St Peter's Church Hall, Cecil Road, Hale, Altrincham.

We play duplicate bridge 2 nights a week Tuesday & Thursday, starting at 19.30 promptly

Guests are welcome with a partner. Tea and coffee included.  
 

Table money payment is by voucher, purchased at 3 for £10 (notes only please) - ie cost per session £3.33

With effect from 1st February 2023, table money for visitors will increase to £5 (notes only please)

Onsite car parking and level access to playing area available.

The latest club annual dinner, again held at Ringway Golf Club was a great success with 32 pairs taking part in the bridge after an excellent meal served by the Ringway staff.

Congratulations to the winners Julia Bannister and Judith Dunkerley who had never played together before - following on the tradition of last year's winners John Fitzgerald and Stuart Shalom who also partnered each other for the first time! Runners up were Sylvia Dixon and Jan Ravenscroft - well done to them too.

Huge thanks to those who put in an enormous amount of work to make the event so enjoyable - especially Stephen and Liz, Joan for all the behind the scenes admin, and Pat for the flowers.

We were particularly pleased to welcome a few from our Wednesday supervised play sessions and to see some old faces who we hope to see returning to club duplicates.

We are very sorry to report the death of Bhim Ruia.

Bhim was always smiling and friendly to everyone.

At the bridge table he was always considerate and welcoming to his opponents.

What is probably not so well known about Bhim is that in his younger days, along with his brother Govind, he played bridge at the highest level reaching the finals of several national events.

Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.

Ten pairs of regular club players travelled to Bramhall on the evening of Wednesday 11th September to play a friendly teams match.

This was part of the EBU Bridge it's a Big Deal festival aimed at raising awareness of the game along with collecting funds for Cancer Research UK.

Altrincham did well to beat a strong Bramhall team - an enjoyable social evening and a match which we hope to return at some point!

Congratulations and warm wishes from everyone at the club to Gail Jones and David Ginger on their marriage.  

Well done to all of the following members - please let us know if we've missed anything!

Gail & Melanie who won the Kevin Comrie trophy and Haidee who won the non expert pairs prize at the Manchester Congress

Kath who won the pairs at the Chester Congress and was very close second in a subsequent Lancashire event

Alec who was part of the Manchester team who won the Tollemache cup for the second year and was runner up in the Richard Bowdery Swiss Pairs

Both teams who took part in the inter club Gazette Cup -
      Stuart & Bob, Gil & Richard, Stuart & Kath, Roger & Dave
      Karen & Barbara, George & Sally, Anne & Ann, Gail & Melanie

Anne & Ann who were 2nd non-experts in the MCBA green point pairs event

Sally & George and Janet & Peter who finished in the top 50 of the National Pairs regional final to qualify for the national final

Roger & Irene who were 3rd placed in the main pairs event at the Northern Easter Festival

The Four Dummies (Karen, Barbara, Judy and Lilian) who won the Manchester League Division 3

Karen and Barbara MCBA non-expert players of the year

Gil & Richard, Ann & Karen and Judith & Sally who played in the national final for the Manchester C team

Margaret & Judith and Roy & Suzanne who played in the Manchester v Lancashire friendly match

And finally - Irene who recently stood down as MCBA Chair after many years of service - many thanks to her for all her hard work!!

,

Our July News Letter is available Here

The last Wednesday afternoon supervised play before the summer break was celebrated with a bit of cake and a presentation to Joan in recognition of her huge efforts in running these sessions.

Hopefully these will continue to translate into participants becoming club members and playing regularly in our evening duplicates.

Thanks also to all the other volunteer mentors (2 Stephens, Sally, Karen, David, Barbara, Howard, Ann, Ken, Andy and George)who have helped over recent months.

Tuesday 30th July is designated as our next social duplicate - aimed at easing new people into a friendly evening - and supervised play will resume on Wednesday 18th September. 

This year the trophy has been awarded posthumously to Ian Kane to reflect his very valuable contribution to the club's success, particularly in the coaching and mentoring of less experienced players.


The trophy was presented to Barbara Eastabrook (his most regular partner in his latter years) on behalf of Ian, representing all who benefitted from his wisdom and friendship over many years.

The Commemorative Plate, the handicap event for ABC members, aiming for a level playing field for all participants, was held on Tuesday 12th March .

In contention on the night were Melanie Foster and Gail Jones, and Joan Birchall and Margaret Hopkins.

 However after a competitive evening Karen Jones and Richard Acaster were deserving winners.

Congratulations to them.

Of the 38 pairs taking part in this competition on Saturday 2nd March 10 pairs included ABC members.

Of these the best performing in a very strong field were Richard Acaster and Gil Fletcher who finished 5th equal.

Ann Edwards and Anne Jordan also had a very good day winning the prize for 2nd non-expert pair.

Congratulations to them all!

Congratulations to Gail Jones and Melanie Foster who won then the Kevin Comrie Cup at the Manchester Congress on Sunday 7th January.

Several other ABC pairs entered and also performed well - well done to all of them!

The January News Letter is available to view Here

Congratulations to John Fitzgerald and Stuart Shalom - playing together for the first time - who won the Terry Wild cup at the club's annual dinner.

Well done also to Richard Acaster and David Olliver who were 2nd placed overall.

Before the bridge upwards of fifty of us enjoyed a convivial evening of drinks and an excellent dinner at Ringway Golf Club.

Many thanks to the usual suspects for all their efforts in making this happen!

We are very 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 many trophies and played at Altrincham in his later years.

He assisted in the original coaching sessions led by Ian Kane.

Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.

We are very sorry to report the death of Tricia Blum - she died peacefully on Friday 8th September in a hospice, surrounded by her family.

Tricia and her family settled in the Manchester area in 2013. She first played bridge at Manchester Bridge Club, joining Altrincham later.
She loved her bridge and enjoyed club sessions as well as playing in the league and representing her clubs and county.

Before arriving in Manchester Tricia and her family spent many years in Germany, having previously lived and worked in both the United States and Switzerland. 
All her family are multilingual, and she had friends spread across many countries in Europe and further afield.

Tricia was a very gentle and loyal person, who loved family times and social events.

We send our condolences to her family and friends.

Congratulations to the following members (please let us know if we've missed anyone out!!)

And please everyone be encouraged to enter events such as these. Information can be found on the MCBA County website calendar

Lilian and Judith who won the Kevin Comrie cup in the Manchester Congress

Barbara, Karen, Adam and Stuart whose team came second at the Chester Congress

Our teams who performed so well in the Gazette Cup -

finishing 3rd (Kath, Adam, Roger, Dave, Gil, Richard, Bob and Stuart)

and 5th (Sally, George, Karen, Barbara, Bob, Ian, Andy and Viv)

Kath who won the Premier Grand Masters Pairs with a partner from Kent

Sally and George who won the non-expert prize in the MCBA Green point Pairs

Alec who was a member of the Manchester team who won the prestigious Tollemache Cup

 Faye and Sanjeet who won the Commemorative plate, the club’s handicap competition

Members who played in teams promoted in the Manchester Bridge League;

Lastminute.bid : Sally, Judith, Liz and Stephen

 Hale Hearts: Stephen and Terry

Enigmas: Sylvia and Jan

Biddable Overtricks: Faye and Sanjeet

In the Higson Cup Gary was a member of the St Titus winning team. In the Plate event Ann, Richard and Gil's team Night Owls won just ahead of Julia, Gilbert and Fly (Sandbaggers)

Barbara and Karen won MCBA non expert players of the year

Stuart and Barbara won the Yorkshire on-line mixed pairs

Roger and Dave were members of the Manchester team who were runners up in the President's Cup

Richard, Gil, Karen and Barbara won the non-expert prize in the MCBA Green Point Teams competition

In the Northern Bridge League:-

- in July Gil and Richard came 4th in the X-imps for the Manchester C team.

- in August Karen and Richard, along with Gil and partner, did well in assisting the Manchester C team to a good win

- in September Kath (top on X-imps) and Gary, with respective partners, were part of the winning A team, while Barbara and Karen, plus Gil and Richard, contributed well to the C team's 4th place

Karen and Barbara won the Lancashire Jack high pairs, were runners up in the same event at the EBU Northern Congress at Harrogate and were 5th in the teams event there.

And away from playing at the bridge table -

Joan was awarded the Brenda Williams Spring trophy for valuable contributions to the success of Altrincham Bridge Club. Thanks as always to her for all the time and effort she devotes to club life.

Well done to Melanie and Suzanne who have qualified as directors and are now regulars on the rota.

We are very sad to report the sudden death of Roger Ayre on Sunday 13 August.
Roger was a long standing member of the club playing regularly for many years with his good friend Jean Ramsbottom and occasionally with others.
A good humoured and friendly opponent, he also played at Bowdon bridge club in recent years.
Outside of the bridge world he had many interests and was an active member of the local U3A organisation.
He led the board games group and was also involved in the wine and beer tasting groups.

Our condolences to his family and friends.

We are very sad to report the death of Ian Kane. Ian was a very long standing and popular member of Altrincham Bridge Club in its many incarnations. He contributed to club life in many ways, most notably in his regular coaching of club members, all of whom are hugely appreciative of his time and efforts.

He played bridge to a very high standard, partnering many top Manchester players over the years. In later years he formed a successful partnership with Ken Hassell - another much missed ABC member - winning numerous EBU SIM pairs events as well as the MCBA Swiss Pairs, their last major competition together. Ian also played with Ken and others in the top tiers of the MCBA League and represented Manchester many times in the Northern Bridge League.

He had a successful career firstly in teaching and later teacher training finishing his full time career as Principal of Manchester Met school of education. He continued consultancy work post retirement and had links going back several decades with a university in Oregon making annual trips there until 2017.

His interests away from the bridge table were wide ranging including sport - in particular Manchester United and cricket, gardening, hiking (before his knees gave out), current affairs (particularly American politics), opera and crime fiction.

He was a true gentleman at the bridge table and will be greatly missed in the bridge world. Our condolences to his family and friends.

Is available Here to view

Is available Here to view

 

Annual subscriptions of £20 are due on 1st January .

By Bank Transfer : A/C No. 23243155 / Sort code 51 61 11 / Altrincham Bridge Club

OR by cheque to Joan, Margaret or Stephen at the club or by post to Mrs M Harris, 4 Colebrook Road, Timperley Altrincham, Cheshire WA15 6NP

In all instances please quote your club number.

Don't forget we are re-starting our Wednesday afternoon sessions next week with supervised play aimed at members and visitors who are looking to improve their bidding and play.

So do come along and play some boards - with or without a partner - help from experienced players will be available to guide you through.

Cost is the same as our evening schedules - £10 for 3 vouchers (notes only please) to include tea and coffee ie cost per session £3.33.

Any queries please contact Joan at joan.lewis@sky.com or 07952010716

Happy 90th birthday Lindsey.

Pat made him a celebration cake which was presented to him last week.

Happily attendance on both Tuesday and Thursday evenings has recently been approaching 10 tables and we've welcomed many recently returning members, as well as several new faces from other local clubs.

