Check out this week's new XG Ratings (it takes a few seconds to load). Kevin has hit the top.These ratings are calculated weekly for the 3000-odd players of X-Club deals - that includes us here at Cambridge.

A fun day was had on Saturday for the Junior tournament. There were 10 tables with juniors coming from all over the Waikato bays district. With Michael directing and scoring the day ran smoothly with 22 boards played in the morning and in the afternoon. There was a relaxed and friendly feel to the room with lots of smiles and positivity.

There were quite a few novices playing and they all played the whole day. 

The feed back from participants as they left, was the usual thanks for the great food and the smooth running of the day.

The winning Charladies. 

The David's emporium teams event has finished. It was a closely fought competition with several teams vying for the top places during the last night. At the conclusion the Charladies took out First place, with the Creative Cooks in second and the Crazy clowns third.

The Christians took out the prize for the best team with only one open member and the Crazy Clowns the prize for the non open team.

It was a close fought match but Cambridge just managed to haul the trophy home after winning by 660 to 640 total percent (don't ask me how that works!!). Cambridge still has some catching up to do though as Te Awamutu has still won it about eight years more often so there is no room for complacency!

Why not try and follow in Di and Jane's footsteps in representing Waikato Bays in the Interprovincial competition this year? The trials are upcoming on 11-12 May.  Details are attached.

The David Emporium Team competition is buzzing.  The overall prize remains the same but this year we are introducing a small prize for each of the following:

• The best non-Open team (ie no open players in team)
• The best team with 1-2 Open players in it

And of course there is always the dress-up prize to play for on the final night.

Congratulations to Herman, his partner Yuzhong (Hamilton) and team mates, Rachelle Pelkman and Murray Wood (Tauranga) who came second in the North Island teams beating many grandmasters en route. 

Update - Tuesday

Anna and partner Charlotte got off to a cracking start by qualifying for the Intermediate final section.  While they did not finish in a podium spot, neither did they finish last in the toughest section in their field. Well done them!