Bridge | 25 June 2022
At a bridge tournament about 15 years ago, I started chatting to a friendly, eccentric woman in her mid-sixties, wearing…
Bridge | 11 June 2022
I recently spent a long weekend in Lillehammer in Norway. Apparently it’s very charming, but frankly I have no idea:…
Bridge | 28 May 2022
For those of us who are prone to anxiety before playing in big tournaments, there are plenty of self-help books…
Bridge | 14 May 2022
The Spring Fours is one of the great events in the English bridge calendar – a five-day knockout attracting many…
Bridge | 30 April 2022
Recently, a friend was browsing through the bridge books on my shelves, when suddenly she burst out laughing. ‘Here’s a…
Bridge | 16 April 2022
I went cycling in the Pyrenees with my teenagers last week. Every time we stopped for a break, out came…
Bridge | 02 April 2022
I don’t play rubber bridge nearly as much as I used to, but I still enjoy the occasional game at…
Bridge | 19 March 2022
I still haven’t got over the novelty of sitting down at home, opening my laptop, and – just like fantasy…
Bridge | 5 March 2022
Few things in life compare to the joy of playing bridge, but if I rack my brain I can think…
Bridge | 19 February 2022
A couple of weeks ago, just as I’d begun to think that if I hadn’t got Covid by now I…
Bridge | 05 February 2022
I’ve been friends with the England player Mike Bell for many years; as top bridge professionals go, I’d say he…
Bridge | 22 January 2022
Almost everyone has a set of ‘carding’ agreements with their partners to convey information when defending. But I’m always amazed…
Bridge
We’re all guilty of making silly mistakes at the bridge table and then hurriedly trying to explain them away —…
Bridge | 11 December 2021
All the best people play bridge. Stephen Sondheim, who died two weeks ago, was mad about the game. In his…
Bridge | 27 November 2021
Succumbing to your emotions at the bridge table can be fatal. Whatever you’re feeling, get a grip! Easier said than…
Bridge | 13 November 2021
It can’t have been a surprise to anyone who knows him that when Andrew Black — Bertie to his friends…
Bridge | 30 October 2021
It was great to be back playing live bridge at the Portland Club last week. I was lucky enough to…
Bridge | 16 October 2021
The Gold Cup is the most prestigious Open Teams event in Britain, and has been ever since Colonel ‘Pops’ Beasley…
Bridge | 02 October 2021
Online bridge has been a lifeline for many players these past 18 months. But not everyone wanted to try it.…
Bridge | 18 September 2021
‘Table presence’ is a funny old expression in bridge. You might think it means what it would in any other…
Bridge | 4 September 2021
It’s not often that bridge makes headlines, but last week something extraordinary happened. At the online European Qualifier for the…
Bridge | 21 August 2021
Live bridge is back. It kicked off two weekends ago with Eastbourne’s Swiss Pairs. I went with my friend Ollie…
Bridge | 7 August 2021
To be a killer bridge player, you need to be aggressive. Many of us are hampered by timidity, especially when…
Bridge | 24 July 2021
Bridge is a game you can never fully master, which is why it’s so endlessly stimulating. No sooner have you…
Bridge | 10 July 2021
Top bridge players have a spooky ability to recall thousands of hands, often from many years back. With so many…
