archive 2005

Rosie in Manchester

It was lovely to see Rosie Broome-Bingham and her new husband Alan who made a brief visit to Manchester Bridge Club on December 22nd. Rosie met up with a few old friends from many years ago. Rosie (nee Broome, previously married to Alan Hudson) was a member of the England Ladies team in the late 1970s playing with Michelle Brunner (winning European Gold and Silver medals) and a well known player in Manchester in the seventies. She no longer plays bridge, working too hard in Boston Mass. and enjoying ballroom dancing these days.

Rosie and Michelle in 2005

European Ladies Silver Medallists 1977
Pat Davies, Sally Carpenter, Sandra Landy, Mrs Bowman (wife of npc)
Rosie Hudson (Broome-Bingham), Michelle Brunner
Missing from photo is Nicola Gardener (Smith)

Year End Congress at Blackpool
A successful congress for the Nelsons. Kath and Alan won the Mixed Pairs and followed that up by winning the Swiss Teams with Jeff Morris and Oliver Burgess. John Holland won the open pairs with Clive Owen. Full results are on the EBU web site.

Santa Claus Pairs
Manchester Bridge Club's annual Christmas event, was won for the second year running by Alex Wilkinson and his father Tony.
Alex has represented Scotland at Junior level for many years. Along with his father he has now been selected to play for the Scottish Camrose team at full open leve. When he plays it will make Alex the youngest ever player to participate in a Camrose Match.

The half time leaders were Sam Herman and Barbara Lewis who just slipped a bit in the 2nd half to finish 4th, in 2nd overall were reliable veterans Gerry Cohen and Boris Mendelson, with former winners Dave Baskin and Derry McCarthy in 3rd.

50 pairs took part in all.Tony Wilkinson in accepting the first prize of £150 thanked Jeff Morris particularly for all his encouragement for young players in the North.

1st Alex Wilkinson and Tony Wilkinson 61.70%
2nd Gerry Cohen and Boris Mendelson 57.83%
3rd David Baskin and Derry McCarthy 57.45%
4th Barbara Lewis and Sam Herman 57.11%
5th Irving and Joy Blakey 57.05%
6th Flo Spiggs and Margaret Howe
7th Maurice and Anne Super
8th Alan and Kath Nelson
9th Stella Menashe and John Gardener
10th Paul Hackett and Brian Cornelius

Ben Franks

Peter Jones and Pete(r) Foster were deserved winners of the Ben Franks trophy held on December 11th at Manchester Bridge Club, just ahead of father and son combination Alex and Jeff Morris, winner in 2000.

At half time the two Peters were lying 4th on 59% less than 3% short of the Morrises in 1st , with Kath and Alan Nelson in 2nd and John Holland / Michelle Brunner in 3rd.

In the second session it became a two horse race but the two Peters produced a second session stormer, with 70% that saw them clear winners by nearly a whole board.

In 3rd position were the experienced combination of Sid Travers and Geoffrey Fink, with Bill Hirst and Michael Byrne just grabbing 4th place and the last qualifying position for the Corwen Trophy to be held in June.

Winners Peter Jones and Pete Foster with Jeff Smith MCBA Chairman	Michelle Brunner and John Holland in play against David Pennington
Second placed Jeff and Alex Morris	Sid Travers and Geoffrey Fink still in the prizes 50 years on from their first Manchester Trophy

1st Peter Jones / Peter Foster                 64.44%
2nd Alex Morris / Jeff Morris                   62.49%
3rd Geoffrey Fink / Sidney Travers          60.66%
4th Bill Hirst / Michael Byrne                     57.50%
5th John Holland / Michelle Brunner         57.15%
(25 pairs competed).

Tollemache
Manchester failed to qualify in the inter counties teams of eight on 26th-27th November. They were in second place for much of the weekend, but a late slump left them in a disappointing sixth place. The team was John Holland/Michelle Brunner, John Hassett/Bill Hirst, Michael Byrne(Capt) /Kath Nelson, Jeff Smith/ David Adelman, Dave Debbage/Michael Newman.

Manchester v Merseyside

The annual Manchester v Merseyside match took place at Manchester Bridge Club on Sunday 27th November.
It was good to see a junior match taking place at the same time, although one of the pairs looked suspiciously over age.

When I visited the club in the afternoon it was half time in the main match and the players were tucking into an excellent tea, with Manchester leading by 15 IMPs. They went on to win comfortably. Click here to read a brief report by Boris Ewart (Word format).

The Manchester team included Peter and Joyce Hishmurgh, David Pennington, Barbara Lewis, Sam Herman, Kevin and Celia Comrie, Craig Fisher, Mike Goldsmith, Boris Ewart, Peter Foster, Frank Brown and Dave Audley.