However we know that some have found themselves without a regular partner and we want to make it easier for those members to find someone to play with.

Barbara Eastabrook is keeping a register of contact details for those who are happy to share them, so that they can directly contact others on the list by whatever is their preferred means.

So if you would like to be included on this list - which will only be shared among those who are on it - then please email Barbara at eastabrook1@btopenworld.com with your email address and telephone contact details and night(s) preferred. You may wish to indicate your preferred method of communication.

We hope that in the longer term we may be able to re-introduce the hosting system on one of our club nights.

Hoping to see many more of you returning to F2F bridge over the coming months.

ABC Committee

Congratulations to Barbara Eastabrook who has won the award as MCBA Intermediate Player of the year.

We are very sorry to announce the death of Ruth Fink who has passed away following a long illness.

Ruth had been a member of the club for many years playing regularly before the pandemic.

She was generous spirited , always willing to give a helping hand and was very supportive of the club.

Our thoughts are with Geoffrey and his family at this sad time.

Many members have enjoyed face to face bridge at the club over the last few months but many others have stayed away so far. We hope to tempt people back with a social event in May and get more of you back into the habit of seeing old friends at Cecil Road. We will continue our Wednesday on line sessions for the time being but hope also to achieve at least two F2F evenings a week with numbers to make this viable long term.

More details to follow but please save the date of Tuesday 10th May 7.00pm for food and drink followed by friendly bridge. Come as a pair if you can but there will be a host so you will definitely get a game.

We look forward to welcoming you back to the club and seeing some old faces again!

ABC Committee

The family of Brenda Williams have very kindly donated a wonderful trophy in her memory to the club member who has made valuable contributions to the success of Altrincham Bridge club. Your committee consider that the inaugural award should be made posthumously to Roger Richardson who was an unsung hero in  terms of the number of roles he did for the club; committee member , membership secretary, scoring , dealing and banking and who provided a lesson to us all in how to behave at the bridge table.

An announcement will be made at our duplicate evening on Thursday 10th March the day following what would have been Brenda’s birthday.

We are pleased to announce that we will provide hot drinks from Tuesday 8^th February onwards.

The Church have confirmed that we can use the kitchen but that we should ‘leave it as we find it’. We will accordingly run this as a trial to ensure that we can act within the Church’s wishes.

We therefore ask that you bring and take home your own cup. For those who choose not to do that we will provide disposable  cups, as there will be no washing up facility.

The price of a ticket will increase to £3.33 . £10 for 3.

Existing vouchers will be accepted until only the new vouchers are in circulation.

Otherwise our precautions remain the same and we ask that you stay vigilant.

We are sad to announce the death of Bill Thorburn , from a none Covid related illness. 

Bill was a regular player pre- pandemic, sometimes turning up in his bike leathers, and was a great supporter of the host system.

 Our thoughts are with his family.

Huge congratulations to Richard Acaster and Gil Fletcher who won the Scottish Bridge Union Swiss Pairs event on Saturday 11th December.

They won by a good margin in a strong field - this must go down as the biggest win by ABC club members in many a year.

Well done them and here's hoping for more success for our members in 2022!

We are very sorry to report the sad death of Roger Richardson, who passed away on Friday.

The funeral will be held on Friday 3rd December at  Altrincham Crematorium at 3-15 pm.

A very pleasant and thoughtful person, he always greeted you with a smile at the table.
 

He did so much for the club over a number of years; Committee member, membership secretary, scoring, looking after the dealing machine and banking the money.
 

A university professor, his other interests through u3a included canasta and photography, which he particularly enjoyed on the ocean cruises he liked to go on each summer. 
 

Our thoughts are with his family. 
 

He will be sadly missed.

Dear All,
 

We hope that you and your families are well.

We have been advised that the Church Hall is not re-opening until early September. ABC will consequently re-open on Tuesday 7th September.

Informal discussions with members have indicated that there is no clear consensus as to whether we return to face to face (F2F) bridge or remain online, at least in part.

We therefore propose the following;

Tuesday evenings   return to F2F

Wednesday evenings    remain online

Thursday evenings   return to F2F

The Church continues to be very supportive and, initially at least, will only charge us when we use the Hall, as we ‘test the water’

We and the Church will apply the Covid protocols and guidelines which are appropriate at the time. This will include all the cleaning requirements, the number of tables that can be accommodated and also whether we continue to provide refreshments. We trust that by September the vast majority of our members will have been ‘double jabbed’ and for obvious reasons, no-one showing Covid symptoms or common cold symptoms should attend.

We are reviewing the position with regards to annual subscriptions and table money. We intend to keep the Host system.

We appreciate that the above is not definitive but the Covid position is very fluid and we will deal with the situation as it is at the time of our re-opening.

We would like to hear your views on the above. Please let us know what you think by replying to this email or by ringing Stephen on 980 4433.

We look forward to seeing you in September.

The ABC Committee

July 2021

We run weekly online tournaments on BBO at 7:30pm each Wednesday

In order to be able to enter you will need to complete the registration form below and submit it

If you want to play with a guest they will be welcome to play with you

Please fill in their name in the same form otherwise they will be blocked from the tournament

You will need to have BB$ in your account and the ost will be 3BB$ per player

We look forward to seeing you playing in these events.

For more detailed guidance please check out 'Instructions for Entering Tournaments' in the Menu on the left

It is with much regret that we announce the unexpected death of Mike Asher, who was a long-standing member of Altrincham BC,

Having been a member at the preceding Sale & Altrincham BC and well known in the wider bridge playing community.

Although ill health had sadly reduced his involvement on occasion in recent years,

He enjoyed playing in our re-opening night last week and was looking forward to returning soon.

He and his wife had just returned from a much-delayed visit to the United States to see family, which they had enjoyed very much.

Our thoughts are with Dianne and his family at this sad time.

We are very sorry to learn of the death of Elizabeth Hyde (Liz) who passed away recently.

A long-standing club member, always ready to help others, she had been a local GP and a keen golfer.

Our condolences are with her family at this sad time.

We are sad to announce the passing of Don Monks.

Don played regularly at ABC in face to face times as well as at Stretford bridge club where he was Treasurer.

He died suddenly in hospital from non Covid related ailments.

We send our condolences to his friends and family.

St Peter's Church Hall, Cecil Road, Hale, Cheshire. 

WA15 9NU. Get directions - Click to see on Google Maps Near Altrincham. 
Click to see a Picture of the Hall

Table fees per person are £3.50 for members & £5.50 for guests.

Duplicate Bridge played 4 nights a week, Monday to Thursday. 7.30 until 10.30.

Please arrive no later than 7.20pm, to allow the director time to organise the movement.

Tea coffee and biscuits included. Ample onsite car parking with easy level access to playing area.

We hope that you are keeping well during these difficult times, and while face to face bridge is not an option we would like to encourage and facilitate the playing of on line bridge by our members. Quite a few of us already play some of our bridge on line and have found that BBO in particular has a lot to offer.

BBO

There are a some very helpful “idiots guides” to getting started on BBO including lots of information on the Manchester Online Events website linked below, where Adam has posted several very helpful YouTube videos and other information.  You can visit the site by clicking on bridgewebs.com/manchesterevents/

A link to all the videos is in the menu on the left hand side of this page.

An alternative source of info you may find useful in getting started is contained within Berwick Bridge Club website -

berwickbridgeclub.co.uk/bbo

Casual Play

The Acol Room on BBO is perhaps the best place to play socially if you are looking for people to play with as the other rooms tend to be dominated by alternative less familiar systems. If you have a ready made foursome then the Relaxed Bridge Club may suit you best. Most bridge on BBO is free of charge for informal play but many tournaments are now chargeable. 

If you would like to register your name and BBO alias with the club to enable you to identify and play on line with ABC friends and acquaintances then please email Barbara Eastabrook (eastabrook1@btinternet.com) who is keeping a list to be shared with anyone who opts in.

In recent weeks ABC has played weekly friendly inter club teams matches on Saturday mornings against other local clubs. Please let Barbara know if you would like to take part in these matches.

Competitive Play

EBU - For people who already know the ropes on BBO, the EBU is running several tournaments each day, details can be found on the EBU website

Online Bridge Games | English Bridge Union

MCBA - The MCBA runs on line duplicate sessions for local players most days, details of which can be found on the Manchester Events website. A combination of matchpoints, IMPs scored and Swiss format events take place most of which are available to all registered players. On Wednesdays the mornings are reserved for non-expert (except the last Wednesday of the month which is a charity event) and afternoons are limited to expert players. 

Manchester Online Events, Manchester

BSW - Stretford bridge club in combination with Brierfield and Warrington are also running regular duplicate sessions on BBO which welcome all players. Details are found on the Stretford website.

Stretford Bridge Club, Stretford, Manchester, M32 8BL

Bridge Club Live is an alternative platform for informal and organised play for which a subscription is payable. They hold numerous tournaments and drop in sessions to suit all requirements.

Bridge Club Live (BCL) - Online Bridge

FOBC A new wholly on-line club has recently been formed - the Friendly Online Bridge Club. This club is just getting off the ground but aims to offer teaching and mentoring as well as social play, details here

Friendly Online Bridge Club, Virtual World E4R TH1

Bridge Practice

As well as the opportunity to play with others on line we’d like to remind you of sites such as No Fear Bridge (which has an initial free period after which a subscription is payable). This is a good place for consolidating / practising bridge individually, and would be particularly suitable for our beginners and improvers groups. www.nofearbridge.co.uk

There is also Fun Bridge, another chargeable site allows you to practice with robots www.funbridge.com

Watch this space for information re any further developments. But meanwhile, see if whiling away a few hours of bridge on line will help get you through the day!

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Adrienne Stone, who was a long standing and popular member of ABC.

Always cheerful and positive, she will be greatly missed by our members.

Our condolences go to her family and friends.

The annual Manchester County main pairs event was held at ABC on Sunday 8th March with Joan making a major contribution to the organisation and directing - many thanks to her.

Not much luck for ABC pairs in the higher echelons of the event but very well done to Sally Bray & Judith Dunkerley who were runners up in the non-expert list, followed by Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook then Peter Green & Michael Wymer.

Sally and Judith are leading the field in the overall Intermediate Player of the Year competition, here's hoping they finish the year as overall winners - good luck to them!

ABC members are asked to be particularly vigilant regarding hygiene during the current period of concern about the virus, and to follow the advice widely available from numerous sources, particularly the importance of washing hands properly.

Please be extra aware of the need to stay away from the club with coughs and colds in case they should turn out to be of a more serious nature.

And in the unlikely event that anyone becomes infected please make the club aware of this.

BE CAREFUL - DONT PANIC!!

A reminder to all members - In order that the movement is set to enable a prompt start to play at 7.30 it is essential that all members arrive by 7.20 at the latest. 

Anyone arriving after this time risks being turned away at the Director's discretion.

If you are running unavoidably late but expect to arrive before 7.30 then please let your partner know.

