The Garden Cities Trophy is the EBU's inter-county championship for teams-of-eight.   As winners of the 1st Division of the B&BCBA League-of-Eight, Reading A qualified to represent Berks & Bucks in the competition; came second in the Regional Finals in April - thus qualifying for the Final - and came a very credible third in the Final.   Team members were Tim Rees, Ian Reissmann, Mike Perkins, Peter Hawkes, Pat Dowdeswell, Mike Ribbins, Jonny Richards & James Chapman (and James Bond & John Greenhalgh in the Regional Final).  Well done.

Congratulations to ‘The Pretenders’ team – Peter Westcombe, Jane Munnoch, Graham Coles (Captain), Noirin McCarthy and Hazel Coles - on winning the very closely contested Student League, 3VPS ahead of the GX Players.  And indeed congratulations to all five teams, every one of which had at least one victory in their four matches and can look forward to doing battle with each other again next year in the Graduate League.

Congratulations to Colin Taylor’s team "Contract Killers" on winning the Graduate League by a single VP! - 85 VPs to "Finesse’s" 84.  Commiserations to Mike Etkind and his "Finesse" team, but they have the chance to try again next year when hopefully Colin’s team will be entering the Brown Cup following their permitted two years in the Graduate League.

And congratulations to Alan & Elena McBride - winners (with 81% !!!!) of the Graduate & Student Leagues' End-of-Season pairs event.  The Bridge Plus Trophy is presented by Nigel Thompson - organiser of the Student and Graduate Leagues.

43 teams competed in the second event in the B&B Green Point Weekend - the Swiss Teams competition for the Richard Palmer Trophy.  The winners were  Heather & Matthew Tan, Edward Leatham & Nick Forrest.     Runners-up were Louise Selway, Will Roper, Norman Selway & Kay Preddy, with Pat Dowdeswell, Mike Ribbins, Mike Wenble & James Chapman in 3rd place.     Well done to all.     And finally, a big "Thank You" to Pat Dowdeswell for organising the weekend.      This event brings the 2018-19 season of B&B events to a close.   Click for full ranking list.

Congratulations to Nathalie Shashou & Nick Sandqvist - winners of the Anders Wallen Cup in the GP Swiss Pairs.    Runners-up were Norman Selway & Kay Preddy with Matthew Covill & Aleksander Lishkov in 3rd place, Niall Igoe & Sue Johnson 4th, and Anil Bhandari & Graham Cunningham 5th.    Well done.     108 pairs competed.    Click for full ranking list.

Having won the County Teams Championship, Peter Hawkes team qualified to represent Berks & Bucks in the Pachabo Cup - the EBU inter-county teams-of-four competition - and came a very credible 6th place out of the 25 competing county teams.    Well done Mike Perkins, Peter Jackson, Peter Hawkes, Tim Rees & Ian Reissmann (l-to-r in the photograph).

The Corwen Trophy is a competition between the leading players from each county's Pairs Championship.  B&B had 5 pairs qualified to play, but unfortunately only 2 pairs were able to.   Well done to Ed Scerri & Dick Davey on coming 7th out of a field of 92 pairs and to Rob Wilkinson & Colin Johns 73rd. 

36 teams of eight representing 19 clubs competed in the 4 divisions of the league over the 2017/8 season.
The final results were:

Div 1 (10 teams): Reading A won with 143 VP (out of possible 180); runners up were New Amersham A on 141 VP

Div 2 (10 teams): Bourne End A and Ascot A tied on 122 VP – however Bourne End topped the division as they won the head to head with Ascot

Div 3 (10 teams): Maidenhead A won with 127 VP; runners up were Lane End A on 113 VP

Div 4 (6 teams playing each other twice): SBBC B won with  138 VP (out of possible 200); runners up were Tessa Templeton Bridge School A on 133 VP.

Well done to all those who played.
A notice inviting clubs to take part in the 2018/9 season will be going out to club contacts soon.