Craig Fisher scoring	Barbara Lewis, Sam Herman and Kevin Comrie
Kevin and Celia Comrie (enjoying chocolate cake)	Boris Ewart tucking into his second pudding
"Juniors" in play
More Juniors	And yet more

Seniors Congress

Congratulations to Alan and Kath Nelson who won the A Final Pairs at the Senior's Congress on 5th November. John Holland and Erika Slatcher won the Swiss Pairs.

Alan and Kath Nelson

World Team Championships

The World Championships in Estoril finished on Saturday 5th November. Rhona Goldenfield and Michelle Brunner playing in the England Women's team in the Venice Cup were eliminated at the quarter final stage by Germany. Germany went on to reach the final where they lost to France. Barbara Hackett was a member of the German team, playing with Pony Nehmert.

Renault Competition

Internationals John Holland and John Armstrong won the Renault Bridge Tour qualifying heat in Manchester on Oct 27th. They qualify for the final on Dec 3rd 2005 in Paris.

First 20 pairs results.

       1st John Armstrong & John Holland .............. 728.8 66.01 %
       2nd Ted & Janet Latham ......................... 694.1 62.87 %
       3rd Tracy Capal & David Adelman ................692.7 62.74 %
    4th Paul Hackett & Hugh McGann ................. 689.4 62.45 %
        5th Fiona Brown & Craig Fisher ................. 679.8 61.58 %
        6th Joy & Irving Blakey ........................ 667.2 60.43 %
        7th David Tobias & Sally Lewis (N/E) ........... 665.8 60.31 %
        8th John Hassett & Bill Hirst .................. 661.2 59.89 %
        9th Irene Bowers & Wynn Sutherland .............647.2 58.62 %
       10th Gordon Rice & Lance Bloohn ................. 632.4 57.28 %
       11th Andrew Petrie & Andrew Woodcock ......632.0 57.25 %
       12th Stan Collins & Agnes Blewitt ............... 631.4 57.19 %
       13th Jackie Pye & Ollie Burgess ................. 631.1 57.16 %
       14th Peter & Jean Hand .......................... 624.2 56.54 %
       15th John Moran & John Gardener (N/E) .......608.1 55.08 %
       16th David Stevenson & Richard Silcock ......608.0 55.07 %
       17th Jeanne & Ron Bayley ........................ 604.8 54.78 %
       18th Dhun Daji & Howard Stubbings ............. 600.7 54.41 %
       19th Robert & Joyce Jones ....................... 599.6 54.31 %
       20th Sidney Travers & Geoffrey Fink .............592.6 53.68 %

Quiz
1st Ron & Jeanne Bayly
2nd Paul Hackett & Hugh McGann

Winners John Armstrong and John Holland with Barney Schofield of Renault	Third placed David Adelman and Tracy Capal with between them Barney Schofield
Jackie Pye of Lancashire playing with Ollie Burgess, at the table behind facing is Olivia Hackett	Gary Hyett and Raymond Semp playing against Denis and Val Robson

Match v Cumbria
Manchester beat Cumbria by 58 VPs on Sunday 23rd Oct.
The team was Dave Audley/Frank Brown, Ian Kane/David Olliver, Dave Pennington/Rod Franks, Dhun Daji/Howard Stubbings, Jean and Adrian Roberts, Elena and Marcelo Rosenbaum, Lesley Johnson/David Stuart, Lance Bloohn/Gordon Rice. Manchester's best pair were Dave Pennington and Rod Franks. Sorry no details as to venue or how the match went, but thanks to Dave Pennington for this information.

Women's Trials
Rhona Goldenfield and Michelle Brunner finished 3rd in the EBU trials. Just behind in 4th place were Tracy Capal playing with Catherine Draper of Kent. Only the first two pairs were guaranteed selection, so the Manchester players will have to wait for the selection committee to choose the third pair. Full results on the EBU page.

Great Northern Swiss Pairs

John Holland continued his good run of form by capturing the Great Northern Swiss Pairs in partnership with Clive Owen from the North East at Risley on 1st-2nd October. They led the event from start to finish, and were comfortable winners in a strong field. Second were Bernard Goldenfield and Bill Hirst, and fifth were Michael Newman and Michael Byrne.

England Open Trials

In the second weekend of the Open trials Stage 1 John Holland's team (John Armstrong, Paul Hackett, Tony Waterlow) scored a huge goal by finishing first on the weekend and 3rd overall to comfortably qualify for the next stage in two weeks time.
The Manchester team of Michael Byrne (Alex Morris, Craig Fisher, Andrew Woodcock) had a disappointing weekend and were never in contention, but they did at least salvage some pride by beating Tony Forrester's team (Alan Mould and Gary Hyett) by 31imps, to finish one place ahead of them. Full results are on the EBU web site.

Pendle Witch Pairs

Manchester's Michelle Brunner and Rhona Goldenfield won the Ron Morrish Memorial Trophy at the Pendle Witch Pairs on Sunday 25th September. Congratulations also to second placed 17 year old Elizabeth Roberts playing with David Pennington.