I you wish to use the hosting system then you need to be present by 7.15. Otherwise there is insufficient time for appropriate pairing up and exchange of information.

The Commemorative Plate, the handicap event for ABC members, aiming for a level playing field to all participants, will be held on Wednesday 25th March as part of our ordinary duplicate play.

Please let Joan or Stephen know if you intend to play on that night so that handicaps can be calculated.

Late entrants can be catered for but notification in advance makes life much easier. Please support this event.

Congratulations to Geoffrey Fink & Stuart Shalom and Bernard Kaye & Sid Travers who were placed 8th and 21st respectively in the recent EBU Sim Pairs held at the club, both with excellent national scores of over 65%.

The latest newsletter to members has been emailed to members and can be accessed Here

Paper copies are also available at the club.

Very well done to Laurie Culledge & John Marshall, winners of this event in 2019, and to Lindsey Barnes & Jennie Birchall 2nd plus John Crawford & Brenda Shepherd 3rd.

All were presented with prizes of wine, kindly donated by John Fitzgerald.

Thanks to John for this and for the many prizes he gave in the Xmas raffles 

The winners of the club pairs competitions for last year are

Ladies Pairs

1st Karen Jones & Ann Thornton

2nd Barbara Eastabrook & Karen Jones

Mens Pairs

1st Andy Jackson & Nathan Marks

2nd Dave Fussell & Roger Hopton

Mixed Pairs

1st Barbara Eastabrook & Ian Kane

2nd Joan Lewis & Nathan Marks

Congratulations to them all. The club competitions will run again for 2020, no need to enter, all pairs playing 12 or more times over the year will qualify.

Many thanks to Carys Kemp and Melanie Foster who have been the most frequent hosts in the final quarter of 2019.

Their input is much appreciated and it would be great if more members volunteered for hosting duties, preferably doing so well in advance of time.

Please do your bit to keep this service alive!

Please remember the need for everyone to do a little bit to help at the end of each session. It's for everyone to ensure that Bridgemates/cases and boards are returned to the front, cups and glasses are returned to the kitchen and any litter is appropriately disposed of. Otherwise these tasks will be left to those who are directing/scoring/closing up, each of whom already makes a very significant contribution to the running of the club! 

A lovely dinner was enjoyed by 69 members (plus a very kind stand-in) at Ringway Golf Club on Thursday 21st November, followed by a fun evening of individual bridge. This was the fourth annual dinner since Ken Hassell resurrected them and he would have been delighted to know what a successful tradition it has become.

Sheila Wild presented the Terry Wild Trophy to the overall winner, Howard Kay. 2nd, 3rd and 4th prizes went to Liz Halstead, Margaret Harris and Anne Jordan respectively (pictures to follow) - congratulations to them all.

Thanks went to the Ringway staff who made everyone very welcome, Pat Turner and Liz Halstead for the beautiful room decorations and  to several members who were very helpful in setting up the bridge and welcoming the players. Flowers were given to Joan Lewis for organising the event.

Congratulations to Scott Middleton & Roy Saleh who were runners up in this competition held at ABC.

Very well done also to Melanie Foster & Gail Jones who were 6th.

Thirty pairs took part in a very enjoyable afternoon of bridge, directed by Joan and organised by Karen - many thanks to them!

At the recent club AGM a presentation was made to Lindsey Barnes to mark his retirement from directing.

Many thanks to Lindsey for his many years of service on the committee and as a director.

Many thanks to Bill Thorburn who took the prize - again - for being the most frequent host last quarter.

We are very grateful to him and all other volunteers - please do your bit to help this valuable element of club life to continue!

Congratulations to Daniel Kelsall & Stuart Shalom who won the category C prize in this two day event held in Leeds.

In the 4th and final match for 2019 Manchester teams, assisted by ABC members, performed well with the A1 and C1 teams winning their respective divisions and the B team 2nd placed. A2 finished 6th overall and C2 did well to take 3rd place on the day and 4th overall. Gary Hyett was a member of the winning A1 team, Kath & Alan Nelson played in A2 and Janet Tolan in B. The C1 team was mainly ABC members - Adam Wiseberg & Jonathan Engler, Richard Acaster & Gil Fletcher and Peter Green & Michael Wymer, plus Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook in C2.
 

The winning A1 and C1 teams will go through to represent Manchester in the National League Finals next summer. Congratulations to all involved.

We are very sorry to report the sudden death of Liz Taylor on Monday 23rd September.

She was a long standing regular player at ABC and will be greatly missed by many of us.

Condolences to her family and friends.

Many congratulations to Ian Kane, Howard Kay and Stuart Shalom who were part of the winning team (with Eve herself) at this competition at Manchester Bridge Club - a long awaited triumph for them, having been runners up on five previous occasions! 

In the third match of four there were eight ABC pairs taking part.

The Manchester first team (Kath & Alan Nelson) were 2nd and have taken the lead in division 1, with the A2 team (Mel Pelham & Rod Franks, Stuart Shalom & Daniel Kelsall) finishing in 6th place. In division two Manchester B (Roger Hopton & Dave Fussell) were 4th on the day and are in 2nd position overall well behind Yorkshire. In the C division Manchester 1 (Adam Wiseberg & Jonathan Engler, Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook) finished 3rd, slightly increasing their lead overall and the 2nd team (Andy Jackson & Nathan Marks, Sally Bray & Judith Dunkerley) were 7th. Kath & Alan, Roger & Dave and Andy & Nathan performed particularly well on the day.

Congratulations to them and to all who helped the Manchester teams to these strong positions. 

In the recent Simultaneous Pairs David Oliver & Gary Hyett, were 18th nationally, Bernard Kaye & Sid Travers 26th, Adam Wiseberg & Jonathan Engler 30th and Lindsey Barnes and his partner 37th, all with scores in the high 50s and beyond - well done to them all.

In the second of four of these matches ABC members again helped Manchester teams to strong positions.

In the A division (Kath & Alan Nelson) neither MCBA team had a great day but the first team is still in contention at this half way point.

The C teams finished equal 5th in their division with C1 (Ann Thornton & Rod Franks, Richard Acaster) still leading the division after last month's good start and C2 (Harold Weinstock, Tricia Blum, Vivienne Newgrosh) in 3rd place.

The B division match was held for the first time at ABC where Manchester B (Dave Fussell & Roger Hopton, Howard Kay) had a convincing win to reach 2nd place overall.

Their performance was no doubt helped by a sumptuous buffet sourced and served by Joan and her team of helpers, with a little help from M&S!

Very well done to all concerned!

Congratulations to Mariam & Mohammed Jabbar who were top placed at the club with a score of over 66%, and 35th nationally out of over 1100 pairs in the recent EBU Summer SIM Pairs.

ABC members helped each of the MCBA teams to a good start on the first day of this summer’s NBL.

In the C division Manchester C1 (Adam Wiseberg & Jonathan Engler, Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook) are leading with C2 (Liz & Stephen Halstead, Adele Hodari & Suzanne Beckett) third. In division two Manchester B (Rod Franks & Mel Pelham) are in second place.

And in the top league Manchester A1 (Kath & Alan Nelson ) are third and A2 (Steve Mattinson, Roger Hopton) are sixth.

Congratulations to them and good luck to the Manchester teams in the remaining three sessions.

As usual ABC was well represented in this annual friendly match, this time held at Cheadle Hulme Bridge Club. Manchester repeated their win of last year.

Well done to Joan Lewis & Roy Higginbottom, Nathan Marks & Andy Jackson, Adam Wiseberg & Ann Thornton and Tricia Blum, pictured here with the trophy and the rest of the team.

The taster event held on Wednesday was a great success and we are continuing with informal sessions for beginners over the summer, each Wednesday at 1.30 pm - all beginners will be very welcome.
 

If you have any friends, neighbours or family who may be interested please encourage them to attend!

There will also be lessons for beginners and improvers at the club from Wednesday 25th September.

More Info Here

Many thanks to Guy Turner and Bill Thorburn, joint top hosts for the last quarter, pictured here with their chosen gifts!

As always we are in desperate need of more people to volunteer for this valuable service so please do your bit to help make it work.

Six ABC pairs took part in this event held at the club on Sunday 23rd June.

Congratulations to Tricia Blum and Judy Yates who won with a magnificent score of over 70%!

And very well done too to Adrienne Stone and Mark Gomme who were fourth placed.

Thanks as always to Joan for directing, and to Barbara for organising.

The latest club newsletter has been emailed to members.

Paper copies are also available at the club and it can be accessed online here - June news Letter

This doesn't appear to be explicitly part of the EBU Code of Conduct but it is certainly common sense and appropriate behaviour!

Please do not come to the club if you are unwell with something which could be transmitted to other members.

It is better to let down your partner and miss an evening of bridge than to risk passing on some kind of lurgy to other members!! 

There seems to be some confusion among members regarding the requirement to use the STOP card when making a jump bid.

The purpose of this rule is to allow the next person due to bid adequate thinking time before bidding or passing.

Please note that although this is apparently not a requirement in the USA there are no plans by the EBU to abandon this rule at present. Unless and until there are changes in this country then please STOP failing to STOP when appropriate!! And please wait approximately 10 seconds before removing the STOP card.

The final coaching session before the summer break was held on Wednesday 29th May.

Ian Kane and Joan Lewis and their team of mentors (Ann Jordan, Mark Gomme, plus David Olliver and Howard Kay who were unable to attend) were presented with gifts and wine to thank them for their patience and many hours of time devoted to improving the bridge of the attendees.

Celebratory cakes were added to the usual mix of puzzles and supervised hands.

We look forward to resuming coaching in late September when Howard Kay will take over from Ian Kane in the lead role.

Many, many thanks to Ian for all the time and effort he has put in over the last few years. He will continue to attend the sessions in a supporting role. 

Any requests or suggestions relating to content or format are welcome and will be given due consideration!

Qualifying members (below Regional Master) are encouraged to enter this event aimed at regular club players.

In recent years several club members have been successful and many others have enjoyed a friendly afternoon of bridge!

More details and Entry Form.

As usual it was a year of mixed fortune for teams including ABC members.

Gary Hyett was a member of the division 1 champions St Titus, congratulations to him. And four other ABC teams are runners up in their divisions.

Very well done to Agamemnon (Kath & Alan Nelson) who were 2nd placed in division 1 and to DASH (Ian Kane, Howard Kay and Sid Travers) runners up in division 2, with Sedgely (Bernard Kaye & Michael Wymer) also promoted to division 1.  

Also successful are Lastminute.bid (Adam Wiseberg & Johnathan Engler, Sally Bray & Judith Dunkerley) promoted from 5 to 4 and Larkhill 1 (Suzanne Beckett & Adele Hodari) promoted from 7 to 6. 

Less fortunate are Rejuvenated, Altrincham Z, the Four Dummies and the Terrific Twos who are relegated from divisions 1, 3, 4 and 4 respectively.

Congratulations to all who have performed well in the league and better luck next year to those who didn’t! Special mentions to the teams of ABC members who have entered the league for the first time - Golden Girls, Bridget Bardots and Bridgenistas.

