Bridge News Archive

It’s so hard to erase old bridge news! One never knows if it will hold that link or resource that someone is looking for. So, for that one person, we are keeping all our old news here in this archive. Enjoy!

NOTE: Many news items are also in our Magazine – choose the Bridge Stories category

The American Bridge Teachers’ Association (ABTA) has announced winners in its 43rd annual Book of the Year contest. Advanced category was Simple Squeezes Made Simple (AuthorHouse) by James Marsh Sternberg, MD and Danny Kleinman. Advanced Intermediate category was Parrish the Thought: Modern Defensive Thinking (Bridge Winners Press) by Adam Parrish. Intermediate category, two books tied for the award: Twelve Important Bridge Lessons on Defense (Master Point Press) by David Bird.  The Magic of Defense (Baron Barclay) by Barbara Seagram. Read recap on Bridge Winners here.

8th World Youth Transnational Championships in Wroclaw, Poland • 13 – 18 July 2024. Click here to follow results.

WBF and Lovebridge – WBF President Jan Kamras has signed a contract with Lovebridge which includes the use of the Lovebridge tablets for bidding and also vugraph options. Read our earlier interview with Péter Talyigás from LoveBridge here.

 BAMSA has recently published a book via Master Point Press: The Art of Becoming a Top Bridge Player. It is based on indepth interviews with 60 international bridge players from the USA and Europe. More information here.

SPARK! American Contract Bridge League Educational Foundation 3rd Annual Fundraiser for Youth Bridge Programs. From June 1 to July 7, place bids in our online auction to take lessons or play in online games with your favourite bridge pros. Auction winners can then participate in our live event or select their lesson or game for a time that best fits their schedule. Information here.

Lew Stansby (1940-2024). The world of bridge bids adieu to one of the best players of all time, and also one of the best people in the bridge world (winner of the 2018 Sportsman of the Year award). He won 7 world championships and 35 North American championships in a career spanning 7 decades. Lew passed away in May this year. Tributes can be found on Bridge Winners here.

IntoBridge adds Daily Celebrity Challenge – Every day, on IntoBridge, you can play a (free) 5-board tournament against a celebrity. This is a great opportunity to play against la crème de la crème of the bridge world and potentially earn more IBP for your Ranked Games rating. Read more here ⇢

BAMSA has a new report on promoting and marketing bridge which has emerged as a result of a Masters Thesis conducted by Abby McCutcheon at the University of Stirling. Read more here ⇢

The ACBL Hall of Fame Committee has announced the election of Steve Garner, Justin Lall, and Janice Seamon-Molson to the Open Category of the Class of 2024 of the Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be held at the 2024 Summer NABC in Toronto.

New online course for young players starts in May. The ABF are offering a Learn Bridge Online Course for 14 – 24 year olds and best of all it’s FREE! –

Spring NABC in Kentucky: Click here for daily bulletins ⇢

Master Point Press has just relaunched their website. Nice clean new look. masterpointpress.com

Job posting. Samantha Punch has posted on her Twitter: Delighted to announce #BAMSA has a new 3 year full-time post-doc researcher position for the #mindsport #education project. Click here for information.

What are you reading in 2024? There’s always something new to learn about bridge, according to the Baron Barclay Blog.

Mike Lawrence offers his three award-winning Insights on Bridge books plus a copy of I Fought The Law all for only $60 postpaid. Visit his website to find out more!

World Favourite Bidding Challenge. Marc Smith has re-started his famous Bidding Challenge on Real Bridge. Originally on The Bridge Forum 1999 – 2003 the contest was resurected in 2021 on BBO and is now launching on Real Bridge. Follow item on Bridge Winners here.

2017 Laws of Duplicate Bridge changes –  Laws 73 and 89 have been revised and will come into effect on 1^st January 2024. The revisions are here and are now contained within the online 2017 Laws which can be downloaded here in Word or PDF format. These amendments are being implemented in an effort to promote fair and consistent play across all WBF-sanctioned bridge events. Law 73 concerns Communication, Behaviour, Tempo and Deception. Law 89 concerns Prohibited Behaviour and Reprehensible Conduct. We have updated the Laws Bot in our Resource section with these changes.

The WADA Prohibited List of medications has been updated and will come into force on 1st January 2024. WADA particularly asks you to note the changes with regard to the major modification concerning tramadol and we remind you that ALL diuretics are banned in competition and require a TUE (Therapeutic Exemption Certificate) to be registered. Complete list here ->

Bridge Pro Calendar 2024 – “Catch 12 of your favourite players away from the table.” Available at the New York School of Bridge Photos and art by Yoko Sobel.

Do you know a bridge angel? IntoBridge has introduced a new series of articles  to highlight and celebrate these exceptional individuals, and hopefully inspire more people to follow in their footsteps. The first Bridge Angel in the series is Sue Johnson

Swan Games is looking for any juniors (or anyone else) who might be interested in an internship. We can use help with technical development, marketing, customer service, and administration. Contact admin@swangames.com  if interested.

In your opinion what is the worst convention – Gabi Levy posed this on Bridge Winners in preparation for an articleon his website bridge-tips.co.il – and there were over 250 replies last I looked! Follow the conversation here (and by the way, I happen to love Drury)

Atlanta NABC Nov 23 – Dec 3 – results and bulletins can be found here.

RealBridge & BAMSA: Teacher and Coach Conference. Oct 7-8, 2023. See list of speakers and more info here →

The 46th World Bridge Teams Championships August 20 – September 2, 2023 in Marrakesh, Morocco are now over.  Great Bridge Links  Championship Jump Page features a full list of medalists as well as all the links you need to enjoy news and stories form the championships.