Manchester MSO August 19th to 29th

Senior Pairs

1st Pauline Lang and Alan Jones
2nd John Hassett and Bill Hirst

Mens Pairs

1st John Armstrong and Paul Hackett

Ladies Pairs

1st Michelle Brunner and Rhona Goldenfield

Mixed Pairs

1st Michelle Brunner and John Holland
2nd Gareth and Pam Hyett

Seniors Teams

1st Raymond Semp, Patrick Jourdain, Kath and Alan Nelson

Multiple Teams

1st John Holland, Michelle Brunner, Bill Hirst and John Hassett
2nd Kath Nelson, Patrick Jourdain, Bernard and Rhona Goldenfield

Open Pairs

2nd Alex and Tony Wilkinson
3rd Michelle Brunner and Kevin Comrie

Point a Board Teams

1st= Alan Mould, Gary Hyett, Brian Cornelius, Brian Senior
Paul Hackett, Hugh McCann, Jason and Justin Hackett

Championship Pairs

1st David Stevenson and John Armstrong
2nd Michelle Brunner and Rhona Goldenfield
3rd David Barton and Leslie Klein

Swiss Teams

1st Paul Hackett, Richard Probst, Jason and Justin Hackett
2nd Barbara Hackett, Sandra Probst, Jenny Rudenstal and Pony Nehmert
3rd Joy and Irving Blakey, Edward Levy and Mike Goldsmith

Swiss Pairs

1st Andrew Woodcock & Alex Morris
2nd Paul Hackett & Justin Hackett
3rd Fiona Brown & Hugh McGann

Espen Erichsen in play against Michelle Brunner and Rhona Goldenfield Espen's partner is Susanna Gross.	Open Pairs at the MSO
John and Pauline Rudolf	Paul Hackett
Gitte Hecht-Johanson	Tracy Capal

Manchester v Derbyshire
4th September

A sunny Sunday afternoon conveniently between test matches brought two teams of twelve together at Manchester Bridge Club. MCBA was represented by:
David Stuart & Andy Green
Boris Ewart & Pete Foster
Jean & Adrian Roberts
David Pennington & Lisa Furnival
Pat Burrows & Paul Worswick
Joyce & Bill Whyte

A rather one-sided first half capped by a superb performance by David Pennington & Lisa Furnival produced a lead of 150 to 30 for the home team at the interval. After a fine feast supplied by Jeff and his team, battle recommenced in the late afternoon, but the exceptional early pace could not be maintained. MCBA gained a little in the second half, 98-82, to produce a final win by 248-112. Many thanks to Dave Debbage for running the event and to the Derbyshire team for providing an entertaining match played in good spirit throughout. Another team that should be mentioned is Pat Burrows and Paul Worswick playing with Joyce and Bill White who won all of their matches and were the best scoring team.

World Junior Championships

Took place in Sydney Australia from 7th to 17th August. England finished 13th in the round robin stage. The team was Michael Byrne, Alex Morris, Duncan Happer, Ben Green and Andrew Woodcock.

President's Cup

Manchester came 3rd out of 11 teams in the inter county teams of eight competition held at Welshpool, mid Wales on 29th-30th July.

The team was Sidney Travers/Eve Lighthill(Cap), Raymond Semp/Denis Robson, (both days).

Saturday only- Kath Nelson/David Adelman, Tracy Capal/Boris Ewart
Sunday only-David Debbage/Michael Newman, Craig Fisher/Alan Nelson

Overnight Manchester were second to Merseyside, who just pulled away on the Sunday.
The best Manchester pair were Dave Debbage and Michael Newman who were on the team last year when Manchester won it, they were also second the year before and Michael Newman won it in 2002.

County Handbook

All members should have received a county handbook. If not please send an e-mail to Jeff Smith requesting a copy. It contains details of all the officers and clubs as well as details and entry forms and a calendar for 2005-6.

Manchester Handbook 2005-6    Erratum

Please correct the following:

Page 2:        Ashton: e-mail address is now rodel@onetel.com
Page 2:        Bowdon: e-mail address is changing to david.dpc@btinternet.com
Page 2:        Brookdale: e-mail address is dawval@onetel.com
Page 2:        Heaton Moor: Secretary’s Tel No is 0161 442 5422
Page 3:        Poynton: pandw@adlingtonwoods.fsnet.co.uk
Page 3:        Warrington: New Secretary: Roy Smethurst, 12 Highwood Road, Appleton, Warrington WA4 5AJ
Tel No 01925.267838 e-mail address: smethurstr@onetel.com
Page 3:        Worth: New secretary: Tim Hazell, 2 Mallard Crescent, Poynton, Cheshire SK12 1HT
telephone number 01625.871699 e-mail address timothy@tfhazell.wanadoo.co.uk

Page 5:        Cantor Cup: Finish about 6pm FirstPrize £100
Page 5:        Manchester Congress: Venue: Remove reference to Miller Street
Page 14:    Newcomers: 1 Eureka Ann Morris, Alan Bray, Catherine Kramer, Eugene Hutton, Gary Farrington

Risley Green Point Events

The North West Swiss Pairs at Risley on 16th July was won by Jeff Morris and Paul Hackett with Boris Ewart and Michelle Brunner 6th. Neil Thomas and Ray Ashleigh were 8th equal with Pat Burrows & Paul Worswick.