In the Expert category of this competition, which awards points for success in each of the MCBA events through the year, only Kath & Alan Nelson made it into the top 10 this year.

Well done to them, and in the Intermediate category Adam Wiseberg repeated his success of two years again, winning ahead of Sally Bray and Judith Dunkerley who were placed 3rd and 4th. Congratulations to all of them too!

New Connections, including ABC members Dave Fussell & Roger Hopton (plus Gillian McMullan & Neil Thomas) have reached the Goldstone Cup final by beating the elite team of Jeff Morris & John Hassett and Catherine Draper & Andrew Woodock - quite an achievement, many congratulations to them!

They meet Michael Byrne’s St Titus team in the final.

ABC was well represented in both events held at the club on Sunday 28th April.

Congratulations to the winners of the main event , Kath & Alan Nelson’s team Agamemnon.

And in the Plate competition the Four Dummies (Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook and Sue McGeechan & John Fitzgerald) were unable to make it three wins in a row but were runners up behind Monton Misfits.

Three teams in the Cup and four teams in the Plate included ABC members, well done to all who reached this final day.

And many thanks to Joan for directing and Adam for organising. 

Thanks very much indeed to Suzanne Beckett the top host for the last quarter.

Usual pleas for more people to come forward to support the system!

Members and guests enjoyed a very convivial evening of duplicate bridge, with cheese and wine being served.

Bhim Ruia and Jyoti Khemlani were clear winners on the night.

Very many thanks to Sally Bray for providing the food, Jean Ramsbottom for the wine and Avril Samuels for her assistance on the night.

Many congratulations to Liz & Stephen Halstead winners of the Commemorative Plate ahead of Olive Barlow & Bridget Hopkins and Joan Birchall & Margaret Hopkins in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

Well done to all who did well in this handicapped event and many thanks to Joan for the efficient and speedy calculation of the handicaps!

Following a recent incident when a member’s handbag was snatched from her car as she arrived at the club,

members are advised to be vigilant.

The matter was reported to the police and discussions are ongoing with St Peter’s regarding improving lighting in the car park. 

Not a huge amount of success this time for ABC pairs at this event held recently at the club, the exception being Adam Wiseberg & Jonathan Engler.

They finished a very creditable 7th in a strong field winning the prize of highest placed Intermediate Pair.

Congratulations to them and thanks to Joan who helped organise and direct.

This result puts Adam in the lead in the Intermediate Player of the Year competition just ahead of Sally Bray.

We are pleased to announce some success for ABC pairs in this event which is for relatively inexperienced players.

Suzanne and Roy Beckett were runners up and new members Sharon Buchalter and Juliette Rose were delighted to take third place.

Many congratulations to them!

As revealed by the Masterpoint reports recently published for 2018, congratulations to Joan Lewis who is again Club Champion having earned the most points at ABC last year, with Ian Kane and Nathan Marks 2nd and 3rd.

Well done to the ABC team (Nathan Marks & Andy Jackson and Ian Kane & Barbara Eastabrook) who, having unexpectedly beaten a strong Deva BC team, even more unexpectedly beat a similarly strong Cheadle team in the second round - by 1 IMP! They face the Hacketts in round 3!!

ABC teams were triumphant in the Gazette Cup, the MCBA inter-club teams of eight competition!
The first team (David Olliver & Stuart Shalom, Kath & Alan Nelson, Stuart Hunter & Bob James and Nathan Marks & Andrew Jackson) won the event ahead of strong Bramhall (including Richard Acaster) and Manchester Bridge Club teams. And the third team (Daniel Kelsall & Wei Che Tham, Liz & Stephen Halstead, Sally Bray & George Leigh and Mark Gomme & Adrienne Stone) won the Intermediate trophy, just behind the second team (Bernard Kaye & Michael Wymer, Anne Jordan & Geoffrey Hull, Mariam & Mohammed Jabbar and Barbara Eastabrook & Karen Jones)

Best performing pairs in each team were David Olliver & Stuart Shalom, Anne Jordan & Geoff Hull, and Sally Bray & George Leigh.

The overall win for ABC is a first for the club and our team will represent Manchester in the regional finals of the Garden Cities trophy.

Very well done and thanks to all who played, to Joan who directed the event and to organiser Ann Thornton.

Congratulations to Roger Hopton, playing with Gillian McMullan, 2nd overall in the Pairs event at the Deva Bridge Club.

And a special mention to Graham Campbell playing with a Deva partner, who took 3rd place in the qualifying event.

Huge congratulations to Joan Lewis and Nathan Marks who achieved 8th place nationally with a great score of over 66% in the recent SIM pairs held at the club.

Very well done to the winners of our 2018 club competitions who were:

Ladies Pairs:

1st Barbara Eastabrook and Karen Jones

2nd Carol Maman and Marion Lawson -Turner 

Men’s Pairs:

1st David Fussell and Roger Hopton 

2nd Andrew Jackson and Nathan Marks

Mixed Pairs:

1st Barbara Eastabrook and Ian Kane

2nd Jane Perrins and Stuart Hunter 

Stephen's latest communication which has been emailed to members can also be accessed here

We are vey sorry to report the death of Dan Donaldson on 7th January, after spending Christmas in hospital.

One of the original members of ABC, Dan was an enthusiastic supporter of the club.

His quiet but wicked sense of humour will be missed.

Our condolences go to his family.

Many congratulations to Pat Turner and Judith Eva who won the Kevin Comrie cup, the competition for non expert players at the recent congress.

And well done also to Suzanne and Roy Beckett who were fourth in the same event.

In the main pairs event Karen Jones and Barbara Eastabrook were top Intermediate pair, coming 23rd out of 64 pairs in a strong field .

Congratulations to them too.

Very well done to Kath and Alan Nelson who both won the mixed pairs and were runners up in the Swiss Teams at this EBU event.

Congratulations to Daniel Kelsall and Wei Che Tham who won one of the teams of four events with team-mates Rob Myers and Martin Stephens, and double congratulations to Daniel who with partner Josh Clarke was runner up in the Swiss Teams!

Congratulations to Peggy Haslam and Margaret Ward who won the June Caron Trophy for 2019 (having previously won it in 2017).

The event, which is not open to the top ranked players, takes account of Tuesday results over October and November, with the best four scores being averaged.

Well done also to second placed pair Lindsey Barnes and Jenny Birchall, who were in the lead until the very final scores were entered.

Photos to follow.  

75 club members enjoyed a lovely dinner at Ringway Golf Club on Thursday 22nd of November, followed by individual bridge. Prizes were awarded by Sheila Wild (in memory of Terry) to winners Susie Brody (N), Michelle Bovensiepen (S), Mike Asher (E) and overall winner Lindsey Barnes (W) and to quote Sheila “The whole evening took on a party atmosphere as soon as you entered the room….” This was the third annual dinner, since Ken Hassell resurrected them and he was also fondly remembered.

Thanks went to Liz Halstead for the beautiful decorations, son John and Judy Godwin who helped her and Stephen put up all the tables, plus the Ringway staff who made everyone very welcome. Flowers were presented to Joan Lewis for the organisation of both the dinner and the bridge event.

Winners at the 2018 Annual dinner at Ringway. Overall winner of the Terry Wild Trophy -Lindsey. Other winners Mike, Michelle and Susie
 

A selection of photos of guests at the dinner

Stephen presenting Joan Birchall with the hosting prize for the last quarter.

As explained at the AGM, table money is increased to £3.50 for members and £5.50 for visitors effective immediately.

Seven pairs including ABC members took part in this event held at the club on Sunday November 4th. Congratulations to Sally Bray and George Leigh who were runners up and thanks to Joan for directing an enjoyable afternoon of bridge.

The fourth and final matches of the 2018 series were held on Saturday 6th October.

The A1 team consolidated their position to win the division with A2 (including Kath & Alan Nelson and David Oliver & Richard Acaster) finishing 6th. The B team won convincingly to retain top spot well ahead of Yorkshire, and in the C division Manchester C1 ( Roger Hopton & David Fussell, Steve Mattison & Rod Franks) finished equal top with Yorkshire NW but Yorkshire won the division on a split tie.

Manchester C2 ( Harold Weinstock & partner, Daniel Kelsall & Wei Che Tham, Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook) were sixth on the day finishing seventh overall.

Congratulations to all of the Manchester teams and especially to those ABC members who took part in the four matches!

Several ABC pairs did well in the recent sim pairs. David Olliver & Richard Acaster were best performing at 19th position nationally, with Gary Hyett (playing with Tracy Capal), Liz Taylor & Angela Fontes, Mariam & Mohammed Jabber, and Alan Nelson & Sid Travers all in the top 50.

Well done to them all!

Congratulations to Kath & Alan Nelson who finished 4th in this event and to Daniel Kelsall & Wei Che Tham who were 13th overall and won the C category prize.

This is scheduled to take place on Tuesday October 31st at 6.45pm.

Papers have been emailed to members and hard copies are also available at the club for those requiring them.

Many thanks to Roger Richardson who was the most frequent host last quarter, winning a bottle of wine.

Please put your name on the list to host whenever you are able.

After the third day of the 2018 event Manchester teams top each of the A, B and C divisions. Manchester 1 (including Kath & Alan Nelson) are first in the A division.

The B team (without any ABC members this time) had a good win to jump to first place, and both C teams did well. C1 (Wei Che Tham) were second on the day and improved their overall lead at the top of the table, and C2 (Joan Lewis & Nathan Marks, Stephen & Liz Halstead, Ann Thornton & Peter Green and Vivienne Newgrosh) are just below half way in the division.

It’s a credit to the club that so many of our members have been involved in this success - well done all! The fourth and final stage of this event will be held on Saturday 6th October, with several ABC players scheduled to take part in each division.

Congratulations to Ian Kane and Barbara Eastabrook who won this event at Poulton-le-Fylde bridge club.

We are very sorry to report the sudden death of Helen Krell, a lovely lady who had been a member of ABC for almost 20 years

Her quietly cheerful interest and care for the other players at each table will be sadly missed. 

Our condolences go to Terry and the rest of her family.

In recent weeks several members have done well in competitions outside the club. On Sunday 9th September Daniel Kelsall and Wei Che Tham were runners up in the pairs at the Bolton congress. 

At the Cumbria & Westmoreland Congress over the weekend of 15th/16th September Kath & Alan Nelson (playing with the Goldenfields) were 3rd, and Bernard Kaye & Richard Cross (playing with Merseyside team-mates) were 4th in the Swiss teams.

In the Swiss pairs, Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook were 8th overall, winning the prize for top non expert pair.

Congratulations to them all!

In the second round of this summer’s Northern Bridge League, on Saturday 11th August, several ABC members contributed to a broadly successful day.

The A1 team increased their overall lead and A2 (Alan & Kath Nelson) won on the day to improve their position to 2nd.

The C1 team won again increasing their lead, and C2 (Sally Bray & Judith Dunkerley, Daniel Kelsall & Wei Che Tham, George Leigh) improved their placing. 

Well done to all who took part.

