Our annual 12 aside 24 board match was played from late afternoon at the picturesque Hurlingham Club in south west London on Monday 1 July 2024. Hurlingham are one of our strongest opponents and have beaten us in recent years and so I was a little nervous when a number of our original selections could not play. Oh me of little faith! Bluntly the substitutes performed magnificently and supported the team to a nailbiting tie. Yes, an actual tie. A new zero imp result. This is a first for me! At half time the RAC lead by a handsome 25 imps which was brutally clawed back by a ravenous Hurlingham, some of whom took risks with their bidding which worked brilliantly for them. With a few boards still to be played Hurlingham had taken a net 8 imps lead. It was a bit like watching the scoring of the Eurovision one contest as the RAC whittled away at the lead as one by one the final boards were scored. There were so many permutations which could have given either side victory but a tie somehow felt rather bizarrely like we had 24 winners.

Dinner was excellent and served in the soon to be retired formal dining room and our special thanks to Gitte for creating a year ago a movement format so that all players played each other which she repeated again this year and to Ruth and Kitty for organising the match so effectively.

Our team consisted of : Michael B/David M Pralab B/Terry S Robin K/Lester P John C/Mark A Andrea G/John K David W/Pearse E

Michael Bailey

Pall Mall Bridge Circle July Newsletter Hello Everyone, I am wondering how many of you are reading this message from a glorious holiday location? Well, I hope the weather is hot and sunny unlike in the UK at the moment. I am very happy to be back in London for a few months after visiting Portugal, Washington and Paris. What do you think this is?!

As many of you know we stayed recently at the reciprocal Cosmos Club in Washington DC. This was brought to my plate when we sat down for dinner. Clearly I thought it must be a bread roll, after all that is what usually arrives first on one’s side plate? No, this is the Cosmos Club Washington 'specialty' I was proudly told by the waiter, who I might add brought butter to go with it. Well I wondered is it bread? a brioche? but no it was a giant YORKSHIRE PUDDING. Thank goodness I can report that our trip to Paris was full of wonderful French baguettes and many croissants, yes I admit that it is not very healthy but you must agree better than a Yorkshire pudding. By the way, in the States they call it a 'Popover', they are not fooling me it is a Yorkshire Pudding! After a ten day stop in London we went onto Paris where our Bridge players were taking part in two matches. Please see the match reports below.   Paris is in the throws of getting ready for the Olympics and of course, like us, they have a snap election coming up soon. So, the city was busy and moving around was really only possible on the great Paris Metro. The picture below was taken from the steps of La Madeleine Church in Place Madeleine. It is a great shot looking over the Place de la Concord and then over the river to Les Invalide where, of course, Napoleon rests (pictured below). You can also see the massive stands being erected for the forthcoming Olympic Games.

NEWS As we all know the summer months are quieter at Bridge. However, we will still be playing throughout the summer months. If you are able to join us for play we will be very happy to see you all. Our Annual Summer Lunch at Woodcote Park is organised for Sunday 14 July. There are a few spaces still available, simply follow this link if you would like to join us for a refreshing glass of Pimms on the Cedar Lawn Terrace and a beautiful buffet lunch in The Derby and The Oaks Rooms. We are always keen to see as many students as possible as this is a lovely way to meet you all and have time for a chat. As I said last month, I will be advertising the dates for our Afternoon Bridge nearer the time, but you might like to put these dates in your diary in the meantime. Remember these sessions are open to our St. James’s Club members too. Monday 16 September - 2.15pm in the Terrace Room Monday 21 October - 2.15pm in the Mall Room Monday 18 November - 2.15pm in the Terrace Room I want to give you advance notice that we are making some changes to the Bowman Pairs tournament taking place in October. As you can see at the bottom of this missive, it has reverted back to the last Sunday in October and going forward it will always be thus.   As well as shortening the name, we are now starting play at 11.30am playing 24 boards, having lunch followed by another 24 boards played. It will be a Swiss pairs and it will not be an EBU Blue Point event.   I am hoping the timings will help many players who want to drive to the Club, as we all know the Congestion Charge is levied between 12 noon and 6.00pm on a Sunday. So, if you drive and park you will not pay the Congestion Charge and very importantly parking is free on Sundays!

