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…
Bridge | 26 June 2021
On the whole, I’ve enjoyed playing bridge from the comfort of home during lockdown. One regrettable outcome, however, is that…
Bridge | 12 June 2021
I would never say that bridge is just a game — for many of us, it’s a lifetime’s vocation. However,…
Bridge | 29 May 2021
One of the pleasures of kibitzing online tournaments is that when an intriguing hand comes up, you can flick back…
Bridge | 15 May 2021
I’m not surprised so many scientific studies have shown that bridge staves off dementia: the game provides a constant workout…
Bridge | 1 May 2021
It was great to see an England team win the hotly contested World Bridge Tour ‘Survivor Cup’ recently. Many congratulations…
Bridge | 17 April 2021
I sometimes get far too intense when I’m playing bridge online. Holed up in my study at home, wearing noise-cancelling…
Bridge | 3 April 2021
These days, most tournaments take place either on Bridge Base Online or Realbridge. I far prefer BBO for one reason:…