Best e-Bridge Christmas Special – An annual subscription to the world’s best and user friendly platform for learning and practicing the game of Bridge, (suitable for all levels). Just $11.9 per month, (instead of $24.9) and you get another Extra Month for FREE!  Click here for offer

Time for a career change? The ACBL Educational Foundation is searching for a New Executive Director and is excited to start the process of selecting the next leader of the organization. The position involves remote work as well as some travel. You can find the job description, qualifications, and responsibilities for the position here.  If you are interested in applying, please send your resume and cover letter to acblefapplications@gmail.com

New Book! Bridge, A Love Story is the compelling memoir of Zia Mahmood and his passion for the greatest game ever invented. Website here ⇢  Read a great interview with Zia in the 2023 World Championships Daily Bulletin #11 – page 11.

Mike Lawrence wins Book of the Year again! Winner in the Intermediate/Advanced category was Insights on Bridge: Bid, Play and Defend (Baron Barclay) by Mike Lawrence. This is the third installment — and third ABTA Book of the Year Award — for Lawrence’s Insights on Bridge Series, which features practical tips and mini-lessons for advancing players. Read more winners of the ABTA Book of the Year awards on Bridge Winners here →

Peter Cooper RIP. Friends of the well known BC bridge player, Peter Cooper, are saddened to learn of his passing June 23 at the age of 76. Read tributes on Bridge Winners here. Peter is known for the invention of The Cooper Echo.

The World Bridge Federation has been invited to the Olympic Esports Week (“OEW”) in Singapore, June 19-25, organized by the International Olympic Committee. The WBF, together with the platform providers BBO and Funbridge, will have a pavilion at the FreeTo-Play Zone (“FTPZ”) – a great achievement and honour for Bridge to showcase our progress and activities in the field of electronic sports. Read full press release here

LoveBridge Chromebook Test at the Summer NABC. Chromebooks running the LoveBridge software will be used in the Spingold KO Teams in Chicago for the Round of 16 and the Quarterfinal. You can watch the LoveBridge vugraph here during the event and you can follow live commentary on the ACBL Twitch starting July 16.

18th World Youth Bridge Team Championships 2023 – Due to the disruption created by the pandemic over the past couple of years causing, amongst other things, difficulties in recruiting and training young players, the WBF has decided to make an exception to the age restrictions for the 2023 WYTC only. Read details here →

New Study – Bridge: A MindSport for All (BAMSA) has started a new study which aims to develop academic evidence that demonstrates the skills and wide-ranging benefits that bridge, as a mindsport, can offer young people. Find out more on Bridge Winners here →

New on the tube! 56 episode Learn to Play series called Bridge is for Everyone. Click here to enjoy and be sure to share with your friends and family.

ACBL Summer Nationals Chicago July 13-23. Daily Bulletins are the next best thing to attending! Click here for daily bulletin downloads.

ACBL Summer Nationals Chicago July 13-23. Daily Bulletins are the next best thing to attending! Click here for daily bulletin downloads.

The world is saddened by the passing of Eric Kokish, one of Canada’s, and the world’s, great bridge personalities – writer, coach and player. Our condolences to his family and his many friends and partners. Listen to recent interview with Eric on Sorry Pratner. Tributes pour into Bridge Winners here.

World Bridge Tour – Sementa & Versace and Donati & Percario remain first and second respectively, but the partnership of Espen Erichsen (ENG) & Richard Plackett (WAL) has overtaken Grue & Moss for third place. Follow on WBT website

Online Auction raises money for Spark.  The ACBLEF Youth “Spark!” Fund has been established to address an audience traditionally hard to engage: Juniors ages 17 – 31. From this fund, ACBLEF will provide grants to increase opportunities for young adults to learn/play bridge competitively or socially, expand existing programs, and help develop new ones to promote this wonderful game. Click here to check out the auction!

Canada just completed their Canadian Bridge Championships. Find all results here →

IBESCore is an onsite game scoring app players use during face to face play. It tracks overall scores around the room which the Director can monitor and players can view scorecards, rankings or traveller comparisons, and friends and family can spectate from anywhere around the world as play happens.

Double Dummy movie now available for free streaming. Why not host an event?  Interactive virtual screening events make it easy to introduce this transformative card game to a new generation of players. Find out more →

Tips for playing with robots – Anyone who has played with robots will have noticed they don’t follow the same ‘rules’ as humans. But they are robots and that means they are consistent. So learning what ‘rules’ they do follow will help you succeed when your robot is your partner.  Read more here →

New ACBL Convention Card Editor – Bridge Winners has updated its convention card editor to support the new ACBL convention card. Read intro here →

Asking The ACBL About Their Future Tablet Game. Alex gets to goods from the ACBL – read about the future of bridge! 

Should we consider the radical move of abolishing women’s bridge? The latest academic paper by Bridge: A MindSport for All (BAMSA) argues that no, there are good reasons for the existence of the women-only game. Read more here  →

No tablets at spring NABC. Responding to member feedback, the ACBL Conventions and Competition Committee unanimously voted to delay testing the use of tablets in national KO contests until the Summer 2023 NABC. Tablets will be used in the Spingold KO Teams in Chicago, beginning with the round of 16. (This notice replaces the one made Feb. 7 which said the devices would be used at the Spring 2023 NABC in New Orleans.) The ACBL plans to offer tablet demonstrations in New Orleans for players who wish to try the software in advance.

The American Arbitration Association will no longer be involved in bridge arbitrations, and the ACBL has instead asked the IBA to administer all bridge arbitrations. Read more on Bridge Winners here →

White House Juniors –  A news item in this month’s IBPA Bulletin notes that Tim Heeres and Bob Drijver report that there will not be a White House Juniors International anymore. They would like to thank their main sponsors Max Abram and Herman Drenkelford (Het Witte Huis) for their support over the years, and also for their support of (youth) bridge in general. They also thank all the players who have taken part in the event, for making it such a nice tournament. Tim and Bob, together with others, will continue to look for an opportunity to continue the tradition of a big junior tournament in The Netherlands in the future.