INTER CLUB MATCHES (UPCOMING) We have the following matches taking place this month: Hurlingham (away) on Monday 1 July, 4.00pm for 4.30pm. Michael B/David M Pralab B/Terry S Robin K/Lester P John C/Mark A Andrea G/John K David W/Pearse E. New Club Edinburgh (home) on Saturday 13 July, in the Mall Room, 3.00pm for 3.30pm. Henry Mc/Fiona Mc John K/Cecilia KP Pauli L/Ina W David O/Sandy.  MATCH REPORTS On Friday 14 June The Royal Automobile Club met the Automobile Club of France in Paris for our annual match. Our ‘first’ teams (one was Pralab and Andrea, Pascale and John and the other was Sally and Paul and David M and me) did not do well. With the Cup staring at us, we never got near to bringing it home. However, it was a good game although the scoring was a little complicated! Particular congratulations to Sally and Paul who had the only positive score of the four pairs, with particular praise to Sally who brought home one or two great contracts to help balance the scores for our team.  Our saving grace was the ‘second’ team (Pearse and Mark and Howard and Ollie Wand). It was keenly fought with some ups and downs but going into the last quarter they were narrowly ahead by 2 Imps! They ran out winners comfortably over the last ten boards and had the justified honour of bringing home the Bernard Bignier Cup to the Club. Well done. And special mention should go to the younger Wand who, as admitted by his old man, played well and was a major contributor to their victory. The French welcomed us warmly and with all hospitality and friendship not to mention modesty in their victory. Our team consisted of Howard Salter/David Mannooch, Pralab Barua/Andrea G, Paul Found/Sally Found, John Craggs/Pascale Hakim, Howard Wand/Oliver Wand, Mark Alcock/Pearse Elder. Report submitted by Match Captain Howard Salter.

On Sunday 16 June I had the pleasure of assuming the role of Captain and taking our Royal Automobile Club Bridge team to Le Cercle de l'Union Interalliée for our inaugural Bridge match in Paris. The Royal Automobile Club has strong ties with the club and has been playing Chess with them for over forty years. The Bridge team at 'Le Cercle' were absolutely charming and we were made very welcome.   We played in three teams in order of strength and at half time I must report that our 'C' team were the only Brits in the lead! It became very clear during the second half exactly how strong the French were. We discovered many have very high ratings and are really excellent players. Clearly what I am trying to say is that they were the victors in the end!   I was told that they regularly play the Automobile Club de France and always win. Now in the past I have been advised that the ACF were the best team we played. Well, there are now 'new kids on the block' and when these delightful people visit us next year, we need to have a good plan!   After the match we were invited to a Champagne reception in the huge garden (the club is almost next door to the Elysee Palace) and then to dinner in a very beautifully decorated room. All in all this new match was a huge hit and Marie-Francoise, their captain, with whom I had made all the arrangements was wonderful. I am really looking forward to seeing them next year. Our team consisted of, Fiona McWatters/Henry McWatters, John Craggs/Mark Alcock, Sally Found/Paul Found, Howard Wand/Pearse Elder, Andrea Geser/Malcolm McIvor, Simone Wand/Oliver Wand. Report submitted by Fiona McWatters.

RAC CLUB MATCHES (UPCOMING) AND MATCH REPORTS MATCH REPORT On Tuesday 25 June the Roehampton Club visited the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall for our annual team of eight bridge match. We fielded three substitutes Trevor Southam, Howard Wand and Michael Bailey who stood in for originally selected members that were unable to play on the day.  The Club ran out winners by 14 imps which is a narrow winning margin reflecting the overall solid performance by both teams. As captain for the night I would like to thank Howard W, Sally, Paul and Lester for assisting me in setting up the room, the boards and tidying up at the end of the evening.  Thank you to Victor who continues to provide pre-dealt playing boards and results sheets, thereby allowing self review after the end of play and to the banqueting team who did an excellent job of looking after us. Our team consisted of Lester P and Howard S, Howard W and Robin K, Sally and Paul F and Trevor S and Michael B. Report submitted by Match Captain Michael Bailey

