Another successful Miners’ Cup with LoveBridge One

Another successful Miners’ Cup with LoveBridge One

The 54th edition of the annual Miners Cup bridge tournament in Tatabánya, Hungary was once again a great success for both the organizers and the LoveBridge team. This marked the fifth consecutive year that the event has relied on the cutting-edge LoveBridge One system to enhance the tournament experience.  

In the team event, 16 teams competed for the top prize. It came down to a close battle, with the ‘Janó’ team emerging victorious against the ‘Director Please!’ team. 

Many players only arrived on the second day for the pairs tournaments, which attracted a total of 41 entries. After some intense competition, the Gulyás-Hodosi pair took the first prize. 

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The LoveBridge One system has become an integral part of the Miners Cup and Hungarian Bridge life, offering many benefits during and after the tournament. It helps to stop the flow of unauthorised information, prevents players from revoking or bidding insufficiently, not to mention providing an immense amount of information for tournament directors to make the right decision. It also provides real-time (15 minute delay) broadcasts, searchable archives and personal statistics. 

Organisers and players alike trust the reliability and user-friendly design of the LoveBridge One system, which has contributed to the smooth running of the event.  

Looking ahead, the tournament organizers and the LoveBridge team are excited to build upon this success and deliver many more exceptional Miners Cup events in the years to come. 

For those interested, the results can be found on the following link:  https://vugraph.lovebridge.com/screen/lb02/247191?screen=running-score&round=8

 

European and World Transnational Youth Championships in Wroclaw

European and World Transnational Youth Championships in Wroclaw

In July 2024, the historic city of Wroclaw, Poland, played host to two prestigious international bridge tournaments – the 29th European Youth Team Championship and the 8th World Transnational Youth Championship. The events, which ran concurrently from July 7 to July 18 using the LoveBridge Bid+Score system, brought together over 500 of the best young bridge players from across Europe and around the world.  

The tournaments were a resounding success, with a fantastic atmosphere throughout the 12-day event. Players ranging in age from 11 to 31 competed at the highest level, showcasing the talent and potential of the next generation of bridge stars.  

It is interesting to note that the last time the European Youth Team Championships were held in Wroclaw was in 2013. This means that the youngest participants in this year’s event were not even born the last time the city hosted this prestigious competition. There were also players who took part in both the 2013 and this year’s championships, giving them a unique insight into how the playing field has changed over the years. 

From a logistical point of view, the tournaments also set new records for LoveBridge. A total of 480 bridge tablets were used simultaneously during the tournaments – never before had so many tablets been in play at the same time. It is also exciting that there was a point at the World Championships when 7 segments were running at the same time – 5 group finals plus 2 consolation tournaments. 

Overall, the 2024 European and Transnational Youth Bridge Championships in Wroclaw were great events, with the smooth running of the tournaments and the electric atmosphere are sure to have left a lasting impression on all who attended. 

 

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Bid+Score in Herning

Bid+Score in Herning

After eleven days of intense bridge, the 56th European Team Championships in Herning has come to an end.  Three events took place during these few days: the 56th European Team Championships, the 12th Women’s and 10th Senior National Pairs Championships.   

The two pairs championships finished first, with Polish pairs taking the gold medals in both. In parallel, the Team Championship in the Open category was already underway, as it had the largest number of teams, 30 in total. Four days later, the Women’s, Senior and Mixed categories started, with 22, 20 and 23 teams respectively. Full round robin matches were played in each category, after which Norway came first in both the Open and Women’s, while the Netherlands won at the Seniors and Israel in the Mixed. 

Thanks to a recent development it was the first Bid+Score tournament (the gameplay is still with cards) where the live results were published on the LoveBridge vugraph site, in addition to the EBL site.   

We also introduced in Herning our match broadcasting system called LoveBridge Operator (LBO), that – with the assistance of an operator – makes possible to stream the playing phase of the game on our vugraph. Live broadcasts of selected matches were available for spectators and their full bidding and playing history can be reviewed any time on LoveBridge Vugraph. 

Congratulations to all the medallists and everyone who qualified for the World Championships! We look forward to being part of the most prestigious bridge championship with LoveBridge next year! 

