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 MAY DAY SWISS PAIRS - MBC 
Monday 5th May 2008
POS
  
VP's
1
 Barry Jones & Paddy Murphy
107
2
 Liz & Bill Wattleworth
96
3
 Joan King & John Griffith
95
4
 Lollo Murthwaite & Pat Crossley
93
5=
 Neil Thomas & Peter Foster
82
5=
 Jean Still & Enid Pritchard
82
7
 Ken McNeill & Jill Pembridge
78
8
 Joyce Kennedy & Rosemary Williams
76
9
 Ken McNeill & Jill Pembridge
74
10
 Joyce Kennedy & Rosemary Williams
73
11=
 Colin Nugent & Jill Oddie
71
11=
 Robbie Atherton & Maureen Campbell
71
13
 Maureen Foster & Shirley Stott
68
14
 Pat Arthur & Thelma Smith
66
15
 Mike Greatbatch & Luke Atherton
64
16
 Elaine Marshall & Norman King
63
17
 Frances Davies & Bernard Moore
58
18
 Janice & Roger Kimpton
56
19
 Shirley Lenton & Jean Gregory
52
20
 Jean Lovatt & Christine Kidd
47
21
 Lewis Rosenbloom & Janet Joynson
43
22
 Bob Corkhill & George Roberts
27

 MERSEYSIDE BRIDGE CENTRE CHARITY TEAMS 
Sunday, 13th April 2008
All Proceeds to Claire House, Wirral
POS
  
VP's
1
 Joyce Kennedy, Anne Harwood, Denise McDowall, Rose Williams
101
2
 Angus Clark, Sally Clark, George Eakin, Val Eakin
86
3
 Geoff Cowie, Rob Roberts, Maureen Foster, Shirley Stott
82
4
 David Howe, Lollo Murthwaite, Pat Tweedle, Pat Crossley
75
5
 Keith Thompson, Avril Thompson, Jill Oddie, Mike Greatbatch
69
6
 John Griffith, Olwen Brown, Jean McKeown, Peter Swarbrick
62
7
 Shirley Lenton, Bunty Povey, Pat Arthur, Jean Gregory
45
8
 Diana Beavan, Elaine Marshall, Bob Corkhill, George Roberts
40
Thank you from MBC and Claire House for your support

 HARROGATE CONGRESS   
22-24 February 2008

CONGRATULATIONS!

SWISS PAIRS WINNERS
(out of a field of 166 Pairs)

Ted Reveley (M&CBA) & Bill Niccol (M&CBA)

Bill & Ted's Great Adventure continues . . . . .

 LLANGOLLEN SWISS TEAMS  
16-18 November 2007

CONGRATULATIONS TO M&CBA* MEMBERS IN THE WINNING TEAM
(a repeat success for the identical winning team in 2004)
Pos
    
VP's
1st
   David Stevenson* & Ted Reveley*
David Harris & Jon Williams
212
 
Winning 12 of their 14 matches, the Winners finished well ahead of the 2nd placed-team who scored 188 VP's. The total entry was 58 teams.

CONGRATULATIONS!
~~~  SAD  NEWS  ~~~

We are sorry to have to announce the death,
in October 2007, of IAN TOPP
and we offer our condolences to his family
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All bridge players who knew Ian were inspired by his courage and fearlessness in the face of his worsening illness over the last few years - and were sad to hear of his death in October last. While thinking mainly of his family and their loss, also in our thoughts is Ian's long-time bridge partner, Brian Horn - we wonder if there will ever again be a bridge partnership named "Horn & Topp". Ian was a regular County player, making himself available for matches whenever possible. He was enthusiastic in life and a real gentleman both at the bridge table and away from it - he will be greatly missed.
~~~  SAD  NEWS  ~~~

We are sorry to have to announce the death,
towards the middle of October 2007, of FRANK DEAN
and we offer our condolences to his family
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The tribute below is courtesy of Bob Pitts :-

