Third Thursday Pairs League

Since the autumn of 2010 we have run a pairs league on the third Thursday of each month, which has been well attended and extremely popular. The basic format has been that there are three different divisions, and each season runs for three months with promotion & relegation between seasons.

There are ten pairs in each division , and they each play three 9-board matches against other pairs in their division, so that at the end of three months they will have played one match against everyone else. However in the most recent season there were two divisions, with ten pairs in the first division and twelve in the second, and in one of the earlier seasons, because of the event's popularity there were sixteen pairs in the third division, playing five 5-board matches each month.

Final Rankings of the season just completed are now available.

Final Rankings of the Autumn 2011 season are also available.

Final Rankings of the Summer 2011 season can be downloaded.

Final Rankings of the Spring 2011 season can be downloaded.

Final Rankings for the first season, Autumn 2010, are also available.

There will be a sixth season of the Third Thursday Pairs League starting next month, for which the dates will be:

May 17th
June 21st
July 19th
Scoring is by matchpoints converted to Victory Points. Each division is scored separately. The entry fee for the season is £30 per player (£40 for non-members, £10 for full-time students). This includes table money for all three games - there is nothing more to pay.

There are prizes for the winners (£220/£200 for the two divisions of the most recent season) and a prize for the highest matchpoint score in a single match.

All EBU Level 4 bidding agreements are allowed. In addition, because the matches are long, Level 5 agreements are allowed with prior notification, as long as a suitable written defence is provided.

Allocation to divisions for the first season was based on Gold Points and past performance at the YC. Since then, allocations have been primarily based on past performance in the league, with new pairs based to some extent on Gold Points and YC performance, but new players are generally expected to work their way up from one division lower than might be their eventual level. The top two pairs of the lower divisions will usually be promoted and the bottom two pairs relegated at the end of each season, but this will be flexible to allow for new pairs joining, pairs leaving, or the number of divisions changing. In any case the top pair in each of the lower divisions will be guaranteed to be promoted.

In the event of a player not being able to make one of the dates, a substitute will be allowed or you can enter as a "pair" of three. A "pair" of three will pay the entry for the two most expensive players - eg two members and a visitor will pay for a member and a visitor; two members and a student will pay for two members. Further substitutes will only be allowed at the committee's discretion to ensure the smooth running of the event, and will usually affect the pair's chances of winning prizes, and might affect their possibility of promotion.

To register your entry send us an email. Entry fees will need to be paid in full before the start of the season.