In the Swiss Teams on the Sunday Boris Ewart, Michelle Brunner, John Holland and Dick Fleischmann were second. Fifth were David Olliver, Ian Kane, Eve Lighthill and Ken Hassell.

Full results are on the EBU web site.

European Youth Team Championship

Took place in Riccione Italy from 13th to 23rd July. Manchester's Elizabeth Roberts was in the England girl's team, Michael Byrne and Alex Morris in the Junior event.

The Juniors finshhed a disappointing seventh after leading for most of the first half of the tournament. The girl's team finished eighth of ten teams.

Manchester v Yorkshire

The annual Manchester v Yorkshire match took place on Saturday 9th July at Leeds Bridge Club. This was a very swingy match with Manchester securing an early lead of 2750 after 5 rounds, but then finding themselves -20 after the next round at halftime! Yorkshire then pulled away to a lead of 5100 after 2 more rounds, but then Manchester reduced that to 60 in the penutimate round and ran out “comfortable” winners by 3540 aggregate points! Top Manchester pair were Bill Hirst and John Hassett, with other good performances from Jeff Smith and David Adelman and Eve Lighthill and Sid Travers. Other Manchester participants were Rhone Goldenfield & Michelle Brunner, Denis Robson & Raymond Semp, Alan & Kath Nelson, Michael Newman & Dave Debbage, Mark Reeve & D. Collier, Mark Halliwell & Mike Ardron, Peter & Joyce Hishmurgh, David Olliver & Ken Hassell, Kevin & Celia Comrie.

Thanks to Jeff Smith for this report.

Geoff Storry

We are very sorry to report the death of Geoff Storry on the 25th June. He was still actively playing bridge and was present at a session the Friday prior to his death. Geoff was the membership secretary of the MCBA for many years, a post which involved a lot of hard work for the association, and also served as an EBU delegate for the county. He was a regular player at clubs in South Manchester and was always a pleasant and courteous opponent.

European Open Championships

Were held in Teneriffe from 18th June to 2nd July. John Holland, playing with David Bakhshi of London, reached the semi finals of the Open Teams and John Hassett and Bill Hirst did well to finish about half way in the Seniors pairs final.

Melih Ozdil (Turkey) and John Holland with bronze medals from the European Open Championships

Manchester Retain Huggill Trophy

Congratulations to the Manchester team who re-captured the Huggill trophy on Sunday 19th June at Merseyside Bridge Centre.

The team was Michael Byrne (Captain) / Craig Fisher, Dave Pennington / Pauline Lang, Dave Debbage / Michael Newman, Kevin and Celia Comrie, Joyce and Peter Hismurgh, Jeff Smith /Mark Halliwell, Raymond Semp/ Eve Lighthill, Alan Jones / David Barton.

At half time the Manchester team had a 16 victory point lead over Mersedyside, with Lancashire way behind in 3rd place. Towards the end the gap narrowed and Merseyside had taken the lead with one match to go, but Manchester held on to win by 1 vicxtory point, the narrowest possible margin.

The leading Manchester pair were Michael Byrne / Craig Fisher, who won the Butler with over 100 imps, they attributed their sucess mostly to luck and the ability to bid slams when the finesses were right!

The Huggill trophy was presented by Henry Huggill after the North West CBA split up, and the trophy is being held by County President Eve Lighthill for one year.

Thanks to Michael Byrne for this report.

Garden Cities Final

The Manchester Bridge Club team of Michael Byrne, Bill Hirst, Michael Newman, Dave Debbage Jeff Morris, Denis Robson, David Adelman & Jeff Smith did well to finish second in the Garden Cities final on 18th June at Solihull, failing to regain the trophy that they had won in 2003.

Pachabo Final
The Manchester team of John Hassett, Bill Hirst, Michael Byrne, Alex Morris, Michael Newman and Jeff Smith finished a creditable fourth in the Pachabo final on the weekend of 11th to 12th June.
Full results are on the EBU web site.

County Cup

Congratulations to Michael Byrne's team (John Hassett, Bill Hirst, Michael Newman, in earlier rounds Alex Morris) who won the Manchester County Cup this year. They defeated Smith (Leslie Klein, Jeff Morris, Jeff Smith, Dave Barton), taking the first set by an astonishing 42 imps to go into a lead they never relinquished. Although a few hard earned efforts by Leslie Klein brought in points for the underdogs in the last set, proving why he is such a feared competitor, Byrne emerged winners by 10 IMPs.
They will go forward and represent Manchester in the Pachabo Cup to be held in West Bromwich later in June.

