Benjaminised Acol, better known as ‘Benji Acol’ — and its variant ‘Reverse Benji’ — is one of the most commonly played bidding systems in Britain. So popular, indeed, that it’s easy to forget that ‘Benji’ was a real person — the Scottish international Albert Benjamin, who died nearly 15 years ago at the age of
When did ‘literally’ become, literally, the most annoying word in the English language? Fairly recently I would guess, because ‘like’ as in ‘I was like… seriously?’ or ‘that’s like, so unfair’ was easily winning the title for many years. ‘Like’ has become a filler, taking the place of um and er, and generally making the
Terence Reese’s concentration at the bridge table was legendary. Most people know the story of how Boris Schapiro once wagered £50 that Reese wouldn’t notice if a naked woman entered the room and walked around while he was playing. Somehow, he found a willing woman — and won his bet. I’d always assumed the
‘Table presence’ is a funny old expression. It sounds as though it refers to a player’s magnetic appeal or domineering personality. But no, it’s more like an extraordinary presence of mind. And it’s about the highest compliment you can pay someone. The Official Encyclopaedia of Bridge has made a valiant attempt to define the term,
TGR’s Bridge Club in Paddington is the daily home to those of us who want to play bridge but cannot always adhere to the times of local duplicates. There is a game every afternoon and from time to time there is also an evening Goulash game; any contract at the one level (or passed out)
Bridge isn’t a game you can get good at quickly. It takes years to reach a reasonable standard — far longer if you don’t practice continually. Of course, some people get there quicker than others. Claire Robinson is one of them. I first met Claire about four years ago; she’d only been playing for two
I have always thought the term ‘bridge holiday’ was an oxymoron. When I travel with my team to various events, we play highly competitively for about eight hours every day — a holiday it ain’t. Concentrating all the time is exhausting and (for me) impossible. Then there is the inevitable insomnia and the resulting ridiculous
All high-level bridge tournaments involve playing with screens placed diagonally across the table — and there are numerous rules to remember. For instance, only North or South may slide the bidding tray under the screen, only declarer or dummy may remove the tray after the bidding, only declarer or dummy may lift the screen’s flap…
I know I’m not the strongest declarer in the world (or even at the table) but I didn’t realise my partner(s) literally stop breathing when they put dummy down. Unusually, I was declarer on quite a few hands in the recent European Mixed Teams, and I started to get an uneasy feeling when I heard
I’m just back from an exhilarating week in Istanbul, where I was lucky enough to be partnering Tom Paske in the mixed teams and pairs of the European Open Championships. My plan was to stay on an extra day to sightsee, but as I was wandering into breakfast, my friend Debbie Sandford rushed up, ashen-faced.
Here we go again. The ninth European Bridge Championships are upon us, this time taking place in Istanbul. Hundreds of Europe’s bridge elite (and many from further afield) descended for some or all of the tournaments, even though it is usually torture. Four years ago in Tromso there was the Portaloo scandal (don’t ask) and
Bridge is such a complex, multi-layered game that a single hand can be approached in myriad ways, depending on the skill of the player. In fact, peering into the mind of a world-class player is a bit like entering another dimension; there are possibilities you didn’t even know existed. At a recent pairs tournament,
Stefan Skorchev, young Bulgarian international, has given us another top tier annual pairs tournament to put in our diaries — the Acol Invitational Pairs. Superbly organised and offering big prize money, this year it was won by Thor Erik Hoftaniska and Gunnar Hallberg, a Norwegian/Swedish partnership that was invented at the rubber bridge table the
I’ve recently been reading Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca to my children, and while it’s every bit as enjoyable as I remember, I’ve been bristling with embarrassment at the unflattering references to bridge in the first few chapters. The narrator is a paid companion to the grotesquely snobby Mrs van Hopper, who, we are told
Simon Gillis coined a term to describe his disappointment when he sits himself out to allow four of his professionals to go in and do the job — and they fail! Simon calls it ‘Sponsor’s Nightmare’ and I had a hefty dose of it playing the Schapiro Spring Foursomes in Stratford last weekend. We made
The Spring Fours in Stratford-upon-Avon — perhaps the most prestigious event in the English calendar — was as enjoyable as ever this year: a combination of top-class bridge and late-night socialising. My own fun began the moment I boarded the packed train from London, when I managed to bag the last available seat, and then
Imagine you are on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. You have just won £500,000 and cannot go home with less than £120,000. You use your last lifeline (50/50) leaving you a straight guess to become a millionaire or drop £380K. Even though it’s mathematically correct to guess, most people would take the money.
‘You know what people say about you?’ Zia Mahmood told me the other day. ‘You play really well but then go berserk. Good-good-good-berserk.’ He’s absolutely right, and I love him for telling me straight, in typical Zia fashion. I’ve been struggling for a long time to overcome my sporadic lapses of concentration at the
Jonathan Harris is a man of principle. He and his wife Jenny had each entered a team for the Venice International Festival of Bridge earlier this month. Five days of Pairs and Teams in a wonderful setting: beats working. Then came the news that Fulvio Fantoni, who had been found guilty of cheating by the
You’re probably familiar with the old bridge adage: ‘Never put down an 8-card suit in dummy’. If you’re lucky enough to be dealt such a hand — you’d better make sure you’re the one to set trumps. Of course, it does occasionally happen that your partner won’t stop bidding his own suit, forcing you to
