English Bridge Union
Following the success of last year’s Jack High Swiss Pairs, it will return again this year at the Year End Congress in London. This year there is a change of venue to the ILEC Conference Centre, IBIS, Earls Court, close to the West Brompton Main Line Railway Station and District Line Underground station. We hope you can encourage less experienced members of your club to take part. If you come as a group, you can receive a discount on entries, see more details below.
This EBU competition is for the majority of club players and is an ideal first foray into tournament bridge. Entry to this event is limited to players with an NGS* of no more than a ‘Jack’ – so there is no risk of meeting international players at the bridge table (although there are likely to be several in the bar afterwards!).
The entry fee is £26 – lower than usual EBU congress entry fees - and entries can be made on-line through My EBU, by email to comps@ebu.co.uk or by telephone on 01296 317203. You can enter and pay on the day but please leave plenty of time to do so.
Sponsored by Funbridge
The Jack High Swiss Pairs at the Year End Congress is being sponsored by Funbridge. They have kindly donated a number of prizes which will be distributed amongst the winners, and will give access to their website where you can practice and play against robots to improve your skills.
Funbridge is also the host of the EBU’s online games, which take place every day. You play with, and against, robots, so you can play any time during the day, stopping and restarting as often as you need. They are great fun, with the added bonus of being able to win Master Points and cash prizes if you do well. More information on the games is available at www.ebu.co.uk/funbridge.
If you aren’t already addicted, give Funbridge a go and practise your card play before the Year End Congress!
Come as a group and get a discount
To encourage you to give the competition a try, we have a special offer for clubs which are able to come as a group, with discounted entry fees available. If your club is keen to take part, please contact the Competitions Department for more details – comps@ebu.co.uk or 01296 317203.
*NGS - The NGS was introduced by the EBU in 2010 and indicates an individual’s current playing ability based on the last 80 or so playing sessions at whatever level they play. When you play in an event your expected score is based on the average of your, and your partner’s, current grade and on the average strength of the players against whom you are competing. The amount by which you over (or under) achieve this score is used to determine your ‘session grade’ for that session. NGS grades have been divided into playing card bands, ranging from ‘Ace’ at the top to ‘Two’ at the beginners’ end. Nearly 50% of EBU members have an NGS of 7 to Jack, the recommended NGS range for the Jack High competition.
