European Youth Championships 2009

Hands up all those who know anything about Poiana Brasov, apart from the fact that it is the venue for The European Bridge League’s 22nd European Youth Championships.

Well, reading from the EBL’s website I have gleaned some small pieces of information. It is a ski-resort close to Romania’s seventh largest city, Brasov, in the central region of the country known as Transylvania, better known perhaps for its links with the Dracula story than bridge. The town has a spectacular setting in a mountainous area. The scenery looks dramatic and no doubt there will be some drama at the bridge table.
There are three team competitions and England has a team participating in each category, Under 26, Under 21 and Under 26 Girls.

The largest competition is the Under 26 and when the tournament gets underway this week on Thursday there will be 23 teams including the England Squad. Twenty three rounds are squashed into nine days with just one rest day. Those of you who think that a congress is tough should try one of these Championships. Matches are of twenty boards. The rate of play is quite slow because with screens eight and a half minutes is allowed for each hand. That is two hours fifty minutes a match and on almost every day there are three matches. That makes for a long day starting at 10.30 am.

Chris Dixon is non-playing captain of the squad and he organised an exhibition match in the spectacular setting of Bath’s Pump Room as a warm-up for the team on the weekend of 4/5 July, before the flights out to Romania on Wednesday.

The U26 England team played three twenty board matches against our World Champion Women’s team from the Mindsport Games in 2008. The surroundings were somewhat unusual as tourists enjoying Bath’s wonderful attraction wandered past the bridge players. Music from a trio in the restaurant provided a unique atmosphere, but the players appeared completely unfazed as they concentrated on the match in hand.

Mike Bell and Ed Jones started the match against Catherine Draper and Ann Rosen


At the second table Fiona Brown and Alex Morris were up against Heather Dhondy and Nevena Senior, watched here by Ben Green the team coach.


The teams were welcomed by the city of Bath and the Pump Room. The two team captains, Chris Dixon and Pat Davis, start the day in relaxed fashion.


Passers-by watch as the match proceeds.

The first match was a tough one for the U26s and the Women’s team showed their mettle, coming out on top by 52 IMPs and 25-5 VPs. There were lots of swings in this match and unfortunately for the U26 team far too many went to the experienced World Champions. Match Two was a much tighter affair, with less swings, but with a 28 IMP margin to the Women’s team, another loss was recorded by the Juniors, 11-19. Pride was very much at stake in the final match and it was close throughout. The Juniors were losing by just one swing at the halfway mark , but outscored their opponents 14-0 in the second half to achieve a fighting win by just four imps and a 16-14 margin.

There was some good bidding and play by both teams, but perhaps the Juniors were shown the level of concentration and determination required by their more experienced opponents. As a preparation for the forthcoming tournament, it was really worthwhile and the team have followed it up with more work with Chris Dixon and Ben Green.

Hopefully all this work will be reflected in a good performance in Brasov. Details about the tournament will increasingly appear at the official website, with results and bulletins. BBO will doubtless have some coverage and as we get to hear about it we will publish links here.

The Under 26 team is:

Alex Morris and Fiona Brown


Chris Owen and John Atthey


Ed Jones and Mike Bell


NPC Chris Dixon and coach Ben Green

Young Player of the Year Award

The Young Player of the year award is also awarded annually to an individual that has proved their worth both in their ability, and more importantly in their attitude and manners, both at and away from the bridge table.

The recipient has been a member of the junior squad for many years, coming through as a precocious youngster until maturing into a helpful young man with a great future ahead of him.

In 2008 he too was on the Spring Fours team that knocked out the English open team in round 1, as well as being an instrumental part of the team for Beijing. Forming his Beijing partnership only in the previous April he put in the work and dedication necessary to be an integral part of the Silver medal wining team. Despite being less practiced than both the other partnerships he and his partner were ready and willing to be called upon whenever necessary and played a full and active role in the team's victory. In the semi-final against China he played both the last two sets, and keeping English hopes alive by bidding and making two grand slams.

After Beijing, with his partnership too old for under 20 bridge, he has now gone on to form a new partnership and made a great debut at the Channel trophy held in London last year.

More importantly he has grown up into a generous and caring individual who always make the time to contribute in any way he can.

It is therefore my great honour to announce that the award for Young player of the Year 2008 goes to Daniel McIntosh.

• Daniel is 19 and originally from Birmingham, he now lives in Gloucestershire. He is studying his A Levels at 6th form college.