Several ABC pairs took part in this event on Sunday 5th August. Very well done to Ann Thornton (playing with Rod Franks) who came 2nd, Janet Tolan 4th (playing with

Andy Green) and Daniel Kelsall & Wei Che Tham 6th.

Congratulations to David Olliver & Marsha Gee, and Mohammed & Mariam Jabbar who were placed 34th= and 44th respectively in a field of over 1000 pairs in the heat held at the club on Monday 23rd July.

The annual MCBA Green Point teams event was held at ABC on Sunday 22nd July.

On this occasion there wasn’t a great deal of success for ABC members facing very strong opposition from home and abroad, with the exception of Adam Wiseberg & Nathan Marks and Sally Bray & Judith Dunkerley who made off with the prize for top Intermediate team - they seem to be making a habit of this kind of thing!

The event was a great success, well done to all who entered and, as always, thanks to Joan for helping run the show so efficiently.

ABC members may be interested to know that Manchester and Merseyside and Cheshire have come together to initiate a membership campaign across the two counties.

We have appointed Sara Miles as a Project Officer (very much part-time) to facilitate this work.

Sara plays at Deva Bridge Club and has been involved in campaigning to increase their membership. The EBU is also  involved, paying half the costs of all materials used.

If you think your club could take advantage of this or if you want to be involved in the Membership Campaign working group please contact Irene Davies at chair@manchesterbridge.org.uk

Saturday 14th July was a good day for Manchester teams in the Northern Bridge League, and a number of ABC members made a contribution to this success.

The A1, B and C1 teams each won their divisions, the A2 and C2 teams faring less well. David Olliver and Raymond Semp played in the A division, Janet Tolan and Mel Pelham were members of the winning B team, and in the C division 12 of the 16 players were ABC members.

Well done to Adam Wiseberg & Jonathan Engler (who did particularly well as a pair), Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook, Sally Bray & George Leigh, Roy Higginbottom & Joan Lewis, Susanne Beckett & Adele Hodari plus Roger Hopton and Ann Thornton with their non ABC partners.

Special thanks go to Susanne and Adele who stood in at short notice to make up the second team.

Despite the clash with England v Panama, there was an excellent turnout for this event held at ABC, with seven  pairs including ABC members taking part.

Top placed were Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook, third were Daniel and Vincent Kelsall and fifth Adrienne Stone playing with Chris Tolłhurst-Cleaver.

Well done to all of them, and as usual thanks to Joan Lewis for an excellent job running the event.

 

The annual friendly match between Derbyshire and Manchester took place, in Spondon Derbyshire, on Sunday 17th June. ABC was very well represented with eight of the twelve person team being club members. The outcome was a (narrow!) win for Manchester, well done us!

Members are again reminded of the requirement to comply with this EBU code of conduct (available in full via the button on the website contents list). 

In the event of any difficulties over the bidding and play of the hand, as well as any behavioural issues, the director should be called at the first opportunity. The director's ruling must be accepted, with the option to appeal being available following the end of the session.

In the event of any significant breach of this code of conduct the offending member(s) could be disqualified from the session and/or suspended from the club for a period of time.

Stephen’s latest newsletter, which has been emailed to members and is also available at the club, can be accessed here.

News Letter

Many thanks to Carys Kemp who wins the bottle of wine for the most frequent host last quarter. Usual pleas for more people to come forward and sign up as volunteers for the hosting system - you know it makes sense, your club needs you etc etc!!

The last coaching before the summer break was held on Wednesday 23rd May.

Tea and cakes were enjoyed by all, and presentations were made to Ian and Joan and their team of mentors.

We hope to resume coaching in some form in the autumn and would be happy to have suggestions about what people would find helpful.

The MCBA agm was held at ABC on Wednesday 23rd May.

Presentations were made to those achieving success in recent events.

Judith Dunkerley and Sally Bray were not able to attend the meeting but are joint winners of the Intermediate Player of the Year award.   Congratulations to them - yet again!

Presentations were also made to league division winners - see earlier article for photos.

Seven pairs including ABC members took part in this event on Sunday 20th May.

Of these the most successful were Richard Acaster, playing with Kevin Higgins, who were third placed.

Congratulations to them!

We are sad to report that Brenda Williams passed away on 8th May, following some months of serious illness. Brenda, who used to be a modern languages teacher, had been a member of the club for some 20 years and was a former winner of the Club’s Commemorative Plate.

Always smiling and always ready to help in all manner of ways, she will be very much missed. 

Our condolences go to her husband Jerry and her family, to whom she was devoted.

We are very sorry to report the death of Ken Hassell. Ken, who had outlived expectations by several years, was a long standing member of the club. He had been a very successful bridge player both as a young man, and on his return to bridge after a gap of many years when he brought up a family and had a rewarding career in the field of education.

His fifteen year partnership with Ian Kane was the most notable, winning numerous national SIM Pairs as well as other high level titles, the most recent being the MCBA Green Point Pairs event in 2016. Latterly he had served as chair of the MCBA selection committee, and as an ABC Committee member he was the inspiration behind the revival of the club dinner.

As well as his partnerships with similarly expert players he had in his last couple of years taken up with some far-from-expert partners who have been most appreciative of his expertise and hugely enjoyed his company.

A great player and a lovely man, he will be much missed.

The final of this MCBA county event was held at MBC on Sunday 29th April with eight teams competing in each of the main Cup and subsidiary Plate events. 

The Four Dummies (Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook, Judy Yates & Sue McGeechan, plus Lilian Syme in earlier rounds), after a disastrous season in the league, finally showed they could get something right and won the Plate event for the second year in succession. Congratulations to them!

Other teams including ABC members - Altrincham A (Geoff Hull & Ann Jordan, Graham Campbell & Andy Jackson) Splinter Group (George Leigh & Janet Tolan) Sedgeley (Bernard Kaye) and City Aces (Harold Weinstock) - did very well to reach the final of the main event where, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Manchester Bridge elite teams got the better of them! 

Very well done to all who took part.

There's been quite a bit of success in the league for ABC members this season with three teams becoming champions of their divisions.

New Connections (Roger Hopton & Dave Fussell, plus reserve Mohammed Jabbar) are Division 3 champions, Altrincham Z (Joan Lewis & Roy Higginbottom, Stephen & Liz Halstead) won division 4, and 4 Bridgemates (Margaret Harris & Pat Turner, Roy Saleh & Scott Middleton) finished top in division 7. 

Also successful were Rejuvenated (John Fitzgerald & Roz Bavin, Stuart Hunter & Bob James) who are promoted from division 2 to 1, and City Aces (Harold Weinstock) - back in division 3 next year.

Less fortunate are Altrincham A, the Four Dummies and the Enigmas who are relegated from divisions 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Several other teams including ABC members finished in respectable mid table positions.

Very well done to all and good luck next season in consolidating or recovering their positions.

If any other members are interested in forming league teams then please speak initially to Stephen or Joan who may be able to help in finding partners/team-mates.

Judith and Sally have now been presented with the silverware from this competition held in March!

Seven Altrincham pairs entered this competition.

Many congratulations to Scott Middleton & Roy Saleh who won by a huge margin.

Adrienne Stone and Mark Gomme were joint second, and Daniel Kelsall, playing with his dad Chris, was fifth.

Well done to them all, and to Joan who directed.
 

Very well done to Steve Mattinson who, playing with Rod Franks, took second place nationally in this event with a great score of nearly 69% . Other successful club members were Helen Murray & Don Monks 42nd and Carol Maman & Jean Lewis who were 46th. Congratulations to them all.

Many thanks to Leila Glancy and Margaret Hopkins - jointly the most frequent hosts last quarter and winners of bottles of wine!

Please, please, please do your bit to support our ever creaking host system and put your name on the rota when your regular partner is away - or any other time.
Chances are you'll get a bonus game of bridge, otherwise you'll have free entry next time. And you never know you may form a new friendship or bridge partnership.

Many congratulations to Sally Bray and Judith Dunkerley, this year's winners of the club handicap pairs competition.
Presentation and photo to follow!

No top prizes this year for ABC members at this event, held at the club on Saturday March 3rd, but many congratulations to Sally Bray & Judith Dunkerley who were highest placed Intermediate pair, and to Joan for her huge part in the organising and directing.

In all 15 pairs including ABC members took part in a field of 48 - well done to all entered this high level competition.

In the Masterpoint standings recently published for 2017 Joan Lewis is Club Champion having amassed the most points at ABC last year, with David Olliver and Nathan Marks 2nd and 3rd.

In the Manchester County listings which cover local, blue and green points earned in all competitions Alan & Kath Nelson are in the top 10 overall. In the level 3 category (Regional and Premier Regional Masters) Richard Cross is top.  In the level 4 category (tournament/premier masters) Barbara Eastabrook, Joan Lewis and Karen Jones take the top three spots, and at level 5 (county/advanced) Andy Jackson is 2nd with Mel Pelham 3rd. 

And finally, Richard Acaster is top at level 2 (national/premier national) in Merseyside & Cheshire.

Very well done to all of them - a credit to the club in general!

A number of members braved a cold February evening to enjoy an evening’s bridge with a break for supper and a glass, or two, of wine.  Congratulations to the winners Avril Samuels and Nina Lee. Many thanks to all who helped on the night particularly Sally Bray who provided the food, and Joan Lewis for directing and organising.

Please be aware that the revised EBU guidance can be accessed in full from the button on our Home Page. In particular members are reminded of the importance of being good hosts and good guests at the table and properly greeting each opposing pair on arrival. Any discussions about previous hands - or anything else for that matter - should wait until there is any spare time at the end of a round. There has been a marked improvement in the friendliness shown by club members over recent years and we hope to see this continue!

Please would all members ensure that mobile phones are on silent before the start of play!

Members may be interested in a new free on-line only magazine accessible by this link

www.newbridgemag.com

We are pleased to announce the winners of our 2017 club competitions -

Ladies Pairs 

1st Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook

2nd Helen Murray & Ann Edwards

Men’s Pairs 

1st Dave Fussell & Roger Hopton

2nd Dave Fussell & Andy Jackson 

Mixed Pairs

1st John Fitzgerald & Roz Bavin

2nd Stuart Hunter & Jane Perrins

Congratulations to all our winners, especially Dave Fussell who achieved averages of over 60% with both of his regular

partners!

All members are automatically entered for the 2018 competitions. To qualify you need to play at least 12 times with the same partner during the year. 

Congratulations to Richard Acaster and David Berrisford who were 31st nationally in the latest SIMs out of a total of 724 pairs.

Stephen's latest newsletter which has been emailed to members can also be accessed here

The MCBA Annual Congress was held on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th January. A number of ABC members took part - with varying degrees of success - in this very strong field including numerous national and international players! 

In the main pairs competition Kath & Alan Nelson won the first session and Mel Pelham and his partner took the ascenders' prize.