Manchester BC Qualify in Garden Cities Regional Final

The Manchester Bridge Club team of Michael Byrne, Michael Newman, Bernard & Rhona Goldenfield, Jeff Smith, David Adelman, John Hassett and Bill Hirst won the Northern heat of the Garden Cities in Bradford on 22nd May with a fine score of 102, ten clear of second place. Full results on the EBU web site. They will play in the final on June 18th in Solihull.

Golf/Bridge

MCBA Tournament Secretary Steve Mattinson was delighted to win the Bridge/Golf day at Whitefield Golf Club on Thursday 21st April. He finished 3rd in both the Bridge and Golf events to claim the overall prize. Mike Pomfrey won the golf with Gerry Cohen runner up. Dave McDouall won the bridge section with Tracy Capal runner up. Thanks to organisers Tracy Capal and Boris Ewart for their hard work.

Tracy Capal presents the Val and Denis Robson Trophy to Steve Mattinson

Mike Pomfrey, Boris Ewart, Dave McDouall, Steve Mattinson, Tracy Capal and Gerry Cohen

Risley Green Point Events
Manchester players won both the pairs and teams in the North West EBU joint ventures. Congratulations to David Olliver and Ian Kane from the Altrincham club who won the pairs. The teams was won by Manchester Bridge Club's Michael Byrne, Kath Nelson, Craig Fisher and Alan Nelson. Remarkably they only won 5 out of 7 matches, losing to the team that came 2nd in match 2. Going into the final match they were lying 3rd having lost to both teams ahead of them, but a 14-6 win combined with both other teams losing saw them shoot to 1st place by 3 victory points. Kath and Alan are regular winners at Risley, but this is a first success for Michael and Craig, both in first time partnerships!
A full list of results can be found on the EBU web site.

Ian Kane and David Olliver

Craig Fisher, Michael Byrne, Kath and Alan Nelson

Spring Fours

A fantastic result for Michelle Brunner, Rhona Goldenfield, Jeff Smith and Bernard Goldenfield who narrowly lost the final of this National double elimination event at Stratford over the bank holiday weekend. This is considered to be one of Englands most prestigious tournaments. Full results are on the EBU web site.

Lady Milne Trophy

15th-17th April 2005

Commentators Alan Mould and Michelle Brunner keeping a Vu-Graph audience of over 100 people entertained on Saturday afternoon.	Not all the bridge was of the highest standard. The Welsh pair forgot Burn's Law (and their system) and played this deal as E-W in 3 Clubs with fewer trumps than their opponents.
Nice to see Steve Eginton back in Manchester for a visit. He was commentating for Bridge Base Online.	The victorious England Team Bryony Youngs, Susan Stockdale, Nicola Smith, Heather Dhondy, Sarah Teshome and Catherine Jagger with NPC John Williams
Wales Gilly Clench, Ann Hirst, Diane Kurbalija and Jill Casey with NPC Peter Garner-Gray	Republic of Ireland Mary Finn, Ena Cleary, Nuala Lynch, Maureen Meade, Heidi Lillis and Teresa Rigney
Scotland Fiona McQuaker, Liz McGowan, Diane Gerrard, Samantha Punch, Sheila Adamson and Anne Martin	Northern Ireland Florence Boyd, Shelagh McCaughan, Helen Cole, Norma Irwin, Dymphna Friel and Diane Greenwood
The winning England team with the Trophy Catherine Jagger, Bryony Youngs, John Williams (npc) Susan Stockdale, Heather Dhondy and Nicola Smith Missing from photo is Sarah Teshome

England won the Lady Milne with a match to spare over the weekend of 15-17th April at Manchester University's Chancellor Centre. An excellent vu graph presentation with commentators Michelle Brunner and Alan Mould kept a good sized audience well informed and entertained. Many thanks to all the Manchester volunteers who kept the event and the vu graph running smoothly all weekend. (I can't guarantee that all the players in the photos are labelled in the correct order at the moment, please e-mail me if you know who is who).
Full results are on the EBU web site.

Carousel Cup
The young England team of Michael Byrne, Alex Morris (Manchester), Andrew Woodcock, Ollie Burgess, Duncan Happer and Ben Green reached the final of this international junior event in Amsterdam, but lost to a strong Polish team in the final.

Easter Congress Blackpool

Congratulations to David Adelman and Tracy Capal who, playing with Alex Hogg and Ian Panto respectively, won the Swiss Teams at Blackpool on Easter Sunday. David (who is the resident teacher at Manchester Bridge Club) has had a good run recently, this success follows his Northern Pairs win and also winning the Year End Congress Swiss Teams at Blackpool. Full results from the Easter Congress are on the EBU web site.