One of the all-time great bridge personalities, Zeke Jabbour passed away Jan 7, peacefully, in his sleep, at age 94. Read tributes on Bridge Winners here →

If you are both a Chrome and Bridge Base Online user, then you’re in luck. Browser add-ons (also called extensions) can bring a little more to the game. Find out more →

Does anyone know of a hand generator that can be used for partners to practice bidding from afar? This is a great question from Ken Bowlby on Bridge Winners with lots of good answers →

Bridge Whiz! is an exciting, free online program for young contract bridge students grades 4-12 who would like to learn more about the game. Read more here →  Bridge Whiz launched their new website this summer bridgewhiz.org

RealBridge: realbridge.online  takes online bridge to the next level, with built-in video and sound, bringing the true face-to-face experience online. See and speak to your opponents – just like face-to-face bridge. Bid and play using a modern, intuitive interface. Alex interviews Graham Hazel from the development team. Read article ->  

Tricky Bridge – a new bridge playing app to be launched at the end of summer. Great Bridge Links caught up with Scott Hoffer for more details about the launch and mechanics of Tricky Bridge, one of the most exciting apps of the year. Read more here – >

BridgeBee is a new bridge trainer app with a difference. A hybrid between a bridge lesson and an interactive AI-guided chatbot, this could be one of the best ways to inspire players and hone skills. It could do for bridge education what DuoLingo and its owl mascot has done for language learning. We interviewed Mary Maier from Baron Barclay about the beginnings of BridgeBee – and why every bridge player should check it out. Read article here ->

International Bridge Press Association welcomes two new columnists, Larry Cohen and Andrew Robson, to their monthly magazine. “Two more distinguished columnists we cannot imagine,” writes editor John Carruthers. Visit IBPA website

New ACBL Convention Card. The ACBL Board of Directors approved the new Convention Card during its Austin meetings. The ACBL expects to make the new card the official one sometime in the middle of 2022. Until then, either card will be acceptable. The formal use of the card in tournaments will take place sometime next year. Watch your Bulletin for articles that will help explain the changes and the proper way to fill out the card. Click here to download the card  → 

Free and Open Source Bridge AI Engine Released by Lorand Dali. Read more on Bridge Winners here →

The Nukki Challenge. Paris 2022. Can an advanced AI beat the world’s best bridge players? In March 2022, there was a historic match live on Youtube, between 8 bridge virtuosos (Brad Moss, Thomas Bessis, Sabine Auken, Bénédicte Cronier, Mikael Rimstedt, Roy Welland, Anna Gulevich, Nevena Senior)  and an AI. Website here. The entire contest was run through Youtube – you can follow it here. There’s a good article by Mark Horton in the WBF World’s Bulletin 01.

MiniBridge on RealBridge – MiniBridge is used by many teachers around the world as a way to introduce newcomers to bridge, and to facilitate faster learning. As part of our ongoing program of enhancements to support Bridge teachers, in September 2021 we released MiniBridge on RealBridge, where learners can play MiniBridge with other learners at a table with integrated audio and video. Read more on Bridge Winners here →

Accessible interface on Real Bridge for users with sight loss. For the past few months I’ve been developing, in collaboration with RealBridge, a modified interface to provide accessibility to the platform for users with impaired vision. Read article on Bridge Winners ->

ACBL Educational Foundation offering Digital Day Camps for young bridge players this summer. Individual camp flyers and registration forms can be found here →

ACBL considers using Tablets for Premier Events. At the request of the ACBL Advisory Council’s Anti-Cheating Committee, the Competition & Conventions Committee, with approval from the ACBL Board of Directors, has formed a sub-committee to study and prepare to adopt a version of the USBF ‘Martel method’ for use in the later rounds of several ACBL NABC+ team events. The Martel method consists of playing on provided tablets and having two screenmates from each table in separate ballrooms. This method was used successfully last year for the USBF team trials, where it was generally well received, and will be used for them again later this month. Article by David Grainger here →

Edwin B. Kantar, RIP   by Frank Stewart  – With a profound sense of bereavement and loss, I regret to acknowledge to the BW community that the great Eddie Kantar passed away this morning at the age of 89. Eddie, I can’t find adequate words. You were simply the best. Read tributes on Bridge Winners here.

RealBridge wins Tony Priday Award. The EBU Award, in memory of Tony Priday, is given for an outstanding contribution to bridge and enhancing the game in all its aspects. It was presented for the first time in 2015. Read all about it here →

International Bridge Press Association releases their 2020 IBPA Awards Listing. Highlights include Book of the year “Gaining the Mental Edge at Bridge” by Kim Frazer, and Personality of the Year going to the Rimstedt Family. Full List Click here

After a Year of ‘Rampant’ Cheating, Elite Bridge Tries to Clean Up Ten days after the first elite player confessed to cheating, a second said she had done it, too. A few months later, wealthy sponsors pleaded for players to clean up the game. Then officials suspended one top player, and another, and this summer 30 teams forfeited rather than play someone accused of cheating. For over a year, the topic of cheating has consumed many players in the highest levels of contract bridge … Read more in this article on World News Era →

The World Bridge Federation is pleased to confirm that the 2022 World Bridge Series will be held at Centennial Hall in Wroclaw, Poland, from 19^th August to 3^rd September 2022. Official website here →

Youth! The 7th World Youth Transnational Bridge Championships will be held in Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy, from August 7-14, 2022. The Championships will be held at the Palazzo dei Congressi and will consist of Teams and Pairs Championships in all categories as well as an individual Championship. Players in all three events will compete for the Triathlon World Championship and, as in previous editions, the Joan Gerard Awards will be presented. For the first time it will include a series for U-31 players, as well as the normal U-26 (Open and Women’s) events, U21 and U16 events. Read more on website here →

The 2021 World Championships in Italy has come to an end. Congratulations Gold Medalists : Bermuda Bowl – Switzerland;  Venice Cup – Sweden; D’Orsi Trophy – Poland; Wuhan Cup – France. Be sure to visit the Great Bridge Links Jump Page for bulletins, results, links, and more: Great Bridge Links Jump Page →

