Guernsey Congress
The EBU Guernsey Congress takes place from 14th-20th
September. In the senior pairs John Holland won with
Judi Lawson. In the multiple teams Raymond Semp and John
Hassett teamed up with Linda Stocks and Margaret Crangle and
finished second. Well done to all. Results are on
the EBU web site.
League, Higson and Goldstone 2026-7
Over the winter we now have separate Face-to-Face and Online
Leagues available to suit you preference. Please enter
whichever league is appropriate for your team. Teams or
some individual players might wish to play in both leagues,
but beware of the total number of matches that you might need
to arrange and play.
Manchester League - Matches
predominantly played Face-to-Face. Runs from October to
May. Registration by Oct 12th 2026 HERE
Manchester Online League - Matches
predominantly played Online (Default BBO). Runs from
October-May. Registration by October 12th 2026 HERE
Higson Cup & Plate - This
competition was changed at the 2026 AGM to remove the KO
stages and to remove the handicapping. The event will in
future be a one day Face-to-Face Multiple Teams Cup and Plate
event held on a Sunday next April at an MCBA club. The
Plate event will be restricted to teams up to Jack-high level.
Registration is no longer required at the same time as the
League but will be required by about March 25th 2027 HERE
Goldstone Trophy - This is the County's
major knock-out event and is Green Pointed. Early rounds
are 24 boards, then later rounds are 32 boards. Matches
are by default Face-to-Face unless both captains agree to play
online. Members with primary allegiance to another
county must not enter this event. Registration closes
when 16 teams have entered (or on October 19th) for 2026-7 HERE.
Newcomers League - Designed for new players who are new to
teams play and imp scoring and need a lot of support from
their teachers.
Division A (for Advanced) with about five years playing
experience playing 16 board matches.
Division B (for Beginners) with about two years playing
experience playing 12 board matches.
WiIl start maybe in November. Registration and Advice
via your teachers in your local clubs
Northern Bridge League
In the third round of matches on Sat 12th September the A
team were second on the day and moved into second place
overall, although a long way behind Yorkshire. The team
was David Barton/Robert Ferrari, Kath Nelson/John Stell, Royce
Alexander/Daniel Kelsall, Eddie Thornton-Chan/Ray Ashleigh
with John and Kath and Royce and Daniel doing well on cross
imps.
The B team of Andy Brocklehurst/David Sarabowski, Raymond
Semp/Espen Gisvold, Chris Barnard/Mike Ardron, Karen
Reissmann/Irene Davies were third on the day but
retained their overall lead in the division. Mike and
Chris were our best pair on cross imps.
In the C division congratulations to Gil Fletcher/Richard
Acaster, Graham Currie/Tony Hodgson, Karen
Jones/Barbara Eastabrook, Ann Thornton/Barbara Lewis who won
on the day and moved up to top place. Karen and Barbara
headed the cross imp ranking.
The teams for Sat 17th Oct: David Barton/Robert Ferrari, Andy
Brocklehurst/David Sarabowski, Raymond Semp/Espen Gisvold,
Karen Jones/Barbara Eastabrook, Gil Fletcher/Richard Acaster,
Eddie Thornton-Chan/Tony Hodgson, Royce Alexander/Peter
Foster, Ann Thornton/Chris Hine, Rhona Goldenfield/Kath
Nelson, Joy Blakey/Irving Blakey, Roger Hopton/David Fussell,
Andy Burnett/Alan Tranter.
Premier League
The EBU's Premier League competition starts with the first
weekend on 12-13th Sept. There are three divisions
playing over three weekends in the autumn. The winners
and runners up will represent England in the Camrose Trophy
later in the season. Manchester players participating
are John Holland and Alan Mould in the Senior team and Justin
Hackett in the Mossop team in the first division, Michael
Byrne in the Knottenbelt team in the second division, Jeff
Morris and John Hassett in the Morris team and Alec Smalley
and Tom Slater in the Tuus team in the third division.
Results will be on the EBU web site and some matches will be
shown on BBO vugraph.
World Bridge Series
The 17th World Bridge Series took place in Katowice, Poland
from 20th Aug to 3rd Sept. Manchester players
participating included Michael Byrne in the Knottenbelt team
in the Open teams and John Holland and Alan Mould in the
Mossop team in the Senior Teams. The event web site is here.
The Mossop team did well to reach the knock-out phase, but
lost in the quarter finals. They then went on to win a
bronze medal in the board a match event.
Michael's team reached the KO phase of 64 teams after
qualifying 8th in the Swiss Teams. They won the round of
64 match, but were narrowly defeated in the round of 32.
EBU Northern Midweek Congress
Congratulations to Catherine Draper who won the Swiss Pairs
with Andrew Petrie and Martin Taylor and Justin Hackett who
won the Swiss Teams with James Thrower and John Troiano at
Harrogate on 26-27th August. Full results are on the EBU
web site.
Martin reports this post-mortem.
Teammates: We had a terrible board, they opened three
diamonds which went round to partner who bid three hearts, I
was well stopped in diamonds so bid three notrumps. They
cashed the first seven clubs for -250.
Us: We have you covered. We
opened two diamonds, partner responded three clubs, South came
in with three hearts and we also played three notrumps. +630
and 9 imps. Good sacrifice.
Last
updated 17th Sep 2026.
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