Janet de Botton

Janet de Botton is The Spectator's bridge columnist.

Bridge | 26 February 2022

26 February 2022 9:00 am

My friend Nick Sandqvist says that coaching the England juniors is a joy; so great when someone enthusiastic and creative…

Bridge | 12 February 2022

12 February 2022 9:00 am

You may not have heard of Sue Johnson but she could be the fairy godmother bridge needs right now. Not…

Bridge | 29 January 2022

29 January 2022 9:00 am

During lockdown I had a bit of a tidy-up and came across a Post-it note with the following statement written…

Bridge | 15 January 2022

15 January 2022 9:00 am

Why is defence so difficult? Why do I have to suffer partner’s incredulous face when I play the wrong card…

Bridge | 18 December 2021

18 December 2021 9:00 am

Bridge is not too enticing if your parents had card evenings when you were a child, which often ended in…

Bridge | 4 December 2021

4 December 2021 9:00 am

The 2020 European Championships were an early casualty of lockdown but hopefully 2022 will rectify the count! It’s going to…

Bridge | 20 November 2021

20 November 2021 9:00 am

The Champion’s Cup is an annual competition for the national champions from 12 European countries. As my team won the…

Bridge | 6 November 2021

6 November 2021 9:00 am

There isn’t much Nick Sandqvist (my first bridge partner, teacher and great friend) doesn’t know about bridge. He has been…

Bridge | 23 October 2021

23 October 2021 9:00 am

YAY! We won the Gold Cup! We played Tim Leslie’s strong team in the 64-board final and beat them on…

Bridge | 9 October 2021

9 October 2021 9:00 am

One of my favourite Bridge proverbs is ‘Play the card you’re known to hold’. It doesn’t mean we should blithely…

Bridge | 25 September 2021

25 September 2021 9:00 am

The first serious F2F bridge tournament we have played for almost two years was the Premier League last weekend. Whatever…

Bridge | 11 September 2021

11 September 2021 9:00 am

The end to the European Championships Qualifier — from an English perspective — was one of the most dramatic ever…

Bridge | 28 August 2021

28 August 2021 9:00 am

So, face-to-face bridge is slowly returning, with EBU’s Summer Meeting in Eastbourne being one of the first to take place.…

Bridge | 14 August 2021

14 August 2021 9:00 am

Most of us have lost a year and a bit, but hopefully we will get back to normal (bridgewise) fairly…

Bridge | 31 July 2021

31 July 2021 9:00 am

When I started learning bridge (about 20 years ago) I was taught the basic guidelines of play and defence and…

Bridge | 17 July 2021

17 July 2021 9:00 am

If someone had told me in February 2020 that virtually the whole world would be going into lockdown for well…

Bridge | 3 July 2021

3 July 2021 9:00 am

I have a confession to make. I did something I haven’t done for over 20 years: I went on holiday.…

Bridge | 19 June 2021

19 June 2021 9:00 am

Immense excitement in the relatively tiny world of bridge — the English Bridge Union has announced that the Premier League…

Bridge | 5 June 2021

5 June 2021 9:00 am

It’s hard to think of anything more expensive at the bridge table than doubling the opponents and then watching them…

Bridge | 22 May 2021

22 May 2021 9:00 am

We all know the importance of making a viable plan before we play. If a contract is poor and seems…

Bridge | 8 May 2021

8 May 2021 9:00 am

The Lady Milne is the annual Women’s Championship between the home countries (and Ireland) and is most often a two-horse…

Bridge | 24 April 2021

24 April 2021 9:00 am

There are many drawbacks to playing bridge online but there is one thing that’s quite enjoyable: the speed and accuracy…

Bridge | 10 April 2021

10 April 2021 9:00 am

Bridge is a complex game, and is played by humans. Put those two things together and you have a guarantee…

Bridge | 27 March 2021

27 March 2021 9:00 am

The Young Chelsea Knock Out is a terrific tournament, and the best thing about it is that the winners get…

Bridge | 13 March 2021

13 March 2021 9:00 am

One benefit of lockdown is that there is much more time for reading. My personal favourite bridge book is Play…