The Chester Congress is played in January every year over two days. The two competitions are named after founder members of the club. On the Saturday pairs compete for the Capel Cup and on the Sunday there is a Swiss teams competition for the Latham Knox Trophy.

Winners have their names engraved on the trophies (which we keep on display in the club) and there are cash prizes for the top few pairs/teams (which can be taken away!).

Blue points are awarded for both competitions and entry is restricted to members of the EBU or affiliated organisations (e.g. WBU).

The match pointed Capel Cup pairs competition consists of a qualifying round (for which pairs are seated by a randon draw on arrival) followed, after a refreshment break, by a 7 table full Howell final. There is a consolation event for those pairs who do not qualify for the final.

The teams competition for the Latham Knox Trophy is usually a Swiss competition (dependent on numbers) with seven or eight rounds. Teams will be seated by a random draw for the first round after which they will be ranked.

The Chester Congress took place over the weekend of 25/26 January and attracted players from all over the North West, North Wales, as well as regular Deva players. We had more entries over the two days than last year, but not as many as when the Congress was held in the Blossoms, Westminster and Queen Hotels in Chester - although it is more than a few years ago since Deva used those venues! We played 95 boards over 2 days and enjoyed good quality and friendly bridge, as well as Sophie's excellent catering.

Saturday's pairs event was won by Alec Smalley and Tom Slater - they can be seen below holding the two Capel Cups (with prize money inside) being congratulated by the club president. The runners up were Jackie Pye and John Holland (not pictured). The top 3 pairs in the qualifying session and in the top 2 pairs in the consolation final are pictured below.

Sunday's teams event was won by Alan Mould, John Hassett, John Holland and Jackie Pye (pictured below with the Latham Knox Trophy and the club president). The 2nd and 3rd teams (Nick Sutcliffe's and Tom Slater's teams) are pictured below.
 

Thank you to our visitors who helped make the event a success and to James Vickers for competently directing the sessions.

The 2024 Congress was held in the club on 27 & 28 January. We had 11 tables on Saturday for pairs and 12 tables on Sunday for teams, both an increase on the 2023 Congress.

The Pairs competition was won by Kath Nelson & Tracy Sherman with Tom Slater & Alec Smalley 2nd. Here are the winners with the Capel Cups, and the runners up being presented with their prize by David Smith.

The Teams competition was won by Leslie Klein, Kath Nelson, Jeff Smith &  Rhona Goldenfield with       Paddy Murphy, Stuart Matthews, Alan Stephenson and Mark Weeks in 2nd place, and Alec Smalley, Barbara Lewis, Ann Thornton and Tom Slater in 3rd place. It was very close at the top with only 3 imps dividing the three places. Here are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams:

Congratulations to Kath for winning both events and to Kath (again) and Jeff who were in the winning team last year as well.

The 2023 Chester Congress was held in the club on 28 & 29 January, the first time we have had this event F2F since 2020. Although entries weren't as high as we had then we had enough to hold a Pairs competition on Saturday and Teams on Sunday. It was a pleasure to again play competitive bridge against players from the North West (Manchester, Lancashire, Staffordshire & Shropshire, North Wales as well as Merseyside and Cheshire).

The Pairs competition was won by Keith Shuttleworth & Seb Jones with Peter Kaufmann & Alan Stephenson and Roger Allison & Peter Richmond 2nd and 3rd respectively.

The Teams competition was won by Jeff Smith, Rhona Goldenfield, Jackie Pye & John Holland who were just 1 VP ahead of Adam Wiseberg, Barbara Eastabrook, Karen Jones & Stuart Shalom in 2nd place.    

Here are photos of 1st & 3rd pairs being presented with their prizes, and of the 1st and 2nd teams:

The Capel Cup:

• 2025: Alec Smalley and Tom Slater
• 2024: Kath Nelson & Tracy Sherman
• 2023: Keith Shuttleworth and Seb Jones
• 2022: Competition not held
• 2021: Julian Merrill and Paul Roberts
• 2020: Barry Jones and Bob Pitts
• 2019: Peter Sumption and Laurence Stone
• 2018: Seb Jones and Keith Shuttleworth
• 2017: Rodney Lighton & John Currie and Mark Weeks & Stuart Matthews (joint winners)
• 2016: Seb Jones and Keith Shuttleworth
• 2015: Rodney Lighton and John Currie
• 2014: Rhona and Bernard Goldenfield
• 2013: John and Julia Dearing
• 2012: Angus Clark and George Eakin
• 2011: Dan Crofts and Gary Hyett
• 2010: Peter Kaufmann and David Stevenson

The Latham Knox Trophy:

• 2025: Alan Mould, John Hassett, John Holland and Jackie Pye
• 2024: Leslie Klein, Kath Nelson, Jeff Smith & Rhona Goldenfield
• 2023: Jeff Smith, Rhona Goldenfield, Jackie Pye & John Holland
• 2022: Competition not held
• 2021: Kath Nelson, Greer MacKenzie, Rhona Goldenfield & Ted Reveley
• 2020: Bob Pitts & Barry Jones and Colin Humphrey & Daniel Miller
• 2019: Tracy Capal & Peter Kaufmann and Rhona & Bernard Goldenfeld
• 2018: Wyn Williams & Margaret Barnes and Sheila Shea & Edward Jones
• 2017: Kath & Alan Nelson and Rhona & Bernard Goldenfield
• 2016: Andrew Woodcock, Catherine Draper, Ollie Burgess and Michael Newman
• 2015: Laurence Stone, Martin Cutbill, Ian Bates and Geoff Paddle
• 2014: Duncan and Diane Ault, John and Cathy Ashworth
• 2013: Catherine Draper, Andrew Petrie, Ollie Burgess and Andrew Woodcock