Latest News and Upcoming Events

Manchester GP Swiss Pairs

The annual Green Point Swiss Pairs was held at Altrincham on 28th February.  34 pairs participated.  Thanks to Daniel Kelsall for organising and to Jonathan Lilycrop for directing and to Joan Lewis and members of Atrincham Bridge Club for their help.

Congratulations to Nick Woodcock and Sue Fjortof from Preston who won by a fair margin remaining undefeated over their seven matches.  Second equal were Barbara Eastabrook and Karen Jones and David Sargent and Michael Byrne.  The non-expert first place prize went to Graham Burns and Anthony Lipson with Ann Thornton and Barbara Lewis second.

Detailed results can be found here.

In the Player of the Year competition John Hassett still leads in the expert category, but Rhona Goldenfield and Michael Byrne are closer now in second place.  In the non-expert category Ann Thornton now leads.

Sue Fjortoft (Gordon Bickley MCBA Chair) and Nick Woodcock

David Sargent, Michael Byrne, Barbara Eastabrook, Karen Jones

Ranked Master Pairs

Congratulations to Peter Foster who won the Premier Life Masters with John Liebeschuetz of Cambridge, played online 21-22nd February.

Cantor Cup

This annual event for beginners and improving novices was held at Bramhall on Sunday 22nd February.  Twenty-four pairs competed and had a fun afternoon.  Thanks to Rachel Hardcastle, Nita Shankar, Ann Thornton and others for organising and to Nicholas Greer for directing.

Winners were Jean Grylls and Susan Syder, with Joanna Powell and Caroline Cairns second and Usha Muragan and Anne Jerrold third.

Detailed results are on the Bramhall and Cheadle web site.

Winners Jean Grylls and Susan Syder with Ann Thornton (centre)	Second Joanna Powell and Caroline Cairns
Third Anne Jerrold and Usha Maragan	Cakes!

European Winter Transnational Championships - Michael Wins

In this event held in Prague from 10-19th February Michael Byrne's team (Knottenbelt) did wonderfully in the Open Teams.  Having qualified in the top 32 in the Swiss phase, they won two knockout matches to reach the quarter finals match on Sunday where they won narrowly.  They played their semi-final match on Monday against a top Polish team and won by a good margin.  The final was against the De Botton team.  After a tense match the Knottenbelt team emerged victorious by 6 imps.  Results are here

League, Higson and Goldstone Feb 11th

In the face to face league St Titus (Michael Byrne) have taken an early lead in division 1, in division 2 Win with a 2 (Paul Beckwith) have won their only match 30-0 to head the table.  In the online league division 1 Inverted Minors lead with four wins.  In division 2 Howard Rosemarine's Help are leading just ahead of City Aces.  In division Trafford Tigers have a good lead after winning three matches.  In the Newcomers league Phoenix lead in the A division and Fifty Shades of Play top the B division.  Follow the links under league for more detail.

n the Higson Cup New Connections and North Star have both qualified for the final.

In the Goldstone Inverted Minors and St Titus have reached the semi-final.

Gazette Trophy

The county's inter club teams of eight competition which qualifies for the EBU's Garden Cities event will be on Sunday March 15th at St. Peter's Altrincam starting at 11 am., two sessions.  Entry is £80 per team, prizes for winners and best non-expert team.

Entries to Irene Davies by e-mail.  Payment to MCBA 01-70-20 41526708.

Last updated 2nd Mar 2026.  Pages updated recently - News, County Honours, PotY

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 1999-2026.