pair on the cross imps.  Thanks to Espen Gisvold for organising the Manchester end of this. 

Teltscher Trials

A pairs trial for the Teltscher Trophy seniors team for England was held from 15th-17th December.  Eight pairs competed including Alan Mould and John Holland from Manchester.  They finished sixth, results are on the EBU web site..

Ben Franks

This pairs event, which qualifies for the EBU's Corwen Trophy, was held on Sunday 3rd December.  21 pairs competed.  Tony Hodgson and Eddie Thornton-Chan were leading after the first session and held on to win overall by 3% from Kath Nelson and Rhona Goldenfield.  Third place went to Alan Mould and John Holland just ahead of Tom Dessain and Rodney Lighton.  The top four pairs qualify for the Corwen.  Tom and Rodney won the first session prize, with the ascender's prize going to last year's winners Alec Smalley and Barbara Lewis.  The event was played in a good atmosphere, ably run by Nicholas Greer with assistance from Jeff Smith.  The event was organised by Michael Byrne.  Many thanks to Manchester Bridge Club for hosting the event and to members who helped, especially Vera Lowson and David Fernley.

Detailed results are on the Manchester Events site.

The Player of the Year spreadsheet has been updated.  After two events John Holland leads in the expert category; Barbara Eastabrook, Karen Jones and Ann Thornton are joint leaders in the non-expert category.

Kevin Comrie with Winner Tony Hodgson (Eddie Thornton-Chan missing)	Second Rhona Goldenfield and Kath Nelson
Third John Holland and Alan Mould	Ascenders Alec Smalley and Barbara Lewis
Session one prize Rodney Lighton and Tom Dessain

Sid Travers

We are sorry to report the death of Sid Travers on Sunday 26th November at the age of 92.  He had competed in the Manchester area for over 70 years, winning his first county trophy, the Manchester Teams, in 1955 and his final one, the Mixed Pairs with Eve Lighthill, in 2007.  In between he also won the league once and the Higson Cup twice as well as two further wins in the Mixed Pairs with Eve and a win in the Manchester Pairs again with Eve.  Nationally he won the Life Master Pairs with Tracy Sherman in 2000.  He represented Manchester in many county matches especially in the Northern League and won a National B title in 2010.  He was a regular competitor at the Manchester and Altrincham clubs for many years.

He was a graduate of Manchester University and was a solicitor by profession.

Our condolences to his widow Marice, sons Harry and Max and family.

Fall Nationals

The ACBL Fall Nationals took place in Atlanta Georgia from Nov 23rd to Dec 3rd.  Michael Byrne played in the Knottenbelt team with Maggie Knottenbelt, Zia Mahmood, David Gold, Stefano Tommasini and Ben Norton.  In the Soloway Knockout Teams they qualified easily in the Swiss and then narrowly won in the round of 32, but then lost in the last 16.  Results can be found here.

Lancashire Congress

Congratulations to Stephen Ward and Paul Morrell who won the Swiss Pairs at Preston on Saturday 18th November.  There were many Manchester pairs competing, Andrew Woodcock/Catherine Draper and Alec Smalley/Tom Slater were fourth equal.  In the Swiss Teams on Sunday John Holland, Jackie Pye, Jeff Smith and Rhona Goldenfield were second.  Full results are on the Lancashire web site.

Tollemache - Manchester Qualify

The inter county teams of eight qualifier took place on Nov 11-12th online on RealBridge.  The Manchester team of Alec Smalley/Michael Byrne, John Holland/John Hassett, Catherine Draper/Andrew Woodcock, Gary Hyett/Rodney Lighton won their group.  After a moderate start on Saturday, leaving them placed sixth, the team won all their matches on Sunday and just headed their group with Surrey, London and Kent also qualifying.  In the other group Middlesex, Berks & Bucks, Gloucester and Cambs & Hunts also qualified.  All four pairs contributed a plus score on the cross imps.  The final will be face to face in February.

Results are on the EBU web site.

Premier League

The EBU's Premier League continued with its final weekend on 4th-5th November.  Michael Byrne playing in the Knottenbelt team finished fourth, John Holland and Alan Mould in the Senior team were eighth.  In the second division Andrew Woodcock and John Hassett in the Hackett team did well and moved into top position.  Results are on the EBU web site.