In the Championship teams John Fitzgerald & Roz Bavin's team were second placed overall as well as winning a qualifying round. Janet Tolan's team won another of the qualifying rounds. Kath & Alan were in the 4th placed team in the main event. Adam & Jonathan and Sally & Judith made it to the B final (again!) and Joan & Roy and Karen & Barbara were runners up in the Consolation event.

Well done to them and to all who took part!

The trial period of Monday afternoon Chicago Bridge has ended and due to insufficient demand is now discontinued.
Thanks to those who took part and especially to Stephen for hosting.

The winners for this event for 2017 are Simon Jones and Andrew Wright, with runners up Sue Rankin and Kathleen Foster. Many congratulations to them!

Yet again Mike Asher has been the most frequent host this last quarter and has been rewarded with yet another bottle of wine!

Further desperate pleas for more people to come forward as hosts for Tuesday and Wednesday evenings as the system continues to operate on the brink of collapse!

You have nothing to fear and everything to gain by volunteering once in a while. Please come forward and do so, especially if you do not do anything else to contribute to the running of the club.

Several successes to report from the last couple of months for ABC members -

At the EBU Summer Meeting in August Kath & Alan Nelson won the Seniors Swiss Teams (playing with the Goldenfields). Alan also came 4th in the Swiss Pairs and 3rd in the Seniors pairs, in both events playing with John Holland.

In the EBU Autumn Sim Pairs David Olliver & Richard Acaster were placed 5th nationally out of over 500 hundred pairs competing. Ken Hassell & Ian Kane were 48th and Mohammed and Mariam Jabbar 59th.

And most recently John Fitzgerald & Roz Bavin were runners up in the Chester Bowl held at Deva Bridge Club.

Very well done to all of them!

On Saturday 16th September, 6 teams of members and visitors enjoyed a fun night of bridge, with a break for delicious cakes and wine (many thanks to Liz Halstead and Pat Turner, cake baker extraordinaire!). Congratulations to Margaret Harris, Pat Turner, Judith Eva and Judy Yates, pictured here, who won the event. The results of the event before being handicapped (topped by John Fitzgerald, Roz Bavin and guests),  for those who wish to review the hands, are on the website.

Many thanks to Suzanne Beckett - the most frequent host this last quarter! Please make your contribution to club life by volunteering occasionally for this highly enjoyable task - you never know, you may meet the partner of your dreams!

A number of events held in July have brought success for ABC members -

On 8 July, in the first match of this summer's Northern Bridge League David Olliver, Adam Wiseberg, Roger Hopton and Steve Mattinson played in the top placed Manchester B team.

The following day Ken Hassell played in the winning Manchester B team in the National Inter Counties final. Kath & Alan Nelson were part of the second placed A team in the same competition.

The Manchester team, again including Kath & Alan Nelson, won the two day President's Cup on 15/16 July beating five other teams from the North and North Wales. 

On 22 July Richard Acaster, playing with Kevin Higgins was 4th in Notts CBA green point Swiss pairs.

On 23 July in the MCBA green point Swiss teams event Adam Wiseberg  & Jonathan Engler with Sally Bray & Judith Dunkerley (pictured here) took the Intermediate players prize. Raymond Semp played in the team placed second overall.

Congratulations to all of them and to other ABC members who took part in these events!

Stephen's latest newsletter has been emailed to members and can be read here.

News Letter

Margaret Harris is taking a break from many years of regular directing on Tuesday evenings. Many thanks to her for all her efforts - she has done a great job of running the bridge efficiently while creating a positive and friendly atmosphere. She will continue her role on the committee and to play at ABC on other evenings - long may she enjoy her bridge with a little less stress!! 

The County AGM was held at Manchester Bridge Club on Thursday 25th May. ABC was well represented and presentations were made to several members who had been successful in the previous year - detailed further down on the website. Special thanks were given to Ken Hassell who has resigned after three years chairing the Selection Committee. The vacancy arising has been filled by Adam Wiseberg with the Committee yet to decide on the new Chair.

Nine pairs which included ABC members entered the John Armstrong Swiss pairs event at Merseyside Bridge Centre on Sunday 21st May. Of these the most successful were Steve Mattinson & Pauline Lang, Richard Acaster (playing with Kevin Higgins) and Janet Tolan (playing with Andy Green) in 2nd, 3rd and 5th place respectively. Congratulations to them and their partners!

On Saturday 20th May forty ABC members and guests enjoyed an evening's bridge, with a break for a tasty supper and a glass of wine.  Many thanks to all those who helped with the evening and congratulations to the winners Ann Edwards & Mark Gomme (N/S) and Anne Jordan & Joan Lewis (E/W), pictured here.

Special congratulations to division six champions Overtrick Lunatics (Faye Georgiou and Sanjeet Kamath) pictured here, who won just ahead of Lastminute.bid (Adam Wiseberg, Jonathan Engler, Sally Bray & Judith Dunkerley).

Also very well done to division five champions The Four Dummies.  Pictured here are Lilian Syme and Judy Yates, there being already more than enough photos of the other two further down!

And Howard Kay's team Proteus are promoted from the second to the first division - huge congratulations to them too, great to see Howard back in the top league.

More details on ABC members' performance can be accessed here.

If any other members are interested in forming or joining a league team please contact Kath Nelson the league secretary here or speak to Joan Lewis or any other committee member.

Hilary and Avril finally get their hands on the silverware.

Congratulations to them - again!

Congratulations to Adam Wiseberg who took first place in the Intermediate Player of the Year competition, closely followed by Barbara Eastabrook with Judith Dunkerley & Sally Bray joint third.

In fact the top eight places were held by ABC regulars, the other four being Jonathan Engler, Graham Campbell, Andy Jackson and Karen Jones.

This is a huge credit to the club and the second successive year that ABC members have dominated the Intermediate section of the competition.

Points are earned by good performance in the various County events held through the year such as the Manchester Congress, the Gazette Cup and the Green Point teams and pairs events.

As usual the Expert section was dominated by Manchester Bridge Club members with only the Nelsons and Gary Hyett from ABC figuring in the top ten - congratulations to them too.

The 2016/17 coaching programme ended on May 3rd with cakes for all and gifts for Head Coach Ian Kane, organiser Joan Lewis and their team of mentors - David Oliver, Anne Jordan and Sid Travers.

Many thanks to them all, especially Ian and Joan, for their efforts and patience in the drive to improve the level of play at ABC!

Again we hope their efforts will be rewarded in time - coaching to be resumed in the autumn.

Many thanks to Margaret Hopkins, the most regular host last quarter.

Still desperately seeking more hosts - please put your name down on the rota!

With only two competitors (Howard Kay and Bhim Ruia) in the teams final of the top level Higson Cup on Sunday, ABC was much better represented in the Plate event.
Eighteen members qualified to play, many achieving success.
Congratulations to winners The Four Dummies - Judy Yates & Sue McGeechan, Barbara Eastabrook & Richard Acaster (subbing for Karen Jones who, unusually, had gone for the devoted wife and mother option!) They built up a commanding lead by half time and managed to hold on to it, despite a strong second half from New Connections - Mohammed Jabbar, Peter Green and Roger Hopton (playing with Gillian McMullan), who finished a worthy second.
Harold Weinstock's team City Aces came in third.
Other ABC members also taking part were - Adam Wiseberg, Jonathan Engler, Sally Bray & Judith Dunkerley (Lastminute.bid), Faye Georgiou & Sanjeet Kamath (Overtrick Lunatics) and Margaret Harris, Terry Krell, Scott Middleton & Roy Saleh (4 Bridgemates)

Well done to the prize winners and to all the participants, who had survived several rounds already to earn the right to play in the final.

More success for Kath & Alan Nelson at this event held at Ilkley - they won the Swiss Teams (playing with Bernard & Rhona Goldenfield) and were third in the Swiss Pairs.

Congratulations to them - again!

Congratulations to Jim Morris, playing with Clement Goldstone, who took 13th place nationally in the event played at ABC on Wednesday 5th April.

Other club members who did well were Michelle Bovensiepen & Stephen Hunter (49th) and Joan Lewis & Nathan Marks (68th). Well done to all of them.

Our congratulations to Avril Samuels and Hilary Thomas. On Wednesday 22nd March they won our annual handicap event, the Commemorative Plate, repeating their success of two years ago.

With the last result of the night it was confirmed that they had narrowly beaten Ann Edwards and Liz Hyde. Well done to all of them.

 

This annual county event was held at the club on Sunday 5th March with Joan Lewis doing most of the heavy lifting on the directing front!

Unfortunately Ian Kane & Ken Hassell were unable to defend their 2016 title but ABC was well represented with fourteen of the fifty pairs including at least one ABC member.

Of these the most successful by far were Alan Nelson (playing with Jeff Smith) in first equal place with a Lancashire pair, closely followed by Kath Nelson (playing with Jeff Morris).

Best placed non-experts were Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook who took the Intermediate prize just ahead of Adam Wiseberg & Jonathan Engler equal second with Bim Rhuia (playing with Ann Thornton).

All are pictured here apart from Adam & Jonathan who made off before the photos, also missing out on a bottle of wine each!

Well done to the prize winners and all who took part, and in particular to Joan - without whom events like this would just not be the same.

The latest masterpoint listings published on the ebu website show a fair bit of success for ABC members.
Our club champion with 2352 points is Joan Lewis, followed by David Olliver and Ian Kane. In the overall listings Gary Hyett was 4th placed nationally and in the lower level categories for Manchester County Roger Hopton and Mohammed Jabbar take 1st and 4th prizes at level 4.
Then Barbara Eastabrook, Karen Jones, Andy Jackson and Adam Wiseberg are 1st to 4th at level 5, and Tricia Blum also figures coming 3rd in the 6th category for the County. As well as points earned at ABC and other clubs these listings include points awarded in green point, SIM pairs and other tournaments. 

Well done to all of them, this success reflects well on the club, and if nothing else shows that we like a game of bridge!

Many thanks to Carys Kemp who was presented with a bottle of wine for being the most frequent host last quarter.

Well done to her and all others who have hosted recently, and a further plea for volunteers - we are constantly on the edge of the system working.

Please put your name down on the rota if you possibly can, there is nothing to fear and everything to gain from doing your bit for the club in this way.

The recent questionnaire identified some interest in widening our club's schedule in various ways - please be aware of the following planned events!

Afternoon bridge
To test the water, unsupervised Chicago bridge on Mondays 13th & 20th March, 3rd & 10th April, non members welcome

Wine & Cheese evening 
With duplicate bridge - Saturday May 20th

Teams Event 
Saturday 16th September

Annual Dinner 
Same format as last year, Thursday 23rd November

Events like these don't run themselves - volunteers needed please to organise and/or assist in making them happen.

The Gazette Cup held Sunday 5th February at ABC, and magnificently directed by Joan, was a bit of a triumph for the club! We entered three teams of eight - Team Olliver was highest placed in third position, not too far behind a MBC team packed full of the Manchester bridge elite, and a very strong Cheadle team second. Tying for fourth place were the other two from Altrincham - Team Nelson, and Team Eastabrook (pictured here) who won the trophy for highest placed Intermediates. 

