Colin Simpson, who has died after a long illness at the age of 69, was a star both at the bridge table and away from it. I vividly remember first meeting him when I started playing rubber bridge at TGRs about 20 years ago. He was tall, with a commanding presence, and despite playing for very high stakes, unusually even-tempered.
He was also a rarity among bridge professionals for having a proper job — and what a job! For more than 30 years, Colin was a special branch detective in counterterrorism. In 1982, he was assigned to protect Shlomo Argov, the Israeli ambassador in London. One evening in June, as Argov was leaving the Dorchester, a terrorist opened fire. Argov fell, and Colin began chasing the gunman. When he had closed the gap to a few yards, the man turned round and opened fire; luckily he missed and Colin managed to shoot him in the head.
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