Bridge | 8 July 2023

I always look forward to seeing what Team Black are wearing when I go to international bridge tournaments. Their captain, Andrew ‘Bertie’ Black (founder of Betfair), picks a new team shirt for every event. At the recent European Transnational Championships in Strasbourg, they wore grey flat caps and Hawaiian shirts adorned with palm fronds. For next month’s World Transnationals in Marrakech, Bertie has already chosen a set of matching kaftans. My all-time favourite shirts were emblazoned with images of Einstein.

But however much good cheer their outfits spread, don’t be lulled into lowering your guard – they are some of England’s very best players (David Gold and Tom Paske to name just two), and the deadliest of foes. Take this hand, my favourite from the European Transnational Open Teams: Tom Paske, partnering Andrew Macintosh (‘Tosh’), employed some dazzling skulduggery to make a grand slam (see diagram).

 North’s 2♥️ was an aggressive pre-empt; South’s 4♣️ was a fit-jump.