Mark your calendar for the new “Jack High” Swiss Pairs tournament in London on 28th December!
New Jack High Swiss Pairs tournament at the Year End Congress London Friday 28th December 2018 with additional prizes from Funbridge!
Try your hand at tournament bridge this Christmas at the ‘Jack High’ Swiss Pairs. This new 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 a 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!).
I am the EBU’s Club Liaison Officer and have a NGS of 9, the average grade of the 13 tables that took part in the first ‘Jack High’ event held at the Easter Festival. The 6 -board Swiss Pairs format (which was carefully explained by a cheerful director to those unfamiliar with it) added to the excitement and gave us time to exchange more than mere pleasantries with our opponents. We played 3 matches then had a break for lunch to brush up on our tactics before the afternoon session. Whilst the majority of participants came from areas within easy travelling distance of London, some came from much further afield including Kiwi sisters now living on opposite sides of the world who had never played bridge together before!
A good time was had by all and as the event was stratified, there was both an overall winner and a winner for the pair ranked ‘9’ or lower. I now have some green points to add to my slowly growing Master Point total and I am really looking forward to my local club’s Christmas social – a minibus outing to the Year End Jack High with a celebratory meal afterwards.
Go on – try out this tournament at Christmas – I’m sure you will like it and it will be a welcome break from the relatives.
The entry fee is £24 and applications can be made on-line through My EBU, or by email comps@ebu.co.uk or telephone 01296 317203. You can also pay on the day but please leave plenty of time to do so.
Breaking News – the Year-End Jack High is being sponsored by Funbridge, which offers on-line practice and play against robots including regular EBU tournaments offering Master Points. If you aren’t already addicted, give Funbridge a go and practise your card play before the Year End Congress!
*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 grades 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 13 playing card bands, ranging from ‘Ace’ at the top to ‘Two’ at the beginners’ end. Nearly 50% of EBU members have a NGS of 7 to Jack, the recommended NGS range for the Jack High competition.