MCBA/Ashton Charity Event

A single session pairs event in aid of Willow Wood hospice care was held at Ashton on Sunday 29th October.  There was a good entry of 28 pairs, winners were John Attree and Dave Welsh ahead of GIllian McMullan and Neil Thomas, with Gordon Bickley and Ann Farquhar third.  Results are on the Ashton Club web site.

Venetian Congress

Congratulations to Joy and Irving Blakey who won the Swiss Pairs at the EBU's holiday event on 16-17th Oct., they then teamed up with Raymond Semp and John Holland to win the pivot teams.

Chester Bowl

In the Chester Bowl at Deva on Sunday 15th October several Manchester pairs competed, the only success was for Tony Hodgson and Eddie Thornton-Chan who finished second in the consolation event.  Results are on the Deva Club site.

Northern Bridge League Final Match - Manchester Win Division C

The final set of matches (of four) took place on RealBridge on Saturday 14th October.  In the A division Manchester finished fourth on the day but held on to second place overall behind Yorkshire.  The team was Gary Hyett/Raymond Semp, John Roberts/Peter Foster, Alec Smalley/Barbara Lewis and Jeff Morris/Stuart Shalom.  John and Peter were the best pair on cross imps.

In the B division Manchester finished a close second on the day but overall were seventh.  The team was Stephen Ward/Roger Hopton, Eddie Thornton-Chan/Tony Hodgson, Phillip Taylor/Josh Clarke and Irene Davies/Karen Reissmann.  Stephen and Roger were best pair on cross imps.

The C division had a dramatic finish as Yorkshire and Manchester overhauled Lancashire by one VP to tie at the top of the division.  I believe that Manchester win the tie break by beating Yorkshire 42-38 over their individual matches across the four dates.  The team was Richard Acaster/Gilbert Fletcher, Sally Leigh/Judith Dunkerley, Gordon Bickley/Ann Farquhar and Ann Thornton/Karen Jones.  Richard & Gilbert and Sally & Judith did well on cross imps.

Detailed results for the fourth match are on the Cumbria web site.

Thanks to all players who turned out for Manchester this season.

Herbert Potts

We are sorry to hear that Herbert Potts died on 11th October.  He was a regular player at clubs in South Manchester and frequently turned out for the county in NBL and other matches playing with Sylvia Massey.  There is a short obituary on the Bramhall and Cheadle Hulme club web site.

Gold Cup Finals

The final stages of the Gold Cup took place on the weekend of 7-8th October in London.  John Holland and Alan Mould played for the Penfold team in a semi-final match against Janet de Botton's team.  Michael Byrne on the Knottenbelt team played against Alexander Allfrey's team in the semi-finals.  Both teams with Manchester players lost.

Great Northern Swiss Pairs

48 pairs competed at Leeds on the weekend of 30th Sept to 1st October, top Manchester pair were Martin Taylor and Justin Hackett who finished fourth.

Results are on the EBU web site.

Cumbria GP Weekend

Manchester players did well in the Cumbria/Westmorland Green Point Swiss events on 23-24th September at Kendal.  In the Swiss teams on Saturday John Holland, Jackie Pye, Jeff Smith and Rhona Goldenfield finished second.  In the Swiss Pairs on Sunday John Holland won with Jackie Pye, Alec Smalley and Tom Slater were third and Fly Leung and Ann Thornton were seventh.  Results are on the Cumbria web site.

National Handicap Pairs - rescored

After the event had been rescored Karen Jones and Barbara Eastabrook finished second in the National Handicap Pairs on Sunday 10th September playing at the Ashton Bridge Club heat with a fine score of 71% at the club and a handicapped score of 62%.  Their 71% score was the highest in the country.

Results are on the EBU web site

Premier League

The first weekend of the EBU's Premier League was on 9-10th September.  Playing in Division 1 were John Holland and Alan Mould in the Senior team and Michael Byrne in the Knottenbelt team.  In Division 2 John Hassett and Andrew Woodcock played in the Hackett team.  Results are on the EBU web site.  At the end of the first weekend Knottenbelt were lying third and Senior sixth in the first division; the Hackett team were seventh in the second division.

NBL Round 3

The third round of the Northern Bridge League took place online on Saturday 2nd September.