Important Real-Life Bridge Questions We Asked RealBridge  – Online bridge is alive with possibility, with the game getting fresh players and spectators on a daily basis. As the number of bridge players continues to rise amidst an international COVID-19 pandemic, clubs and groups have a lot of new things to consider. Read article here → 

WBT (World Bridge Tour) publishes a Player Contract and Policies in light of recent events. “An important part of our set-up is that WBT has a contractual commitment to keep the community safe for all our members.”  Read more on Bridge Winners here ->

Gabriel Chagas Suspended for One Year. Suspended from participating in tournaments promoted by the Brazilian Federation of Bridge and its associated clubs for a period of 1 (one) year as well as from representing Brazil, nationally or internationally, for a period of 1 (one) year, as of the present date. Read more on Bridge Winners – >

Bridge Winners runs Club Games on Real Bridge – Weekly. Single Session. 2 Hours. $3 per person. Juniors play free. Read about it here – >

Junior Bridge Players fill the table at Real Bridge’s Junior Events. Two more events this month. Last event had 43 teams from 17 countries.  Events are free of charge.  Contact events@realbridge.online to find out more. Or visit realbridge.online here.

The country’s premier event is not the place to be experimenting with novel gadgets. Steve Weinstein weighs in on why he’s against the use of tablets in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals of the USBF Championships. Read “A Hard Tablet To Swallow: Bridge Winners here ->

Recap and Updates of the Italian Open Trials Saga. The Neapolitan Club has gathered all the relevant material on their website including a comprehensive summary of the events. For those interested, please visit the Neopolitan Club website here →

Mandatory vaccinations for 2022 Gold Point events in Australia.  The Australian Bridge Federation recently announced: In order to provide a safe environment for players and officials at ABF Gold Point events, 2022 Covid-19 Event Plans will include the requirement that all players and officials to be fully vaccinated. Read more →  https://www.abf.com.au/abf-board-meeting-august-13-2021/. It is expected that State Associations, Bridge Clubs and other Tournament Organisers will probably follow suit (so to speak).

ACBL Staffs Face to Face tournaments – After running the Covid-19 safety analysis for tournaments beginning in October 2021, four tournaments have met the organizations four major criteria and will be staffed, and an additional nine tournaments are being considered. Click here for the current list.  For the most up-to-date tournament status, please visit the tournament calendar on our website (click here).  Note: All ACBL F2F tournaments require proof of vaccination.  ACBL Covid Protocols →

ACBL Winter Festival. An end of year tournament in store for all ACBL players – BBO’s very first ACBL Winter Festival. It’s going to be a tournament over two days, featuring pairs and robot tournaments along with interesting formats like survivor, swiss and many more. Read more here →

Real Bridge for Real Juniors – Free Events in December for U16, U21 (Dec 5), U25, and U31 (Dec 12). Contact events@realbridge.online for information. Click here for more info. 

WBF Women’s Online Autumn Festival (November 8 – 14) 

USBF – The 2021 Open, Mixed, Senior, and Women’s USBCs will select teams for the 2021 World Championships, to be played in March 2022 in Italy.  In each of the first 3 events, the USBC has two stages: an online Round Robin to reduce the field to 8 teams for face-to-face play, and face-to-face KO play in Schaumburg, IL in October to select USA1 and USA2 for the World Championships. The Women’s USBC, with 4 teams entered, has only face-to-face KO play. All players in any 2021 USBC are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Read more on Bridge Winners here ->

FISU has announced that the 2022 FISU World University Championship Mind Sports will be held in Antwerp, Belgium, from 12^th to 17^th September 2022.

Bridge Clubs after Covid – Websites and platforms promise to help people find their way back to the club. Read more here →

Tablet Talk: How Tablets Will Change Face-to-Face Bridge Tournaments. “I’m sure that face-to-face play using tablets is the future of competitive bridge, whether we get there this year or later,”says Jan Martel.  Read more here →

World’s Best: The Polish Bridge Union (pzbs.pl) and the Canadian Bridge Federation (cbf.ca) cosponsored the Transatlantic Online Seniors Championship for national teams Jan. 18-Feb. 7, 2021 on BBO. Visit website here – >  The field was probably the strongest ever seen in the Internet – participants held together 203 titles of World and Zonal champions + 359 silver and bronze medals. You can also watch on Twitch

Catching Up with New Tricks Bridge – New Tricks Bridge Club is an online resource that encourages learning bridge for everyone. Free lessons, a Tournament Series with expert commentary, and videos about bridge are just some of what NTBC has to offer. Read more here  ->

Learning Bridge In June? Add These 12 Excellent Bridge Lesson Websites! Alex has collected some of the greatest expert players, bridge writers, and card tutors to bring you this list.

The WBF is very pleased to announce that, as approved by the Management Committee, a Letter of Intent has been signed with the Polish Bridge Union for the organisation of the 2022 World Bridge Series (Rosenblum Cup, McConnell Cup, Rand Cup, Mixed Teams, Open/Women/Senior/Mixed Pairs) to be held in Wroclaw, Poland from 2nd to 17th September. Read more ->

Magnetic Bridge – Face to face play is returning and this summer you’ll see a lot of card games taking place out of doors. The last thing you want is for your expertly bid 6NT to suddenly lose its dummy in the wind. Enter Magnetic Bridge Cards. 