Young Pair of the Year Award

The Young Pair of the year award is awarded annually to pairs that achieved a variety of good results at the bridge table, whilst also conducting themselves in a pleasant and friendly manner.

In just one year (2008) this up and coming pair went from being thought of as youngsters who were promising but had a long way to go, to being a pivotal and integral part of the Under 20 squad. They started the year by rising from below average to 3rd place in the Year End Congress Men's Pairs. By February they were the leading English pair at the Peggy Bayer trophy. In April they went on to score some tremendous results at the Spring Fours by reaching round 4 – indeed at the beginning they knocked out a team of four open internationals by over 30 imps.

In the Summer they were England’s best placed pair in the European youth pairs, finishing tantalisingly close to a medal.

As members of the under 20 squad they approached the challenges they faced at and away from the bridge table with enthusiasm and drive, and have always maintained a friendly and helpful attitude.

They finished playing together last Autumn and still play together on many teams – such as the 2009 Spring Fours!

It is my great joy to announce that the title of Young Pair of the Year 2008 is awarded to Graeme Robertson and James Paul.

• James is 18 and from reading in Berkshire, he is in his first year reading Maths at Balliol College Oxford.
• Graeme is 19 and from Bedford, he is in his second year studying Maths at Cambridge University.

Youth Bridge Challenge 2009

Just under a hundred junior bridge players took part in the Youth Bridge Challenge on Saturday 28th March. Each team represented schools or Bridge Clubs, and in some cases just themselves. There were a number of veterans who have been coming for years (surely Rob Myers must be too old soon!) and some players who came to their first ever bridge event. Everyone seemed to enjoy the day and we are extremely grateful to Loughborough GS for their continued support and hospitality. Detailed results can be found here.

The Schools Cup has a long history and in recent years, Reading School have twice finished in second place. Unluckily (though they were the convincing winners in the qualifying round), they repeated this near-miss again when they lost a close final by just ten imps to the Grange School, Hertford.

The corresponding trophy for teams made up of bridge players from clubs or different schools is the Harry Scully trophy . The final was between Harrogate Bridge Club and a team from Nottingham. The result was perhaps a bit of a shock as the two teams had met earlier in the qualifying Swiss competition, and Harrogate Bridge Club had emerged with a small victory. Roles were reversed in the final with Nottingham winning by 35 to 9 imps

The Schools Plate was won by a team from Haberdashers School who finished first in the Swiss competition. They just pipped a team from Reading School who were given prizes as the next highest in the Swiss.

Minibridge players from Harrogate, Fionnuala, Harrison and Dominic had fun playing with Graham Jepson, an EBU Board member, who spent the day with us supporting the event and presented the prizes and trophies to some successful and also some less successful teams.

Dominic came out on top and was awarded the Minibridge trophy.

See all the photos from the event here.

Minibridge

The English Bridge Union (EBU) has launched a funded scheme to bring Minibridge into the school classroom over the next three years. This has been made possible, since our Youth and Education charitable trust received a donation from the Milton Damerel Trust.

But what is Minibridge? Minibridge is a simplified version of the game of bridge and is the route into bridge recommended by the English Bridge Union. Minibridge was first developed in France and the Netherlands as an introduction to bridge for schoolchildren and was soon acknowledged as an excellent game in its own right.

Minibridge has proven suitable for classroom use, allowing children the opportunity to improve their logical and lateral thinking skills within the framework of play, which offers dynamic brain training. See Minibridge and children. Our new initiative will help to introduce Minibridge to primary schools, so we can help the children with their maths.

In this blog I would like to introduce David Adelman. David is the EBU’s Manchester Youth Officer and an experienced Bridge teacher. He is currently working with the English Bridge Union on their Minibridge initiative and provides the training.

On a recent visit to Fairway Primary School in Offerton, Stockport, I had the chance to talk to David and watch him in action.

Mike: Tell us more about this project?

David: It’s about a vision in bringing a fun activity into the classroom. Minibridge is a game which can be taught to staff in minutes and by the same staff to their pupils in a few lessons. I see Minibridge as a route into bridge and the skills children are learning are bridge problem-solving. I have been using the same teaching style with adults and I think the results speak for themselves, a new generation of competitive players is being developed and this is what the game needs.

We are in an age when there is as much pressure to raise standards in maths and social skills.

Mike: Do you think it’s realistic to expect non-card playing teaching staff to able to do this?

David: Yes certainly, and this is what we are doing here at Fairway School with Year Four children. The class teacher is a not a bridge player, but she has already commented on the interest and enthusiasm of the class. Additionally, Boris Ewart and I have spent a lot of time developing a new interactive CD, which will allow children to learn card-playing skills.