In the A division Manchester won on the day and moved into second place overall only 5 VPs behind Yorkshire.  The team was Gary Hyett/Raymond Semp, Peter Foster/Royce Alexander, Paul Murray/Andrew Woodcock, Rhona Goldenfield/Kath Nelson.  All four pairs were positive on the cross imps with Rhona and Kath doing well to top the cross imp ranking.

In the B division Manchester finished seventh and are seventh overall.  The team was Pauline Lang/Steve Mattinson, Phillip Taylor/Peter Grauer, Stephen Ward/Andy Green, Alan Tranter/Andy Burnett.  Alan and Andy scored well on cross imps.

In the C division Manchester were fourth on the day and are now in second position just 3 VPs behind Lancashire.  The team was Karen Jones/Barbara Eastabrook, Sally Leigh/Judith Dunkerley, Paul Beckwith/Joyce Jones, Gilbert Fletcher/Richard Acaster.  Karen and Barbara and  Gilbert and Richard did well on cross imps.

Transnational Teams - Bronze Medal for Michael Byrne

In the Transnational Teams event at the World Bridge Championships in Marrakech Michael Byrne, playing in the Knottenblt team, did well to reach the semi-finals, losing by only 8 imps to a Polish team.  They then won the third place play off match.

MCBA Member Suspended

Adam Wiseberg has been suspended by the EBU for a period of three years following a disciplinary conviction.

See the EBU web site for further details.

Chair's August Newsletter

Click here for a newsletter from Irene Davies MCBA Chair.

Northern Midweek Congress

In the EBU event at Harrogate from 22nd to 24th August John Holland and Jackie Pye finished second in the Swiss Pairs, in the Swiss Teams Joyce White playing with Babs Matthews, Sue McIntosh and Philip Cooper were also second and Nicholas Greer, Karen Reissmann, Barbara Eastabrook and Karen Jones fifth.  Barbara and Karen were also second in the Jack high pairs.  Congratulations to them, full results are on the EBU web site.

Northern Bridge League Round 2

The second round of the NBL took place online on Saturday 19th August.  In the A division Manchester finished fifth and dropped to third overall.  The team was Rhona Goldenfield/Kath Nelson, Paul Murray/Andrew Woodcock, Royce Alexander/Peter Foster and Phillip Taylor/Peter Grauer.  Andrew and Paul were the best of the Manchester pairs on cross imps.

In the B division Manchester were fifth on the day and are now sixth overall.  The team was Joyce White/Steve Mattinson, Andy Green/Stephen Ward, Eddie Thornton-Chan/Tony Hodgson, Alan Tranter/Andy Burnett.  Andy and Stephen and Alan and Andy were positive on cross imps.

The C team were more successful, winning on the day and moving up to second position overall.  The team was Gordon Bickley/Ann Farquhar, Gilbert Fletcher/Peter Leary, Joyce Jones/Anne Whitehead, Karen Jones/Richard Acaster.  Joyce and Anne were overall leaders on cross imps, with Karen and Richard and Gilbert and Peter also scoring well.

Detailed results can be found here.

EBU Summer Meeting

The EBU summer meeting at Eastbourne is, these days, an extended weekend event.  In the Swiss Teams for the Brighton Bowl, which is now a seven round one day event, Michael Byrne placed second with Kieran Dyke, Stefano Tommasini and Ben Norton on Friday 11th August.

Lancashire Jack High

Congratulations to Karen Jones and Barbara Eastabrook who won in the Lancashire event at Brierfield on Sunday 6th August.

Green Point Swiss Teams

The annual GP Swiss Teams was held at Altrincham on Sunday 30th July.  19 teams entered, a slightly awkward number, but ably run by Stuart Davies.  Winners were John Holland, Gillian Whyte, Adrian Thomas and John Hassett who won their last match 17-3 to beat Sally Brock, Jackie Pye, Barry Myers and Rodney Lighton who could only manage a 14-6 win in their final match.  Third were Neil Thomas, Nicholas Greer, Phillip Taylor and Peter Grauer.  Top non-experts were Barbara Eastabrooke, Karen Jones, Richard Acaster and Gil Fletcher.  Thanks to Rhona Goldenfield and helpers for organising and also to Joan Lewis of Altrincham Bridge Club for her hard work.