From the 332 pairs who competed in 26 heats of the Club Pairs Championship, 56 pairs qualified to play in the Final.     The winners of the Waller Bowl were Peter Jackson & James Bond representing Reading BC.     Runners up were Pat Dowdeswell & Mike Ribbins (also Reading BC), followed by Nigel Lancaster & David Herod (Burnham) in 3rd place and Rob Wilkinson & Colin Johns (Lane End) in 4th.     Session prizes went to John Gatrell & Pamela Brown (Yateley & Hawley: 7th overall) for the 1st session and to John Greenhalgh & James Chapman (Reading: 5 overall) for the 2nd session.   Congratulations to all of the winners, and well done to all who qualified.

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Well done Liz Hayton & Steve Lee on winning the Mixed Pairs Cup, and to runners up Paula Hopkinson & Nigel Wolfendale.    In 3rd place and winning the BBL Cup for the highest placed married pair were Carole & Herb Mueller (the 3rd time they have won the cup) - well done.   24 pairs competed.    The AGM was held during the interval, and the minutes of this will be placed on this website as soon as they are available.

Congratulations to Peter Hawkes, John Howard, Mike Perkins, Tim Rees, Ian Reissmann & Peter Jackson on winning the 2017-18 County Teams Knockout Championship - the 4th time that they have won the competition.   And well done and commiserations to the runners up Dee & Peter Lindon, Nick Doe & Simon Husband.    Peter's team win the Crowhurst Quaich and will be invited to represent the County in the Pachabo Cup (the EBU's inter-counties teams of four competition).

Well done to Bob Holder & David Owen on winning the Directors Cup in the Senior Pairs event.   Runners-up were James Bond & John Greenhalgh with Denise Miller & Nigel Clayton in 3rd place.   Winners of the Veterans prize - and in 4th place - were Ed Brennan & John Spiers.   Well done.  24 pairs competed.

Over the season, 88 teams competed in Heats of the Club Teams Championship played in 13 affiliated clubs throughout Berks & Bucks, and 21 teams qualified and played in the Final.   The Committee Cup winners - by an impressive margin - were Pat Dowdeswell, Mike Ribbins, John Greenhalgh & James Chapman representing Reading BC.  Runners up were Tony Solomons, Mike Corfield, David Green & David Calcutt from Ascot BC, with Paula Hopkinson, David Patterson, Hugh Thomson & Mike Webley of Thame BC closely following in 3rd place.     Well done to these teams in particular, and to all who had won through to the Final.

After two years of Berks wins, Bucks regained the Philip Thornton Shield in the annual Berks v Bucks match played on 21st March.  And did so in resounding fashion by winning all three matches - the A-team match by 60 IMPs; the B-team by 10 IMPs and the C-team by 11 IMPs.  The Shield is held by the winning captains - Carole Mueller, Chrys Poole & Steve Lee.
Click for further details.  

Well done to Nigel Wolfendale, Dick Davey, Ed Scerri & Callum McKail on winning the Perkins' Cup in the Teams event.  And to Runners-up Heather & Matthew Tan and Dee & Peter Lindon and to 3rd placed Peter Jackson, James Bond, Peter Hawkes & Mike Perkins. 10 teams competed.

The final of the Tollemache Cup is being held in Coventry over 10-11 February.    In the Saturday sessions the Berks & Bucks team (Andrew Murphy, Barry Myers, Ed Scerri, Dick Davey, John Howard, Richard Bowdery, Sally Brock and Ian Reissman) had two good wins, one draw and one loss, and lie in third spot overnight behind Kent & Manchester.

In the remaining session on the Sunday, B&B were ranked 4th equal with Oxfordshire, which meant that they managed to remain in 3rd place in the final overall result with a total of 85VP - still behind Kent in 1st place (93VP) and Manchester in 2nd (92VP).    Well done on finishing in 3rd place.

Click for full results.

The top 16 pairs from the earlier Qualifying heat competed in the County Pairs Championship.  Winners - of the Rex Avery Trophy - were Peter Jackson & Mike Perkins.  Runners up (in a close result for the top three places) were David Green & David Calcutt, with Ed Scerri & Dick Davey in 3rd place.    Well done to them - and to all who qualified for the Final.

Twelve pairs competed in the County Pairs Plate competition which was held concurrently with the Final.  Winners of the Chris Burley Trophy were Joyce Baldock & James Chapman, with Eva Wallen & Evelyn Crossley in 2nd place & David Killick & Douglas Townsend in 3rd place.    Well done.