All of the members of the Deva Bridge Club were shocked by the recent sudden death of Frank Dean. Frank had been a stalwart of the club and was one of it’s founding members. In his younger days he had been a keen sportsman playing football, table tennis, badminton and lawn tennis. I am told that he was an excellent tennis player and represented Cheshire regularly. During his bridge career he had won all of the club’s major events and represented the County on many occasions. Whenever you played against him he always had a humorous story or an interesting hand to talk about, but he was never critical of his partners or opponents. I played against him a few days prior to his passing away. On one hand he missed a difficult defensive unblocking play, but unsurprisingly he was the first to realise and immediately apologised to his partner – typical of the man. He was a real gentleman at the table and he will be greatly missed.

 CROCKFORDS  PLATE  K-O TEAMS  2007  
Local Team Beats Jourdain Team in Final!

CONGRATULATIONS!
Jean Keen
(Jean & Dave Keen, Matt Foster & Tim Prior)
BEAT
Patrick Jourdain

CONGRATULATIONS!
Having led throughout in the 40-board Crockfords Plate Final held at West Midlands Bridge Club (Solihull) on Friday 19 October 2007, Jean, Dave, Matt & Tim achieved a convincing victory with a final score of +27 IMP's. It was a challenging and enjoyable match, and the opposition were charming in defeat.

 EBU JOINT ONE-DAY SWISS TEAMS  
Risley - 22 July 2007

CONGRATULATIONS TO LOCAL RUNNERS-UP!
2ND PLACE in a field of 27 teams
Barry Jones (M&CBA) & David Stevenson (M&CBA)
Paddy Murphy (M&CBA) & Tim Prior (M&CBA)

 EBU JOINT ONE-DAY SWISS PAIRS  
Risley - 21 July 2007

CONGRATULATIONS! LOCAL WINNERS and RUNNERS-UP!
1ST PLACE in a field of 60 pairs
John Hampson (M&CBA) & Paul Roberts (M&CBA)
2ND PLACE
Richard Silcock (M&CBA) & Bill Niccol (M&CBA)

 CROCKFORDS  PLATE  K-O TEAMS  2007  
Local Team through to Final!

CONGRATULATIONS!
Jean & Dave Keen
Matt Foster & Tim Prior
won their Round 6 match agaist Patrick Collins' team from Kent to make it through to the 48-board FINAL (date to be agreed)
 against Patrick Jourdain's team - GOOD LUCK!
Liverpool v Dublin  
2nd - 3rd June 2007
Cool Concentration
What had John quipped?
more pics on GALLERY page    << CLICK HERE >>

Our 11th annual match against Dublin was held this year in Birkenhead.

Our visitors from Dublin were accommodated just outside Liverpool City Centre, so were able to take advantage of the tourist attractions, shopping etc - especially as most had planned an extended week-end visit due to their Bank Holiday.

MORE   DETAILS   BELOW

After the usual friendly welome and refreshment, the first session swung to and fro, with our Dublin visitors ending the afternoon 15 VP's ahead - after more refreshment and relaxation, plus a few swingy boards, the end of the evening session saw M&CBA ahead by 53 VP's. Some high-scoring matches from Dublin in the middle of the Sunday session reduced the deficit to 19 VP's. The final result hinged on the 60th and last match of the competition, and M&CBA held on to win by 37 VP's - the final score being 910 to 873.

Played in the best spirit, the bridge was, as always, enjoyable and competitive. Ending with the traditional Gala Dinner, this now well-established event continues to maintain solid and valued friendships - and we look forward to the return match next year.

Thank you to Merseyside Bridge Centre for providing their superb facilities and to Jenny Hirst & Co for the excellent refreshments throughout the week-end. Our thanks to the MBC, M&CBA and Dublin organisers and helpers - these events don't just happen, they require a lot of work and effort by volunteers on both sides of the Irish Sea.