Results are on the Manchester Events web site

Winners John Holland, Gillian Whyte, (MCBA President Kevin Comrie) John Hassett and Adrian Thomas	Second Rodney Lighton, Sally Brock, Barry Myers and Jackie Pye
Third Nicholas Greer, Neil Thomas, Phillip Taylor and Peter Grauer	Non-expert Karen Jones, Barbara Eastabrooke, Richard Acaster, Gil Fletcher

Ian Kane

We are sorry to report the death of Ian Kane on 26th July.  Ian was a regular player at Altrincham Bridge Club and its predecessors for over 50 years.  He also participated frequently in county events, often playing in the top division of the Manchester league and doing well in Manchester events.  He had a long partnership with Barry Davies and, after Barry retired from bridge, with Ken Hassell.  He often played for Manchester in the B division of the Northern Bridge League, winning the national title in 2010.  In partnership with Ken he had a phenomenal record in national simultaneous pairs events winning about six of them in the space of a few years.  He was a pleasant and skillful opponent.

Our condolences to his family and friends.

There is another obituary on the Altrincham Bridge Club web site.

Scarborough Summer Congress

In the EBU's Northern Summer Congress on 14th July John Holland, Jackie Pye, Andrew Woodcock and Catherine Draper won the teams final.

Results are on the EBU web site.

Juggler's Club Trophy

There was a good turnout of 23 pairs at Manchester Bridge Club on Wednesday 12th July for a single session duplicate in memory of Ben Beever.

Winners were Eddie Thornton-Chan and Gilbert Lee with Barbara Hackett and Martin Taylor second.

Click here for results.

NBL Round 1

The first round of Northern Bridge League matches took place on RealBridge on 8th July.

In the A division Manchester finished second just one VP behind Yorkshire.  The team was John Stell/Steve Allen, Andrew Woodcock/Paul Murray, Justin Hackett/Martin Taylor, Raymond Semp/Alan Mould.  Justin and Martin did very well and were the top pair overall on the cross imps.

In the B division Manchester were seventh of nine teams.  The team was Eddie Thornton-Chan/Tony Hodgson, Andy Green/Stephen Ward, Irene Davies/Karen Reissmann, Janet Tolan/Peter Grauer.  Irene/Karen and Eddie/Tony were positive on the cross imps.

In the C division Manchester again finished seventh.  The team was Gordon Bickley/Ann Farquhar, Richard Acaster/Gil Fletcher, Liz & Stephen Halstead, Steve Mattinson/Pauline Lang.  Gil and Richard were our best pair on cross imps finishing fourth overall.

Detailed results are on Adam Wiseberg's site.

MCBA AGM

The Annual General Meeting of the association took place on Thursday 29th June.  Adam Wiseberg has resigned as leage secretary, Royce Alexander will run the league next year (the second time that he has taken on this role).  Eve Lighthill has retired as President after many years, Kevin Comrie is now president.  The proposed new constitution was not approved.

The minutes of the AGM can be accessed via the documents page.

Raymond Semp 90th

A Happy Birthday to Raymond who was 90 on Monday 26th June.  Raymond has been playing bridge in Manchester since the 1950s with numerous successes at both National and County level over the years.  He is in excellent health and has unbounded energy, having been to Montenegro and Jersey to play in congresses earlier this year.  He is still playing at a high standard and we wish him many more years of good health and happiness. Family and friends celebrated with him at a splendid lunch on Sunday 25th June.

National Inter County League Finals

Manchester A finished third of five teams in the A division of the Inter County Leagues Final held online on Sunday 18th June.  The team was Raymond Semp/Gary Hyett, Joy & Irving Blakey, Phil Taylor/Josh Clarke, Kath Nelson/Rhona Goldenfield.  Gary and Raymond were our best pair on the cross imps.

In the B division Manchester finished second .  The team was Mike Hart/Pearl Fielding, Tony Hodgson/Eddie Thornton-Chan, Irene Davies/Karen Reissmann, Pauline Lang/Steve Mattinson, with Eddie and Tony and Mike and Pearl doing well in the cross imp rankings.

Manchester had qualified for the finals as a result of winning the A and B divisions of the Northern League last year.

Results are here.

Garden Cities Final

The Manchester Bridge Club team of Ed Levy/Mike Goldsmith, Catherine Draper/Paul Murray, Rhona Goldenfield/John Hassett, David Sarabowski/Tom Dessain finished third equal in the inter-clubs teams of eight at Coventry on 17th June.  Best pair on the cross-imps were Ed and Mike.  Results are on the EBU web site.

