We  welcome new members from the 'Bridge at Ashley,' club in Market Drayton.

The primary focus of this email is to formally open entries for the (Green-Pointed) County Championship Teams, to be played at Newcastle under Lyme Bridge Club, on Sunday, 18th May at 11 am.

This is open to all full county members, and is the county qualifying event for the Pachabo, the national event for county team champions. The winners, should they wish, will be entered into this prestigious event, to be played face to face, in Milton Keynes over the weekend of, 14th / 15th June, the entrance fee being met by the county. The team to represent the County could be a mixture from the two leading teams if some have difficulties in attending.

Four higher placed players not invited to represent Staffs and Shrops in the Pachabo, will be invited to represent the county in the Midlands Challenge Bowl, which I believe this year is being hosted by Gloucestershire. Entry fees will be paid although we would expect participants to make a contribution (probably £5) towards the cost of lunch. The second team to play in the Midlands Challenge Bowl will be the team winning the County League.

At the Championship Teams, the number of boards to be played in will be dependent on the number of teams entered, although this is expected to be of the order of 48 boards. This will be played in two sessions with a substantial buffet lunch in between.

Entries can be made by mail, to me (Station Garage House London Rd, Elworth, Sandbach, CW11 3BF) or preferably by email to tonytog@outlook.com. The details I require are;

Team Captain: Name, EBU number, email address, contact phone number and affiliated club, and the team member names and EBU numbers; and preferably availability for both the Pachabo and the Midlands Challenge Bowl – although this can be confirmed later.

The cost per team is £72 per team, which includes the cost of the lunch, please advise of any dietary requirements. Payment is by bank transfer, to the county competition account; S&SCBA   20-77-85, Account Number 70881562, with the reference Teams and the Captain's name.

Please don't leave this until the last minute.   To facilitate as many entries as possible I am happy to act as a broker for pairs, who wish to enter but haven't as yet found teammates.

The next date for the diary will be the Mixed Pairs to be played in Shrewsbury on Sunday, 8th June.

More competition news can be found here.

I would stress that the equivalent Pairs event, played last month, was a great success, thoroughly enjoyed by all, regardless of ability. So, I would encourage all to enter, and  Championship last month, was a great success, thoroughly enjoyed by all, and a not to be missed event in 2026. This was won by Paul Hackett and Mike Goldsmith, with Paul Cutler and David Beavon taken second place. The other podium place was Keith Shuttleworth and James Vickers. All three pairs will represent the county in the Corwen over the weekend of 31st May / 1st June. We wish them all well. Those finishing behind the top three, will be invited to represent the county at the Edgar Foster in September. If that's you (and it's me!!) can expect to hear from me, in that regard say mid/late July. This will be hosted by Worcestershire, so I am presuming this will be held at the West Midlands Club at Solihull, but as I've said details, dates and invites to follow in due course.

The regional winners of the recent National Pairs heat were the regular county pair of Robin Adey and Dave Nelson. Congratulations to them both. The national final is later in April, we look forward to following their progress and that of the other affiliated pairs.

The county teams league is drawing to its conclusion. This was won by Anne Seymour's team with 92 VPs just pipping Sue Yardley's team on 91. There is one outstanding match, in this Vickers requires a 17-3 win to snatch third place from Cutler.

County teams is one of the bedrock events in the county, played on BBO over 20 boards, usually on the second Thursday of each month. When putting together your Championship Team, please give serious consideration to entering the league next year. Entries close in August for the season starting in September. Entry fee will be of the order of £30 / team, with matches set up on BBO, by the home captain. Again more of that later in the summer months, but never to early to start considering this.

The county continues to host a pairs event on BBO, every Wednesday at 7pm. Typically this is 20 boards finishing about 9.15.  This requires members to be pre-registered, if you are struggling to so this, then let me know and I can help organise this. This costs BBO$3 per session. To find the game, please search for 'Staffs,' under 'Competitive,' and 'All Tournaments.' Although be advised these tournaments are not listed until a couple of hours beforehand. There is also a 'Partnership Desk,' facility, although this is currently under-utilised.

We have also acquired some knowledge in the County for the RealBridge platform. Primarily this is for the hosting of the County Matches, but there is a real drive towards having more events on this platform. Not least of all because it more closely reflects the bridge club experience by utilising camera and microphone – this is like playing bridge on zoom! And as a Scotsman, its significantly cheaper cost appeals! For those unfamiliar with this platform but perhaps wanting a 'look / see,' Newcastle u Lyme host a Sunday night game, and I am sure Martin, would make you most welcome. Again, I am happy to pass on the details on request.

That's all for me for the moment, no doubt I'll be in touch towards the end of April, but please don't leave it until then to get your Teams entry in.

Happy bridging

Tony