BRIDGE SCHOOL Beginners and Intermediate classes continue to be very popular. The Beginners and Intermediate Bridge School terms come to an end in early summer.   Our beginner students will move up in September to the Intermediate class. Any Royal Automobile Club members wanting to start to learn Bridge should look out for our Beginners' Bridge Weekend in September, followed by the start of the Beginners' Course where we will start again with some new enthusiastic Club students. This has recently been advertised, so if you want to attend do let us know as soon as possible as it gets booked up very quickly! GENERAL INFORMATION Our WhatsApp group now has 56 members, a number which I am very pleased with. I need to revise my statistics each month as they increase.    If you are looking for a partner on Thursday evening this is the place to find someone. Please can I stress that our WhatsApp group is only for Thursday evening or other Club matches which I advertise from time to time. Group members are kindly asked to use another form of connection for private matches or other information shared. Thank you. ST JAMES'S CLUB MEMBERS We warmly welcome our St. James’s Club friends to join us on the last Thursday of every month for our regular Duplicate. We do encourage you to find a partner before coming along to the Club. There will be four Teams Events in 2024 on the last Thursday of the month that are open to both Royal Automobile Club and St. James’s Club teams. The dates are as follows: Thursday 29 August Thursday 28 November Non-St. James's Club guests are welcome to come and play at the Club twelve times in any one year with a Royal Automobile Club member. I advise all players to visit the Club’s BridgeWebs page regularly as news is posted on these pages throughout the month.  IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2024 Sunday 14 July Annual Summer Lunch at Woodcote Park Monday 23 September St James's Club Bridge Drive hosted by the Reform Club Sunday 27 October Ros and Bob Bowman Championship Pairs Thursday 12 December Christmas Party  2025 Tuesday 4 February Duke of Devonshire Cup, play is every Tuesday evening Tuesday 25 February Duke of Devonshire Cup Final Monday 19 May  Centenary Cup  If you have any questions about the Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall Bridge Circle, please do get in touch with me. Best Wishes Fiona McWatters Chair, Pall Mall Bridge Committee

A lovely evening was played out in the St James Room in our annual team of 8 bridge match against the Roehampton Club. We fielded 3 substitutes Trevor Southam, Howard Wand and Michael Bailey who stood in for members originally selected and could not play. The RAC ran out winners by 14 imps which is a narrow winning margin reflecting the overall solid performance by both teams. As captain for the night I would like to thank Howard W, Sally, Paul and Lester for assisting me in setting up the boards, scoring cards and pencils and tidying up at the end of the evening. Victor continues to provide predealt playing boards and results sheets, thereby allowing self review after the end of play, and banqueting did an excellent job looking after us. 

Team:

Lester and Howard S
Howard W and Robin
Sally and Paul
Trevor S and Michael B

Report submitted by Team Captain Michael Bailey

Last week was the annual match against the Automobile Club of France. This year it was the Parisians who hosted the event. It was a delight to be back in the City and, for us, the hint of chaos caused by the arrangements for the forthcoming Olympics, did not dampen our growing excitement to be there and to anticipate our own competition.

The RAC party met early, Thursday evening and, arranged by Andrea, we had a most pleasant walk to the restaurant she had booked. It was a fortuitous opportunity to get to know a little about each other. However friendly our relations with those we meet in the bridge circle may be, it was both on the walk and sitting together at the dinner that we could talk to one another without bridge intruding, and get to know and understand something of each other beyond the game and the match.

Unlike on previous occasions, we played 40 boards. 20 in the morning (10a.m. start) and 20 in the afternoon. I would like to say this proved somewhat tiring in terms of concentration but this applied to all playing so I won’t attempt to start with an excuse.

Our ‘first’ teams (one - Pralab and Andrea, Pascale and John and the other, Sally and Paul and David M and me), did not do well. And with the Cup staring at us, we never got near to bringing it home. However, it was a good game although the scoring was a little complicated!

Particular congratulations to Sally and Paul who had the only positive score of the 4 pairs,  with particular praise to Sally who brought home one or two great contracts to help balance the scores for our team.  

Our saving grace was the ‘second’ team (Pearse and Mark and Howard and Ollie Wand). It was keenly fought with some ups and downs, but going into the last quarter they were narrowly ahead by 2 Imps! They ran out winners comfortably over the last 10 boards and had the justified honour of bringing home the Bernard Bignier Cup to the RAC. Well done. And special mention should go to the younger Wand who, as admitted by his old man, played well and was a major contributor to their victory.

