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In our newsletter this week...
Vale Marilyn Dunbar Canberra in Bloom Teams League Competition at the Club! New Players Wednesday Night Pizzas Online Lessons Upcoming Events Youth News Help from the Bidding
Vale Marilyn Dunbar (1950-2026)
In memory of Marilyn Dunbar
Marilyn and I met at the Grand Slam Bridge Club in Fyshwick. I had just lost my partner and asked if she would play with me. She agreed and so started a wonderful partnership which continued after Grand Slam closed due to Covid. We played every Wednesday when we could. She was a more aggressive player. I was more cautious, so we blended well. I often said to Marilyn that Wednesday was the best day of the week for me. I so enjoyed playing with her, Wednesdays will never be the same again. Farewell Marilyn, thanks for being my partner for many year.
- Judy Jones.
Marilyn Dunbar passed away peacefully in her sleep on August 12. Her funeral is at 1:30 pm on Monday, August 24, at Norwood Park Crematorium in Mitchell, followed by light refreshments. Just one week before her passing, she and Judy won first place in the Wednesday morning A section.
Canberra In Bloom - 2nd to 5th October 2026
Held in conjunction with Australia's largest floral festival, Floriade, Canberra in Bloom is a national, gold points congress for players of all abilities. Pairs and teams events are held in novice, restricted and open categories, with a rookies pairs event catering for players with less than 5 masterpoints. • Restricted: Under 300 Masterpoints • Novice: Under 100 Masterpoints • Rookie: Under 5 Masterpoints • Masterpoint cut off is 30 June 2026 This year CIB will be held at the Belconnen Labor Club. Entries close 18 September (late entries may be accepted at Convenors' discretion). Contact Roger Brake for consideration Register now through the link below: • https://www.myabf.com.au/events/congress/view/3853
Teams League Competition at the Club!
As we head towards Christmas, we are trialling a new competition at the Club – a regular Teams Event designed for players of all skill levels, from beginners to expert! The Club will be hosting regular teams events – open to teams of four, five or six held over two sessions a fortnight apart. You do not need to have experience playing teams before entering. All you need to do is to have two pairs available for both the second and fourth Monday evening of the month. Teams is an extremely rewarding form of playing bridge where you are not competing against the entire room, but are rather playing head-to-head against another team. Your results are not scored against the whole room but are rather only compared to the results at the other table. If your pairs do better with the cards you are dealt than the pairs of the opposing team, you will win, regardless of where you are ranked across the room. The scoring rewards bidding games and making one’s contracts. Overtricks and obsessively bidding No Trumps instead of the minors are not rewarded as highly as in regular pairs game. This makes it ideal for regular club players from B-grade, C-grade or the supervised sessions.
When is it? The first season is Monday 14th September and Monday 28th September. Each session starts at 6-30 PM at the Club and will conclude at 9-00 PM Players should aim to arrive by 6-20PM at the latest!
Does the team have to come to both weeks? Yes. At least one pair must play both weeks. The teammates can be a different pair each week if your team has six players
How much does it cost? Regular table fees will be charged on the night via MyABF
Who is it for? Any playing ability will be accommodated The field will be split into multiple “Divisions” and players will only play other teams within their division At the conclusion of each month, the winning teams in each division will be promoted to a higher division and the bottom teams will be relegated to a lower division
What is the format? Each night teams will play two twelve board teams matches There will be an overall winner within each division after the two nights
How do we enter a Team? Via the following link on MyABF: • https://www.myabf.com.au/events/congress/view/4641
Can you help us find team-mates? There are no guarantees but we are always prepared to assist. If you need help securing team-mates, please contact Elizabeth or Steve.
What if I have further questions? If you have any questions, you can speak to Steve at the club or via email:
Alternatively, you can speak to Elizabeth or email her on:
New Players
Canberra Bridge Club welcomes the following new and returning players:
Wednesday Night Pizzas
The Wednesday night pizzas provide the opportunity for social interaction while enjoying a pizza sampling. It provides a great opportunity to talk to and socialise with your fellow players, which is not always the case when engaged in playing bridge.