The TEAMS :-

Open 'A' Team
Dublin :
John Comyn, Joe Moran, Michael O'Briain, Padraig O'Briain
Liverpool/M&CBA :
Alan Stephensen, Stuart Matthews, Ted Reveley, Ralph Churney, Dave Keen, Jean Keen

Intermediate/Club Team
Dublin :
Maura Dowling, Ailbhe Mealy, Frances Kelly, Sean Treanor
Liverpool/M&CBA :
Earl O'Keeffe, Rob Roberts, John Griffith, Chris Whaley, David Howe, Margaret Lloyd

Ladies' Team
Dublin :
Jill Kulchycky, Helen Carroll, Pat MacMahon, Pat Ryan
Liverpool/M&CBA :
Joan King, Gill O'Neill, Bunny Davies, Lollo Murthwaite, Sheila Mattison, Elaine Caine

Officials' Team
Dublin :
Tomas Roche, Seamus Dowling, Kathleen Vaughan, Valerie Burke Moran
Liverpool/M&CBA :
John Drake, Richard Silcock, Dawn Herbert, John Herbert, Roger Arnold, Peter Garner-Gray

Visitors
Ann Fitzmaurice, Frank Doolin, Anne Comyn

 EAST WALES CONGRESS - CWMBRAN  
5th - 7th May 2007

CONGRATULATIONS!

For the UMPTEENTH year running
Bill Niccol* and teammates
won the Swiss Teams event at the
May Bank Holiday Congress in Cwmbran

Bill was given a little help by team-mates Ted Reveley*, Tim Prior* and Jon Williams (Beds). The team won all 7 matches to finish with 119 VP's out of 140.

On the next day Bill and Ted continued their adventures by strolling to a win in the Swiss Pairs (68 pairs)
- while Tim and Jon were a creditable 5th.

Not a bad catch, especially as Tim & Jon had never played together before.

Full results here :

http://www.wbu.org.uk/Results/2007/MayHolidayCongress.htm

* M&CBA members
Dublin v Liverpool
10th - 11th June 2006

Fun in the sun in Dublin - Liverpool/M&CBA bring home the Cantor/Dowling Challenge Shield
more pics on GALLERY page    << CLICK HERE >>

Our 10th annual match against Dublin was held this year in Dublin.

The date coincided with a number of concerts over the week-end, including Robbie Williams, the Eagles & Guns 'n' Roses - so available accommodation was a rare commodity - even if you started looking last December! So a very special thanks goes to Maura Dowling for finding us all somewhere suitable to stay.

The TEAMS :-

Open 'A' Team
Dublin :
Brendan (BJ) O'Brien, Tomas Roche, John Comyn, Joe Moran, Petra O'Neill, Grace Finegan
Liverpool/M&CBA :
Alan Stephensen, Stuart Matthews, Ted Reveley, Ralph Churney, Dave Keen, Jean Keen

Intermediate/Club Team
Dublin :
Mary Cox, Liam Gaynor, Ann Hanratty, Paul Hanratty, Ailbhe Mealy, Maurice O'Connell
Liverpool/M&CBA :
Earl O'Keeffe, Rob Roberts, John Griffith, Chris Whaley, Geoff Cowie, Cameron Boyd

Ladies' Team
Dublin :
Jill Kulchycky, Helen Carroll, Pat MacMahon, Pat Ryan, Valerie Burke-Moran, Kathleen Vaughan
Liverpool/M&CBA :
Joan King, Gill O'Neill, Pat Crossley, Lollo Murthwaite, Elaine Caine, Sheila Mattison

Officials' Team
Dublin :
Frances Kelly, Sean Treanor, Kay Downes, Esther Stewart, Seamus Dowling, Anne Howard, Maura Waters
Liverpool/M&CBA :
John Drake, Liz Stevenson, David Stevenson, Dawn Herbert, John Herbert, Martin Cantor