BAMSA (Bridge A Mind Sport for All) is an academic, research-led project that explores the social world of bridge and the benefits of mindsport. Registration is now open for the BAMSA Conference: Bridging Academia, Policy and Practice.  (online 28 June to 1 July 2021). Click here to find out more and register ->

New Regions in the ACBL. The ACBL has reorganized their government, clumping their 25 Districts together into 13 Regions, and reducing the size of their Board of Governors. Read more on the ACBL Website here – >

Ohhhhh Canada! Were Canada’s Premier National Championships sidelined by cheating? Read Ohh Canada! currently trending on Bridge Winners ->

FunBridge introduces video chat. A smile, a glance, raised eyebrows… Do you miss seeing and hearing other players’ reactions live around the table? Good news! You can now enable your camera and/or microphone during your multiplayer games (feature currently available for “Create a private table” mode only). Read more here – >

Big news from Bridge Base Online! Video Chat can now be enjoyed by millions of bridge players worldwide. . Read Press Release Here – >

Live Audio on BBO – We spoke to Dan Storch from Bridge Base Online about the new live audio feature for games. Here’s how it works, why it’s there, and how to use it. Read interview here – >

Tricky Bridge: 7,000 beginners in Week 1 – the new iPhone/iPad app dedicated to making the very beginning of the bridge learning process fun, free, and appealing for people of all ages to try  introduced over 7,000 beginners to bridge in its first week as a live game. Development was partly funded by the Ed Foundation – read our interview here – >

Bridge Baron and Great Game Products acquired by 52 Entertainment monopoly. 52 Entertainment is the ultimate holding company of Goto Games, Funbridge, Bridge Base Online (BBO), Le Bridgeur and China Bridge On Line, which together forms the world’s uncontested leader in bridge entertainment and software. Read our article and interview here ->

The EBL is disappointed to announce that, due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the situation disimproving in so many countries, the EBL National Team Championships planned for June 2021 in Madeira have been cancelled. Read more here ->

Bridge Hackathon – The #BridgeHackathon is a new event created by developer and bridge enthusiast Kiat Huang allowing for coding, creativity and bridge cross over to create new, innovative open source software. He hopes to turn his Hackathon into a regular event – and encourages other groups of bridge-loving coders and developers to do the same by organizing their own. Here’s what you should know about the #BridgeHackathon. Read article here ->

ACBL Announces Timeline for return to Face to Face Play. The road back to face-to-face bridge has been a long one, but we do see a light at the end of the tunnel. Read more on Bridge Winners here ->

2020 WBF Women’s Online Autumn Festival (November 9 – 15) – Click here fore more ->

NABC ACBL Online North American Championships (November 27 – Dec 6) – Click Here ->

BIC Bridge International Championships Winners List – Click here ->

Read more about BIC and ACBL events on the new Bridge Base Online newsfeed here ->

The E-open : Online tournament providing high quality vugraph. Luc Bellicaud, Stefan Skorchev and I are pleased to present The E-open, an online tournament aimed at all bridge lovers. https://www.eopenbridge.com/

Read our interview with Bellicaud and Skorchev here – >>

Watch on twitch here – >

Online Women’s Bridge – Sylvia Shi – Is organising a women’s team tournament. See onlinewomensbridge.com for more information 

WBF – Cancelled the 2020 Online World Championship until such time as a live final can be played. See http://www.worldbridge.org

ACBL ONLINE EVENTS 2021 Click here for pdf

CANCELLED: 2021 World Youth Teams Championship and World Teams Championship, both planned to be held in Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy. Work is being undertaken with the aim of holding the World Teams Championship (Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup, d’Orsi Senior Trophy and Wuhan Trophy) in 2022 between the end of February and beginning of March. However, the World Youth Teams Championship will be re-scheduled to 2023. Read more here ->

Henrik Hansson has been nominated for a major photography award following his depiction of Bridge during lockdown in a series of 8 evocative photographs. More information at http://worldbridge.org or go directly to the series of photographs here ->.  

Great film showing the best & worst sides of #mindsport bridge. Watch the film Aces and Knaves then join Q&A with Zia & filmmaker Jackie Paré  23 May, 7.30pm (BST)  Click here ->

FUN VIDEOS New Tricks bridge club has a series of fun videos matching 8 bridge experts in individual play. Check out their YouTube channel here ->

Bridge and Cheating in the New World. Online play has been wholeheartedly embraced and welcomed and bridge is suddenly way more accessible. However, so is cheating. Read a recap here ->

Winners of the 2020 The Alan Truscott Memorial Award are Tom Reynolds and Jan van den Hoek. Barry Rigal relates that both played a significant part in our being able to enjoy expert online tournaments during the last nine months, when face-to-face bridge was impossible.

The 52 Entertainment brand is gaining speed – and steadily becoming one of the largest umbrellas in the world of bridge. Great Game Products, Bridge Baron, Bridge Base Online, China Bridge Online, and Funbridge are some of the recent additions and now Master Point Press. Read story here ->

Audrey Grant and David Lindop are now offering their hugely popular Bridge Festivals online. Click here to read all about it and/or register ->

Prominent world class bridge player, Brasilian Leda Pain, suspended three years for cheating. Pain, the wife of multiple-time world champion Gabriel Chagas, was suspected to be using unauthorized information when playing online on BBO in early 2020. A thorough investigation was conducted by the Federação Brasileira de Bridge (FBB), which ultimately resulted in the suspension. Part of the allegation against Mrs. Pain was collusive cheating while playing with her husband. An investigation of Mr. Chagas is ongoing. Read article on Bridge Winners here ->

An Appeal From Sponsors To Professional Bridge Players. As the coronavirus hit our world and forced bridge to shift online, cheating in online bridge has consumed far too much attention and energy. We, the undersigned sponsors who have from time to time engaged professionals, have been disappointed and saddened at the revelations of unethical behaviour including self-kibitzing and collusive information-sharing. We desire to find a way back to a clean game that can include everyone, even those who have acted unethically but are willing to ask forgiveness. Note: Deadline has been extended to Jan 21, 2021. A Chance to Clear the Air and Start Over – Read more on Bridge Winners here ->

(Per)forming identity in the mind-sport bridge: Self, partnership and community
Samantha Punch , Zoe Russell and Beth Cairns University of Stirling, Scotland  Mind-sports are a relatively under-explored area within the sociology of sport, especially the internationally played game of bridge. In this qualitative sociological study of tournament bridge, we examine the formation and performance of elite bridge player identities through interviews with 52 US and European players.  Read paper here – >

