DUPLICATE TEAMS

ABOUT DUPLICATE TEAMS

Duplicate teams can be played as a single match between two teams of four players or as a larger organised tourment called "Swiss Teams". Both are described below.

PLAY TEAMS AT HOME

This section describes a typical teams match that would be played at home between two teams of four players.

A match is played between two teams of four - eight players in all. Each team consists of two partnerships. During the match, each pair plays against both the pairs from the other team.

The same boards are played at both tables so that team mates can compare scores at the end. Team-mates add together their scores and convert to IMPS. The winner is the team with the highest IMPs.

If you've never played teams before you might like to try it. It adds a bit of competition to a social bridge session. You will need 12 duplicate wallets or 'boards'. Scorecards can be printed below.

Below you can print instructions giving full details on how to play a twelve board teams match at home.

The instructions include:
  • Seating arrangements
  • How to layout the boards
  • How to score and convert to IMPs with worked examples
  • IMPs conversion table

Print Teams Instructions Print Scorecards

More about IMPs scoring and tactics

SWISS TEAMS

Swiss Teams is a popular format used in tournament play. It combines elements of both team play and Swiss system pairings. Here's how it works:

Format
  1. Teams: Each team typically consists of four (can be up to six) players, with four players playing in any given round (two pairs).
  2. Swiss System: The competition uses a Swiss system for pairings, where teams are matched against others with similar records. In the first round, pairings are usually random. In subsequent rounds, teams with similar cumulative scores (or Victory Points, VPs) play against each other. This system ensures that teams play against opponents of similar skill levels as the tournament progresses.
Rounds and Scoring
  1. Number of Rounds: The number of rounds depends on the number of teams and the tournament schedule. A common format is 7 rounds of 7 boards.
  2. Scoring Method: The primary scoring method is typically International Match Points (IMPs). The scores from each board played are converted into IMPs based on the difference between the pairs' scores. These IMPs are then converted into Victory Points (VPs) according to a standard scale.
  3. Victory Points: VPs are awarded based on the IMP difference in each match.

More about IMPs scoring and tactics

Match Play
  1. Bridge Boards: Each round consists of a set number of boards. Each board is played at both tables (one pair from each team at each table).
  2. Comparison: The results from both tables are compared to calculate the IMP difference for each board. This is done by comparing the score achieved by the pairs playing the same hands in the same direction.