I think that we lacked some experience of competition such as this, and Pralab has offered to take us for a seminar (or two?) on those aspects of our game beyond conventions and card play. We could use some experienced advice on reading the players, gauging distributions and logistics on point count etc. I think this would be extremely helpful to all of us. All the more so in an environment when there is far less time pressure, giving us all greater time for thought and calculation.

The French welcomed us warmly and with all hospitality and friendship not to mention modesty in their victory (of course, heavily balanced by our own). With such goodwill, amiability and openness on both sides and amongst ourselves, it was a memorable occasion on both days. Whatever the results of the match itself, we all had a thoroughly great time – partners who came, as well as the players.

Bonhommie, was the order of the day and our opponents were as eager as ourselves to renew the contest next year. All our thanks to our hosts. Let us hope (and expect) that next year brings us both Cups.

Submitted by Howard Salter 

BELOW ARE PROPOSED MATCH TEAM DETAILS SENT OUT BY JOHN CRAGGS TO ALL PLAYERS ON 10TH JANUARY

THERE MAY BE A FEW SMALL CHANGES IF PLAYERS ARE NOW UNAVAILABLE

RAC Teams with pairings for February to July 2024

Captains shown in bold

Cumberland (home) May 15, Wednesday.  Terrace Room 16.00 for 16.30 Pralab B/Trevor S David W/Mark A Martin L/Pauli L Jill P/David O

ACF (away)  June 14, Friday.  Details later Howard S/David M Pralab B/Andrea G Paul F/Sally F John C/Pascale H Howard W/Oliver W Mark A/Pearse E

Le Cercle (away) June 16, Sunday. Fiona M/Henry M John C/Mark A Sally F/Paul F Howard W/Pearse E Andrea G/ Malcolm M Simone W/Oliver W

Roehampton (home) June 25, Tuesday.  St James’s Room 16.30 for 16.45 Paul W/Marina CP Lester P/Howard S Paul F/Sally F Howard W/Terry S

Hurlingham (away) July 1, Monday.  16.00 for 16.30 Michael B/David M Pralab B/Terry S Robin K/Lester P John C/Mark A Andrea G/John K David W/Pearse E

New Club Edinburgh (home) July 13, Saturday.  Mall Room 15.00 for 15.30 Henry Mc/Fiona Mc John K/Cecilia KP Pauli L/Ina W David O/Sandy 

On the 15th May the RAC welcomed the Cumberland Club to Pall Mall.  The match was played in great spirits and by all accounts a thoroughly enjoyable evening except for the result. A competitive first half saw RAC trailing narrowly by 7 imps but the second half somehow got away from us . Regrettably the final result was a loss of 43 imps. The  arrangements for the game as well as the dinner were spot on- thanks to the RAC team for looking after us all so well. The RAC team consisted of:- Pralab Barua/Trevor Southam, David Wilson/Mark Alcock, Martin LangdonPauli Lauren,  Jill PAtterson/David Owen.

Match report kindly submitted by Team Captain Pralab Barua 

Our first weekday afternoon Duplicate pairs Bridge session was held on Monday 22nd April. Participants were encouraged by Victor our TD to play in a business like manner and everyone did their best to comply, despite the distraction of noise from building works outside the Terrace room. We had 8.5 tables and the session without a break at half time concluded in just over 3 hours. We were pleased to welcome some players from Anne’s class taking the plunge. Apart from the regulars at the Thursday club nights, the afternoon Duplicate pairs sessions cater to RAC members and our invited guests from ‘St James‘ Clubs’ who are keen to occasionally play Bridge on a weekday afternoon. Given the success of this opening session, we expect to host similar weekday afternoon sessions in the future - if interested please stay tuned for dates in the future. 
 

We now subscribe to "Pianola", a service that gives interesting analysis and stats of your results from each session, as well as showing how they have been progressing over time. To get started, please give your Email address to Victor (brianplaysbridge@gmail.com) and you will receive a signup link next time you play duplicate at the club. Some of you may be familiar with Pianola from other clubs, and Victor will be able to add the RAC to your profile.

Victor Lesk