September 2009
World Championships
Yes, another World Championships. The Bermuda Bowl, the Venice Cup and the d'Orsi Senior Bowl are now in full swing in Sao Paulo. This is the tough one where country teams have to qualify by a high finish in their respective zones and England, well, they are not too well represented. The only national team is in the d'Orsi Senior Bowl but there Suffolk are well represented, by the county captain David Price.
You can follow the action, results, bulletins and also some featured matches on-line. Follow links from the tournament website. I don't want to jinx anything, but currently the England Seniors' team are leading the all-play-all…
EBU Tournament Focus
Alongside Club Focus the EBU have started to produce Tournament Focus, "written especially for our tournament player, [it] is now available to read on-line".
Tournament Focus is emailed by the EBU to tournament players, that is those who have played in a national event and whose email address is known to them. If you are interested, you are of course welcome to down load from the link above (the current edition) and there is an index of past issues (two so far).
Club focus continues and the current edition available for download or to read on-line. It is sent to club secretaries (and thence to club notice-boards we hope).
Bridge in the Cupboard
From Jamaica via Panama and the Crimea, Mary Seacole, the Four of Hearts nurses home a delicate three club contract.
Forthcoming Events
Winter League
Closing date for entries, Monday 7th September. The Winter league is a fun introduction to teams bridge. Lower divisions are organised to minimise travelling and matches are played by arrangement in homes at roughly one a month over the winter starting in October. The winners of the topmost division earn the right to represent Suffolk in the Tollemache Qualifier.
is the new League Secretary and he would be delighted to hear from you – just be quick!
Ipswich Swiss Pairs
Sunday 13th September 2009, 2:00pm at Kesgrave Community Centre. A two session Swiss pairs event entry for which is £12.00 per pair. This year the event will be scored by BridgeMate and assignments will be done on current round scores.
This is a popular event and run along the same lines as in the past; there will be a modest interval during which competitors may consume their own refreshments but:
- Tea and coffee will be served during the interval
- Soft drinks will be provided throughout the Event
Entries and queries to Ipswich chairman more details on the Ipswich & Kesgrave website.
You can see an entry-form on the Suffolk website [PDF] or download and edit this Microsoft Word version and send it to
Suffolk Men's and Women's Pairs
Tuesday 22nd September 2009, 7:15pm at Kesgrave Community Centre. A one session pairs event for unmixed partnerships entry for which is £6.00 per person. Entries to SCBA tournament secretary .
Suffolk Club Teams of Eight
Sunday 4th October 2009, 2:00pm at Stoke by Nayland. For the Abbeygate Shield, the Suffolk Club Teams of Eight qualifies the winning club for the National Garden Cities' Trophy. Entries are via club secretaries but there's no reason why you shouldn't take the initiative and ask if your club is putting in a team.
Entries and enquiries to SCBA tournament secretary .
Felixstowe Congress
Saturday/Sunday 10th/11th October 2009, Felixstowe Leisure Centre. The format is the same and to an almost identical schedule but after the success of last year's Green Pointed Pairs, this year the Swiss Teams is also Green pointed. Entries are coming in from far and wide but not from Suffolk players!
And there's a sound financial reason for entering before October; the full Congress is £40 and the separate days are £22 each but there's a discount of £5 and £2 respectively if you enter early (before October).
You can download a brochure for an entry form and full schedule. Entries and enquiries, including finding partners and teammates, Congress Secretary .
Results
Brighton Summer Meeting
This year saw quite a good turnout at the EBU Summer Meeting playing on both weekends and the events midweek. You can see an an index to all the results if you'd like to check on friends from other counties. These are the highlights from Suffolk members.
Swiss Pairs
Played on the first weekend:
| 39= | Andrew Moore & Jane Moore | 173 |
| 51= | David Price & David Mossop (London) | 168 |
| 84= | Jonathan Green & Richard Hillman (London) | 160 |
| 99= | Stuart McPhee (Oxford) & Jim Gobert | 157 |
| 260= | Graham Beeton and Sue Flin | 135 |
| 322= | Bogdan Talaga and Anna Yarkina | 124 |
| 404= | Colin Bamberger and Robert Green | 107 |
436 Pairs took part, the complete results are on the EBU site.
Swiss Teams
Fewer battled in the teams. After ten matches the top sixteen teams play in an 'A' and 'B' final and leave the rest of us to play four more matches for the Brighton Bowl. In that competition were spotted:
| 8= | Alan Wilson & Nick Smith (both Oxford) Christopher Chambers & Jim Gobert | 169 |
| 55= | Graham Beeton & Sue Flin Robert Green & Colin Bamberger | 148 |
The Beeton team finished level with Scottish international and ex-Suffolk player, Mike Ash…
170 Teams (after 16 to Four Stars A & B) took part, a complete list is on the EBU site .
Seniors Pairs
David Price & Andrew Moore weren't quite able to repeat their high finish of last year but they and their spouses, Jenny Price & Jane Moore, beat two cuts to make the final.
| 9 | David Price & Andrew Moore | 54.33% |
| 23 | Jenny Price & Jane Moore | 48.59% |
105 pairs took part, full results of the final are on the EBU site.