European Open Championship

The European Open took place in Strasbourg from 3rd to 17th June.  In the Mixed Swiss event Michael Byrne played in the Knottenbelt team.  They  qualified for the knockout phase in fourth place, but were eliminated in the round of 32.  In the Open Board a Match event the Knottenbelt team finished fourth of twenty-four teams.

Results are here.

MCBA/Larkhill Charity Event

32 pairs entered this event on Sunday 11th June in aid of the Trussell Trust at the Larkhill Centre in Timperley.

Winners were Phillip Taylor and Peter Grauer just ahead of Susan Triggs and Graham Winn with Irene Davies and Karen Reissman in third place.

Results are on the Larkhill Club web site.

Approximately £600 was raised for the Trussell Trust.

Thanks to Larkhill member Terry Dwyer who is 101 this week and who donated £101 to the club, some of which was used for prizes and some for a donation to the Trussell Trust.

Thanks also to Susan Triggs, Anne Richardson, Pat and Bernard Shea for organising the event and to Nicholas Greer for directing.

John Holland with winners Peter Grauer and Phillip Taylor	Second Susan Triggs and Graham Winn
Third Irene Davies and Karen Reissmann	Raffle prize winner Barbara Eastabrook

Pachabo

The EBU's inter county team of four competition was played on RealBridge June 10-11th.  The Manchester team of Catherine Draper, Andrew Woodcock, Jeff Morris and John Hassett (who qualified as our representatives by winning the Goldstone) finished third behind Gloucester and Suffolk.  During the last few rounds the lead changed between these three teams many times.  However, in the last match Gloucester beat Yorkshire heavily, while Manchester lost narrowly to Cornwall.  Manchester have a very good record in this competition, in the last nine events they have won four times, come second three times and have finished third and fifth on the other two occasions.

Final League Tables and PotY

Follow the links on the league page to see the results and standings.

The league finished at the end of May.  Assigned scores for the few matches not played have been entered now.

In the first division last year's winners Inverted Minors have won, congratulations to David Barton, Rhona Goldenfield, Joy and Irving Blakey with appearances by Jeff Smith and Leslie Klein, second were Muppets (John Roberts, Peter Foster, John Currie and Royce Alexander).  In division two Michael Byrne's St Titus won, with Phil Taylor's Silver and Black finishing in second place.  In division three Ashton Aces won ahead of lastminute.bid.  In division four Rubber Soul (Howard Rosemarine) have won with Hale Hearts second.  Finally in division five The Enigmas have won with Biddable Overtricks second.  Congratulations to all these teams.

The Player of the Year competition for 2022-23 is now complete, with Rodney Lighton winning the Expert category.  In the non-expert category joint winners were Barbara Eastabrook and Karen Jones.

Olivia Hackett

Olivia Hackett died in April, there is an obituary on the Manchester Bridge Club site.

A well attended funeral was held on June 6th at Southern Cemetery followed by a wake at the Great Kathmandu.

John Armstrong Trophy

Congratulations to Joyce White who won the Mersey Swiss Pairs on 19th May playing with Babs Matthews of Cumbria.  John Roberts and Peter Foster were second.  Results are on the Mersey web site.

Garden Cities

Congratulations to the Manchester Bridge Club team who finished second in the Northern Regional Final of the inter club teams of eight.  They qualify for the National Final in June.  The team was Andrew Woodcock/Catherine Draper, John Hassett/Rhona Goldenfield, David Sarabowski/Tom Dessain, Paul Hackett/Paul Murray.  Results are on the EBU web site.

Goldstone Final

The final of the county knock out competition was held on Thursday 11th May at Manchester Bridge Club.  Congratulations to John Hassett's team (Jeff Morris, Catherine Draper, Andrew Woodcock) who beat Michael Byrne's team (John Holland, Alan Mould, Gary Hyett, Rodney Lighton) by 10 imps.  They thus qualify to represent Manchester in the Pachabo Cup.

Thanks to Manchester Bridge Club for hosting the match.

Jersey Festival

Raymond Semp and John Holland have been in action abroad again, they won the Swiss Teams and the Senior Pairs in Jersey.  Results are on the EBU web site.