This season's Student League was launched with a meeting of the Captains of the 5 competing teams hosted by Nigel Thompson (centre) - the Organiser of the Student and Graduate Leagues.   Seated left to right are Steve Wiggins (captain of "Mary's Berries" team), Graham Coles ("The Pretenders"), Andy Davis ("GX Players"), Pam Oakford (a member of "GX Players"), Caroline Jennings ("The Unassuming Bidders") and Helen Waller ("The Clueless").    We wish them luck as they set out into the world of competetive bridge.

Well done to Pat & Richard Chantler on retaining the Pat Husband Trophy in the Friendly Swiss Pairs.    Equally well done to Dominic Cooke & William Clennell - two 17 year olds from Reading School (see article below) - who after leading for much of the competition finished in 2nd place.    In 3rd place were Dory Thompson & Sue Brown - just reward for being the standby pair.    The 1st Session prize went to Nell Dillistone & Dale Thomas, and the 2nd Session prize to Diane Bell & Deborah Astley.      Well done to all 26 pairs who braved the weather.

34 pairs competed in the Qualifiying event for the County Pairs Final and the County Pairs Plate.  The top ranked pair were Peter Jackson & Mike Perkins with Ed Scerri & Dick Davey, Rob Wilkinson & Colin Johns in 3rd place and Carole Mueller & Chris Mooney in 4th.     Well done.   The top 16 pairs qualify for the Final and the next 16 pairs qualify for the Plate.    Both of these events will be held at Windsor on Sunday 4th February starting at 1:30pm.   Click the header of this item for list of qualifiers for the Final & Plate (or click on the Final & Plate event on the right).
Any qualified pairs who are unable to play in the Final or Plate should notify by clicking on >> this link << as soon as possible.   This will enable other pairs to be promoted. 

Congratulations to Bill Godenzie & Charles Chisnall and David Owen & Evelyn Crossley on winning the Carole Mueller Trophy in the seasonal Mixed (Swiss)* Teams event.   Runners-up were Joan Murphy & Bob Holder and Ed Scerri & Dick Davey, and in 3rd place were Eva Wallen & David Beever and Graham & Sue Dickens.   Well done.   (* Played as normal teams.)

Well done Madeleine Harrison & John Henderson on winning the Tony Boothroyd Plate in the first of the Friendly Pairs events of the season.    And to runners-up Alec Black & Colin Godbold and third placed Susan Brown & Nigel Thompson.     20 pairs played.

Congratulations to Sally Brock who has been awarded the Diamond Award from the EBU in recognition of her outstanding contribution to England's international teams.
Click to read Sally's biography and list of achievements.

Congratulations to the B&B Tollemache team (Andrew Murphy, Barry Myers, Ed Scerri, Gary Jones, John Howard, Richard Bowdery, Sally Brock and Tim Rees) in coming second in Group D and thereby qualifying for the final in February. It was a tight match throughout with 6 of the 8 teams in close contention until the final round; indeed they did not regain their second place until the last 3 boards.
Click for full results.

The winner and runner-up of last season's Victor Ludorum - Dick Davey & Nigel Wolfendale - continued their form by winning the Jarrett Cup in the Butler Pairs event held on 12th November.  However, small margins separated the top three places.   David Beever & Bob Holder were very close runners-up, with Paula Hopkinson & Geoff Nicholas close behind in third place.   Well done.  

UPDATE:   In the Final, Dee Lindon, Peter Lindon, Ed Scerri and Steve Eginton lost by just 12 IMPs in a 48 board contest. The Lindon team led by 26 IMPs after 16 boards, but the Edwards team won each of the last four sets to edge in front by the end.    Well done nonetheless.

Congratulations to Dee & Peter Lindon, Ed Scerri & Steve Eginton on reaching the Final of the Gerard Faulkner Salver.  And condolences - but well done nonetheless - to Tara & Stan Harding, Stephen Gore & Michael Rawlins on winning through as far as the Semi-Final.