Top placed individual pair was David Fussell & Roger Hopton with Graham Campbell & Andy Jackson also doing very well in third position overall.

Following this event ABC members are in a strong position in the Intermediate Player of the Year competition - Sally Bray & Judith Dunkerley are leading on 15 points, with Adam Wiseberg, Graham Campbell and Andy Jackson also in the running.

The three teams comprised -

Team Olliver - David Olliver & Richard Acaster, Mariam & Mohammed Jabbar, Anne Jordan & Geoff Hull, Viv & Barry Newgrosh

Team Nelson - Kath & Alan Nelson, Ian Kane & Ken Hassell, David Fussell & Roger Hopton, Stuart Hunter & Bob James

Team Eastabrook - Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook, Graham Campbell & Andy Jackson, Adam Wiseberg & Jonathan Engler, Sally Bray & Judith Dunkerley.

Very well done to all of them!

Stephen's latest newsletter has been emailed to members and can be read here.

News Letter

On Wednesday 11th January at ABC Richard Acaster, playing with visitor Christine Benson, took first place EW with 62.96%. This converted nationally to 64.66% making them an excellent 20th out of nearly 900 pairs.
Many congratulations to them.

In the heat held on the same day at Marple Bridge Club, Ian Kane & Ken Hassell took top spot nationally with a magnificent 73.58% - in sharp contrast to their previous outing to Marple where they finished on 32%, proving that even Bridge Gods can have an off day!

This is the sixth time that Ian and Ken have been top nationally in Sim Pairs - an awesome record - very well done to them both!

We are pleased to announce the winners of our 2016 club competitions;
 
Ladies Pairs 
Ist Sally Bray & Judith Dunkerley
2nd Carol Maman & Marion Lawson-Turner
 
Men’s Pairs
1st Ian Kane & Sid Travers
2nd David Fussell & Roger Hopton
 
Mixed Pairs
1st David Olliver & Marsha Gee
2nd Ian Kane & Barbara Eastabrook
 
Congratulations to all our winners.

Great to report success for ABC members at this top level EBU event - In the Swiss Pairs Richard Acaster (playing with Kevin Higgins) and Gary Hyett (playing with Margaret Howe) finished joint 5th in a very strong field. Kath & Alan Nelson finished 4th in the Mixed Pars and 5th in the Swiss Teams.

Very well done to all of them and their partners/team-mates.

ABC members were again treated by John Fitzgerald to lashings of wine, cheese & biscuits and prizes on Tuesday 13th December, plus an impromptu musical interlude from a random violinist! Many thanks John for your efforts and generosity, a great time was had by all. Alongside all this the presentation of the June Caron trophy was made by Mary Bridge. The winners were a slightly non-plussed Margaret Ward and Peggy Haslam who hadn't been aware of its existence, nor their having entered, let alone that they'd done so well! Runners up were Simon Jones & Andrew Wright with Suzanne Beckett and Adele Hodari in third place. Well done to all of them! Unfortunately Father Christmas did a runner and escaped without having his photograph taken.

Twelve ABC members took part in this event at MBC on Sunday 27th November, with varying degrees of success. Graham Campbell and Andy Jackson finished 11th, taking the prize for top Intermediate pair - congratulations to them.

Three members have recently joined the committee - Mark Gomme, Peter Jackson and Pat Turner. We thank them and all existing members of the committee for their time and commitment to running the club.

The winner was Alan Nelson, with 2nd, 3rd and 4th prizes also going to Helen Krell, Michelle Boven and Barbara Taylor

Pictured here are Mike Asher (again!) and Russell Hickling who received wine to recognise their outstanding contribution to the hosting system over the last quarter!

Please please please put your names down to host once in a while - otherwise it may have to be discontinued which would be a great shame.

This hand from ABC, contributed by David Olliver, was included recently in Andrew Robson's Bridge Column in The Times.

More than fifty ABC members attended the first (in a very long time!) club dinner at Ringway Golf Club on Thursday 17 November.

The event, conceived by Ken Hassell and executed with a team of helpers, was a great success, the excellent meal being followed by an individual bridge tournament in which players changed partners every round.

First prize was champagne and a trophy, donated and presented by Sheila Wild in memory of Terry.

Also prize winners were Jim Morris & Helen Lister (slam) and Sandra Matlow (2C), but the real stars of the show were Ken's shoes, pictured here with their owner.

Many thanks and well done to everyone involved in the event, especially to Ken for having the idea and to Sheila for the generous prizes.

More Pics Here ( opens in a new tab )

Three teams of four comprising mainly ABC members entered this annual competition held at Manchester Bridge Club on three consecutive Thursdays in September.

Of these the highest placed team, second equal, were Joan Lewis & Roy Higginbottom with Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook - pictured here with Eve - congratulations to them!

Over seventy ABC members enjoyed dinner and bridge at Ringway Golf Club on Thursday 23rd November. Prizes were donated and presented by 

Sheila Wild (in memory of Terry) to Judy Godwin, Stephen Halstead (overall winner), Liz Halstead and Cecily Warren.

Thanks go to all involved in this production including to Ken Hassell whose idea it was to resurrect the club dinner, but was unfortunately unable to attend due to illness. The biggest thanks by a long way (as usual!) go to Joan Lewis. Not only did she direct and score on the night but put in countless hours of organisation beforehand in order to accommodate everyone who wanted to play, and the odd one who didn’t!!

Here are the prize winners and Joan, plus further photos of attendees can be accessed here (link to separate photo collage) - apologies if you were one of the ones chopped off!

On Monday 29th August, Ian Kane and Geoffrey Hull set a new high score record for the club, with an amazing 79.85% 

Congratulations to them both. 

Will anyone be able to beat that?

The MCBA annual teams event, was held at ABC on Sunday 24th July.

Won by Kath & Alan Nelson, playing with Jeff Smith and Jeff Morris.
Ian Kane, Ken Hassell and Sid Travers, playing with Eve Lighthill took joint fifth place.

Very well done to all of them, and special congratulations to Sally Bray, Judith Dunkerley, Adam Wiseberg and David Olliver who were top placed non-expert team.

Somewhat behind them but having a late rally were Graham Campbell, Andy Jackson, Karen Jones and Barbara Eastabrook who won the prize for the last round.

All of these teams are pictured here - a great performance for the club overall. 

As per Stephen's recent newsletter, the hosting system on Tuesdays and Wednesdays continues to operate but is creaking a bit, relying on a relatively small number of regular volunteers. Particular thanks and a bottle of wine go to Mike Asher (pictured here with Stephen) and also many thanks and a bunch of flowers to Brenda Williams (who ticked the no publicity box!). Mike and Brenda have each volunteered three times in the last three months.

Please check out the paragraph below and to the left and consider volunteering to host every now and again - especially if you don't help with the running of the club in any other way.

Stephen's latest newsletter has been emailed to members and can be read here.

News Letter

The final for this event, which is restricted to those ranked below Master, was held on Sunday 15th May at four venues in the north of England including Manchester Bridge Club.
 

Not only did Pat Turner and Margaret Harris win the Manchester heat but they came top overall out of 86 pairs with a magnificent score of nearly 69% - congratulations to them!
 

Suzanne Beckett, playing with Diana Calvert of Trafford BC also did well, achieving 3rd place in the Manchester event, very well done to them too.

Quite a few ABC members were successful in the MCBA leagues which were recently completed. Gary Hyett, pictured here, was part of the very strong St Titus team who won division 1. Tempo (Steve Mattinson and Pauline Lang) were runners up in division 2 as were John Fitzgerald's team Rejuvenated (including Stuart Hunter and Jane Perrins) in division 3, both teams earning promotion. Splinter Group, including George Leigh won division 4, followed by Skaters (Barry and Vivien Newgrosh) who are also promoted.

The Unconventionals (Mark Gomme and Christine Brierley) were division 6 champions, and as previously celebrated Lastminute.bid convincingly won division 7.

Very well done to all those teams and to the many other members who have played in the league and survived in their current divisions! If any other members are interested in forming teams speak to any ABC committee member or contact Kath Nelson the league secretary here (link to manchesterleague@gmail.com)

The last Wednesday afternoon session before the summer break was held on 4th May.

Four full tables of coachees attended plus many apologies from grateful members who were unable to make it this time. The lesson on Discards was followed by tea and cakes and tumultuous applause for Ian Kane and his fellow mentors (David Olliver, Sid Travers and Ken Hughes) and most of all for Joan Lewis without whom none of this (and pretty much anything else) would happen! Gifts of plants, wine etc were presented to the team as a small token of our appreciation.

And apparently some signs of improvement have been detected among the attendees, so maybe it's time well spent! Coaching resumes in September, all will be welcome.

This competition run by the county each year awards points to players for success in each of the county run competitions such as the Manchester Congress, the Gazette Cup and the Green Point pairs and teams events. The Expert category is this year - as usual - dominated by top Manchester Bridge Club players but our own Raymond Semp, Ken Hassell, Gary Hyett, Ian Kane, Pauline Lang and Alan Nelson are all in the top 20.

However this year in the Intermediate category competition Altrincham players have achieved great success. Graham Campbell and George Leigh are joint winners (pictured here) with Karen Jones close behind in 3rd place. In fact 10 of the top 14 intermediate players are regulars at ABC, the other seven being Barbara Eastabrook, Adam Wiseberg, Andy Jackson, Lindsey Barnes, Sally Bray and Mariam & Mohammed Jabbar. Very well done to all of them, a huge credit to the club.

We would encourage other members to enter these county events, they provide very good experience for those who wish to progress in the bridge world, and can even be quite enjoyable at times!! 

In their first year playing in the MCBA league ABC team Lastminute.bid (Adam Wiseberg, Jonathan Engler, Sally Bray and Judith Dunkerley, pictured here) had a resounding success winning 6 out of 7 matches to be top of the table by quite a margin. Very well done to them and good luck in the higher league next year!

ABC members were well represented in both the MCBA Cup and secondary Plate event on Sunday 10th April.

George Leigh, playing with Manchester Bridge Club team mates (Splinter Group) won the Plate event.

The four Dummies (Karen Jones, Barbara Eastabrook, Judy Yates and Sue McGeechan) taking the runners up spot.

The teams are pictured here - well done everyone!

Kath and Alan Nelson, playing with Bernard and Rhona Goldenfield, won the teams event of the North Wales Bridge Association congress held on Sunday 3rd April - congratulations to them!
 

This EBU mixed pairs event held simultaneously at various venues over the country took place on Sunday 20th March. Roger Hopton, playing with Irene Davies, took top position at Brierfield Bridge Club and they achieved an excellent 4th position nationally out of 360 pairs - very well done to them!

More success for Club members - this time in the Martin Braid memorial event held at Manchester Bridge Club. The overall winners were Kath & Alan Nelson's team - very appropriate as Martin was a long-standing team mate of theirs who died very suddenly two years ago. And in third place overall and taking the non-expert prize were Adam Wiseberg, Jonathan Engler, John Fitzgerald and Andy Jackson. In 6th place overall, taking 2nd prize for non-experts, were Mohammed and Mariam Jabbar with MBC team-mates. The prize winners are pictured here - congratulations to them all!