NICKO

Bramhall and Cheadle Hulme D (Michael Byrne, Gary Hyett, Alec Smalley, Tom Slater, John Holland, Rodney Lighton) are through to the quarter-finals of the National Inter Club Knockout having beaten Sheffield A by 17 imps at Spondon on 4th May.  Michael, Gary and John are the current holders of the delayed 2020-21 NICKO.

Schapiro Spring Fours

In the double elimination event at Bristol over the bank holiday weekend, the best result achieved by Manchester players was reaching the quarter finals by John Holland and Alan Mould playing in the Penfold team.  Results are on the EBU web site.

Higson Cup and Plate

The Higson Cup and Plate events were held on 23rd April at Bramhall.  There were five teams in each final with handicapping based on NGS rating being applied to the results.

In the Cup event St Titus won with Phillip Taylor ably playing as a late replacement for John Holland.  The rest of the team was Rodney Lighton, Alan Mould and Gary Hyett.  At half time Rubber Soul (Howard Rosemarine's team) were slightly ahead of St Titus helped by a win in their individual match, but a huge second half from St Titus including a big win against Rubber Soul saw them home.

In the Plate event Night Owls (Ann Thornton, Pauline Lang, Gil Fletcher and Richard Acaster) won in a close finish just ahead of The Sandbaggers (Julia Bannister, Joyce White, Gilbert Lee, Fly Leung).

Click here for Cup VP table and here for Higson Plate VP table.

The Player of the Year scores have been updated, Rodney Lighton in the expert category and Barbara Eastabrook and Karen Jones in the non-expert category have extended their leads.

Thanks to Paul Beckwith for organising and Stuart Davies for directing.

Gary Hyett, Rodney Lighton, Alan Mould and Phillip Taylor

Gil Fletcher, Ann Thornton and Richard Acaster

EBU Montenegro Congress

Congratulations to John Holland and Raymond Semp who won the Swiss Pairs at the EBU's Montenegro congress on 16-17th April.  They also won the pairs event on the 19th April.  Results are on the EBU web site.

Chair's Letter

Click here for a letter from the MCBA chair, Irene Davies.

Easter Festivals

Congratulations to Michael Byrne who won the Championship Pairs in London on 7-8th April playing with his international partner, Kieran Dyke.  They were leading overnight on Friday but dropped several places on Saturday afternoon, recovering in the final session on Saturday to win by a small margin.  Results are on the EBU web site.

Meanwhile in the Northern event at Harrogate Tony Hodgson and Eddie Thornton-Chan did well to finish second.  Results are on the YCBA web site under Pianola listed results.

Richard Bowdery

We are sorry to hear of the untimely death of Richard Bowdery, at the end of March.  Richard was a member of Tracy Sherman's league team for a couple of seasons when he was working in Manchester circa 2005.  Click here for an obituary on the Berks and Bucks web site and here for a tribute on the Manchester Bridge Club website.

Hubert Phillips

Martin Taylor's team of Martin with Jason, Justin and Barabara Hackett have reached the final of the Hubert Phillips (mixed pivot teams).  Click here for a short report by Martin.

Regional Pairs

Congratulations to Eve Lighthill and David Sarabowski who finished first equal in the Manchester heat of the Northern Pairs and second overall in the Northern Regional Pairs on 26th March.  When all the regional pairs heats results were combined they finished seventh overall and thus qualify for the National Pairs Final to be held in April.

North Wales Congress

Congratulations to Michael Byrne who won the Swiss Pairs with Fiona Brown at Northop on Saturday 25th March.  In third place were Tony Hodgson and Eddie Thornton-Chan.  Results are on the North Wales web site.

Cumbria Congress

The Cumbria Congress was held face to face this year from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th March.  In the Ladies Pairs on Friday afternoon Joyce White won with Babs Matthews of Cumbria, congratulations to them. 

Results are here.

Spring Nationals

Michael Byrne was in New Orleans for the USA Spring Nationals playing in the Knottenbelt team with Kieran Dyke.  In the main knockout event, the Vanderbilt, they did very well to reach the quarter-finals, beating Bocchi in the round of 64 and Verhees/Van Prouin, Padon/Birman in the last 32. 

In the last 16 they beat the top seeds (Rosenthal) in an exciting match which was tied after 60 boards.  After eight extra boards they won by 2 imps.  They then lost in the quarter finals to a mainly Italian team.

Matches are being shown on BBO vugraph from 14.30 GMT.

Results are here.