Acolytes win top cup clash match
In an exciting all -premier clash, Acolytes (Joyce and Peter Hismurgh, Rita and Peter Jordan ) unceremoniously dumped Curry Eaters out of the Higson Cup by 6 imps. As the holders, the all international Curry Eaters consisted of Englands top pair Justin and Jason Hackett, along with former ladies world champion Barbara Hackett and top international and winner of this year's open trials Alan Mould.

Acolytes also beat the Curry Eaters by over 100 imps when the two teams met earlier in this year's premier league, thus ending all chances of the Curry eaters retaining the title. Although their opponents were desperate for revenge, the Acolytes were just too good on the day.

Northern Pairs
Winners in the Northern Pairs final on Sunday 20th March were Manchester's David Adelman and Jeff Smith. Close behind in second place were Michael Byrne and Bill Hirst. Congratualtions to both pairs who qualify for the National Pairs final in April. Full results are on the EBU web site.

Golf Print Regional Final
Well done to the winning Whitefield Golf Club team Bev Morris, Faye Morris, Bernard Kaye, Marlene Kaye.
After several years of near misses, the above team succeeded in winning this year's Regional finals, an excellent performance.
The National Finals are to be held in Solihull on 19th March, 2005.

Whitefield Golf Club Team

Bev Morris, Faye Morris, Bernard Kaye, Marlene Kaye

Manchester wins Harry Scully Trophy

Manchester swept the board at the annual Youth Bridge Challenge held at Loughborough Grammar School on Saturday 19th March.

In the Harry Scully Trophy, Jennie Marvin, Amy Stout (who study at Manchester High School for Girls), Alex Wilkinson (from Bolton) (all Manchester Bridge Club regulars) playing with Cheadle Hulme school girl Elizabeth Roberts headed the Swiss qualifying event then won the 8 board semi final by 13 imps before crushing The West of England bridge team in the final by a very comfortable 34 imps.

Alex Wilkinson represented Scotland under 25's in the last European, while Elizabeth is a member of the under 20's squad that demolished the Scottish youth team a few months ago in Darlington.

In the Schools Swiss teams, Richard O' Connor and Katy Roberts ( who play in the Manchester League alongside Jennie and Amy) teamed up with a pair from Liverpool to cruise to victory by a comfortable 12 victory points. The only match they lost all day was to the other Manchester team which stopped them qualifying!

Our congratulations go to them all, and we hope to see them at Manchester events in the future. (Thanks to Michael Byrne for this report - he supported the teams and acted as reserve for Katy Roberts in the first match when her train was delayed).

North West Green Point Events Risley
Leading Manchester players in the Swiss Pairs on the 12th March were Rhona and Bernard Goldenfield who were second. In fifth place were Bill and Joyce White.
In the Swiss Teams on the 13th March leading Manchester players were John Holland, Michelle Brunner, Mike Ash and Robert Ferrari who were second.
Full results are on the EBU web site.

Bridge in Oz

Not content with winning everything locally John Holland and Michelle Brunner travelled to Australia to play in the Gold Coast Congress where they won the pairs and teams. For results and pictures follow this link Gold Coast Congress

Some of the British bridge players in Australia

Cantor Cup
The Cantor Cup was held on Sunday February 20th 2005 at Altrincham Bridge Club - a non-expert pairs event for the trophy donated by the Cantor family in memory of Trudy and Oliver Cantor. There was a record entry of 15 and a half tables.

The main winners were:

1st June Cash and Rita Howard
2nd Nigel Catterall and Phil Hayward
3rd Malcolm Lockey and David McNeillie
4th Karen Reissman and Irene Davies
Cantor Cup winners 2005

Pat Buxton, chair of MCBA tournament committee with winners, June Cash and Rita Howard

Tollemache Final

Manchester finished 3rd equal in the Tollemache final on 12-13th February 2005. This was an excellent result, especially since many of the first choice team were unavailable.

The team was:
Michael Byrne (Captain)/Alex Morris
Bernard and Rhona Goldenfield
Jeff Smith/David Adelman
David Barton/Leslie Klein
Jeff Morris/John Hassett

Scorer Michael Newman (and travelling reserve)

Gazette Trophy
The inter club teams of eight competition was held on Sunday 6th Feb at Manchester Bridge Club.
Winners were Manchester A (Michael Byrne, Michael Newman, Michael Goldsmith, Craig Fisher, Bernard and Rhona Goldenfield , Jeff Smith, David Adelman).
Second Manchester B
Third Altrincham

Eight teams participated, the winners will represent Manchester in the inter counties Garden Cities competition.

EBU Online Players Congress
The EBU runs an annual congress at Watford for internet players, where they can play at a real table.
On Sunday Jan. 16th Manchester member Richard Acaster's team won the 2 session teams competition with a score of +118 IMPS. (28 teams) Other team members were Lindsey Clark (Kent) and Beth & Arnold (Staffs & Shrops).