Mike: How does it work?

David: The children can learn by actually playing. The CD has a series of graded problems with targets. The teacher can click on the cards on the interactive display while the pupils play with cards four to a table.

Card playing skills are at the heart of what we are trying to achieve. Children sometimes ask “Why am I doing this? Why can’t I just play?” I explain that trick awareness is like ball control skills for a football player. You don’t just go out and play, because first you must develop the skills!

Mike: Yes, I can see that very clearly in this class. I know this is their second class on Minibridge, and they are already playing with thirteen cards very well.

How does your approach to Minibridge differ from the more traditional approach illustrated in the EBU’s current literature and manuals?

David: Essentially it’s less complex. We only use No Trumps at this stage and targets simply determined by the number of points held by the partnership. Scoring is very simple; either you meet your target or you don’t. No need for scorecards or computer programs to decide the winners. If several schools in one area participate then they can compete, initially locally and in time regionally or even nationally.

Mike: I notice you don’t use much bridge jargon. Is that deliberate?

David: Of course! The underlying ethos is that bridge is a language and uses a language that only bridge players understand. Teaching people, especially young ones from scratch, you have to avoid bridge-talk at all costs. Today we played with

AK2 opposite Q3 and 3

They learn from playing. If they start with AK they see the death of the Queen and can start to draw their own conclusions. Experience can create a language of explanation, jointly with the student, which they in turn can understand. I regard this student-centred approach as pragmatic and sensitive.

Mike: What’s the next step?

David: Well the Initiative is only in its first months. We have developed lots of contacts in the North-West / Manchester and in Sheffield and I know that others are being found else where. We have also set up our Minibridge section on the EBU website, so people can let us know if they’re interested. Have a look here.

Mike: Is there anything interested bridge players can do?

David: It’s all about word-of-mouth and building up contacts. Bridge players could talk to teachers whom they know or even better to Maths Advisors and the like.

Mike: Thank you, David

How can you be involved?
We will be showcasing the project in Manchester on 24 April 2009. Primary School teachers welcome. Please let us know if you would like to attend and for more details view here.

Please do contact either Matt Betts or myself, if you are a primary school teacher and would be interested in our initiative. Or simply fill in our form, which can be found on the Minibridge section of the website.

New Initiatives, University Clubs and Online Bridge

After all the excitement of the Olympiad last week with the Under 21 Silver medals early in the week being equalled by the Open team and then surpassed in that nail-biting last few boards of the Women’s event, I want to talk today about how England’s Bridge in the future can build and go forward.



This lot should peak in about 2028 so we need to look to the future.

Middlewich in Cheshire could very much be thought of as grass roots. Wikipedia describes it as a market town of 13,000 inhabitants. "Wich" betrays an origin related to salt production and springs and Middlewich has three canals and a long history. Almost bang in the middle of Cheshire it is set in peaceful and beautiful countryside. It has an active but small Bridge Club and next week they are making a big effort to inform and involve the community. Pauline Smyth is one of the keenest members and working in the town’s modern and attractive library she is in a good position to make an impact on the local poulation.

So next week, October 27th to 31st, as part of the Family Activities programme for half-term, we are running Taste Bridge sessions on four afternoons and two evenings. Invitations have been sent to primary and secondary schools and to local clubs and groups. Members of the Bridge Club have volunteered to come along and help. Paul Hackett hopes to drop in and we shall be glad of support from other bridge-players in the area. The aim is to show how bridge can be fun, how the basics of minibridge can be learned in less than an hour and and also how it can develop into a modern and competitive MindSport. We are particularly hoping to attract teachers, because The Minibridge Initiative of the Youth and Education Trust allows us to offer funded inset teaching for groups of teachers.

The place is Middlewich Library, Lewin Street, Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 9AS.



Further information can be found on their poster.

I’ll post some photographs and a report next week. Let’s hope a pair of twins aged 9-10 drop in who can become gold medal winners in 2032!



Young Brigeplayers enjoying themselves at the Youth Challenge earlier in the year.

Another area that concerns me is our university bridge. Some colleges and universities have thriving clubs, bridge is popular in Durham and Oxford has a number of keen players, but in other places the bridge club has almost disappeared. Amy Stout has been working hard to get Leeds University Bridge Club up and running again after a shaky period. Nadia Stelmashenko has been trying to get something going at Wolfson College in Cambridge. The EBU can offer help, maybe fund or organise some beginner’s lessons, so I’d love to hear from anyone who would like to get something started up. I’d like to see some iniatitives from local clubs in University towns and cities. Most bridge Clubs must have someone who works or has contact with the local Uni. Get in there and get something started.

