General. According to Wikipedia, “A duplicate bridge movement is a scheme used in a duplicate bridge session to arrange which competitors play which opponents when, and which boards they play.” The Wiki entry continues with an exhaustive discussion of a bewildering array of such movements. Because it is so small, the Statesboro Pairs Duplicate Bridge Club so far has used only two of those movements. Almost all of our games have less than seven tables, for which we use the Complete Howell Movement [Wiki par. 2.2.2.1]. On the rare occasions that we have had more than seven tables we have used the Basic Mitchell Movement [Wiki par. 2.1.1].

Complete Howell Movement. Again quoting the Wiki entry, “In a Complete Howell Movement, the number of rounds is one less than the number of pairs. The pair with the highest number is stationary, playing each of the other pairs in numerical order. . . . A Complete Howell Movement normally is practicable only for smaller games with a few tables, as the number of rounds becomes prohibitive for normal games with eight or more tables . . .” A guide card on each table shows for each round the pair numbers for N-S and E-W and the boards to be played. It is the joint and several responsibility of every player on every round to be sure that they are at the correct table playing the correct boards against the correct opponents. Failure to do so is one of the cardinal sins in duplicate bridge. The guide card also shows where each pair is supposed to go for the next round.

Basic Mitchell Movement. The Mitchell movement does not use guide cards. Players follow the Director’s instructions and the boards are moved only by the Director or another designated person. Without guide cards here is no direct way for players to be sure that they are at the correct table playing the correct boards against the correct opponents so it is critically important that everyone follows the Director’s instructions precisely. In the basic Mitchell movement,

• NS pairs stay at the same table for the entire session
• EW pairs move up one table after each round (“people get older”)
• Boards move down one table after each round (“boards get younger”)

Mitchell movement details.

• If possible, arrange the tables in a circle, square or rectangle, so that the last table loops back to the first. This arrangement minimizes the hubbub between rounds because everyone knows exactly where to to go.
• Number the tables counter-clockwise.
• After each round:
• All EW pairs move counter-clockwise to the next higher-numbered table
• Boards are moved clockwise to the next lower-numbered table by a designated person (see final caution below).
• Use 3 boards per round for 5-table and 6-table Mitchell movements.
• Use 2 boards per round for Mitchell movements of 7, 8 or 9 tables

Odd number of tables. With 5, 7 or any odd number of tables the Mitchell movement is very simple and only requires the actions described above.

Odd number of tables with extra half table. An additional pair in play is made a NS Rover pair. The Rover pair (NS6 with 5 tables, NS8 with 7 tables) sits out the first round, then skips one table each round starting at Table 2.

• With 5½ tables the NS6 Rover movements are: NS6 : sit out → Table 2 → Table 4 → Table 1 → Table 3
• With 7½ tables the NS8 Rover movements are: NS8 : sit out → Table 2 → T 4 → T 6 → T 1 → T 3 → T 5
• The regular NS pair sits out for one round, then moves back to their original table.

Even number of tables. With an even number of tables there is a small complication in the Mitchell movement. After each round the Pairs move up one table, while the boards move down one table. However, at the halfway point all EW pairs would arrive at a table with boards they already have played. To overcome this problem EW pairs skip one table at the halfway point of the movement:

• with 6 tables EW pairs skip one table at the start of round 4
• with 8 tables EW pairs skip one table at the start of round 5

The following rounds are normal again. At the last round of the movement (round 6 for 6 tables, round 8 for 8 tables) the EW pairs will arrive back at the table they started from, where they play the boards they missed as a result of their skip.

Even number of tables plus extra half table.

• With 6½ tables use a 7-table Mitchell, where EW pairs have a sit out at Table 7.
• With 8½ tables use a 9-table Mitchell, where EW pairs have a sit out at Table 9.

Caution. Once again, the Howell movement uses table guide cards that allow players, at the beginning of each round, to verify that they are at the correct table playing the correct boards against the correct opponents. No so with Mitchell movements. Therefore, it is extremely important that players follow movement instructions and that the boards be moved only by someone who knows what he or she is doing.