Fred Bell

We are sorry to report the death of Fred Bell on 28th February aged 86.  Fred was a university lecturer, teaching and researching in metallurgy at UMIST.  Fred was, in his heyday, one of Manchester best players.  He formed an effective partnership with John Roberts, a fellow academic.  Together they won the Great Northern Swiss Pairs, the Life Master's Pair, the Premier Life Masters Pairs and the Silver Plate amongst others at National level.  In Manchester they won the league twice in the 1990s and the Higson Cup once in 1980.  Fred also won the Manchester Pairs in 1968 with his future wife, Judith.  Fred was a skilled dummy player, his ability to generate an extra trick from nowhere gained him many a good score in pairs events.  He was for several decades a member and regular attender at Bramhall Bridge Club.  He was also active in bridge administration, helping to run Bramhall for many years and also serving as match secretary for the county for a while.  He was always a courteous partner and opponent.

Sadly he was unable to play for many years before his death due to ill health.  Judith pre-deceased him.  They had no family, he is survived by a sister and several nieces and nephews.

Green Point Swiss Pairs

Manchester's Green Point pairs was held on 4th March at Altrincham.  Thirty pairs took part, with Stephen Lloyd and David Smith from Merseyside winning by overtaking Michael Byrne and Fiona Brown in the last round with a 20-0 win, while Michael and Fiona drew their last match.  In third place were Rhona Goldenfield and Kath Nelson.  Well done to leading non-expert pair George and Sally Leigh who finished in ninth place.

Thanks to Rhona Goldenfield, Joan Lewis and others for organising and to Stuart Davies for directing.

Results are on the Manchester Events website.

In the Player of the Year competition Rodney Lighton maintains a narrow lead over Andrew Woodcock, while Barbara Eastabrook and Karen Jones still lead the non-expert category.

Winners Stephen Lloyd and David Smith	Second Fiona Brown and Michael Byrne
Third Kath Nelson and Rhona Goldenfield	Non-expert pair George and Sally Leigh

Ranked Masters Pairs

Congratulations to Kath Nelson who won the Premier Grand Masters Pairs with Steve Auchterlonie of Kent on 25-26th February.  In the Grand Masters Pairs Manchester resident Tom Dessain (who will change his allegiance to Manchester soon) won with Tugrul Kaban of Hertfordshire.  Results and photos are on the EBU web site.

Cantor Cup

The Cantor Cup for beginners and inexperienced duplicate players was held on Sunday 26th February Manchester Bridge Club.

Fourteen pairs competed, with Chris and Tammy Lam winning with a fine score of nearly 69%.  Second were Anthony Harrison and Michael Donegan who graduated from the beginner's class at Manchester in December.  Third were Christine Richardson and Linda LiDavies.

Thanks to Nicholas Greer for directing, Susan Triggs and Anne Naylor for organising and to Manchester Bridge club for hosting.

Results and more photos are on the Manchester Bridge Club website.

Winners Tammy and Chris Lam with Paul Murray
Second Anthony Harrison and Michael Donegan	Third Linda LiDavies and Christine Richardson

Manchester Win Tollemache

The event took place on 18-19th February near Stratford upon Avon.  The Manchester team was John Holland, Alan Mould, Michael Byrne, John Hassett, Catherine Draper, Andrew Woodcock, Tom Slater and Alec Smalley.  Non-playing captain and reserve was Rhona Goldenfield.

After 36 years as a separate county Manchester have finally won the Tollemache after finishing second six times during this millennium. Congratulations to all four pairs who were all positive on the cross imps with Alan/John the best pair overall and Catherine/Andrew second.  They averaged nearly 15 VPs per match which is the best score for many years and won all their matches to win by a big margin from Middlesex.

Results are on the EBU web site.

Tom Slater, Alec Smalley, John Hassett, John Holland

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Junior Camrose and Peggy Bayer

The Junior Home Internationals were played in Manchester this year at the Cresta Court Hotel Altrincham from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th February. 

The events were both won by England teams.  Thanks to all the volunteers from Manchester who helped to make this a successful event and one that was enjoyed by spectators both at the venue and online.  Especial thanks to Joy Blakey (match manager) and Kevin and Celia Comrie who deputised for Joy when she was unable to attend the event due to illness.  Results are on the EBU web site.

Harrogate Spring Congress

Congratulations to Paul Morrell and Stephen Ward who finished third in the Swiss Pairs on 10-11th February.  68 pairs competed, results are here.

