October 2023

For day three of the EBU Overseas Congress, sponsored by First for Bridge, the group ventured to the nearby historical town of Treviso (pictured above). It was also the final of the Swiss Pairs, which was won by Joy and Irving Blakey (pictured). Tournament Director Chris Benneworth covers some highlights from the day below:

Day two of the EBU Overseas Congress, sponsored by First for Bridge, started rather earlier than expected as Tournament Director Chris Benneworth explains:

There are a number of clubs that are either struggling a bit or at least concerned for their future. Head winds include an aging membership and the fallout from Covid such as the surge in online playing and some members simply not returning.

Simon Webb (10 June 1949 – 14 March 2005) was a British chess player, an International Master, a Correspondence
Chess Grandmaster, and a chess writer.

Born in London, he was joint British under-18 champion in 1966, and fourth in the European Junior
Championship in 1969. Webb was briefly a professional player in the late 1970s, participated in a number of strong tournaments, and met some strong players, including a 17-year-old Garry Kasparov at the 1980 European Team Championship (Webb lost). At one event, he was assigned a lady translator.

If you have watched the new Wes Anderson film on Netflix, eagle eyed viewers may have spotted the interior of one of our EBU clubs and a couple of EBU members in one scene.

Below is your monthly update from the EBU. Please note there are a lot of important topics covered this month. All previous updates are available on the EBU Updates page.

This poster shows the upcoming EBU events. Please consider adding this to your club/county website and encourage your members to enter online via My EBU.