Visitors
Krista Stephenson, Pam & John Edwards, Lesley Drake, Julie Coombes

Tournament Director
Frank Doolin
~~~  SAD  NEWS  ~~~

We are sorry to have to announce the death on 1st June 2006 of
BOB GRAHAM
and we offer our condolences to his wife and family
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The tribute below is courtesy of Andy Prothero :-

It was with great sadness that I learnt of the death of Bob Graham on 1st June. It seemed no time at all (in fact just over a month) since I was sitting opposite him playing in the Teams Championship Final at the Deva Bridge Club. He didn’t feel too good, but he wasn’t about to let that affect his game, and his team won the event. It was pleasing that his involvement in a game that he had enjoyed playing for so long, and contributed to so much, should end on such a winning note.

Bob played bridge at the Deva for over 40 years. At the bridge table, he always had a friendly greeting for his opponents, and never a harsh word for his partner. His table manners and calm demeanour were something I aspired to, but alas too often failed to achieve. His success in all the club events is clearly evident from the Competition Winners boards. Less evident, but very real, are the many contributions he made to the life of the club. In particular, he was the President of the club when it moved from its site in Watergate Street to Christleton, and he played a major role in establishing the excellent club facilities that we enjoy today. Bob always enjoyed teaching bridge, and in recent years the popularity of his classes at the Deva is testament to the communication skills and patience that he brought to this task, the excellent rapport that he established with his pupils and the genuine interest he showed in the people he met.

Bob played in a wide variety of bridge competitions, with considerable success, achieving Grand Master status. He won the Welsh Cup and represented Wales in the Camrose. He won the NWCBA Teams, and finished 6th in the 1977 Pachabo. He reached the later rounds of the Gold Cup and Crockfords. He played in representative teams for M&CBA and for North Wales, and in many local Congresses and national events. Bob was also a long-time member of the Merseyside Bridge League, captaining and playing for P.S.A for many largely successful seasons.

Bob lived life to the full. He was devoted to his wife, his daughters and his grandchildren. He was justifiably proud of his garden, and many of us have benefited from his hours spent raising plants in his greenhouse. He was a fine golfer, and was as generous with his time in helping novice golfers such as myself as he was with his bridge pupils. He has touched and enriched the lives of so many bridge players in Merseyside and Cheshire, and he will be greatly missed.

 Commonwealth Games 2002
Tuesday to Saturday 16th-20th July
Venue - Whitworth Hall, University of Manchester

Introduced for the first time this year and superbly organised by the Manchester Commonwealth Games Bridge Committee, the event was an unqualified success - congratulations to all concerned!

The first 3 days consisted of a round robin competition involving 28 national teams and two major sponsored teams, with Canada, Wales and the two sponsored teams (Patron and Maple) going through to the semi-finals and final on Friday/Saturday. In the semi-finals Canada beat Wales (by a very slim margin!) and Patron beat Maple. Only the participating national teams were eligible for Medals, so Canada came away with the Gold and Wales with the Silver.

The remaining 26 teams were joined by a further 14 teams, including County representative and privately sponsored squads, for a 2-day all-play-all Consolation Event - the highest placed national squad in the Consolation Event would win the Bronze Medal.

(the paragraph below courtesy of the Manchester CBA Web Site report)

