Pairs MC

An often neglected form of the game: while there are separate championships devoted to Team MC, Singles and All-In, there are no important events that are for Pairs only. Consequently, the only important Pairs events are at championships where the main attraction is one of the other events: for instance, in the annual IMCS World Championships, where it is considered the least important of the 'Grand Slam' four events, and in the biennial World Team Championships where the four-player event is considered of greater importance. Few other Grandmaster-level competitions have a Pairs event: and those that do, generally lack Team events. Some competitions that are for Teams have a Pairs event 'tacked on', but no Singles or All-In.

Two kinds of pairs game are recognised: the 'standard' form, where play alternates between the pairs, and the 'block-and-smash' form, where both members of a pair play in succession. The former is the one used for Grandmaster-level Championships: the latter is generally limited to informal games.

Normally the worst of enemies, perhaps the greatest pairs team of all time was formed in 1965 when Mrs Trellis and Eamon Ruttsborough agreed to bury their differences for the course of the championship: her defensive abilities combined with his attacking ingenuity swept all challengers aside and won the championship without conceding a single token holding in any of their games. However, this pair only existed for two weeks: out of pairs that played together over a period of years, perhaps the combination that stands out the most is that of Crumblethorpe and Chuntwumble, although Trellis and Trentwimble were also pretty formidable in their day.

[JLE]