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For those interested in the results, you can find them on the following links: 

https://vugraph.lovebridge.com/screen/lb01/938599?screen=running-score&round=29 

http://db.eurobridge.org/repository/competitions/24Herning/microsite/Results.htm 

More pictures can be found on the European Bridge League’s facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.763202006013607&type=3 

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New NBO on board! – the Romanian Bridge Federation

New NBO on board! – the Romanian Bridge Federation

We’re pleased to announce that the Romanian Bridge Federation has begun using the LoveBridge system for their tournaments. Their first event started on June 1st, the National Team Championship Final. And they already held their second pairs tournament the last weekend.  

The collaboration started back in late January, when the Romanian Federation reached out to express their interest in the LoveBridge system. After assessing the needs and possibilities, and then jointly developing the terms of use, we signed a contract in early April. 

Since then, the Romanian Federation has acquired the necessary equipment, including 85 tablets. After that, the preparation of the tablets and the training sessions could begin. In this case, too, the preparations and training were carried out entirely remotely. 

We are extremely pleased to welcome the Romanian Bridge Federation as the 3rd European National Bridge Organisation to adopt the LoveBridge system for their National Championships.  

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Contract signing with the EBL

We have reached a significant milestone in our growth and acceptance within the bridge community. In May 2024, Lovebridge signed a new contract with the European Bridge League (EBL) covering the 2024 and 2025 calendar years. 

This contract includes two key components: 

      1. Lovebridge tablets will be used for bidding in all tournaments organized by the EBL. 
      2. The contract also includes a new vugraph streaming platform for Vugraph Operators. This will allow the EBL to stream gameplay from their Bid+Score tournaments live on the Lovebridge vugraph website.  

This second part of the deal is also an important development for LoveBridge. This new feature will be launched at the 56th European Team Championships in June. Live streams of selected matches will be available on our vugraph site and can be viewed at any time later.  

The contract was signed in Budapest during the 47th International Budapest Bridge Festival (IBBF) by Eric Laurant, President of the EBL, Igor Chalupec, Treasurer of the EBL, and on behalf of LoveBridge Gyula Bódis, owner of Visoft Ltd. and Orsolya Hegedüs, CEO.   

EBL contract

Gyula Bódis, Igor Chalupec, Eric Laurant, Orsolya Hegedüs

USBC with LoveBridge One for four years now

After a busy and exciting month, the 2024 United States Bridge Championships has come to an end. The USBC, held in Schaumburg from 1 to 26 May, saw fierce competition in the Open, Mixed, Senior, and Women’s categories. In addition to our non-stop live vugraph coverage, there were matches almost every day with live commentary by renowned American players, allowing fans to enjoy the exciting hands and the journey to see who would represent the United States at the World Bridge Championships in Argentina. 

The history of LoveBridge and the United States Bridge Federation (USBF) dates back to 2021, when the first USBC was held after the COVID-19 pandemic. That year, the USBF decided to try the innovative LoveBridge One system to minimize in-person contact and make the tournament safer.  

That year, they used the LoveBridge tablets in every category for the KO matches. In addition to making the tournament safer, the system provided many other benefits that contributed to the event’s success, marking the start of a long-term cooperation between LoveBridge and the USBC. 

At the USBC, the LoveBridge tablets are used in a different setup. They have only two players in each room, the Screenmates. In order to enable communication between the two sides of the screen, the application had to be developed to enable the necessary written explanations and chat functions.   

These functions required a keyboard and a larger screen, so in the third year (2023) the tablets were replaced by Chromebooks. By this time, the LoveBridge One system was being used in every category for the Round of 16 and KO matches. 

Over the years, the LoveBridge team has worked closely with players and organizers to continually improve the user experience and ensure fair play. The aim was to also enforce rules that cannot be solved when playing with cards. This has led to many minor and major improvements over the last few years. 

Congratulations to the winners of each category and good luck in Buenos Aires! 

USBC open 2024

The winners of the Open category 
Marty Fleisher, Brad Moss, John Hurd, Joe Grue, Chip Martel, Kevin Bathurst