7th September 2025, various locations, whether live or online
National Handicap Pairs Championship
- results are based on scores handicapped by NGS grade
Held in various clubs, online and face-to-face, 7th September 2025
The National Handicap Pairs Championship is a new event, started in 2021, which takes place as heats organised by host bridge clubs either in the clubhouse or online. Uniquely among national EBU events the results are based on scores handicapped by NGS grade, so anyone has the opportunity to do well on the day, regardless of their experience level. We are delighted that the first year's event proved this to be the case when it was won by a pair whose NGS are 6 & 7.
Format
The competition will be played as a single extended session, about 30 boards, scored by match-points (the normal pairs scoring method) across all participating venues in the country.
The time of the event will be determined by the host venue providing the start time is no earlier than 11am and no later than 2pm. Please see below for starting times for each venue.
Handicaps will be based on the average NGS of the two players in each pair, so all players will need to have their NGS visible. To do well you simply have to play better than expected based on your NGS - anyone can win this event just by having a sufficiently good day!
Information for Clubs and other Venues
The event is open to all EBU-affiliated clubs (and counties), which will be responsible for most aspects of the heat, including taking entries, running the game and submitting the scores. The entry fee is determined by each host club - £3.00 per player is remitted to the EBU and the rest is retained by club, so those taking part are supporting their local club as well as playing in a national competition.
Details of the clubs which are hosting heats will be available below.
Handicapped Scoring Information
The results from the heats are combined and matchpointed across-the-field, as if it were a Simultaneous Pairs event – and the combined scores appear on the EBU Sims webpage.
The handicap for each pair is their average of the two players’ NGS grades. The NGS grades are the grades before the event. The handicap is relative to 50%, so can be positive or negative.
The handicapped score is calculated by subtracting the handicap from the score from the combined results.
Handicapped-Score = Score – ((NGS_1 + NGS_2)/2 – 50)
To enter
By entering an EBU congress or event you agree to abide by the terms and conditions set out in the Terms and Conditions document.
Please enter directly with the host club. The contact details and/or the process for making an entry for each venue will be listed below.
Holders
2024
Catherine Thompson & Lesley Bridson Harrogate Bridge Club
Master Points
Blue Points will be awarded to the top 1/3 of the overall field at National rate and prizes will be awarded based on the overall handicapped ranking list. NGS grading for this event will be based on the underlying local results.
Agreements
Level 4 agreements are permitted in this event.
Venue and Tariff
2025 Venues
If your club would like to host the National Handicap Pairs Championship, please email sam@ebu.co.uk