Official website of the Suffolk Contract Bridge Association
The EBU publishes an online magazine Tournament Focus which, while slanted towards tournament players (as you'd expect), contains articles on many different topics for all levels. Examples include 10 Things You Did Not Know About Bidding Boxes, Decimalised Green Points or IMP Pairs Scoring.
The most recent edition, Spring 2012, has just been released, its contents include:
The 2012 SCBA AGM will be held on Sunday 20th May 2012 at Ipswich & District Indoor Bowling Club (136 Rushmere Road, IPSWICH, IP4 4JU) starting 3:00pm. The meeting is followed by prize giving and the AGM Pairs.
You can download a printable copy of the agenda [PDF] (including nominations for officers and committee) and the minutes of the 2011 meeting [PDF].
Basia Malinowska, Mike Malin, Rick Hanley and Anne Wilmer combined the best to win the 2012 Pivot teams.
| Team | Mal | Pri | Wal | Wat | Par | Ric | IMPs |
| Malinowska | ** | -9 | 26 | 1 | 38 | 51 | 107 |
| Price | 9 | ** | -18 | 35 | 23 | 31 | 80 |
| Walker | -26 | 18 | ** | -25 | 25 | 53 | 45 |
| Waters | -1 | -35 | 25 | ** | -2 | 10 | -3 |
| Parker | -38 | -23 | -25 | 2 | ** | 12 | -72 |
| Rickard | -51 | -31 | -53 | -10 | -12 | ** | -157 |
See the full results including line-ups and Master Point awards.
The county Championship Teams was won by Jane Moore, Andrew Moore, Jenny Price and David Price who beat Bill Tweddell, Rick Hanley, Eric Newman and Mike Sherer 118-28 in the final.
The Moore team can represent Suffolk at the Pachbo Cup, the national teams 'Cup Winners' in June.
The championship teams started with a qualifier in December, this is a summary of the 2011-12 competition.
Debby Sutcliffe and Maria Allnutt posted two high-scoring sessions to take the 2012 County Championship. The top three pairs can represent Suffolk at the Corwen Trophy, the national pairs 'Cup Winners' in late May.
| 1. | Debby Sutcliffe & Maria Allnutt | 61.98% |
| 2. | Mike Sherer & Eric Newman | 60.05% |
| 3. | Peter Brown & Keith Manley | 58.52% |
| 4. | Bogdan Talaga & David Walker | 56.86% |
| 5. | Rick Hanley & Alan Green | 56.67% |
See the full results (Now with Green Point awards and deals displayed).
Jane Moore is playing this weekend in the Lady Milne in Llandrindod, Wales.
The Lady Milne is a six-way international competition between Wales, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The sixth team is provide by the hosts and this year represents the Welsh Bridge Union (WBU)
The England team is:
Sally Brock is the non-playing captain.
You can see more about the event, including results, from the dedicated website which includes further links. Most notably you can watch online (without login) via Bridge Base Online.
Several long-serving members of the Suffolk Committee are standing down at this year's AGM in May.
It is likely that there will be at least two vacancies of the SCBA Committee at the AGM, including that of General Secretary; the SCBA welcomes nominations for these positions. Ideally the make-up of the committee should reflect that of the general membership, particularly in terms of gender and playing ability.
This year's AGM is on Sunday 20th May 2012 at Ipswich Indoor Bowls Club. Nominations and motions for the AGM must be received in writing by the Secretary by Sunday 22nd April. As per the SCBA constitution, each must proposed by a Full Member of the SCBA, and seconded by two additional Full Members.
If you are interested, perhaps simply to talk over what serving on the committee entails, contact SCBA Chairman Andrew Moore () or Secretary Jeff Orton () – they would be delighted to hear from you.
Last month the committee met with club representatives; you can read the minutes of that meeting [PDF] and the supporting draft document on arrangements between clubs and county for running events [PDF].
February's maximum win by Suffolk's 'A' team against Cambridge University left them six behind leaders Hertfordshire with a match in hand. The outstanding fixture was postponed from the bad weather in January and has, unfortunately, proved impossible to re-schedule. The League secretary has invoked the rules for unplayable matches and that went Suffolk's way; their 'striking rate' is well above the seven they need to secure the division (and their opponent's defence rate below).