"In the final matches Patron (Tony Forrester, John Armstrong, Paul, Jason and Justin Hackett) beat Canada (Judith and Nick Gartaganis, Gordon Campbell and Keith Balcombe) by 27 IMPs and Wales (Gary and Dafydd Jones, Peter Goodman and Adam Dunn, Tim Rees and Filip Kurbalija) beat Maple (Bernard Goldenfield and John Holland, Gary Hyett and Boris Ewart, John Hassett and Bill Hirst) by 6 IMPs. The Bronze Medal went to India (C R Bandrinath, K R Venkataraman, P Sridharen, R Krishnan, Sunit Chokshi and S Sundarraman), the winners of the Consolation Event. Second in the Consolation were the Manchester CBA team ... ahead of Northern Ireland, Singapore, Merseyside & Cheshire BA, Evans and England."
Gold Medal
  
CANADA
Silver Medal
  
WALES
Bronze Medal
  
INDIA
Merseyside & Cheshire Squad :
Dave Keen, Jean Keen, Pete Broster, Bob Pitts, Alan Stephenson, Stuart Matthews
CONSOLATION   EVENT (40 Teams)
(see Results Page for a full list of results + scores)
1st
  
India
2nd
  
Manchester CBA
3rd
  
Northern Ireland
4th
  
Singapore
5th
  
Merseyside & Cheshire BA
6th
  
Evans
7th
  
England
8th
  
Pakistan
9th=
  
Bermuda
9th=
  
Scotland
 Below is one of the more 'swingy' hands of the Consolation Event   
4H goes 2 off - 5H makes 2 overtricks - both played correctly!
Dealer: West
Vul: N/S Vul
S
H
D
C

K97543
J8
K
T753

  
S
H
D
C
 JT2
AT6
AQ
AKQJ6
W
N


S
E
S
H
D
C
 86
K95432
T2
982
 
S
H
D
C

AQ
Q7
J9876543
4

 

Alan Stephenson and Stuart Matthews had a strong club sequence to 4H by East, South indicating diamonds. On a diamond lead from South Alan took the marked finesse at trick 1 reasoning that it was very likely to work and he would then lose 2 S's and could even afford a heart loser. Playing the Ace at trick 1 would have led to 4 losers if the H's broke 3-1. He lost to the singleton King, two S's were now cashed, a diamond was ruffed and a S return for the trump promotion resulted in 2 off!

At the other table Dave and Jean Keen sat N/S. The auction was -

N
E
S
W
2D*
p
2H
3D
3N
p
4H*
p
4S*
p
5H
end

2D was Multi, 4H was meant as natural but was alerted and taken as transfer, 4S was transfer completed, 5H was 'help it wasn't a transfer', the final pass was 'message now received', although it seemed like a slam try with S's agreed! Even internationals get it wrong from time to time. A good time to get your system wrong and play a level too high! Look at East's problem on a D lead. H's must break 2-2 or the contract cannot make - so even though the diamond finesse looks likely to work you don't need it. As a result, the diamond Ace goes up - and 13 tricks are made in comfort! Lots of IMP's to the bad guys! Such is bridge.

 The Bar Coup

There is only one recorded occurrence of 'the bar coup', or 'the barmaid coup' to give it its full name. It happened one Tuesday night a good many years ago at the Merseyside Bridge Centre.

The Contract: 3NT
The Opening Lead: S5

Partner won and took the club finesse - it lost. If RHO returned a spade then partner had 9 tricks, a heart return and the contract was doomed. RHO thought and thought ... his hand went from H2 to S9 so often it was dizzy ... at last, decision time ... yes, the S9 is on its way ... oh no, the barmaid has dumped a tray of drinks in the middle of the table ... RHO pays and removes his drink ... he picks up his hand again and without thought leads ... H2 ... two down!

 Give us Your Stories!
OR send them to Barbara Serres
for the County Newsletter

contact details on 
<< Newsletter >>
page

 HOW  TO  CONTRIBUTE

Please let us know of any successes you may have, also any humorous stories from the bridge table or interesting hands. We cannot guarantee to include them, but there is a good chance that we will. We would especially like to hear from players who usually would not contribute to this sort of thing. Any general news of members (marriages, births, moving away, coming back! ... ). We would like to avoid this News section becoming an area featuring the same one or two names all of the time. Bottom team beating top team is news. Winning a swiss teams match against a known team is news. The bar coup was news - see above.

To contribute, please email us :
If you have any good results, unusual occurrences, humorous stories, interesting hands, news of your own or of other members - anything that you would like to share - please send us the details at :
 
Merseyside  &  Cheshire Bridge Association
  
President : Grattan Endicott
Chairman : John Drake
  
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