Bridge | 9 July 2022

In one respect, it would be so much easier to play a game like poker or chess than bridge; if you play badly you only embarrass yourself – you don’t have partners or teammates to worry about. Mistakes at the bridge table are doubly painful when we imagine our partners rolling their eyes, or our teammates moaning behind our backs – and we’re not being paranoid, they probably are. But we shouldn’t be too thin-skinned; it’s important to remember that even the best players screw up. If you want to feel better about yourself, all you need to do is go online and kibitz some of the major tournaments. During the recent European championships in Madeira, I saw several mishaps by international champions which were positively comical. I particularly enjoyed this deal. Ireland’s Hugh McGann was declarer against a pair from the French team.

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Ross Clark

Britain is living beyond its means