The 2013 IBPA (International Bridge Press Association) Awards have just been published — and it’s no great surprise to see the name of the multi-world champion Fulvio Fantoni (formerly of Italy, now of Monaco) scooping ‘Declarer Play of the Year’. Cover up the EW hands and see whether you find the same solution (I certainly
I defy anyone, even Tolstoy were he still alive and were he to abandon War and Peace for a bridge column, to avoid a shed load of clichés when describing the final of the Venice Cup in Bali, between the magnificent English Ladies and their American counterparts. Let me make do with heart-stopping. With seven
This week I’m tackling one of the great unmentionable subjects of bridge: the fact that players so seldom go to the loo when they need to. We sit for long hours ignoring our bladders rather than risk missing a moment of the action. I’ve always assumed this was bad not just for the kidneys but
If you are allergic to wasp stings, may I give you a word of advice? Keep away from them! Don’t hang around. Don’t flap your arms. Just leave the vicinity quickly and quietly. I wish I had shared these words of wisdom with Artur, my partner in Patrick Jourdain’s highly enjoyable Welsh Invitational Pairs last
In any sport, a sense of elation is a dangerous thing. When a player does something good, he can’t afford to enjoy the moment: however dazzling the goal he’s scored or the ace he’s served, he can’t relax until the match is over. And so it is in bridge. It’s hard advice to follow: I’ve
Holiday over – and I hopped on the plane home dribbling with excitement. I was going straight to Young Chelsea to play the Friday night IMPs duplicate with my Polish friend, whose unpronounceable name has metamorphosed into Saucepan. It was heaven to be back, even though we did not exactly shine — unlike Tim Gauld.
Two weeks of watching the 2nd World Mind Sports have come to an end and I feel rather like I did after the last episode of The Killing. Bereft. The English Ladies proved that, with the help of a drop of lavender oil, they are the undisputed Queens of the World, taking both European and
If jealousy is measured in twinges my twinge-o-meter has gone viral. On my self-imposed sabbatical, otherwise known as a holiday, I was painfully aware, day after day, that I was missing the Brighton Bridgefest. Ten days of pairs, teams and midnight speedballs while I ‘relax’. Ouch. Twingeing again. The last event is the hugely popular
I’m on the train back from the Brighton Congress, where I’ve been playing in the Swiss Pairs, and I’m still kicking myself over the very last deal of the tournament. There are few things more satisfying in bridge — well, in life actually — than squeezing an opponent, and I squandered a perfect opportunity. It
We all need time off from our addictions and August is my annual holiday and break from bridge. One of the best tournaments I have had to give up is the Chairman’s Cup in Sweden. Of course I watch on BBO but it only makes it harder to be out of the action. This year’s
I haven’t played rubber bridge for a few years now (the demands of young children), but recently I’ve been hearing the siren call again — and decided to pop into my old haunt TGRs. I wanted to watch for a while, rather than play (I’m too rusty), and what great timing it turned out to
Friday 19 July saw Young Chelsea’s last duplicate at the old premises in Barkston Gardens. And what a swell party it was! Sold out with two weeks to go, 30 pairs took part in a quiz, the famous Friday night IMPs duplicate, and a midnight speedball. Everyone who is anyone has played at YC on
There was a particularly juicy deal during the recent European Open Mixed Teams in Ostend, which led to many pairs bidding and making a grand slam. My teammates, however, were prevented from reaching even a small slam when the Swedish player Peter Fredin made a devilish psychic bid against them. After two passes to him,
Tor Helness, the Norwegian-born superstar who now plays for Monaco, partnering his wife Gunn in the European Mixed Teams, had a total meltdown and stormed out when she let through 3NT. As you would. When he stormed back in she informed him that he would be playing the rest of the tournament with their (female)
Zia Mahmood has never been the most punctual man — but I wonder whether he’ll ever be late for a bridge tournament again? He and his partner Jan Jansma were favourites to win the European Open Pairs in Ostend last week. In the final, they were neck-and-neck with the German player Sabine Auken and her
What a week! Ostend by the sea was host to this year’s European Championships which kicked off with two mixed events (pairs and teams). I arrived on Friday and went straight to the playing area. Who was the first person I ran into? My favourite column buddy, Susanna! For the next week we hung out
There have been a lot of frantically close finishes in the big English tournaments recently. In the semi-final of the Gold Cup, the de Botton team edged the Norwegian Tøndel team by just one IMP (and went on to win the event). The Crockford’s Cup was even closer. Nick Irens and his team lost the
Last week I was glued to BBO, watching the US trials to select the two teams who will represent America in the Bermuda Bowl in Bali later this year. All the best players were competing and it was fascinating to see the extraordinary events unfold. USA 1, and outright winners, is the relatively unknown Kranyak
David Cameron must long ago have stopped signing off texts to friends with ‘LOL’. In internet slang, of course, it means ‘laughing out loud’, not ‘lots of love’ as he’d thought. Yes, we all scoffed when the story emerged — but how many of the scoffers know that in bridge, LOL means something else entirely:
Another long weekend, another bridge tournament. This time in Bournemouth where the groupetto and I decided to go for the Monday teams event. We all piled excitedly into the car, buckets and spades at the ready, and hurtled down the M3 full of optimism and bonhomie. Needless to say that didn’t last long. The arguments