What Now?  by John Carruthers, International Bridge Press Association. – Whether we consider cheating at bridge to be a disease or a crime, there are two aspects that need to be considered: prevention and cure (if it’s a disease) or; prevention and penalties (if it’s a crime).  John Carruthers shares his thoughts ->

Justin Lall (1986-2020) passed away August 19. The cause of death was complications arising from liver disease. Justin was a true prodigy and a top professional player for most of his life. His reputation for upholding the ethical standards of the game is unparalleled. Read tributes on Bridge Winners ->

Q&A with Diyan Danailov – Bridge Champion of Note. Read our interview with the face behind  ProBridgeLessons.com. Article here ->

Bridge – Dementia Prevention and Alzheimers Therapy An interim report by Marek Malysa and the “Bridge to the People” Foundation, based in Gdansk in Poland. This is one of a number of projects supported by European Bridge League that seek to scientifically underpin our own instincts that Bridge is truly beneficial to the human condition. Bridge as Dementia Prevention PDF Document here ->

World Bridge Federation amends their Disciplinary Code –  Click here for news item ->

North American Online Bridge Championships: July 23–August 2, 2020. The ACBL, in partnership with Bridge Base Online and Bridge Winners, proudly announces the 2020 Summer North American Online Bridge Championships. Full details are now available. nabc.acbl.org/naobc/

Tournament Trail with a difference. We’ve just relaunched our Bridge Tournaments section with lots of links and information regarding online bridge events. Do check it out here ->

New Tricks Bridge offers in-depth tutorials, and the New Tricks Tournament Series, featuring eight of the world’s best bridge players, battling it out for individual glory. This exciting new website and program is providing a new source for online bridge resources for beginners and experienced players – in video format. We’ve interviewed one of the founders Sue Johnson – read article here ->

The Stay at Home, Play at Home Regional – the ACBL’s first online regional tournament – drew 5237 tables. Fourteen events were held over four days, with 4984 players gaining masterpoints.  Results and more here ->

Millions of Americans play bridge and millions more want to learn. About 15 million Americans age 45 and over know how to play bridge and among those who don’t know how to play, almost one out of five said they are interested in learning – a whopping 11 million people according to an article on the ACBL Education Foundations’s blog

Do you have a great idea for a bridge project, event or club? You might qualify for an ACBL Education Foundation Grant! Read more here ->

World Bridge Federation amends their Disciplinary Code –  Click here for news item ->

Andrew Chen of San Jose CA became the youngest ACBL Life Master ever on May 27, just three days after turning 8. He broke the record held by Zach Garrison by more than a year. That record was set in 2012, shortly before Andrew was born. 500 Master Points is the requirement for Life Master status. Read more here ⇥

World Bridge Championships/Games 2020 Update – Statement, May 25, 2020. The World Bridge Federation Management Committee has made the unanimous decision to consider the 2020 as not existing, maintaining in 2021 the World Team Championships and postponing to 2022 the World Bridge Games, so maintaining unaltered the WBF quadrennial Cycle only switching in the even-numbered years the World Bridge Games and the World Bridge Series. Read full statement here ->

Lynn Deas, RIP – Tributes flood in for one of the bridge world’s most famous and accomplished bridge players, recently inducted into the ACBL Hall of Fame. Grand Life Master Lynn Deas has 27 NABC wins, 14 second-place finishes including the von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs, and nine world championships made up of seven Women’s team events (three in the Venice Cup, two in the World Bridge Games (formerly Olympiad), one in the McConnell Cup and one in the SportAccord World Mind Games) and two in Women’s pairs events (World Bridge Series and SportAccord World Mind Games); plus four silver and three bronze medals. Deas won the Lazard Sportsmanship Award in 2004, Deas passed away May 11, 2020. Read Tributes on Bridge Winners here – >

The Stay at Home, Play at Home Regional – the ACBL’s first online regional tournament – drew 5237 tables. Fourteen events were held over four days, with 4984 players gaining masterpoints.  Results and more here ->

Why Play Bridge? What makes bridge brilliant:

It’s here! The new life-style oriented bridge magazine by the folks at Le Bridgeur – BeBridge is now available in English. Chief Editor Mark Horton. Here is a digital link: https://kiosque.lebridgeur.com/…/pu…/bebridge-01-march-2020/

Is Bridge an Olympic Sport? Bridge and Chess, having been recognized as a sport by the IOC and many national Olympic Committees (but not in the US), should ‘push’ for a place in the summer Olympics.” says Al Levy in an interview with Alex J Coyne. Read more here –>

Have you checked out the WBF Directory? Find all things to do with the World Bridge Federation in a 215 page PDF you can read online or download to your desktop for offline reading. First published online Jan 17 2020 the booklet will be updated regularly with note of date of publication both within the Directory and on the web page so that you can ensure you are downloading the latest version. Click here to view ->

New Tricks Bridge offers in-depth tutorials, and the New Tricks Tournament Series, featuring eight of the world’s best bridge players, battling it out for individual glory. This exciting new website and program is providing a new source for online bridge resources for beginners and experienced players – in video format. We’ve interviewed one of the founders Sue Johnson – read article here ->

Millions of Americans play bridge and millions more want to learn. About 15 million Americans age 45 and over know how to play bridge and among those who don’t know how to play, almost one out of five said they are interested in learning – a whopping 11 million people according to an article on the ACBL Education Foundations’s blog

Do you have a great idea for a bridge project, event or club? You might qualify for an ACBL Education Foundation Grant! Read more here ->

The WBF has announced the first ever World Online Championship (WOC) beginning in 2020. Players will purchase tournament entries in batches to play on BBO, FunBridge or Synrey (CBO) against robots. Player’s best results count toward qualification for the WOC Final next fall. Read all about it here –>