Manchester member Roger Waddington was 2nd in the same event with +93 IMPS in partnership with Linda MacFarlane

Richard was also 2nd a few hours before in the midnight speedball with Lindsey Clark in a 16 table movement.

Richard Acaster with team.

Manchester Congress

Jan 8-9th
Pairs

Manchester Congress Saturday 8th January 2005
Final Results
1    Michael Byrne & Bill Hirst        63.61%    Championship Pairs
2    John Holland & Patrick Jourdain        62.17    Mens Pairs
3    Jeff Smith & David Adelman        60.07
4    Sue & Nick Woodcock            59.40    Mixed Pairs
5    Frank Brown & David Audley        58.55
6    Tracy Capal & Ray Semp            58.41
7    Bernard Goldenfield & Jim Luck        57.81
8    Rhona Goldenfield & Michelle Brunner    57.22    Ladies Pairs
9    Peter Foster & Peter Jones            55.73
10    Lila Panahpour & Jan Svendson        54.87
11    Neil Thomas & Dave Hammonds        54.84
12    Mark Reeve & David Collier (I)        54.35    Tournament Masters Pairs
13    Moza Panahpour & Andrew McIntosh    54.17
14    Mark Bass & Andy Brocklehurst        53.79
15    Eve Lighthill & Sid Travers        53.53
16    Graham Currie & Ben Beever (I)        53.50
17    Jeff Morris & Elizabeth Roberts        53.31
18    Patrick Betney & Michael Donegan (I)    52.77
19    David Pennington & Rod Franks        52.57
20    Anne Super & Irena Grugulis        51.75
21    David Barton & Leslie Klein        51.67
22    John & Muriel Hassett            51.38
23    Boris Ewart & Paul Casselle        51.26
24    Cecil Franks & Mike Burtt            51.20
25    Jim & Jenny Morris            50.63
26    Nick Sandqvist & Janet de Botton        50.35
27    Malcolm Robinson & Pauline Lang        50.27
28    Robert & Joyce Jones            49.91
29    Craig Fisher & Amy Stout (I)        49.88
30    Barbara Lewis & Elena Rosenbaum        49.19
31    Raj Gupta & Peter Harrison (I)        49.12
32    Bob Cooke & Gill Griffiths        48.98
33    Juliette Rickless & Cynthia Cowan        48.78
34    Vivienne Newgrosh & Jacqueline Rich (I)    48.67
35    Sally Archer & Hilary Boydell (I)        48.20
36    Geoff Cowie & John Rowland        48.01
37 Anne Jeater & Barbara Moore (I)        47.94
38    David Matthews & Anne Thornton (I)    47.53
39    John Hodgson & Bill Williams        47.31
40    Nigel Matthews & Eddie Thornton-Chan (I)    47.19
41    Paul Dennett & Mike O’Rourke (I)        46.47
42    Paul Beckwith & Linda Shuttleworth    45.94
43    Bill & Joyce White            45.94
44    Graham Campbell & Lindsey Barnes (I)    45.92
45    Howard Stubbings & Dhun Daji        45.81
46    Philip Meadowcroft & Frank McCarthy    45.69
47    Don Cross & Jill Entwistle            45.62
48    Kevin Higgins & Laura Frampton (I)    45.62
49    Ian & Susan Hazlehurst (I)            45.01
50    Celia Comrie & Peter Morgan (I)        44.91
51    Steve Mattinson & Di Lyons (I)        44.85
52    John Fitzgerald & Gillian McMullan (I)    43.88
53    Peter Brown & Linda Williams (I)        42.26
54    Gordon Rice & Lance Bloohn        41.75
55    Caryl Bloch & Jill Roe            41.71
56    Bernard & Marlene Kaye            41.65
57    Ann Morris & Alan Bray (I)        39.47
58    John & Tricia Berry (I)            38.91

Teams

Teams final

1        J De Botton, N Sandqvist, J Hackett & J.Hackett        148 VP
2        T Capal & R Silcock, D Adelman & J Morris        137
3        M Brunner & P Casselle, B Hirst & J Hassett        135
4        J Svenden & L Panahpour, M Panahpour & A McIntosh    130
5         B & R Goldenfield, J Luck & B Ewart            128
6        E Lighthill & R Semp, I Kane & D Olliver            127
7=         P Jourdain & J Holland, M Byrne & M Newman        116
7=         M Reeve & D Collier, R Ashleigh & N Thomas        116
9         J & J Morris, B & J White                    115
10=    B Kaye & J Smith, G Cohen & B Mendlesohn        111
10=    S Mattinson & L Hobbs, P Harrison & R Gupta        111
12        D Lyons & K Harris, P & B Greaves                101
13        P Booth & E Clarke, P & G Clarke                85