Finally an opportunity for Junior Bridge Players to join in a fun activity on Bridge Base Online. Each Wednesday between 4pm and 5pm there is a session in which international players make themselves available to play with Juniors. There are usually a couple of hundred kibitzers and if you register with BBOJunior online half an hour or so before the start you can even play a couple of hands. The players are truly World Class, Michael Rosenberg and Jan Jansma have taken part in the last two weeks. I’m usually online so chat to me if you are there, my BBO nickname is very originally mamos. If you haven’t tried BBO or need help, drop me an email and I’ll help you set it up. It’s easy and painless, even your Grandma could do it!

Watching the Final, Five

The excitement is over. I expect most of you know that the England team won the Silver medal. The feelings are amazingly mixed. The team themselves must know how close they came to winning the whole championships and a gold medal and these opportunities don’t come along too often. On the other hand to be the second best team in the world surpassed English ambitions and expectations, so everyone involved with the team should be amazingly proud. Our young players are as good as any in the world and that’s great credit to those involved in training them who give up so much time and passion to the players. Michael Byrne and Alan Shillitoe have done a fantastic job, not just in the last ten days in Beijing, but over an extended period of more than two years. We and the team owe them many thanks.

Here’s what I wrote yesterday afternoon as the match went on. All the hands and scoreboards are to be found on the web or at BBO. Email me if you cannot find them. Scroll down for my final comments.

Board 17
A flat Board to start with. Both Norths with an eight carder headed by AK go on to 5 after West has sacrificed in 4. With three Spade tricks to lose that’s one off. Still -15

Board 18
More Heart and Spade competition. Rob has made 4+1, but the French have bid the same and a second flat board looks inevitable. Only ten. One IMP. -14

Board 19
Rob two off in a pretty hopeless 3NT, but after a better start the French declarer went two off as well. No change

Board 20 has some swing chances. Rob has made 12 tricks in 4, but Spade lead would defeat 6 or 6NT. French up to 4NT and thinking. This might be a swing for either side. In 6 now all depends on the lead from Ed in North. He has Kxx, but has lead a safe club. Oh dear! Not so safe -13 where it might have been reversed. -27 now and we do need some good boards.

Board 21
Another -11 after a series of unlucky guesses by our East. -38

Board 22
Flat 2 making a very lucky ten tricks.

Board 23
A bit better on a fairly horrid sort of hand the French end in 3NT going three down, while Ed and Tom play 4. A cross-ruff develops and nine tricks are made for 5 IMP pick up. -33

Board 24
England drop an imp in 4, -34, although there still seems some confusion about the score for Board 21. It’s possible Ben did not go down but with eight boards left, time is running out and nothing seems to be going England’s way

And so it turned out to be. Just a few imps changed hands in the last eight boards, except on Board 29 when an excellent slam, well bid by Ben and Rob gained 11 IMPs to give us a glimmer of hope with just three boards left, but there just wasn’t the ammunition to get those last final swings. The French clinched the gold medal by 25 IMPs. (Well 24.7 if you want it exactly!)

Final thoughts

Congratulations to the French team. They played well and in the end had the steadier nerve in the crunch zone. We must not lose sight of this best performance ever by a U20 or U21 team and must look to the future. At the international level, the future looks bright. Some of this team are about to move up to U25 level and with all their skill and talent should be able to make an impact. There is also a strong nucleus remaining, which will form the basis of the U20 team of the future. The cycle is already underway, because the European Championships, with the opportunity of qualifying for the next World Championships in 2010, is only 9 months away.

It is only human to be disappointed, but the reality is different. Well done to the team. All three pairs played an equal part in the success and that’s real progress because in the past, the team has had to rely on two pairs.
The real work now is to try and use this success to publicise the game and persuade more schools and teachers to encourage youngsters to play, to try and set up more university bridge clubs and get more young players to start playing. We all know that it is great fun and Beijing demonstrates that we can actually all do well on the international stage.

The attention now turns to the two major Championships of the Olympiad where both our Open team and Women’s Team have reached the semi-finals of their events. The Open team play Germany, which will be a very tough match over two days and the Women must be slight favourites against their Turkish opponents. How great it will be if in a few days time we are celebrating an even more spectacular performance than that of Dan and Adam, Ben and Rob, and Ed and Tom. Well done, lads.