We are sorry to learn that Richard's BC - which plays at the Polish Club in Amersham - will close as of 8th November.  The club was founded many years ago by Alan Thompson and Richard Senior, and members of the club have always taken active roles in support of Berks & Bucks CBA.  Members have also represented the club well in B&B competitions - winning the Waller Bowl in both 2011/12 and 2012/13 as well as many individual competitions.    However, numbers have reduced in more recent years to a point where the club does not consider it viable to continue.   We hope that the club's members will continue their bridge at other clubs, and we look forward to seeing them at B&B events. 

Well done to the three B&B teams-of-4 who played in the A-Flight of the Metropolitan Cup played on 8th October - Ed Scerri, Steve Eginton & Andrew Murphy, Richard Bowdery; Mike Perkins, Ian Reissmann & Mike Ribbind & Pat Dowdeswell; Nigel Wolfendale, Dick Davey & Bob Holder, Phil Thornton.    Their combined VPs put them into 1st place in the Flight.     In the B & C Flights, the B&B teams were both 7th in their respective Flights.     Congratulations to all who took part.   

The first B&B county Simultaneous Pairs event took place over four days from Monday 18  Sept to Thursday 21 Sept. Twenty seven B&B clubs participated holding 32 sessions between them. In all, 636 pairs played.
The daily winners were :-  Monday - Bill & Lynn Fraser (Tessa Templeton School of Bridge) with 71%, Tuesday - Barry Read & Kim Sedgwick (Ascot BC) with 70%, Wednesday - Anders Wallen & Steve Lynch (Chalfont BC) with 69%, Thursday - Tony & Sue Strawson (Seer Green BC) with 65%.
Congratulations to them all. We hope that everyone enjoyed the event, seeing how they performed against others across the county and getting a few extra Master Points from the EBU !
We look forward to running the event again next year.

The Tollemache Cup is the inter-county championships for teams of eight.  The Qualifer event is played in November, and the Final in February. B&B have qualified for the Final in each of the last 5 years and won the event in 2012/13 and 2013/14.    B&B's team for this season's competition will be Sally Brock & Barry Myers, John Howard & Tim Rees, Gary Jones & Ed Scerri, Richard Bowdery & Andy Murphy with James Bond as their non-playing Captain.   We wish them Good Luck.

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Laurie Champniss on Sunday 17th September, after a long period of illness.   Laurie was well known to many in the bridge community for fulfilling his personal dream of building a superb bridge facility - South Bucks Bridge Centre - which many B&B members enjoy.  He will be greatly missed by family and friends; everyone who played bridge with him; and those who just knew him for the gentleman that he was.
A Memorial Ceremony will be held on 11th October at SBBC.  For details, click link to SBBC website .

Nathan Galpin & Jack Lawrence -17 year olds still studying at Reading School - won the Reading BC heat of the Thursday EBED Autumn Sims and came 9th nationally out of 378 pairs with 65%.    On other days, Ed Brennan & David Horen (Austenwood), were 11th out of 641 on the Monday, and Chris Waye & Michael Kaye (Newbury) were 34th out on 687 on the Tuesday.     Well done.

Many Berks & Bucks players took part in the first weekend of the EBU Summer Meeting in Eastbourne.   The most notable successes were Ed Scerri & Dick Davey and Richard Bowdery (with Brian Senior) who were both joint 9th out of 214 pairs playing in the Harold Poster Swiss Pairs.   [Richard clearly kept in form by also being in the top (EW) pair and the top team in the Late Night Speedball Pairs and the Late Night Speedball Teams on the Friday and Saturday nights respectively (11:30pm starts!).]

In the Seniors Congress Pairs, played over Monday & Tuesday, Mick Green & Georgio Jeronimidis won through to the A-Final and gained 10th place.   Well done.

Congratulations to Barry Read & Anthony Collins who were the convincing winners (in a field of 52) in the Swiss Pairs played on the 2nd Saturday.

And in the Swiss Teams over the final weekend, Ed Scerri & Gary Jones (with Waseem Naqvi & Jerry Harouni) were 3rd and Phil Thornton, Bob Holder, Callum McKail & Nigel Wolfendale were 5th in a strong field of 85 teams.    Well done.
Click here for a link to the Summer Meeting Hub on the EBU website.