Micro Bridge (by Tomio and Yumiko Uchida) won the 2019 World Computer Bridge Championships. Micro Bridge unseated 3X Gold Medalist Wbridge5 in the semi-finals and then went on to defeat Synrey Bridge in the Finals. Micro Bridge, a Japanese product that runs only on Windows, was a 5 time runner up. The annual event attracts bridge-bots from developers all over the world, with this year’s bridge-bot developers from Japan (Micro Bridge), China (Synrey Bridge), France (Wbridge5), Germany (Q-Plus Bridge), The Netherlands (RoboBridge), India (TCS BridgeBot) and the USA (Meadowlark Bridge). For all the results of this year’s event and the 23-year history  visit the Championship Website here >>

NEWS FROM THE WORLD BRIDGE FEDERATION

2020 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods now in force. All NBOs and participants in World Bridge Federation events are asked to take note of this updated list and ensure that all the requirements regarding applications for TUEs are fully complied with. Read more here ->

The World Bridge Federation announced Dec 23, the location and dates for the 2020 World Championships as Salsomaggiore August 21 to September 4th. Events will include: The Vanderbilt Trophy – The Open Teams; The Torlontano Trophy – The Women’s Teams; The Seniors Teams; World Mixed Teams Championship; The Open Pairs; The Women’s Pairs; The Seniors Pairs; and The Mixed Pairs. http://www.worldbridge.org

From New Bridge to Be Bridge. Mark Horton, Editor of A New Bridge Magazine, announced today that February 2020 will be their final issue. Being reborn from the ashes into something new and exciting, while still carrying some of the feathers from the Phoenix past is rare for a magazine these days and yet New Bridge has done just that. Read more here ->

The 44th World Bridge Team Championships, 14-28 September, 2019. Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup, D’Orsi Senior Bowl, Mixed National Teams, and the 12^th World Transnational Open Teams. Wuhan International Convention Center, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Great Bridge Links is gathering all the links on their World Bridge Championship Jump Page here ->

The 2019 Michael Seamon Junior United States Bridge Championships (MSJUSBC) will be held December 27-30/31, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta. Players will compete in four categories: 1) open under 16 years old (U16; born in 2005 or later; 2) open U21 (born 2000 or later); 3) open U26 (born 1995 or later); and 4) women U26 (Rona Cup; born 1995 or later).  Read more here –>

Fred Gitelman Retires from Bridge Base Online. What will Fred do now? Fred and his wife, Sheri Winestock, started Bridge Base in 1990 in Toronto, creatingprograms to help people learn bridge. He started Bridge Base Online in 2001, and it has grown into the indispensable platform we all recognize today, allowing people to play, watch, and learn bridge for free. Read more on Bridge Wenners here –>// * NEW * Read our Interview with Fred Gitelman here –>

Beth Palmer of Silver Spring, MD, holder of seven world bridge championships (6 women’s, 1 mixed) and over 25 NABC championships, passed away Wednesday at the age of 67. News and comments on Bridge Winners here ->

Kibitzing on Twitch: Watching and Broadcasting Bridge Online. Twitch.tv is one of the most popular platforms for streaming and broadcasting games of all types. Bridge players and fans are catching on, and the number of people logging in to kibitz is on the increase. Read more here ->

International Bridge Press Awards (IBPA) – At their annual general meeting in China, the IBPA presented three awards. The Alan Truscott Memorial award was presented to Simon Cocheme (for his humorous articles over thelast two decades), the John E. Simon Award for sportsmanship was presented to the Australian junior team for their actions in correcting ascoring error in the recent Opatija knockout, which led to a match goingto extra boards. And the Masterpoint Press book of the year was awarded to Jeppe Juhl’s ‘Master of BridgePsychology — Inside the remarkable mind of Peter Fredin’

The World Youth Championship Opatija, Croatia • 20 – 29 August 2019. Pairs are being crowned tonight. Teams qualification start tomorrow. Follow the championships and read bulletins here!

New film – The Kids Table – premiers in Las Vegas. A new documentary from Beyond the Porch Productions and the ACBL Educational Foundation follows four young friends as they navigate the highs and lows of competitive bridge. * NEW * Read our story here –> // Watch the trailer here ->

IBPA MPP Book of the Year Shortlist. From the president of the IBPA Barry Rigal: This year, we had an unusually large number of nominees (ten) for the Master Point Press IBPA Book of the Year. We have winnowed those ten down to a shortlist of six, presented here with blurbs from their publishers. This is without doubt the most-unusual collection of bridge books on any shortlist since MPP began sponsoring the award 15 years ago. Read list and comments on Bridge Winners here –>

Thousands of bridge lovers from around will convene this month in Las Vegas at the ACBL’s Summer NABC, July 18-28. Follow the action on their website here. Also at the same time is the Youth NABC click here and the Collegiate Bridge Bowl click here. Not able to attend? You can play in an online Robot NABC Tournament click here.  And DAILY BULLETINS ARE UP! Click here ->

What Michael Xu wants you to know about pizza.  A search for the name Michael Xu  on Bridge Winners where will garner 1505 hits. Read an interview with this charming young bridge player here.

“Even though I don’t know you readers personally, I want to hug and crush you into a different dimension, a dimension where there is no other worries, where we can just enjoy the mystical wonders of bridge for eternity.” ~ Michael Xu

Introducing the North American Bridge Federation (NABF). When the ACBL refused to submit to the authority of  Olympic anti-doping mechanisms, it could no longer act as a Zonal Authority in th WBF – so the NABF was born. Read more here –>

Rest in Peace George Rosenkranz. Dr. Rosenkranz won a dozen North American championships. He created bidding systems, wrote 15 books on bridge and was inducted into the American Contract Bridge League Hall of Fame in 2000. Mrs. Edith Rosenkranz, one of Mexico’s top players, often accompanied him on tournament trips. Also a renown chemist whose discoveries lead to modern day birth control, among other things, Rosenkranz was 102 when he died on Sunday in his home in California. Read his colourful history in this New York Times article. Read tributes from the bridge world on Bridge Winners here.