Altrincham was well represented and very successful in the annual MCBA Swiss Pairs event held at Cecil Road on Saturday 5th March. The winners were our own Ian Kane and Ken Hassell, pictured here with Eve Lighthill MCBA President. Raymond Semp, Alan Nelson and Kath Nelson each playing with partners from other clubs were 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Mohammed and Mariam Jabbar were joint winners of the non-expert prize. Nineteen ABC members took part altogether, well done to everyone!

Recent recruit to ABC, Kath Nelson (playing with Steve Auchterlonie of Kent), achieved 2nd place in the Premier Grand Master category of the EBU Ranked Masters Pairs held in Birmingham on 27/28th February, winning two of the four sessions. Well done to them for such a great success in this very prestigious event!

Sixteen pairs entered the club's Commemorative plate handicap competition held on Wednesday 30th March.

The winners were Stephen Hunter and Brenda Williams with Michelle Lees and Barbara Eastabrook not far behind.

Congratulations to them and thanks to all who took part and to Joan Lewis for calculating the handicaps.

Last year's winners were Avril Samuels and Hilary Thomas.

The annual Manchester County teams of eight competition, the Gazette Cup, was held at ABC on Sunday 7th February, very ably directed by our own Joan Lewis. Two ABC teams performed well - the A team achieved third position behind very strong Manchester and Cheadle teams. Kath & Alan Nelson, representing Altrincham for the first time, were top pair individually by a huge margin. The B team, pictured below with Ann Thornton (MCBA Tournament Secretary) did very well to come 6th in a strong field and won the trophy for Intermediate teams. Congratulations to all 16 of our players - a huge credit to the club.

The A team members were Ken Hassell & Ian Kane, Kath & Alan Nelson, David Fussell & Roger Hopton and David Olliver & Sid Travers. Playing for the B team were John Fitzgerald & Barbara Eastabrook, Mariam & Mohammed Jabbar, Graham Campbell & Andy Jackson and Sally Bray & George Leigh.

ABC member and top player Gary Hyett was featured recently in the Daily Telegraph bridge column.
The article detailed a particularly crafty line of play on an important hand played in the National Teams Congress.
You can read the article here

And we've just found out that he won the Llangollen Swiss Teams event in November playing with Michael Byrne and teammates from Ireland - congratulations to Gary!

2015 - As announced in the recent newsletter the results of the club competitions for 2015 were :

Ladies Pairs
1st Marion Lawson-Turner & Carol Maman
2nd Barbara Eastabrook & Karen Jones

Mens Pairs
1st Ian Kane & Sid Travers
2nd Roger Hopton & David Fussell

Mixed Pairs
1st David Olliver & Marsha Gee
2nd Jim & Jenny Morris

Congratulations to all of them!

2016 - Entries are now open for each of these three events for 2016 which run for the full calendar year. Simply add your names to the lists on the noticeboard - everyone who entered last year will be re-entered automatically. You may enter each of the appropriate competitions with two different partners if you wish, you just have to play a minimum of 12 times per pairing to qualify.
Don't forget to enter - you have to be in it to win it!!
 

A team comprising ABC members Ian Kane, Ken Hassell and Raymond Semp, plus student Toby Nonnenmacher, achieved a great victory over a seeded team, led by world champion Paul Hackett and other top players, to reach the 4th round of the Gold Cup. This is the most prestigious open teams event on the bridge calendar and after a marathon seven hour contest the ABC team finished ahead by a significant margin. Congratulations and good luck to them in the next round.

On Monday 4th January John Fitzgerald, playing with Roz Bavin visiting from the Channel Islands, scored what may be a record breaking 77.55% at the club - well done to them! Can anyone remember a higher score than this?

Yes they can - Marion Lawson-Turner and Richard Acaster scored 78.18% back in 2007.
 

ABC members did well in this recent event - playing at the club Sid Travers & Alan Nelson were 13th nationally, followed by Peter Jackson & George Leigh (20th), and Graham Campbell & Lindsey Barnes (37th). Ian Kane & Ken Hassell who played at Marple were 4th nationally. Well done to all of them!

Can Be Read Here:

January News Letter

Tuesday 8th December was quite a night at the club! The June Caron trophy, a new competition organised by John Fitzgerald in memory of June who died this year, was presented to Stephen Hunter and Michelle Bovensiepen. They are pictured here with members of June's family. The evening's entertainment also included quizzes, numerous raffled prizes (presented by Santa Claus) and more wine, cheese & biscuits and other goodies than it seemed possible to consume! We also played a bit of bridge. Congratulations to Stephen and Michelle, and many thanks to John for his efforts and generosity in hosting the evening!

Success for ABC's Graham Campbell and Lindsey Barnes (pictured here with Ann Thornton). They took third place in this competition in a very strong field, beating many top Manchester players and winning the Intermediate Prize. They will go on with the other pairs in the top four to represent Manchester in the Corwen Trophy in July 2016. Congratulations to them both!

This tournament held annually at Brierfield Bridge Club was attended by four Altrincham pairs on November 8th.

Ian Kane and Ken Hassell won the prize for the 1st session.

Special congratulations to Karen Jones & Barbara Eastabrook who won the non-expert trophy, finishing just behind the higher ranked Sally Bray & George Leigh.

This event held at the club on Sunday 1 November was well attended - including five pairs of ABC members.

Andy Jackson and Adam Wiseberg, pictured here with tournament secretary Ann Thornton, were NS winners - congratulations to them!

North (or South) is responsible for entering the contract and result into the bridgemate.

Entering the lead accurately provides interesting information on the website later, but also assists the scorer to resolve errors.

The bridgemate is passed to East (or West) to check and accept.

It should then be put in a position to allow all players to see the percentages, followed by the previous results.

These should only be discussed IF there is sufficient time and IF it is done very quietly, not revealing the result to players at other tables

Five ABC pairs entered the recent Chester Bowl event held at the Deva Bridge Club.

In the Qualifying Round Roger Hopton and David Fussell did well taking 2nd place EW to reach the top tier.

Adam Wiseberg and John Fitzgerald, pictured here, were winners in the Consolation Round with an excellent 66%.

There were successes for club members in the recent British Autumn Sim Pairs.
Most notably Ian Kane and Ken Hassell came top nationally out of 1040 pairs, playing at Marple Bridge Club on Wednesday, this being the 5th time they have achieved this!
They scored over 72% and were almost 3% ahead of the second placed pair.

And playing in the club's own event on Thursday, Lindsey Barnes & Graham Campbell, Sid Travers playing with Alan Nelson, and Joan Lewis & Roy Higginbottom came 14th, 16th and 26th respectively in a field of 689 pairs.

Very well done to all of them!

Click here to view the June newsletter.

And here to view the 2014/15 League update.

On 31st May Ken Hassell and Raymond Semp achieved an impressive 5th place in the Corwen Trophy.

This prestigious pairs event had over 200 top players from all over the country competing.

Congratulations to them both!

Well done to Scott Middleton and Roy Saleh.

They were top E-W in this competition which was held at the club on Sunday 31st May

Pictured here with the MCBA tournament secretary Ann Thornton.

Congratulations to DASH on winning league division 2,  back where they belong in division 1 next year.

Pictured here with Kath Nelson league secretary are Raymond Semp, Ken Hassell, Eve Lighthill, Ian Kane and Sid Travers

Finally back from the engravers the Commemorative Plate was presented to Avril Samuels and Hilary Thomas this year's winners, pictured here with Stephen Halstead.

Pamela Reynolds and Mary Bridge and Jeanette Owen and Jennifer Birchall were close behind in 2nd and 3rd places.

There were 14 tables at the event, thanks to all who took part.

Special thanks to Joan Lewis for working out handicaps, some of which were at the very last minute!

The last coaching session before the summer break was held on Wednesday 6th May.

Huge thanks go to Head Coach Ian Kane and to Sid Travers (pictured here with their thank-you presents) plus Ken Hughes, David Olliver, Ken Hassell and Lindsey Barnes.
 

Their time and patience is very much appreciated.

And many thanks also to Joan Lewis for organising us all!

We look forward to resuming coaching in September - all will be welcome.

We have made some changes to the results sections. We hope you will find the information more meaningful.

Congratulations to Sally Bray & Barbara Eastabrook and Scott Middleton & Roy Saleh who finished equal 22^nd in the national rankings.
 

It was the sixth time in a row that Sally had been top at the club - quite an achievement!!

Honourable mentions to Richard Acaster & David Berrisford 55^th and Peter Jackson & George Leigh 80^th.

The annual MCBA pairs green point event was held at ABC on Saturday 7th March.

It was very well attended by players from the North-West and beyond, including many of our club members.
 

As usual Ian Kane and Ken Hassell did well, achieving 9th position.

And a special mention for Peter Jackson (pictured here) just one place behind them, who with his partner Gwen Beattie won the prize for top non-expert pair.
Thanks must go to our own Joan Lewis who helped organise and direct the event.

We are looking for new entrants to the 2015 competitions.

All 2014 entrants will be entered in the 2015 competition unless advised to the contrary.

Congratulations to Sid Travers, playing with Alan Nelson, and Tony Coley, playing with John Holland, who finished 8^th and 9^th respectively in the national rankings.

Honourable mentions for Stephen and Liz Halstead  69^th and David Olliver and Richard Acaster 98^th.

The December News Letter is out now. Click Here to View.

We are pleased to be able to announce the winners from the entrants to our club competitions, which are based on scores from January to November.

Ladies Pairs:
1st Marion Lawson-Turner and Erika Ormerod
 2nd Judith Eva and Margaret Harris

Mens Pairs:
1st Ian Kane and Sid Travers
2nd David Olliver and Gary Hyett

Mixed Pairs:
1st David Olliver and Marsha Gee
 2nd Richard Acaster and Marion Lawson-Turner

Ian Kane & Ken Hassell put in an outstanding performance at the recent EBU Sim Pairs, achieving first position nationally - for an astonishing 4th time!

Congratulations to them from us all, and many thanks to them for their time spent on coaching other club members.

Bridge is an extremely enjoyable game. Courteous behaviour and respect for others is an exceptionally important part of that enjoyment. In spite of inevitable concentration and pressure, we would ask members at all times to conform to the standards of fair play, courtesy and personal deportment as prescribed by the EBU (see White Book #1.5) including:

• Greet others in a friendly manner prior to the start of play on each round
• Be a good “host” or “guest” at the table
• Make bridge enjoyable for yourself, partner and opponents
• You should not criticise your partner or opponents in public, be less than polite at the table, or gloat over good results
• You should not object to a call for the Director, or dispute a Director’s ruling

If a player at the table behaves in an unacceptable manner, the Director should be called immediately. Annoying behaviour, or embarrassing remarks (including those of a sexist or racist nature) or any other conduct which might interfere with the enjoyment of the game are specifically prohibited by law 74A and will be dealt with appropriately, under Club Rule 11.