In the Swiss Teams on 12th February, John Holland, Jackie Pye, Rhona Goldenfield and Jeff Smith were fourth.

Gazette Trophy

There was a good turnout of nine teams for the inter club teams of eight at Bramhall on Sunday 5th February, with four teams from Manchester Bridge Club, three from Bramhall and two from Altrincham.  Congratulations to Manchester Bridge Club Andrew Woodcock, Catherine Draper, Rhona Goldenfield, John Hassett, Paul Murray, Paul Hackett, Tom Dessain and David Sarabowski who won on a split tie from Bramhall - John Holland, Gary Hyett, Raymond Semp, Michael Byrne, Royce Alexander, John Roberts, Alec Smalley and Tom Slater with Altrincham third.  The winners go on to represent Manchester in the regional finals of the EBU's Garden Cities event.  Thanks to Nicholas Greer for directing and to Alec Smalley and Adam Wiseberg for helping with the scoring.  Also to Michael Byrne for organising and helping with refreshments.  We are pleased to report that the player who was taken ill during the event is making a good recovery.

Full results are on the Manchester Events site.

Malton Swiss Pairs

Well done John Holland and Jackie Pye, Ann Thornton and Pauline Lang who finished second equal and fourth respectively in the online Blue Point pairs.  Results are here.

Chester Congress

The Chester Congress returned to face to face over the weekend of 28-29th January.  Manchester players were a fair proportion of those entering.  In the Swiss Teams Jackie Pye, John Holland, Rhona Goldenfield and Jeff Smith won just ahead of Stuart Shalom, Adam Wiseberg, Barbara Eastabrook and Karen Jones.  Results are on the Deva Club website.

Midland Counties Congress

Congratulations to Joyce White who with Babs Matthews of Cumbria won the Ladies' Pairs on Saturday 7th Jan.

Results are here.

Manchester Congress

Manchester's annual congress was held online on RealBridge on 7th-8th January 2023.

The Michelle Brunner Pairs event attracted a fair entry of 38 pairs from around the world, with entrants from Austria, Norway, Scotland and Wales.  Long time leaders Gilly Clench and Adrian Thomas from Wales were caught with two rounds to go by Rodney Lighton and Jovi Smederevac.  Jovi is from Austria, but was in Australia playing until four in the morning Adelaide time.  Alan Mould and Irene Davies reached second place with one round to go.  It turned out that the top two pairs played each other on the last round to make for an exciting finish.  Although Irene and Alan won the round marginally it wasn't enough to overtake Jovi and Rodney.

The Mixed Pairs title goes to Alan and Irene, the Men's Pairs to Andrew Woodcock and David Debbage who were fourth and the Ladies Pairs to Rhona Goldenfield and Marianne Farr.  Top non-experts (NGS J and under) were Haidee Tattersall and Anne Whitehead.

In the Kevin Comrie Cup for improving players held on Sunday eight pairs competed.

Congratulations to Lilian Syme and Judith Wainwright who won ahead of Tom Wilson and Dave Thomas.

The Bernard Goldenfield Teams event on Sunday was run as a 12 table all play all event.  Winners were Andrew Woodcock, Paul Murray, Catherine Draper and David Debbage, who led throughout to win ahead of Claire Robinson, Paul Barden, Stefano Tommasini and Imogen La Chapelle.

Player of the Year scores have been updated, Rodney Lighton leads the expert category, Barbara Eastabrook and Karen Jones the non-expert category.

Thanks to Adam Wiseberg for directing and to Barbara Lewis and others for organising.

Results are on the Manchester Events web site.

Click here for Michael Byrne's quiz.

And here for the quiz answers

Congratulations to the winners Harry Anoyrkatis and family who win a fabulous prize valued between £120 and £150.

The top two pairs at the end of the event. Clockwise from the left, Irene Davies, Jovi Smederevac, Alan Mould, Rodney Lighton	Ladies Pairs Winners Rhona Goldenfield and Marianne Farr
Norwegian World Champion Boye Brogeland who finished fifth with Espen Gisvold	Kevin Comrie Cup Winners Judith Wainwright and Lilian Syme Second Dave Thomas and Tom Wilcox
Teams winners Andrew Woodcock, Catherine Draper, Paul Murray and David Debbage