June is a month of Zonal Championships!
Jun 11-20 52nd APBF Championships Singapore. Results
Jun 15-29 9th Open European Championships, Kusadasi, Turkey. Daily Bulletins.  eurobridge.org
Jun 23-30 20th BFAME Championships Amman, Jordan. Website.

GOTO Games and Le Bridgeur Merge. A few months after the merger between BBO and Funbridge, GOTO Games steps up its development with the acquisition of Le Bridgeur, increasing its presence in the bridge market as part of a global strategy. Read Press Release

World’s Number One bridge player stripped of medal. The bridge world was shocked earlier this month to hear top bridge player, Norwegian-born Geir Helgemo, has been stripped of his 2018 World Championship titles, medals and points by the World Bridge Federation and banned from the game until November, 2019 with immediate effect. This after a random drug test during the 2018 World Bridge Series in Orlando, Florida discovered banned substances in Helgemo’s system. Read more here –>

Jeff Meckstroth and Eric Rodwell have been let go by the Nickell team, effective in 2020, to be replaced by Geoff Hampson and Eric Greco. Thomas Bessis and Frédérick Volcker will join the Fleisher team to replace the departing Hampson/Greco. (Source: IBPA Bulletin March 2019) Who are these guys ? Read more here –>

This year will mark the ACBL’s seventh year as the Alzheimer’s Association’s inaugural global partner for The Longest Day, and they are looking forward to bringing new energy and support to clubs across the country who work so hard to plan and execute the fabulous events that support The Longest Day Fundraiser. Teams can select a day during the week of the summer solstice, June 16-23 to play bridge from sunrise to sunset, host an event, or just play one game. Learn how you can participate in The Longest Day

Fun Times with the Lion Continue – Award-winning LeoVegas Mobile Casino signs on as a Great Bridge Links Gold Sponsor for 3rd year in a row. Read more here –>

Canadian Bridge Championships in Vancouver. You can catch up with the action on the CBF Championship website here. We’ve posted a lot of photos on the CBF Facebook Page. There are also daily bulletins (editor Eugene Chan) which I’ll post here. Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7

The Best of Both Worlds: BBO and Funbridge – Bridge Base Online and GOTO Games’ Funbridge are two highly successful bridge platforms in their own right, and the recently announced merger has a lot of players wondering about why the two companies have decided to join forces – and how it will affect the future for players on either platform.  Read Alex’s article here –>

Billy Rosen (1928-2019). Billy Rosen, whom Alan Truscott called one of the “greatest names in the game,” has died at the age of 90. “A 100% natural bridge player, he played the game with great ethics and ferocity and will always be remembered … as a total winner and great competitor.” Bobby Wolff and others give tribute to this great player and great man on Bridge Winners here –>

Jose Damiani Answers Questions. As President of the French Bridge Federation, European Bridge League, World Bridge Federation, and most recently, the International Mind Sport Association, Dimiani has been the leader of the movement to define bridge as a sport, culminating in the International Olympic Committee’s recognition of the WBF as a World Sport Organization. Damiani answers questions on Bridge Winners’ In The Well –>

It’s Your Lucky Way. Bridge players tend to be eccentric, and the game gives them plenty of reasons to be concerned about their luck, so it’s not surprising that many have superstitions. What is your lucky charm? Read more on Bridge Feed here –>

Almost 400 people attended the world premiere of “Aces & Knaves” at the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts on Monday at the Memphis NABC. Read story on Bridge Feed here –>

Three Electected into the ACBL 2019 Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Peter Boyd, Bart Bramley, and Judi Radin. Read more here –>

ACBL Top Players Rally Over Cheating Fears. Although well-publicized disciplinary hearings in North America and Europe have resulted in the permanent banning of several top pairs convicted of collusive cheating, some of the accused have turned to civil courts to have their sentences overturned or reduced – and they’re turning up at competitions. Read more here ->

ACBL to start selling online entries. The upcoming Summer NABC in Atlanta will be the last NABC at which Bridge Winners will be providing online entries. Under the leadership of its new CEO, Bahar Gidwani, the ACBL has begun updating its entry-selling processes. At the last two NABCs and at regionals around the country the ACBL has implemented a system to accept credit cards for entry purchase. Starting in the Fall the ACBL plans to continue its expansion and sell entries online. Read more here ->

New event at the World Bridge Teams Championships. Starting 2019 a Mixed Teams Championship will be added alongside the Open (Bermuda Bowl), Wome n’s (Venice Cup) and Seniors (d’Orsi Trophy) at the World Bridge Teams Championships.The Zonal Conferences will hold qualifying Championships/Trials as they do for the other categories. Read more here ->

The new ACBL Convention Charts – The ACBL Board of Directors approved  New Convention Charts at the NABCs in Philadelphia. Effective the first day of the 2018 Fall Nationals in Honolulu, there will be several articles in the ACBL Bulletin introducing the new charts. You can view them here.

The hour of AI has arrived! A non-human is inducted into the ACBL Hall of Fame for the first time in history. Read more here ->

The Best Bridge Writer – Discussion on Bridge Winners this week offers a fantastic list of great bridge authors, their books, and what makes them great. Who would be your pick for the best Bridge Writer?

The World Bridge Federation opens Robot Bridge Tournaments with WBF Masterpoint Awards Click here.

New Podcasts from John McAllister

Conversations with world class players. Hi, my name is John McAllister. I have spent the past six years playing bridge all around the world. My goal is to win a world championship. Doing so requires getting into the minds of the world’s best players. I can not think of a better, more fun way to do so, than to interview great bridge players and share their insights in podcast format.

http://thesettingtrick.libsyn.com/

Bridge Magazine closes – and opens

Minibridge is now available online.