Therefore the Suffolk 'A' team have, for the first time in county history, won the top division of the ECL.
This underlines the advances made by Suffolk's top team, captained by David Price. They have added to their success in reaching the Tollemache final (National teams-of-eight) twice in the last three years. Where once Suffolk has 'strength in depth' they now have a strong 'A' team with 'B' and 'C' teams who have struggled this season.
The League standings, slightly less than official but correct in major aspects, can be seen on our usual 2011-12 ECL page.
Coincidentally dates for the 2012-13 season have just been agreed and are on the events page. is always on the lookout for new players for county.
Eleven teams from seven clubs competed for the Thornaway Cup which was won by one of the two Clare teams, Sarah and Nick Farr, David and Jenny Price.
| Club | Cla | Ips | Ips | Fel | Fra | Ips | Fri | Bur | Fra | Cla | Str | IMPs |
| Clare (Farr) | ** | 1 | -7 | 12 | -2 | 23 | 19 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 81 |
| Ipswich (Manley) | -1 | ** | 19 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 8 | 68 |
| Ipswich (Gemmell) | 7 | -19 | ** | 11 | 5 | 3 | -2 | 15 | 1 | 16 | 25 | 62 |
| Felixstowe | -12 | -1 | -11 | ** | 5 | -7 | -3 | -4 | -2 | 46 | 1 | 12 |
| Framlingham (Andrews) | 2 | -8 | -5 | -5 | ** | 2 | -5 | -4 | -14 | 3 | 29 | -5 |
| Ipswich (Mayhew) | -23 | -2 | -3 | 7 | -2 | ** | 29 | -6 | 12 | -14 | -4 | -6 |
| Frinton | -19 | -1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -29 | ** | 2 | 8 | 8 | 8 | -13 |
| Bury | -25 | -8 | -15 | 4 | 4 | 6 | -2 | ** | 19 | -5 | -14 | -36 |
| Framlingham (Waters) | -4 | -5 | -1 | 2 | 14 | -12 | -8 | -19 | ** | -24 | 21 | -36 |
| Clare (Bignell) | -5 | -17 | -16 | -46 | -3 | 14 | -8 | 5 | 24 | ** | -6 | -58 |
| Stratford St Mary | -1 | -8 | -25 | -1 | -29 | 4 | -8 | 14 | -21 | 6 | ** | -69 |
See the full results including line-ups and Master Point awards.
Peter Carlisle, Birte Ditchburn, Chris Kennedy and Victor Floriean won the Swiss Teams a match clear of second.
14 teams took part; see the complete results including full line-ups and MP awards.
The Portland Pairs is the National Mixed Pairs Championships and this year there is a new heat at Risbygate club.
The event is a two-session mixed pairs organised by the EBU and held simultaneously at various venues on Sunday 25th March 2012. The event will be match-pointed over the entire field via the Internet.
The starting times at all venues will be 12:00 noon and two sessions of 24 boards will be played, with a break between sessions.
The entry fee is £24 per player and the closing date for entries is 12th March 2012
Download a poster which contains details of how to make an entry.
After a long layoff the first team won each quarter but the second team match oscillated and Suffolk were -1 with eight to play. The deals were quite tough and there were only a couple of youthful exuberances; mostly the university played good bridge and were a little unlucky.
The 'A' Team won 20-0 (+91 IMPs) and the 'B' team 12-8 (+13 IMPs).
See the full match details.
There is one match still to play in the 2011-12 ECL season, the postponed fixture against Cambs & Hunts, but unsurprisingly that is proving difficult to schedule.
See an updated 2011-12 ECL Divisions.
Eastern Counties League 2011-2012
Updated 29-Mar-2012
The Winter edition of Table Talk is now available – make sure you pick up a copy from your club. If you live outside the county, you'll be receiving yours in the post shortly.
You can download a copy from our Table Talk page.
We send out a monthly newsletter to every member on email. To receive a copy or update your details, email and we'll add you to the mailing-list.
There is an index of all newsletters and a separate page for all the Bridge in the Cupboard articles.