B Final

1        N & S Woodcock, M Nicholson & S Haley            68 IMP
2        B Cornelius & S Fenton, B Hackett & C Fisher        62
3        J Rudolf & J Liebeschuetz, P Jones & D Debbage        22
4        E Thornton-Chan & D Tattersall, B Beever & G Currie    18
5        D Matthews & R Cooke, B Hobden & D McNeillie        -6
6        A Mattinson & R Rosenthal, L Goldstein & H Fisher    -42
7        C Wood & W Blyth, M Cragg & B Heaton            -49
8        I & V Hempstock, E & M Noronha                -73

C Final

1        D Pennington & E Roberts, A & J Roberts            35 IMP
2        G Cowie & J Rowland, R Roberts & C Boyd        33
3        H Stubbings & D Daji, M & E Rosenbaum            28
4        D Cross & J Entwistle, M Gordon & P Barnes        -1
5        B & V Newgrosh, A & J Brown                -7
6        P Beckwith & T Marvin, D Ackroyd & G Johnson        -22
7        D Hammonds & J Callaghan, J Fitzgerald & G McMullan    -31
8        P Worswick & M Hassett, M O’Rourke & P Dennett    -35

Novice Pairs

Sat Aft 8th Jan 2005
1    David Burrows & Jocelyn Shaffer    68.18%
2    Barry & Valerie Hobden            61.36
3    Ann Shaw & Brenda Jackson        57.27
4    Monica Lyness & Marie Hoctor        55.00
5    Graham winn & John Parsons        51.82
6    Joan Hobson & Gordon Hodgson        49.55
7    Yvonne Ellis & Joan Kelly        49.09
8    Keith & Pat Denham            48.64
9    Phil Hayward & Nigel Catteral        45.91
10    Sue Skinner & Diane Trotter        45.45
11    Margaret Ward & Betty Montrose        44.09
12    Norman Beenstock & Judy Hearson    42.27
13    Beryl Farthing & Ashley Kirey        34.55

Sat Eve 8th Jan 2005
1    Diane Trotter & Sue Skinner        60.00
2    Margaret Ward & Betty Montrose        56.25
3    Karen Reissmann & Irene Davies        55.00
4    Judy Hearson & Sue Bailey        48.75
5    Keith & Pat Denham            41.25
6    Yvonne Ellis & Joan Kelly        36.75

Sun Aft 9th Jan 2005
NS
1    Laura Phillips & Heather Saunders    62.08
2    Myrna Essayan & Eileen Campbell        58.75
3    Pauline Cathcart & Yvonne Barnes        57.92
4    Bev Pardoe & Colin Skelton        49.17
5    Christine Butterworth & Bill Maude    47.92
6    Diane Trotter & Sue Skinner        46.67
7    Peter Green & Jack Hamer            45.83
8    John Baxter & Irene Davies        44.17
9    Lionel Cox & Ann Wood            38.33
EW
1    Helen Reid & Karen Leigh        64.17
2    Valerie Hobdon & Marion McNeillie    55.00
3    Brenda Donough & Liz Neild        54.58
4    Andrea Hoyle & John Laughton        52.50
5    Charlotte Eva & Katy Roberts        49.17
6    David Geary & Pat Dunningham        48.75
7    Dave Walsh & Martin Crowther        45.83
8    Yvonne Elllis & Joan Kelly        42.50
9    Beryl Farthing & Ashley Kirby        40.83

Sun Eve 9th Jan 2005
NS
1    Christine Butterworth & Bill Maude    60.71
2    Graham Winn & John Parsons        59.92
3    Bev Pardoe & Mike Green            54.76
4    Fiona Goode & Gerald Slack        49.60
5    Diane Trotter & Sue Skinner        48.41
6    Laura Phillips & Heather Saunders        47.22
7    Maggie Jackson & Georgie Kirk        41.67
8    Pauline Cathcart & Yvonne Barnes        38.89
EW
1=    Valerie Hobdon & Marion McNeillie    59.92
1=    Helen Reid & Karen Leigh        59.92
3    Peter & Paula Berens            59.52
4    David Geary & Pat Dunningham        55.56
5    Charlotte Eva & Katy Roberts        53.97
6    Dave Walsh & Martin Crowther        46.43
7    Beryl Farthing & Ashley Kirby        42.86
8    Yvonne Elllis & Joan Kelly        23.02

Pairs winners Mike Byrne and Bill Hirst with Manchester Chairman Jeff Smith	Runners up and Men's Pairs winners John Holland and Patrick Jourdain
Pairs third place David Adelman and Jeff Smith	Fourth and Mixed Pairs winners Nick and Sue Woodcock
Sixth Ray Semp and Tracy Capal	Mark Reeve and David Collier Intermediate Pairs winners
Visitors from London Andrew McIntosh and Moza Panahpour	Runners up Intermediate pairs Graham Currie & Ben Beever
Ladies Pairs Michelle Brunner and Rhona Goldenfield	Bernard Kaye and Jeff Smith