Those wishing to partake should place their name on a list on the noticeboard or contact Jon Pike directly. His email is
Online Lessons
The next online lesson with Will Jenner-O'Shea is on Thursday 27 August at 9:30am. This lesson is on Doubling 1NT.
Upcoming Events
BFACT Gala Pairs - Saturday, 5 September
This is a one-day butler pairs event where players of BFACT affiliated clubs of all levels will be welcomed and will be competitive. BFACT will also be selecting the “ACT 2” team for the Grand National Open Teams (GNOT).
Tuesday Night Competition
The next Tuesday Night Competition is the Egon Larsen Butler Pairs starting on 25th August to 8th September 2026
Australia Wide Open Pairs
The Australia-Wide Open Pairs has a rich history that goes back more than 40 years, bringing together thousands of players from all around the country. Each player will receive a souvenir booklet on the day, describing our recommendations for how the bidding and play should have gone. After the results are in, there will also be a second personalised booklet available on our web page, looking at every board to see how your bidding and play compares against our recommended results.
• Wednesday evening 26 August - Walk in Event • Cost: $15
Have you been to our Cardplay Wednesdays?
Steve Geddes teaches Cardplay Wednesdays on the 1st Wednesday of the month. The next one will be running on 2nd September.
Youth News
YOUTH EVENTS at a glance
CBC Trivia Fundraiser - Prize donations welcome Saturday November 7, 2pm - 5pm We’re looking for donations of prizes for the Youth Trivia Fundraiser. Teams are 8 players, so a donation in sets of 4 or 8 would be appreciated eg 4 or 8 bottles of wine. The money raised from the Trivia Day will be used to help Youth players gain experience against a variety of opponents including subsidies for Country Congresses and the NSW State Championships.
NSW State Youth Championships December 5 - 6 ACT players are invited to participate in the NSW State Championships. Let's make a team and get some payback for the 2026 ANC.
RealBridge Youthish Nights
Club session bridge is matchpoint scoring which is a different beast to teams scoring. Learn about the differences and get a board by board breakdown from Will after the match. It's a great way to level up your skills. ONLINE and FREE. Next sessions are Friday August 21 and September 25. Youth and youth adjacent members can enter. If you bring a Youth player to Youthish Night you can join!
Youth Triathlon - 27th Sept to 1st Oct (Sunday - Thursday)
3 days of Competition 2 days of Training 1 Winner Crowned
An overall winner of all 3 events combined will be crowned 🥇 2026 Youth Triathlon Champion 🥇 and receive the Bobby Richman Shield
CBC Youth Coordinator Suz Wilkinson
This week’s Youth Shoutout goes to Tamara Cutcliffe, who is helping to organise the ANC volunteer party on Friday. She does a lot (quietly) behind the scenes to help Youth and many club events run smoothly.
Ian Morison's Interesting Hands Here is a bridge hand which members may find interesting along with comments as to how I would approach it. As with most things there is more than one way to be effective and members may have opinions as to the approach they would use. If you would like to discuss a different approach please email me directly at
Help from the Bidding Dealer W, Vul NS From Tuesday’s game at the CBC.
You can often get help from the Bidding:
NORTH QJ10 KQ65432 Q A10
SOUTH 8754 1098 82 J854
WEST K9 7 K1097654 763
EAST A632 AJ AJ3 KQ92
You are East, and the bidding goes: West North East South 3D (1) 4H (2) ??? (3)
West North East South 3D (1) 4H (2) 6D (3) P P X P P P
CONTRACT AND LEAD
6D by North, lead SQ
ANALYSIS
6D made easily, losing only CA. After drawing Trumps, West came back to Hand twice to lead towards CK, and CQ. North could only take CA
MORAL OF THE STORY
At the CBC on Tuesday, 6D was only bid twice
[At one table, the lead was CA. I think North should lead HK – leading CA may set up Clubs for Declarer before HQ has a chance of making when CA wins later]
- Ian Morison
Thanks Barb!
A snapshot from last night: Barb teaching her final group of beginners at CBC. We’ve been so lucky to have her incredible dedication and experience all these years.
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Take care everyone and don't forget to email any contributions to the newsletter on
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