In this country, Andrew Robson and bridge are practically synonymous: he’s the best known, and probably the best, player we have. His love for the game goes to the very core of him. During our recent bridge week at Stuart Wheeler’s house in Tangier, I asked Andrew about his near-fatal accident in 2001. While walking alone on Scafell Pike in the Lake District (England’s highest mountain), he slipped on ice and fell some 120ft, shattering every limb in his body except his left arm.
He landed on a scree slope, which saved his life. Andrew told me that as he was lying there, he became aware of an extraordinary lucidity: he remembers thinking that if he were to play bridge right now, he’d play better than he ever had before, or ever would again. ‘I said to myself: I absolutely know that I could make seven diamonds on a Moysian fit…’ It was while pondering the beauty of this imaginary deal that it occurred to him he should call for help.
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