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.