Celebrate the one who introduced you to bridge

As Thanksgiving approaches, we’d like to invite you to spend part of the day with us on BBO. It is a good moment to think about the person who first brought bridge into your life, whether that was a parent, a friend, a club teacher, or simply someone who needed a fourth at the table. We all started somewhere, and someone gave us that first nudge.

On Thursday, November 27, we've prepared some free tournaments to mark the occasion. Whether you still play with that person today or you are remembering someone from years ago, we'd love you to join.

Free Pairs Games

We are offering three free pairs tournaments at different times of the day, so you can choose the one that suits you best, or play them all if you like. It is a simple way to enjoy a few boards together and mark the holiday in (bridge) style.

Free Pairs schedule:

10am New York Time (16:00 Paris): Pairs, Matchpoints, 10 boards, 2 boards per round
3pm New York Time (21:00 Paris): Pairs, IMPs, 10 boards, 2 boards per round
7pm New York Time (1:00 Paris): Pairs, IMPs, 10 boards, 2 boards per round

If you do not have a partner, just stop by the Partnership Desk. We will help you find someone, or you can choose to play with a BBO robot.

Ben & Friends - Cards of Kindness Individual

You can also try our experimental AI bridge engine, Ben (Bridge ENgine). Ben has been trained on hundreds of millions of deals played by people on BBO (mostly ACBL sanctioned games). BBO's Ben keeps learning how to make more human leads and how to avoid bidding misunderstandings. This month, you'll get to preview of the latest improvements to BBO's Ben. Try it out and let us know what you think.

Game Info

• 8 boards, Matchpoints
• Free entry, open to all players
• 24 hours to complete your hands
• Ben plays a variation of 2/1, closely related to the usual GIB System. Click here to read about Ben on BBO.

How to join the Free Tournaments:

• Click Competitive and then Free Tournaments on BBO and search for tournaments hosted by BBOFest with the title “Cards of Kindness“.
• Alternatively from 24 hours before the start of the game you can use this link for quick access to the list of BBOFest games
• Registration is free and opens 24 hours before start time.

ACBL World: Thanksgiving Celebration

If you prefer ACBL-sanctioned bridge, you can join any of the pair, individual, or robot duplicate games in ACBL World and the ACBL Clubhouse on November 27. A surprise 'thank you' BB$ gift will be awarded every 10 minutes throughout the day. Regular entry fees will apply.

Share your story
As we mark Thanksgiving, we invite you to take a moment to think about the person who first introduced you to bridge. If you would like to share a short message of thanks in this page. You can also send in your story here if you’d like to see it published on the weekly Bridge Lover's newsletter.